Yes another watercooling n00b question thread.

[wtf8269]

I'm considering going water cooling for my next system. My three biggest concerns with this is that 1. I don't really know what's what for components. 2. Leaks? 3. WC for my system would be $400 or more, whereas air cooling would be $150 or less. I would be wanting to cool my CPU, both GPUs, and possibly the chipset.

For the radiator I was thinking of either this one or this one. My concern is that the second one wouldn't be enough for an OCd CPU and two GPUs, which is why I was looking at the thicker one. But would the thicker one even be enough?

For a pump I just figured this one. I've been looking around and it seems to be pretty common.

For a CPU block I thought this one looked pretty good, but I really don't know. I'll be getting a Q9450 when they come out in January/February.

For a reservoir would this be sufficient?

Tubing probably like 8ft of this?

I did not list GPU blocks because I plan on getting two 9xxx GTX cards fron nvidia when they come out in February, and I doubt they have water blocks for that yet.

As far as a chipset cooler goes (if I get one) I'll probably be waiting for a socket 775 780i equipped DFI LanParty UT board.

[infrared]

Looks good. The first thicker radiator would be fine, you'll probably want to spend some time looking for some nice fans for it. 3x 120mm fans won't exactly be quiet.

The pump, and res are excelent. (I've got both)

The cpu waterblock is supposted to be the best about atm, but it's more restricting than the older revisions of the apogee. Saying that, the pump should be more than man enough for it. Just make sure the gpu waterblocks aren't too restrictive.

When are you planning to get all this stuff?

[Chewy]

GTX is a bit costly and I dont think it performs too much better than the GT.

hey what about some "Arctic Cooling AF12025 120MM Quiet Cooling Fan 1500RPM 56.3CFM 24.5DB".

Should be quiet and 56CFM is decent.

[tigger]

As far as leaks go,use jubilee clips on all your barbs.I've learned my lesson there.

[wtf8269]

The system won't be complete until February at the earliest, and if I do decide to go water cooling, it will probably be more like March (due to it costing a ton of money). I'm more than open to alternative suggestions on these things, guys. That's why I posted the thread; I don't really know what I'm doing

[infrared]

It's much simpler than you think! Working out what parts you want is the worst because there's so much choice. The parts you picked are pretty much the best, so there's not much to improve upon.

Putting it all together is childs-play, just make sure to try the loop before putting it in your computer! Maintanance is the only annoying part, changing coolant/hoses is a real PITA. Thankfully you don't need to very often.

[wtf8269]

Changing the hoses and whatnot would essentially just be like setting up the system as you did the first time, correct? What sort of coolant would you recommend? I like the idea of non-conductive stuff, but I read that it corrodes the metals in the blocks. Also what about algae/bacteria, this is pretty much not a concern when you have a good coolant, correct? Lastly, about how often would you say you need to change the coolant/hoses?

[zekrahminator]

Infrared!


You're...back!

We missed you . I'll MSN you about all the things that are different about TPU.

[DOM]

is that the only site you wanna buy from ? cuz somethings you can find cheaper

[wtf8269]

No, but I would like to get everything in one spot. I've just found that for most cooling/case mod supplies SVC is the cheapest.

[infrared]

I personally just use a fairly strong mix of antifreeze and de-ionised water. I don't think non-conductive coolant is that effective either, and if it corrodes blocks then it will need to be changed more frequently.

I've been using about a 30/70 mix of antifreeze/water, which seems to work pretty well. Looks nice too, a dark blue color. I don't think i've needed to change the coolant for about 5 months, and it's still nice and clear. I found the swiftech addative didn't work too well. Lots of algae after about 4 months, with a strong solution. Hoses don't really need to be changed very often. I'm still on my original hoses that came with my swiftech kit, but they're starting to go cloudy on the inside (not the water).

Originally Posted by zekrahminator

Infrared!


You're...back!

We missed you . I'll MSN you about all the things that are different about TPU.

Thanks zek!

I'll get on msn quick

[wtf8269]

What about a north bridge cooler, is it worth it to WC the NB? If so, would adding that to the loop be pushing the limits of that 360 radiator?

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

I find it very odd that you have picked the EXACT same parts that I picked out 6 months ago when I was looking at water cooling my setup.

[tigger]

So what if he has,is that not a good thing?

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

Never said it wasnt a good thing...I was just saying what are the chances of that happening?

[ZenZimZaliben]

watercooling your Northbridge...well your running amd so you dont really need to cool the northbridge as the memory controller is on the cpu, and thats where most of the heat comes from. If you were running intel I would recommend it, but you should be fine with out and still be able to max out your CPU.

[intel igent]

i wouldnt use that CPU block without the copper top. id go for the D-TeK fuzion.

i wouldnt use either of those rads. id go for swiftech mcr-320 or thermochill Pa 120.3, or both

the pump is great. i have 2!

the res is a good choice. have you seen the Ek res'?

for gpu's id say DD maze5 or swiftech mcw-60

for chipset id say swiftech mcw-30 or ur pik of the Ek chipset blocks. the new DD tdx mc chipset blocks are out now as well.

the tubing is good but it does cloud over.

in similar metal loops it is best to run distilled water with an additive (90/10) i use distilled and glycol (90/10) those anti conductive fluids are NOT worth the money and DO become conductive in a relatively short period of time.

DONT forget clamps. i use both the worm gear style and the plastic "clik lok"

DONT forget to flush your loop/components before installation

make shure all fittings connections are tight (NOT overtight that will leak too) leak test for a couple of hours.

those prices at that store you linked are a little high can i suggest having a look elsewhere.

USA Based Stores
1. CoolTechnica - ships worldwide - stocks all common watercooling parts minus D5 and Thermochill radiators
2. Danger Den -DD, HWLabs rads, Thermochill rads, D5, DDC, Ehiem, Hydor - They sometimes screw up orders (more so than they should) but are very good about correcting any errors.
3. CrazyPC - good site but limited watercooling selection
4. Frozen CPU - They have almost everything but they are the most expensive across the board
5. ModdersMart - formerly known as Voyeurmods t - Carries some watercooling parts, including Swiftechs full line and heatercores. More recently reports of poor buisness practices have been reported about vouyermods. Will state product in stock when infact it is not and charge CC before shipment and even before they have the product in their possesion. After their name change to moddersmart no new information about their buisness practices is available.
6. Sharka ComputersThe U.S distributor for Aqua Computer, they cary all of their products and a wide selection of American based products as well.
7. Jab-Tech - Best fan selection EVER, with a good selection of watercooling components - Excelent customer service
8. D-Tek Customs - wide selection of components including the WW.
9. HighSpeed PC - Entire line of Innovatek components (I do NOT reccomend these components)
10. Performance PC's - Wide selection of watercooling components as well as case modding gear
11. Xoxide - minimal watercool selection, large selection of case modding gear and cases.
12. Directron - large selection of watercooling companies as well as full on computer hardware site
13. Case-Mod - Not really reccomended for watercooling components, but has large selection of accesorries that you might need for your case/
14. Silicon Valley Compucycle - Asetek, Cooler Master, Koolance, Swiftech, PolarFLO and Thermaltake.
15. Petra's Tech Shop - Owned by our very own Petra, his shop has pretty much every watercooling item I reccomend, including pumps, blocks, tubing, fans, and everything else. If you want a one stop shop with compeititve prices, Petra's is for you. They are also the only known shop that stocks Silverprop in the USA.
16. Sidewinder Computer Systems - Sidewinder carries the full line of Swiftech products (including TEC's) barring their radiators. They also carry a wide selection of case hardware/accessories and air coolers for thos interested.
17. NewEgg - NewEgg needs no introduction here. They cary swiftech, koolance, thermaltake (eww), and gigabyte watercooling products. Apparently they have some really good prices on Swiftech products

this was taken from Maxxracers guide which can be found @ http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...ad.php?t=67179

can i also reccomend having a look @ http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...splay.php?f=70 their W/C section is first class lots of info for both the beggining W/C and the veteran.

if you need anymore links for W/C sites or whatever just ask but Xs has it pretty much covered

[erocker]

I totally recommend Petra's. Everything about them is awesome! They have a sweet Danger Den lover's W/C kit too!.

[Fitseries3]

Originally Posted by wtf8269

I did not list GPU blocks because I plan on getting two 9xxx GTX cards fron nvidia when they come out in February, and I doubt they have water blocks for that yet.

As far as a chipset cooler goes (if I get one) I'll probably be waiting for a socket 775 780i equipped DFI LanParty UT board.

well first off... the 9 series isn't scheduled to be released until the 3rd quarter of next year, not February. and secondly... 680i/780i will not support the new quads. you'll have to go with a 790i and get some ddr3.

[wtf8269]

Says Feburary? Looking back at the thread about 680i not supporting 45nm, I see now that later posts confirm 780i not working as well. Looks like I will be doing some chip set research, as I do not believe the X38 supports SLI as of now.