Water cooling how to with pics

[jmslew]

OK, I am a sucker for computer stuff and most of you probably won't do this but, because I did, I thought it would be cool to post a how-to with pics.

So, you want to go the water cooled route? You have many options here. You can go with active water cooling (uses a fan to cool the water/liquid just like a car radiator), or you can go with silent passive water cooling (uses no fans and, with the exception of the water pump and any other case/chipset fans which can be removed, is completely silent). I chose active because well, that's what was available and I heard good things about the kit and all of it will fit inside my absolutely HUGE case.

This is not a completely step-by-step how-to so read the instructions first!! It is also recommended that you have a little experience with working on computers before you go and try this (you should know how to remove PCI/PCI-E/AGP add-on cards and you should know how to remove a motherboard and reinstall it, I think we cover everything else). Out of a 10 point rating system, I would rate this at about a 7 (borderline 8) for difficulty.

The kit (Thermaltake BigWater SE shown with two additional VGA waterblocks.....because I have two video cards)____________________________________________ _____Here are the parts laid out:

The gallon of distilled water is not needed for this kit, but with most of the kits available, you will have to mix XX% distilled water with XX% supplied coolant liquid (just like a car's coolant/refer to instructions for exact percentages of each)
Sitting on top of the foam, you will see the resevoir/fill tank
On the left you will see the radiator (the piece with the fan attatched to it)
To the right of the radiator on the carpet, you will se the water pump
To the right of the water pump (in an awkward position) you will see the PCI backplate that has the wiring and knob to control the radiator fan speed (yes it is adjustable more on that later...)
Below that, you will see the CPU waterblock (the large copper piece of the three total)
The bottle of green liquid is the supplied coolant liquid
The two smaller copper blocks are the VGA waterblocks
And you have your various tubing, hardware and odds and ends..

[jmslew]

Start ripping it apart:

Disconnect anything you will need to in order to physically lift the motherboard out of the case (you will only need to be able to access the back of the motherboard). I was able to get it out of my case far enough without having to disconnect the power/speaker wires and all that jazz (that will depend on how your computer is laid out though). Then remove the processor fan/heatsink (I don't have pics of that, but it is very simple).__________________________________________ _______Take all the PCI/PCI-E/AGP cards out, and anything else that gets in the way (including your old CPU fan/heatsink combo)

[jmslew]

Lift the motherboard up out of the case to make enough room to access the back of it (again, very simple, usually held in place by 7 or so screws)___________________________________________ ______Remove LOTES clip (that's the black clip that holds your old fan/heatsink combo on the motherboard

[jmslew]

Install provided clip (this is the clip that will hold you CPU waterblock to the CPU)______________________________________________ ___Make sure it's snug

[jmslew]

Re-install motherboard:______________________________________ ___________Use a good thermal grease remover and then a surface purifier and I recommend you use Acrtic Silver 5 (about $10 for 3.5 grams which last you probably 3 or 4 computers) as a thermal grease, as opposed to the gunk provided in the kit

Clean the surface, then use the surface purifier

To do so, you only need to drop a few drops of the grease remover on the processor let it go all over the proc, avoiding spilling it off of the proc and just wipe it clean using a paper towel, or if you are a neat freak, a lint-free cloth after the surface is visibly free of the old thermal grease (which is the gray paste looking stuff you see on my proc), do the same with the surface purifier (again, after there is no more grease on the proc)_____________________________________________ ____Then, after the surface is nice and clean apply the Arctic Silver (be careful not to use too much, but don't use too little either.....just be careful)

[jmslew]

Spread the grease evenly, and avoid getting air pockets in it (normally use a credit card or similar to spread evenly)___________________________________________ ______remember to use the surface purifier on the waterblock first and then carefully place the waterblock in place (make sure it is seated properly so that it is covering the entire surface area of the processor and level)

[jmslew]

Fit the top plate on________________________________________________ _begin securing the top plate (being careful not to slide the seated waterblock all over the place and spreading the grease all over)_____________________________________________ ____Secure the waterblock

[jmslew]

video card front_____________________________________________ ____video card back

[jmslew]

video card heatsink removal

To remove my heatsinks, all I had to do was remove the four screws on the back that held it in place (as shown)____________________________________________ _____remove the heatsink and unplug the fan power cord______________________________________________ ___clean the GPU just like the CPU and then use the surface purifier as well

[jmslew]

apply the thermal grease____________________________________________ _____spread evenly

[jmslew]

route the screws through the back (and remember to use the provided paper washers in between the screw and the card)_____________________________________________ ____thread the nuts on (and don't forget those wasers)___________________________________________ ______use the surface purifier on the waterblock before placing it

[jmslew]

loosen the provided bracket to allow adjustments_______________________________________ __________have a friend hold it in place so you can screw it down (making sure it is seated flat and square)

[jmslew]

and you video card should look like this

[jmslew]

next, slide the resevoir/fill tank into an open drive bay (fit it loosely, as you will have to slide it out to fill the resevoir later on)_______________________________________________ __Find a place to mount the radiator (my case is freaking HUGE, so I was able to remove an extra hard drive chassis to mount it inside the case compliments of Lian Li very good quality cases)____________________________________________ _____and, what do you know....the mesh holes in the bottom of the case line right up, so no modification needed to mount it!!

[jmslew]

read the directions for how the in/out hoses are to be attatched (there is a particular order it has to be fone in, depending on your kit)

Then measure and cut and begin fitting the hoses_____________________________________________ ____connect to resevoir (there is an in and an out for the resvoir, so once again follow the instructions on this part)_____________________________________________ ____connect to the proper in or out on the pump (corresponds to the instructions)_____________________________________ ____________connect to the in/out on the radiator

[jmslew]

connect to CPU waterblock________________________________________ _________connect from CPU waterblock to VGA waterblock and , in my case connect the from the first VGA to the second VGA waterblock

[jmslew]

finish the connection check all connections to make sure it is all secure and free of kinks in the tubing and slide the fill tank out and fill with appropriate liquid____________________________________________ _____find a place to mount the pump and mount it using the supplied velcro tape

[jmslew]

the benefits of a second computer....use the power supply on the second computer to power just the pump alone to ensure the water is flowing

if you aren't as fortunate, plug everything back in, check for kinks and power it on, watching closely to ensure the water is flowing if it isn't immediately turn it off and troubleshoot it until you can get the water flowing___________________________________________ ______flick the bubbles out, but be gentle not to knock stuff loose....that would be bad....lol

[jmslew]

now plug it all in and install the PCI slot fan speed control on the back of your computer and there it is fan speed control at the turn of a knob!!____________________________________________ _____there you have it, all laid out now just ensure EVERYTHING is correctly plugged back in and route your wires/cables/cords as neatly as possible and close the case back up

[lpxxfaintxx]

Great job. I get headaches when I play with these techy stuff :P


ATTN Staff: I merged the posts into groups of 2 and 3's. It is so that the user who is reading this guide don't get lost.