Finished my H2O-cooled HTPC

[oxy4bf2]

It took me the whole weekend to finish my new water-cooled build, but I am happy with the results.

Specs:
Silverstone Grandia GD04 HTPC case
AMD Athlon II X2 250 @ 3.62 GHz
XFX Radeon 4890 @ 900 MHz/1100 MHz
XFX Geforce 8200 Motherboard
Auzentech Studio 5.1 Sound Card
Western Digital Caviar 160GB HDD
Corsair 450VX PSU

Cooling:
Swiftech Quiet Power MCR240 Rad
Swiftech DDC 3.1
Swiftech MCW60-4870 VGA block
Enzotech Sapphire CPU block
Danger Den fillport
3/8 ID vinyl tubing
3/8 ID Enzotech Barbs w/sexy worm clamps
PEAK 50/50 Pre-mixed Automobile Antifreeze/Coolant

Here's a case (no pun intended) for water cooling over air cooling. I'd like to see an air-cooled GD04 that is as silent and cool as this PC. Even taking into account the added external space taken up by the radiator, water-cooling is a way better cooling solution for HTPCs because it consolidates all the cooling to one location (wherever the radiator is), something that's great when it comes to VGA cooling. With air cooling for VGAs you either go with an aftermarket cooler that swirls hot air around your small case or leave in the stock that blows hot air out the back, but gets noisy as it revs up.

 

[oxy4bf2]

 

[oxy4bf2]

 

[oxy4bf2]

 

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[oxy4bf2]

As usual, poor room lighting and camera flashes just don't do justice to black, brushed aluminum. Just like all other Silverstone Cases (besides a few of the Sugos) this is a very well made case.

Important:
This build cost me an arm, leg, and a Sapphire 4870 because I originally used an Enzotech VGA water block...DO NOT PURCHASE AN ENZOTECH VGA WATER BLOCK. The mounting system is horrible. It comes with the skinniest mounting screws ever, making it almost impossible to thread them through the backplate, PCB board holes, and the water block itself. Furthermore, it's very hard to tell when the water block it properly mounted - it seemed like the screws could twist forever without feeling very snug.

The Swiftech MCW60-4870 that I switched to installed like a breeze and is working very well so far.

The Scythe Slipstream fans that I am using (24 dB/68 CFM) work well with my rad. I read something on this site about them having sub-par static pressure compared to their S-Flex counterparts. If you google search though, you will find the static pressures to be very similar. Just about ALL the noise generated by these fans is generated by turbulent airflow over the radiator fins and fan grills.

 

[King Icewind]

Cool man. I'm surprised you managed to get all of that in there. I would've defiantly bought a new case. So you got rid of the exhaust fans?

Important:
This build cost me an arm, leg, and a Sapphire 4870 because I originally used an Enzotech VGA water block...DO NOT PURCHASE AN ENZOTECH VGA WATER BLOCK. The mounting system is horrible. It comes with the skinniest mounting screws ever, making it almost impossible to thread them through the backplate, PCB board holes, and the water block itself. Furthermore, it's very hard to tell when the water block it properly mounted - it seemed like the screws could twist forever without feeling very snug.

The Enzotech Sapphire CPU block works great for me. I've never used the the VGA blocks, but from what I saw looks like it was just too cramped in your case, causing it not to be installed correctly.

Ah well it ups in running now.

GL

 

[oxy4bf2]

Cool man. I'm surprised you managed to get all of that in there. I would've defiantly bought a new case. So you got rid of the exhaust fans?




The Enzotech Sapphire CPU block works great for me. I've never used the the VGA blocks, but from what I saw looks like it was just too cramped in your case, causing it not to be installed correctly.

Ah well it ups in running now.

GL

Thanks! The case didn't come with 80mm exhaust fans and I didn't bother because that would add more noise. the positive pressure in this case must be pretty high because I have all three 120mm fans sucking air in - I can feel air moving out the back of the case.

Likewise, I love my Enzotech Sapphire CPU block too: cheap, easy to install, and a good performer. For whatever reason though, Enzotech dropped the ball on their VGA offering that comes with VERY small dia. mounting holes. It took me forever to thread each mounting screw, unlike the Sapphire CPU block that was basically drop and fasten. The VGA block fit fine, but it was overtightened on one side, which either damaged the VGA die or made it so that one side wasn't cooled properly and overheated.