Project EVO 2 - Water Cooling to the Extreme

[mav2000]

Project Evo - Update - Carbon Fiber Interior Done 03/11

Hi guys,

Welcome to my new build thread.

After Evolution 1, I admit, I am completely addicted to water cooling and upgrading (damn these forums). And the result of that is.....

And I keep justifying it to myself, saying that every man needs a hobby, which can block out the tensions of daily life.

With that introduction out of the way, lets get down to what we plan to do in Project ***** 2. Project ***** 2 is going to be pretty long drawn out, as I want to take the time to think and work on each and every part before I go for the final build.

As of now only a few of the main components are with me and some more is on the way. The rest of the parts will be ordered as and when time permits and as and when ideas keep coming up from you guys. So please feel free to chip in with as many ideas as possible and I will try and discuss what is possible and incorporate it to the best of my ability.

I want to first thank our sponsors for helping out on this build and for always supporting our work:

I spoke to Asus about this build a couple of days back, while discussing forth coming reviews. Asus came back to me a few days later with an offer I just could not refuse.

So enter, the two main components of this build

The Asus Crosshair IV Formula

AND

ASUS 5850 Voltage Tweak

The second sponsor of this build is Coolermaster. I have worked closely with CM in the past on a number of reviews and I hope I can grow this relationship further with this build.

Cooler master Silent Pro 700W

AND

???????

We are still to decide on the chassis and I will update it as soon as I am clear on this.

The rest of the main components will consist of:

1. AMD 1090T 125 W - AMD Phenom

2. Team Xtreem 2000 Mhz CL9 - Team Group Inc

3. Scythe Gentle Typhoons 1850 - Scythe "GentleTyphoon" 120 mm Silent Case Fan

4. MDPC X Sleeving - MDPC-X International
Most of the water cooling will be taken from my existing rig but there will be a few new additions. I will keep you guys posted on it as soon as I get some more clarity and the final look and feel that I would like to go with.

I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I have purposely left out the color scheme for the time being. I think it makes more sense to show it to you guys once its in.

Please feel free to post your opinions and lets get this build started soon.....:cheers:

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

Now getting back to the work at hand. I am sure a lot of you would have read about the NB/PWM area heating issues that Asus had with the CH IV when it first came out. Now, we being in India, the newer batches never landed here and I thought I would take a quick look beneath the heatsinks to make sure that all was fine.

A quick look at the heatsink contact areas told me that it was not and I could have had a potential problem somewhere down the line.

So off came the old thermal pad and I replaced it with some stuff that I had got from EK earlier. I also shaved down the contact nuts a bit, to make sure that it fit like it was supposed to. Also changed the stuff on the NB and SB and added some MX2.

And screwed the heatsink back in.

Then got on to removing a few stickers.

And that my friends completes the update for day 1.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

So where have all our water coolers and overclockers gone...or for that matter our AMD boys...no one interested?.....funny.

 

[nikolain]

Corsair 700D or 800D

 

[toolius]

Excellent Build log Mav bro

Got something in the works along the same lines...

Cant wait to see how this evolves !! That Board looks sooo nice. I love the new Asus Red & Black paint scheme !

That thermal pad issue seems to affecting a lot of ROG boards these days. I hope Asus has made the necessary changes to fix that problem and from what i hear the new batches of boards dont have this issue. Guess they did Fix it

I have 2 Rampage 3 Extremes incoming and i know this is going to have to be done to them also. Had done the same thing to Anks Board too. NB used to sit at 70 Deg C otherwise.

Cant wait to see more !!

NEED MOAR PICS !!!

Cheers and kind regards bro !!

 

[mav2000]

Toolius, good to see you here. Well unluckily I dont have the access to the kind of parts that you have and specially not the number of parts that you have.

But this is going to be the best that I can do without cutting any case or heavily modding it. I hope u guys enjoy this mod as much as I do.

On another note, am thinking about which 360 rad to go for, so any help on that will be great. Chh=eers and look forward to your build as well.

 

[nikolain]

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/xsrx3xrare2.html

 

[toolius]

Awesome stuff ! its not about the hardware bro.. its about the passion and that you have in bucket loads :thumb:

This build is looking like its going to be beautiful !!:lick: and knowing you it will be

I take it you are going to be using 1850 rpm GT's ? If you are bro then most rads will respond to them very well.

XSPC RX360 Rev2 is brilliant upto 1500-1800rpm( best rad for silence+ performace). Hwlabs Gtx 360 ( my fav performace rad ) rules at 1800 rpm and above. If i remember correctly from skinee's tests , the Gtx 360 can dissipate over 1100 watts of heat with a 10 Deg Delta at only 2800 rpm. Thats a lot of heat dissipation from just a triple. The Sr1 but the sr1 responds better with low rpm fans and kinda tails off its performance past 1400 rpm. The MCR series is definitely the budget king. Top line performance for a very nice price

The TFC isnt worth it imho and neither is their new Admiral series. There are rumors that those are made from Aluminum and that's just a recipe for disaster.

The new Thermochill TA series seem promising but will wait for Skinee,Bundy etc to finish their round of tests before getting one of those. They have a very high bar set by the legendery PA series that they must best so lets see. I like the fact that they have finally gone to G1/4 threads on the rads !!.

One things though that i kinda dont like are that they reduced the tube count in the rad from 12 to 11 on the new TA's although we still have to see if that made a difference , and i preferred their old glossy finish , but that's personal taste and not really a negative.

When im stuck ( happens quite often ) what i do is look at hard numbers

Here are a few charts taken from skinee's site bro :-

Skinnee Labs | Triple Radiator Comparison V2

Watts of heat dissipated by each rad at preset RPM's :-

















Hope this helped !

Cheers and kind regards bro !!

 

[mav2000]

Thanks buddy...looking at the second graph I think I need to look at either the xspc rx or the black ice gtx.the gtx is way moe expensive as well

...anyway will figure it out soon...thanks and cheers

 

[Harshal]

Nice...

good luck!

 

[mav2000]

Thanks man...........

 

[mav2000]

Ok, so heres a list of what I have and what I have ordered:

1. MCP 355

2. EK Black top

3. EK 150 res

4. EK CPU WB

5. EK 5850 WB

6. Black Ice GTS 240

7. XSPC RS 120

8. EK and Bitspower fittings, very few angled fittings

What I have received as part of the new order:

1. Clear XSPC 7/16"tubing

2. Mayhems Dye

3. Some extra fittings

What I have ordered:

1. Black Ice GTX 360

2. Koolance Drain Valve

3. Male to Male rotary adaptor

Other stuff on the way or with me for the new build:

1. MDPC Sleeving

2. Sleeving tool

3. Scythe Kaze Server Fan controller

4. Lots of small bits and pieces for wire routing

Whew, thats a long list....

 

[mav2000]

So, couple of packs landed in the last few days, but most of the main build stuff is still to come. But here are a few updates...I will put up some pics of the sleeving tools that I am using sometime soon.

I am sure you all know what this is.

And finished the first set of cables...both the 6 pin GPU connectors

Oh and the background is a couple of sq ft of carbon fiber film...lets see if I can finally use it in this build. And you guys finally have an idea of the colors for the build.

 

[rakesh_sharma23]

This is cool .... Very nice sleevings.

 

[mav2000]

Thanks Rakesh....need your help as well buddy....

 

[mav2000]

Heres the 8 Pin...DONE:

This is hopefully much better. And a pic of the tools:

The pliers are side cutting pliers and help to cut the sleeve very cleanly. And my trusty staples and flat head screwdriver for those pins that wont come out with the tool. This works very smoothly as well.

 

[mav2000]

The case is going to be in this week or max next week beginning. So get ready fr some updates.

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---

So the case finally came in today.

First removed all the extra plastic parts. To basically see how this is going to work. Removed each and every thing that could be done with a screw driver and also attached the wheels. This makes it much more convenient when modding. Though it does not fit under my desk...will have to see about that. I also removed all the extra wiring that I will not be using for the time being.

Then a quick look at one sleeved wire on the top panel:

Quite a few wires to sleeve, but since we dont have to remove any pins, it went quite fast.

So heres the finished job:

Was not able to finish off the USB ones today...but will work on that soon.

 

[mav2000]

Ok so here goes the update:

First off a fan filter that I got made for the bottom area. Now this build is going to be a negative pressure build, so all areas where air can enter need to be properly covered. This is DEMC Filters made by and can be directly ordered from them in South Africa. One of the best filters that I have used till date.

And for the main update of the day.

Heres a roll of what was used. This is some nice Carbon Fiber Vinyl. As you can see its some good quality stuff with a 3D effect.

And it was a real PITA to get it all in:

I have done the bar near the ODD's and the main mobo tray.

Now to wait for the rest of the stuff to come. My package from PPCS has reached India, but is still stuck with customs....hopefully this weekend we should be able to finish most of it.

Anyway I wonder where all the TE ites are gone...no one interested???

 

[RD274]

WOW ... that carbon fibre lining looks really really really good inside the cabinet. Thats a really nice idea. Where can you get that kind of carbon fibre roll and for how much?

Btw, I'm certainly interested but perhaps you could hurry things up? I'm curious to see what you're gonna do next ....

 

[mav2000]

Thanks man...I got a pretty big roll of the stuff off ebay for around 20 odd dollars shipped.next up will be some more sleeving and a few more mods

 

[viralbug]

Wow! Awesome stuff there man! Looks like a lot of hard work being put in. Would love to see how it finally turns out.

 

[Amey]

Very nice work.Keep it up
The build is looking interesting.Just one suggestion, keep the watercooling restricted to CPU and GPU.Don't bother with the NB and SB,not needed IMHO.
Best of luck with the build.