Watercooling advice for a nub

[Ripper3]

I am looking at water cooling for my current build (specs on the left)
I've been looking about, and can see there aren't many people with a Cosmos, and even less have used it for water cooling (with some having ravaged the case to add in water cooling, which I do not want to do, at all).
Right now, my plan is:
A radiator on the top, where the two top fans are (plenty of space there, between the top of the case and the top edge of the motherboard). MaximumPC fitted a 360 radiator on their Dream Machine 2007, so I'm thinking that, a 240 would work just fine up there (and further, I have been in contact with a guy that's used a 360 on the rear, and a 240 inside at the top, which all fitted just fine)
1/2" tubes all around, is what I'm thinking, so, higher flow, maybe? I'm requesting advice here. I've looked at some water cooling projects, and one I looked at mentioned they would be using their PC as a LAN gaming PC mostly, so they were using 10/8mm hose, with compression fittings, since it would be more secure in transport, just need some info here. Not planning on much moving about, but I do sometimes have to move my case to clean under it, or decide to move thing around, etc.
For now, just water blocks on the CPU and GPU. RAM, chipset and HDDs are just fine with passive, although I'm thinking of buying some replacement heat spreaders for the RAM, and maybe a small, low-ish CFM/dBA fan onto the chipset.. I've been looking for full-coverage blocks for the 3850, but I've only found one by EK. I'm not familiar with them, but I've seen reviews on their other blocks, seem to be good, so I guess this is the same. I'm wondering about how easily others have sold their g'cards, or full cover water blocks, after they were obsolete though, since I like to generally act like an arse and upgrade now and then even when it's unnecessary.

Preliminary parts list I've constructed:
1/2" barbs all round - WatercoolingUK offers up free barbs with everything on my list, so I've chosen 1/2" nickel-plated all round

Pump: 12V X2O Compact 400 £29.99

Radiator: XSPC RS240 Black £23.99

CPU water block: XSPC X2O Delta CPU £28.99

GPU water block: EK-FC3850 CF £59.99

Reservoir: XSPC Bay res - Silver £19.99

I'm going for a bit of a budget water cooling setup, so yeah, some of those things can be bettered, like the radiator, the Swiftech Black Ice II is good, but I doubt it's worth the premium. Same with the DD MC-TDX, which I really doubt is worth the premium, since the Delta was reviewed as being very good on a Q6600.

There's no coolant on that list because I'm unsure about just which one to buy. I'm fine without colour in my coolant, but if I had to choose, a deep blue or a black colour would be nice, so any suggestions for this are welcome.
For hose/tube, I'm also unsure. XSPC's tube is on that site, along with Tygon, and a number of generic ones, but I just don't know which one to look at.
About hose clamps, what's best, I want a nice secure clamp, but something that doesn't require excessive force, possibly resulting in something being broken, to fit on.

I'll be buying fans at a later date, but for now, I'll be keeping the stock Coolermaster case fans, which move a substantial amount of air, without sounding like a jet. Or else, I might fit my Antec Tri-cool fans, which are even quieter. I will end up buying some Noctuas later though, just haven't the need for them. If I find that temps are low enough as it is, I'd rather just keep the stock ones.

For thermal compound, where the hell can I find that Noctua stuff that was recently reviewed by TPU, in the UK? If I can't find it, I think I'll just end up defaulting over to AS5. Also, what TIM cleaners do people recommend? I remember reading a review of the Arctic Cooling TIM cleaner (looking through the archives on TPU revealed some interesting reading actually), just wondering if there's something better, or cheaper. If not, I'll just buy that, since it's sold on WatercoolingUK, so I can get it with the rest of the kit.

There's something else I'm forgetting, but I'll remember it eventually.
Also, I know there are probably plenty of threads about water cooling, but I've just got to get my setup straight. This isn't like air cooling, which can be surprisingly easy to configure a good setup.

 

[DaMulta]

Nickel hmmm.

Looks looks a nice system.

 

[DOM]

the pump is a

Compact Reservoir with Built in Pump

so why the extra res ?

sorry to lazy to read, so dont know if you already know

 

[Ripper3]

Yarr, I know, but I've been complating a seperate res, just to make filling easier. I'm thinking that having a T-line for filling wouldn't be all that easy, so that res should make things a little easier.
I've been contemplating changng the pump anyhow, 400l/Hr isn't what some people would recommend as a minimum for a system with two waterblocks. Been thinking about the Laing D5, since it's very powerful, read good stuff about it, and it's got changable speeds, which is a nice feature.

Yeah, I wrote loads, should have summarised more. Tell me though, how much hose did you use in the end, in your Cosmos? It's kind of what I forgot to ask. The other guy I was in contact with forgot to tell me. I don't want to buy too much, but of course, it's undesirable, buying too little.

Same question to anyone reading this actually, that uses watercooling, or has used it. How much tube length have you used for your system? I'd rather buy 2m, and have 50cm left over, rather than buying 3m, and only using 50cm, or something stupid like that.

 

[D_o_S]

How about this pump: http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=77_74&products_id=474

Gives you room for upgrade, as you can add a mod top later...

Could you afford this block?

http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=27_28&products_id=690

How about ditching the res and getting a t-line instead?

 

[intel igent]

check out chilledpc.uk for gear

t-line works good for me

ygpm

 

[Xaser04]

With reference to the hose length go for as much as think you will need and then double it.

You can always re-cut lengths if you have extra hose, you can't if you don't.

I have recently finished my WC build and I used roughly a metre in total. I have roughly a metre left over.

 

[Ripper3]

@ D_o_S: Ah, coulda sworn that pump was out of stock when I last looked. Think I'll buy that now it's back in stock, but might grab the version with the different top, allows for different barb sizes.
I can stretch to get that block, especially if I abandon the reservoir, but is it worth getting this one with the accelerator nozzles: http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=113_38&products_id=452
I don't know how much difference the nozzles would really make, but it's not much money on top.
Abandoning the res means I can afford the stretch for the Black Ice Stealth GT II: http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=375
The GT III was used in Maximum PC's DM 07, so if that fits, the GT II sould have even more room.

@ Xaser04: Yeah, so 2m should be enough then. Like I said, I'd still rather not buy more than I'll need for the whole system, and a bit left over, just-in-case, although having something like 3m spare is useful, it's just a waste for me.

@ intel igent: Thanks for the PM.
Just noticed, you state you have a Chevette H/C. First time I started inquiring about WC (almost 2 months after I first put together a system), I was told one of those would suffice for my setup, even found a few I was going to buy. How easy was it to mod for use?

 

[intel igent]

@Ripper3 : quite simple if youre handy with some tools

i just cut the old barbs off and used the stubs on the H/C and some JB WELD to affix my new barbs

only problem with a H/C is that today you can get purpose built PC rads (swiftech or the like) for like $5-$10 more so youre not really saving.

they do however perform quite well (on par or better than their counterparts) with high pressure high CFM fans. BUT there is a trade off! noise for performance. they are thick and dense.

on my chevette H/C i run 2 coolingworks shrouds and 2 Sunnons in push pull but ill be switching to a single Panaflo med (in pull config but still 2 shrouds) to reduce the noise and since im in the process of adding to the loop i needed some extra space at the fron anyway

 

[Ripper3]

Sounds like a bit of work, and my unsteady hands probably wouldn't work too well.
Think I'll stick to the Black Ice, heh.
My plan is currently for a push configuration, though I may later get out t'dremel and get to work on the top, cut out the fan grills, and make it into a push-pull with some thinner 120mm fans (so it can all fit under the top cover of the Cosmos)

 

[D_o_S]

Ripper3,

I looked at some reviews and Eddy's block seems to be better than the D-Tek, but if for some reason you prefer the D-Tek, you can get that.

As for the pump, if you have the money, I'd go for the version with Petra's top... I did link you to the basic version only as I wanted to save you some $$$.

As for rads, I'd perhaps look into Swiftech's MCP220, which performs similar to the PA, and is good for low noise fans.

 

[EnergyFX]

Video card:

Full coverage 3850 block

 

[intel igent]

Sounds like a bit of work, and my unsteady hands probably wouldn't work too well.
Think I'll stick to the Black Ice, heh.
My plan is currently for a push configuration, though I may later get out t'dremel and get to work on the top, cut out the fan grills, and make it into a push-pull with some thinner 120mm fans (so it can all fit under the top cover of the Cosmos)

actually took about 15min to complete fairly easy with a dremel or hacksaw

but like i said there are other factors to consider

of the purpose built rads if you got the money thermochill PA all the way if not swiftech mcr series is ur best bet

 

[erocker]

Can someone recommend a good place to buy W/C stuff in the States? I know a few places but stock seems to be low lately.

 

[intel igent]

Can someone recommend a good place to buy W/C stuff in the States? I know a few places but stock seems to be low lately.

heres the most complete list ive seen

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=67179

has known retailers listed for most countires

of the bunch id have to say petras or frozen cpu

 

[erocker]

of the bunch id have to say petras or frozen cpu

Lol, those are the two I was going to list! I guess what I'm looking for is basically the best single fan radiator that I can.

 

[EnergyFX]

http://www.Performance-PCS.com

http://www.FrozenCPU.com

http://www.SharkaComputers.com

http://www.xoxide.com

 

[intel igent]

Lol, those are the two I was going to list! I guess what I'm looking for is basically the best single fan radiator that I can.

best single fan rad would be PA160

 

[Ripper3]

@ D_o_S: Just realised you linked the EK, and not the D-Tek, lol. No wonder I got a little confused there. If the EK block is better, then there's no point in buying the inferior one.
I might end up going for the cheaper pump, and later adding the top myself, since the Petra top only seems to be available on the most expensive Ultra one, which costs more than the D5, that I have my eye on.
@ EnergyFX: That block is a bit cheaper, but I can't find it in the UK, or Europe atm, I'll probably buy the EK in the end.

 

[intel igent]

just a tip - with the pump youre looking at getting you should be looking for a free flowing block not anything restrictive.

the Dtek is flow king without nozzles, start adding nozzles and wham pressure drop galore! the EK flows pretty good as well but same story as the Dtek when you throw the accelerator plate into the equation.

not to mention that pump you selected dumps ALL of its heat back into the loop which I think is a big no-no but hey what do i know

@ erocker didnt like my link?

i love TPU but the best W/C are there. for now

 

[Ripper3]

The DDC-1T you mean? It's only going to use 10W, so any heat it throws back in would probably be negligible. My CPU runs kinda cool, and the same story for my GPU, so I doubt they'll be overheating just because of the little pump adding a little more heat
What would be less restrictive though, than those two blocks?
I did read the Overclock3d.net review, and it metioned:

The EK Supreme uses a thin metal plate which has been laser cut to force coolant onto the 47 thin copper fins of the base. The plate is able to be removed for both maintenance purposes, and according to Eddy, there will be both a performance plate and high-flow plate made available.

I might just end up purchasing the high-flow plate when it's available, if that will help.

 

[intel igent]

thought you were still using that alphacool or W/E pump/res combo

DDC good pump but heard of some reliability issues IF you dont take the right precauions

DDC/mcp35x series pumps should be run with a small fan on the bottom (or adequate caseflow) to prevent the overheating issue, also it is now being suggested to not place them on the petras tech gel bcuz the gel can actually melt and enter the pump shorting out the board

 

[Ripper3]

Ah, rightio, no problemo. I've been thinking of places to mount them, and the most logical place, and the best for me would involve putting them in front of the HDD cage, which on the Cosmos in its stock config, means there's a 120mm fan that blows air mostly onto the mobo, but it's got good airflow either way.

One thing I've just remembered aswell is just how much liquid do others use? I have no idea how much to buy, such as, is half a litre okay, or should I buy a full litre? Or do I need more? I know it's not the same for everyone, but I'm really unsure.

 

[DOM]

well you'll need about 10ft and still have some left over I think cuz i used about 10 ft and im using 4 blocks

here a pic how it looks

so what are you going to end up going with i would try to get a good 240 rad and you should be able to put it on top i was with mine but didnt feel like cutting the case so i went with the rad box

 

[Ripper3]

Yeah, a good 240 me thinks. I'm still thinking of the Stealth GT II, it's a bit cheaper, and more readily available. Yeah, the more I look about, the more I think it should fit on just fine, on the ceiling. The GT II is also a bit thinner, so it should give me a little more clearance from the top of the motherboard.

Wish I had bookmarked all of the stuff I was looking at, but instead, I became stupid and forgot... looking through my history didn't show them either... bah...

Found one, but it's from a while back:
http://forums.slizone.com/index.php?showtopic=9076
Looks good, and I'm hoping to make mine as clean.

What I've thought is putting the pump on the HDD cage, where the holes are. You're using it for an extra fan space, Dom.
So, rad and pump are sorted. water blocks go in the most obvious places inside the case ofc
Only thing I haven't decided on is a reservoir or a T-line. I've considered cost, but I've also considered convenience. Convenience for me would be having a removable cylindrial reservoir next to the mobo. They seem to be more useful, and allow easy removal, where-by I can then also fill it from the top. Or, just as convenient, a regular 5 1/4" bay res. Probably even better, that would in fact be.
Cost states a T-line. All I'd need is two extra hose clips, a T-line, a bit more hose, and possibly a filler, just for convenience, to stop liquid sloshing out while pouring in.
Bah, I'm overthinking the simplest part of the system.