Switching to water cooling

[pdimar1]

wondering if i should switch to watercooling? not an extreme gamer but pretty serious

Processor: AMD Phenom II x6 1090T
Motherboard: ASrock 970 Extreme3
Cooling: Coolermaster V6 GT
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (cuz of 32bit)
Video Card: HIS IceQ Radeon HD 7850 2GB
Hard Disk: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200 RPM
Optical Drive: ASUS Optical Drive
CRT/LCD Model: ASUS VH242H
Case: Aerocool Xpredator X3 Devil Red Edition
Sound Card: None (Logitech G35)
PSU: Rosewill Stallion Series RD500-2DB

 

[SirKeldon]

Are you planning to overclock or not? And if you decide to switch, what's your budget and what parts you'll like to watercool at first?

Don't know if that Phenom gets too hot, the 7850 is well known for that so as a watercool passionate i'd say go for it ... but reminding my first two questions.

 

[pdimar1]

if i did it i would oc the phenom and probably would do the cpu and gpu in a single loop, but idk if i should get something like the edge hd series and screw with the tubes or go for something like the raystorm, and my case ( aerocool xpredator x3) would fit 120x2 rad on the top or i would do something external

budget would probably be 200-250, 300 max

 

[Outback Bronze]

It depends. I do it just for the fun of it.

If you go something like a corsair H100 for example its pretty simple to install and slightly rewarding.

If you go custom loop where you get to pick your blocks (cpu+gpus), pumps, radiators and reservoirs it can get a bit tedious but extremely rewarding!

I originally started with an all in one package including one cpu block, pump radiator and reservior. That was many years ago. Now i go custom. Im also running a H80 atm just because i wanted to see how they perform and i like the cleanliness.

At some stage ill probably get bored of the H80 and setup my custom loop again.

My personal preference for you would be to start off with a swiftech all in one package so you can start to get the feel of real water cooling then eventually upgrade bits and pieces as diffrent cpus and gpus arrive on the market with the blocks to match.

Good luck!

 

[pdimar1]

sooner or later i think i would get the swiftech but would i be able to add a gpu block

H2O-X20 Edge HD Series

 

[Outback Bronze]

sooner or later i think i would get the swiftech but would i be able to add a gpu block

H2O-X20 Edge HD Series

Of course. Youll just have to drain the loop and cut the tubes to fit the gpu.

 

[pdimar1]

i think it comes disassembled, but ill just have to buy a gpu block and distilled water or coolant?

 

[SirKeldon]

if i did it i would oc the phenom and probably would do the cpu and gpu in a single loop, but idk if i should get something like the edge hd series and screw with the tubes or go for something like the raystorm, and my case ( aerocool xpredator x3) would fit 120x2 rad on the top or i would do something external

budget would probably be 200-250, 300 max

Well, let's start on the amount of heat that you want to dissipate, according to the specs your CPU TDP is 125W (let's say 150W when ocing) and your GPU is idling at 90W and 250W when gaming at stock ... so if you're planning to do a single loop and you can fit a 360 radiator it would be the best option, on the other hand, if you want to keep it tidy and inside the case a good 2x120mm radiator with push/pull configuration will do also a pretty good job.

With your budget the best option will be to get a XSPC RASA RX240 or the EKWB 240 Kit which is around 175-200$ and adding a waterblock but maybe it will be not good maintaining all your temps due to the limited potence of the pumps included.

With the budget that you have i'll go for the next components:

PUMP

Phobya DC12-400 + Reservoir (Combo) -86$- Pump that delivers 4.0m of head pressure and 800 LPH, it's the one i have ... it's good and performing well though it vibrates a little bit if not fixed/foamed correctly - http://www.aquatuning.us/product_in...-400---EK-Reservoir-Combo-DCP-4-0-Bundle.html

If you have budget in the future, i'll go for a MCP-35x + top + reservoir.

RADIATOR

Black ICE GT Stealth 240 - 60$ - http://www.frozencpu.com/products/4...ealth_240_Radiator_-_Black.html?tl=g30c95s160
EK CoolStream 240 XT - 60$ - http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...r_EK-CoolStream_RAD_XT_240.html?tl=g30c95s160
Swiftech MCR220 XP - 56$ - http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1..._Slim_Radiator_-_MCR220-XP.html?tl=g30c95s160
Magicool Extreme 220 - 56$ - http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...120mm_Radiator_LC-RADI240S.html?tl=g30c95s160

CPU Block

- XSPC Raystorm (low flow restriction) - 54,99$ on sale - http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/xsracpuwaaso.html
- Swiftech Apogee HD (mid flow restriction) - 64,99$ on sale http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swaphdcpuwab.html

VGA BLOCK:

EK 7950 Acetal/Nickel - 104.95$ - http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...talEN_Nickel.html?tl=g30c309s1626&id=iaN9HdCZ

Then add 50$ to your max with some fittings, tubing and coolant (or distilled water + biocide, more cheap) and you're done!

sooner or later i think i would get the swiftech but would i be able to add a gpu block

H2O-X20 Edge HD Series

Or you can get this kit as you say plus the waterblock and exceeding your max by 50-60$, with the pump included in that kit no need for all the previous talking about pump+top+res but i always prefer to go custom on everything if space is not a problem.

 

[pdimar1]

wow thanks for that advice, really helps me decide what to do, lol
I might look into some kits and maybe put something together this summer, but thanks a bunch man.

 

[SirKeldon]

You're welcome man ... just one advice, once you get into watercooling it's highly probable you get into the itch of it and you'll rebuild/update your loop to get it improved, be aware with your budget

After four years i've never went back to air when cooling a CPU, even recommended to my friends and family (the ones who are passionate) to switch into it. You won't regret.

Glad to be helpful!

 

[pdimar1]

ohh yea i know the feeling of constantly upgrading, i cant even tell people what kind of computer i have, im constantly buying stuff and upgrading

i tihnk im going to do a triple rad on the back with the d5 vario pump going to the cpu and gpu

 

[SirKeldon]

ohh yea i know the feeling of constantly upgrading, i cant even tell people what kind of computer i have, im constantly buying stuff and upgrading

i tihnk im going to do a triple rad on the back with the d5 vario pump going to the cpu and gpu

That's a good thing, hardware manufacturers have to eat

With the D5 you're not going to have any restriction problem so i'll recommend to pair it with the Apogee HD (or Apogee XT rev2 if you find them cheaper) ... that pump is a beast, and if you're gonna combine it with the 360 rad, i think you'll be able in the future to add another block to the loop (CPU+GPU+GPU) w/o losing too much performance if you place some 75-85 CFM fans on it.

Will you really wait till summer?

 

[pdimar1]

yea doing some more research i found more ides, but thats probably what ill do
and yea maybe before the summer bcuz i just bought a new motherboard and memory so ill take a break and then buy this for another upgrade