New System Cooling Plans

Avid6eek · #1 07-09-09, 11:38 AM

I've had this idea for a while, but I've just decided to give it a try:

I'm going to hook my PC up to the water supply in my house. To do this I'm going to have two hoses come up into my office through the floor from the basement. One is going to be the fresh water feed, and the other the drain.

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Pros:

1. My water is "free." Water meters are not a common practice where I live. The fee for water is included in your house city taxes. Since my taxes are going up this year, I'm going to use all the water I want. F$#k the man.

2. Stable incoming water temperatures. All of our water mains are at least 8ft below the ground, which gives them a relative stable cool temperature. The water comes in at around 65F this time of the year, and cools to around 50F during the coldest part of the year. This will give my system sub-ambient water temps all year round.

3. Cooler office. The main source of heat in my system is the CPU and graphics card. This heat will exit my house through a drain in my basement and will not be put into the surrounding air. This will reduce any costs associated with air conditioning my office during the summer, thus saving me money. To those who may complain that I'm wasting water, it is being offset by a lower carbon footprint. And how do you waste water anyways? Water is coming into my house, and the same amount is leaving.

Cons:

1. Condensation. Cold water lines sweat this time of the year since it is so humid. I'm going to have to find a way to deal with that.

2. My desktop will not be mobile since it was require a cold water hookup. My desktop never moves, so this isn't really an issue for me.

3. Leaks! A leak in a typical water cooling loop may result in you spilling a gallon of water. With an infinite supply of water, if a leak develops when I'm not around, things could get messy.

4. Pressure. Incoming water pressure is much greater than that produced by a 12v pump. I will have two valves in place to reduce the pressure of the incoming water supply, but accidents happen. I'm not sure what PSI tygon tube is rater for. I should probably look that up.
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In addition to the new cooling setup, I'm going to remove the heat spreader from my i7. It's not such an easy task since it is soldered on, but I'm confident I can still get it removed. This alone may lower my processor temps by 10C. My Swiftech Apogee GTZ is also going to be replaced by a more efficient block that can stand up to the higher water pressures. The water block restriction should be enough to reduce the water pressure in the remainder of the system to acceptable levels.

The project is already underway as of yesterday. I did some mods to an Antec 900 case for cable management and got it painted. I'll post some pics as soon as I have them. I probably won't have this whole project finished for a couple weekends. Work and classes keep me very busy during the week.

-Avid

Comixion · #2 07-09-09, 05:46 PM

YOu left out 1 pro and 1 con

Pro: AK will be jealous

Con: He will not approve

Nataku · #3 07-09-09, 05:50 PM

Yay! Someone is doing something cool and extreme again!

Avid6eek · #4 07-09-09, 05:50 PM

I don't think AK will be jealous. While I'll probabably have cooler summer temps, his winter temps once he gets his water cooling setup will be much lower than mine.

jdrom17 · #5 07-09-09, 08:07 PM

I'm fairly sure I've heard of similar plans elsewhere and the poster got a bunch of bad comments from people complaining about water wastage.

I'd say put it shut-off valves before it goes into your PC, then when you're away you can just cut the water (unless your PC has to run 24/7).

As for your tubing concerns, what would make this really pro is if you did all copper lines to everything

Of course, upgrading anything would be a bytch but it would look amazing if you did it well and kept the copper clean.

Avid6eek · #6 07-10-09, 12:47 AM

Here are some pics of the project starting to move along:

Antec 900 with the interior painted red:

Closer shot of the G.Skill Falcons. They fit nicely side by side in a 5.25 bay:

I've decided not to remove the IHS on my 920. Tuition is keeping me pretty broke lately and I can't afford to brick a $300 cpu at the moment.

jdrom17 · #7 07-10-09, 02:02 AM

So what happened to your TJ-07?

Avid6eek · #8 07-10-09, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdrom17

So what happened to your TJ-07?

I still have it. I'm slowly removing components from that, cleaning them, and installing them in the Antec. The TJ-07 will just get stored in my attic until I get bored with the Antec case.

jdrom17 · #9 07-10-09, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avid6eek

I still have it. I'm slowly removing components from that, cleaning them, and installing them in the Antec. The TJ-07 will just get stored in my attic until I get bored with the Antec case.

Rather odd switch, going from a high-end aluminum case to a cheap steel one

Avid6eek · #10 07-10-09, 01:46 PM

I find it fun to mod cases and make them a bit more personal. It's a bit hard to start the dremel up next to a $330 case. In my opinion, the Antec 900 has better airflow. While it isn't as pretty, it will get the job done for me just as well, if not better than the TJ-07 will. Desk space is also of a premium, and the Antec has a smaller footprint.

jdrom17 · #11 07-11-09, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Avid6eek

I find it fun to mod cases and make them a bit more personal. It's a bit hard to start the dremel up next to a $330 case. In my opinion, the Antec 900 has better airflow. While it isn't as pretty, it will get the job done for me just as well, if not better than the TJ-07 will. Desk space is also of a premium, and the Antec has a smaller footprint.

Fair enough, I've had my days with the 900 too. It was definitely a good learning experience and a fairly versatile case. I moved to my current aluminum FT01-BW a while back though.

I hated drilling the fillport and tubing holes in my FT01, brand new case and I had to drill holes in it. Sadly I should of measured a few extra times before drilling that fillport since it renders my top bay useless for a DVD-RW.

I really wish they made something in between mid-tower and full-tower. I don't need a menacing case but at times a mid-tower feels cramped.

Anyways, hurry up and get this project going

phill9800 · #12 07-11-09, 07:57 PM

So what will this gain you? A better overclock or something??