Modded my Antec P180 and added WaterCooling

[thilanliyan]

I decided to watercool my CPU but wanted to keep everything internal so I had to mod the top of the case to accept the dual radiator that I wanted to put there. I used a dremel tool with a tunsten carbide cutting bit and cut it how I wanted it and then used files to get a smooth finish. The rad mounted fine but one of the fans JUST touches the 4-pin ATX power connector on my motherboard so that was a bit of a squeeze.

I also wanted to remove some more heat around the video card area as well as provide some fresh air to that area so I put 2x120mm fan holes there...they are mounted slightly apart. I was able to do this with the help of my friend's dad who has some nice tools 🙂. I originally wanted the fan closer to the GPU fan blowing IN, and the other one blowing out, but I found because of some weird airflow-induced sound (trust me I tried many different fans/speeds and mounting positions and it always gave off the same sound), it was just too annoying so I have both fans blowing out now. The card idles and loads about 4C-5C lower than before so I'm fairly happy with it.

This is the WCing setup:
D-tek DB-1 pump (very quiet pump btw)
D-tek Fuzion CPU block
HW Labs GT Stealth 2x120mm rad with 2x Yate Loon fans
Swiftech MCR-res (the lower barb is not perfectly horizontal unfortunately so the o-ring is compressed unevenly but it hasn't leaked so far)
Tygon tubing (much better than what I've used before but expensive)(I've never used Clearflex though)
Swiftech tubing coils
Distilled water with D-tek Supercool additive (I don't like the yellow colour though)

Here are some pics of everything:
case
case
vents
http://i53.photobucket.com/alb.../thilan29/P8190340.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/alb.../thilan29/P8190342.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/alb.../thilan29/P8190344.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/alb.../thilan29/P8190345.jpg
http://i53.photobucket.com/alb.../thilan29/P8190346.jpg

About the CPU temperatures, my E6400 now idles at around 43-44C at 1.3875v (set in BIOS) and loads at around 55-56C with ambients around 27-28C and the Yate Loon fans at a "default" voltage(ie. I just plugged it straight to a molex connector). Are those good temperatures? I actually though they would be lower. I know that I put more TIM (AC MX-1) than I usually would...could that have a drastic effect on temps?

I have the resevoir in that position mounted with velcro and that way I can actually swing it out and top it up if I need to.

Also I'd like to thank aigomorla for his WC noob guide and also for answering several questions I had.

Any comments or suggestions?

 

[CurseTheSky]

That idle sounds a little high for what you're running, but it depends a LOT on the room temperature, where the computer is located (if it's stuffed under a desk, all of the air down there may be too restricted / hot), etc.

When I built my computer near the beginning of winter last year, I was able to keep a 3.4GHz overclock at an amazing 28-30C idle. Load was usually in the very high 30s or low 40s at worst. During the summer, things changed. I lowered my voltages to lower temperatures, and was forced to down-clock to 3.2GHz to regain stability. Even with the lower voltage and clock speed, I still had idle temps of high 30s to low 40s, and loads of up to 53ish. Now that the weather is getting cooler again, idle / load are dropping once again.

The point isn't to restate the obvious, but rather to point out that your component temperatures are HIGHLY affected by the room's ambient temperature - much more so than many people realize. Furthermore, your ambient case temperature can vary a lot from other people. Someone running two 8800 series cards in SLI with some high-volt memory and only one exhaust fan will definately have heat issues.

 

[thilanliyan]

I think my ambients are fairly high at 28C, and it IS in sort of a corner.

Also, my rad fans are actually blowing air OUT instead of pulling fresh air in. I did this because I didn't want so much dust clogging up the radiator.

Considering those things, I guess my temps are alright.

 

[WoodButcher]

Nice work! Get a grill for the top to protect and pretty the rad. Yes, if your room temp is 72-75f I would expect better temps. I would turn all your case fans in but for the rad and power supply fans. This will speed up the air through the rad. I noticed one of the side vents blowing out, switch the rear to intake as well. I'm not sure if the rear would draw warm air in from the psu / vid or not, if it is excedingly warm at the back of your pc you could disable that fan, possibly even tape it over and that vent also. What I'm suggesting is to control the air so that your rad gets more cool outside air. BonzaiDuck could help you here.

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: WoodButcher
Nice work! Get a grill for the top to protect and pretty the rad. Yes, if your room temp is 72-75f I would expect better temps. I would turn all your case fans in but for the rad and power supply fans. This will speed up the air through the rad. I noticed one of the side vents blowing out, switch the rear to intake as well. I'm not sure if the rear would draw warm air in from the psu / vid or not, if it is excedingly warm at the back of your pc you could disable that fan, possibly even tape it over and that vent also. What I'm suggesting is to control the air so that your rad gets more cool outside air. BonzaiDuck could help you here.

I've ordered a HEXX grill from FrozenCPU for the top cause yeah I'd like to protect that rad.
The air coming out of the side vent is actually somewhat hot and it is a hotspot I noticed before right near the end of the 8800GTS, that's why I have it pulling out. I would LIKE to put the other fan as an intake but as I said it creates this really annoying noise so I have it blowing out as well.

 

[PCTC2]

Those temps seem really high. I used to have an Ultra120 on my E6400 in around the same ambients @ 3.6GHz 1.49v and my temps were idle around 40C and load around 58C.

 

[Miramonti]

Very nice cuts on the case. :thumbsup: What did you use?

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: PCTC2
Those temps seem really high. I used to have an Ultra120 on my E6400 in around the same ambients @ 3.6GHz 1.49v and my temps were idle around 40C and load around 58C.

See when I had my Ultra-120 it would idle at around 55-56C and load at around 66-67C so this is an improvement for me (with a low speed fan though). I checked the heatspreader with a razor blade, it seemed fairly flat to me. I'm using AC MX-1 TIM and from what I've read that's one of the better ones so I'm not sure why my temps aren't that great...maybe I put too much...or maybe the TIM hasn't cured yet.

Originally posted by: jjsole
Very nice cuts on the case. :thumbsup: What did you use?

I used a dremel with cutting bit + files for the top, and for the side my friend's dad had something like a drill press where the drill bit stays still and you move the part that holds whatever you're drilling. I can't remember what that machine is called. It's something you'd find in a tool&die maker's shop.

 

[drakore]

glad u are happy with the DB-1... i have 2 kicking around now... got a second one for free from danger den...

hmmm didnt u look at the swiftech mcr220qp?

 

[aigomorla]

your radiator might not be fully bled. Top mounted radiators with the barbs pointing down are very difficult to bleed properly. You need to tilt the case to make sure your completely bled.

Try to see if that helps.

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: drakore
hmmm didnt u look at the swiftech mcr220qp?

I needed something fairly thin..and the GTS was cheaper so I just went with that.

Originally posted by: aigomorla
your radiator might not be fully bled. Top mounted radiators with the barbs pointing down are very difficult to bleed properly. You need to tilt the case to make sure your completely bled.

Try to see if that helps.

Ahhh...I see...that would explain why I hear bubbles whenever I turn my system on and off even though I let it run by itself for a long time. Thanks I'll give it a shot.