XPS Gen 2 Watercooled with Koolance EXOS

[Jay2235]

Hey Guys,

Haven't been around the forums for quite a while.. BUT.. I just finished a new project, installing an external watercooling unit in my Gen 2 and I thought I would share the experience with all of you..

--------------
| Purchased: |
--------------

External Watercooling System - Koolance EXOS (EXT-A03 Aluminium)









CPU Waterblock - Koolance CPU-300-H06



GPU Waterblock - Koolance GPU-180-L06 (Vid)

NB Waterblock - Koolance GPU-180-L06 (NB)



I started the install at about noon with a colleague of mine and we decided to take our time and make sure we did it right.

We first started by ripping everything out of the computer..

We then hooked up the watercooling unit to start the leak test. That's when we hit our first problem, The watercooling unit usually shares the pins of the power switch (when computer is turned on, so is the watercooling system) in order to get power.

The Dell mobo's do not have these pins to connect the power switch. Turns out we did not need to use this, we just took power from a spare 4pin and it powered up fine. However, you do have to short your PSU in order to test the unit. This did work on the Dell PSU with the supplied cable.

We ran the system for about 30min, topping up the supplied coolant every so often to ensure that it had enough to circulate through the whole system.

Success! there were no leaks whatsoever.

Once we were sure that the system did not leak, we began mounting the waterblocks. We first mounted the GPU waterblock onto my ATI Radeon 9800XT and mounting the supplied 8 heatsinks onto the card.

After that, it was time to mount the CPU waterblock.. This is where we ran into a problem because Dell has a proprietary CPU P4 retention bracket, that would not work with the supplied bracket to secure the waterblock.

We scrambled around for a while trying to figure out what to do and then came to the conclusion that we would have to go out and look for one to buy. I went to a few stores and half of them did not know what a CPU retention bracket was, and the other half did not have any. In the end, we drove about 1hr (30min there and back) to one store and it cost about $8.00 for the bracket.

P4 Mounting Bracket - Thermalright P4 Socket Adapter



Once we had the right equipment, we mounted the CPU waterblock onto the board and we had completed the installation.

We ran the system for another 30min with it actually mounted inside the computer, and once again there were no leaks whatsoever.

And that's the end of my story..

I will post pics and temps tonight, but I can say now that this system is awesome! It runs soo quiet (with 3 different modes for fan speeds) and it really cools down the CPU and GPU. I haven't mounted the NB waterblock yet, that will be done tomorrow or Friday.

[devnull]

Wow man, totally awesome that you did that. I was looking to water cool my computer just as a project to get my temps down. Both you and TRow have sweet machines. Looking forward to seeing some temps

[Jay2235]

devnull said:

Wow man, totally awesome that you did that. I was looking to water cool my computer just as a project to get my temps down. Both you and TRow have sweet machines. Looking forward to seeing some temps

yea the main reason was to get those high temps down.. I also had really loud fans that were driving me crazy.. I also got talked into buying it at a really good price from my colleague lol.. ill definatly get the pics and temps up tonite.. i was having some problems with MBM5 though..

[devnull]

Well, my fans are kinda loud right now, but when I get to school (because I live right on Milwaukee's main drag) I can barely hear it. Also, WI is a lot cooler than IL and we always have our windows open to circulate cool air in.

I assume that if you move your computer a lot, you probably don't want water cooling. But now that I have the server, I can take that home with me on vacations and stuff. Also, I just NEED something to work on while at school. A fun project, you might say. I think this is a good one.

I just need to read up on things like how different diameter tubing affects the watercooling system. I also plan on investing on equipment that is used (like used pump and reservoir). I can't spend THAT much on a system, esp. if I am not going to be overclocking anything but the Graphics Card.

[TRow]

Frickin SWEET! Bring on the Pics. Theres no such thing as too many pics.

[Jay2235]

admin said:

Frickin SWEET! Bring on the Pics. Theres no such thing as too many pics.

Thanks TRow, Pics will be up soon.

My camera battery was dead the other night when I went to take the pictures.

I would also like to get this problem sorted out 2..

xpsmodz.proboards33.com/index.cgi?board=techissues&action=display&thread=1124457717

[Zefram0911]

wow... awesome mod.

[unknowngod430]

wheres' the pictures? cuz i wanna water cool my system

[Zefram0911]

ditto

[Jay2235]

unknowngod430 said:

wheres' the pictures? cuz i wanna water cool my system

Sorry guys.. been really busy.. here comes the pictures..

[Jay2235]

[unknowngod430]

do you just have the cooling system sitting on time or did you mount it in? and what are u're temps... i'm looking at doing some water cooling to my GEN 4

[devnull]

The watercooling system he has is external, meaning that it wont ever go in the case. A lot of times this prevents you from having to hack up your case to install a water cooling system.

However, it also makes you computer much, much more difficult to move.

Unknown -- If you are looking for water cooling, I would go for the best GPU block you could get your hands on, and a decent CPU block (like the swiftech 6002). Since Overclocking is not really an option for the CPU, you don't have to worry about getting rid of all that much heat. Similarly, because your not OCing the CPU, your chipset doesn't really need to be water cooled either (however, I plan on it because it looks straight pimp). The only thing you probably need to worry about cooling well is your graphics card, so get something like a dangerden Maze4 (dangerden.com) and some nice ramsinks. This should give you great temps and stable gameplay.

[unknowngod430]

lol i just bought the actric cooler a little while ago.. wasn't really thinkinf of WCing at the time so... i just want to do more effective cooling on the cpu with less noise. and it'll look cooler than a new HS... meh whats everyone feel about the thermaltake big water cooler? cheap and seems like it'll do the job well

[Jay2235]

unknowngod430 said:

do you just have the cooling system sitting on time or did you mount it in? and what are u're temps... i'm looking at doing some water cooling to my GEN 4

the system comes with industrial strength velcro strips to attatch to the bottom of the external watercooling unit and to the top of the case.. that thing will not move at all unless you really wanna take it off lol

[Jay2235]

devnull said:

The watercooling system he has is external, meaning that it wont ever go in the case. A lot of times this prevents you from having to hack up your case to install a water cooling system.

However, it also makes you computer much, much more difficult to move.

Unknown -- If you are looking for water cooling, I would go for the best GPU block you could get your hands on, and a decent CPU block (like the swiftech 6002). Since Overclocking is not really an option for the CPU, you don't have to worry about getting rid of all that much heat. Similarly, because your not OCing the CPU, your chipset doesn't really need to be water cooled either (however, I plan on it because it looks straight pimp). The only thing you probably need to worry about cooling well is your graphics card, so get something like a dangerden Maze4 (dangerden.com) and some nice ramsinks. This should give you great temps and stable gameplay.

computer is kind of a pain to move.. but once u do it a few times you get used to it.. the case is already heavy itself, so the WCing unit doesn't add much excessive weight, it just makes it more awkward because it makes the case higher.. but as for transporting, I just sit my tower in the front or back seat of the car and put the seat belt around it and it doesnt shift at all..

[TRow]

Very nice work man, very clean. Sticky

[mcmurr]

I like this kit and was wondering if anyone has done this Mod to a Gen 4 yet? I've checked the website and know that the parts are readily available, but was just wondering...................

Jeff

[Jay2235]

admin said:

Very nice work man, very clean. Sticky

thanks TRow.. =)