It's finally finished. After a year of planning, buying, etc. I finally put everything together tonight (9/13/2002).
(Click on the images to see them full-sized)


The old case. I put the computer in this to motivate me to get it finished. Notice how the old heatsink is so big I can't slide the motherboard tray in.

Another pic of the old case.

The fishtank and base ready to go. I decided to use a fishtank for a reservoir because I had one lying around.

The waterblock installed on the processor.

The connections on the back of the base.

Everything in the good case. It's a mess at this point.

Better. There are so many wires in a small case, it's hard to get them all routed and hidden.

The computer hooked into the water cooling system.

Everything is in place, ready for the power switch...

The test. Turned on, the red cold cathode light in the computer is on, as is the neon black light above the reservoir (fishtank). Notice that I have the floppy drive cable upside-down, since the drive activity light stays lit.

Done!
 

With my old heatsink (an Alpha 8045 with a 4000rpm, 25cfm fan), my 1.4GHz Thunderbird idled at about 33 degrees C, and peaked at around 50 degrees under load. With the water cooling, idle temp is now around 29 degrees, and under load the highest I've seen in 39 degrees. Time to overclock!