Sprocket's New Home

[tesco]

Originally posted by clocker@17 April 2004 - 21:44
It say....

Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Version 2002

Service Pack 2, v 2096


Now, what does that tell you?

lol, i just wanted to know what version you have ok now i know though, its the RC1 version, thats teh last one i used. firewall worked fine for me have you found anything else that doesnt work yet?

oh, if u click start>turn off computer, does the screen around the standby, restart, turn off go completely black or just grey? mine went all the way blakc and coudlnt figure out why.

edit:

BTW, Sprocket is now running watercooled.
So far, temps are under 40....

sweet, got any pics yet?

[clocker]

[quote]Originally posted by ROSSCO_2004@17 April 2004 - 20:47

It say....

Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Version 2002




oh, if u click start>turn off computer, does the screen around the standby, restart, turn off go completely black or just grey? mine went all the way blakc and coudlnt figure out why.

blah,blah,blah

sweet, got any pics yet?

I don't shutdown that way...I made shortcuts (" shutdown -s -t 0" and " shutdown -r -t o" )to boot and turn off....no start button bushwa for me, nosirree.

No pics yet...just an initial test right now.
I have to reopen her tonight any way, neither my On LED nor my HDD activity LED are working and I want to disable one of the two fans on the radiator to see what happens...

[tesco]

[quote]Originally posted by clocker@17 April 2004 - 21:59

It say....

Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Version 2002




oh, if u click start>turn off computer, does the screen around the standby, restart, turn off go completely black or just grey? mine went all the way blakc and coudlnt figure out why.

blah,blah,blah

sweet, got any pics yet?

I don't shutdown that way...I made shortcuts (" shutdown -s -t 0" and " shutdown -r -t o" )to boot and turn off....no start button bushwa for me, nosirree.

No pics yet...just an initial test right now.
I have to reopen her tonight any way, neither my On LED nor my HDD activity LED are working and I want to disable one of the two fans on the radiator to see what happens...

alright thats kool i can wait...for the leds, try flipping around the connection for it, sometimes they get hooked up backwards and dont work...ii live with mine backwards for like 5 months, i thought that my mobo was just wierd and that the hdd one didnt work, and the power one turned on when the comp was off but then i switched them around and it worked lol.

[clocker]

Ok...
The "power on" LED is working and the "push" fan on the radiator is gone.
This should be interesting.

I tried to get tricky with my HDD activity light.
The front of my new HDD enclosure has two LEDs and I tried to use them as the activity light, but obviously they don't run on the teensy current supplied by the activity header on the mobo.
C'est la vie...
Fix that in the morning.

Now if I could just make the waterpump silent...hmmm....

[clocker]

Well boys and girls, Sprocket was feeling a trifle randy this evening so I stripped her down and shot some revealing photos.

Computer porn.
Given that she is less than 72 hrs. old ( in this incarnation at least), we are all risking serious jail time...


So here is the main view.
This case is considerably smaller than her previous bodies, so Sprocket is getting a little big for her britches. It was quite a project cramming all the components into her new home, especially given my ( self-imposed) restriction against cutting any new holes in the exterior of the case.
The watercooling required the most improvisation.
Moving the HDD into the 5 1/4" drive bay and not having a floppy drive meant that I could remove the 3 1/2" bay box which opened up the needed room in the front case bottom area. I cut out the stamped fan grill and mounted the intake fan/radiator assy. on the front wall. Then I ran a duct from the back of the radiator to the back casewall where the exhaust air is helped out of the case with another fan. These are the only two case fans.
Quite a change from Muffin.
This duct obviously makes it impossible to insert any PCI cards (not a problem ATM), but I have an alternate oulet location in mind should the need ( or the desire to cut holes, lol) arise.
The water pump/reservoir is mounted right behind the radiator on rubber mounting feet.
The main waterlines and all the visible wiring is sheathed with black mesh sheathing. This job was made easier after I discovered that Radio Shack sells a Molex pin remover ( cat.# 274-223..price was $6.95) which worked very well. I recommend it.
Although this Centurion case has no windows I was still trying to keep things looking spiffy.
Just for my satisfaction, I guess.
Life would certainly be easier if IDE cables came in shorter lengths.My double connector (optical drive) cable could be 6" long, but the shortest available seems to be 12", which leaves a big loop to deal with. Maybe custom cables are in order...

Here is the infamous rear panel...

Visisble are the rear exhaust fan for the duct and the "chimney" for the PSU exhaust fan that came with the duct kit. Not sure if this piece helps or hinders things yet, but I paid for it so I decided to mount it and see.

And here is the front...

I have some ideas for the opening for the floppy drives, but right now that space is simply filled with a piece of foam.
The only mods to the front so far are the addition of the two lights in the upper bay cover which are connected to the temperature varied power outlets on the Antec PSU. The idea is that the lights will bighten/dim in relation to case temp. Unfortunately I have no bulbs for these sockets, so this remains theory only.
Also, the front of the CoolerMaster HDD encloser ( second bay) has two LEDs which are decorative only.
I converted these to be my power on and HDD activity lights.

On the roof I added two handles, very handy for lifting the case and removing the roof panel ( which is held on with one screw and must be removed to free the sidepanels...pretty cool method, really).

With a fresh application of AS5 on the Zalman waterblock, Sprocket is idling at 30 degC.

As usual, I expect that I'll begin making detail changes almost immediately, but I think I have a fairly decent starting point for this latest incarnation of my baby.

[kaiweiler]

wow....
very clean!
so how does that aquarius II system work?? does it give relativly good temps, and i assume it is quieter then the old sprockets home correct?

[clocker]

Ah, the AquariusII...

This version is working fine, an improvement I attribute to the Zalman waterblock.
Looking at my notes, I see that the stock waterblock was decidedly inferior to a mid-level air solution, while my current temps are equal to Sprocket's uberMuffin case.
This is with a fresh application of AS5, so perhaps temps will improve slightly as the TIM normalizes.
I am still of two minds about this kit.
The radiator is cute as button and with the exception of the 1/4" fittings, there isn't anything I would change.
The stock waterblock, pump and (especially) the reservoir are pretty cheesy, but servicable and undeniably easy to install.
Plus, it was free ( to me at least) so I have no monetary complaints.

Yes, it is very quiet, with the exception of a small, but irritating buzzing noise from the pump.
The old case was not what I would consider obnoxious, but did suffer from a hum from the fans- a byproduct of my fan control switch, I'm sure.

Current idle temp is 30c.
So far, so good.

[kaiweiler]

I was expecting it to even be a little lower then 30 idle, would it make a difference using a different liquid?
do you think it would be a worthy investment of about $155 CAD? plus another 50 for the zalman block? probably not actually...
and there is probably a way to deafen the buzz a bit, encasing the pump in something? i dunno, I'm sure there's a way

[kaiweiler]

Pros

All in one kit.

Powers off mobo and PSU

Quiet

Adaptable to either Intel P4/P3 or AMD Athlon XP/TBird/Duron

Ease of installation and removal.

Quiet

Excellent cooling when compared to standard air coolers.

Quiet


Cons

Pump moves only 1/6 the flow of other water-cooler pumps.

Cooling rates as poor when compared to other water-coolers.

Some cases may have to be modded in order to install the unit.

Price could be a bit lower.


I was thinking of getting one of these kits but I didn't like this to much...

SOURCE

[clocker]

Originally posted by kaiweiler@19 April 2004 - 10:26
I was expecting it to even be a little lower then 30 idle, would it make a difference using a different liquid?
do you think it would be a worthy investment of about $155 CAD? plus another 50 for the zalman block? probably not actually...
and there is probably a way to deafen the buzz a bit, encasing the pump in something? i dunno, I'm sure there's a way

30c at idle seems pretty respectable to moi, especially given the rather pathetic specs of the pump/radiator.

I don't think any additives would make much of a difference.

No, it's not worth that much money...even if we are talking Canadian bucks.

I'm looking for a way to silence the pump...I'll figure it out eventually.