# First Water Build, sorta log!



## Ejjman1 (Mar 5, 2010)

This is what I got so far.


Here is everything laid out. Helps me think clearly.







The next picture is my Apogee XT Waterblock. I had to grind off the top left corner because the huge Mobo Block was blocking it. I think it turned out ok, and I don't think that will defect anything.






This is the motherboard finally complete. I think it looks spiffy, and hopefully my water won't leak from anything.







Is this right? The fans, the way they are faced, will blow through? I think that's right..?







I have run into a few things, though. I am not sure which way to mount the fans on my radiator.

Another thing, is there anyway to test the system without having the motherboard in the case? Like, I dunno. But if I were to have an obvious leak, then I could fix it right away without taking everything out. Like, sending the pump power without actually turning the computer on, and having the components outside of the case.

I think I'm doing fine on everything else. Where can I pick up some local distilled water? Like, wal-mart, home depot, etc..


Thanks!

EDIT: I threw up a picture of my fans, and curious if they are pointing the right way!


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## steelkane (Mar 5, 2010)

were you mounting the rad
air should come from the outside - in
build it in the case,, then jump the psu to check for leaks


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## Thrackan (Mar 5, 2010)

Ejjman1 said:


> This is what I got so far.
> 
> 
> Here is everything laid out. Helps me think clearly.
> ...



In the last pic, the fans will blow down - through the radiator.
You can check 2 things for that: the curves on the fan blades or the supports from the fan frame to the rotor (which is always on the exhaust side).

Next, where will you be mounting your radiator?
Most common sense for fan placement: Hot air rises. Don't fight that. So for any placement with the radiator placed horizontal, make sure the air blows up.
When placing it vertical, for instance, in the front drive bays, or behind the case, I'd let the fans blow towards the rear.

Distilled water: Home depot/Walmart should work, or your local drugstore. I bought mine at the local DIY shop.

Testing: plug ONLY the pump into the power supply and jumpstart it (connect black to green on the 24-pin). Make *sure* not to have any cables attached to the motherboard since I killed a motherboard that way once 
Just fill up your loop and fire the pump up, let it run for a while.


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## Ejjman1 (Mar 5, 2010)

Thrackan said:


> In the last pic, the fans will blow down - through the radiator.
> You can check 2 things for that: the curves on the fan blades or the supports from the fan frame to the rotor (which is always on the exhaust side).
> 
> Next, where will you be mounting your radiator?
> ...



Haha, jump-start a psu. That sounds awesome, I'll try that out. Thanks so much!

I mounting the radiator on the top of my case (HAF 932). I have the fans on the bottom, blowing air *through* the rad, pushing the heat up, out of the case. Do I want it this way?

EDIT: steelkane says air should come from outside-in, so does that contradict the way I plan to do it?

EDIT2: Jumpstarting the PSU, can that hurt anything...connect green to black, sounds sketch haha.

EDIT3: Finally, I don't need to plug the fans in while testing, do I? Since no heat will be generated from the cpu since it's not on..? I mean, it wouldn't hurt, but it's just sucking more power that isn't needed.'

EDIT4: I swear, last edit! Does this loop sound good? Res>Pump>CPU>Mobo>Rad ? I can't find the best answer for that.


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## oily_17 (Mar 5, 2010)

Ejjman1 said:


> Haha, jump-start a psu. That sounds awesome, I'll try that out. Thanks so much!
> 
> I mounting the radiator on the top of my case (HAF 932). I have the fans on the bottom, blowing air *through* the rad, pushing the heat up, out of the case. Do I want it this way?
> 
> ...



EDIT: You will always get cooler air from outside the case but if you have good air flow inside the case, it may not affect the temps too much taking air from inside .

EDIT2: No you will not hurt anything jump starting the PSU you can even buy a connecting block to jump start the PSU.Something like this, if you dont want to DIY it -

http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/pro...d=309&osCsid=785c6096d105a38effcbdd0887771d95

EDIT3:No you dont need the fans plugged in.

EDIT4:As long as you have the RES before the pump then you should be good to go.Every case and the way things are laid out will have different routes.Some people like the RAD before the blocks and others will have it after, just what ever suits you best will work.


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## Thrackan (Mar 5, 2010)

oily_17 said:


> *EDIT: You will always get cooler air from outside the case but if you have good air flow inside the case, it may not affect the temps too much taking air from inside .*
> 
> EDIT2: No you will not hurt anything jump starting the PSU you can even buy a connecting block to jump start the PSU.Something like this, if you dont want to DIY it -
> 
> ...



I've had this argument many times now, and never have I seen actual numbers that support a preference for a top-mount blowing down.
The heated air in the case (GFX card, RAM, harddisks?) rises up, so aiding it out of the case by use of fans would make the most sense.

*Yes*, the final saturation temperature of your loop will be slightly higher. So if you *only* care about cooling whatever you have on water, go ahead and blow top-down.


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## Ejjman1 (Mar 5, 2010)

I decided to have the air being blown up, which makes sense to me.

The barbs on on the right side, but you can't see them.

I will wire like this:

Res > Pump > CPU > Mobo > Rad > Res

I will post more later, but I gotta head to work now.


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## PaulieG (Mar 6, 2010)

Something looks kinda familiar. Looking good so far!!


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## steelkane (Mar 6, 2010)

Maybe think about it this way,, you have a car with an engine, under a hood,, the engine heats up, way hotter then the inside of a pc case,, the car has fresh air coming in from the outside in,, heat still rises but fresh air always comes from the outside in. you want the rad to have the coldest freshest air possible for maximum cooling,, your not blowing this hot air from the rad into the case onto heatsinks,, because the cold water is inside the blocks keeping your overclocked hardware cool.


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## Ejjman1 (Mar 6, 2010)

steelkane said:


> Maybe think about it this way,, you have a car with an engine, under a hood,, the engine heats up, way hotter then the inside of a pc case,, the car has fresh air coming in from the outside in,, heat still rises but fresh air always comes from the outside in. you want the rad to have the coldest freshest air possible for maximum cooling,, your not blowing this hot air from the rad into the case onto heatsinks,, because the cold water is inside the blocks keeping your overclocked hardware cool.



Just to be clear then, you are suggesting I have the fans on top, blowing down into the case then, correct?

Items not on water cooling, such as my GPU, will then heat up instead. My overall  case temperature will rise.


How drastic is the change in degrees? I don't see it being more than 3 degrees switching to that way.

EDIT: Put the motherboard back in, very slowly. It weighs way more, but didn't have too many troubles. Tomorrow is the big day!!


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## oily_17 (Mar 6, 2010)

Ejjman1 said:


> Items not on water cooling, such as my GPU, will then heat up instead. My overall  case temperature will rise.
> 
> 
> How drastic is the change in degrees? I don't see it being more than 3 degrees switching to that way.



I have a P120.3 cooling my i7 and the air leaving the RAD is not even really warm, so as you say it may not affect overall temps too much.

If you are going to worry about every last degree in temp then remove the RAD from the case altogether.


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## steelkane (Mar 6, 2010)

the fans can be turned around at the bottom,, air will be pulled down
also heat will never rise back out through the fans that have a down air flow
heat will find the easiest way out


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## MT Alex (Mar 6, 2010)

Nice to see a fellow Montanan on TPU!

It looks like you're off to a great start, I wouldn't change anything.  If you are really worried about your motherboard, you could leak test your system like I did:





Seriously, though, If you can do simple things like change a compressor fitting or minor plumbing, there is nothing to worry about with water cooling.  One thing, use teflon tape on your fittings.  Not many people talk about it, but it works for sure.  That's why plumbers use the stuff.

Also, a paper clip works just fine for jumping your PSU.  Nothing at all to worry about, just don't put it in your mouth.  And don't use any stupid dye in your loop like I have in my pic.  I got rid of that junk before I installed my motherboard.


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## oily_17 (Mar 6, 2010)

MT Alex said:


> One thing, use teflon tape on your fittings.  Not many people talk about it, but it works for sure.  That's why plumbers use the stuff.



You dont use any tape on BSPP (G) fittings, you only need tape for BSPT (R) fittings.

Your water cooling fittings will be G1/4" type fittings and probably use a rubber ring to complete sealing.
If you use tape with these fittings, especially on acrylic, you run the risk of cracking it when tightening it.

EDIT:BSPP fittings have straight threads and BSPT have tapered threads.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_standard_pipe_thread


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## Thrackan (Mar 6, 2010)

steelkane said:


> Maybe think about it this way,, you have a car with an engine, under a hood,, the engine heats up, way hotter then the inside of a pc case,, the car has fresh air coming in from the outside in,, heat still rises but fresh air always comes from the outside in. you want the rad to have the coldest freshest air possible for maximum cooling,, your not blowing this hot air from the rad into the case onto heatsinks,, because the cold water is inside the blocks keeping your overclocked hardware cool.



Your car doesn't have the rad on top, plus it travels at quite the speeds. I hope your case doesn't, or you have real good wireless keyboards and mice 

Ah well, I'd need to have a WC loop again to find out what works best, and I don't.


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## Ejjman1 (Mar 6, 2010)

Thanks for the comments!


Finally got everything wired with the help of my dad. I put water in it, and finally got it bled!! I can't imagine doing that with a T-LINE!!!

Anyway, I am gonna have it run for some hours now. I don't feel anything wet so far, and finally got it bled. I hope it stays this way!


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## Thrackan (Mar 6, 2010)

Put some paper in your case, you'll see the smallest drops if it leaks


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## Ejjman1 (Mar 6, 2010)

Thrackan said:


> Put some paper in your case, you'll see the smallest drops if it leaks



Ok, will do!


If anyone knows where I can get a G1/2" thread 1/2" OD Barb, that'd be nice. I want the fillport to go to the top of my Res, but the hole is huge.

In fact, it might even be a G3/4" because my 3/4 OD tubing can fit through it...Hm...

EDIT: a side note, I might have no idea what I'm talking about up there.


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## Ejjman1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Up and running!


Idling at 27-30C, Load at 40C!

That is an improvement of 10C and 30C, respectively!


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## PaulieG (Mar 7, 2010)

Great to see you up and running. Taking your time and getting advice along the way really pays off with water cooling the first time. Congratulations on a successful project!

Oh, and I'm guessing you like the rad?


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## Ejjman1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Paulieg said:


> Great to see you up and running. Taking your time and getting advice along the way really pays off with water cooling the first time. Congratulations on a successful project!
> 
> Oh, and I'm guessing you like the rad?



Ya. It was a little beat up, but I think it'll work great!


Now, time to read guides to OC'ing..


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## PaulieG (Mar 7, 2010)

Ejjman1 said:


> Ya. It was a little beat up, but I think it'll work great!
> 
> 
> Now, time to read guides to OC'ing..



YHPM


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## Ejjman1 (Mar 7, 2010)

Paulieg said:


> YHPM



All solved 


Ah, this is so cool!


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