Since I didn't spot any leaking in the leak test, I decided to give the machine a go. Everything certainly works fine, but I'm still not satisfied. Maybe because the tubing looks like a horrid mess and the fan wires look even worse? I ran Unengine to get a look at temperatures. The PWM setting in the BIOS for the pump is Silent (SpeedFan lists it at ~1450 RPMs) and my ambient temperature is 26.1C*. My water temps were about 31-32C and the GPU was around 39-40C. Those are certainly pretty decent temps and the noise was fairly non-existent.
The Lamptron controller seems to be reacting to the 3-fan hook-up fairly weirdly though. I've seen some wildly fluctuating values on it compared to the single hook-up for the 120x1 radiator. Is that just purely related to how it handles multiple devices on the same line?
I'm also a bit annoyed with the Koolance QD3. I thought that when I read that it was G1/4 threaded, that meant I could screw it into a G1/4 port. No, it has an
internal G1/4 thread on it. I just tossed one of my misthreaded compression fittings that I couldn't separate (without potential damage) on a tube to hold it on. :\
*Note: In case anyone translates 26C to Fahrenheit, yes it is really almost 80F up here. Even with most of the vents closed downstairs, most of the air from the AC doesn't get up here.
It will fit, you just haven't figured out the best way to do it. There's a lot of trial and error to make it fit together. Anyway, the back isn't the only place to install a 120mm radiator. Its possible to install it in the middle bottom partition.
I don't mean that it doesn't fit, but rather that it just makes everything more complicated.
I know... I know!

Although, arguably, both would have meant that I had to modify my case. I saw one guy drill a hole in the back to mount his tube reservoir in the 800D. I actually never expected to need to modify this case for the bay reservoir, but I definitely took a dremel to quite a bit of this thing. I also need to go out and buy some larger washers, because the small, flimsy ones that come with the reservoir aren't holding up on the back side of the 800D where those little nubs used to be.
Breaking fittings ain't as bad as it seems. Stripping the threads of the radiator, now that's gonna cause a lot of problems. Place the reservoir at the lowest point of your 5.25" bays. That should give it sufficient distance from the radiator and bend radius to prevent it from kinking. Also, make the tubing slightly longer to give it some slack. If you're using Monsoon fittings, it might be difficult. Standard hand tighten compression shouldn't be too difficult.
It has to go at the second lowest point because I'm one of those silly people that still clings to optical drives. Given the length of the optical drive, there's no way that it can go anywhere above the reservoir. It's not really that the hose is kinking, but rather that the clamps just aren't angled to go on straight because of the bend, and I really can't see it.
I am using Monsoon fittings.
Another way is to do it in reverse, affix the tube to the reservoir with fittings first before attaching it to the radiator. That should help with the visibility.
Don't call it a good idea till you've tried hard enough.
Heh, I think I should be clear and say that it's not a good idea
for me. I tend to be the type that just wants things to work, and as long as it doesn't really hamper me much, I'm fine it with. However, I've also always wanted to try water cooling, because I've found it interesting. I can tell you right now that as much I think that I can overclock this or that, I'll probably never do it.
Honestly, the messiness of the tubes is probably what bugs me the most. I took a photo of it:
http://i.imgur.com/komK6UU.jpg
I haven't really routed the wires or anything, so you can ignore those. I just tossed in a molex line for the time being, and I need to see what's up with the reservoir's power connector. It's having some issues with the pins staying seated. Oh, and I assume the little bubbles in the reservoir in
this photo is something that I should fix? They're just sort of... affixed to the front and back of the reservoir.