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Looking for help/advice with my watercooled P182 build

Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2010 8:20 pm
by afireinside
In my recent and never ending quest to quiet my computer, I have come to SPCR for help. It is pretty quiet right now, but I always want more. Obviously if I ditched my watercooling and was content with a low overclock it would be MUCH quieter, but I refuse to give up speed.

Here's what I'm working with

Phenom 2 940BE @ 3.8ghz 1.63v (aka HOT)
ASUS M4A79
Gskill 4GBPQ
GTX 260 216 stock cooler @ 729/1620/1161
X-25M G2 80GB
640gb WD blue
1TB WD green
Coolermaster real power pro 750

P182
Apogee GTZ
MCR220
MCres-micro
MCP355 /w XSPC top

What I've done so far/fan setup:
standard intake: 120mm D12SL @ 700rpm
5.25" bays: scythe HDD silencer mounts and D14SL @ 5v
top exhaust: blocked off (just using some magazines for now)
rear exhaust: D12SL @ 5v
radiator: 4x D12SL @ 5v
all fan grilles/filters/front fan doors removed
acoustipack dampening
solid non vented PCI slot covers

old picture, SSD is now in the bottom chamber, video card is the GTX 260, and I moved the second HDD to the bottom most 5.25" to improve airflow and cabling
Image

Original plan: cut a 2x120 rad grillz sized hole in the side side panel (behind mobo tray side) for airflow to rad. Currently have a cardboard side panel I made to test before I took a jigsaw to my real one. I moved the radiator OUTSIDE (but still blowing in) and got a slight performance increase. Not sure which route to go. Having it down there kinda sucks because it dumps quite a bit of heat, making the PSU run warmer/louder.

I really want more radiator since a 2x120 is not enough, but I'm not sure where to put it. I'm tempted to give in and mount one off the back of the case with a rad box. Any ideas I'm missing?

Oh and the loudest thing in my system right now seems to be the CPU water block, no lie. I've reassembled the block and the loop and tried everything imaginable to bleed it, but no more air comes out. Someone over at xtremesystems seems to be having the same issue. If I pinch the tubing, the noise decreases A LOT. I'm thinking it might have to do with the crazy flow rate I probably have with such a powerful pump and low restriction loop.

Other than the obvious "get a quieter power supply (on my to-do list) and pump", is there anything else I can do? Keep in mind I refuse to give up performance to something like "watercool the GPU" is simply not an option unless I add another 2x120 worth of radiator at the same time.

Thanks in advance!

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 12:53 am
by spartan117
nice rig :) im running a wc p182 as well :) you though about having the rad outside the case ?

Also dont think u need to have the top fan in the case on at all since ur cpu dosent need much air flow :) just block it off so you only have 2 fans in the upper chamber.

if your flow rate is too high you can always run the pump at a lower voltage ^^ quieter and wont effect your temps that much :)

Also why not get a water block for the gtx 260 ? you might need extra rad though since ur cpu voltage is quite high :P

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 1:21 am
by afireinside
That's exactly the issue with the 260 waterblock idea :P

The pump doesn't even start at 7v, What's the best way to lower the voltage otherwise?

Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2010 3:22 am
by spartan117
u can always use a zalam fan mate :D if it's a molex plug then u can get a converter so it can fit onto a zalman fan mate ^^

also you can mount 120 rads in the top exhaust fans, should be enough for the GTX260 if you put the rad in between the cpu and gpu water blocks :)

id def consider putting the rad u got in the bottom chamber externally, would decrease turbulence in ur lower chamber, while helping with ur temps :) or an externally mounted passive reservoir :)

external water cooling is better than internal ^^ all that heat goes out of the case not stay lingering inside cooking the rest of the pc :)

Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 4:10 pm
by afireinside
I thought about single fan rads, but exhaust ones would just be using VERY hot air from inside my case. I considered a 3x120 at the top but I'd imagine having a hole that large at the top of my case would result in a LOT of noise escaping, especially when I consider how big a difference covering the top exhaust made.