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Chilled Water Cooling vs 3.0 Build Log

51K views 398 replies 31 participants last post by  OCAddict 
#1 · (Edited)
I want to start by thanking a few people. First is my long distance friend Arthur, that I have bounced ideas off of since I first got the idea to do a 3.0 version of Chilled Water Cooling, his patience with me I truly appreciate. Second is LiamG6, for his epoxy fill idea for the water blocks he suggested in the version 2.0 thread, I truly believe that is the main reason the CPU water blocks are working so well. Last but not least is Puck, who gave me the suggestion for the choice of 40mm peltiers I decided to use for this project. Thank You all for your advice!

Next I want to list what this cost covering time invested, and monetary invested.

Time wise weeks of testing to be sure the end build would even work, as far as hours, I have no clue.
The actual build of version 3.0 took 3 1/2 days or 40 hours, the majority of that time was modifying the cube case to make it house what I needed to go in it.

Money covering what was actually bought, but not covering what was already in use that was transferred out of version 2.0.

List:
Corsair Carbide Series Air 740 Cube Case $149.99
XSPC D5 Variable Speed Water Pump $79.95
ThermoMart Temperature Controller $39.50
Fittings $60.00
Tubing $20.00
Custom Thermo Electric 40mm peltiers 19911-5L31-15CQ x 3 $170.55
Alphacool NexXxos XP3 Light Acetal/Copper water block x 3 $142.00
Thermalright True Spirit 140 Power heat pipe air cooler x 3 $158.70
Accessories, Taxes, and Shipping not covered $60.00
Total $880.69

Parts already owned or transferred out of version 2.0 were:
Asus Maximus IX Hero Motherboard
Intel i7-7700K CPU
G-Skill DDR4 Memory Modules 16g 2 x 8g
Sound Blaster Z Sound Card
EK Supremacy EVO CPU water block
Enermax Galaxy EVO 1250w Power Supply
Swiftech MCP655 D5 Water Pump
Samsung SSD EVO 1T HDD
Western Digital 2T HDD
MSI GTX 1080
Watercool MO-RA3 180 x 4 radiator
Silverstone 180mm x 32mm cooling fans x 4
Bitspower a 400 and a 150 cylinder style reservoirs

The goal of version 3.0 was simply to make a better cooling solution than what I was already running with version 2.0, and that goal has been realized!
Version 3.0 uses 1/2 the electrical power that 2.0 did when all 3 TEC assemblies were powered up.
Version 2.0 with all 3 TECs powered pulled 600w at 60a, version 3.0 pulls 300w at 24a.
Version 2.0 took 25 minutes from cold boot to reach the set 8.9c cutout point of the temperature controller, 3.0 takes 6 minutes and 15 seconds.
Version 3.0 is so quiet operating I had to keep checking to see if it was running.
Version 3.0 exhausts a lot less heat into the room.
Version 3.0 can support the 7700K overclocked to 5.2ghz with hyper threading enabled running Intel Burn Test and still lower the coolant temperature while the test is running all the way down to the cut out point at 8.9c.
Version 3.0 uses approximately 1/6th of the coolant volume that version 2.0 did.
Electrical load during surfing the net 2.0 used 400w constantly, 3.0 uses 100w with the 2nd 100w TEC kicking in occasionally for about a minute or so.
Version 1.0 and 2.0 both used a 2nd power supply to power the chilled water cooling, version 3.0 uses only one power supply to power everything.
Plus the chilled water cooling of version 3.0 is all in one case not 2 separate cases.
3.0 is definitely a better chilled water cooling solution.
 
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#2 ·
After researching many CPU water blocks to use for cold transfer for a 40mm peltier I finally settled on the Alphacool NexXxos XP3 Light Acetal/Copper CPU water block.

http://www.xtremerigs.net/2012/11/11/alphacool-nexxxos-xp3/

I did not buy these water blocks for how well they cooled a CPU but for the modification possibilities the above thread shows the stock pictures of the water block now I'll show you what I did to them to modify the 3 I bought.


My first observances was that a 40mm sized peltier would be pretty much fully covered by coolant flow over the copper base plate.


Which was even better when I discovered the dispersion plate was removable and my first intentions were to simply remove the dispersion plate and use the water block as it was but in the version 2.0 thread LiamG6 ran a flow simulation of the water block and it's cooling did not look good at all, then Liam suggested an epoxy fill and all my mental light bulbs lit up, his suggestion was IMO ingenious.


I used a rubber plug to keep epoxy out of the outlet threads, also not shown in the picture above I used the Dremel with a small round ball cutter tip and cut indentations strategically placed at the curve base around the interior perimeter. The purpose of those indentations was to give the epoxy seating points so it could not separate and come loose from the acetal top.


I then poured epoxy into the cavity around the center shaft hole, I used the original JB Weld epoxy not the quick set epoxy so I would have plenty of time to work with it and then let it cure overnight. You can clearly see the purpose of the rubber plug in the picture above.


Rubber plug removed the next morning, time for using the Dremel to clean up and fine tune the outlet hole tapering it a little.


Used a Dremel Tool to clean up the outlet and smooth it for flow.


All cleaned up and ready for the copper wall insert.


You can see the 3mm depth real good in this picture and the dremeling of the outlet area.


Did some crow foot etching on the smooth copper corners, I know it's not pretty but it works.


Added a copper flow block wall to keep the coolant from going straight to the outlet.

After the water block was reassembled the base was lapped flat prepping it for the 40mm peltier, it is used on the cold side of the peltier to transfer the cold to the coolant flowing through the water block.

http://thermalright.com/product/true-spirit-140-power/
The hot side of the peltier is cooled by a Thermalright true Spirit 140 power heat pipe air cooler, it is a 360w TDP cooler.

Each of the Thermalright coolers was also lapped flat which was a time consuming laborious job because they have a convex curve in the base.


Alphacool water block mounted to the Thermalright cooler.


Another view.


Assembly wired for testing.
 
#3 ·
Before any building of 3.0 occurred the TECs had to be tested, and keep in mind at this point I had no clue if it was going to work or not, in the beginning this was an experiment.
They were initially tested using a Alphacool NexXxos Monsta single 180mm radiator as an ambient heat source.


One TEC assembly tested.


Two Tec Assemblies tested.


Three TEC assemblies tested.


The 3 TECs took the radiator down to 1.7c and still dropping when I stopped the ambient testing and reworked everything to test on a live system.
It was time to see what the 3 TECs could do cooling a powered up CPU.


I set the testing up on a 3770K overclocked to 5ghz with Hyper Threading enabled.


It performed better than expected or hoped for so I made the decision to replace the 2.0 chilled water cooling with this setup, now the challenge of what to put all this cooling into, and how to get it all in it?
 
#4 ·
The home for Chilled Water Cooling 3.0 was the Corsair Carbide Series Air 740 Cube Case.

https://www.hardocp.com/article/2016/10/10/corsair_carbide_series_air_740_cube_case_review

After looking over many of the available reviews I was pretty confident with some case modifications I could get everything in the case but that was not the case.
There were many surprises and many modifications that had to be done to get chilled water cooling 3.0 in and on it's new home, keeping in mind that my graphics card is externally radiator cooled with only the cooling tubes entering the case.

Since there are so many reviews of this case online and even You Tube reviews my pictures start with the main frame of the case and the mods to get it all to work out.
 
#5 ·





I used National hardware brackets to support the TEC assemblies as you can see in the picture the bracket on the far right had to be installed upwards instead of down like the other 3.







Mounting the pump was a challenge I had to install a support plate in the floor of the case because there was nothing but a 140mm hole there. That support plate is also where the SSD was installed behind the pump and the 140mm hole to the left of the plate is where the mechanical HDD is mounted.






Securing the temperature controller to the right of the pump in the picture was a breeze, it comes with the orange plastic locking sliders on each side that are completely removable for inserting the controller then slide them back on and push them forward as they ratchet lock in place to secure the controller in place.


I had no other choice but to install the insulated reservoir outside the rear of the case there was no where else to put it and it had to be outset from the back of the case so the top cover of the case could be installed. The reservoir is a Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 150 - POM cylinder style tank. http://www.performance-pcs.com/bitspower-water-tank-z-multi-150-pom.html


The toggle switch installed in the front cover is to the 3rd TEC assembly, times like surfing the net and posting such as this, the 3rd TEC is not needed so I can just switch it off.


The Thermomart Temperature controller was probably one of the easiest things of all to install just nip out the wire grid until it slid right in.



The 2nd and 3rd TEC assembly are both on the temperature controller so even when it is switched on, it is still temperature controlled.
 
#6 ·



I had originally wanted to mount the water pump to the left of the power supply but as you can see with all the wiring that was not possible. Above the power supply I had to use 90 degree fittings to route the tubing through that tight area it worked out just fine with the tubing insulated.










One case modification was to completely cut out access to bring the radiator water cooled graphics card in and out of the case, I added in a steel bracket to reinforce the case which is removable by thumb screws.








Played FarCry 4 close to 2 hours highest core temperature 62c.
 
#11 ·
Taking your time and doing research paid off - this new version exceeded my expectations!

I know its hard to change something that is already working, but looks like it was worth it this time
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#13 ·
Looks fantastic! I only had a quick skim through of the pictures; but I like how it looks and I'll come back and take a closer look when I'm not strapped for time.

Also, sidenote, thanks for taking tons of pictures. It's very helpful for giving ideas to those of us who haven't done it yet (like me)
biggrin.gif
 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skyl3r View Post

Looks fantastic! I only had a quick skim through of the pictures; but I like how it looks and I'll come back and take a closer look when I'm not strapped for time.

Also, sidenote, thanks for taking tons of pictures. It's very helpful for giving ideas to those of us who haven't done it yet (like me)
biggrin.gif
Thanks I find myself wanting to explain some things and wish I had taken more pictures than I did, you get engrossed in the building process and pictures are always an after thought, but I did try to keep them in mind as the project progressed.
 
#18 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Polarblair View Post

Fantastic work. Trying to scrape the parts together to get involved in tec cooling myself. This looks like a really great way to go about it.
Thank You!

There's plenty of great advice in these forums regarding TEC cooling, whether going chilled water cooling like this thread is covering, or direct mounting like some other members are using here.

Just depends on what route you decide to take.
 
#20 ·
Very much interested in incorporating TEC cooling into my skulltrail build and going the chilled water route as you have done. Had been slightly discouraged by people suggesting that TEC builds could double up as space heaters in the winter. Your build on the other hand looks much more reasonable.

I had however wanted to watercool the hot side. I have figured out that my dual QX9775 overclocked to 4GHz pump out at least 350W and I'm hoping to push them further - hence looking at sub ambient cooling. Using Ultrasonic's handy TEC calculator I cam up with this:



Don't know how realistic that all is - still very new to this and would love to get your input. Still debating 4 vs 6 TECs

In terms of cooling, the current design has enough room for 3x 480mm (60mm thick) rads + 2x 480mm Monsta (85mm thick) rads. All with gentle typhoons in push/pull.

Probably only need two of the 60mm rads for the Northbridge, Southbridge, RAM and Motherboard waterblocks. So two of the 85mm rads + an additional 60mm rad for TEC cooling?

Don't want to hijack thread - would have PM'd but interested in any feedback from other users too.

You can find my build here:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1615596/skulltrail-watercooling-d5400xs-qx9775/100
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Polarblair View Post

I had however wanted to watercool the hot side. I have figured out that my dual QX9775 overclocked to 4GHz pump out at least 350W and I'm hoping to push them further - hence looking at sub ambient cooling. Using Ultrasonic's handy TEC calculator I cam up with this:



Don't know how realistic that all is - still very new to this and would love to get your input. Still debating 2 vs 6 TECs
I think you're cutting yourself short on the hot side cooling. I think a good direct die block is going to be lower than 0.02C/W. I've seen some tested blocks at 0.011 and I considered those mediocre at best.

Change your hot side to 0.011, put the big Thermonamic TEC on there (one of them), and run it up to 84%. I assume that your CPU will occasionally hit 400 watts and not live at 400 watts. Now, you're not going to see 0.011 with a 1GPM flow. You might have to push the water harder at peak and then dial back as things settle down.

There's still a lot to be said for a chiller setup with multiple TECs at a lower run rate / higher COP. Much like Ryan's thread demonstrates.
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Polarblair View Post

Very much interested in incorporating TEC cooling into my skulltrail build and going the chilled water route as you have done. Had been slightly discouraged by people suggesting that TEC builds could double up as space heaters in the winter. Your build on the other hand looks much more reasonable.

I had however wanted to watercool the hot side.
Actually with this new setup heat output in the room is allowing me to actually use my room window AC unit on the Economy setting, never could use that feature before. (FYI: I have to run my AC in my office throughout the year here in SC USA there is no shade at all on my office.)

Many water cool the hot side and have for years but with the TDP ranges of the heat pipe air coolers steadily getting better it is a far simpler way to get the job done, but there's just no getting around having the room to mount the heat pipe air coolers.

Those powerful enough to get the job done are very large coolers occupying quite a lot of space.

If you water cool the hot side just make sure you have enough radiator cooling field to get the job done.
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by heb1001 View Post

Nice job.

What's the main reason for the improvement between version 2 and 3? Is it just more and better TECs which you are running at a more efficient operating point and the temperature controller?
What you said plus;
Improved water block cold transfer to the coolant.
Less reservoir coolant which equals overall faster coolant temperature recovery time.
Uses half the total electrical load.
Uses just one power supply so overall it is a cheaper build.
Two TEC assemblies on one temperature controller.
Higher TDP rated heat pipe air coolers allowing low CFM cooling fans being much, much, quieter.

I'm sure there are others but that's all that comes to mind right now.
 
#26 ·
Yep, not to mention there's the Northbridge which also requires active cooling. That being said, I can probably leave that on a conventional loop for the moment.

So from the two QX9775s, 400W is fine at 4GHz, but realistically I want a bigger buffer to try push them to 4.5GHz - maybe more!

Biggest problem I have is sourcing TEC waterblocks. Gut feeling is 6x50mm TECs to increase the contact area thereby giving me a bit more slack for waterblock efficiency?

In terms of cost, the cheapest way might by 8x40mm TECs with the 6stick alphacool RAM chillers either side? Also modifying the tops to increase turbulence as previously suggested.



I'm wanting sub ambient but definitely above dew point. So more TECs doing less work in series? Then nice big insulated res.

@OCAddict - definitely feel like I'm stepping on your toes now. If you have any more advice feel free to post to my build thread - I know I'll have more questions!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Master Chicken View Post

Oh wow @Polarblair, I just noticed the word "dual" in your post. Yeah, it's a chiller for you for sure. No wonder you had stacked so many TECs in your TEC Calculator example.
biggrin.gif
 
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