pharaohspaw

This set of pics is a visual quick-through of 4 months of work. See the rest of the project log for all the gory details and roughly 400 more pictures...


COMPUTER PARTS
Motherboard: Tyan S5396 i5400 XT Dual Socket 771 Server/Workstation Board (Stock Tyan Photo)


Processors: (2) Intel Xeon E5450 Harpertown Quad-Core - 3.0GHz / 1333FSB / 12MB Cache / 45nm

Wow! I could have had a V8!!!

Video Card: BFG 8800GTX-OC2E



PSU: PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1200



Case: Danger Den Black Series Double-Wide Custom:



WATERCOOLING PARTS
EK 8800GTX, XSPC Res Tops, Swiftech Apogee GTX w/Copper Tops, etc.


RAM Cooling: MIPS RAM Freezer 4 (Qty. 2)


Northbridge: XSPC Delta 2.0


Radiators: (2) Feser TFC Xchanger 480


Pumps/Stand/Gel-Stuff Anti-Vibration



THE BUILD
Mounting Processor Heatsink Retention Bracket


"Valve Covers" for my V8:


Motherboard Cooling Blocks - Initial Install



CUSTOM WORK
Sleeving and Power Connectors (PSU, fan leads & extensions, LED's and other cables):







Pump with Cooling Fan + UN 3G Stand + XSPC Res-Top + Custom Pump Pedestal








Convert BFG 8800GTX-OC2E to Watercooled:


Bitspower Power Distribution Blocks





ASSEMBLY
Radiator with Custom Perma-Studs, Shrouds and Yate Loon Fans












NEARING COMPLETION

November 2008 Pics:





May 2009 updates



2009 updates are described here):


For more pics of the project as it neared completion, the pics really start to get interesting around page 52. "In the dark" pics with all fans wired start on page 53. 2009 updates (completed in May) are on page 60.

Prior to page 50 or so is a heavily detailed and illustrated log detailing things such as the custom pump assembly work, MIPS RAM Freezer 4 customization for FBDIMM modules, custom sleeving, conversion of video card from air- to watercooled, rad work, Danger Den Black Series Double Wide case and modifications made, etc. And many of the frustrations I encountered along the way.




And so it begins....

First of all I want to say a big thank-you to everyone here that gave me setup advice with loops, radiators, and other questions I had. This will be my first watercooling job, so needless to say I had a few questions. I'm sure I'll have a few more before this is all done.

THE MACHINE
Pharaoh is named after our 1 year old F6C silver Savannah cat. My wife's machine is named after Sasha, Pharaoh's sister.

Pharaoh the machine is a high-performance workstation/server-class box for moderate-to-heavy workloads. The last new machine I built is over 4 years old now, so it was time to update.

Pharaoh handles gaming exceptionally well -- but it's not just a gaming machine. I also do audio and video encoding, software compilation, and various other processor-intensive work. So while gaming was definitely in mind when choosing the parts to build with, that is only one of the things Pharaoh needs to do well. Otherwise I wouldn't have built a dual-Xeon rig...


HARDWARE SPECS
- Tyan S5396 i5400XT Server/Workstation motherboard - specifically chosen for its complete Linux compatibility.

- (2) Intel E5450 Harpertown Quadcore Xeon - 3GHz / 12MB cache / 1333FSB / 45nm
...basically a QX9650, but you can have two of them...

- BFG 8800GTX OC2E video card

- (8) Kingston 1GB DDR2-667 FBDIMM RAM - quad channel plus interleave mode
...Memory access is extremely fast, but the modules run hot enough to heat this end of the house in the wintertime. Such is FBDIMM...

- Auzentech X-Fi Prelude 7.1 sound card
...SoundBlaster X-Fi hardware support with MUCH higher quality circuitry

- Case: Danger Den Black Series "Double Wide Tower" - orders are being accepted for them now!

- PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1200 - no other brand of P/S will ever have my complete confidence

This pretty much covers the important hardware.


WATER COOLING EQUIPMENT (will be edited to add other needed items as decisions are made)
Last Update: 2008-09-09

Water Blocks
- (2) Swiftech Apogee GTX with Coppertops
...plus (2) Swiftech Apogee 1U-S-HD Xeon hold-down plates
- (1) EK FC8800GTX (Nickel Plated)
- (2) MIPS RAM Freezer 4 waterblocks (Nickel Plated top)
- (1) XSPC Delta 20 Chipset block (for i5400 Northbridge)

Pumps
- (2) Swiftech MCP355 (DDC3.2)
- (2) XSPC Reservoir Pump Tops

Radiators
- (2) Feser XChanger 480
- (8) TFC XTender 120mm shrouds (Blue LED)

Tubing
- Primochill Primoflex Pro LRT 3/8" x 5/8" clear
- Bitspower / Danger Den 3/8" x 5/8" compression fittings throughout

Fans
- (11) Yate Loon D12SH-124UB 120mm 2200rpm/88CFM fans, 4 for each rad and the other 3 for front left of case
- (3) 80mm rear exhaust fans (brand/model not yet decided)

Miscellaneous
- (2) Bitspower X-Station Power Extension 2 Power & Fan distribution blocks (blue lighting)
- 12" UV cold cathodes and possibly a couple spot effects


THE PROJECT - GOALS
The plan (which has changed again...) is to run 2 separate loops, Will be mounting both of the Feser 480's inside the case on the right side and putting "just fans" in the left front.

Will be using 3/8" I.D. hose throughout all loops, mainly to avoid problems with fitting a pair of compression fittings on smaller blocks, and also to simplify bleeding, etc. I've read up on the differences between 3/8" and 1/2" and am left unconvinced that 1/2" is necessary.

I haven't completely decided yet which blocks will be placed on which loops. I may put the CPU's on one loop with the Northbridge, and the 8800GTX with the RAM blocks on the other loop. I still have a little calculating to do here and also want to try to do things so that the hoses are routed/organized as tastefully as possible.

Some aspects of this watercooling project log may be more interesting to the typical Xeon audience, and less interesting to the overclocking crowd, as I won't be overclocking Pharaoh. 8 Harpertown cores running at 3GHz is plenty of horsepower to be relevant in my world for quite some time. Having said this, I'd still like to think there would be at least something of interest to everyone in this project log. I've already run into several hurdles along the way of planning this project and ordering parts, some of which are a bit product-specific, so maybe getting a little more documentation out there may help other folks doing similar things.

I can definitely say that Pharaoh will NOT be just another boring Xeon number cruncher. Attention will be paid to appearance (and not apologized for), but how the cooling system RUNS is just as important to me as how it looks.


THE GOOD OLD DAYS
The water cooling scene reminds me a lot of working on classic hot rods, which my Dad and I did quite a bit of when I was younger.

One of the very few existing pictures we have of "the good old days" (circa 1986):


Two '69 Mach I Mustangs, both with factory-correct 428 CobraJet engines. The one on the right was ours, once upon a time... 428 CJ with all Super Cobra Jet internal and external engine parts, factory Shaker hood and 4-speed close-ratio "toploader". This car didn't need aftermarket performance parts to be a firebreather.

High-performance autos wouldn't be nearly as interesting for some folks if everybody building them stuck to factory trim and color in the engine compartment. On the other hand, some cars are just plain classics and their value increases the closer to original specs and appearance they are. There are a lot of different camps under the big tent of high-performance vehicles, and there's room for everybody.

While I won't be overclocking Pharaoh, I'll still be reminiscing a bit about the good old days as I work on it. The better-than-stock performance I'm looking for under this hood is in the cooling department.


Will follow up shortly with some pictures, as my order from Aquatuning.de arrived from Germany today - much to our surprise - only 7 days after it was shipped.

PharaohsPaw

eRazorzEDGE

PICS!!!! we want PICS!!!!

it's nice 2 c everything coming 2gether 4 ya, especially on ur WC setup. i definitely hear u on the hot rodder reference, since i don't have a place 2 work on a my truck (like my own house), i can't really work on it. so i've taken 2 the computers and tried 2 hot rod what i got. it's especially cool 2 finish a project u've worked so long, relatively, on.

good job bro

pharaohspaw

Sigh, I'm such an edit freak...

__________________
Classic hot rod mechanics' proverb: "There is no replacement for displacement."

Pharaoh Project Log: http://www.overclock.net/water-cooli...-s5396-v8.html

pharaohspaw

Ah thanks eRazorsEDGE. I'm really excited about it!

I'm not sure exactly when it "clicked" to me that folks customizing their PC's is a lot like folks building hotrods - sometime a few weeks ago - but it seems appropriate, heh. I haven't been turning too many wrenches lately.

Hey at least when you're hot rodding your PC's you don't get grease all under your fingernails and stuff.

Do have a few pics ready. Aquatuning got my package here today, so I took pics of the blocks and stuff. Comin' right up.

The MM Ascension was ordered this morning. I decided not to get anything custom on it because of 1) cost and 2) next custom parts production run is November 1st. Couldn't stand to wait quite that long.

PharaohsPaw

__________________
Classic hot rod mechanics' proverb: "There is no replacement for displacement."

Pharaoh Project Log: http://www.overclock.net/water-cooli...-s5396-v8.html

pharaohspaw

OK here's a few pics... I don't have everything here yet, but as it comes in and as I mess around with stuff while I wait for other things to arrive, I'll take more pics.


Sasha: "Daddy, are you gonna open this, or shall I?" Sasha is Pharaoh's sister


So I begin to open the box. The Savannahs always get really excited when we bring boxes, bags, etc. into the house because it must mean we brought them some more toys!

Pharaoh loves saltine crackers though, so when he sees Mommy eating crackers, he decides to mooch some crackers instead and leave Sasha to take care of the box...


Pharaoh: Hey! That's MY cracker! Gimme that!


After several minutes of trying to convince Sasha not to eat the invoices, box, etc., I manage to get everything laid out on the table. Sasha likes the XSPC Res Top...


(3) XSPC Res Top, (1) Stubborn Savannah, EK FC8800GTX kit, Apogee GTX's, Bitspower fan/power blocks


Apogee GTX Coppertop, XSPC Delta 20 chipset block, MIPS RAM Freezer 4 block, and 1.5mm thermal pads.
(EDIT: The thermal pads were intended to make up the difference between the height of FBDIMM AMB chip and the height of the memory chips on the front of the modules, but they were too thick!!! Using metal plates instead - details later in thread):

The XSPC Delta 20 is incredibly shiny, very nice looking chrome/nickel finish. Actually had some difficulty getting a non-gleaming picture of it.


XSPC Laing/DDC Res Top without the fuzzball fan club:



Here's a few pics of the MIPS RAM Freezer 4 block top. The machine work is pretty impressive on these.







More info about, using FBDIMM's with MIPS RAM Freezer 4's available here. These cooler blocks are really designed for standard desktop-type modules but with a little extra work they can be used with FBDIMM modules. Thanks to the folks at XS that posted info...

Here's a couple close-ups of the XSPC Delta 20 block. Martin rated these really well for low restriction, and the pin structure looks pretty nice. I picked 'em because they have grooves across the top for the spring clip my Intel chipset mobo needs to hold the sink/block down:






EK FC8800 GTX block. Nickel plating is nice on these:






Close-up of Apogee GTX (still in package) and Coppertop:




And finally, Sasha trying to make up her mind which of the new toys she wants to play with:



May just fire up my old machine this weekend and break Pharaoh down so I can start cleaning the processor, NB, etc.

PharaohsPaw

__________________
Classic hot rod mechanics' proverb: "There is no replacement for displacement."

Pharaoh Project Log: http://www.overclock.net/water-cooli...-s5396-v8.html

eRazorzEDGE

great pics. staying up all hours of the night, too i c so r u still mounting the rads to the case?

my g/f's cat likes the bags and boxes that things come n more than the toys she buys 4 it

pharaohspaw

Yep, stayed up pretty late last night (yawns)

Planning to mount all three rads inside the case. I know I'd get a little better heat exchange outside the case, but having them inside will eliminate a lot of various other concerns - like having 6 hoses running between case and rad box, needing quick disconnects, etc.

Cats are so funny. These two rate everything they see by its potential play value.

Will probably not have as many cat pics mixed in from here forward, as much of what lies ahead will need to be done in paw-free zones. But an accurate telling of the arrival of the first major parts order wouldn't be complete without a few pics of them being there to "help", and adds a little entertainment value to the story.

PharaohsPaw

__________________
Classic hot rod mechanics' proverb: "There is no replacement for displacement."

Pharaoh Project Log: http://www.overclock.net/water-cooli...-s5396-v8.html

Tricky

Sub'd. Dude, can't wait to see the outcome.

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Windows 7║Fan Club

MCBrown.CA

looks like a sweeeeet project! sub'd

nothing like running your new loop for a month and seeing cat hair settling at the bottom of the reservoir!

good quality photos too

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pharaohspaw

Heh, thanks you guys.

Unfortunately I just heard about a new double-tower case Danger Den is working on, big enough to handle 1 480 and 2 360's, or 3 360's. Guess I missed out this time around. that's gonna be one really nice case too...

__________________
Classic hot rod mechanics' proverb: "There is no replacement for displacement."

Pharaoh Project Log: http://www.overclock.net/water-cooli...-s5396-v8.html