Sabertooth Switch

[scaccima]

Just a few shots of the completed upgrade

Switch810_15: showing a shot of the front; tube routing from radiator [through drive bays], fan controller, and yes, a CD-ROM [we dinosaurs got to stick together, right Daz?].

Switch810_14: although picture is a bit out of focus [cheap digital cameras or shaky tripod], it shows just how much space taking the loop this way will take up...and why the drive bay had to be cut away [without the area cut away, the fan in the front would be starving for air].

Switch810_11: closeup of the tube res and coolant

Switch810_12: upgrading complete, doors on, coolant flowing smoothly

Switch810_13: PC is back home, beside my desk.

Will post a short video and comments about the upgrade process in my next post

Really nice rig brechan69! I hope my HAF 912 looks half as good as yours when its done!

[brechan69]

Short video and final thoughts

Here's a short video of the completed video, and a few thoughts about the upgrade.

XSPC Radiators vs Switch 810

The Switch 810 posed some interesting dilemmas when choosing which radiator to use; I recently got the XSPC EX360, and while I was intrigued to use this new radiator, I really wanted to be able to use the tried and trusted RX360.
The EX360 would have easily fir in the roof of the Switch 810, with the tubes being routed down either the back [with a wee bit of cutting], or down the front [but I didn't have any extensions, which would have made connecting/ routing the tubes much easier].
Had I used the EX360; choosing which fan to use would have been much easier, as I would have been able to use the Triebwerk fans inside the case [maybe the noise levels of these high-speed fans would have been more tolerable, than when they were on the outside of the Corsair 700D]. Or; I could have ample space inside to fit both the EX360 and the Gentle Typhoons inside the case, without the worry of getting too close to the 8 pin CPU connector.

Tube routing and using the 200mm EK Multioption reservoir:

1] When it came to using the Ek reservoir; because I had both the 200mm tube and the 400mm tube, I was interested to see if there was a way to use the 400mm in the roof of the case [where the top venting area is], but this would have required more cutting/ modding of the case than I really wanted to do. I wanted to leave as much of the outside of the case intact [stock] as I possibly could; so if I were to use the 400mm tube, then it would require me to cut all of the center portion of the vent [out], leaving me with a huge hole in the center...and I didn't think that this would particularly good, so it didn't happen.
I also thought about using the 200mm tube in the same way, but came to the same conclusion [also; it looked really dumb, as the 200mm tube was too short].

When I got the reservoir and pump installed [as it is now]; I realized I hadn't remembered to leave enough space at the top for a fill-port...how in f**k was I going to fill my loop?
So I tore everything out; started from scratch, but in the end, found that if I could route a tube in behind the motherboard tray then there might be a chance of using this as a fill-port.
In my initial stages of the upgrade; I found that there was enough room behind the motherboard tray to route a tube [was contemplating routing the loop from the CPU; behind the motherboard tray, to the radiator, will probably go this route the next time]. I tried it using 3/4" tube, but it was just a tad too big; then I remembered that I had some old 5/8" tube kicking around...got it fitted into the top of the reservoir [using a 7/16" barb], routed it through an upper grommet, then had about a foot to use as a fill-port.

While I'm not 100% happy about the end resulting tube layout [ the routing can be a lot shorter], until such time that I can invest more $ into adapters, 90 degree fittings, etc, this will have to do.

LED Lighting

While I like the look of the blue LED light strip; it just doesn't do the coolant justice, what I mean is that it doesn't light up enough of the case inside [even on the brightest setting], so it's really difficult to see this cool stuff swirling around inside the reservoir. I'll see if adding a strip of white LED's in the bottom of the case will do the trick [or just confuse the lighting effect and/ or look dumb].
I've thought about using cold cathodes in the past; but have heard that they add unwanted heat to the inside of the PC, and this is exactly what I don't want or need.

Cable Management

It's all fine and dandy to have cable extensions in your next build; but the one thing that most people forget, is that you have to have room someplace to hide the extra lengths of PSU cabling [this even applies to those of us with modular PSU's]. While the Switch 810 has ample room behind the motherboard tray to hide a lot of cabling, you still need to lay the cables flat in order to get the back door on. This where velcro, "tape of the gods", and "stick-on" cable fasteners come most handy; if there's a spot where the cable doesn't lay quite flat enough for you to get the door on [without bulging the sides out], using any one [or a combination of any or all 3] will greatly improve the layout of your cables and improve the chances of getting the door on properly.

While it took me 14+ hours to figure out my tube routing, it took me 5+ hours of constant work to try and figure out my cable management [and it still has room for improvement].

All in all; I'm pretty pleased with myself in [re]building a system that, for the most-part, is cool and quiet.

I think that this will be the last upgrade that I do with this AMD system [as it seems that good AMD processors are going the way of the dodo], so the next [re]build will have to be a switch to Intel. Can't say I've had much to do with Intel since I got my 1st PC about 5 years ago [an MDG P.O.S.], but I'm looking to go that way soon.

[bungwirez]

lots of good insight here. nice work sir.

[scaccima]

Just a few shots of the completed upgrade

Switch810_15: showing a shot of the front; tube routing from radiator [through drive bays], fan controller, and yes, a CD-ROM [we dinosaurs got to stick together, right Daz?].

Switch810_14: although picture is a bit out of focus [cheap digital cameras or shaky tripod], it shows just how much space taking the loop this way will take up...and why the drive bay had to be cut away [without the area cut away, the fan in the front would be starving for air].

Switch810_11: closeup of the tube res and coolant

Switch810_12: upgrading complete, doors on, coolant flowing smoothly

Switch810_13: PC is back home, beside my desk.

Will post a short video and comments about the upgrade process in my next post

The res reminds me of the warp core on Star Trek - Voyager! Really cool! Great looking rig.

[bungwirez]

totally a bummer.

sediment. worthless.

I think I will prolly just go with the actual Mayhem dye instead since its only a couple drops in mostly distilled water.

[brechan69]

wtf ?!!!!!

So; after 10+ hours of leak testing my loop (using straight distilled water), this is what I saw when I checked the system in the morning.

Photo #1: Can you spot the problem here

Photo #2: It all became clear when I emptied the system, and took apart my loop, evidence of not 1, but 2 cracks in the EK tube:eek:
Though the (main) crack doesn't go all the way through; with enough time, I'm sure it would have started leaking. Then, I'd be up the creek!

The only way this could have happened; is when I dropped the tube into the sink (filled with soapy water) to clean it, but you'd think I would have seen it while I was assembling the reservoir back together and installing it back into the loop (you'd think).

[bungwirez]

I would have prolly just gone str8 to dissemble before trying to flush this stuff....

those cracks on your rez are a sonofabitch.
that acrylic might snap on over tightening? IDK.
can't possibly be related to the fluid.

Somebody told me that Aurora woks better with high pressure pumps like DDC.

I will try to confirm this for us all on dual DDC.
can't see reselling the couple of bottles I have lying around... might as well give it a go.
Give me a week until I'm off werk long enough.

[brechan69]

I would have prolly just gone str8 to dissemble before trying to flush this stuff....

those cracks on your rez are a sonofabitch.
that acrylic might snap on over tightening? IDK.
can't possibly be related to the fluid.



I will try to confirm this for us all on dual DDC.
can't see reselling the couple of bottles I have lying around... might as well give it a go.
Give me a week until I'm off werk long enough.

I really don't know how the res got cracked; I didn't see anything wrong with the tube prior to reassembling, with a crack that size, one would think you'd see it right away.
I can't agree that it might have been from over tightening the top/ bottom; as I can feel the crack on the outside, but not from the inside.

Doesn't really matter; I have an extra reservoir (XSPC single bay res), and with the components/ coolant coming in tomorrow (UPS), I've got enough tubing, I'll just reroute everything and use the bay res instead.

It's just a bit of a bummer; not only did the tube res look really good in the Switch 810, but now I have a few more hours (of needless) work to redo the loop.

[scaccima]

So; after 10+ hours of leak testing my loop (using straight distilled water), this is what I saw when I checked the system in the morning.

Photo #1: Can you spot the problem here

Photo #2: It all became clear when I emptied the system, and took apart my loop, evidence of not 1, but 2 cracks in the EK tube:eek:
Though the (main) crack doesn't go all the way through; with enough time, I'm sure it would have started leaking. Then, I'd be up the creek!

The only way this could have happened; is when I dropped the tube into the sink (filled with soapy water) to clean it, but you'd think I would have seen it while I was assembling the reservoir back together and installing it back into the loop (you'd think).

Maybe the res was defective from day one. The crack might have grown slowly over time. Maybe having to completely disassemble your loop (and finding the crack) was a good thing! Can you imagine if you didn't notice the crack and the res failed while the computer was on??

[brechan69]

Well; since that day, the PC's been sitting in my living room/ PC room laying in pieces - just haven't had the energy to rebuild it (working nights + physio Mon through Thurs) + waiting for an order from Daz.

Now it's the weekend; so this will open up another hour for me to get a mod done (want to construct an acrylic shelf to hold my DCP 4.0 pump on), then put everything back together...hopefully (if all goes well) will be leak testing by Friday afternoon, and back to full capacity by Saturday morning

[bungwirez]

I know the feeling. 5 hours to go in my 7nites in a row marathon.
I have to rebuild the withdrawl from BF3 is killing me.

[brechan69]

I have to get this done today; as not being able to do much more than read (and reply to) emails, not to be able to even watch a YouTube video (without much stuttering) is driving me insane.

Will post a pic or two when all is said and done

[brechan69]

So....

After almost a week (of having to use my P.O.S. backup PC); after the Mayhems fiasco (and subsequent discovery of the cracked tube), I've finally (well almost) finished with this build :p

I got off pretty lucky; as I had a spare (XSPC bay) reservoir kicking around, so no problems there. I've installed a Koolance ball valve (to ease in draining the loop); a few inches more tubing than I would have preferred, but it works for me; an XSPC EX360 radiator, to take the pressure off the 8 pin CPU connector; and a few ml of Feser blue UV coolant.....

Leak tested for over 13 hours; not a drop to be seen (that's the good thing about colored coolant, you can tell right away if the loop is leaking someplace), and here is the result

[brechan69]

Just wanted to add that I moved the EK DCP 4.0 pump off the floor of the chassis (handcrafted a piece of acrylic into a shelf for the pump), so all I can hear now is the (very) faint hum coming from the fans themselves, have a listen...

[scaccima]

Awesome! Love the acrylic shelf too. Where did you get the acrylic from and what did you use to heat it up for bending?