Tahoe

BOREAS-TJ9

Category

Cooling

Status

Final Detailing

Deets

Update 12-11-07: QX6850 installed and clocked to 3.92GHz. Current 3DMark06 is 20260 with cards clocked at 660core and 1080memory. CPU and Mobo are 45C, the GFX cards are 47C and 50C.

BOREAS-TJ9 is a Intel Quadcore based SLI Dual 8800GTX Ultra Graphics ASUS Stryker Platform with Dual WD Raptor 10K RPM drives RAID0 Striped that is cooled with Cool It TEC-Liquid Hybrid Cooling technology. The system is housed in a modified Silverstone TJ9 chassis that embeds the Boreas MTEC Chiller in the space formally occupied by the lower 5 1/4 bays. A Dual Bay MTEC Chiller resides above the BOREAS in the bottom two remaining 5 1/4 bays. Memory is 2×1Gbyte PC8500 OCZ Reapers. The 2.67Ghz Kentsfield XE CPU is clocked at 340MHz with a 10X multipler for a final 3.4Ghz at 1.45V. The Memory is clocked at 1088MHz with 5-5-5-15 timing and 2.1V. The graphics cards are currently clocked at 680MHz core and 1100MHz memory timings. CPU, Motherboard, and Graphics cards are all running under 45C with 3dMark06 score of 17889. There is potential for this system to be clocked higher and generate higher 3dMark06 scores. The system is surprisingly quiet which is one of the key benefits of the MTEC cooling systems. The Boreas system with MTEC control cools the CPU, Northbridge, Southbridge, and both Voltage Regulator arrays. The Dual Bay Graphics Cooler cools the dual 8800GTX graphics chips, memory, and VR circuits. These two hybrid TEC Liquid cooling systems enable overclocking with considerable thermal margin so airflow requirements can be lower which results in less noise. The overclock potential with newer 45nm CPUs will be even greater. Phasechange cooling is still the best method for ultimate overclocks but there is considerable potental for condensation. The TEC approach monitors ambient temperature and minimizes condensation risk. Standard water cooling technology needs greater airflow to match the cooling potential of TEC technology. Nothing in PC technology comes for free and TEC is no different. There are additional power requirements to drive the TEC (Thermal Electric Cooling) which is why all of this wonderful hardware is powered by the PC Power & Cooling Turbocool 1KW supply. Single rail design means you don’t have to balance your power distribution as you would with a multi rail power supply. This rig will be ready to rumble when the side panels come back from the shop.