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 primarily based 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 concept. What was the unique inspiration for Acid Rain?
Ryan: The thought truly fell into place whereas I used to be ready to maneuver into a brand new property with my associate. Figuring out I’d should dismantle my earlier construct in an effort to get it throughout to the brand new place safely, I believed: ‘Why not do a contemporary construct for this new chapter of my life?’ I imply, what higher method to rejoice life objectives, proper?
The title got here from the colour scheme, because the coolant colour 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 title. I hoped the title 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 utterly captured my creativeness.
From that time on, I knew it might make an incredible centerpiece of my new construct. I received 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 recreation for the merchandise to reach direct from Taiwan.
I primarily based the construct round a distribution plate in an effort to obtain the cleanest look doable. I wished the construct to pack in a whole lot 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 seemed nice but it surely was just a little 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, in case you take an in depth look, you’ll see it on all of the fittings all through the construct. I’m a giant 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 slicing all of the laborious tubing?
Planning the route for the laborious tubing is at all times essentially the most troublesome a part of a construct for my part. Though I’ve completed numerous water-cooled builds up to now, deciding how I’m going to route the tubing is the half that at all times takes me the longest.
To start out, 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 will probably 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 undoubtedly the extra user-friendly of the 2. I used a small hacksaw to chop the tubes and a few very nice sandpaper to take away any sharp edges. The latter additionally helps to get a superb seal the place the tube butts up in opposition to the O-ring contained in the fittings. I at all times measure twice and reduce as soon as; you don’t need to waste any tubing!
I’d additionally love to do the following 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 recreation 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 a vital piece of package to incorporate in a cooling loop; it’s only a desire of mine. I like to have the ability to see clearly that the liquid is flowing at any given time. A little bit paranoia may prevent some critical cash – no pump move may imply you’re cooking the elements.
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 choice than the CableMod equal.
I’d used a ready-made package from CableMod in an early construct and, whereas the standard was good, the sleeving was with paracord relatively than nylon. On the time, CableMod didn’t supply the service that it does now. The paracord equal is way more versatile and takes a little bit of cable coaching to get the look you’re making an attempt to attain. I sketched up the cable routing on the unique piece of A4 once I was planning the tubing runs.
Did you carry out any customized modifications to the case?
I did should customise the chassis just a little to get the second EK-PE radiator behind 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 may 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 instances, 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 circumstances, so I didn’t actually thoughts eliminating this characteristic for additional cooling capability. The ports had 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 implausible little device for holding monitor of system temperatures on demand. It may even show the undertaking title on the LCD, so it seems to be actually skilled.
Did you come throughout any difficulties?
Other than the little subject 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 truly been fairly a refreshing case during which to construct a water-cooling-focused PC. I’d say it’s a wonderful case for anybody who may be wanting into doing the same 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 just a little 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 just a few fittings quick. It’s humorous, as a result of irrespective of how a lot you ahead plan in the case of this type of construct, one thing so simple as a change of thoughts can throw up a little bit of a pace bump.
Beforehand, I’ll have simply gone with the unique plan, however I wished this construct to be excellent. I wasn’t about to simply go along with it and never be utterly proud of the top outcome. Hanging on a bit longer for some additional fittings to reach by means of the publish was completely value it.
Are you utterly proud of the top outcome, or do you want you’d completed a few of it in a different way looking back?
To be utterly truthful, I’m extra like 99% proud of the ultimate outcome. That’s extra from a useful 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 just a little too busy for my liking. Nevertheless, I’ve been contemplating including one since and can in all probability 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 should always verify ourselves with a Geiger counter simply after taking a look at these photographs – what a tremendous 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 the way to water-cool your PC.
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