White Dragon - watercooled mini ITX project build log

spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
It can much faster than that, here's mine.

I'm using ATTO, but we can see the Extreme 120GB can hit over 500MB/s read and write.

tumblr_mavhp3Z0dB1rr8jsmo1_500.png
 
mr.doom

mr.doom

Member
Here's a little ongoing torture test. I lowered the overclock, because I didn't feel comfortable with the temps, but settled on 4,23GHz for now. Also overclocked the GPU slightly.

Here are the amazing temps:

test_zpsbb1023d5.jpg
 
jonnyp11

jonnyp11

New Member
that sort'a sucks, should be at like 4.5+, i know ivy is supposed to run hot but didn't think that hot. you can get a 2600k at 4.2 or 4.3 all day long with good temps with a 30 buck cooler.
 
mr.doom

mr.doom

Member
jonnyp11 said:
that sort'a sucks, should be at like 4.5+, i know ivy is supposed to run hot but didn't think that hot. you can get a 2600k at 4.2 or 4.3 all day long with good temps with a 30 buck cooler.
Click to expand...

I know, I hit 4.6 but despite extensive cooling, it still hits 90 degrees. I had 2600K before and it was far better for overclocking. Although I can't fault the efficiency. Despite overclocked CPU & GPU, overall it draws 200W on 100% load.
 
spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Could possibly be the fact that you're using such a small board. They were never the best for overclocking. Looks like Salvage is using a 3570K with a UD5H, the UD5H should have more power phases than your little board, so it will be better for overclocking. I think 4.2 is fine for a little board like that.
 
salvage-this

salvage-this

Active Member
spirit said:
Could possibly be the fact that you're using such a small board. They were never the best for overclocking. Looks like Salvage is using a 3570K with a UD5H, the UD5H should have more power phases than your little board, so it will be better for overclocking. I think 4.2 is fine for a little board like that.
Click to expand...

I think the problem is in the cooling. He is at 1.23v that should be nothing for a custom liquid system.

What voltages were you using for 4.6?
 
spirit

spirit

Moderator
Staff member
Could be some issue with the cooling but I think the board could be partly to blame too perhaps. Could it be a possibility?
 
mr.doom

mr.doom

Member
salvage-this said:
I think the problem is in the cooling. He is at 1.23v that should be nothing for a custom liquid system.

What voltages were you using for 4.6?
Click to expand...

You see, I still had no time to attend to the overclock myself, so I decided to try out the asus's auto overclock software. The voltage seems to be set to 1.232V. Plus I don't think that the cooling is to blame. Even at 4,23 GHz and with overclocked GTX 670 I get 66 degrees on the CPU and 45 degrees on the GPU, all under 100% load simultaneously.
 
WeatherMan

WeatherMan

Active Member
If you still need help with that side window, give Kustom's a call and ask for Graeme.

I am sure they would be more than happy to help you out! :)
 
salvage-this

salvage-this

Active Member
spirit said:
Could be some issue with the cooling but I think the board could be partly to blame too perhaps. Could it be a possibility?
Click to expand...

The way I understand it the big part that the motherboard has in cpu overclocking and temperatures is how the power is being delivered to the cpu. Boards that are not as good at delivering the power might need higher voltages in order to over compensate for the power not being as reliable as other boards.

This board is really good for an ITX board. The 10 phase power design that it has is definitely in the range or being able to provide power to the cpu for a good OC. So far the limiting factors for the OC is the temps not the voltages as far as I can tell. That might have something to do with mr. doom using the auto OC features.

mr.doom said:
You see, I still had no time to attend to the overclock myself, so I decided to try out the asus's auto overclock software. The voltage seems to be set to 1.232V. Plus I don't think that the cooling is to blame. Even at 4,23 GHz and with overclocked GTX 670 I get 66 degrees on the CPU and 45 degrees on the GPU, all under 100% load simultaneously.
Click to expand...

The reason that I am thinking that there is something wrong is that I doubt that the auto OC is using much more than 1.4v for 4.6GHz. Which should be way overkill for that speed. If I remember correctly I was getting upper 80s and breaking into the 90s when stress testing at 4.9GHz with 1.5v. comparing the cooling you have twice the radiators that I do, they are better rads to begin with. A better cpu block with more water flow from a better pump and larger tubing. Now I understand that you have a GPU on the loop as well but the temps still doesn't add up to me.
 
mr.doom

mr.doom

Member
salvage-this said:
The way I understand it the big part that the motherboard has in cpu overclocking and temperatures is how the power is being delivered to the cpu. Boards that are not as good at delivering the power might need higher voltages in order to over compensate for the power not being as reliable as other boards.

This board is really good for an ITX board. The 10 phase power design that it has is definitely in the range or being able to provide power to the cpu for a good OC. So far the limiting factors for the OC is the temps not the voltages as far as I can tell. That might have something to do with mr. doom using the auto OC features.



The reason that I am thinking that there is something wrong is that I doubt that the auto OC is using much more than 1.4v for 4.6GHz. Which should be way overkill for that speed. If I remember correctly I was getting upper 80s and breaking into the 90s when stress testing at 4.9GHz with 1.5v. comparing the cooling you have twice the radiators that I do, they are better rads to begin with. A better cpu block with more water flow from a better pump and larger tubing. Now I understand that you have a GPU on the loop as well but the temps still doesn't add up to me.
Click to expand...

I'll be looking into that tomorrow, as I have all they off for that. :) I will do some manual overclocking. Are there any approximate values I should bear in mind, or anything that needs to be turned off in the BIOS to get more stable overclock? Never overclocked Ivy Bridge before.

Edit:
I've just manually set 4.4 GHz @ 1.344V, and I will be testing it overnight. Please do write with the suggestions still.
 
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mr.doom

mr.doom

Member
salvage-this said:
Take a look at this guide. I used it when I first OCed my chip. It will have the basics as well as some good pointers if you want to really tweak your OC.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1247413/ivy-bridge-overclocking-guide-with-ln2-guide-at-the-end
Click to expand...

Thank you for the link. It helped a lot! I also figured out what was wrong with the temperatures. And all thanks to the particles in the Mayhems coolant :) I noticed they were gone. And this got me thinking, they where there before, why not now? Conclusion: the pump doesn't get enough power. And then it clicked. I used 4-pin to 4 x 3-pin splitters by Zalman (to reduce the cable clutter), but they must not provide enough power for the fans and the pump. So I changed them to the singular ones (straight 4-pin to 3-pin adapter) and it worked a charm! Using the guide, I got the stable overclock of 4,533 GHz @ 1,352V and it's rock solid. Temps for the CPU don't go beyond 78-80 degrees with the GPU that I overclocked even further too (GPU temp sits around 46 degrees) :)

Thank you so much for getting me thinking.
 
mr.doom

mr.doom

Member
Since I'm pretty much done (apart from putting the windows on the side and changing PSU cables to white - I will post an update on that in January or so), I thought to post some pictures and a rundown of parts I used. I will also post prices, as requested by you.

IMG_1378_zps3e3a6078.jpg


IMG_1377_zps8f42b36e.jpg


IMG_1379_zps69c40e0e.jpg


IMG_1380_zps7b9ec879.jpg


IMG_1381_zpsc26108f6.jpg


IMG_1382_zps50087c51.jpg
 
mr.doom

mr.doom

Member
As for the parts I used and the overall cost:

Components:
Bitfenix Prodigy - White case: 79€
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 2 x 4 GB DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 CL9: 58€
Asus P8Z77-I DELUXE motherboard: 185€
Intel Core i5 3570K: 221€
Palit Nvidia GeForce GTX 670: 358€
Corsair AX750 750W PSU: 185€
Sandisk Extreme SSD 240GB: 184€

Subtotal: 1270€


Watercooling:
2 x MagiCool SLIM DUAL 240 Radiator: 92€
5 x Fractal Design Fan Silent Series 120mm: 45€
1 x Filling bottle 500ml: 4€
1 x Phobya Balancer 150 black nickel reservoir: 25€
1 x Masterkleer hose PVC 3/8 Clear: 8€
1 x Phobya DC12-220 12Volt Pump: 34€
1 x EK EK-FC670 GTX waterblock: 89€
1 x Phobya CPU block UC-1 LT - Black: 45€
7 x 13/10mm straight matte black fitting: 27€
4 x 13/10mm rotating 90° matte black fitting: 20€
1 x 13/10mm rotating 45° matte black fitting: 5€
1 x Mayhems "Aurora" - Nebula Blue Coolant 1000ml: 17€

Subtotal: 411€


Accessories:
1x BitFenix Alchemy Aqua 6x LED Strip 20 cm White: 25€
3x BitFenix Alchemy Connect 6x LED-Strip 12cm - white: 54€
2x Silverstone 120mm Fan Grill & Filter Kit : FF121: 20€

Subtotal: 99€


Peripehals:
LG IPS235V-BN LED Monitor 23" Full HD: 147€
Razer Vespula Mouse Mat: 34€
Cyborg R.A.T 3 mouse: 58€
Logitech Illuminated keyboard: 59€

Subtotal: 298€


Tools:
Hose cutter: 9€
White pray paint: 11€
Dremel Kit: 97€
General toolkit: 31€

Subtotal: 148€


Grand Total: 2226€ / 2882$ / 1790£



Did I miss anything?
 
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Virssagòn

Virssagòn

VIP Member
Nice mini watercooled pc you got there! Some parts you could have cheaper though ;P
Looks great with the blue leds behind the can.
 
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