Hi everyone. Was wondering if anyone had any experience with this. I am building one right now and wanted to get some input and opinions. All replys appreciated.
Liquid Cooling?
- Thread starter tn360
- Start date
Martin C
VIP Member
Ok - the first thing I would consider is that many components (Southbridge, HANA and RAM) are cooled passively via the normal ambient airflow in the console. Whatever solution you decide to use, I would strongly consider adding blocks for these too.
Best console is a Jasper (for heat). There's more room for pipes too.
Best console is a Jasper (for heat). There's more room for pipes too.
Thanks again, Martin. I have bought a set of passive heat sinks and thermal pads for the ram chips. I have yet to install these as I am doing some stress testing on a xenon board before transfering to a jasper. I'm using a xspc waterblock, 80mm radiator with fan, thermaltake pump, and a secondary 60mm fan to pull air into the case from the rear. Right now my idel temp is 125F, after a 12 hour run including several hrs of black ops. Also spun several dvds and avi files. So far max temp has been about 140F. This still seems a bit high even for a xenon. Am considering a different pump as the one I'm using is only rated around 80lph. I'll post some pics if anyone is interested. Just got my new via card in the mail, so will be opening soon to flash the dvd drive anyway.
Here are a couple of pics of my work so far. The system does work, I just want it to be more effecient.
Martin C
VIP Member
Yea, I do remember reading that article some time back. I give the dude props for that. Pretty clever way to dress up the radiator. I thought about hollowing out a hddvd case so it would match the 360 a little closer. I finally decided I really wanted to stay as internal as possible. I travel with my consoles from time to time and wanted to keep it east to transport.
Not sure I understand what you mean, nicholsy. Updates are that I have ordered a new pump with a 500lph flow rating vs. the 80lph pump I am running. It is only rated at 16db which is the same for the radiator fan. Shouldn't increse the noise level overall. The drive on the other hand was a different story. The one in the pics came with the console (ebay $15). It's a sammy that sounds like some gravel got tossed inside it. Couldn't handle that, so swapped it with a new hitachi I had laying around. Not the quietest drive, I know, but far better than what it had. Temps have dropped somewhat. I suppose you could call it a break-in period. After 10-12hrs of constant running temp is 130-135 during gameplay and 115-120 at idle. Again this is a launch/xenon board. I am testing worst case senario. I expect the jasper to run around 15 degrees cooler or so. I'll update as things progress.
Oh, okay. Now I understand. Yes that is correct, Duhasst0. That's the fill-port. It's used to fill the system with coolant and purge air from the lines. Also from time to time it is necessary to drain and replace the fluid. Having the fill-port lets me do that without breaking down the console. Thanks again for the replys.
I'm no expert on liquid cooling, but it appears that the fan you cut into the top of the case is blowing hot air from the radiator into the case. The best solution would be to find 2 smaller sized radiators that can be mounted on the rear, chain them together and allow them to blow the hot air out the back of the case. Then you wouldn't need an intake fan as the regular vents will pull in cool air from the front/sides and you won't have to cut an eyesore fan into the top either. I'm betting that would get you to your target temperature range.
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Thanks for the input, Frozn. However the radiator fan actually pulls air from the inside, across the radiator, and outside. If I had mounted it the other way, it would be working aginst me. I did consider using a double 40mm radiator in the rear, but it would have had less surface area and hence less effecient than the single 80mm. I was also concerned about noise levels due th the fact that smaller fans have to turn more rpm's in order to deliver enough air flow. The main fan turns 1800rmp, produces 24cfm, and does so at 14db. I am using a brand new Hitachi 78, and it is the loudest component when it is reading. As far as the fan sticking out, I don't really like it either. However there simply wasn't enough room to keep it inside. Oh, well. Guess I will live with it. Thanks again for the input.