 |
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Last Updated: Thursday August 21, 2003 11:36 PM (Eastern Standard Time) |
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
PC System Components: |
|
|
|
 Asus A7N8X -Deluxe |
RMA'd -Expected Arrival: 8/21/03 |
|
AMD Barton 2500+ |
Unlocked |
|
Corsair XMS2700 |
(2) Sticks for 512 Mb, Dual Channel DDR |
|
Western Digital S.E. HDDs |
(2) x 100Gb, RAID 0, 8 Mb Buffer, ATA 133 |
|
PNY GeForce 4 Ti 4400 |
Solid Video Card... |
|
Enermax 465W Power Supply |
Powers the System and IDE Drives |
|
Kenwood 52x CD-ROM |
Still My Favorite... |
|
Intrex 601 ATX Case |
Full Tower With Many Extras |
|
||
|
Water-Cooling Hardware: |
|
|
|
Johnson C030P5-1 Pump |
This Might Change... |
|
2-149 Heater Core |
Single-Pass |
|
Comair Rotron |
6" 12 VDC Fan |
|
226W Peltier |
No Comment |
|
Peltier Controller |
PWM |
|
Maze 3 Water Block |
With Cold Plate |
|
Quad Typhoon Bay Res. |
... |
|
Mean Well Power Supplies |
(2) @6 V, 50A, Wired in Series for 14 V |
|
Tetratec UV-5 Clarifier |
To Sterilize Microorganisms |
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
Lightning struck my house and did a lot of damage. My fast computer was not running, but the lightning ran in on my cable modem and got into my network. The lightning smoked my cable modem, router and the computer that was not running. The Opto-Isolators in my network didn't stand a chance: Afterall the lightning had just travelled how many miles?
My Asus A7N8X Deluxe was hooked right into the network with it's on-board adapter. After the storm, the computer wouldn't power up (I mean nothing happened). I tried another power supply and the computer still wouldn't power up. I took the motherboard to the place where I had bought it and they tested it for free, but declined to assist in warranty service. I contacted Asus via email at the address below and told them that my computer would not power up and had previously worked fine. They issued me an RMA number and I have sent the motherboard to them for repair. This motherboard had no apparent physical damage or modifications like extra conformal coating... (You couldn't even tell that lightning had hit it!) UPDATE: My motherboard has been replaced and is in the mail to me! (08/19/03) |
|
|
|
|
Asus RMA Info: |
|
|
ASUS Computer International | |
|
44370 Nobel Dr. | |
|
Fremont, CA 94538 | |
|
502-995-0883 - Tech Support | |
|
SUPPORT@ASUS.COM | |
|
510-739-3777 x5105 - RMA | |
|
RMA@ASUS.COM | |
|
|
|
Here is an email they sent: |
|
|
Dear Sir or Madam:
Please make sure to put your RMA# on the outside of your package as it will be rejected and sent back to you. This is very crucial that this procedure is followed so it will not delay the timing into which you shall receive your product back in working condition.
Your customer code # is XXXXXX. Please refer to this number when doing future RMA requests as it holds all of your shipping information. Your RMA# is XXXXXXX. You must write your RMA# on the outside package. (If you don't write the RMA on your outside package your product could be rejected). Attention your package to RMA department. Do not attention your package to an RMA representative, unless instructed otherwise. Do not include any accessories such as manuals, software, CPU, memory, retention clips, cables, or your original box. Your product may be exchanged out, and you will not receive back anything that was sent in with it. Also to insure proper troubleshooting/ testing, please include a brief description of the problem you are having with your ASUS product. Please be sure to package return product very carefully to prevent damage during transit. ASUS is not responsible for losses or damages incurred due to shipping. We recommend two inches of padding all the way around your product. You must package your product in a box. ASUS will reject any products packaged in an envelope. ASUS Computer International (USA) is a warranty repair service center. Please contact place of purchase for credit, refund, upgrade, or advance replacement. Asus does not provide these services under any circumstances. ASUS Does not cover physical damage (physically broken components on the product). Please refer to page 2 of your users manual. There is a $15.00 fee to replace a broken socket. There is a $40.00 fee to repair all other physical damage. If a product is not repairable, the product will be sent back to the customer. If a product is sent in with physical damage and is not accompanied with a payment, the product will be rejected and customers will not be reimbursed for shipping charges. A payment can be made by check, money order (payable to ASUS), or a credit card#. The payment must be sent in with the damaged product. Customers from Canada must make payments with a credit card#. ASUS warranty covers all malfunctions that are not caused by physical damage to the product. |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
...
... |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
...
... |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
...
... |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
...
... |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
...
... |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
...
... |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
...
... |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
|
|
|
||
|
...
... |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
When I decided to watercool my PC, I looked to online forums for advice. I wanted to see what other people were doing, what problems they were having, and what equipment they were using. There are some great resources available on the web. I decided to use heatercore 2-149 from a link over at procooling.com
The dimensions didn't fit the case like I had intended so I had to rethink my install. This took 3 months because of my work load and the fact that a heatercore is difficult to mount neatly. I made some drawings and came up with a mount and shroud. A few months after I had already bought a water block my company got it's first CNC milling machine running -so I embellished a little on my H/C mount. These are my first CNC'd parts. |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
I used the shroud and heatercore mount as a learning experience for our new CNC mill. I feel like I need to know how to run everything we have...because I am also our maintenance man. I used ACM (Aluminum Composite Material) to make the shroud -brand name "Alucobond". It contains a polymer (similar in properties to UHMW Polyethelene) sandwiched between two layers of soft aluminum. It has natural sound deadening properties due to the polymer...and if you route through one side and into the plastic core you can get nice breaks.
If you route .050" Dp. (7/16 -1/2" Dia.) grooves as break lines, the near side of a 90 Deg. break moves towards the direction of the fold .100" -I tested this to be sure because I hadn't used the stuff in several years... And I am really pleased with my results using these figures. The assembly is held together with (4) Nylon 1/4-20 x 2" bolts robbed from my model airplane stash. The heatercore assembly can be removed from the front of the case for easier service. |
|
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
The peltier is sandwiched between the cold plate and the water block. There are four screws that exert considerable clamping force on the peltier to maximize heat transfer into and out of the unit. These four screws are a direct "short" for heat to travel through from the hot side (waterblock) to the cold side (cold plate).
This really bugged me and the unit went into thermal runaway in my hands due to radiant and direct conduction between the cold and hot sides. The screws cannot be eliminated (I don't know how, anyway) so I had a friend at Holder Industrial Design make some teflon flanged bushings to insulate the screws from the cold side. The cold plate also had to be machined to accept the larger diameter head of the button-heads that I used. Note the (4) nifty white things in the picture above. |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
Peltiers are solid-state heat pumps and require DC electrical power to function. To get the last bit of performance from them, you have to add a lot of power. The graph of their characteristic curve indicates diminishing gains in thermal transfer with increasing power consumption. Peltiers are very inefficient when operated at or near their maximum rated power.
The power supplied to my peltier appears as heat energy put into the watercooled system. Peltiers are commonly used to cool CPUs. The normal approach is to size the peltier for the particular heat load and then vary the voltage -if desired- to find an acceptable point to run. The CPU temperature will vary with processing demand, but this is not usually a problem. Since I specialize in machine control and automation, I started looking for alternatives... Active PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) control for the peltier. PWM control gives me the ability to vary the "On Time" of the peltier which varies the total "area under the curve" and translates to the total power put into the peltier. I am digitally chopping the voltage delivered to the peltier. The PWM controller is mounted below the main computer power supply and is cooled by the power supply fan. The rear of the case is also an extension of the controller heat sink. |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
|
|
The advantages of using PWM peltier control are: |
|
Increased overall efficiency at varied operating regions and heat loads. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
There is no power wasted in an overshoot of the target temperature. |
|
|
|
|
|
intend to use this system in the future on unknown heat loads. |
|
|
I also intend to play with this system at varying cooling capacities. |
|
|
|
|
|
The water-cooling system has to be able to handle the total heat load. |
|
|
|
The operating temperature can be set to stay near or above the local dew point to eliminate condensation |
|
|
||
|
The circuit has built-in control logic and alarms that can be used to sequence startup and can shut down the system if
CPU temperatures become critical. (Alarm windows are also programmable) |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
When I decided to use a peltier, I ordered a maze 3 water block with cold plate from Danger Den. NOTE: The cold plate is not shown.
I installed thermocouples into both the cold plate and the water block to monitor their temperatures and to "close the loop" for my temperature controller. Other than the machining -the water block and cold plate are stock from Danger Den. |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
...
... |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
The units are $5-10 ebay finds: Mean Well 6 Volt 50 Amp Power supplies! I am mounting two in series to provide power for the peltier, fan, and possibly the Johnson pump. The voltage of each power supply can be varied which gives me an operating voltage from 9-18 VDC! Pretty slick -I think, and it gives me another variable to play with! These 6-Volt power supplies are also thermally protected with internal fans. The unit at the rear in the picture is the heavier 50A, 6V version. | |
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
||
|
...
... |
|
|
||
|
 |
|
|
Movie Sounds |