Build Log: The Green Dragon

[jappe66]

Welcome to my very first Build Log! I'm not very good at blurbs or anything like that so I'll just get right on it.

Last week I finally ordered the parts for my build. Today one package arrived but I'm still waiting for a second package from different shop. I should have just ordered all parts from the same website so I could have started to work on the build today already 😛

I don't have much for you yet, but I will show you what is my starting point and some teasers!

So my case is a white BitFenix Shinobi XL. I've heard a lot of people complain about it being plastic and crappy but I just don't see what there is to complain about? The finish on those parts is absolutely amazing and it feels very nice to my hands. The side panels are metal as well as the back and bottom. The front and top have BitFenix SofTouch finish.

The case cost me about 150€ about 6 months ago and I wouldn't change it to anything! Now there's so much room and I started to enjoy watching water cooling build logs so I fell in love with this new hobby.

It turned out to be quite big thing on the money side but I decided, what the heck. "I want it so I'm gonna do it!"

My main colors will be white and green. White coming straight from the case itself mostly and the tubing and liquid will be green. Also green LED fans.

Here's my first plan that I made a couple weeks ago:

At first I was planning to mount the reservoir outside the case like mentioned in the picture but then I found one that would fit perfectly on the inside. To the same location. And when I start building this there will probably be more changes to the plans. Or so I've heard from people who have done this before 😀

Now here's some teasers for you to enjoy:

So there you go! I named my project The Turtle because I couldn't come up with anything better. Actually I could go further with this idea and get some turtle figures standing on the case when it's finished or something. See how crazy this watercooling makes me? 😀

You will have to wait until early next week for some build pics but I'm hoping to get the other package by Friday.

Not much to show yet but you gotta start somewhere!

 

[jappe66]

To keep it not so boring. Here's some pics from the parts that arrived today. Here's also the components I'm going to use:

Hardware
Case: BitFenix Shinobi XL (bought it when there was no window panel available but I'll change it during this build)
Motherboard: Asus M5A99X EVO
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 (this is subject to change to FX-8350 by the end of May)
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB 1600MHz Low profile (upgrading to 16GB with another same kind of kit by the end of May)
Graphics card: Palit GTX670 JetStream Edition 2GB (I'd love to have two of these in SLI but I just don't have the extra 400€ 🙁)
Boot drive: Crucial m4 120GB SSD
2nd SSD: Samsung 840 120GB
Storage: Seagate 750GB (external, sort of a backup drive at the same time)
DVD: Asus DVD-drive
Power supply: Corsair 500W (new PSU coming: SilverStone Strider Plus 600W, all cables modular)

Cooling
Now I want to present this with pictures.

Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 360mm Triple Radiator

Thank you, SpecialTech.co.uk, for the note! It was nice surprise actually. I guess they have gotten too much returns with broken radiators, lol 😀 So this was the first time I actually see water cooling parts in real life for the first time and get to hold them. There was a few things that I thought would be different and what the videos have showed me.

First surprise was how big the radiator actually was. And how heavy. Also the amount of screws was a little surprise 😀 Just a quick question if someone is actually reading this: how do I know how long screws I need to use? Don't worry I will research it before braking my radiator.

Alphacool VPP655 / Laing D5 Single Edition Pump with Tacho Signal

The pump surprised me as well with it's weight. Well it cost 60€ so I guess it's not a crappy pump. Not much to say about this. I bought only the cylinder because I have a EK pump top coming in the other package so why pay extra for something I don't need?

Bitspower Z-Multi 150mm Water Tank Reservoir

My small reservoir. I actually thought it would be bigger (dam you Youtube videos!) but when I think of it, there's not much room where I'm going to place it so I think it's fine. Took me a while to think about which way it should be mounted. Then I read the instructions 😀 If the intake is on top, then I guess I need to order one 90 degree fitting more to get the tubing go well. I'm hoping though that my 2x45 degree fittings will be enough. The tubing will come from the cpu block directly to the reservoir and there it will go to the pump and next step is radiator which will push the cooled water straight to cpu.

Bitfenix 120 x 120 x 25mm Spectre Black with Green LED Case Fan

I know these aren't the best fans for radiator but I'm going more for the looks than performance. It's very hard to find fans with great performance but low noise (<20dBA). With green LEDs. These will (hopefully) look awesome at the top of the case! They will be connected to the BitFenix Fan controller what you'll see below.

BitFenix Recon 5 Channel Fan and Temperature Controller Internet Connected

I will get you a better picture when I get to unbox it and analyze it a little. This controller has 5 channels and it will be controlling the radiator fans (3) and the 2 case fans (230mm at front & 120mm at back). And hey, I can control it with my smartphone! Yay! The part I love about it the most is the BitFenix SofTouch finish and touch screen. I don't know why but it just looks badass! And with the price of 30€, hell yes you're coming to my build!

Mayhems Dye 15ml Dropper Bottle : UV Laser Green
Pulse Modding 99.9% Silver Kill Coil
Sealing Plug / Fill Port for 1/2" ID Tubing
Bitspower 1/4" Thread T Fitting with 3 Female 1/4" Threads

Long names with small products. Even though my tubing is green already, I will color the water with Mayhems Laser green as well so it looks badass in the reservoir as well. Bitspower T fitting and the Sealing plug are for the drain point of the loop. Thanks to manofchalk for the idea! 😀 sorry if I stole it 🙁
I was too afraid to open the tube for the Kill Coil because of it's name.

XSPC 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD (13-19mm) High Flex Tubing : Green

Last but definitely not least is the tubing. 3 meters of green tube. I hope it's enough for the whole loop. It definitely sounds a lot to fit in a computer case but then again it didn't look so long after all when I held it in my hands. Just have to remember to not cut the drain point too short!

Well that's about it. Any questions or suggestions? Feel free to shoot at me! I would love to hear if you have some suggestions for me. Here's a list of parts still coming in package #2:

- EK-D5 X-Top CSQ - Acetal pump top
- EK-Supremacy Acetal CPU-block
- 11x compression fittings
- 2x 45 degree fittings
- Green Shinobi logo for the case <3
- EK UNI Holder D5 for the pump
- SilverStone Strider Plus 600W

If I missed something or you suggest to get something more, just post below. I have plans to get all green wiring, BitFenix is selling colored cables but it's another 100€ basket so it will have to wait for a while.

edit: Thanks to my girlfriend for the new name: The Green Dragon! I love it!

 

[manofchalk]

Dis gunna be good 😀.

You should have received long and short screws with the rad. Short screws are if your mounting it directly to the case, long ones are for mounting fans on it. The screws that come with shouldnt damage the rad, thats more of an issue if you have 3rd party screws.

The size of water-cooling components is always surprising. I swear whenever I look at a barb fitting they get smaller, when your looking at pictures and thinking about it it gets to the point where your thinking them as the size of your thumb.

You stole nothing, I gave it away .
Not like I was the first to think of it either...

 

[jappe66]

Yeah I actually figured which screws to use to mount the fans and which ones to mount it to the case. I'm a bit worried at the moment on how I can mount the radiator to the top because I don't remember if there was holes already which I could use or if I need to drill holes there. Well there's that 230mm fan at the moment mounted somehow so there must be something to start with 😀

Just being worried as I can't find any pictures or videos at the moment to confirm and I will not be looking inside the case before I'm starting to build it. I'm hoping for the best 😀

Yeah the pictures can lie sometimes. The tubing was actually bigger than I thought it would be as well 😛

I'm already planning on getting GPU block for my GTX670 as well since it is very loud when using high capacity. But we'll see.

edit: I just watched a tutorial on how to install radiator on top and the guy was installing the fans on pull configuration. I will be doing a push, so there will be no fans between the radiator and the case. This is the part what I was a little scared off.

He said in the video that there's 30mm, 35mm and 10mm long screws with the radiator and the 10mm are used if there are no fans between. Well that's exactly what I'm doing so I would need 12x10mm screws but the radiator only came with 30mm and 35mm screws :/

I'm guessing I need to buy the 10mm screws separately now?

 

[inzone]

The screws for the radiator are very important and you want to make sure that you get the correct length so that the tip of the screw doesn't damage the fins and cause a leak. This has happened to many who do not pay attention to the screw length.

This now becomes the hardest pat, waiting for the rest of the parts so you can start building. Remember to take it slow and make it look good, plan each tubing run to make sure it's going to look good.
Looking forward to the finished product.

 

[jappe66]

Yeah I tested both of the screw lengths by putting a fan in place and seeing how far the end of the screw will come. The 30mm screws fit perfectly for mounting the fans. But the problem is the screws I need to mount it to the case.

The 35mm screws are definitely not the ones I should use for that. What makes me sad is I might need to order the screws from SpecialTech since they don't sell them in Jimm's...

But then again I could order black 30mm screws at the same time to fit with the black color of the radiator. Current screws are copper colored.

 

[jappe66]

Do these look like the right ones? The website sells parts for RC cars.

http://www.hobbylinna.fi/tuote/cap-head-screw-m3-x-10mm-(6pcs)/Z543/

 

[inzone]

Your link just goes to the main page and doesn't show any screws. I know that one time I needed some screws for a radiator and went to my local hardware store and bought some that fit.

 

[manofchalk]

Chances are whatever screws that come with the case will do fine, im thinking the ones that have a hex pattern on them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cross_slot_screw.jpg

If you want to be sure, I bet these will do fine.
http://www.hobbylinna.fi/tuote/binder-head-screw-m3x10mm-(6-pcs)/Z516/
Which seems to be the one you were trying to link too anyway.

Though apparently the rad has a "screw guard" to prevent anything happening if it is too long.

Even the dreaded (really Alphacool :lol insertion of a screw too far into the radiator does not result in expensive damage. Unlike other radiators, the NexXxos series is equipped with an internal protective ledge which stops the screw before it damages the fins.

http://www.alphacool.com/product_info.php/info/p975_Alphacool-NexXxoS-UT60-Full-Copper-360mm.html

 

[jappe66]

I have a decent amount of case screws so I might find some that fit without having to buy any. It's good to know there's that protection in the NexXxos so I won't kill it right away 😛

 

[jappe66]

I was able to find 14 pieces of black screws that look exactly like those you linked, manofchalk. They're very small so without measuring the screws they look like the 10mm ones so I think I'm good with them!

 

[jappe66]

I didn't think the first time I'm doing this it will go smoothly and I knew there will be problems but now I'm at a point where I need serious help...

Let's start with good news.

The second package arrived. It included the cpu block, pump top, fittings, pump holder and power supply.

I started tearing up the case piece by piece and I figured I should clean the dust filters more regularly.

First thing was to see how the radiator would mount to the top. I attached it up there with those screws I found (they fitted perfectly!) but then the sealing plugs appeared to be a little problem. Here is a picture about it.

You can't really see much from the picture but the plugs are on the way so I couldn't tighten the screws all the way since the plugs were already touching the white top and it would have started bending if I would have used force too much. Oh well I don't think it's an issue if the radiator will be mounted with 12 screws.

Looking so good so far, right?

The smartest of you reader(s) probably noticed what's missing. That's right, the fans! I wanted to see how I mount the radiator first without fans and then I would take it out, mount the fans and put it back, you know. Then I noticed this:

If you don't know what that is, it's me holding one of the three fans under the radiator. The freaking cpu power cable is on the way... It might look to be far away in the picture but actually there's like 1.5 inches space between the fan and the connector. So this won't work... I literally almost started crying when I noticed this. I started to think about moving the motherboard lower but it's not possible... I also checked for the possibility of using pull method by mounting the fans on the top but then the part from the case that will come on the top won't fit there...

I would love to hear a suggestion if anyone has. This radiator was actually surprisingly big 🙁 I can't fit it anywhere else either...

Another thing that I needed to ask about: how in the hell am I supposed to tighten those compression fittings around the tubing? Do I need to soften the end of the tube with hot water or something? I can get it tightened a little but not all the way (haven't tried with water yet).

Anyways I noticed I need to order more 45 degree adapter fittings to get the tubing done correctly. The radiator unfortunately didn't have holes at both ends on the bottom.

Now I need to plan mounting the reservoir also. I'm going to drill those 4 holes to the back of the case but I need to be absolutely sure on what position they will come. And maybe more fittings needed there as well.

Well at least I got one thing done! I changed the logo from the front panel 😛

 

[manofchalk]

You could remove the mesh on the top of the case (from the bit that clips onto the case proper) and mount the fans up there anyway. Would look ghetto as all hell until you can fashion some kind of shroud around it (make a 120x360mm hole in some sheet metal, hammer it down straight or bevelled and put in some holes so it can screw into the existing 230mm fan mounting holes. Just a thought 😛)
Or an alternative is to externally mount the radiator, will probably need some kind of bracket to attach it to the rear 120mm. Or have some kind of setup on top so the rad is mounted to the top of the case like Motopsychodjin (another water-cooler here) has done.

Are the compression's the correct size for the tubing?
TBH I'v always used barb fittings, so dont really know how to use compression's outside of videos.

45° adapters, who needs em?
Just have some zip ties on hand to prevent it from kinking and your fine. This is my rig BTW.

 

[jappe66]

Yeah both the tube and fittings are 13mm/19mm. Thanks for those tips! I actually decided to put the radiator to the front. Even though it's very long it fits there. Well after cutting a piece of the metal of the bottom of the 5.25" bay 😛

Didn't think I would have to cut anything but now that happened as well. Plans do indeed change a lot between the time of ordering the parts and actually building it.

Now I'm only thinking about if I should do push or pull. If I do push then I need to hide the LEDs behind the radiator but if I do pull then they are visible. Decisions, decisions...

I'm writing this from my phone but when I get on to my laptop I'll post a few pics on the current status.

 

[jappe66]

Some pictures about nex plan:

The wire jungle is from the fan controller.

I'm still a little unsure if all of the holes available in the radiator can be used as in or outlet. There's no mention of any kind anywhere about where water should come in and where it should go out. There was on EK's pump top very clearly but not on this Alphacool radiator 🙁
So my question this time is, can I use both of the holes shown in the image below to flush the water through the radiator? Other hole takes in and other pushes out. That would make my plan work if it's possible 😀

Here's a picture of the tubing and a compression fitting on it tightened as far as I could get it. Should it even go as far as when there is no tube attached? Am I doing something wrong here? 😀

And finally here's a little overview of the new plan. Pump will be placed on the bottom and it will fire the water up to the radiator which will travel the cooled water to cpu block and then it will come back down to the reservoir (attached on the back, above power supply) and the tubing will continue from there to travel back to the pump. Going right next to the power supply.

Unfortunately the cables that came with the power supply are very short. Atleast the 4-pin cpu power cable. I can't put it behind motherboard since it isn't long enough 🙁

 

[inzone]

It's very odd for the cables to be that short on a case that's a full tower, however they do make extensions that you can use to use to run the cables up behind the MB. If you don't get an extension there is a place that you can run the cables in the front. There is a space at the front of the video card and other cards that you can run a cable underneath the card up close to the back of the case.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=34_804_1096&products_id=34597-

 

[jappe66]

It's very odd for the cables to be that short on a case that's a full tower, however they do make extensions that you can use to use to run the cables up behind the MB. If you don't get an extension there is a place that you can run the cables in the front. There is a space at the front of the video card and other cards that you can run a cable underneath the card up close to the back of the case.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=34_804_1096&products_id=34597-

Yeah the cable was actually shorter than in my last power supply (Corsair 500W). I was planning on getting green BitFenix cable extensions when I get extra cash to spend. And of course I menat 8-pin connector 😀 I don't know where I got that 4-pin...

How about you inzone, do you know about compression fittings? Are they supposed to be like in the picture above? I'll see if I can notice something in a video or if there's a guide to compression fittings or something after I've watched tonights hockey match!

Schedule is to install cpu block today and tomorrow finish up the build. Have all day to build it

 

[inzone]

When you tightened the lock ring did you do so with your fingers or with pliers ? If tightening with your fingers only you will not get the ring l the way and if you use pliers then you risk scratching the ring or even possibly slipping and really making a mess of it. I speak from experience and several ruined compression rings.
The best option would be to use a piece of cloth between the pliers and ring to get it tighter and go very slow. I'm not entirely sure at what pint the ring is locked enough to prevent leakage, what you show in the picture may be enough but it would look better if it was all the way.

 

[jappe66]

When you tightened the lock ring did you do so with your fingers or with pliers ? If tightening with your fingers only you will not get the ring l the way and if you use pliers then you risk scratching the ring or even possibly slipping and really making a mess of it. I speak from experience and several ruined compression rings.
The best option would be to use a piece of cloth between the pliers and ring to get it tighter and go very slow. I'm not entirely sure at what pint the ring is locked enough to prevent leakage, what you show in the picture may be enough but it would look better if it was all the way.

I did that with fingers but had gloves on to get better grip. I actually couldn't open it anymore because it was so tight so I tried with pliers and they left an ugly mark 🙁 well that's my first ruined compression but only for looks (pliers scratched a little black paint away).

Thanks for the tips. I will try using a cloth between the pliers and the fitting.

How about the radiator? I actually don't know how it works or looks like on the inside so I don't know how the water goes inside. Is it possible to use the setup I described above?

 

[inzone]

On the end of the radiator where the outlets are you see what look like two separate sections and three ports on each. It's not marked because you use either side for inlet or outlet, but you do have to use the separate sides. Where the fins stop and you have the area where the ports are there is a V in between the ports and you can use that as a separator and have three ports on each side of the V. You put one fitting on each side and one will be the inlet and the other the outlet, doesn't matter which because it works the same from either side.

On the compression fitting that you messed up you can easily fix that with a small amount of paint or black nail polish, this is the good thing with using black fittings is they can be touched up. You can also use the fitting in a spot that's not easily seen, like the radiator in the front on the port that's toward the back.

 

[jappe66]

On the end of the radiator where the outlets are you see what look like two separate sections and three ports on each. It's not marked because you use either side for inlet or outlet, but you do have to use the separate sides. Where the fins stop and you have the area where the ports are there is a V in between the ports and you can use that as a separator and have three ports on each side of the V. You put one fitting on each side and one will be the inlet and the other the outlet, doesn't matter which because it works the same from either side.

On the compression fitting that you messed up you can easily fix that with a small amount of paint or black nail polish, this is the good thing with using black fittings is they can be touched up. You can also use the fitting in a spot that's not easily seen, like the radiator in the front on the port that's toward the back.

I'm relieved to hear that! Thank you. Yeah I will probably fix the compression fitting with black paint.

Now I'm trying to look for detailed guide to install EK Supremacy cpu block 😀 the documentation was quite clear and all but I'm still confused about where do I put the metal plate what was already on the back of the motherboard? Will it be the last piece again? I'll just throw in the rubber piece and the other metal piece (which is the same looking as the rubber one) between the original metal piece and the motherboard?

I saw a video where someone installed it on Intel's socket but they never showed the back of the motherboard in the video...

 

[inzone]

The metal piece on the back of the motherboard is not to be removed unless specified by the board manufacturer, the piece that comes with the block is to be installed over that and you can use the rubber piece as an insulator between the two pieces provided the screws are long enough. If your board came with a metal piece that has screw holes in it then you don't need the metal piece that came with the block.

 

[jappe66]

The original metal piece what came with motherboard has screw holes in it so I will just put the rubber piece between the original metal and motherboard. Thanks again!

 

[jappe66]

This is the documentation that came with the block: http://www.ekwb.com/shop/EK-IM/EK-IM-3830046990556.pdf

In STEP 5a it clearly tells me to use the rubber part and the metal part that came with the block. There's nothing about the original motherboard metal part. I tried mounting the thumb screws with the original plate but the screws only tighten like one circuit and then stop. Here's a picture to demonstrate:

Now when I did like in the documentation (rubber piece touches the motherboard and then the metal part that came with the block is behind that, this is how it looks like:

So I'm guessing I don't need the original metal piece after all. I wasn't able to tighten the screws at all when I used the rubber piece and the original metal part.

This is how the back looks like now:

It's weird that I wasn't able to find anything from Google about installing the Supremacy on AMD motherboard. Or something where the backplate would have been mentioned :/

 

[manofchalk]

Probably not as much documentation on the AMD mounting since as of late, most enthusiasts are using Intel. Its even gotten to the point with some water-blocks, they don't include the AMD mount to cut manufacturing and shipping costs, so you have to email the manufacturer and then they will then send you one.
We can only hope AMD pull off a miracle with Steamroller that's for sure, Intel needs some good competition. Though I have heard that "Green" AMD (the CPU guys) might just copy the "Red" (the old ATi guys) and there will be a Never Settle bundle on AMD CPU's.