Build Log: Watercooling - Part 1

After removing the hard drive cage I am faced with the lower rail it was sitting on. Luckily it was easy to remove with a few turns of the screwdriver.

 

One of the two radiators. Yes. It's like a car. I know.

Radiator with fans underneath it (I'm holding it upside down).

Well, shit. This little metal piece in the center here (circled in red; click on the picture to blow it up) won't let me slide the radiator into position for the screw holes beneath. Unfortunately I can't remove this with a screwdriver, so I'll have to go out and borrow a dremel tool from Home Depot, tomorrow, and show it who's boss.

It's just the lower mount for the lower front fan, which makes it useless to me, since that is where the bottom radiator is going to be, so permanently removing it won't be any loss.

I went to work on the top radiator, but I ran into problems up there, too. I planned to put fans on both the top and bottom, since there is a separate compartment for the upper fans (later pictures will reveal). However, the bottom fans touch the motherboard, so they aren't going in. I'll be moving them into the bottom radiator (which originally was only going to have two of four possible fans attached to it.

Watercooling is definitely moving into mainstream, but these two issues I've had with mine show that it's still not quite there. Which is fine. I enjoy puzzles.

Build Log: GPU

It didn't disappoint. GTX 680 in all it's glory. Well, time to take it apart!

GTX 680 with the heat sink removed. All those screws were annoying, nothing could possibly go wrong now!

The waterblock and it's full copper-ness.

Okay, that was a pain in the ass. Thermal compound is annoying enough to work with... but with thermal pads it's even worse. I ended up cutting them wrong and the job was way too sloppy. It'll work for a bit, but I ordered some replacement pads and I'll be replacing them with the backplate once it arrives (accidentally shipped it to Minnesota). I intended to put it in later, but I suppose this is the part to do-over since I'll be working on it later. No big.

Thar she be. Attached. Onto the water cooling loop.

Build Log: Motherboard, CPU + waterblock

Motherboard is next. It's pretty well sized. The parts look nice and it sports my colors.

Onto the CPU, and it's 2011 gold contact pads, which I don't blame the camera for not picking up.

Removed the plastic placeholder to reveal the 2011 power pins.

The CPU locked into place.

Had to drive in some screws for the waterblock.

Thermal Paste. I hate this crap. It's just my inexperience talking but spreading this stuff can get messy surprisingly easy. I swear I don't know how it got on my wrists!

The waterblock attached. Going to wait until later to attach the barbs (the fittings that the tubes will fit onto). I decided to go with a full copper/brass material in my loop. All parts that transfer heat are copper, with some threads being brass (because the metal is stronger, it can resist thread ripping). It's convenient that the brass goes well with the red and black.

Alrighty. That wasn't so bad. Next up: The GTX 680.

Build Log: PSU

 Putting in the PSU (power supply unit) first will make my case grounded, once it is plugged in. This will allow me to use my static band to prevent any possible static discharge damage to my components.

It came in a nice package. Small bags for both the unit and the cables.

Mounted easily enough.

The back. Instead of a huge mass of cables, at some point they apparently made it where one only has to connect what one needs.

NZXT Switch 810 internal shots

Really is a neat case, I think.

The hard drive bays are on this rail and can be easily slid out after removing the thumb screws. I'll be removing the lower rails, as well, as that is where one of my radiators will be going.

Another neat little thing is that on the back of the hard drive bays there are adjustable fan mounts which can be angled to deliver extra air cooling to the back of the GPU and provide better air flow for the case as a whole.

Build Log: Project Astarot

All pieces have been acquired. Construction shall now commence. Several years of idle anticipation, two months of research and planning, and two weeks of hot, sweaty weather waiting to order the parts and receive them. It all comes down to a couple hours of careful work where one drop of sweat, one mismatched cable, or one built up electro-static shock can ruin a $200+ component. Time to get started.

It begins.

I never thought I'd be so excited to open up a box filled with a plastic rubber tube and 4 grams of grease.

But now, we can begin the build log.