Work bonus = Vapochill LS
Well, I had been eyeing one of these for over a year now, and I finally decided to go for it. I just got my year-end bonus at work, and I decided to click the check-out button 
I just received word that there is a 37lb package heading my way via UPS :o
Any other phase-change owners around willing to share some tips?
I just received word that there is a 37lb package heading my way via UPS :o
Any other phase-change owners around willing to share some tips?
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My main rig:
Opteron 148
DFI NF4 Ultra-D
2x512MB OCZ Platinum Rev.2
ATI X850XT
2x WD360s
PCP&C 510 Express
Lian-LI PC65B
That thing will fit your Lian like a hand in a glove.
That is going to be impressive.
I love phase change... Used to play with a homebuilt R404A chiller back in the day. Haven't had time or money for it lately, but I'm leaning towards a VC LS some time early next year. Looks like such a great unit, and I've always had a lot of respect for Asetek's products... Even if my R404A whooped the crap out of the original VapoChills.
Grats on the purchase... It'll be a lot of fun, I'm sure. Definitely keep us posted, I am particularly interested in your unbiased experiences and results.
I can't wait to get it setup. The LS seems like a great unit. Everything is included and it seems like a reliable and good performing unit. I just hope my opteron won't be plagued by the dreaded 'cold bug'. Since I'm pretty new to phase, I just wanted something pre-fab. Sounds like a pretty cool setup you had! any pictures?
I'll definitely be posting my progress as I go
It sure does look really sweet on the PC65B!
Hurry up and assembly that monster. I wanna know everything
Enjoy it.
Here are some pics of my progress..
First was the case tear down, which is never terribly fun. Here's a before pic of the massive XP90:
Third pic is of the paper template they provide for modding the case bottom. I found it very difficult to line up properly.
Cutting the evaporator entrance was very easy, but I spent over an hour trying to get the holes lined up properly. Everytime I test-fit it on the vapo, it was not straight. TIP: Cut much larger holes than necessary, this allows you to shift the case around a bit before screwing in the large thumbscrews.
I was pleased with the final result.. it looked pretty clean. I used some of the 'sharp edge' guard plastic from the other side of the lian-li to protect the vapo cables.
I finally got a good straight fit as you can see in the last image.
It was painful to fill the socket pin holes with thermal paste. I used the goop supplied by astek. It seems identical in consistancy to arctic cermaic that I used previously.
Next, I assembed the mainboard frontal insulation. I had to cut it a bit to clear one of the mosfet sinks and a capacitor. Once the second piece is on, only the CPU IHS is exposed. It does not fit tightly, but once the evaporator is mounted, it is squeezed to form a tight seal.
You need to write up a full review - the main page needs content!
You did a great job on the mating of the cases. They really do go together like prof and snuffie, or peanut butter and jelly if you prefer the more archaic terms.
Once I had the evap ready to go, mounting was very easy. It requires a bit of pressure, but the spring system is very similar to the dangerden waterblock retention systems. I removed it after the first try to check the IHS contact, and it was perfect the first try! astek really did a fantastic job with their mounting system. It works wonderfully. Once the evap is secured, the insulation is squeezed to form a good seal.
I love the thread so far! Keep up the good work LL.
It does not take long for the unit to reach -10 up and start up the PC. I'd guess around 30 seconds or so. Once fully warmed up, the evaportator reaches -50 degrees. The CPU temperature at idle was around -30. Load temps on this bloody hot opteron are about -5 to -1 degrees. huge delta there.
More pics and info to come..
What did that opteron previously o/c too on air?? i.e. how much further can you o/c it now it's on vapo cooling?
and i am with jimborae.....what was your max oc on air and now on vapochill? keep up the good work!
I think you got lucky and found a cpu without the coldbug as well mate.
I heard the noise is awful on the LS, any truth in that?
I literally spent 5 minutes and came up with 3.2GHz using the same vcore that I used to obtain 2.9GHz on air (1.55V). 2.9 was not terribly stable though due to almost 60 degree load temps. 3.2 seems like a piece of cake on the vapo, and it has been priming for several hours now. This opty badly needs it's IHS removed. Evaporator temp is -42 at load, but the chip still climbs into the positive single digit temps (+3 degrees or so). I checked the evaporator contact several times, and it is making perfect contact on the IHS. I think this is a common problem that people are seeing on these opterons. I'd be nervous popping the IHS though, the vapo needs some pressure to mount and I'd be worry about crushing the SOI core.
I'm thinking ~1.65V would be a safe 24/7 vcore on phase, but I'm not sure.. I'm hoping for at least 3.3 so that I can run my TCCD 1:1 at 11x300
Definitely lucky, I was really worried about the cold bug, but it seems totally stable, even when sitting idle for long periods of time. It ran about -30 at stock clocks and didn't skip a beat.
It may not be terribly loud as far as dBA readings, but the compressor is fairly high pitched and has an annoying harmonic to it. The fans are very quiet, and I can barely hear them, but the compressor is very noticable. Luckily I'm not terribly sensitive to noise, but I'm sure it would drive a lot of people nuts
I still have all of my h2o gear.. I'm tempted
It was craving more volts.. needed a jump from 1.55 to 1.65 to get from 3.2 to 3.3.. I have a feeling it won't dance any higher but I will try.. stay tuned
Memory is still running on a divider, but I really hope it will run 1:1 with my TCCD @ 300MHz..
Evaporator is holding strong at -42C, CPU temp is reported as between -3 and +3.. however I believe these sensors do not operate reliably below zero. I'd imagine the actual CPU temp is much lower.
This machine feels very quick.. windows starts up very quickly.. time to do some gaming