Watercooling FAQ/guide

[Wile E]

dont know about that bro, they are great fans for the money and are favoured in the community for their price/performace/noise.

they do perform well on slim rads or rads with low fpi (fins per inch) but they are a slim fan (25mm) and as such do not have very high static pressure and will lose out to thicker fans (38mm) when used on a thick rad or a rad with high fpi

dont mean to be rude but please do a little more research before posting this kind of info

I did. Somebody in the Watercoolig Club (iirc, can't exactly remember where the link is) posted a link with extensive reviews on the fans. Those YL's ranked among the highest in medium speed fans in high pressure situations.

 

[Wile E]

As a matter in fact, it was you that posted it. lol. And it wasn't just high-pressure performance, it was all-around performance period.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=171661

 

[intel igent]

i know what i posted

dont misconstrue what i say

i think you shoud read a little more instead of just posting an mcr120 is not a very restrictive RAD

funny how it seems youre trying to bait me into an argument lately :shadedshu

dont let the flashy avatar fool ya

 

[DanishDevil]

intel igent, it's also funny how you've acted like you know everything. Being helpful and knowledgeable is one thing, but be sure to let other people have their opinions. IMO, you two should just drop it.

 

[Fitseries3]

i use the silverstone 110cfm fans on my rads. they are loud at full speed but they have a speed contoller for each fan. they move a ton of air too. too bad their $20 each. and i have 13 of them. LOL!

 

[intel igent]

intel igent, it's also funny how you've acted like you know everything. Being helpful and knowledgeable is one thing, but be sure to let other people have their opinions.

i dont know everything, nor have i claimed to.

he can have his opinion im not denying him of that.

im simply stating the KNOWN facts and not posting speculation and opinion so that WE can all learn

 

[Fitseries3]

calm down guys.

i don't know from experience but everyone seems to think the yate loons are great for any rad.

also.... post you water cooled machine pics guys.

 

[Wile E]

i know what i posted

dont misconstrue what i say

i think you shoud read a little more instead of just posting an mcr120 is not a very restrictive RAD

funny how it seems youre trying to bait me into an argument lately :shadedshu

dont let the flashy avatar fool ya

I'm not trying to bait, you've just been really insistent on what you are saying, almost like you are attacking my posts, both about the temps with loop order, which I have tested personally, and about these fans. I re-reviewed the link you gave, and my conclusion is still the same, The Petra YL fans are some of the best for rad use, especially in terms of backpressure vs. flow. Even if his rad is free flowing, it's still considered a high pressure environment compared to the open air use fans normally see. They perform great, what do you have against that? I don't see how I was wrong on either topic.

And don't get me wrong, this is just a debate. I have absolutely nothing against you on any level.

 

[intel igent]

i have nothing against you either bud, but flamebait would appear to be flamebait.

im glad you like to debate, i hope you enjoy doing it with someone else.

like i said before there is NO need for us to discuss what the PROFESSIONALS have already covered.

 

[savillm]

i got 7 of these fans in my case http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php?productid=2797&cat=519&page=1

and was thinking of getting 2 more for my 240mm rad on my watercooling system. they should cool my water down

 

[Cold Storm]

all right, I was thinking. Over and over again, its been a pondering question of mine. I live in a tropical environment and I want to get the best out of my system. So I have been thinking of going water. I have a case that is somewhat water loving.. lol.. Its really water loving. Yet, I don't know much about Water so I want to know the thoughts on everything. The whole set up is what I'm asking about. I don't mind going piece by piece on buying. Kits are cool to, but I want the best for my buck. I want to spend around 300 for it all. I can go a few months on buying it if it's more bucks. I just want to get it all done before summer 1 of the year starts. I thank you all, and have learned a lot from you fits!

 

[Jarman]

if its seriously tropical then some sort of phase change/chilled liquid may be in order

 

[Cold Storm]

yeah, yeah... Water is what I'm wanting. I don't give a damn for e-penis, or anything like that. I asked for water. Wanting to learn more about it.

 

[Wile E]

Ok, you want to spend $300, but what components would you like to cool?

 

[Jarman]

water can only cool as low as the air temp though. So say if ur air temp is 40 degrees, then ur cpu is gonna sit at 45 degrees idle no matter how good ur watercooling is.

Anyway. Ud want the biggest rad possible. A thermochill PA120.3 and good fans + shroud to match
Pump - Laing D5
CPU block - DTEK Fuzion
GPU - Swiftech MCW60 and ramsinks
Res- Swiftech Micro Res/EK res.

 

[Cold Storm]

Ok, you want to spend $300, but what components would you like to cool?

I want to cool the CPU, and GPU. I don't know yet if ram is an option. I would love to cool my NB, but with the blood iron, it voids warr.. So thats still up in the air.

Jarman, I get what your saying, and I do have that in my thoughts also. I've known that since I started looking. I just know that when going into our summer one, I'll be backing down my oc and so forth. Don't mind it, just trying to see if I don't have to.

 

[DanishDevil]

Hey, I know you guys have recommended the DTek Fuzion, but I ran across this, and it looks like a kinda similar design.

Enzotech Sapphire CPU Water Block

Have you guys heard anything about it?

 

[Fitseries3]

Hey, I know you guys have recommended the DTek Fuzion, but I ran across this, and it looks like a kinda similar design.

Enzotech Sapphire CPU Water Block

Have you guys heard anything about it?

Sirkeldon has the enzotech. it's almost the same, just a bit different. both are good.

 

[intel igent]

Enzotech Sapphire CPU Water Block

Have you guys heard anything about it?

decent performer, but i heard the tops are prone to cracking between the barbs

 

[SirKeldon]

As far as my own experience with the Enzotech could say, i'll tell you it's in the same level of performance of D-Tek Fuzion since their designs are practically the same, also internally. I choose the Enzotech cause Fuzion was out of stock and the guys who sold me said me the same i'm telling to you. The only block better speaking about higher-restriction than Fuzion or Enzotech SCW-1 it's EK-Supreme.

And yes, my temps are sweet with Enzotech SCW-1 though my pump and rad are "shitty", much better than my old high-end air system, 10-15ºC better on full tasks with 0,13V more of voltage on the chip and more speed, of course.

"Idle" temps (light multitask - chatting, browsing, iTunes ...)

1,39V - 3300Mhz - Air => 35-36/30-31ºC
1,52V - 3540Mhz - Water => 32-34/26-28ºC

"Full" max temps (10 hours of AMD Overdrive Stability Test)

1,39V - 3300Mhz - Air => 66º/60ºC
1,52V - 3540Mhz - Water => 54º/46ºC

decent performer, but i heard the tops are prone to cracking between the barbs

Ummm, i'll keep that in mind ... but i screwed hard the barbs, with hands as well with a monkey wrench and top it's still fine, i also screwed the hose clamps pretty hard while block was mounted and no cracks on barbs or strange sounds at the top. No leaks also. Thank you for sharing anyway

 

[ThatGuy16]

My water cooling parts should be here Tuesday. I bought distilled water, antifreeze and iodine. They said i should take out a pint of the distilled water and replace it with a pint of the antifreeze and use 4 drops of iodine. Does this sound right? I'll be using the apogee GTX, so it has an aluminum top.

this is the stuff, aside from the gallon of water.

Thanks

 

[Jarman]

i used deionised water with 10-15% antifreeze (decent mobil antifreeze) in a mixed metal loop for years. The more antifreeze uve got the worse ur cooling will be. By the looks of it ur not even gonna use the water anymore?? (if ive read that right!). If ur gonna use pure antifreeze for cooling u might as well stick to air cooling, it will probs cool better. Plus the antibiological ur planning on using (iodine) will react with aluminium...so its no good, and u dont wanna use a copper salt coz uve got aluminium.

All u need for a mixed metal loop is deionised water and 15% of an antifreeze with decent inhibitors (such as a mobil or castrol 1). I used it for years without a single problem

 

[ThatGuy16]

no, i'll be mixing the water and antfreeze together. about 10-15%

 

[Jarman]

ah that sounds about right then. Not sure id bother with the iodine though tbh.

 

[SirKeldon]

Advice needed for a new improved loop

My new rad and reservoir finally arrived!!! fit you're great man!!!! (EFFING CUSTOMS anyway!!! 13 days argh! had to tell you) ... and my case has been modded and prepared for the new and improved watercooling system as you can see here and mainly here. I'm telling you the complete parts of the future loop and also i have a few questions, as always

- Enzotech SCW-1 Waterblock (EQUAL as D-Tek Fuzion, the interiors too, trust me)
- Hydor L20 (bringing 700LPH, so about 184 GPH or 3.1GPM)
- Swiftech MCR-220 (with 2 Delta fans pushing air through the rad, bringing 70CFM each) -new-
- HWLabs BlackIce GTS120 (1 fan -don't know which one yet- pushing air through the rad)
- Swiftech MicroRes -new-
- 7 feet of Tygon R-3603 (19-13mm) tubing -new-
- 1/2 liter of Feser Cooling Liquid Blue and 1 liter of acid green (thinking in test this last one)

Fans that could be used:

2 x SilenX iXtrema Pro Series - 120x25 - 72CFM
2 x Xilence (Blue-Led) - 120x25 - 68CFM
1 x A.C.Ryan (UV-led) - 120x25 - 77 CFM
1 x Panaflo FBH-12G series - 120x38 - 67 CFM

I thought about one loop and philbrown23 added another.

Loop 1:

Loop 2:

In the first loop i designed the only "hot tube" is the cpu > rad with the pump right before the block to improve flow. I thought it was the best option ... but philbrown23 told me to mount it as the second one, i could get better temps on the CPU and also keep the water cooled as well, fitseries3 also told me the second one was the best option ... but i'm afraid of killing the flow to the block. I've almost decided to mount it like they say but i wanted some more advice.

edit (04-18-2008): for suring the best flow to the block ... i'm going to run the loop 1

Thank you in advance!

ps: feel free to comment about anything but the GTS120 position, can't be mounted vertical or at any other place right now

ps(2): Martin's Flow Estimator recommended me 1.15-1.31GPM with this setup so i think i'm fine ...