Well, I've finally ordered the remaining array of parts, so I will get a little log started
My basic plan is to get a nice little overclocking bench with a CPU/GPU/NB loop. The basic specs are in my sig rig, E8400 lapped, XFX GTX260 core 216 black edition, asus maximus forumula, 2 gigs of dominator ddr2 1066, two 150 gig raptors in RAID, corsaid 620hx, all that fun stuff.
My basic loop plan goes as follows
XSPC dual bay res
D4 with EK rev 2 xtop
HWlabs Black Ice Stealth 360
Dtek FuZion
XSPC Razor GTX260 block
EK NB Max NB block
I'll be using 7/16''ID tygon tubing and my coolant will be distilled+G11+PT-nuke
The case/bench I will be using is a Microcool Banchetto 101. Its a pretty neat bench that has a 360 rad mount, and looks pretty nice.
I've got some UV cathodes and LEDs for it so that it will give the coolant a nice glow, as well as help out with leaktesting
I've also planned ahead the wiring with leaktesting in mind. I've set it up so I have two molex wires coming from the PSU. one will have the pump and the lights attached, and the other will have the fans, optical drives, and hard drives. This way, when I leak test, I can easily just unplug the molex wire with the devices on it, while still getting power to the pumps and lights. I've also wired a single blue LED to the same molex connector as the pump, so that when the pump is running the LED will glow, and stand out from the UV lights. This way I can tell if the pump is receiving power every time I power on. I'm pretty proud of this idea haha.
For thermal paste, I wasn't quite sure where to go. I've used IC 7 carat diamond TIM for a while when i was air cooling, and it seemed to work. Everywhere was out of stock though, and I wasn't sure if it was worth waiting. So instead I decided to see what all the hype was about, and ordered some MX-2. I can say this, its much easier to apply. We'll see how well it works though.
The radiator will be cooled by 3 Xigmatek XLF F1253 fans. The ones with orange fins and white LEDS. I chose these because their glow will contrast nicely with the glowing blue coolant, and also because their specs on noise vs airflow are pretty good. I also have 3 old scythe slipsteam fan housings that I gutted for using as shrouds. I've ordered some special M4 screws to use for mounting these on the rad.
Along with the liquid cooling, I've done a few things to help air cool some components. I've gotten some enzotech heatsinks for the southbridge and mosfets, and i've gotten two 92mm scythe gentle typhoon silent fans to give some flow across the motherboard. The banchetto has two 92mm fan mounts on the CPU side of the mobo, so this will work perfectly.
Though my camera is pretty bad, I will be sure to update some pictures as I build, and definitely some final pics when everything is done. Here is a quick snap of my progress so far. Doesnt look like much, just an some acrylic and aluminum with wires shooting out everywhere and a PCB on top, but trust me, it'll get better
![Image]()
![Image]()
Just one more quick breatdown of parts
Here
Banchetto 101
XSPC Dual Bay Res
EK NB Max
D4 Pump
Xigmatek XFL 1253
Scythe Slipsteam housings (Shrouds)
Scythe Gentle Typhoon 92mm
G11
PT-Nuke
Distilled Water
UV Cathodes
15' tygon 7/16''ID clear tubing
couple extra bitspower 1/2''ID fittings
Gel Stuff(for mounting pump)
MX-2
55mm M4 screws
Fan Grills
Ordered
D-Tek FuZion block
XSPC Razor GTX 260 full cover block
BIS 360
EK rev2 xtop
Enzotech mosfet fullcover sinks
Enzotech southbridge heatsink
UV LEDs
Thanks for looking, and thanks for everyone who helped me out pick parts. If you have any ideas or suggestions please let me know. I'd also be happy to answer any questions people have. I will update as soon as some more progress is made.
My basic plan is to get a nice little overclocking bench with a CPU/GPU/NB loop. The basic specs are in my sig rig, E8400 lapped, XFX GTX260 core 216 black edition, asus maximus forumula, 2 gigs of dominator ddr2 1066, two 150 gig raptors in RAID, corsaid 620hx, all that fun stuff.
My basic loop plan goes as follows
XSPC dual bay res
D4 with EK rev 2 xtop
HWlabs Black Ice Stealth 360
Dtek FuZion
XSPC Razor GTX260 block
EK NB Max NB block
I'll be using 7/16''ID tygon tubing and my coolant will be distilled+G11+PT-nuke
The case/bench I will be using is a Microcool Banchetto 101. Its a pretty neat bench that has a 360 rad mount, and looks pretty nice.
I've got some UV cathodes and LEDs for it so that it will give the coolant a nice glow, as well as help out with leaktesting
I've also planned ahead the wiring with leaktesting in mind. I've set it up so I have two molex wires coming from the PSU. one will have the pump and the lights attached, and the other will have the fans, optical drives, and hard drives. This way, when I leak test, I can easily just unplug the molex wire with the devices on it, while still getting power to the pumps and lights. I've also wired a single blue LED to the same molex connector as the pump, so that when the pump is running the LED will glow, and stand out from the UV lights. This way I can tell if the pump is receiving power every time I power on. I'm pretty proud of this idea haha.
For thermal paste, I wasn't quite sure where to go. I've used IC 7 carat diamond TIM for a while when i was air cooling, and it seemed to work. Everywhere was out of stock though, and I wasn't sure if it was worth waiting. So instead I decided to see what all the hype was about, and ordered some MX-2. I can say this, its much easier to apply. We'll see how well it works though.
The radiator will be cooled by 3 Xigmatek XLF F1253 fans. The ones with orange fins and white LEDS. I chose these because their glow will contrast nicely with the glowing blue coolant, and also because their specs on noise vs airflow are pretty good. I also have 3 old scythe slipsteam fan housings that I gutted for using as shrouds. I've ordered some special M4 screws to use for mounting these on the rad.
Along with the liquid cooling, I've done a few things to help air cool some components. I've gotten some enzotech heatsinks for the southbridge and mosfets, and i've gotten two 92mm scythe gentle typhoon silent fans to give some flow across the motherboard. The banchetto has two 92mm fan mounts on the CPU side of the mobo, so this will work perfectly.
Though my camera is pretty bad, I will be sure to update some pictures as I build, and definitely some final pics when everything is done. Here is a quick snap of my progress so far. Doesnt look like much, just an some acrylic and aluminum with wires shooting out everywhere and a PCB on top, but trust me, it'll get better
Just one more quick breatdown of parts
Here
Banchetto 101
XSPC Dual Bay Res
EK NB Max
D4 Pump
Xigmatek XFL 1253
Scythe Slipsteam housings (Shrouds)
Scythe Gentle Typhoon 92mm
G11
PT-Nuke
Distilled Water
UV Cathodes
15' tygon 7/16''ID clear tubing
couple extra bitspower 1/2''ID fittings
Gel Stuff(for mounting pump)
MX-2
55mm M4 screws
Fan Grills
Ordered
D-Tek FuZion block
XSPC Razor GTX 260 full cover block
BIS 360
EK rev2 xtop
Enzotech mosfet fullcover sinks
Enzotech southbridge heatsink
UV LEDs
Thanks for looking, and thanks for everyone who helped me out pick parts. If you have any ideas or suggestions please let me know. I'd also be happy to answer any questions people have. I will update as soon as some more progress is made.
