Project: Epic Spider

The Jesus · 05-28-2008, 08:15 PM

Well, I started this computer back in January and up until about two weeks ago I was continuously upgrading it. It's finally a Spider platform computer. I realized that I need liquid cooling for the GPUs because they are pretty hot due to overclocking. I was hoping someone like NorthWizard could help me out with some recommendations for a liquid cooling setup. Here's the specs:

Mobo:MSI K9A2-Platinum V1.0
CPU: AMD Phenom 9600 (2.4 Ghz)
Video Cards: 4x Sapphire Radeon HD 3850s (Overclocked to 720/925)
RAM: 4x 1GB Patriot Extreme Performance DDR2 800 5-5-5-16
PhysX Card: ASUS PhysX P1
TV Tuner: Hauppauge TV Tuner
Sound Card: Creative X-Fi Premium Fatal1ty Champion
Hard Drives: 2x Seagate Barracuda 250 GB 7200 RPM SATA, 1x Western Digital 200 GB 7200 RPM
SATA, 1x Western Digital 400 GB 7200 RPM SATA
DVD Drives: 2 Lite-On DVD Burners (1 has LightScribe)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Aquagate S1 CPU Cooler
Power Supply: Rosewill 950W Power Supply
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5 Case

I promised some pics, so here they are!

If you look at the pictures you can see that this computer is stuffed except two 5.25" drive bays, not sure what I can even do with them yet, lol. So now my plans are to mod this case to make it larger or get a new case and mod it in some way, not sure yet.

Just wanted to show off my new Spider, and get some suggestions for liquid cooling on the GPUs. I was looking at the Koolance systems and cases, but they are quite a bit expensive, only reason I was looking at them, was that they have the Koolance VID-385 that is made specifically for the 3850, and supports quad-crossfire setups with cards in between the 3850s. So, if someone has a suggestion on this setup, I am all ears.

Yes, I know my power cable routing is not the best, but when you have that much **** plugged in, it tends to get a bit busy.

Yes, I really do need 8 monitors, rofl. If you ask me why I need eight monitors, I will just tell you "BECAUSE I CAN!" or "WHY NOT?!!?"

Any comments and/or suggestions are welcome!

DJ-Nokey · 06-05-2008, 10:12 AM

wow wtf? 0_o thats alot of monitors. hahah.

Nicholas.Sexton · 06-05-2008, 04:40 PM

This would be cool with some cheapo LCDs=)

The Jesus · 06-05-2008, 05:25 PM

Lol, except, that's a different setup then mine. That looks to be a linux cluster running 12 monitors, whilst mine is running 8 by itself :). I am glad someone finally responded to this topic, lol. I actually ordered my new liquid cooler from Koolance, but due to lack of funds, I only ordered the pump/radiator/reservoir thing and a CPU block for now. I am planning to get the 4 video card coolers later. I also ordered some of that red UV reactive paint from Xoxide (THANKS!) to spray on my power cables, and some UV reactive red coolant, plus the UV lights to top it all off, so this is going to be quite the red case, lol. It's going to be a black/red color scheme I believe. I really want to get a side panel that has the AMD/ATI Spider Platform spider on it, but not exactly easy to come by. There's that monster Lian-Li thing, that one of the guys on here was selling, but I can't seem to find it anywhere else. That and I don't really want a giant red case, lol.

The Jesus · 06-06-2008, 12:35 PM

Liquid cooling came today (GO UPS!) and so did the red UV paint (XOXIDE FTMFW!). I am going to install it later on tonight when my friends come over. I also ordered a new Phenom 9850 BE so that I could actually overclock, lol. But it won't be here until tomorrow (Saturday) at the earliest, but most likely Monday. New pictures will be up later tonight. Peace.

The Jesus · 06-07-2008, 12:35 AM

Nevermind about the pictures, I am going to wait until I get the new processor and the other water blocks. That way, I don't have to keep re-doing the tubing. So, now I will have the main radiator with 3x 120mm fans, the reservoir/pump, a second radiator with 1x 120mm fan, and 4x GPU blocks. It will run from the pump to the cpu, to the second radiator, to the GPUs, to the main radiator, and back to the pump. Anyone got any suggestions?

The Jesus · 06-08-2008, 05:39 AM

Monday - AMD Phenom 9850 Black Edition

Tuesday - Waiting....

Wednesday - 4x GPU Blocks, Radiator #2, GPU Nozzles, Tubing, More UV Reactive Paint, New Ultra Aluminus Case, Red UV Fan (for radiator), Red UV Floppy Cable, Extra Liquid Coolant, and Red and UV Cathode Lights.

Assuming that UPS and these companies deliver on time, I will start re-assembly of my computer wednesday. Hopefully all goes well, and I set it up fine. Then we have some fun. :)

Thanks, and stay tuned for new pictures and updates!

The Jesus · 06-09-2008, 03:08 PM

Well, I got the AMD Phenom 9850 BE, not going to install it until wednesday when I get all the equipment, that way I don't have nasty thermal paste all over it from the Aquagate. I'll put up some pictures later of what I have so far.

EDIT: Here's the pictures...

All the equipment so far...

This stuff is way too fun (Thank you Xoxide for introducing me to it)

Red UV Reactive Coolant...

A crappy picture of the 9850...

BLACKLIGHT POWERS ACTIVATE!

Go coolant, GO!

Some more coolant...

UV Reactive Tubing...

I couldn't resist spraying the block, lol...

Well, that's all the pictures for now. You're all going to have to wait until Wednesday for the case and installation of the system. I would like some feedback from some other people, if possible. Thanks, The Jesus.

The Jesus · 06-10-2008, 10:43 PM

Well, I changed my setup plans again.

Instead of just a 1/4" tubing through the whole thing, I decided 3/8" would be better and then split it into two 1/4" lines; one to the video cards; one to the processor, thus allowing for them to come back together and continue on to the radiators.

I also got some new tubing wrap for, obviously, the tubes. Here's what I was thinking. All the 3/8" wrapped in black; the 1/4" that runs to the processor in green (for AMD); and the 1/4" that runs to the video cards in red (for ATI). I think it's gonna look pretty cool.

Well, tomorrow is the big day. Got to wait for UPS to deliver my packages (there's 7, lol) either at noon or around 6 PM EST. Then, cut the new case top, mount the radiator in the top, install all the tubing, blocks, and other radiator, then fill it up, and hope to god it works. Anyone got any tips for a first time liquid cooling installer?

Thanks, The Jesus

**Joe_B_Me** · 06-10-2008, 10:55 PM

Don't mind me, I'm just here to drool over your quad-cf. ^_^

As far as water cooling goes....to cool as much hardware as you have, you'd need to either buy a much larger case or build yourself an external box.

I'm far from an expert on wc'in (i've only help setup a couple myself), so take what I say with a grain of salt, or wait for some more knowledgeable people to give an opinion.

To cool 4 video cards, you will probably want to consider running two separate loops. Also, you may want to consider upgrading your current cpu block to one that can support 3/8" or 1/2" ID. I can't see that koolance setup keeping your quad too cool (i could be wrong). Neither could I imagine one 1/4" ID tube cooling those video cards.

The Jesus · 06-11-2008, 12:33 AM

Thanks for checking out my project. Now on to the matters at hand.

Case - I am actually getting an Ultra Aluminus. I thought I mentioned that previously, but maybe not. So the new case is going to have a ton more room. It also can support that monster radiator you see in the pictures, lol.

Quad-CF - Thanks. I am pretty sure that the 1/4" can do it, since all 4 are going to be hooked with tubeless nozzles, so they won't be restricted past the opening and ending tubes. But then again, with all my heat dissipation, they should be fine, or at least better then my current 70*C average... idle.

Tubing - Yeah, that was my concern, but the block comes 1/4" standard, and with Koolance you can't mix other companies or it voids your warranty :(. But, I am pretty sure if that nappy Aquagate can keep my Phenom 9600 around 40*C under load, the Koolance can do it with 1400W of heat dissipation :D.

Thanks for the suggestions, but I think my tubing should be set. If I were to do a second loop, I would probably kill myself due to the expense this has been, lol. Anyways, only 12 hours until either one package or all the packages come! HOORAY! lol.

Anyways, I made a mock-up of the setup in paint, it looks really bad, but you get the basic idea.

Well, off to Rock Band for some time wasting, lol.

Thanks, The Jesus.

The Jesus · 06-12-2008, 03:51 AM

Ok, well, I have completed installing my new cooling and everything. However, the first try at booting, my first and second video cards did not recognize, but on the second try, the first one is still unrecognized. So, I am still in the process of troubleshooting.

I did get my processor temperature down to 25*C, so from 40*C on a slower CPU to 25*C on a newer CPU (Also, higher clocked) is pretty damn good, IMHO. The video cards (The three I can actually check) are at about 47*C average among them, and from 70*C average to 47*C is quite impressive, once again IMHO. So, let's hope these temperatures stay around this, or lower :).

But just to please you all, here are some pictures of what should pretty much be the finished project:

Not using the large blacklight...

Lights Out...

Close-up Flash On...

OOOO Shiny...

Meh, a Little Less Shiny...

The Tubing...

OOO Pretty Colors...

Go Video Cards, GO!

Hooray, Pretty Tubes!

OOOO, Red Hard Drives

Meh, Same Old, Same Old

And the Color Fiesta Begins!

Yes, Ultra Does Like Green...

Pretty Colors, GO!

Well, now that I got this all uploaded and posted, back to fixing the Quad-CF error.

The Jesus · 06-12-2008, 05:28 AM

Just wanted to say real quick that I got the Quad-CF running again, HOORAY EIGHT MONITORS!!! Also, I've been trying a couple of overclocking trials, but none of them seem to be working. I'll try tomorrow when I am actually awake, lol. Ok, just wanted to say my stuff is working, peace.

**Grez** · 06-12-2008, 10:55 AM

Holy Shiite!!!! That's a lot of GPU power right there. Love the UV tubing...

The Jesus · 06-12-2008, 05:51 PM

Lol, yeah. As long as you're not running a Unreal Engine 3 based game, you get great FPS on max settings (DX9). But on Gears of War or Unreal Tournament 3, it drops down to 30 FPS solid. Of course, that's all in Quad-CF on, with it off I get about 45 FPS in UT3, maxed, and CoD4 I get about 50-60 FPS on average.

The Jesus · 06-12-2008, 06:12 PM

I like that as soon as I typed that, my graphics card drivers gave me a BSoD, lol.

Lealirex · 06-12-2008, 06:34 PM

Aww! Talk about irony. ;) Did ya get it all sorted out?

**Duke3d87** · 06-12-2008, 06:39 PM

So why do you need so many monitors agai?

The Jesus · 06-12-2008, 06:41 PM

Yeah, it's all good now. So far, so good.

I don't need that many monitors, it's just cause I can.

The Jesus · 06-13-2008, 05:20 PM

Well, I decided that the 1/4" probably doesn't have that great of flow, so I am switching it to 3/8" throughout with a new cpu block and some ram heatsinks that look tight. They will be here Monday, so I will have to redo it then. There will be 2 loops now.

Loop 1: Pump > CPU > RAM > Small Radiator > Pump

Loop 2: Pump > Video Cards > Large Radiator > Pump

The first loop will be 3/8" until I get to the ram heatsinks that require 1/4", then I will split it just like I did before, but have one line go into the ram and one line straight to the next splitter (as the Koolance guide suggests). So it should keep a better flow that way. I could also run one line to the first ram heatsink and the other to the second ram heatsink and then have them both come back out to the splitter, similar to what I have now.

So yeah, I am gonna redo the cooling on monday and upload the new pictures. Thanks, The Jesus.