cooling multiple parts on the PC - help with setup

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aces155

Limp Gawd
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Jan 31, 2005
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Ok. I am in the process of creating an AMD Opteron powered PC with SLI 7800s and 4gb ram. Using it mostly for content creation with Maya and whatnot but I got 7800s instead of more workstation based GPUs for some gaming :cool:

I want to cool the Ram, GPUs, and CPU with an internal cooling system. My personal choice would be AquaComputer products. My question is, how do I set that system up for cooling of mutiple parts with the maximum cooling effectiveness for each peice. Are there any extra parts I need besides the resevoir, radiator, and pump? Should I run mutiple loops, and if so, how? Is Aquacomputer the company to go to for this setup or is there anyone company who has better equipment for the job? Anyone who has had expereince with this I would ask for some advice.

Oh yea, I wll be running this with an Enermax 600w SLI psu in a Thermaltake Xaser Armor full tower ATX case
 
aces155 said:
Ok. I am in the process of creating an AMD Opteron powered PC with SLI 7800s and 4gb ram. Using it mostly for content creation with Maya and whatnot but I got 7800s instead of more workstation based GPUs for some gaming :cool:

I want to cool the Ram, GPUs, and CPU with an internal cooling system. My personal choice would be AquaComputer products. My question is, how do I set that system up for cooling of mutiple parts with the maximum cooling effectiveness for each peice. Are there any extra parts I need besides the resevoir, radiator, and pump? Should I run mutiple loops, and if so, how? Is Aquacomputer the company to go to for this setup or is there anyone company who has better equipment for the job? Anyone who has had expereince with this I would ask for some advice.

Oh yea, I wll be running this with an Enermax 600w SLI psu in a Thermaltake Xaser Armor full tower ATX case
Click to expand...

Aquacomputer is a perfectly good choice, but also take a look at Alphacool. They are a more performance orientated (and cheaper) than Aquacomputer but not as bling.

The thing with these european setups is that they blend together perfectly, mix and match to your hearts content.

And wrt to the setup... simple is best. Don't try and complicate the system with multiple loops and what not. Just have your pump, reservoir, radiator and blocks... all connected in the simplest manner possible, the shortest and neatest distance from one block to the other.

Personally, for your setup, I would recommend an Alphacool Nexxos XP CPU block, 2 x Aquacomputer Ramplex RAM blocks, Alphahcool Chipset block, 2 x Aquacomputer 7800 all-in-one waterblocks, an Aquacomputer Aquastream Pump, an Innovatek Fass-O-Matic or Aquacomputer Aquatube reservoir and 8/6mm tubing on push-fits (plug&cool) fittings with a Thermochill PA120.2 radiator coupled with a pair of Papst 4412GL or Nexus fans. If you had the cash, I would also recommend an Aquacomputer Aquaero monitoring system as well.... I thought it was a frivolous extra until I tried one... it's awesome! :D

This setup will be setup with silence in mind, and it will be silent (since I am assuming that you want stability rather an over-clock) but will also keep your temperatures lower than with air cooling alone.
 
J-Pepper said:
And wrt to the setup... simple is best. Don't try and complicate the system with multiple loops and what not. Just have your pump, reservoir, radiator and blocks... all connected in the simplest manner possible, the shortest and neatest distance from one block to the other.
Click to expand...

QFT - Looking at AC setups such as TN's feeding frenzy I usually cant find myself thinking anythong other than "wow... thats way to complicated", and consequently I loose all apeal in the appearance of the system as a whole.

J-Pepper said:
Personally, for your setup, I would recommend an Alphacool Nexxos XP CPU block, 2 x Aquacomputer Ramplex RAM blocks...
Click to expand...

I would take a look at teh koolance ram blocks. They cool adjacent memory units directly, allowing you to cool more memory better as opposed to the AC units that are basicly just a heatspreader bolted to a block.
 
Sometimes cooling adjacent ram slots is not the desired option.

For instance, the DFI RDX200 mobo forces* you to put your ram in orange slots, when the slot pattern is yellow-orange-yellow-orange. What stopped me from cooling the ram was the cost of having to buy two, when an adequately directed fan may do an equal if not better job. I'm looking forward to more efficient and less clumsy ram coolers in the future.

*If you have 2 DIMMs and want dual channel.
 
But say you wanted to run 4 1 gig sticks, then that AC stuff wouldn't be too happy from the pictures that i've seen.

<off topic>
I really need to upgrade to a dual core 64... it sucks burnign a dvd and having to wait for a few seconds after you type somethign to see it actually come up on the screen cause your still running an old athlon Xp...
</off topic>
 
Punx_Clever said:
But say you wanted to run 4 1 gig sticks, then that AC stuff wouldn't be too happy from the pictures that i've seen.

<off topic>
I really need to upgrade to a dual core 64... it sucks burnign a dvd and having to wait for a few seconds after you type somethign to see it actually come up on the screen cause your still running an old athlon Xp...
</off topic>
Click to expand...

Ah, not quite actually... I run 4 sticks of RAM on a DFI SLI-DR and it works perfectly... the Ramplex will quite happily cool all 4 sticks, although I admit that a fan directed at the RAM would do just as good a job and the innovatek ram coolers maybe even better.

But the point is that I don't need a dedicated fan for my RAM, and I don't need über low temperatures for my RAM either... so the Ramplex are perfect in those respects.
 
Well I am not assuming to do major Ocing, but It would be nice to be able to boost 20-30mhz on the clock speeds of the GPUs and maybe the CPU. Although with my lack of skill it is not likely I will do that on my main machine. I will probably get a cheap training system to test my OCing skills.

Can I mix the Innovatek Ram Coolers with the AlphaCool pieces?

Also, the Innovatek website is in german and I cannot find the ram coolers, any help with a link?
 
I have 4 1gb sticks of Corsair XMS 3500LL DDR Ram. I am installing this on an Asus A8N SLI deluxe mainboard. Which ram coolers should I get?

The slots are in sets of two slots close together seperated by a gap. I assume that is the dual channels
 
J-Pepper said:
Ah, not quite actually... I run 4 sticks of RAM on a DFI SLI-DR and it works perfectly... the Ramplex will quite happily cool all 4 sticks, although I admit that a fan directed at the RAM would do just as good a job and the innovatek ram coolers maybe even better.

But the point is that I don't need a dedicated fan for my RAM, and I don't need über low temperatures for my RAM either... so the Ramplex are perfect in those respects.
Click to expand...

Ahh, I was under the impression that they didn't do side-by side sticks. My bad, all the pictures I had seen was of them cooling one stick each.

As for me... I get enough aiflow over my mem due to the rad being directly above them, so all is good.
 
aces155 said:
Can I mix the Innovatek Ram Coolers with the AlphaCool pieces?

Also, the Innovatek website is in german and I cannot find the ram coolers, any help with a link?
Click to expand...

Mix and match to your hearts content. Innovatek does not like people frfom English speaking countries. In fact if you don't speak German you ain't shit as far as they are concerned. High Speed PC and Frozen CPU handle the Innovatech parts.
 
One more question. Will the Koollance RAM-30-V06 (RAM) ram coolers fit with the rest of the system J-Pepper? They are on 1/4" tubing and while I do know that 1/4" does not equal 8/6mm I don't know whether one is talking about actual total diameter of the tube and other just the hollow inside.

Thanks for all your help and my apologies for my noobish questions.
 
1/4" refers to the ID, which is roughly 6.35mm and essentially the same as 8/6mm.

With Plug & Cool Push fittings as seen on Aquacomputer, the tubing used is PUR 8/6 tubing (meaning 6mm ID and 1mm side walls = 8mm OD), and on Koolance systems, the tubing is usually PVC, which is softer than PUR and thus work better with compression fittings.

This is just general fyi. The important thing is that PUR can be used with compression fittings but not all PVC tubing can be used with push fittings.

You can also try replacing the standard compression fittings on the Koolance with push-fits (or vice versa)... i'd take a guess that the Koolance RAM blocktake G1/8" threaded connectors.

So while the sizes are correct, make sure that you keep the same type of connections.

I'd recommend push-fits as they are the simplest and easiest and also the safest.. not completely idiot proof as you have to be a total idiot to not correctly connect push-fits!

Edit: although another tid-bit, PUR tubing has an appalling bend radius where-as PVC tubing used with compression fittings are more flexible and with bend more readily for tighter set-ups. Here is a link from alphacool website (in english) showing the different types of push-fits and compressions available as an example.
 
Koolance coolers are not compatible with AC tubing unless you are willing to make up some custom compression nuts. AC standard tubing is 6mm x 8mm and Koolance tubing is 6mm x 9mm.

The Mazzer PUR 8mm x 6mm tubing, sold by Sharka, will do a 1" radius bend without kinking.
 
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