Advice requested - 1st time wc setup (minimum)

[TehQuick]

ALright, here's the quick run-down of what I think I'd need for a wc setup (complete). I'd appreciate if you guys give me some feedback about improving the thing or correcting my mistakes. My main goal is to achieve the best price/performance ratio

1) Waterblock - I dunno, 3 barb like DD RDX or 2 barb one like TDX, can't decide right now between the 2. Any suggestions? Which waterblock u'd use for just about $50? Also, is it safe to have plastic tops on those waterblocks? or should I got for a solid metal one like Swiftech's?

2) pump - Swiftech 650 or DD 12v D4 pump, and any other high-volume pump.. .Do the pumps come with barbs do I need to buy barbs separately and install them into the pump? Any other quality pumps I should consider?

3) radiator+1 quiet fan: 120mm combo would be the sweet spot for a single waterblock setup (I think). Rad is supposed to have barbs already. I'd go for a heatercore but I cant weld the barbs on it anyways.

4) Swiftech MCB-120 Radbox for external mounting of the radiator - I don't want to deal with hard-modding my case. Mounting acessories comes with the radbox kit for $25, including coolsleeves. Works for 3/8"ID tubing, might be a problem (?) for 1/2"ID

5) DD bay res - do I need some sort of special cap to close after I fill&bleed the system? I'd go for a T fill&bleed but I am not sure if I can close it properly after I am done.

6) tubing - prolly ClearFlex or Tygon, 1/2" ID or 1/2"OD-3/8"ID, online or in local shops I guess. Should I go for 1/2"ID or 3/8"ID with all barbs being 1/2"OD?
+ a bunch of clamps, metal or plastic - any particular suggestions? where can i get those locally?
+ teflon tape or similar sealants to apply to all barbs before connecting the tubes (local hardware store)

8) distilled water from local pharmacy + anti-algae fluid (online?) + water wetter/zerex from local auto shop

Did I forget anything? Are the pumps I listed good for further expansion in the future? like, if I add a GPU block, will those pump be able to handle it?

Well, there it is... let me know what you think.

 

[ewarz]

from what i have read, those pumps will be able to easily handle a GPU block later. I am in the middle of building a setup right now. I will be getting the DD 12v D4 for my CPU, GPU, and NB.

 

[rtierney]

i highly reccomend the poly res that DD now sells. it's 10x more durable than the crappy acrylic ones and it bleeds air easier since the inlet is a little higher than the outlet.

also, i'd go with clearflex 60 over tygon simply because it's much cheaper and has very similar bending capabilitites. it has a slight blue tint to it, but its not very noticable.

and, as far as additives go, you can either buy a 2oz bottle of hydrx for $3.25 (mixes with 1 L distilled water) or a bottle of Zerex antifreeze. both will help in corrosion and anti-algae stuff.
Hydrx, which is what I personally use, claims it acts as a surfactant as well, helping thermal transfer a little.

 

[cnick79]

I'm pretty much getting the same setup as you. I've been researching parts myself and here is my 2 cents.

1) Waterblock - I dunno, 3 barb like DD RDX or 2 barb one like TDX

I like the 2 barbed TDX because theres less tubing. They both have the same performance.

2) pump - Swiftech 650 or DD 12v D4 pump, and any other high-volume pump.. .Do the pumps come with barbs do I need to buy barbs separately and install them into the pump? Any other quality pumps I should consider?

They come with barbs. They should at least.

3) radiator+1 quiet fan: 120mm combo would be the sweet spot for a single waterblock setup (I think). Rad is supposed to have barbs already. I'd go for a heatercore but I cant weld the barbs on it anyways.

Danger Den sells a heater core prebarbed. It's $29.99 and works well.

4) Swiftech MCB-120 Radbox for external mounting of the radiator - I don't want to deal with hard-modding my case. Mounting acessories comes with the radbox kit for $25, including coolsleeves. Works for 3/8"ID tubing, might be a problem (?) for 1/2"ID

I completely overlooked the 3/8" ID pass through tubes. If you get a radiator with 1/2" OD barbs then the only problem is making them fit through the pass through, or not use it. You could get a radiator with 3/8" OD barbs then get adapters for after the pass through for 1/2" ID tubes. Or go completely with 3/8" ID tubing and 3/8" OD barbs all the way through. I need to rethink what I'm going to do now.

Another note about the radbox. You may not care but there's a limit on how far I want my rad to stick out. Somebody has a post with pics of their rad box and it sticks out too far for my liking. I ran some numbers:
Black Ice Pro .98" thickness
D-Tek Pro Shroud .59"
Radbox 1.36"
25mm Fan 1"
for a total of 3.93"

Then you have
DD Heater Core 2"
Dtek fan shroud 1.375"
Radbox 1.36"
Fan 25mm 1" (could go with 35mm fan)
total 5.735"

5) DD bay res - do I need some sort of special cap to close after I fill&bleed the system? I'd go for a T fill&bleed but I am not sure if I can close it properly after I am done.

It comes with a cap on the top of it. Give yourself enough tubing so you can pull the bay out far enough to add water.

6) tubing - prolly ClearFlex or Tygon, 1/2" ID or 1/2"OD-3/8"ID, online or in local shops I guess. Should I go for 1/2"ID or 3/8"ID with all barbs being 1/2"OD?

I was going to get Tygon but some people say clearflex will do the same job for less money. Naturally bigger ID more water, but then more space is used and you have to decide on what to do about the PCI passthrough for the radbox

8) distilled water from local pharmacy + anti-algae fluid (online?) + water wetter/zerex from local auto shop

There's also Fluid XP which I might purchase. It's non-conductive and might be a good choice for beginners. Plus nothing can grow inside and it lubes.

 

[TehQuick]

Thanks for all the feedback, it proved to be very valuable! I pretty much made up my mind and I am ready to order WC stuff now. Here is a short shopping list:

DD: HC+shroud; TDX with a brass top (I kinda dont trust the plastic); DD 12v D4 pump (seems to be small and fairly powerful); DD bay res (High Density Polyethylene) - as per advice (ty rtierney) - all with 1/2"OD barbs; 3/8"ID Tygon tubing (or clearflex - still thinking about this part).

Separately: swiftech's radbox; 1 or 2 120mm fans - I like Enermax (90cfm at 30dba) and Evercool (80cfm at 30dba); metal clamps; teflon tape, hydrx/zerex additive (Fluid XP way expensive and still conductive I read somewhere)

Hope this will work out for me. My main question is whether 1/2"OD fittings will work with 3/8"ID tubing. Did anyone try that? Any other suggestions?

 

[DieLate]

My main question is whether 1/2"OD fittings will work with 3/8"ID tubing. Did anyone try that? Any other suggestions?

I've heard of people doing this, so it is possible. However, I don't know if it was Tygon or ClearFlex. Also, they suggested you heat the tubing so it'll expand, making it easier to fit over the barbs. I would think an oven set to "warm" would be on okay temp (at that temp you can still handle plates you put in, just under painfull temp ).

I myself am going to go with 1/2" as I'm going with a reservoirless system, and that should give me a fairly larger volume of wtaer. Just run a fill/bleed tube up to the top and either just cap it with a cheap cap, or mount it to the case top with a DD Fillport. I figure with a reservoir, that's just one more place you can spring a leak.

edit: I really ought to spellcheck.