Now that Celtic Spirit again is being placed on indefinite hold, and bringing DreamCatcher into the realm of AM2, I?m again looking at water-cooling.

Major components:

Case: Ultra ?Hybrid? MX6
Mobo: Abit NF-M2 nView
CPU: AMD 4000+ Brisbane
GPU: evga 8800GT Superclocked

The reason I think W/C?ing will be required is the fact that I will be oc?ing the mobo assembly and it is a SFF system. All of the testing so far has been on air in the open chassis environment of my Tech Station. When ambient air is around 18C the CPU doesn?t go above 50C but this is with the hsf?s 80mm at about 3900 - 4000 rpm with 2 additional 120s at low rpm blowing across the board. However when ambient goes to 24-25C the cpu jumps up to the 54 ? 58C range and that?s with the 80 going around 4600rpm and the 2 120s at max. And the GPU hasn?t even been added to the ratio yet! The MX6 while having better airflow than the original MicroFly is still limited to 1 x 80mm in and 1 x 120mm out stock.



I?m looking at using Aqua Computer components using an Aquaduct 240 PRO Mark II as the starting point. This will place the ?big? stuff outside, avoid clutter in an already small case, and simplify a lot of issues.

What I would like for y?all to help me with is routing and connector suggestions. The plan is to use 6 x 8 tubing. At a minimum I?m looking at cooling the CPU and GPU with the possibility of the NB. The NB cooler on the nView is Abit?s OTES design I would also have to cool the voltage regulators as well.

So this is what I had in mind:
CPU: Cuplex XT di
GPU: AquagraFX 8800
NB: Twinplex XT di
Mosfets: Abit OTES Mosfet cooler

In theory what would be the most efferent order in piping the above components? Also I guess straight fittings are preferred over angled. It is realized once inside the case that may have to change just because of their locations. I dummied up some pics (need to invest in a cheap CAD program!!) as a rough reference.



The following pictures are for reference only as they are from the 939 build, but surprisingly the main component locations are very close between the abit and the biostar. It shows the lack of room and possible tube routing issues.



Another idea I had is based on the fact the MX6 has a mobo tray that forms part of cases rear. The idea would be to place bulkhead with disconnects (if the exist) there. This way, again in theory, nothing internally would have to be disconnected when removing the mobo tray.



But it didn?t take long for my first major crash and burn!! Was reviewing some pics from DreamCatcher build and it looks like the AquagraFX 8800 isn?t going to fly. Most of the full cover coolers are being built with SLI in mind so the in/out ports extend beyond the edge of the gpu.



Well my friend that area is occupied by the PSU in the case!



So it looks like I need another option for this one??maybe a chipset only type and in trying to keep it single slot one that has the in/out ports parallel to the board. Something maybe like the Swiftech MCW60-R maybe? As I have a lead on an interesting heat sink that will take care of everything else in mind??had found it back in the ?on air? design. These bolt on and do not rely on pads or epoxy!



Only problem is finding them!! According to the designer they are supposed to be at ChilledPC, Petra's, and Sidewinder. The only ones I can currently find are at ChilledPC.

It would seem that I will be going with the Swiftech MCW60-R for my GPU because of the lack of space, however???. the plastic barbs kinda scare me. Does anyone have any input/experience with this unit?? Are the barbs screwed or glued in place?

Quote: Originally Posted by jedihobbit It would seem that I will be going with the Swiftech MCW60-R for my GPU because of the lack of space, however???. the plastic barbs kinda scare me. Does anyone have any input/experience with this unit?? Are the barbs screwed or glued in place?

its a great block, one of the best. the barbs unscrew and you can put in your own. Im using the plastic barbs on my res, they work fine.

Quote: Originally Posted by killert its a great block, one of the best. the barbs unscrew and you can put in your own. Im using the plastic barbs on my res, they work fine.

Ive got a black MX6 case (off topic guys... sort of) considered watercooling it and looking forward to following this log but for the time being Im pushing an AM2 64 CPU (5600+) and trying to find a good fan that will fit in the thing without chopping the case to hell.

I noticed your previous worklog your side has a silver bar as a cross support mine has a piece of aluminum that actually rides from the side to @ 2.5 inches inward.. suggestions?

It may be a little off topic but it reminded me how out of date this thread is and the fact I haven't been here in a while!!

When I did my origianl modding Ultra had their forums going and had a contact there that was able to get me another rod like the one on the PSU side. However, before that I was going to use a threaded rod from the local hareware store. While it doesn't look as "sexy" it will get the job done. On the back side I would find an "acorn" nut to looked finished and then just use a lock washer and standard nut in front to add the tension and it will be hidden by the cover.

Hope that answers your question! Also after the honey dos I'll up date several of the worklogs I have.

It has begun!!!!

This arrived first of the week from our side of the pond.......



Along with 4 x and 2 x

And now that paypal finally got off of their a** and posted my funds [MMM]slame will shipping me soon

1 x Twinplex Pro for FX8800 #23397
1 x Aquaduct 240 PRO mark II #11205
2 x G1/8 Ball Valve #90023
4 x Plug & Cool Straight Fitting - G1/8 #90002
4' - 5' x clear plug & cool tubing (#61003)

Sadly I had to drop the following due to financial needs and the $US to Euro exchange rate:

1 x Abit OTES Mosfet cooler #26010
1 x twinplex XT di #24152
4 x Plug & Cool Straight Fitting - G1/8 #90002

Since everything has been selected and will be getting into the building / install part might as well head over to DreamCatcher v2.0's work log for the rest!