Watercooling setup for a friend...

E

Easius

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 1, 2009
Messages
356
Hey guys I've set up watercooling before and feel comfortable doing it however I don't really follow whats good and bad these days in terms of equipment.

I was wondering if anyone could suggest a setup for a

Phenom II x4 940 and an ATI Radeon 4850

Looking for a loop that goes through both the card + cpu.

Would you suggest CPU first or GPU? Friend does not wish to overclock so I was thinking GPU since it's for gaming?

Looking for a suggestion on parts
Waterblocks
Hosing ID
Pump
Reservoir
Coolant

Thanks a bunch for any and all help.
 
Do the loop in this order:

Reservoir-->Pump-->GPU-->Radiator-->CPU-->Reservoir

Reason being, you needs the absolute coldest water going to the CPU first since it get's the hottest except for rare circumstances where you might be gaming or have caught your GPU on fire. The water leaving the pump is still cool enough to properly cool your GPU and it's more than cool enough leaving the radiator to cool your CPU.

Waterblocks: Go with anything EK for the GPU and Swiftech Apogee XT for the CPU
Hosing ID: 1/2"
Pump: Swiftech's MCP655 - This pump moves a ridiculous amount of water
Reservoir: Who cares? Whatever you like the look of the best..
Coolant: Go with anyting Feser
 
You didn't mention a budget, but don't waste money on 'special' coolant.

Just use distilled water + a silver coil.
 
peanutskeeter said:
Do the loop in this order:

Reservoir-->Pump-->GPU-->Radiator-->CPU-->Reservoir

Reason being, you needs the absolute coldest water going to the CPU first.
Click to expand...

This is unnecessary. Your coolant stabilizes to within a couple of degrees at any given point in the loop. Do whatever order is convenient (except for res>pump, which is usually a good idea to keep the pump from running dry).
 
Easius said:
Hey guys I've set up watercooling before and feel comfortable doing it however I don't really follow whats good and bad these days in terms of equipment.

I was wondering if anyone could suggest a setup for a

Phenom II x4 940 and an ATI Radeon 4850

Looking for a loop that goes through both the card + cpu.

Would you suggest CPU first or GPU? Friend does not wish to overclock so I was thinking GPU since it's for gaming?

Looking for a suggestion on parts
Waterblocks
Hosing ID
Pump
Reservoir
Coolant

Thanks a bunch for any and all help.
Click to expand...

Well with that socket go with whatever is available. I had some issues finding replacement parts for my 939, but if Danger Den is available use there CPU and GPU blocks, and for rad you should be more the fine with a dual rad, whatever fits in your budget. That CPU and GPU, you shouldnt need anything super thick, unless your OC'ing to the gills. Hosing go with 1/2" just makes things so much easier to work with.

Hope thats a help, let us know how you make out.
 
Necere said:
This is unnecessary. Your coolant stabilizes to within a couple of degrees at any given point in the loop. Do whatever order is convenient (except for res>pump, which is usually a good idea to keep the pump from running dry).
Click to expand...

Disagreed totally and completely. I have always taken temperature reading in my loop at different points and this way has proved the most efficient. The radiator disperses the water in it's fins to cool it down so that it can be at it's coolest possible temperature when it reaches the CPU. That's the main part of the loop, Radiator-->CPU, other than that it's pretty much a no brainer.
 
peanutskeeter said:
Disagreed totally and completely. I have always taken temperature reading in my loop at different points and this way has proved the most efficient. The radiator disperses the water in it's fins to cool it down so that it can be at it's coolest possible temperature when it reaches the CPU. That's the main part of the loop, Radiator-->CPU, other than that it's pretty much a no brainer.
Click to expand...

Well, there's a lot of data that disagrees with you. Water in - water out delta is never more than a degree in those charts, regardless of heat load and fan speed.

Here's another test, specifically addressing this issue: Test Report: Loop Order, does it make a difference?
 
What is your budget again? I'm going to assume that you're going for a bang for the buck low to mid end system. So let's guess around $400

Waterblocks
cpu - xspc rasa $53

gpu - swiftech mcw80 vga block $50

Hosing ID
Primotech Primochill Tubing $1.65 per footx10 = $16.50

Pump
MCP655 $68 or MCP355 $66

Reservoir
Swiftech Microres Rev 2 $26

Coolant
Distilled water $2 for 2 gallons at your local grocery store
PT Nuke $6

Thermal Paste
MX-2 $6 for a tube

Sub Total = $225.50

You forgot to ask for a radiator and fans. We'll just go for the cheapest effective ones which would be a swiftech 360 rad and 3x yate loons.

Swiftech MCR320-QP $55

3xYate Loon 120mm fans $3.59x3 = $10.77

Total = $291.27

This is before shipping and before tax for the distilled water that you buy locally.
You might notice all the items are from the same store, this is because it generally saves you more on shipping to order from the same place even if you can find some of the items or +/- a couple of dollars cheaper elsewhere.
Ooops, don't forget the fittings. That should take you up a bit and after you add shipping and everything will be closer to $350 but still under budget.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top