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HANDS ON GUIDE

Build it - part 1

Preparation H (20)

Careful planning is important before building any PC, but it's even more important when you're building a water-cooled PC. However, it isn't possible to give a 'catch all' guide, because the way in which you put the system together will vary, depending on which case you've chosen, how many radiators you're using and where you install them. If you want to install your components using a different method from the one we describe, that's fine; as long as it all works, and doesn't leak, it's all good!

In an ideal world, you should first build the water loop outside the PC, so that you can test it for leaks without the risk of soaking your precious components. However, the reality is that this isn't always practical, particularly for complex multiblock, multiradiator loops such as our system. This is because building our loop outside the case to test for leaks means that we'd have to dismantle it again in order to install it properly, which defeats the object of testing it outside the case in the first place.

If you're really dedicated, then you can also 'flush' the radiators before you install them. This involves running water through them, then filling them with vinegar and leaving them for a few hours. The theory behind this is that the vinegar will clean out the gunk in the radiator's insides, which would otherwise end up in your loop. This isn't an essential step, although it certainly isn't a bad idea, providing you thoroughly flush the vinegar out of the radiator before you install it. We recommend against putting it on your chips afterwards though.


Our PC has two radiators, so the first step, before installing any components, is to fit the radiators into the case. This was especially important for us, as our SilverStone TJ07 chassis required a little bit of modding before it would accept the triple 120mm radiator and the 92mm radiator. The 92mm radiator was too deep to fit inside the case without butting up against the dual 120mm fan enclosure at the top of the case, so we had to remove one of the two 120mm fans and Dremel off part of the metal enclosure to allow the radiator to fit. The size of the radiator also prevented us from installing a 92mm fan in the fan mount directly below it, so we filled this with a fan guard instead. Installing the triple 120mm radiator into the lower compartment of the case simply involved drilling the appropriate mounting holes, a task that even an odd-jobber extraordinaire such as myself could manage.

The location of your radiator(s) will depend on your case and the size/make of radiator, although recent Swiftech kits, such as the H20 Apex-Ultra (see Issue 32, p58), include a 'Radbox', which allows you to easily mount the radiator outside the case, if space is tight.

It's also worth fitting the fans to the radiator as this point, ideally before you mount the radiator to the case, as this will be much more difficult later on. Some water-cooling aficionados advocate leaving a small gap between the fan and the radiator, which helps to lessen the effect of the fan's 'dead spot' at the centre where the motor is housed. This also reduces turbulence over the radiator's fins, which helps to lessen noise. It's up to you whether you do this, but it's simple enough to accomplish using a few washers. You can buy these from Maplin, as well as rubber grommets in a variety of thicknesses, which are also handy for damping vibrations.

This is also a good time to think about how you're going to power the fans, because you may find that, depending on where you install the radiator, the 3-pin fan cables won't reach the motherboard. This was true for our PC, so we used 3-pin to Molex converters that also have female Molex plugs attached, which allows you to daisy-chain them together.

Next, you need to consider where to locate the pump and reservoir. This will largely be a case of placing them where there's space, but it's important that you think about how to route the tubes to and from the components to make sure that you don't get in a tangle.

A good way to do this is to test-fit the motherboard and graphics card to see where the different waterblocks will be located in the case. You can then formulate a plan for the location of the pump and reservoir, as well as how to cut the tubes to size (but don't cut them yet), so you don't end up with piping bent out of shape. Once you have a plan, fit the reservoir and pump, but don't make the mountings permanent in case you have to modify your plan later.

Block party

The next job is to install the CPU and chipset blocks on the motherboard, and fit the graphics card block. This can be a long-winded process, so it's a good idea to check that your components work beforehand by firing them up with stock cooling attached. This is a pain, but it's worth making the effort, because finding out that your motherboard is dead after spending four hours fitting a multiblock water-cooling system is utterly maddening.

When you get around to fitting the blocks, remember to clean the die or heatspreader of each chip using Akasa's ever-handy TIM Clean and a lint-free cloth. You'll then need to apply a thin layer of TIM (thermal interface material), but don't go mad, as applying too much TIM will have the adverse affect of reducing the block's cooling performance.

Fitting CPU and chipset blocks is relatively straightforward, and if you've ever installed a large CPU HSF that required its own mounting bracket then you'll have no problems at all. Most blocks come with instructions (some are clearer than others), so make sure you read and digest this information first.

Installing the Swiftech Storm waterblock on our LGA775 motherboard was simply a case of using the supplied fixings, although with nine separate parts per mounting hole, it's certainly a fiddly process. If you have a Socket AM2 board then the process is much easier, as there are only three parts per mounting hole, although you have to remove the motherboard's existing CPU mounting bracket first.

Fitting chipset blocks is usually a doddle for LGA775 boards, as they simply attach with metal clips to the wire loops already fitted to the board. However, our board had a heatpipe-based Northbridge cooler attached via push-pin fixings, rather than wire loops, so we had to screw the chipset block through the board. You'll also have to do this if you have a Socket AM2 board.

One side effect of removing the heatpipe-based chipset cooler is that you have to remove the cooler attached to the board's VRMs, as the two are connected. However, a simple solution to this is to cut off the heatpipe at the chipset-cooler end using a Dremel, which is exactly what we did. This lessens the effectiveness of the cooler, though, so adding a fan to blow over the VRMs is a good idea. We elected to use an Antec Spot Cool for this job, which worked well.

GPU blocks are usually simple to install too, although the process is complicated by the fact that some manufacturers don't expect you to remove the factory-fitted HSFs. Some GPU HSFs, such as the stock one fitted to the GeForce 7900 GTX, for example, contain more screws than a high-security prison.

Despite being a more complicated product, the 7950 GX2 is easier to disassemble. Firstly, you need to unscrew the pillars that connect the two PCBs from the lower of the two PCBs (leaving the pillars connected to the top PCB only), and then gently prize the sandwich apart. After that, it's a simple matter of removing the screws that hold the HSF in place - the entire process takes about five minutes. We also removed the thermal pads from the memory chips and replaced them with some TIM, although it's up to you whether you do this.

Fitting the waterblock is slightly fiddlier, and a second pair of hands certainly helps, but it's a relatively straightforward job, involving just a handful of screws. It was at this point that we also replaced the 1/4in ID compression-fit connectors with 0.5in ID barbs.

With all the blocks installed, you can now fit the motherboard and the main components in the PC. It's also worth installing the hard disk drives, optical drives, RAM and front panel connections, plus anything else that you need to connect to the motherboard, such as PCI backplates for USB ports, as doing this after you've installed the tubing may be tricky. It's fine to leave this until later, though, if you're worried about leaks.

For now, however, don't connect any power plugs to any of the components, apart from the pump, as you'll need access to the 20/24-pin ATX power plug to manually switch on the pump to fill and test the loop. If you try to fill the loop by switching on the PSU while components are plugged in then you risk damaging your hardware, as there won't be sufficient (or any) coolant in the loop to remove the heat generated. It's also safer - if there is a leak then it's better that the coolant drips onto a component that isn't powered.


Preparation H (20)

Careful planning is important before building any PC, but it's even more important when you're building a water-cooled PC. However, it isn't possible to give a 'catch all' guide, because the way in which you put the system together will vary, depending on which case you've chosen, how many radiators you're using and where you install them. If you want to install your components using a different method from the one we describe, that's fine; as long as it all works, and doesn't leak, it's all good!

In an ideal world, you should first build the water loop outside the PC, so that you can test it for leaks without the risk of soaking your precious components. However, the reality is that this isn't always practical, particularly for complex multiblock, multiradiator loops such as our system. This is because building our loop outside the case to test for leaks means that we'd have to dismantle it again in order to install it properly, which defeats the object of testing it outside the case in the first place.

If you're really dedicated, then you can also 'flush' the radiators before you install them. This involves running water through them, then filling them with vinegar and leaving them for a few hours. The theory behind this is that the vinegar will clean out the gunk in the radiator's insides, which would otherwise end up in your loop. This isn't an essential step, although it certainly isn't a bad idea, providing you thoroughly flush the vinegar out of the radiator before you install it. We recommend against putting it on your chips afterwards though.


Our PC has two radiators, so the first step, before installing any components, is to fit the radiators into the case. This was especially important for us, as our SilverStone TJ07 chassis required a little bit of modding before it would accept the triple 120mm radiator and the 92mm radiator. The 92mm radiator was too deep to fit inside the case without butting up against the dual 120mm fan enclosure at the top of the case, so we had to remove one of the two 120mm fans and Dremel off part of the metal enclosure to allow the radiator to fit. The size of the radiator also prevented us from installing a 92mm fan in the fan mount directly below it, so we filled this with a fan guard instead. Installing the triple 120mm radiator into the lower compartment of the case simply involved drilling the appropriate mounting holes, a task that even an odd-jobber extraordinaire such as myself could manage.

The location of your radiator(s) will depend on your case and the size/make of radiator, although recent Swiftech kits, such as the H20 Apex-Ultra (see Issue 32, p58), include a 'Radbox', which allows you to easily mount the radiator outside the case, if space is tight.

It's also worth fitting the fans to the radiator as this point, ideally before you mount the radiator to the case, as this will be much more difficult later on. Some water-cooling aficionados advocate leaving a small gap between the fan and the radiator, which helps to lessen the effect of the fan's 'dead spot' at the centre where the motor is housed. This also reduces turbulence over the radiator's fins, which helps to lessen noise. It's up to you whether you do this, but it's simple enough to accomplish using a few washers. You can buy these from Maplin, as well as rubber grommets in a variety of thicknesses, which are also handy for damping vibrations.

This is also a good time to think about how you're going to power the fans, because you may find that, depending on where you install the radiator, the 3-pin fan cables won't reach the motherboard. This was true for our PC, so we used 3-pin to Molex converters that also have female Molex plugs attached, which allows you to daisy-chain them together.

Next, you need to consider where to locate the pump and reservoir. This will largely be a case of placing them where there's space, but it's important that you think about how to route the tubes to and from the components to make sure that you don't get in a tangle.

A good way to do this is to test-fit the motherboard and graphics card to see where the different waterblocks will be located in the case. You can then formulate a plan for the location of the pump and reservoir, as well as how to cut the tubes to size (but don't cut them yet), so you don't end up with piping bent out of shape. Once you have a plan, fit the reservoir and pump, but don't make the mountings permanent in case you have to modify your plan later.

Block party

The next job is to install the CPU and chipset blocks on the motherboard, and fit the graphics card block. This can be a long-winded process, so it's a good idea to check that your components work beforehand by firing them up with stock cooling attached. This is a pain, but it's worth making the effort, because finding out that your motherboard is dead after spending four hours fitting a multiblock water-cooling system is utterly maddening.

When you get around to fitting the blocks, remember to clean the die or heatspreader of each chip using Akasa's ever-handy TIM Clean and a lint-free cloth. You'll then need to apply a thin layer of TIM (thermal interface material), but don't go mad, as applying too much TIM will have the adverse affect of reducing the block's cooling performance.

Fitting CPU and chipset blocks is relatively straightforward, and if you've ever installed a large CPU HSF that required its own mounting bracket then you'll have no problems at all. Most blocks come with instructions (some are clearer than others), so make sure you read and digest this information first.

Installing the Swiftech Storm waterblock on our LGA775 motherboard was simply a case of using the supplied fixings, although with nine separate parts per mounting hole, it's certainly a fiddly process. If you have a Socket AM2 board then the process is much easier, as there are only three parts per mounting hole, although you have to remove the motherboard's existing CPU mounting bracket first.

Fitting chipset blocks is usually a doddle for LGA775 boards, as they simply attach with metal clips to the wire loops already fitted to the board. However, our board had a heatpipe-based Northbridge cooler attached via push-pin fixings, rather than wire loops, so we had to screw the chipset block through the board. You'll also have to do this if you have a Socket AM2 board.

One side effect of removing the heatpipe-based chipset cooler is that you have to remove the cooler attached to the board's VRMs, as the two are connected. However, a simple solution to this is to cut off the heatpipe at the chipset-cooler end using a Dremel, which is exactly what we did. This lessens the effectiveness of the cooler, though, so adding a fan to blow over the VRMs is a good idea. We elected to use an Antec Spot Cool for this job, which worked well.

GPU blocks are usually simple to install too, although the process is complicated by the fact that some manufacturers don't expect you to remove the factory-fitted HSFs. Some GPU HSFs, such as the stock one fitted to the GeForce 7900 GTX, for example, contain more screws than a high-security prison.

Despite being a more complicated product, the 7950 GX2 is easier to disassemble. Firstly, you need to unscrew the pillars that connect the two PCBs from the lower of the two PCBs (leaving the pillars connected to the top PCB only), and then gently prize the sandwich apart. After that, it's a simple matter of removing the screws that hold the HSF in place - the entire process takes about five minutes. We also removed the thermal pads from the memory chips and replaced them with some TIM, although it's up to you whether you do this.

Fitting the waterblock is slightly fiddlier, and a second pair of hands certainly helps, but it's a relatively straightforward job, involving just a handful of screws. It was at this point that we also replaced the 1/4in ID compression-fit connectors with 0.5in ID barbs.

With all the blocks installed, you can now fit the motherboard and the main components in the PC. It's also worth installing the hard disk drives, optical drives, RAM and front panel connections, plus anything else that you need to connect to the motherboard, such as PCI backplates for USB ports, as doing this after you've installed the tubing may be tricky. It's fine to leave this until later, though, if you're worried about leaks.

For now, however, don't connect any power plugs to any of the components, apart from the pump, as you'll need access to the 20/24-pin ATX power plug to manually switch on the pump to fill and test the loop. If you try to fill the loop by switching on the PSU while components are plugged in then you risk damaging your hardware, as there won't be sufficient (or any) coolant in the loop to remove the heat generated. It's also safer - if there is a leak then it's better that the coolant drips onto a component that isn't powered.


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