Forem: Moriah Maney

Side Project: Water Cooling My PC

Moriah Maney — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 18:49:57 +0000

Note: this was originally posted on my personal website at moriahmaney.com

Introduction

I built my first desktop computer as a teenager when I started to become interested in PC gaming. Since then, I've done multiple iterations and upgrades until I finally arrived at a place where I was comfortable enough to water cool my computer. Water cooling is often done by hobbyists as a way to reduce temperatures and noise, and to enable overclocking hardware components while maintaining good temperatures.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to be an expert on water cooling. If you plan to water cool a PC, this guide is mainly to serve as an introduction to the process and to chronicle my own journey water cooling my PC. It is not comprehensive by any means.

Part List

Item	Type	Link
Motherboard	ASUS Strix Z370-E	http://a.co/5Dq88Cr
Processor	Intel i7-8700K	http://a.co/fZD5R7U
Graphics Card	EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC Black Edition	http://a.co/9IbItRz
RAM	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4	http://a.co/5hmcAUN
Power Supply	Corsair RM750x	http://a.co/bXYCbwB
Storage	Kingston 240GB SSD	http://a.co/8QtGGgp
Storage	Kingston 120GB SSD	http://a.co/5oXpV3U
Storage	WD Black 2TB HDD	http://a.co/bbt9Jfk
CPU Waterblock	EK-Supremacy EVO	https://bit.ly/2rIgtLk
GPU Waterblock	EK-FC Titan X Pascal	https://bit.ly/2MaONxv
GPU Backplate	EK-FC Titan X Pascal Backplate	https://bit.ly/2KiQDHB
Pump/Reservoir	EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM	https://bit.ly/2h11XJi
Radiator	EK-CoolStream CE 280	https://bit.ly/2fUpQpV
Fans	EK-Vardar EVO (2)	https://bit.ly/2MlCTA3
Tubing	EK-DuraClear	https://bit.ly/2FvLedA
Fittings	EK-ACF Fitting 10/13mm (8)	https://bit.ly/2nyxckA
Fluid	PrimoChill Vue	https://bit.ly/2P0QfAm
Cables	CableMod ModFlex Pro	https://bit.ly/2Ozgwoz
PCI-E Extension	EZDIY-FAB	http://a.co/hBH9W3r
Case	Fractal Design Define R6	https://bit.ly/2LZp6Pv

Process

Testing

Building your PC using the original cooling (air) ahead of time if you're building completely from scratch is an important step. This will ensure all of your components work before adding the additional complexity of water cooling. Building a PC from scratch is outside the scope of this write-up, so that's as in depth as I will go here.

Planning

Planning your loop properly is one of the most important ways to make sure your components will work together and avoid spending extra money on part incompatibilities. In addition, it is recommended to draw your loop out ahead of time. If you're building your loop alone, measuring tubing lengths is recommended at this stage. I had another person to help me, so we ran the tubing, marked it, and cut it as we went instead.

Fitting

I had originally ordered an NZXT H500 for this build, then realized the NZXT 500i was the only version with the ability to vertically mount the GPU. As this was a core component of the build asthetic I was going for, I re-ordered an NZXT H500i and had to wait for it to arrive. Once it arrived, I started to dry fit the reservoir/pump and the raditator, only to realize they wouldn't fit in the case without a massive amount of overcrowding. An important note is that the NZXT H500i is a brand new case, so I didn't have many reviews to go off of and just went on hope. This is where you do as I say and not as I do, and plan ahead of time so it doesn't happen to you.

More Fitting

After realizing my second case also didn't work, I did an extensive amount of research and landed on the Fractal Design Define R6 in white. I watched countless YouTube builds with watercooling to make sure it would actually fit. I had to wait another week for this case to arrive, but when it did I could finally do another dry fitting. Below is a photo of the dry fit (I had already removed the pump and reservoir, but you get the idea).

Assembly

I started this build by installing the power supply and routing the cables through the case to get them exactly how I wanted them. This is a good first step especially if you want clean cable management throughout. Below is a photo of the cable management on the back side of the case.

Next, mount the CPU water block to the motherboard, and be careful to not overtighten it.

Whatever GPU water block you purchase should come with instructions on removing the air cooler from your graphics card and installing the water block. Below are a few photos of the process to visualize this step.

Once you've removed the air cooler and removed the original thermal pads, the instructions will tell you where to place the new thermal pads and how to install the water block. Below is a photo of my GPU with the water block fully installed.

The next step is to mount the radiator, fans, and reservoir inside the case. Below is a photo with these components installed.

Next, install the fittings where you will have tubing and caps on any ports where you will not. After that, mount the GPU inside your case. I used the riser cable for this step since I wanted a vertically mounted GPU.

With everything installed, I started running tubing inside the case, marking it, and cutting it for each run. If you are doing this alone, you may have already measured these lengths and cut them, so this step is not necessary and you can skip straight to attaching the tubes. Below are photos as I measured, cut, and attached the tubing.

Leak Test

Before you do a leak test, you should place as many paper towels as you reasonably can under every set of fittings in your build. This will help catch any leaking water and you can easily touch test the paper towels throughout to ensure they stay dry.

To fill my loop, I used a kitchen funnel and a spare piece of tubing to fill the reservoir. Then (using a jumper on the power supply ATX 24-pin to run the pump), I slowly added the PrimoChill Vue System Prep mixed with distilled water, cycling the power supply to pull the water through the loop. Once the loop was full, I let it run for a few hours until I was satisfied there were no leaks. Below is a photo of my computer during the leak test.

Note: Do not run the pump with no water in the reservoir. This can and will burn out your pump very quickly

After the leak test, I removed the jumper and reconnected my components. I used the system normally for three days to let the system prep run while continuing to keep a close eye on it for any leaks.

Flush

To flush the loop, I unmounted the GPU from the case and drained it from the plug there into a bowl. Once the water level was sufficiently low, we picked up the case and tilted it around (very carefully) until any remaining fluid drained out. After that, I refilled it with distilled water and drained it again after running it for a few minutes with the jumper cable as described in the leak test section above.

Refill

Once the system was totally drained, I refilled it using the same process as described in the leak test section using my final fluid (PrimoChill Vue). I let it run normally for a few days to get rid of any air bubbles, then topped of the reservoir until it was as full as I could comfortably make it. Below are some photos of the completed build.

Takeaways

In the end, I'm incredibly pleased with how this build turned out. It's the first build I've ever done where it felt completed (at least for now). If I could do it over again, I definitely would have been more careful to not order a brand new case without waiting for reviews and build videos to go live. Water cooling is an expensive and complicated process, but now I have a computer I am truly proud that I built.

Resources

Nevertheless, Moriah Coded

Moriah Maney — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 01:06:41 +0000

I began to code because...

To be honest, I began to code because I needed a stable job and a stable income. I knew that if I was going to go into debt to go to school, it needed to be something that would actually pay my bills afterwards.

What I never expected was that I would completely fall in love with coding. As I mentioned in my last year's #shecoded post, I chose Computer Science as my major after attending a SWE event at the University of Central Florida where I got to code some routines for a little robot. It made me so excited and so happy in a way nothing else in STEM had before. I still feel so grateful every day to have a job that makes me happy and pays my bills.

I continue to code because...

Every day I go into work, there are new challenges and new problems to solve. I love that coding continues to exercise my mental muscles even outside of a university setting.

I'm an expert at...

Test automation. My first internship was a QA internship where I began to learn how to write automated test suites. Based on my success there, I was offered a job to build up a new project's test automation suite. I've been doing test automation for quite a few years now, and finally sort of feel comfortable saying I'm an expert at it.

I recently overcame...

The fear of taking on my first non-testing related ticket! It was a small bug fix, but everyone starts somewhere!

I'm excited about...

Learning new types of coding! I expressed my desire to transition out of only working on test automation and moving into feature development, and the leaders at my work have listened and are working on helping me transition.

I want to brag about...

Shortly after my post from last year, I graduated from the University of Central Florida with my BS in Computer Science. I landed a pretty great gig immediately after and have been working there happily ever since.

I deserve credit for...

I work relentlessly hard to ensure that everything gets done and done well. I don't often brag on myself, so this was a hard question, but one that I'm glad was proposed as an idea.

I look up to...

Every single person who is underrepresented in tech (especially those I've befriended on Twitter). You all inspire me every single day and I feel a little less alone because of you.

My advice for allies to support women and non-binary folks who code is..

Advocate for women and underrepresented groups everywhere you go. It has made a world of difference for me to be in an environment where I'm respected and empowered to do my best work and be my authentic self. Use your privilege to speak up if you see others being disrespectful towards someone or creating an uncomfortable situation. Make sure you're building a diverse, welcoming team both in your hiring processes and in the day-to-day work environment.

My advice for other women and non-binary folks who code is...

You are intelligent, worthy, and capable. You deserve to not only be in tech, but to be comfortable here and to take up space here.

I also want you to remember that you don't have to be strong all the time. It's okay to get tired and worn down from what you deal with just to be here. Just remember that you deserve to stay and you should stay as long as you want to.

Nevertheless, Moriah Maney Coded

Moriah Maney — Wed, 08 Mar 2017 03:14:31 +0000

I began coding because...

When I was younger, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do, but I always gravitated toward STEM subjects. In high school, I attended a SWE event at the University of Central Florida. After spending the day doing some basic coding, I fell in love with it. Coding was so exciting in a way that I never had been excited about a subject before, so I decided to attend UCF as a Computer Science major.

I'm currently hacking on...

Between school and work, I don't spend much time on personal projects (for now!). I'm a software developer primarily focused in QA, and spend most of my time coding test automation suites.

I'm excited about...

Graduation! I'm a senior in my last semester of my Computer Science B.S. and I'm set to graduate in May.

My advice for other women who code is...

To the young women and girls thinking about majoring in STEM: we need you. There are so few of us, and we have to be the change we want to see. You bring unique perspectives & ideas to the table and diversity is so important. Never forget that you are just as capable and just as intelligent as anyone else. It will be discouraging and hard sometimes, but I wouldn't choose anything else if I could start college over again.