Thirsty Work -My Little Devil PC-V8 [Build Log] - Page 3

Black cats are the best - they always match with whatever furniture or clothes they decide to nap on

Thanks! It was a little time consuming getting it all sorted out, but now I've got 64GB of validated RAM. Better to get issues like that sorted out now, before I get parinod later and think I broke something trying to overclock, or with something water cooling related.

OoOoo 12 fans on the AQ5... that is a sizable number - not bad! I was planning on connecting 4 GTs and 5 case fans to the main AQ5, and then put the other 8 GTs on the externally powered PowerAdjusts.

Are you undervolting your GTs? If so, at what RPM do you normally run them? I haven't tested how many GTs the main AQ5 unit could control yet, and I've been curious about what its limits are. I know undervolting the fans makes the controller work harder (less volts to the fans adding more load in amps on the controller) so I didn't want to assume the AQ5 would handle too much and then be disappointed later, so I've been a bit cautious in my planning.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Pump Sleeving Time!]

I’ve been a little intimidated by sleeving all the wires on my MCP35X-2 pump - partially because it has lots of wires, and partially because it has some odd connectors. The MCP35X-2 is two MCP35X pumps joined together by sharing a common out outlet. That gives you about twice the pumping action of your standard (and also excellent) MCP35X and makes it possible to get the same output in the dual-pump X-2 model as the single model, but with lower noise as you can the dual-pump model at a lower RPM. Martin has an excellent and detailed review.


[MCP35X-2 – Double the pump, and double the wires!]

The MCP35X-2 has 4 pin fan connectors – they aren’t any harder to deal with than the 3-pin connectors I am now used to, but the male-to-male connector the pump comes with (so that each pump can share the same RPM signal from your fan controller/motherboard) is a bit odd. You can see it pictured here in the bottom right corner, on the black countertop.


[Pump and connector cables]

I didn’t want to void my warranty or make any fancy decisions now I would regret later, so I decided to keep the wire length the same and use the same connectors the pump shipped with (rather than, e.g., soldering any wires together). Sadly, I forgot to order black female molex connectors and black 4-pin fan connectors; however, after separating the cables from the connectors, this ended up being no problem a rigged-up paint booth couldn't fix!


[Quality craftsmanship on that paint booth, huh?]

I was very pleased with the results after a few coats of paint. They are visually indistinguishable visually from purchased black connectors – the only downside is the paint can be scraped off (though not easily - it is surprisingly durable).


[The white connectors are now black after a few coats of paint]

Getting the sleeving on just right took some time, but I’m happy with the results.


[The unsightly blue painters tape is to keep things from falling into the pump until I plug the valves with tubing]

For comparison with the photo at the top, here is the sleeved MCP35X-2.



I’ve still got to finish the adapter cable the pump came with (I ran out of time last night). There is always more work for next time!


[The cable on the right of the photo is sleeved; the cable to its left still needs some work]
Edited by Kallor - 4/30/12 at 12:00pm

Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad people have found my log interesting. Other people here at OCN have done such amazing build logs, and I doubt I ever would have tried building a custom loop without seeing so many great examples, as well as seeing what is possible with enough hard work and patience.

Also, I've recently been told I can expect my case by the 2nd week of May - so things should really start to pick up then

[Getting Ready for Fan Connections]

This weekend I spent some time on finishing sleeving the adapter for the MCP35X-2 pump. After getting that wrapped up, I got out the PowerAdjust 2s I will use to power the 8 GT-14 fans I will have on my bottom two radiators. One PowerAdjust receives an input signal from the Aquaero 5 - the Aquaero 5 acts as the brains, sending a fan speed signal to a PowerAdjust, which acts a power source while obeying its RPM-signal providing master. That signal is then relayed from the first PowerAdjust to the others.

When you connect the PowerAdjusts together with the provided cables...things look rather messy and the PowerAdjusts tend to splay all of the place.


[This kind of mess won't do...]

However, after a bit of sleeving work, and mounting the PowerAdjusts on a piece of dense foam, I have everything set up and ready for attachment in my case (via velcro, I imagine). Voila!


[All neat and tidy!]

Of course each unit requires a 4-pin molex connector for power, which will make the setup slightly less neat, but I'm almost finished sleeving up a 4-into-1 molex splitter for these guys.

Stay tuned ... and keep your fingers crossed for me as this may finally be the week my case ships!