Installation Continued
Next, I re-installed the motherboard into the case and was careful to ensure the heating cables came out from behind the motherboard in an appropriate location. Be sure to check this before screwing the board down. Below you can see the chill control board sitting at the bottom of the case. This is not going to be the permanent location of the board. I simply used it in that location for my initial testing.
Next, I started the assembly of the clamshell. This was well documented by Asetek, but requires a bit of manual dexterity. The trickiest part is wrapping the heating element around the inside of the unit. It is a very tight fit, but I’m sure that was very intentional to ensure a tight seal. The hose insulation needs to be pulled back significantly to allow enough room to work.
The evaporator head was polished relatively well and appeared very flat. The ribbon cable visible above is the LCD connector. It would have been nice for Asetek to cover it in braided protector like the other vapochill control cable. Nobody likes old-style ribbon cables these days. I took it upon myself to braid the supplied USB cable myself.
Once assembled, it is important to forcefully stuff the insulation on the upper part of the hose into the clamshell. This ensures a tight seal. As can be seen above, the heater cable for the clamshell is also very long and can reach just about any location in the case.
Next came the fun part: actually mounting the evaporator. This was very easy and reminded me of water block mounting. I had to apply a bit of force, because the mounting springs are rather stiff. Once they made contact with the threads, it was a piece of cake. I was very impressed with Asetek’s mounting system. It was very easy to use. As you can see above, the insulation on the board is compressed as the clamshell is held down to create a good seal. I removed the evaporator after the first mount to inspect the contact marks on the thermal paste. To my surprise, it appeared to be perfect. It was completely centered on the IHS and compressed with a healthy amount of pressure. I cleaned up the thermal compound on the chip and then reapplied and re-mounted it confidently.
One problem I immediately observed was that the evaporator hose was simply too long for the DFI NF4 motherboard. DFI chose an almost centered location for the socket, so there is some excess hose to deal with. When looking at it from a different angle, you can see that it protrudes from the side of the case by about half of an inch.
After browsing Asetek’s support forum for a bit, I determined that when pushing the side panel on, it will cause the hose to bend slightly at the clam shell and the hose will push down into the Vapochill unit enough for the case side panel to fit. It does press on the window a bit, but it does not appear to stress the insulation, nor does it pull the clamshell from the socket enough to impact the mount. Be careful not to manipulate the hose when the unit is in operation or not fully settled after use. The hose is very stiff when cold and should not be moved.
Once I had it all together, I was very pleased with the appearance. The Vapochill mated to the Lian-Li PC65 is a beautiful combination. These were clearly made for each other.
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