New Watercooling project

It's been discussed many times and also attempted. There are loads of great mods out there by people who have achieved so much.

My current laptop set up (see sig) runs very well. The GPUs are so cool it surprises me every time. Heavy gaming on stock (modded vbios so clocks speeds are constant >1100Mhz)the GPU will not reach 65C, sometimes I hardly even see the GPUs reaching 60C. It would be pointless for me to watercool them at the moment because I wouldn't really gain much. My CPU however heats up very quickly. 90C peaks can be easily achieved with a few intensive programs.

Here's a picture of a high quality desktop waterblock mounted on the motherboard of my P377SM

Spoiler

Aims of this project is to only use off-the-self parts and do it with as little modding as possible. The waterblock is currently tightened down with its own mounting hardware. The only "modding" I've done is remove the original CPU backplate on my laptop. I'm guessing the back panel will not close but I haven't tried yet.

Please do not ask me for updates, I work full time as a journalist on a 24hr news channel with irregular shift patterns so I cannot guarantee regular updates but I will keep working on this project. After all, I have already invested in a waterblock so I kind of have to carry on.

 

So I am appealing to forum members for some help.

I have not bought any other hardware other than the waterblock. I am no engineer so not soldering or re-wiring stuff etc. As I see it I have a few options:

1. I could buy one of those radiator, pump combos like a Swiftech H220x or a EKWB Predator and just be done with it. All I would have to do is plumb it in, re-fill it and we are ready to go.
2. I could buy a reservoir/pump combo and a radiator and fans etc and put it together myself.
3. I could buy an expandable All-in-One CPU cooler like the Raijintek Triton and use its CPU block as a pump/reservoir and either use the included radiator or a smaller radiator that may fit under a laptop cooler.

So option 1 is the most expensive but it will be the easiest and most elegant solution to an extent. The drawback is there is no outlet on my laptop that is powerful enough to drive it so I would need a separate power brick for the set up. Not to mention the whole thing would be heavy as everything is external.

Option 2 would be the cheapest but still poses the same problems as option one like the fact it's all external and it would need a secondary power supply. I don't want to skimp out on parts so not looking at buying crappy mini-pumps from China etc

Option 3 The Raijintek Triton pump on the waterblock draws 4w of power, just less than a USB port. I have access to a 5v - 12v USB stepup that I can use to power the pump which should work. All I would need to do is pull off all the other parts and save the for another project.Look for a small radiator and some fans. It could all hide under the laptop and because it would all be powered by USB, the laptop would be transportable.

WWNBRD? What would NBR do?

 

I would recommend you mount that on top of the original heatsink, kinda like how asus does it with the watercooled rog laptop.

But for option
1: as you said, heavy, not portable. but neither is option 2
2:
3: triton isn't a bad idea, but I've heard multiple QC issues with the unit (leak, crack on pump, bad fittings)

keep in mind that triton's cpu block is shaped close to a cube, may not fit under your laptop cooler

 

I have thought about fitting the block on top of my existing heatsink. But it would cause major clearance issues and I kinda still want to put the back panel on.

 

Awesome endeavor, bro... Thread added to my watch list. +Rep

@Takaezo used a AIO on his P570WM and attached the radiator to the outside surface of the display with velcro. It would be cool to see it all self-contained. I think you would have better success using direct die contact, but if it works well enough on top of the heat sink to suit your needs you could use leak-proof quick disconnects and go mobile. EKWB has an AIO unit with the pump mounted to the radiator, and that would be the way to go to minimize space inside the chassis and facilitate installation of the bottom cover. You could use a much smaller water block and use an AC adapter like this to power the cooling system externally.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MGG6SC?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01

 

Unfortunately waterblock on top of heatsink only works if the fan is next to the the heatsink and not on top:

Spoiler

I never consistently use the laptop on the go anyway, only to move it from place to place so the quick disconnects option is definitely planned. the EK AIO solution would be best performing and easiest but not the most tidy.

I also want to minimise additional parts. I'm hoping to have most components powered from the laptop and avoid using an external AC molex adapter but I have thought about it and it's good I do have the option.

I am considering combining some options, so I could perhaps have a setup where the USB ports power the fans to a slow quiet speed and the pump is powered externally.

 

OT but, make sure you at least glue some heatsinks to the CPU mosfets (the little black squares in front of the waterblock) especially since you're overclocking. Those mosfets can put out a lot of heat under load, and if left to their own, will overheat very quickly and start throttling, or could just literally blow up if you're unlucky.

 

Definitely. I have already ordered some ramsinks for them.

 

I don't know how well newer AIOs deal with cracking open, but I know for certain that thermaltake Water Tide would fry pump as soon as you try to run your modified setup. Just something to keep in mind - try to avoid any air in the system. There are 2mm water blocks over AliExpress, you might want to look at them. There are also copper pipes for bending around the hot components like I did:



I still try to get the damn thing leak free, that's why my current project would be air cooled. Also it never was anything but to see how far it can go, but it's still frustrating that I can't test after so many years. Being in my mom's possession is not helping either.

 

Pumps risk damage if run dry. Also I don't intend on cutting or soldering anything so I will only open AIOs that are designed to be expanded. So something like the Corsair H100i would not be a good choice but a EKWB Predator or Swiftech H140x could work.

 

I know, but the above mentioned Tt fails for the sake of it. While doing my research I found couple of guys confirming it, and one of them even got 2 and made absolutely sure that the second time there was no air - it still failed.

 

I'd never use Thermalfake products in any quality build, especially not after they basically stole Caselab's designs and marketed them as their own.

 

@widezu69 , I'm also planning on watercooling one of my laptop. My first step has been established, which is choosing either my m18x-r2 or Alienware 18, and Alienware 18 is the subject.

I'll follow this thread in the meantime. good luck.

 

EK-XLC Predator 240 (incl.QDC)
EK-XLC Predator 240 is next-generation, premium grade all-in-one (AIO) CPU liquid cooling unit. Quick Disconnect Connectors (QDC) allows for full expandability without the need for draining of the unit.

Predator 240 features integrated Quick Disconnect Connector (QDC), a special no-spill connector that allows quick and tool-less expansion of the system without the need for draining of the unit. This allows users to effortlessly add a pre-filled QDC-enabled GPU water block.

Revision 1.1

 

it was luv @ 1st sight, I lusted over this darn thing but it's too wide for my system. Get the Rev 1.1, Rev1.0 was recalled 2months ago due to leaks: new predators are all better now

Spoiler: drippy

https://www.ekwb.com/news/important...xlc-predator-240-and-360-r1-0-product-recall/

 

As far as I can see it has only one quick-connect and it is for expansion, not complete removal of the unit.

 

So I'm pretty much settled on using one of those expandable AIO coolers either from EKWB or Swiftech. Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can elegantly mount the radiator close to my laptop? I don't just want it to be loose at the side.

 

@widezu69 , any new update ?

 

@widezu69 - While brainstorming my Acer's cooling there was a plan to make a big ass radiator on the lid (twisted refrigerator tubes and etc), and hope that passive cooling would do, but the whole thing would've been too fragile for my needs. Might suit you though.

 

Are you planning to water cool your laptop too ?

 

The video on the previous page. The external downsteppings (getting from the large diameter that Reserator provides, to the small one that I've used in my implementation) are leaking, otherwise the on-board implementation is set.

 

So I'm still in the planning stages. The new Cooler Master Notepal U3 Plus laptop cooler is a bit bigger than the last iteration. I have one on the way and will take measurements. I am hoping that I can fit a radiator under there. Alphacool do make a triple radiator for 80mm fans, the same fans that are on the Notepal U3.

I have limited my plans at the moment to something that doesn't require outside power. As for the pump, I have had a look around and the Alphacool DC-LT is small and compact enough to be powered from USB via a 12v stepup. However from my research many implementations of this pump are loud. I have however found one - Fractal Design Kelvin series AIO coolers that use the same pump and is expandable and reviews are positive about its noise. It uses all off the shelf parts (which is also my philosophy here) and can be easily implemented into a watercooling loop. I'm trying to avoid adding a reservoir so I'm going to fill using the T-line method with a looooooong piece of tubing to act as a res while filling.

What the current plan is:
Laptop has waterblock installed onto the CPU. Tubes go out to under the laptop where we will find the U3 cooler. The U3 cooler's fans are on a radiator extracting heat while next to it is the Kelvin waterblock that is being used as a pump only. But what about the radiator that comes with the AIO you ask. Somewhere in the loop, probably close to the CPU there will be some quick release fittings. Once the laptop is on a desk and not being carried around, a second radiator can be easily added for that extra bit of cooling. Similar to the Asus laptop where there is still cooling on the go and more cooling on the desk.

This method is a bit bulky but has the added benefit of being able to take my laptop around the house and it still being cooled, while receiving an extra bit of cooling once I plonk it on a desk for some gaming.

Hope this makes some sense.

 

Where the fans are going to blow? The way I see it there are three options:
1/ Between the laptop and radiator - sucking air from the radiator (I read somewhere that it's up to 30% better than blowing at/through (which is how almost all laptop coolings work, minus ASUS C90, but it sounds like a fighter jet because of the small fans)), blowing at the components/bottom of the laptop.
2/ The other way around - sucking air from around the components (+ some fresh air from the space between the laptop and the cooler), blowing it at the radiator.
3/ Blowing through the radiator at the components/bottom of the laptop.
Although in all cases we talk about some warm air would be blown at the machine, don't forget that it was designed with some air circulation in mind, which cools other not heat critical components, but still requiring some cooling.

As for the quick connect, sounds great, but without reservoir, how would you manage if some air makes its way inside? It might take out the pump.

 

Great questions. I'll attempt to answer them
I am considering using the U3 cooler upside down. So the flat holey area is on the bottom and the laptop rests on the rear feet propped so the ergonomics are maintained. This means the radiator, in whatever configuration is flat on the bottom, ever so slightly lifted off the resting surface with mounting.

My current plan has the radiator in PULL that is blowing air towards the bottom of the laptop. I am also considering leaving the bottom of the laptop open to allow the air to pass over mosfets that will be passively cooled and will benefit from airflow even if it is slightly warmer air from the radiator.

In regards to push vs pull, the debate still rages on but from what I have seen online, there is not that much difference and having a pull configuration also has cleaning benefits (if you watch any LinusTechTips videos you'll understand what I mean).

Quick connect fittings may very well introduce bubbles etc I am aware but I intend on buying the Kelvin T12 model that has a thicker rad and a bleed port at the top. Seeing as the only time that bubbles may be introduced is when I connect the external radiator, the problem is solved because I can bleed from it. The pump itself also has dry protection in that it can run dry without damaging itself and I expect if that happens I'll hear it and power it down swiftly.

 

I am getting my parts together too for watercooling. I'm going to water cool an AW 18.

 

Too bad local shops don't stock water cooling products. Hell I hate living in this country!!!!!

 

Small update:

Spoiler

That is a MXM GPU with a watercooled core and aircooled memory and VRMs. I've bought one for each of my GPUs, I have a waterblock for my CPU, all of which were near impossible to obtain but that hurdle has been crossed.

More coming soon...

 

Very cool. Where did you find the MXM and mobile CPU water blocks?

 

I think, for the GPU the normal ones with variable screw position grooves should work easily.

For the CPU though, it is difficult and will depend on the motherboard.

But im really interested to know as well, where to get those koolance ones, i think it will work just fine with my H240X. The one in the FP has rotating mounting holes, that is perfect for what im trying to do.

 

They are Koolance GPU 210 waterblocks. Koolance brought them out for the smaller desktop GPUs like the GS 8400. Literally every store this side of the Atlantic ran out of them so I bought them straight from Koolance and had to ship them over. U.S. peeps should be able to get them easily. The CPU waterblock in post #1 is a Koolance GPU 220.

I had to do some very minor modding by shaving a small portion of the VRM heatsink by around 3mm. Won't affect anything.

 

Sweet! The GPU220 should work without any modding for what im trying to do. Now to figure out how to cool my VRM's.

 

What laptop are you trying to cool?

 

P870DM-G with the 6700k.

I rarely carry it around, so might as well.

 

Yeah I'm pretty sure the 220 will fit that.

 

Update on parts selection:

I want to keep everything under the laptop so I'm going for a slim 360mm radiator. The current best one on the market is the Black Ice 360 GTS but that model and the X-Flow version are all but sold out in the UK so I may go with the Alphacool ST30 360 which is readily available and will mean that my whole setup will be made up of purely Koolance and Alphacool parts (minus fans) #BrandLoyalty

I now have in my possession two USB to 12v 3pin fan step up cables I will use to power all the watercooling parts. The aim is to avoid a separate power connection. The cables are rated up to 12v 0.4A which equates to around 4.8W. I hope the 5v 0.9A source from laptops will be enough.

To maintain the slim profile I intend on using SilverStone FN123 fans. Three of them together are rated to draw up to 5.76W of power which is way over but I need to test them on a splitter to make sure whether the step up can sustain them, I can always add another cable.

Alphacool have now updated their DC-LT pump to a 2600rpm version which has been used in AiOs by the likes of Fractal Design. The description one their website says it is rated at 4.9W but printed on the actual pump unit is 3.2W which is well within capabilities of the cable...I hope. I also hope the noise isn't too bad.

As to where the pump will go, interestingly the top for the pump is designed to be mounted in 2.5 inch HDD bays. My P377sm has such a bay meant for two drives. Might not be deep enough but definitely wide enough. I'll just migrate all my files to mSATA storage and use the two available slots. It'll take some modding of the back cover (which is separate from the main cover which is a plus) but I reckon it will fit.

As to filling the loop, the DC-LT pump top can take a small reservoir which will help with filling and I had an interesting idea which was to install all the parts, hose it all up and secure the fittings, then remove the whole loop from the laptop and fill it away from the laptop. Once the loop is bled and I have ensure it is free from bubbles, I actually intend on removing the reservoir completely and sealing the whole thing as an "AiO unit" which then can be installed into the laptop.

Ambitious: yes, time: will take lots, success: no guarantee...

 

So another very small update, I'll put a picture of it up later but I have bought a standard 12v pump - The Alphacool DC-LT 2400. And it works! I've so far filled the pump, reservoir and connected the inlet and outlet with some tubing to create a circuit and connected the 3pin fan connector to my USB 5v to 12v up convert cable and boom, it chugging along at full speed off a single USB port from the back of my laptop. And quieter than I expected, if the sound of my loudest and most frequently revved up fan (CPU) is removed, the pump is barely louder than the coil whine from my motherboard (my laptop does suffer from a bit of coil whine due to what I use it for). May post video later.

 

Subbed WCing one of these big monsters is one of my long term plans (and was before Asus did it) so I'm VERY interested how this turns out, while I'm on a learning exercise putting together a completely custom loop fabbed from yumcha aliexpress bits in a guinea pig core 2 latitude

I decided early on that standard blocks, and closed/AIO style loop inside a laptop (of any size!) was just too hard so eagerly I await pics and video of your setup eagerly to see how wrong I am.

 

when you gonna sell that thing and buy a 10-series laptop?

 

When mine truly becomes outdated. I'm content at the moment with SLi 980m's. I'm keeping mine at the moment because the current core heatsinks can be separated from the VRM bits allowing for easier watercooling. I was looking at the p870dm3 and yes it is great. Once I am done with this project I'll move on.

 

Need to see the finished result soon!

 

Will start a new thread soon for a real log of my progress. First prototype completed and tested. It's ugly as hell so no pics atm. I seriously underestimated the space of all the components. Loop has been filled and the pump and fans are all running off the laptop's USB ports. The order of components in the loop has not been finalised yet but I just wanted to test some temps. And yes the temps are great. 27C idle on CPU, 23C on GPUs. 56C max on CPU at 4Ghz stock voltage 100% load using throttlestop 1024m bench. I let the temps settle but didn't run the bench for too long because my CPU vrms are not cooled yet. I need to get some passive sinks for them.

Problems: I cannot rev the laptop fans to full because only the GPU ones are still in the system. If I do the system beeps to warn me that my CPU fan is not plugged in. Not a big deal but as my GPU vrms are still air cooled I would've liked the have some control over it. Maybe I'll find a way of plugging the CPU fan back in.

 

Nice.

Didn't realise the rad was 360mm... yes just a touch too big for fitting internally haha.

By AIO you mean no res?

 

I'm using a res at the moment but the ideas is to get rid of it after the loop is filled and bled. Of course the 360 rad would never be internal but I mean even the waterblocks are much more protruding that I would like.

Edit: corrected wrong word.

 

Re-jigged the positioning within the loop. Noticed fans were blowing directly at the CPU vrms so decided to do a full run. Using throttlestop 1024m on 8 threads. Successful run at 4Ghz, took around 220 seconds with zero throttling or instability. Max temps 58C. Going to try some overclocking after its all finalised.

 

Update?