water cooling

[StormyNights]

I am new to this and I would love to get into water cooling but of all the reading I am having trouble understanding a few things and maybe you lads would be awsome enough to clarify for me so that I can finish planning out my scratch build.
1. I am looking for a budget system that I can add as much water cooling as I can from cpu, gpu, mossfit, memory, hdd cooler, etc. I want to stick with amd as much as I can. I have never dealt with amd and its time that I do.
2. I notice that there are all kinds of fitting sizes and fittings from clamp style to compression. I dont like the clamp style but have heard bad reviews on compression fittings.
3. I have seen clear and colored flex tubing, solid straight tubes and metal chrome tubes. Any recommendations? I love the straight clear tubes,( i think it is a cleaner look), and were can I find the metal or straight clear tubes, I have only been able to locate colored and clear flex tubing.
4. How would I know how many pumps and what kind of pumps to use. Noise wont be a factor as the case I have designed it wont be an issue.
5. Radiators Nuff said??
For ideas of what I am looking to do is alot like the way that L3P desk has been setup for cooling, or even Guilty. I was really impressed with how clean his looked. here is a link for guilty
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2907502#post2907502
and for Cross
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170499
I will end up having 2 or more resivours, one GPU (for now then will get an sli setup for 2) and all the cooling I can get on the board.
I will post a scracth log once I finish the design in autocad. I have it all on paper just need to get it to digital.
Anywebsites were to get this stuff and recommendations on boards and cards would be awsome.
I have been looking at the amd fx-4100 zambezi 3.6 and the biosstar ta970 mobo (have not looked into what water blocks I can get for it so if I can get just a cpu and memory I will have to find another.)
****I am not looking to break the bank as All that cooling and case will be my primary expense so that I can play around with over clocking and dont want to messup a $1000 us dollar setup. So please keep that in mind when commenting. Once I get it stable and comfortable I will then upgrade the mobo cpu gpu...****

 

[sneekypeet]

I know it is a lot to read, but we do have a section that has covered water cooling and what to use for some time. Here, have a look... http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52032

 

[StormyNights]

Thanks That helps out alot, I have been looking on here even before I joined. I still need a lil help in the department of my suggestions fo what to look for for cpu gpu and mobo if you have any ideas.

 

[drdeathx]

Post your how much you want to spend....


You do not need to cool the mofset. That is a waste of $


1 pump will do. I use liang MCP655 on all my systems. Pumps run ultra quiet.

You only need 1 loop and 1 res.

 

[lilhasselhoffer]

This forum generally frowns on opening multiple threads for the same topic. You should keep in mind that you can add to your own thread when you've got more information (http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=184300).


This said, it's time to come to terms with what you actually want versus what you have the skill and knowledge to do. A water cooling setup like the ones you've linked to will set you back 500-600 dollars (more if you're covering the RAM as well), without including all of the case modding that these people have done.

Assuming that you can swallow the price, my original comment stands. Go to St. Louis Park and stop into Microcenter. It's about an hour and a half drive there, but you'll be able to see things hands-on. Online retailers aren't bad, but their specialized nature often means high prices. There's nothing crappier than a small error costing you a week and a fist-full of cash.

Assuming you're still bent on just ordering something, know that custom loops don't lend themselves to easy alterations. A new graphics card will cost you not only its price, but the cost of a new block and the corresponding installation time.



Now if you're looking at this as a first experimentation, you should look at AIO water coolers. Corsair, Thermaltake, and NZXT have some excellent options that won't set you back too much. You don't get the full system extra cooling, but you've got a cost effective platform that you can experiment with.

Assuming you know this already, please disregard my comments. From how you are posting, it seems like you are biting off a heck of a lot more than you can chew. Remember, baby steps might seem like small progress but they cost a lot less when you make the inevitable mistakes that allow you to learn.

 

[sneekypeet]

This forum generally frowns on opening multiple threads for the same topic. You should keep in mind that you can add to your own thread when you've got more information (http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=184300).

nice catch, I closed that thread since it was vague and not going anywhere, and redirected with a link to this one

 

[StormyNights]

Thanks guys will be checking micro out tomorrow as i will be in the cities anyway. I am well aware of the cost an figured id spend at least 1k if not more. I may not understand the water-cooling on a pc, but i am very technically inclined as i have designed several homes that have been built in Minnesota an south dakota. I have exp. in hvac cooling, brazzing, construction, i have also worked in a body shop from the time i was 8 rebuilt my first car at 16 that was hit by a semi, after i was done repairing it i ended up taking 2in a car show. I worked as lead tech/manager for a car audio and customization shop from 15 to 21. I also was raised on a farm so i have a very strong mechanical and ingenuity back ground so there s nothing that i cant do with computers. Since starting schooling for network security last year and being top of my class computers ave really taken my life over by storm and i am looking to see how far i can push it. Seeing what some of you have done primarily L3P as he was the first i came across is what is driving me to take on my own personal challenge.

I know that cooling the mosfit is wasted financially, i want to do it for the astetic appeal along with the rest of the case. I will post what i find along with any questions i may end up with. Thank all of you for your help and hope that some time i can return the fav.

 

[StormyNights]

Wow micro center was alot of fun. Couldn't believe how much they had crammed into such a lil store. It was greatly helpfull to get my hands on these products, though they had a very small section on water cooling. Enough for just a small loop nothing to get excited about for what I am looking to do none the less I have a huge understanding seeing these items in person. Staff was not knowledgeable or helpful. spoke with 3 techs and each conversation left more questions unanswered than answered. But thats ok still was very impressed with what they had instock. I have started messing around with auto cad again. Haven't used it in years, so hopefully I can get a rendering of what my idea is soon. I may end up with using sketchup. After budgetting out the build I have priced out everything I am going to need and its just shy of $1k. But I am giving a lil extra room so I figure 1500 is closer. I will post more as soon as I can.

 

[Hood]

EK seems to have the most comprehensive selection of water blocks for motherboards and GPUs, and their website has a configurator which walks you through the process. Here's their link, and 3 of the best water cooling e-tailers.

http://www.ekwb.com/
http://www.frozencpu.com/index.html
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...=index&zenid=a708e72745cb14c45e6a2c89118befd8
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/

I went through the same research for my system a while back, but still don't have the funds to do it properly. Good luck with this project, please post some photos when you're done.