Trying prefer it got here from the set of The Poisonous Avenger, this Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic PC construct has coolant that appears positively radioactive. PC builder Ryan Davidson wished to construct a water-cooled gaming PC with clear straight strains and a poisonous look – one thing he appropriately calls Acid Rain.
Due to our quickly rising PC constructing Fb web page, we’ve seen many customized gaming PCs, from mods based mostly on present case designs to scratch PC builds. You’ll be able to even submit yours for consideration proper right here. Now let’s speak to Ryan about how he constructed this toxic-looking inexperienced water-cooled PC construct.
: Let’s begin with the thought. What was the unique inspiration for Acid Rain?
Ryan: The concept really fell into place whereas I used to be ready to maneuver into a brand new property with my accomplice. Figuring out I’d should dismantle my earlier construct with a view to get it throughout to the brand new place safely, I assumed: ‘Why not do a contemporary construct for this new chapter of my life?’ I imply, what higher solution to rejoice life targets, proper?
The identify got here from the colour scheme, because the coolant coloration seems to be nearly radioactive. There was a CableMod contest on on the time the place I deliberate on getting into the completed product. That’s what gave me the push to give you a undertaking identify. I hoped the identify would set it aside from the competitors and actually give the construct some character.
The place did the distribution plate come from?
I’d like to say I designed it myself, however the credit score right here goes to Bitspower. I had seen the distribution plate utilized in a showcase construct someplace on Instagram and it fully captured my creativeness.
From that time on, I knew it might make an incredible centerpiece of my new construct. I acquired in touch with Bitspower to search out out extra about if and when it might be bringing this product to market. Fortunately sufficient, I managed to get one pre-ordered – then it was only a ready sport for the merchandise to reach direct from Taiwan.
I based mostly the construct round a distribution plate with a view to obtain the cleanest look doable. I wished the construct to pack in plenty of cooling potential however look as uncluttered as doable. My earlier construct had two separate cooling loops, one for the GPUs and one for the CPU, all crammed right into a Lian Li PC-O9 chassis. It regarded nice nevertheless it was a bit of crowded, so this time I wished to step away from that and transfer in the direction of a cleaner aesthetic.
There’s additionally a Bitspower emblem on the entrance and, if you happen to take an in depth look, you’ll see it on all of the fittings all through the construct. I’m an enormous fan of Bitspower’s water-cooling fittings – there’s a great deal of selection, the standard is at all times glorious, and you may get a ‘Black Sparkle’ end, which is a favourite of mine.
How did you go about planning, measuring, and reducing all of the exhausting tubing?
Planning the route for the exhausting tubing is at all times essentially the most troublesome a part of a construct for my part. Though I’ve carried out numerous water-cooled builds to this point, deciding how I’m going to route the tubing is the half that at all times takes me the longest.
To begin, I’ll at all times draw it up on a little bit of A4 to get a tough thought of what number of tubing runs I’ll want and what fittings shall be required. I selected to make use of 14mm O/D PETG tubing, as I’ve labored with each that materials and acrylic earlier than and it’s positively the extra user-friendly of the 2. I used a small hacksaw to chop the tubes and a few very positive sandpaper to take away any sharp edges. The latter additionally helps to get a superb seal the place the tube butts up towards the O-ring contained in the fittings. I at all times measure twice and minimize as soon as; you don’t need to waste any tubing!
I’d additionally love to do the subsequent iteration of this construct with steel tubing. I can fortunately get the bends I need with PETG or acrylic tubing, however the steel tubing is a complete new ball sport for me – fortunately, the clear and straight runs from the distribution plate will simplify this improve.
There’s additionally a move indicator beneath the underside graphics card. It’s not an important piece of equipment to incorporate in a cooling loop; it’s only a choice of mine. I like to have the ability to see clearly that the liquid is flowing at any given time. A bit paranoia might prevent some critical cash – no pump move might imply you’re cooking the parts.
Did you sleeve the PSU cables your self, and the way did you intend the cable routing across the water-cooling loops?
Credit score for the wonderful job on the cables goes to Mod-One – as soon as once more, I’d seen his work on Instagram. These cables simply gave the impression to be a extra premium possibility than the CableMod equal.
I’d used a ready-made equipment from CableMod in an early construct and, whereas the standard was good, the sleeving was with paracord reasonably than nylon. On the time, CableMod didn’t provide the service that it does now. The paracord equal is far more versatile and takes a little bit of cable coaching to get the look you’re attempting to realize. I sketched up the cable routing on the unique piece of A4 after I was planning the tubing runs.
Did you carry out any customized modifications to the case?
I did should customise the chassis a bit of to get the second EK-PE radiator at the back of the case. I knew when shopping for the Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic case that it wouldn’t settle for a radiator with these dimensions. Nevertheless, I actually wished as a lot cooling potential as I might pack into the case, so I settled with a small modification to make all of it work.
I generally is a little bit of a perfectionist at occasions, and I’ve to say that having two matching EKWB radiators actually made me really feel higher in regards to the construct, though you don’t even see the one within the rear compartment. It wasn’t a drastic modification, however I needed to take away the USB ports from the case’s entrance I/O panel. I by no means discover myself utilizing the USB ports on the entrance of any of my instances, so I didn’t actually thoughts eliminating this characteristic for additional cooling capability. The ports have been solely hot-glued to the PCB, so eradicating them was a easy sufficient process.
What’s the little management panel within the top-left nook?
That’s an Aquacomputer Imaginative and prescient. It exhibits real-time temperatures and utilization of CPU and GPU cores. It’s a unbelievable little device for retaining observe of system temperatures on demand. It will possibly even show the undertaking identify on the LCD, so it seems to be actually skilled.
Did you come throughout any difficulties?
Aside from the little difficulty I discussed beforehand with squeezing an out-of-specification radiator into the case, there have been only a few issues. The Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic has really been fairly a refreshing case by which to construct a water-cooling-focused PC. I’d say it’s a wonderful case for anybody who may be wanting into doing an analogous construct – it’s very user-friendly.
What did you study from the construct course of?
I’ve been doing this for 5 years now, and I’ve at all times realized a bit of one thing from every construct. This construct particularly taught me the significance of endurance. I hadn’t accounted for altering my thoughts on how I had deliberate to route the tubing, in order that left me a number of fittings quick. It’s humorous, as a result of regardless of how a lot you ahead plan in the case of this sort of construct, one thing so simple as a change of thoughts can throw up a little bit of a velocity bump.
Beforehand, I’ll have simply gone with the unique plan, however I wished this construct to be excellent. I wasn’t about to only go along with it and never be fully proud of the tip outcome. Hanging on a bit longer for some additional fittings to reach by the put up was completely price it.
Are you fully proud of the tip outcome, or do you would like you’d carried out a few of it in another way looking back?
To be fully truthful, I’m extra like 99% proud of the ultimate outcome. That’s extra from a practical perspective, although, as I’d prefer to have added a water temperature sensor into the combo someplace.
Beforehand I’ve at all times used one in any of my water-cooled builds, however this time I simply couldn’t discover someplace to find one with out it wanting a bit of too busy for my liking. Nevertheless, I’ve been contemplating including one since and can most likely tie that in with altering the coolant when it’s time for upkeep.
Acid Rain water-cooled PC specs
- CPU: Intel Core i7-6900K OC to 4.4GHz
- Graphics card: 2 x Zotac reference GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
- Case: Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic
- Storage: 1 x Samsung 970 Evo 256GB (boot drive), 2 x Samsung 840 Evo 500GB, 1 x Essential MX300 750GB, 1 x Essential MX300 500GB, 2 x Kingston A400 480GB
- Reminiscence: 32GB Corsair Dominator Platinum 3000MHz
- Motherboard: Asus Rampage 5 Excessive tenth Anniversary Version
- PSU: Corsair AX1200i
- Cooling: Customized water-cooling loop with 2 x EKWB 60PE radiators, 1 x EKWB Monoblock for CPU and VRMs and 6 x Corsair HD120 followers in 3 x push and three x pull configuration
We really feel like we must always examine ourselves with a Geiger counter simply after taking a look at these images – what an incredible construct by Ryan. The hardline water-cooling tubing seems to be nice, and the Day-Glo coolant actually stands out. Should you’re new to the world of water-cooling and need to have go your self, then be sure to additionally learn our full information on methods to water-cool your PC.
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