Making the jump from AIO, decision time--HAF XB EVO build

Nobu

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
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So I'm ready to make the jump, got a radiator, cpu block, and fittings on their way. Now, I have a decision to make: Reservoir, or no reservoir? There's not a huge amount of space in the XB EVO, but I could fit a 240mm res/pump combo if I wanted to work for it. The alternatives are a smaller (120mm) res/pump mounted on the radiator or back of case, or a single bay res and separate pump (or maybe this, but since the pump's already on its way, not really ideal)...but my philosophy is go big or go home, so I'm not really into the idea of a smaller tube/bay res. ;)

Also, I've heard silver isn't good to use in a loop with exposed copper--is that true? I'd be fine using just distilled water+biocide, but would like to know for reference.

Here are the components which I will have shortly:
Laing D5 Strong (PMP-450S)--no pump-top yet.
Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 280
XSPC Raystorm Intel Block
1/2" ID barb fittings + 5/8" OD clamps

And my options for loops, as far as I see it:

Option 1:
option1.jpg


Option 2:
option2.jpg


I'll be keeping the 120mm JetFlo fans in the front, but I might upgrade later if CoolerMaster releases a better 140mm fan. There will be no exhaust fan in the back, and I will probably not be putting any fan on the top of the case since it'll obscure the view.

Thoughts, opinions? Will post pictures as I progress, if I remember to take them, and of the final product.

Edit: Decision made--going with option 2. 5ft of Primochill LRT Onyx Black, Liquid Utopia, Sys Prep, and a few more fittings ('y', coupler, 45, 90, ball-valve, and bulkhead) are ordered and will be here in a few days.
Edit2: So, the total for all the cooling components (incl. shipping, not incl. water) is $271. Thanks to sil180sr (fittings + pump) and XxDaRkReAp3rxXdOtCoM (radiator + cpu block) for selling the major components to me--without them, I almost definitely couldn't have gotten them for so little. Will post updates when parts start flowing in.
 
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That's my HAF XB EVO. I'm running a Feser 240mm X-Changer rad in the front, a Black Ice Pro X-Flow single 120mm rad in the back and for the pump/waterblock on the CPU I've got a Swiftech Apogee Drive II which is cooling an FX 8320e running at 4.6Ghz @ 1.416V. The GPU's are paralleled in the loop as well and are a pair of GTX 760's running MCW82's. For a reservoir I've got the new Swiftech micro res version and there's a 90 degree fitting coming out of the bottom which runs along the bottom edge of the front rad and feeds the input of the Apogee Drive.

Considering the load on the rads and the fact that they're pretty well behind the curve at this point in time I get decent enough temps. When I'm gaming everything tends to run around 125 degrees F (not C, that'd be a horrorshow). What's not in the pics is the fact that I'm running push/pull on all the rads. I've got Cougar CF-V12HPB's all the way around which are hooked into a Swiftech 8 way PWM splitter running off the CPU OPT fan header on my mobo and the Apogee Drive is running off the CPU PWM header. Note that the fans and pump get power via outside sources and use the PWM signal supplied by the headers only.

I hope this gives you some ideas, good luck.
 
Thanks, that's a pretty slick setup you got there. Unfortunately, I'll have to improvise a bit, since I have a separate pump/cpu block and no res. ;)

Got the pump/top and some fittings that I ordered from the post office a while ago:
IMG_0179.jpg


Not enough to test anything, but at least I can figure out where I want to put my pump. I tried on the left side in the rear facing up, but it ran into the pci expansion slots, and facing forward it conflicted with the usb header (not to mention the tight angle to get over the video card). Also tried in the front facing up, but that was less than 35mm from the front of the case (and my radiator will be 46mm deep), so looks like I'll either have to have it in the front facing forward (see below), or on the right facing up with the 'y' on the in-port and a 90' fitting to the fill port and the out-port going to the radiator, the other side of the 'y' going to the CPU block's out-port...don't really like that, I'd need to be extra careful filling it, since the tubing from the fill port would be really short.
IMG_0181.jpg

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Guess we'll see how it works out when the rest of the parts come in. :D
 
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Got my CPU block, tube, and radiator. Still haven't received the elbows and stuff from performance-pcs, but I can fit-test the radiator now. :D
Speaking of radiator, looks like there's a little rust on the fins, but it's hard to tell. It's supposed to be "full copper", so it might just be the paint chipped off and the copper just looks red. Not concerned, either way.

IMG_0183.jpg
 
For some not smart reason, I didn't order all the fittings I thought I did...oh well, I'm good at improvising...

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...this is totally legit, promise. D:

Running SysPrep through the loop over night. No leaks so far (about 4hrs), hoping it stays that way. Didn't have the male-male fitting I thought I had ordered, so I didn't have as many options for placement of the wye fitting (notably, where I really wanted it), and my bulkhead was too small for the hole in the back. Also, realized after filling that I should probably have the Rad's out port on the bottom... Will probably flip the loop when I empty it later, so the pump's on the right and the rad ports on the left--better for video cards that way, too.
 
Silver is completely fine to run with copper. It was just some BS FUD from EK to try to blame everything except their crap nickel plating process.

Yeah, the thin paint on radiators is very easy to chip off. I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Got my CPU block, tube, and radiator. Still haven't received the elbows and stuff from performance-pcs, but I can fit-test the radiator now. :D
Speaking of radiator, looks like there's a little rust on the fins, but it's hard to tell. It's supposed to be "full copper", so it might just be the paint chipped off and the copper just looks red. Not concerned, either way.

Alphacool doesn't paint the fins, it's better for cooling if they are exposed.
On mine I can see they are deliberately painted at an angle to get as little paint on the fins as possible.
 
Thanks Tsumi, Henri, good to know.

Got the loop flipped around, took a little bit of tube/fitting-swapping to keep the CPU block where I wanted it, but it'll fit better around the GPUs like this, and it's a helluva lot easier to bleed the loop like this. :D

IMG_0189.jpg

From before I flipped the loop--cpu was feeding the pump, and top rad outlet was feeding that, so bleeding was slow and painful...and draining the loop wasn't much better.

IMG_0190.jpg

After flipping it, much better flow layout, and much easier to fill/drain and bleed--that is, as long as I don't open the drain tube while the loop is running and suck in a bunch of air...oops. :eek:

IMG_0191.jpg

From the top: got a nice view of my temporary reservoir, for bleeding purposes only. Made from the SysPrep bottle by cutting the top and bottom off with an x-acto knife and forcing it into the threads of my ball-valve fitting. Works pretty well on the rad, too. :D

Sorry about the fuzzy photos, camera didn't want to focus for some reason, couldn't really tell from the display. Running a second round of SysPrep (since I still had over half a gallon left over after the first run, even with the stuff I spilled while monkeying around with the loop), tomorrow I'll drain and put in the Liquid Utopia, do one last leak check, and mount the block on the CPU. fwiw, it's already cooling the block pretty well with just one fan running, and it's dead silent (when random bubbles aren't blowing through the pump). Can't wait to put it all back together! ^_^

Edit: Oh, yeah, forgot to mention before. The radiator doesn't quite sit right because of the plugs on the back side and because CoolerMaster decided it was a good idea to recess the side of the case that people are likely to mount a 280mm radiator on, instead of the side that's almost impossible (and wouldn't make much sense to) mount a radiator on. That said, make sure to get some low profile plugs if you have a radiator with in-/outlets on front and back, or be ready to put some pressure on those fine threads. ;)
 
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And...the end result:
IMG_0193.jpg


Had the wye adapter on the bottom (right side) port as a simple way to top-up or drain the loop, but it was sucking air in and (eventually would be) leaking water out, so I took it off and plugged it up. Alas, definitely didn't seat right (temps jump straight to 88c with p95), mounting the cpu block in this case is a pain with all the hoses attached (though it is slightly easier if you temporarily tape the backplate in place)...going to have to drain it when I move anyway, so I'll probably reseat it then with all the hoses off and then put the loop back together.
 
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