Project Open Core: Liquid P5, Hardline Tubing, Illuminated System Panel, VR Ready

Issue Resolved… sort of

After trying what seemed like everything I could think of, along with some suggestions from people on various forums, finally figured out what the issue was. I thought I had unplugged everything in my search for a fix, but I missed the PCIe USB 3.1 card, mainly because it was hidden behind the PCIe Riser Cable going to the GPU with its vertical installation. I couldn't see it, and passed it over.

The reason that particular card was giving me issues was due to the fact that USB 3.1 can draw a lot more power than 2.0 and even 3.0, which it what was triggering that particular error message, and causing the reboots. I went ahead and made a new SATA Power cable and added it to the expansion card, and the power / current issues are gone.

I have finished a few test, and was even able to install Windows 10 while checking for fluid leaks. Still having an occasional issue during boot up, but I know that cause this time of the Q-Code 62. That same PCIe Riser Cable that hid the USB Card, is causing the boot process to lock up. As soon as I unplug the card, everything functions as it should. I have been reading that adding extra shielding to the cable can fix the issue, so going to give that a shot. If not, will have to hit up Thermaltake for a new cable. I really hope it will be a quick fix, as the build is almost done and I would hate to have this hold things up.

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Project Open Core: Hardline Tubing

For this build, I decided to go with Monsoon Hardline PETG Tubing 1/2" ID, 5/8" OD. I initially had purchased PrimoChill PETG Tubing, but decided that the diameter was too thin and liked the look of ⅝” OD better. This is my first time “tube bending” so I purchased a lot of it since I knew that I had to account for the varoius screw ups that would occur. Luckily it is not very expensive.

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Since it was my first time working with hardline tubing, I had to acquire a few tools to make sure my bends look good. I already had a few things, like the rotary pipe cutters and a heat gun, but also picked up some Monsoon Mandrels to help form bends, a measuring kit, and a tube bending rig made by Barrow which came in really handy.

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I have noticed that a lot of people cutting tubing use a hacksaw, but I personally thing the rotary pipe cutter is a much better tool. Not only does is make very straight cuts, but it leaves no mess, and gives the tubing a nice beveled edge as can seen in the picture above, and ensures I don’t damage the o-rings when sliding them on for the fittings.

The Barrows bending rig was very useful when doing more complex / multi angle bends, and assured not only my angles were dead on, but that the tubing was straight throughout the level plane I was working with. It also allowed me to keep things stable when doing larger 180 bends than what the Monsoon mandrel kit supported. Used a can of compressed air as a form for one of the bends, and it come out really nice.

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For the most part, my bends held true to my original 3D render which I was glad to see. One place where I had to simplify a bit is where the Motherboard outlet connected to the GPU block. I was initially going to go with a nice multi-bend solution, but realized after installing the fittings that my plan wouldn’t work. There wasn’t enough clearance between the fitting and the motherboard housing to do a 90 degree bend from that location. So I used my measuring kit to form a more simple
“L” bend directly to the GPU block.

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Not as fancy, but the end result still looks great. Towards the end of the process, I was getting really good and quick at making quality bends. I may change things around at some point, but for now, I am happy with the end result. Time to move on to finishing up making some power cables and getting them sleeved.

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For High Resolution versions of all photos from this build log, pleas check out the Album on Flickr.
zaneross82
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Mr_Armageddon said:
Issue Resolved… sort of

After trying what seemed like everything I could think of, along with some suggestions from people on various forums, finally figured out what the issue was. I thought I had unplugged everything in my search for a fix, but I missed the PCIe USB 3.1 card, mainly because it was hidden behind the PCIe Riser Cable going to the GPU with its vertical installation. I couldn't see it, and passed it over.

The reason that particular card was giving me issues was due to the fact that USB 3.1 can draw a lot more power than 2.0 and even 3.0, which it what was triggering that particular error message, and causing the reboots. I went ahead and made a new SATA Power cable and added it to the expansion card, and the power / current issues are gone.

I have finished a few test, and was even able to install Windows 10 while checking for fluid leaks. Still having an occasional issue during boot up, but I know that cause this time of the Q-Code 62. That same PCIe Riser Cable that hid the USB Card, is causing the boot process to lock up. As soon as I unplug the card, everything functions as it should. I have been reading that adding extra shielding to the cable can fix the issue, so going to give that a shot. If not, will have to hit up Thermaltake for a new cable. I really hope it will be a quick fix, as the build is almost done and I would hate to have this hold things up.

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Click to expand...

I have this same case, which I'm using with an X99 board and a Radeon 290X. Neither the original cable nor the revised (shorter) one that Thermaltake offers worked very well. The original one didn't work at all with the 290X, but did work at PCI-E v1.1 data rate with an older card that I had lying around. The replacement cable worked with the 290X, but only intermittently at full PCI-E 3.0 speed. I tried covering both cables with aluminum tape, making sure they didn't have any sharp bends, etc. Nothing seemed to make it work reliably.

I eventually just gave up and installed the GPU directly in the motherboard - kind of a bummer, since it has a really cool looking Aquacomputer water block on it.
 
RazorWind said:
I have this same case, which I'm using with an X99 board and a Radeon 290X. Neither the original cable nor the revised (shorter) one that Thermaltake offers worked very well. The original one didn't work at all with the 290X, but did work at PCI-E v1.1 data rate with an older card that I had lying around. The replacement cable worked with the 290X, but only intermittently at full PCI-E 3.0 speed. I tried covering both cables with aluminum tape, making sure they didn't have any sharp bends, etc. Nothing seemed to make it work reliably.

I eventually just gave up and installed the GPU directly in the motherboard - kind of a bummer, since it has a really cool looking Aquacomputer water block on it.
Click to expand...

I just picked up this cable from Amazon, should arrive tomorrow. Other P5 Users have said it works better than what Thermaltak has provided, so going to give it a shot and hope that it works with the GTX 1080.

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Project Open Core: Sleeving

My last build incorporated sleeving from MDPC (MurderMods), and it turned out really good. I still have a lot of sleeving left over from that project, but decided to try something different for this build. I have heard a lot of things, both good and bad, about Paracord sleeving, so I decided to do a sample to see if it would work for this build. As I mentioned before, I like MDPC sleeving, but I find it a bit stiff to work with at times. So I purchased a few hundred feet of coreless paracord, which cost less than $25, and got started sleeving.

In addition to the custom sleeving, I typically make my own power cables for each build. I find by doing this I am able to limit all the extra cable length taking up room in the case, and it allows for better looking cable routing. Here is a pic of the primary tools used for the job.

  • Paracord (Black)
  • Paracord (Royal Blue)
  • Paracord (Slate Grey)
  • Lutro Paracord Sleeving tool (makes job snag free)
  • 100ft 18AWG Wire
  • PSU Power Connector Pins (lots)
  • MDPC Crimping Tool
  • MDPC Pin Extractor
  • Molex PSU Connector Heads (Various)
  • Precision Titanium Snips
  • Hobby Knife
  • Bic Lighter

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After doing a few trail runs and deciding that I really like using Paracord, I set to work making my cables. In addition to looking great, and being very flexible, I like that with Paracord I can sleeve the cables without having to use heatshrink. I personally think it looks cleaner, and it cuts down the time required to get the job done.

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For most of the build I am using “Wire Wraps” that are 3D printed by Ensourced. I find they are really easy to work with, and look great once installed. They do a good job of keeping the sleeved cables tidy, especially when doing bends.

Here you can see a comparison of my new paracord sleeved ATX connector vs my older one using MDPC sleeving. So pretty!

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Here we have another comparison of the two types of sleeving. Really impressed with the look and feel of the paracord. Also liking the combination of the 3 colors, and how well it goes with the rest of the build.

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The cable shown below is one I had to create later on in the process after I was having boot issues caused by me not adding a power connector to my USB 3.1 expansion card. You can see the cable plugged in the bottom part of this picture as well. Glad I got that one figured out!

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Here we have the final stage of the custom cables and sleeving in all it’s glory. Really liking how the colors look, and how clean the paracord sleeving turned out. Cable management in the back is good, but could be better. May work at securing everything down a bit more once I verify that everything is working the way it should.

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For High Resolution versions of all photos from this build log, pleas check out the Album on Flickr.
zaneross82
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I am happy to report that the PCIe riser cable I purchased works perfectly! No more boot errors, benchmarks work, and I can even OC without issues.

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Here is the Amazon link if anyone with the Core P5 Case would like to give it a go. It seems a lot higher quality than the one provided by Thermaltake, and is shielded well. The only problem is that one of the screw holes doesn't line up exactly with the P5 case mount. I ended up using the screw on the side with the PCIe latch, and a zip tie on the other. Not ideal, but it works, and doesn't wiggle.

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One thing I made sure to do this time is not have any drastic bends, and to not bend anything near the connectors. Used a can of Pledge Spray as my guide for nice rounded bends.

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Now that I am back to having a 100% working system, I can work on getting this build finished up! Time for some leak testing.
 
cdabc123 said:
that paracord sleeving looks amazing i might have to do that myself
Click to expand...

I'm a big fan after using for this build. Really easy to work with, and very inexpensive. I have heard that other say it snags a lot, but I haven't noticed that at all in this system.
 
Project Open Core: Initial Fill and Leak Testing

Now that the tubing and cables are done, time to fill this thing up with fluid. Before I did an entire system fill, there were 2 things I needed to do.

Needed to flush the radiator of any particulates. I have heard in a lot of reviews that radiators can have all kinds of metal shards inside time left over from the manufacturing process. I detached the radiator from the rest of the loop, and flushed it with distilled water. Pleased to find very little in they way of particulates, so drained it and reattached the tubing.
Then had to decide on what color of LED I wanted to use in the Res, being that is was one of the few lights in the system that wasn’t RGB. I filled it up a little over halfway, added a bit of Blue Dye, and first tried the White LED, which is the photo on the left. It looked good, but wanted to try blue as well.

At first I was worried that the blue would look purple and not match the rest of my system (kinda like it does in the picture on the right). But in real life, it is the perfect color blue, and seems to light up the entire Res a bit better than the white one, so going to stick with the blue LED for now. Its an easy change if I decide to go with the white sometime in the future.

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After deciding on the LED color, I drained the Res, connected the tubing to the rest of the system, and began filling with distilled water for the first official “Leak Test”. Quick note of filling a system with this XSPC Photon Res… you will need a book, which you can see in the bottom right of my photo below. The case/res has to be tilted at an angle during the fill process, or the opening will keep backing up with air bubbles. The first 5 minutes of the fill process were very frustrating until I figured this out. After sliding a good size book under the right leg of the case, filing became very easy.

Was able to fill the whole system in a just a few minutes, alternating between running the pump and tilting the case to release air bubbles. It looks like it is going to take around 1.4 liters to completely fill the system loop and res. I then ran it for a few hours, and didn't find a single drop of water outside of the loop. Leak test completed successfully.

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For High Resolution versions of all photos from this build log, pleas check out the Album on Flickr.
zaneross82
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the caarbon fiber decal on everything looks fake any reason you didnt get the real stuff?
 
cdabc123 said:
the caarbon fiber decal on everything looks fake any reason you didnt get the real stuff?
Click to expand...

What are you referring to? If you are saying I should have gotten an Acetal block, EK doesn't make one that also shows the fluid path, which was the reason I went with acrylic.

I did ask an EK rep if there were any plans for a black anodized plate that could go atop the acrylic block. Haven't heard back yet. If they made one, I would buy it and replace the vinyl. Until something like that is available, the "decal" gives the look I want for now.
 
na. i was talking about the carbon fiber decal that covers the majority of the flat surfaces. it looks fake from the pic and i was woundering why you chose that over the VERY nice look of real carbon fiber.
 
and you could take real carbon fiber plates cut them to size and adhere them onto the gpu block
 
in case you are looking for some this one here looks very nice in the light and unlike fake stuff looks amazing when the angle changes
Carbon Fiber/Blue Kevlar : Carbon Fiber Panels/Sheets, Fabric/Cloth, COLORED Carbon/Kevlar, Composite Envisions
and this one here is just breathtaking. it could really add abit to your build
Blue Mirage™ Carbon Fiber Fabric 2x2 Twill 50 3k 290gsm 8.6oz High Density [F-1252] - $84.99 : Carbon Fiber Panels/Sheets, Fabric/Cloth, COLORED Carbon/Kevlar, Composite Envisions
 
Project Open Core: Benchmarks & Temps

I am putting together a neat little video of the filling process and adding the Mayhem Blue Pastel dye to the system. While working on that, I had a chance to play with a bit more Overclocking, and wanted to share those specs along with some Benchmarks and Temperatures.

Overclocking was pretty easy on this system. I was able to hit 4.8GHz on the 6700K fairly easily using a core voltage of 1.375, and temps never got above 58C during stress testing. I tried for 5.0GHz, but no matter how much voltage I threw at it, couldn’t get stable enough to run benchmarks, so stayed with 4.8GHz, which really isn’t that bad with the temps I am seeing.

With the GPU the highest I was able to get and be 100% stable on the EVGA GTX 1080 SC, was a core clock of 2151MHz and Memory at 5500MHz. That’s not overly impressive compared to other GPUs in the past, but apparently the Pascal series cards already come out towards the peak of their frequency threshold. Even then, a 24% core clock increase over reference 1080 cards isn’t too shabby, especially being that my GPU temps have yet to rise above 40C.

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Once I had the CPU and GPU OC’d, it was time to throw some benchmarks and games at it.

Unigine Valley Benchmark 1.0
Setting: Exreme HD
FPS: 120.4
Score: 5038

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Unigine Haven Benchmark 4.0
Setting: Extreme
FPS: 101.8
Score: 2563

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Ashes of the Singularity
Setting: Crazy, DX11
Average FPS: 65.5

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Shadow of Mordor
Setting: Ultra
Average FPS: 174.45

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3DMark FireStrike 1.1
Score: 19499
Compare: Better than 982% of all results

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3DMark FireStrike Extreme 1.1
Score: 10735
Compare: Better than 92% of all results

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3DMark FireStrike Ultra 1.1
Score: 5807
Compare: Better than 78% of all results

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3DMark Sky Diver 1.0
Score: 42539
Compare: Better than 99% of all results

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For High Resolution versions of all photos from this build log, pleas check out the Album on Flickr.
zaneross82
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Project Open Core: Final Build Pics

This build is DONE!! That doesn't mean I won't make any changes, as I am a constantly tinkering with things, but the core system is ready to go. I still need to moidfy a few things at my desk and route cables before I move it over, but still calling the project done at this point.

Not really any reason to describe each picture, so just going to post a bunch of them from different angles.


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For High Resolution versions of all photos from this build log, pleas check out the Album on Flickr.
zaneross82
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For High Resolution versions of all photos from this build log, pleas check out the Album on Flickr.
zaneross82
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Last edited:
very nice! Idk how i missed the post about the cam display(had to go back and look) but that's pretty f'n slick. good job dude!
 
pendragon1 said:
very nice! Idk how i missed the post about the cam display(had to go back and look) but that's pretty f'n slick. good job dude!
Click to expand...

Thanks! That little display is pretty neat. Not the best quality screen by any means, but for the price does what I need it to.
 
This is the best build color in the dark that I have ever seen. Great work sir... great work.
 
First worklog I've ever posted on but damn your log has really compelled me to post. Meticulous worklog, probably better than 99% I see. You readily admit mistakes and documented to a crazy degree.
Design is incredible. I've always hated LEDs for the most part but this rig has my mind changed. Anyways one of the best builds I've ever seen. Thanks for putting it up, definitely inspirational.
 
systemlayers said:
First worklog I've ever posted on but damn your log has really compelled me to post. Meticulous worklog, probably better than 99% I see. You readily admit mistakes and documented to a crazy degree.
Design is incredible. I've always hated LEDs for the most part but this rig has my mind changed. Anyways one of the best builds I've ever seen. Thanks for putting it up, definitely inspirational.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment. I did find myself taking a lot more pictures with this one than my past build logs. In addition to helping spark ideas in other forum members, having a detailed build log serves as my reference for future projects. I referenced my past builds for this one, and will most likely do the same with an new build in the distant future.
 
haste. said:
Love the mod, but I'm more impressed by the workspace!
Click to expand...
Thanks! The workspace definitely makes working on these types of projects a bit easier. Found out that I need to put a lacquer clear coat finish on the benches, after spilling a bit of Mayhem Pastel Blue additive on it. :(
 
I moved the new build from the "tinker" room to my actual office setup. After connecting everything, it was apparent that I needed to do some much needed cable cleanup behind the standing desk.
Purchased a few cable racks, and the end result is greatly improved. Dubbing myself "Cable Lord" after that cleanup job.

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