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Rated: 100% (8 votes)
Loading ...Overclocked Orange
mremulator
** 25/05/09 Overclocked Orange For Sale **
I’m currently planning my next build and have decided to sell Overclocked Orange.
The rig can be found for sale on eBay and the trading forum over @ WCUK.
It’s been emotional.
** Final Update 10/05/09 - Finishing Touches/Upgrades **
Being a bit of a perfectionist, I decided to replace those horrid orange (pink) Akasa DayGlo SATA cables. I managed to find some rounded, black and short (30cm) SATA cables. They blend into the background and you can hardly see them… much neater.
The biggest upgrade so far is the installation of 3x Intel X25-M 80GB SSD drives. I was a little sceptical at first, however, the sheer performance boost of these three drives in RAID0 has simply blown me away!
Check out the ATTO I/O results below:
I also ordered a StarTech.com backplane from the States for the SSD’s. It holds up to 4x 2.5″ HDD’s in a single 5 1/4″ bay! It’s hot-swappable and lockable too. The quality, features and ease of installation make this a great addition to the case.
Finally, I wanted to replace the 3x ugly 5 1/4″ drive bay blanking plates and add some active cooling for the Samsung F1’s mounted behind.
I fitted a Scythe Kama-Bay and added another Xigmatek 120mm orange fan to match the rest of the case fans. I think the front of the case looks much better now!
Anyway, this build is finally finished, I honestly can’t think of anything left to do now. Time to move on to my next build.
A couple of final benchies:
Right click - View Image, for full sized image
72.16 FPS in Crysis WARHEAD & 35.8K in Vantage!
** Update 26/04/09 **
People keep asking me why I chose to use 6x 90 degree fittings on my 3x GTX 280 waterblocks? Well… the Aqua Computer blocks come with holes only in one side. In addition, their Twin-Connect kit can’t be used in a Tri-SLI configuration… apparently. I have also been criticized over @ ExtremeSystems for using these “restrictive” 90’s. So I decided to have another look at using the Aqua Computer Twin-Connect kits.
The problem is finding a fitting small enough (10mm) to bridge the gap between the waterblocks. Variable SLI connectors are way too long, stubby SLI fittings have virtually nothing for a hose/clamp to grip to, and G1/4″ male-to-male fittings can’t be used, as when they tighten the cards are facing in opposite directions! Tighten the fitting any further and the thread starts to strip on the Twin-Connect derlin top. Anyway, I finally came accross a fitting made by Swiftech called the “SLI250″, which looked perfect for the job. Acording to swiftech the distance between the o-rings when the fitting is fully compressed is 11.6mm. However, it’s closer to 10mm when the o-rings are compressed… perfect!
I was also lucky enough to be the first person in the UK to get hold of the new Bitspower AIX58NSE Black Freezer waterblock for the Asus Rampage II Extreme. However, I was not very happy with the rough nickel finnish, so I decided to do something about that…
Before
After
Fitted
I also fitted Bistpower MOFSET waterblocks and tidied up the hoses and made a few improvements…
I also swapped out my i7 940 for an i7 920 (D0 stepping) CPU… 4.20Ghz @ only 1.312V Prime/LinX stable!!
Right click - View Image, for full sized image.
Finished… well almost, saving up for 3x Intel 80GB SSD’s now LOL!
** Update 27/02/09 **
I finally plucked up the courage to lap my i7 940 CPU. I started off with 800 grit wet & dry paper, then 1000 grit, 1200 grit, 1500 grit & finally a very small amount of Autosol.
Personally, I prefer to lap dry… 30 repetitions, then rotate the CPU 45 degrees, followed by another 30 repetitions, until I have done a full rotation. I repeat this 4 times for each different grit.
Materials needed
CPU Prepped
After 800 grit
After 1000 grit
After 1200 grit
After 1500 grit
After a few applications of Autosol and thoroughly cleaned with IPA
Steve from Acota (see comments below) kindly sent me 2x bottles of Fluorinert FC-77 for testing.
3M™ Fluorinert™ Electronic Liquids are part of a family of fully-fluorinated compounds known as perfluorocarbons, or PFCs. For more than forty years, Fluorinert liquids have been used as heat transfer media for direct contact cooling, automated testing, reflow soldering, etching, CVD and more.
Fluorinert liquids offer:
* Excellent dielectric properties
* A wide range of boiling points
* Good materials compatibility
* Low toxicity
* Non-flammability
* Zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)
Application:
* Heat Transfer
* Gross Leak Testing
* Particulate cleaning
* Vapor Phase Soldering
Results:
I decided to drain my CPU loop and refill it with Fluorinert before lapping the chip, as I wanted to see how it compared to regular PC ICE.
Due to the ambient temperature differences in my computer room, I can’t really say with 100% certainty if the 2°C drop in temperature I witnessed could be attributed to the Fluorinert, however, it certainly looks promising! In addition, I no longer have to worry about what would happen in the event of another leak, as the Florient is non-conductive. I have no idea how the manufacturers of the well known/popular/cheaper PC cooling fluids can claim that their coolants are non-conductive, when they are not? I can’t really justify the cost of using Fluorinert, however, if you want the best solution and peace of mind…
More info on Fluorinert:
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?66666UuZjcFSLXTtMXfamxz6EVuQEcuZgVs6EVs6E666666–
The lapping results are dissapointing so far; cores 1 & 4 are actually running 1°C hotter. However, core 2 is 1°C cooler and core 3 is 2°C cooler. I’m hoping this is simply down to the fact that the thermal paste needs a few errr… thermal cycles. I’ll know in a day or two.
** Edit 02/03/09 **
As suspected, temps on all cores have dropped by a further 2°C. Therefore, lapping (and possibly a combination of using Fluorinert) has given me between a 1°C & 4°C yield.
** Update 25/02/09 **
Overclcoked Orange on the BBC:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7908141.stm
** Update 13/02/09 **
Thanks to the lovely people at CPC Magazine, I have been contacted by the BBC, asking if I would like to be filmed for a feature they are doing on PC modding!
The guys from Water Cooling UK will also be coming down to London next week for the day for filming… should be lots of fun! Stay tuned.
I have also finally spray painted the Mofset heat sinks on my Asus Rampage II Extreme to match the rest of the build.
All finished now:
** Update 01/01/09 **
Happy New Year!
I’ve been having problems getting 4.20GHz stable (21×200 with HT/Turbo enabled), so I have opted for a stable 4.0GHz (21×190 HT ON/Turbo OFF) and much cooler temps (28-34c idle & 45-72c load). The CPU only runs at 72c when running small FFTs for hours on end (torture testing). People claiming a “stable” 4.0GHz (20×200/Turbo OFF) and 4.2GHz (20×200 Turbo on) for a 21x multiplier are either very lucky, or are possibly not telling the whole truth. Yes, I can bench at 4.2GHz with my i7 920, however, when I tried to run prime95 (small FFTs) the PC would blue screen within 20 minutes or so.
The combination of a 200MHz BCLK, 20x multiplier, 3600MHz QPI and 3200MHz Uncore seems to lead to instability. Therefore, either a lower BCLK, memory multiplier (or combination of both) and therefore lower QPI/Uncore got me stable.
For those interested in overclcoking i7, you may be interested in this thread over at Xtreme Systems :
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=3495431&postcount=877
Bios Settings
BCLK = 190
VCore = 1.36v
CPU PLL = 1.89542v
QPI/DRAM = 1.35v
DRAM = 1.65v
Others - Auto
Anyway, pictures…
Benchmarks
Prime95 (64 bit), will run small FFTs 12 hours+ at these settings (14 3/4 hours shown above)
CPU Arithmetic
Memory Bandwidth
A few passes of Memtest to make sure
Crysis… 62fps @1920×1080!
Vantage - PPU Enabled
Vantage - PPU Disabled
2x 300GB WD Velociraptors 64k stripe, 4kb cluster (Vista)
2x 1TB Samsung F1 Spinpoints 128k stripe, 64kb cluster (storage & Vista page file)
Added crystal layer of vinyl behind face to make it clearer
I added a triple ultra bright white LED to backlight the face
I really like the Bitspower fittings on the Aquacomputer blocks, as they look fantastic quality (which they are of course)
Added another triple LED in orange to light up the 2x XSPC pump tops
…………………………………………………………
** Update 12/12/08 **
I have just changed the GPU loop to use 2x Bitspower rotary’s and 2x SLI single slot variable adapters.
I shall call him Mini Me!
Also installed Vista 64 Home Premium this afternoon, which went without a hitch.
Not had chance to overclock as of yet, however, that should keep me busy tomorrow!
…………………………………………………………
11/12/08
I just wanted to share the custom build that I have been planning, and working on since August.
This build was not inspired by Project Koen (issue 163) and is purely coincidental, as I knew nothing about John Burton’s build until a couple of weeks ago.
Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, I present Overclocked Orange:
Hardware:
Custom powder coated Silverstone TJ07 case
2x custom powder coated ICY BOX IB-361StUS-B-BL E-SATA caddies
Intel Nehalem i7 920 CPU
Asus Rampage II Extreme motherboard
6GB Corsair TR3X6G1600C8D DDR3
2x WD Velociraptors (RAID0)
3x Samsung 1TB F1’s
3x GTX 280’s
1x X-Fi Fatal1ty
Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W PSU
Water Cooling
1x Feser Xchanger 360mm rad
1x Black Ice Stealth 360mm rad
1x Switech GTZ block
3x Aqua Compter G200 block
Custom Sunbeam Rheobus fan controller
6x Xigmatek Orange Fans
Bitspower fittings
Primochill Pro LRT 3/8″ & 1/2″ hose with orange hose coils
The Build
I have always liked the Silverstone TJ07, and was inspired by Scan’s “The Great White” in issue 061 whilst on holiday this summer. I remember thinking… I would like to build something like that!
I have seen other cases powder coated in orange and black, and really wanted to stick to these colours, as I think the combination is amazing for a PC case!
However, it took me a while to think of a name for my prjoect. One day I was driving along trying to think of names… Orange Dream Machine, Tangerine Dream, Orange Extreme and then Clockwork Orange… Overclocked Orange!
Work on the case begins
A big thank you to Marcus & Rob over @ WCUK by the way!
Tray Mod to allow easy fitting of CPU block
Modding the drive bays to allow Lian Li bezels to fit
AC Ryan Rad Grill on top of stock case
Now holds a 360mm rad!
Modding the horizontal divider plate for tubing & cables (before)
…and after
Items being boxed up to be powder coated
2x DDC Ultras with XSPC Reservoir Tops
…and then with 2x 5mm Orange LED’s in:
Replacement fans for exhaust of case
Xigmatek fans & Feser rad
ICY BOX E-SATA caddies stripped to be powder coated at the same time
I wanted to create some custom artwork for this build; Solphorinc from Chilled PC Forums helped me out.
Fast Signs came up with the idea of reverse profile cutting my window logo on coloured vinyl… as opposed to printing on clear vinyl. Apparently orange does not print to clear vinyl very well. This way I get a perfect RAL2009 to match my bright orange paintwork!
The orange was placed on the acrylic window for my TJ07, followed by the black.
The big face is for the back panel, the text only stickers are for the front of the case and my E SATA caddy. The case and E SATA caddy will be powder coated orange, the orange will be seen through the black vinyl which has been profile cut.
Swiftech i7 mounting hardware
Motherboard arrives!
I thought I’d better quickly offer up my X-fi Fatal1ty Titanium to the top PCI-E slot before the case arrived, as expected the NB heatsink blocks the card.
However, all I have to do is remove 4x fins with a dremmel and it will fit perfectly.
4x fins removed & filed down
X-Fi fits nicely now
Oh… all the connectors (floppy etc) at the bottom of the mobo are still usable too!
X-Fi Titanium stripped down, a couple of M3 nuts are needed to re-attach the bracket
Bitspower fittings & Aqua Computer blocks
The quality of the Aqua Computer block speaks for itself, however, I must say the BP fittings are amazing quality too!
Fan controller mod
Case Arrives & artwork applied
WOW!
Various pictures taken post hardware installation
Finished E-SATA caddies
The build is nearly finished now. I’m currently changing the 2x u bend loops on the graphics cards for something else.
In addition, I still have to leak test and make sure everything is working properly.
what an awesome build….
That’s quite something!
That looks f*!^%!g amazing! Hats off to you.
Wow, what a great mod! Super idea for the it, too. A malenky bit gorovich 
Incredible build mremulator.
A great idea and perfectly executed. Nice work!
Been following this build and must say that it looks outstanding.the bitspower connectors on the cards make it the focal point of the case.Excellent job.
Andy
U should be awarded for a Nobel Pizza price at dominoes for that build…awesome.
Your attention to detail makes me erect.
The last comment concerns me a little LOL!
love the work here man….good stuff. the fact youve played it from clockwork orange is a really nice idea and gives the overall theme of your build that outstanding quality. loving the vinyl details as well, very profesional!
WOW!
Stanley Kubrick would have approved.
This is quite simply, one of my favourite builds OF ALL TIME!!! Agreed with the attention to detail comment - can’t wait to see the clockin’ results!
Come to Multiplays i36 and show it off!!!
It will cost £100+ per month in electricity.
Looks great though. I suspect the triple GTX 280 might be a bit excessive.
The mini-me HDD enclosure is stunning. Rig looks awesome too - now you’ve done the hard part start enjoying your games!!
havnt seen a build this good in a while it works briliantly the quality and care are fantastic good job dude!!
This is probably the best build i have ever seen!
Awesome work mate!
Respect!
really enjoy seeing the work from start to finish. a big wow.
Beautiful mod. Says it all really.
Congrats on the BBC slot
Just watched your BBC feature and now read this page. Fantastic job, well done B-)
Good work! It was the first thing I spotted on the News website this morning!
Having experienced owning a 2.5k + machine (Dell xps water cooled beast!), I was greatly disappointed with the amount of heat given out by the x2 1g graphics cards.
From further investigation I found that the machine was not completely water cooled like your design. I literary had to wear shorts and a t-shirt to play games on the thing!, a nightmare with all the little errors/bugs that happened. The noise lvls were fine, heat from processor etc fine, it was just those huge x2 1g cards that pumped out to much heat!
To me it would seem that certain companies have produced hardware to accommodate with the current gaming market, but when built into a machine, have not considered the overall result - ie sweat your arse off!
Im interested to know if your machine has this issue with heat, or have you managed to fix this? also roughly how much would it cost to build this desktop computer ?
Very nice looking rig, I just watched the bbc footage and I have one nagging question, what game are you playing???
David.
I can’t believe you blew up not one but TWO GTX280’s!!!
I like the tubes you have used. These are good idea for keeping the waters away from all the important bits of electric and wires.
Personally, I chose another water-cooling option with limited success. I chose to dip all my components in resin making them waterproof and then I completely filled the case with water, added a filter and pump, a small plastic castle and a pair of goldfish. I say ‘limited success’ because although the fish tank aspect has been a triumph (Goldy and Ginger are very happy indeed in their £3000 home), the computer itself has never actually worked. 
Your Overcooked Orange is an inspiration to all of the modding community. I would go as far as saying that you have shot straight to number 2 in my top list of people that have built a brightly coloured PC cleverly named after a Kubrick Film.
Keep up the good work!
Baz.
Nice one Baz
Gavin - No heat issues… runs cool. £3-4K
David - playing Mirrors Edge… badly!
Wow!!
Amazing Build Dude!!
Before I would have found it hard to Imagine not one, but THREE fans… You really helped clear this up, thanks
The BBC News Reporter looked equally impressed… Did you get her number?
She was cute… but I bet you would PWN her in the Quake Arena!! she may be a n00b… but y’know… everyone has to learn the hard way…
Love ya work mate!
Stay “Cool” 
I really love this set-up, and wouldn’t mind one on my desk; But call me cynical but do these small advantages out weigh ot the drawbacks when not overclocking?
Simply put it, (possibly a over exaggeration) in 12 months time its likely that one could buy the same performance, with reduced energy requirements and half the cost! Of course it can be argued that you are increasing your performance today. However factoring in that some components were broken during this set-up it doesn’t appear cost effective or environmentally sustainable.
were some discussions that it is quiet to use water cooling, however many modern manufactured computers are silent that don’t use water cooling.
Of course, maybe if I had the money it would be a fun project!, I think these ‘builds’ satisfy the enthusiast (as both a hobby) and at the moment its commercial use is limited.
Commercial use? Partly the reason why watercooling is not really mainstream… because it’s expensive and is a pain in the arse! However, next time I would hopefully not make the same mistakes. The problem was I used Danger Den GPU blocks, that came with acrylic tops that kept cracking. Also I’d got to the point where I just wanted it finished… and I’m glad I stuck with it.
“Commercial use? Partly the reason why watercooling is not really mainstream…”
I see, I surpose it is in use in things like some of the older G5s and the Dell XPS. Which are performance machines!
Danger Den GPU blocks, that came with acrylic tops that kept cracking……
eek!
The challenge sounds fun, and I love the Orange liquid.
so did you build & mod this yourself or did WCUK do most it for you?
WCUK powder coated the case and supplied the parts, I did mostly everything else.
Top Job.
Dont be put off by all the green eyed nonces.
Its a quality build and should be applauded for the time and artistic effort you have shoveled into it.
Hope you do another (maybe sponsored one ) before crimbo.
Look forward to it, now im off to the smallest room for a little contemplation.
Have you considered a fluorinated heat transfer liquid such as Fluorinert or Novec instead of water. The heat transfer efficiency is far higher than water. If you spring a leak Fluorinert and Novec are non-conductive so won’t cause any issues with your hardware and they leave no residue on evaporation. They’re also safe, non-toxic, non-flammable liquids. Have a look at our site www.acota.co.uk which lists the liquids available. These liquids were used as the heat transfer liquid in the Cray supercomputer.
What brand were those cards that you were using? And what brand were the ones you killed? lol. Did they let you warranty them?
WOW ! Saw it on the Beeb website yesterday, checked out this today and I’m even more impressed !
Oh if only I had £3k going spare!
d00d - this build is sooooo spaff! i
d00d - this build is sooooo spaff! i loved the orange and clockwork mung, man - it’s queef! queefin’ a! saw the snatchin bb-c, it was snatch. stay true, you are the fapmaster no 1. oooo yeahhhhhhhhh!!!11!!
Hi there!
I realise you are the expert upon this field…. however, from a novice perspective, I think you are tackling this cooling issue all wrong.
May I be so abrupt to suggest you think outside the box, and actually START with a mini fridge… (I have taken the liberty of selecting a rather fetching pink one from argos here at only £19.99!)
think about it… now you have the case AND the cooling system already in place… all you have to do is fit the processor, graphics cards, flux capacitor, hard drives and RAM and away you go!
I would be available for a collaboration on this next and exciting new project, however, I would be adamant on the name being “Fridge Metal Jacket”.
I look forward to hearing from you.
ps it’s my bday!!!!11!!
uh…isnt fluroinert thicker than water?
wont this really screw your pumps up? also dosent it expand when it gets hot, this may crack your radiators?
thats what it said in custom PC for the amari anyways….
Quote from Acota:
“As regards the expansion issue, it depends on the grade of Fluorinert used, ones with a lower boiling point will expand as it gets closer to its boiling point, ones with a higher boiling point have a much lower vapour pressure and won’t expand at the same rate in this application. Sounds to me like Amari / Custom PC picked the wrong grade of Fluorinert for their trials.”
Now that is 1 PC my freand.You’ve done a great job a,And it looks awsome.
It has to be in my top to mybe the best mod i have seen in a long time appart from the AMD case mod which again was awsome.
So it’s taken 4 -5 months from start to finnish to build? wow man .How many hours a day - week customising it?
I think this has to be in the next issue of CPC [Issue 68 ] for mod of the month.
What do other think?
Respect!
Issue 69 actually, if the photographer ever rings me back
Wow…Nice Work mate…Just curious, how quite is your Rig? For instance in a quiet room.. and when your going hell for leather playing Crisis as a comparison…Cheers!
Bobby… really quiet. I actually get lower temps with the fans at roughly 60% instead of full whack.
Anyway, the rig sits under my desk and you’d hardly notice it.
Great build, MrE. I’ve enjoyed reading this so much.
I have some questions as I would like to build and LC PC of my own some day. Are the two pumps running in serial (or do you have two separate, unconnected systems cooling the components) and did you have to adjust the factory settings with regard to the speed of the pumps?
Also, I would really appreciate an update showing a flowchart of the order that the liquid is circulating around the components.
Thanks, and keep up the good work!
Very nice computer David Penfold,
It’s inspired me to take a chance on water cooling I was always err-ing about.
I saw your BBC News internet reel about the overclocked orange which I bet was an exciting experience.
It lead me to this page as I was very curious as to what game you were playing in the video?
Keep up the good work!
Nice build!!
Read the article in the CustomPC magazine, then googled the video clip. Hats off to you!
I’ve got a similar build, except that I’m still using a P45 Maximus II Formula motherboard with a singe GTX280.
In regards to the 90 degree elbows you used for your graphics card, why not use the SLi connectors? Lesser turns in tubing and maybe better flow?
I love the build the front is a huge improvement,can I ask what fans you used for the rear 92mm exhaust
thx in advance
…….If I had £5000 flapping around I would be right in their with first bid. I have to say this is probably one of my favourite mods ever. Well done mate, and i hope you see a tidy profit from it.
Would i be able to run Windows ME on it?
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