Greg's Custom watercooled PC adventure (build log)

I've got the same controller and I just connected all my fans to separate fan headers on the mobo instead of using a multi to one cable.
 
So what you got the fans ( talking about speed/ here) plug into ,
fan/s> Y splitter > sys fan header ?
are the splitters a 3 or 4 pin ?

On my mobo msi z97 , it would not allow me to control the fans , so i had to buy a fan hub
Phanteks PWM Fan Hub
because all of my fans are corsair SP 3 pin.

Yes. The fans have 4 pin connections which go into the splitter. Then the other end is 2 wires to a molex for power and 2 to the sys fan 3 and I've checked they are the correct pins for pwm.

I'll have a play about tomorrow and see what happens with a few configurations.

I've got the same controller and I just connected all my fans to separate fan headers on the mobo instead of using a multi to one cable.

Unfortunately I've only three sys fan connections and have 4 fans. I'm guessing the CPU OPT connection is an option?
 
Yes. The fans have 4 pin connections which go into the splitter. Then the other end is 2 wires to a molex for power and 2 to the sys fan 3 and I've checked they are the correct pins for pwm.

I'll have a play about tomorrow and see what happens with a few configurations.



Unfortunately I've only three sys fan connections and have 4 fans. I'm guessing the CPU OPT connection is an option?

Yeah use that too, I did it with mine. If you do run out of headers, then you can use a multi cable if required.
 
Yes. The fans have 4 pin connections which go into the splitter. Then the other end is 2 wires to a molex for power and 2 to the sys fan 3 and I've checked they are the correct pins for pwm.

I'll have a play about tomorrow and see what happens with a few configurations.
Just had to watch the vid that TTL did about the fans , i was a bit confused about the two cables coming from the fan it's self,



@boltlock are you using splitters on your board ?
or just straight to the headers them selves.
 
Just had to watch the vid that TTL did about the fans , i was a bit confused about the two cables coming from the fan it's self,



@boltlock are you using splitters on your board ?
or just straight to the headers them selves.

Yeah, each fan to it's own header mate. I've only 4 fans so not really an issue.
 
Yeah, each fan to it's own header mate. I've only 4 fans so not really an issue.

Success. Not sure what was the issue, most likely it didn't like the splitter cable. I've now got all 4 fans individually to the various headers and using the Gigabyte System Information Viewer I've been able to change the fan speed at last. Also lowered the pump speed similar to what sykotik has above and it's very quiet.

Still nothing showing in speedfan mind you, but for now I can live with the Gigabyte software doing a similar job.

Thanks!
 
How noisy?

Very, very quiet.

I can hear the pump going and only a few slight whirring of the fans when system is idle.

A slight issue seems to be that the Gigabyte System Information Viewer saves the fan settings I've applied but doesn't apply them when the system starts up. I have to manually go into the software and click apply, then the fans quieten down.

Also, I've attached a HWMonitor screenshot again, it shows the fans all there, but doesn't list any as PWM.
 

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Very, very quiet.

I can hear the pump going and only a few slight whirring of the fans when system is idle.

A slight issue seems to be that the Gigabyte System Information Viewer saves the fan settings I've applied but doesn't apply them when the system starts up. I have to manually go into the software and click apply, then the fans quieten down.

Also, I've attached a HWMonitor screenshot again, it shows the fans all there, but doesn't list any as PWM.
Is there an option within the gigabyte system software , to "start with Windows" or something like that ?

this could be fix for it , if there isn't that option
about half way down
Gigabyte System Information Viewer and Fan controller
 
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That seems to work now!

Just running Prime95 now and the hottest the CPU has got to so far is 56deg C. That's with the pump on full and the fans still very quiet.

I'd like to find something better than the Gigabyte System information Viewer to control the fans as it has a few oddities such as shown in the photo. You can see the rpm range goes to full speed at 50deg C but then at 60 it drops right back. You can't alter these figures either. Seems a bit buggy for my liking.

Also another stupid question. When running something that is likely to tax the GPU more than the CPU could there be a scenario where the GPU gets very hot but the pump doesn't increase speed because the CPU is cooler or does it not work like that?
 

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Here's a night time shot. Could probably do with some more lighting, but need to get the fans sorted first!
 

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Are you gonna put the glass front on it or leave it open?

The case does a nice job of keeping the 'internal' cabling tidy and discreet but what about the 'external' cables to the motherboard and GPU, whats your plan for managing them?

Its a tidy job, good work! Must kick off mine soon. Start my new job in January so will dust off the credit card in the new year.

I'd also like to know the answer of how to get the cooling to respond to GPU temperatures. Even in my current air cooled case, the case fans only respond to CPU temps, therefore might not be providing the cool ambient air my GPU needs to cool itself if my CPU is only lightly loaded.
 
Are you gonna put the glass front on it or leave it open?

The case does a nice job of keeping the 'internal' cabling tidy and discreet but what about the 'external' cables to the motherboard and GPU, whats your plan for managing them?

Its a tidy job, good work! Must kick off mine soon. Start my new job in January so will dust off the credit card in the new year.

I'd also like to know the answer of how to get the cooling to respond to GPU temperatures. Even in my current air cooled case, the case fans only respond to CPU temps, therefore might not be providing the cool ambient air my GPU needs to cool itself if my CPU is only lightly loaded.

I'm going to put the glass front on for sure. I've got a couple of fan extender cables coming to remove some of the more untidy cables and that will help to tidy the cables from the fans too, but don't think there is anything I can do about the GPU cables or other cables going to the mobo?

I've had it for most of the day no. I had an issue with Microsoft Visual C++ which I solved, plus a scary issue where a program crashed, I restarted the PC and it wouldn't boot, it kept turning on, fans spinning up and then turned off. No idea what was going on there, but after turning it off at the wall and back on again it's been fine ever since.

I've just run Unigine Heaven and got a score of 2992 which seems about right I think. Unigine Valley crashed halfway through annoyingly. But as for GPU temps the highest it got in Heaven was 38deg C!

The GPU did make this really odd buzzing noise whilst the benchmarks were being run. Not sure if they all do this and I've only noticed because the rest of the system is so quiet. Looking on the net this seems to be common and doesn't cause any issues apparently.
 
That seems to work now!


Also another stupid question. When running something that is likely to tax the GPU more than the CPU could there be a scenario where the GPU gets very hot but the pump doesn't increase speed because the CPU is cooler or does it not work like that?
Will the gigabyte software allow you set a certain temp on the GPU , so that when the GPU starts to hotter say 50c the pump will increase ?

if not
speed fan will let you :
this is my pump setting with in speedfan ( just forget about the fans for the moment )
this is pic of my pump and when it will increase the speed
pump.jpg

left hand side
SYS fan 1251 rpm : is the pump which is connected to a fan header on my mobo
below that
Sys 14% : is the speed of the pump when at idle set to 14% ( this will increase to 100% while gaming )
right hand side
Pump (top right) this is were i have set pump to work with the GPU.
so as you see in the pic (bottom right) the gpu/pump is set at a very low speed (14%) until it reaches 40c then it ramps up to 100% ( using the fan curve) and stays there until i finish gaming ,
after i have finished gaming the gpu will decease in heat until it hits 39c c then the pump slows right back down to 14%

how i did this was just follow the vid from Jay . but where he is adding fans
i have added the pump ( or the fan header that the pump is connected too)

i hope this makes sense.
 
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@Greg Hook
You might have to restart the pc for speedfan to recognise to settings
you will have to restart speed fan as well , but after about a minute or so you should hear/see the pump decrease in speed

you can set speedfan to start at boot , but i'll show you late if you decided to use speedfan
 
@Greg Hook
You might have to restart the pc for speedfan to recognise to settings
you will have to restart speed fan as well , but after about a minute or so you should hear/see the pump decrease in speed

you can set speedfan to start at boot , but i'll show you late if you decided to use speedfan

Thanks, but unfortunately speedfan doesn't detect any fans at all. The part in your screenshot on the left where it shows the various fans and their speed, on mine it is completely blank. It shows all the temps on the right, but no fans at all on the left.
 
@Greg Hook Speedfan is an absolute arse to set up. Watch Jay's video that @sykotik posted, he explains how to get Speedfan to identify your fans. That said, it still didn't offer the software control of my fans that I needed, so I gave up with it.
 
@Greg Hook Speedfan is an absolute arse to set up. Watch Jay's video that @sykotik posted, he explains how to get Speedfan to identify your fans. That said, it still didn't offer the software control of my fans that I needed, so I gave up with it.

Thanks, unless I'm being a complete noob, at 2.40mins in the video Jay opens Speedfan, it detects a load of stuff then shows the fans on the left hand side. When I do the same on mine it barely detects anything at all and shows no fans on the left. So I'm failing at the first hurdle.
 
Just dl's speedfan on my laptop and i get the same result , does not detect my fans , so im left only the temps on the right hand side same as yours ,
iv had a good look through the settings but can't see anything to show "fans"
not sure what to do next , will have a look around the net , to see if i can find anything.
 
Just dl's speedfan on my laptop and i get the same result , does not detect my fans , so im left only the temps on the right hand side same as yours ,
iv had a good look through the settings but can't see anything to show "fans"
not sure what to do next , will have a look around the net , to see if i can find anything.

Thanks, I'm not sure where to go next. I installed speedfan on my current/older PC and when it starts up it detects a ton of stuff and shows the fans correctly on the left side. No idea why it doesn't on the new one!
 
Thanks, I'm not sure where to go next. I installed speedfan on my current/older PC and when it starts up it detects a ton of stuff and shows the fans correctly on the left side. No idea why it doesn't on the new one!
Could be the fact that it is new mobo ,as in current gen , the speedfan software is a good few years old and maybe the maker hasn't updated the software to co-inside with the newer mobo's .
 
Could be the fact that it is new mobo ,as in current gen , the speedfan software is a good few years old and maybe the maker hasn't updated the software to co-inside with the newer mobo's .

Yeah, that's my thinking too. Although Speedfan did update for the Z170 in the last release which was Feb 15 but possibly mine has a chipset it is unfamiliar with. Thanks for all your help mate and to others who have chipped in on this thread!

I'm gradually moving over to this PC now, have installed office etc.
Plus I've now installed Battlefield 1. I didn't have a major session on it, but on Ultra settings (albeit on my crappy 1680 x 1050 test monitor) the GPU didn't go above 30deg C and the CPU only reached 43deg. The pump ramped up a little during gameplay but the temps didn't go high enough to change the fans from the low setting so it is amazingly quiet.

Is this what you get with a watercooled system, is it that efficient?
 
Is this what you get with a watercooled system, is it that efficient?
Yea a very very quiet PC, low noise and very low temps even underload
my gpu never goes over 45c , and about 50 on the cpu
and overclocking the thing too isn't bad either .
while the fans stay silent .

it's bliss compared to regular PC ( well compared to my last one anyways:D )
 

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