P180-H2O-X2

[2grVe]

Its finally done... ...well nearly
(Thanks everyone for their help)

P180
AMD X2 4400
X800 XL
A8N-SLI Premium
SP2504C
Elan Vital Greenerger 400W
Nexus
AK-FC03 Fan Controller
Watercooling:
Innovatek HPPS Plus 12V Pump
2x Zern F-Fin-Cu 2003
NexXxos XP
NexXxos GP2X-A
Tygon R3603 Tubing

Sorry for the crap pictures,





Watercooling:
A lot of SPCR people recommended away from the watercooling but now that its done I don’t regret it at all.

Mike wrote:

Why watercool your rig?

Here's why not:
1) A lot more $
2) Definitely not quieter, usually noisier
3) A lot more complex, not as reliable, more risk of catastrophe with many more interdependent parts
4) Requires more maintenance

Well now that I have done it this is my new found opinion:
1) yes, it is
3) more complex, yup. Reliable? well pump fails pc goes off, seems ok with me. catastrophe, yeah first time maybe...
4) more maintenance, well yeah change water twice a year (not like I don’t spend any time fidgeting with my PC now)

so as you have noticed that leaves 2)
"Definitely not quieter"... lets see.
Pump: The Pump is sitting on a foam bed, first time I turned it on I thought it was broken until I touched it. I have to stick my ear right next to it to hear anything (like a inch). No vibration on the P180.
Fans: The two nexus fans on the radiators are quite happy to run on the minimum voltage provided by the fan controller and I guess everyone knows what noise level that is appox. The third fan at the back is for testing right now to see how the fanless NB handles.
Power: The power supply (Hybrid) has not come on once as far as I can tell making it inaudible from a few cm. the temp sensor taped to the top reads around 42 usually.
That’s it. Without starting the rest of the pc, The watercooling is in my opinion not to be heard. Obviously the same noise level is doable without a WC kit, I just want to point out that a watercooling kit can be just as quite as a system without. I agree that any bought kit is most likely not to scratch but it really is easily done when the components are right.

Temperatures (normal heated student room):
Office Mode, Fans low:
CPU ~30-34
MB ~ 36

Stress (gaming etc), Fans full:
CPU ~ 40 - 42
MB ~ 40

No worries about the weather!

As of now the PC is not silent as the HDD hasn’t been dealt with. It is mounted in a normal old decoupler in a 5" that’s no good. It is easily 2 fold the noise of the fans on full. The old DVD is laud as well and needs to be replaced.

I guess the noise level of the pc will depend on the HDD for now and in my opinion will remain the loudest. Any suggestions for a new DVD burner are very welcome. Still waiting on my NoVibes to arrive, unless any one has a better idea. I have MuteMat which is already on top but I haven’t done the sides. I am hoping that will smooth some of the HDD noise later on. I know the wiring is crap but I don’t have the patience right now to do everything properly so for now it will have to do.

As for the system I can only say the X2 is really great. I know there is no real logical reason to buy one but having a system that can actually do what has been promised for the last ten years in terms of multitasking is something I am hard pressed to tie up in any benchmark. It just FEELS great...

cheers, 2grVe

[Krazy Kommando]

nice!

[Mellman]

sweet!

I was under the impression that stacking fans had a negative or no impact on airflow, rather then a positive one?


how much was that pump? I definitely miss my watercooling

-Matt

[slipknottin]

stacking pumps does not increase the potential total CFM, but increases the pressure. If there is any restriction, the resulting pressure increase can increase real CFM.

[MikeC]

Interesting result.

but.... "As of now the PC is not silent as the HDD hasn’t been dealt with." ... which is because the radiators have displaced the silicone rubber grommet drive cages, which really do work very well.


If you are getting a NoVibes, I'd suggest hanging it in some fashion off the top panel of the case, in front of the back exhaust fan. You could do this without a NoVibes, using just elastic string. The best kind, imo, is the kind used in clothing to cinch up coat waists and such. If you have a decently quiet drive, such suspension will elminate 90% of the HDD noise, esp. inside the P180.

[JvT]

The old DVD is laud as well and needs to be replaced

Have you tried to slow down your DVD drive with software?? If you are using Nero Burning Rom, you'll have a piece of software that you can configure the speed of your optical drives. It's called Nero DriveSpeed (You can download it here, if you don't have Nero: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/nerodrivespeed.html )

There might be other software sollutions out there, that could save you the price of a new DVD drive that *MIGHT* be more silent than your current DVD drive.

[2grVe]

@Mellman
The fans are not stacked.
The black fans between the nexus and the radiator have had the fan cut out and are just shrouds now.

The pump is pricey, around €60.

@JvT
My old drive is a bit slow as well, so that was the thought of getting a new one.
But ill try it anyway, thanks

@MikeC
Thanks for the suggestion, Ill start thinking about some kind of suspension. I have not made up my mind on the back fan. it doesn't do anything for temps, the HDD would be the only reason to keep it. I don't think on 5V it makes that much difference to noise levels, especially if the HDD remains louder.

Again thanks everyone... all comments good or bad are welcome. you can only learn. enough changes and I may get to making a revision.

[niels007]

Watercooling can work well of course but considering your components, compare the price to:

- scythe ninja + one nexus casefan
- gigabyte silentpipe x800xl perhaps with another nexus in front
- elastic cord suspension of hard disk

It would most likely lead to less noise, less hassle, and much less cost. With these components I wouldn't have watercooled!

[2grVe]

It is more expensive, no question.
More hassle as well.
I think the noise level would realistically end up the same.

I have already agreed on these points. I have watercooled because of two reasons. Firstly, I wanted to, that simple. Somewhat of a case study.
Secondly although a minor point the temperatures are much better and so no issues with room temperatures (and before anyone argues I realise 50-60 Deg. would also be more than acceptable.)

[Kizz]

Cool setup, the P180 is definitely what I'm aiming towards once I can afford it. As for the Elan Vital, how do you find it as far as noise/heat goes? I'm thinking of getting one sometime as they're one of the few decent 'higher end' fanless(ish) PSUs

[2grVe]

@Kizz
I can only speak from my experience in this setup, but the Elan Vital has exceeded my expectations. I have never heard the fan come on once since I have been running my setup. I don't know how the PSU would react without the airflow from the lower fan but as it stands its always off and the temperature probe taped to the top always reads about 40 C +- a few depending on load (Even with heating pipes running behind the PC in my new room).

i have just received my silentstar HDD case to incorporate into the WC system which will hopefully deal with the HDD issue. I think I may use my old barracuda IV and use the SP2504C as a external storage which i only need once a week.

[Kizz]

Thanks, that may just become my next addition, as I would have an exhaust fan below it anyways. First to cut out these damn vibrations.....

[Freppa]

Hi there! I also have a short question about the Elan Vital: how long is it´s cables? Any problems routing them to different locations in the p180?

/Fredrik

[2grVe]

sorry this is so late, been away for a week.

I cant tell you the exact lenght right now without pulling everything apart. It will reach anywhere in the P180 normally but i think if you are going ECM style then it might be a little tight.

I am going to rework my setup at christmas so ill make a note if its still relevent. get rid of those firsttime mistakes.