573 replies to this topic

[Dano2k0]

Alright so ive had this in the works for a few months now (i have little time to work on most of my projects due to being busy) but i figgured i have got far enough now to make my 360 worth-while showing.

I spent quite a long time planning this and working out what was suitable to use and what would do a good enough cooling job to keep this all internal in the original 360 case, its been quite challenging through-out to pull this off but i feel i'm now to the stage where when i get the time to work on it and i finish it, everything will go to plan.

I know there have been a few watercooled projects already, and i'm obviously not the first, which to me really doesn't matter, as long as i'm happy with what i create thats all that matters, so please no flammers!

This has tinted plexiglass, two waterblocks, one for the GPU and one for the CPU, a radiator, 12v pump, fill port, reservoir, blue and uv LED's, custom cut DVD window, custom window and paint job, aswell as other modifications which will be seen as i go on later.

(PLEASE REMEMBER ALL PICS ARE JUST SHOWING PROGRESS, NONE OF THESE ARE THE FINISHED PRODUCT AND ARE NOT ASSEMBLED CORRECTLY / FULLY)

Ok so i'll get some of the pics up for you to see my progress:

Here is a pic that shows the tinted pelxiglass window and the radiator mounted in the side:



Here is another view of the top with the window and radiator (before DVD window was cut)



Heres another shot of the top with radiator



This pic shows the DVD window through the pelxiglass after it had just been cut and being peaced back together for a couple of photos



Heres another shot of the DVD window cut out, with the flash pointed directly through the window which allows you to see through the tinted plexi very well. As you can see its a little dusty, don't worry the plexiglass is fine when clean.



Next i fitted the fill port on the window, this will connect to the reservoir once i get it installed, this uses 1/2 tubing but i have got a barb to fit to the reservoir to plumb it into the system correctly. Also as you can see, the top panel has been primered, it needs some more sanding and some more primer, then i'll move onto painting it.



Heres an overall shot of the progress so far, showing the radiator / fill port etc, as you can see its still got the primer on.



More to follow in a minute....

Ok so heres the DVD window i cut, first i'll show it after just being cut and then i'll post a few pics after ive primered it (i may leave it in the grey colour or may spray it a different colour, i'm not sure yet)



After primering







Heres a quick shot that shows the fittings for the CPU water block with the tubing connected to the fittings



Here we have a photo that shows after i had gave the CPU and GPU abit of a clean up from the old thermal paste, for the CPU waterblock i had to move a couple of capacitors to get the tubing in alright, everything went well and they are now in a safe position and shouldn't cause any problems



Next theres a pic of ther CPU waterblock installed, you can see why i had to move the capacitors, but everything fits nicely



Heres a pic i took once i got the waterblock installed, i just gave a good over-view of the whole thing



I'll post an update when i next do some work, i'm also more then happy to get feedback on all this, and possibly ideas for anyone that wishes to share them. Also don't worry i think ive got everything covered so i shouldn't have any problems.

Cheers

Ok well i realised i did the fill port picture twice, and its combined my posts and won't let me edit the picture as it then says i have too many pictures in that post...

So that leaves me having to post the picture seperatly so here we go again:

An overall view of the thing so far showing the fill port and radiator etc

Edited by Dano2k0, 16 April 2006 - 02:11 PM.

[Potato_salad]

Nice!...I might sound stupid ,..but what does the GPU do?

[InfernO8]

Very nice so far. Will everything be internal besides where the coolant is kept?

[Dano2k0]

Nice!...I might sound stupid ,..but what does the GPU do?

The GPU is the graphics processing unit, its what processes the image that is displayed on your TV, MS stuck a little heatsink on it considering the temperature that thing gets up to, hence people getting graphics corruption during games etc.

Very nice so far. Will everything be internal besides where the coolant is kept?

Yeah everything is going to be internal, even the reservoir for the coolant, don't worry providing everything goes as its planned i should be able to fit everything in the case without too much of a problem, at the moment i'm quite sure ive got everything well planned out.

Thanks for the positive comments guys

[yellowblanket]

AHHH!!! well i'm glad i didn't do my internal watercooling project, because i don't think that i could top that !!! grrr...i hate you! LOL
It is reallly nice dude!!!, i really like the clean look of it. Can't wait to see the paint job
Are you gonna watercool the GPU as well? or will you be using dif kind of method?

[Polat]

Looks brilliant so far!

Oh yeh i know this is totally off-topic but dan, check your email, i sent you one about a week back because it said i couldnt PM you.

[henmill]

Are you gonna watercool the GPU as well? or will you be using dif kind of method?

.....................

This has tinted plexiglass, two waterblocks, one for the GPU and one for the CPU,

there ya go.
anyways, this project looks great! i cant wait to see it done!

Edited by henmill, 16 April 2006 - 03:20 PM.

[jasdev]

looks amazing , i love the DVD drive window design also

[nj12nets]

that looks great so far and it looks like its gonna turn out amazing.

[XLostSpartanX]

It looks nice, but I like xboxexpert's more for some reason. Im thinking because of the tinted plexi and the more complicated cooling system.

[Dano2k0]

Thanks for the positive comments guys, yeah as the guy pointed out for me above its going to be watercooled on the GPU aswell as the CPU, i just haven't had chance to get it all sorted as of yet.

xboxexperts box is nice, i'm looking forward to seeing his case. Although i don't really compare for whos is better, i just really like my box as its exactlly how i wanted it so far.

The tinted plexi i thought was a great idea, because the case is also going to be black, so when the lighting is off you won't really be able to see through it, but when its got some good light on it, it turns pretty much see through. If you take a look at the picture above you can see when light is applied the pelxi is pretty see-through, so i'm having a switch for lighting on / off

As for the complicated cooling system, in all honesty i think mine is the most complex i have seen, to get everything to work and fit correctly in the space i have to work with is some challenge, to get the fill port in i have to fit a 1/2 barb to the reservoir to connect it up as the rest of the tubing i am using is around 8mm ID. Also, i hope you haven't just seen the pictures and think its 'finished' as its far from it, the GPU cooling block isn't even on, the pump isn't in and neither is the reservoir, its going to be a squeeze, but i'm confident all will work out well in the end.

Hopefully this will help against any confusion anyone has, thanks agaian for the comments guys, they are much appreciated

[yellowblanket]

I think most people doesn't realize how complicated it is to a internal watercooling job. This is A LOT of work! i know this because i tried the kit before and had to return it back. Mad prop to you Dano for this mod

[The 1st Strike]

That's sweet. All internal is gunna be nice!

[xboxexpert]

I see a few complications that you might run into. First off, the fact that the top of the case where you mount everything has to be installed first due to the screws on the bottom. Unless you’re going to bypass the 6 screws to secure the top of the case you are going to have to seriously install some sort of anti-kink springs or make the tubes the shortest possible or you will run into kinking. I don’t know the exact diagram you have in your head to work with but good luck. I see this project turning out VERY NICELY if done correctly.

Another possible problem I see and I don’t know if I am correct or not but over the CPU is the water block and the out/in port facing the fans you had to remove and extend with two wires the cap's. In front of the block now is this circle item with spools of wire around it. This is used for resistance I THINK. If you extend this you might run into problems because then technically you’re extended the resistance. I am not sure of this but I'm going to address this.

-xboxexpert

[lostboyz]

those circled things with spools around them are ferrite rings they are made to keep electrical systems noise down. Majority of the time they are in there to meet EMC spec but usually are not necessary