Help me plan my Watercooling

sandeepb

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I'm not really looking to change my case but I want to able to fit my watercooling setup in my current case.

I'm going to be buying the Swiftech Apex Ultima H20 220 Kit (Just the CPU Loop) and well I'm having a hard time planning where the pump is going to go.

Here are pictures of the inside of my case from a review from techpowerup.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/iSolo_210/4.html

I have two 4850's blocking the bottom part (from the 3.5" bay below) as they were quite long, and well I don't know where to put the pump so the whole WC setup can take place.

I'm stressing my head on this just figuring it out, so would anyone guide me.

Another question is, I have two holes ready made on the case for tubes (bottom) and the rad will be placed on the rear of the case, but how will the tubes come from top, to bottom?

Thanks
 

rubix_1011

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What pump is in that kit? (I didn't go look it up) Is it the bigger 655/Laing pump, or is it the 355 or other pump? I have a decent size case (Gigabyte Aurora) and I found that I wanted to mount my hard drives in a 5.25 bay cooler with a 120mm fan and then removed the HDD cage. That's where I put my 655 pump.
 

sandeepb

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It is the MCP655-B so I guess the 655, I was thinking about removing my hard drive cage, but still need to think it through.
 

rubix_1011

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If you don't plan on getting 5.25 bay mounts for your HDD's, then yeah, you will probably want to keep your current HDD cage. Depending on how deep/wide your case is, you might be able to mount the pump closer to the case panel and still be able to route tubing around your graphics card. Just drop it in there and see what your clearances look like...don't do anything until you get it all planned out. Remember, that pump can be installed in any direction, so you can mount it to the ceiling of your case if you wanted.
 

rubix_1011

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You would rather the reservoir be a little higher to feed the pump initially, but in the long run, as long as the loop is bled and there is no more air in the lines, it really doesn't matter. Now, with that being said, it is kind of a 'chicken and the egg' situation with the fill/bleed scenario and the pump being at the top...

If you can swing it, figure out how to keep the pump lower than the res so its easier to prime/fill/bleed or utilize a T-line to feed the pump and then cap it off...this works well, also.
 

sandeepb

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OK then thanks for that, I'll probably get the res as high as i can then just at least bring the pump a little lower than it if i can.

Also can you explain what I would need to do before taking the cooling live, about getting rid of bubbles and air and so on...
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
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You will need to disconnect your PSU/motherboard 24pin connector and jumper it correctly. You can do it a couple ways, use a little Google and determine which ones exactly...I always have to double check, myself. You can use a short piece of wire or paperclip to do the job. This will power your 12v aux and about everything with a molex connector. Your CPU and board will not power up, but your drives, fans, lights, etc will spin...including your pump.

A good way to prime it is to get as much coolant into the line feeding the pump as well as the T-line or reservoir as you can, flip your power switch in the back, let the pump run and funnel in coolant slowly, or stop, fill and repeat. I have also used the siphon method by filling the res, and either blowing or sucking the coolant like a straw to prime as much of the loop as you can. This helps a lot, but depends on how your loop is configured.
 

sandeepb

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thanks for the tip, i'm getting my kit in april some time, and I will be doing a complete clean out of my case as well, removing any dust, and working on a cable management scheme as well.
 

What case do you have?

If taking everything out, consider painting the inside of the case (just for looks, not much functionality here). UV (needs UV light) + normal paint can really give some cool looks.
 

Conumdrum

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Okay, here is the skinny on building a loop.

Once all the stuff is there, cut a 3" piece of tubing and learn how to put it on a barb and clamp it. Better now than when it's in the PC. Exercize the clamps, open, close them a few times to make them smoother.

Barbs, tighten down to finger tight and 1/4 to 1/2 turn more. Look at oring, do it a few times to get the hang of it before it's in the PC.

Rad prep:: One of the most missed things. Boil sink water, let cool 5 min. Pour into rad filling it up, let sit 10 min. Drain 1/2 water or so, shake till your arms hurt, 3-4 min like a crazy man. Drain into a clear container. Do the rad dance again and again till the water from the rad is clear and no gunk once the water settles. Then do it two more times. NOW and only now is your rad 90% clean. No worries, the last 10% will come out in the next year or two when you redo your loop for maintenance. Oh and post a vid of ya dancin, be a fun thing to see. My wife asked me what the hell was I doing..........

Inspection: Open pump, look for gunk, packing material. Run sink water thru the blocks, pump, hose. Drain as well as you can, but don't freakaziod on draining. Inspect bottom of block, don't forget to remove the plastic cover!! Seen it done by pros, funny......

Inspect screws and holes, check they go together well first. Seen more than one bad HS screw broke in a bracket. Your rad screws might not work perfect, and DON"T put a screw through the rad, seen it done more than once.

Wash hands very well to remove any finger oils, in time it will stain your copper blocks. I wipe with alcohol before handling the stuff. Keep alcohol away from acrylic, it will crack it in time.

Install blocks on parts. Take it slow, even remove to check TIM contact if you want. Install hose, measure twice, cut once, make a bit longer if your worried, you can always cut it shorter. Dry mount everything, and inspect all clamps etc. Take a walk, watch a movie. Then inspect it again.

Unplug PSU from everything except pump. Turn PSU and wall power off. Jumper the 24 pin PSU connector green and ANY black wire. Insure PSU is off. Connect pump to PSU.

Add liquid to res till full. Turn PSU on, it should run dry in a second or two, turn PSU off. It's called bumping the pump. DO NOT LET PUMP RUN DRY, ceramic bearings needs water to stay cool. Fill res, do it again, and again till water is in the loop. Watch closely, a big bubble can hit the pump and no water. Then bumping the pump, tapping hoses, turning case etc till your sure you got solid water flow. Keep an eye on it for 15 min or so, then check every 15 or so to make sure the res has water to almost full and pump is running. Pump might make a whooshing noise as bubbles get pulled through it, no worries. Put paper towels around EVERY fitting, laying below the CPU block, below the pump etc, check in an hour.

If you get water/liquid all over the place, the parts need to be taken out (meaning Mobo, GPU etc), rinsed in alcohol, lightly scrubbed with a toothbrush, compressed air AND if possible blow dryed very very well on LOW heat, then left to dry for at least 24 hours. Pay close attention to the PCI slots if they get full of liquid. Compressed air helps a lot to blow them out.

By now it's late in the day, very late. Go to sleep with it running, check in the morning. Time to bump the pump, twist and turn, pinch a tube, tap rad SIDE with a screwdriver handle to break bubbles loose. Inspect the paper towels, turn it back on, run for an hour, inspect with a bright flashlight and bits of paper towels on every connection (barb and oring). No leaks? Turn er' off.

Connect Mobo and boot er up, go to bios immediately and check CPU temp. If good, boot up and check with your fav proggy, then load er' up and revel in the coolness of water and the quiet.

It could take a few days for the last of the bubbles to go away. Depending on your flow rate etc. Bumping the pump, tapping rad/hoses, pinching hose for a sec or two helps. Don't fret unless your temps are bad.

For a first time WC'er, better safe than sorry. I don't get this anal anymore, but my first time, I started Friday night, and finished Sunday. I was this careful and it's been great WC since.


 

tricecold

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I had couple of lead issues, It is crucial to use coolant liquid cos they are not conductive, My sound card stopped working once due to some kind of rusting occured in pci slot soundcard was not working but the systems keeps working due to non-conductive liquid yet its still scary.

PS: If an oring doesnt squeeze even between the bolts dont thing it wont leak cos it will..
 

sandeepb

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Thanks for the great little guide there, I would've never cleaned out the rad and just started filling it up. Well I will be installing it in my Antec 1200 when it arrives, so there will be no components inside it, just an empty case to house the setup. I'll try everything you done in order and I'll have to think about the rad dance lol.

Thanks again
 

Conumdrum

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From a guy who has been in the trenches, to once who is due to jump in:

Come say hi at OC forums, I'm the same name there.

And I'm not sure what Tricecold was saying. He means well.