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Best liquid cooling solution under $150?

haelduksf said:
How quiet is quiet? Do you want something quieter than a fan? Than a whisper? Than the ambiant noise level in your room?

By all accounts, in terms of quiet, the list goes something like this

Eheim 1048>Danner Mag>Swiftech/DD 350>Swiftech/DD 600>Swiftech/DD 655 (Laing D5)>Swiftech/DD 650 (Laing D4), with the more powerful eheims (1048, 1250 etc) somewhere near the noisiest.

I have a Laing D4 (generally considered one of the noisiest pumps), and it's quieter by far than I expected, so your mileage may vary.
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... The Danner Mag is quite a loud pump IIRC. Also there are many Danner Mag pumps (1 through 5 I believe, with 3 being the most common). Were you perhaps thinking of the CSP Mag?

EDIT : I recant my statements about the Danner Mag, thanks for the clear up DFI_Daishi
 
as with most thermaltake products, the noise rating on the pump that comes with the bigwater is ridiculously low. if i'm remembering correctly, it's actually above 25 db. i consider that to be quiet, however it's far from what they are rating it at.

20 db fans are really quiet.......what specific fans are you planning on using, and what are they rated for in terms of CFM output and RPM? if you're going with thermaltake fans, then those will also be much louder than they are rated for. i ask because thermaltake makes a few fans that they rate for 21 db, that actually are close to 30 dB, and some would say more.

my own danner mag is pretty quiet, so long as i have some vibration deadening under the mounting plate. i can't measure it precisely, however it's quieter than my L1A fans are when dialed down to a bit more than 7V. i would imagine that a smaller danner like the 3 would be more quiet still.

i would think that going with a hydor, and directing some of the money that you would be saving on the pump into a better CPU waterblock would be a wise move. the MCW6002 is pretty cheap, has no aluminium, and performs better.
 
haelduksf said:
By all accounts, in terms of quiet, the list goes something like this

Eheim 1048>Danner Mag>Swiftech/DD 350>Swiftech/DD 600>Swiftech/DD 655 (Laing D5)>Swiftech/DD 650 (Laing D4), with the more powerful eheims (1048, 1250 etc) somewhere near the noisiest.
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Are you saying the Eheim 1048 is the loudest of these? The reviews I read said it was one of the most quiet pumps they'd tested. :confused:

The way my system will be configured, it will have a (theoretical) noise level of around 25 dB without a pump. Adding a pump that's 0-20 dB will only raise the noise by 1 dB. However, a pump at 25 dB will raise my system to around 28 dB and a pump at 30 dB will make the system around 31 dB. So for me, I guess "quiet" would be a pump around or below 23 dB. A pump at 0-23 dB would be virtually undetectable as far as noise is concerned. One at 28 dB would begin to be clearly noticable.

Not sure about the fans yet, but I will have a fan controller to manage their noise levels if need be. Als the change in CPU blocks is fine. Are you saying the hydor's are the most quiet pumps?
 
Dew itt right said:
Are you saying the Eheim 1048 is the loudest of these? The reviews I read said it was one of the most quiet pumps they'd tested. :confused:

The way my system will be configured, it will have a (theoretical) noise level of around 25 dB without a pump. Adding a pump that's 0-20 dB will only raise the noise by 1 dB. However, a pump at 25 dB will raise my system to around 28 dB and a pump at 30 dB will make the system around 31 dB. So for me, I guess "quiet" would be a pump around or below 23 dB. A pump at 0-23 dB would be virtually undetectable as far as noise is concerned. One at 28 dB would begin to be clearly noticable.

Not sure about the fans yet, but I will have a fan controller to manage their noise levels if need be. Als the change in CPU blocks is fine. Are you saying the hydor's are the most quiet pumps?
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nope, those are rated by "quietness", not noisiness :p

And Erasmus, I stand corrected, though I guess the MAGs are quiet, I did mean the CSP.
 
haelduksf said:
nope, those are rated by "quietness", not noisiness :p
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In that case, the Danner mag2 is looking mighty tempting. Perhaps nearly as quiet as a Eheim 1048 but significantly cheaper with higher max flow rate and more head delivery! :eek: Seems only downside to this would be more than double the power consumption.
 
The AquaXtreme 50z/MCP600 is an excellent pump. It isn't as quiet as an eheim1250, but you really can't hear it over harddrives or other fans.

Not only that, but it is DC and dissipates very little heat into the water.
 
Dew itt right said:
Not sure about the fans yet, but I will have a fan controller to manage their noise levels if need be. Als the change in CPU blocks is fine. Are you saying the hydor's are the most quiet pumps?
Click to expand...
no, i'm not saying that hydors are quieter than the eheim pumps. they are cheaper, they are quiet and they can have similar flow characteristics. i think that their noise level is in the same ballpark, flow for flow, i'm mentioning them for price reasons, not noise.

after a quick refresher, the 1048 seems to perform a bit better than the L20, L30 just a bit better than the 1250. keeping warnings about overtightening the barbs and not taking the impeller housing off, the mag3 should perform a a bit better than all of the above. provided that you mount the pump with a square of sponge between the mounting plate and the case, and after you have bled all air out of your system, it should be inaudible over ~25 db fans, if my mag "bigger than a 7, but not listed anywhere i have seen" is any example.

if you can find a deal on them, the MCP600 and aquaextreme 50Z are great little pumps, but tend to cost a bit more.
 
From what I've read, it just seems like the hydor's have may quirks and the eheims are a bit pricey. Thats why I've been leaning towards the danner mag2. The mag3 is only like 5 or 10 bucks more I think but I don't really need the extra cost, flow, head, heat, and (probably) noise. Is the mag2 a bad pump or is it just a waste of cash when the mag3 is so close in price? I can't seem to get a comment on it.
 
Dew itt right said:
From what I've read, it just seems like the hydor's have may quirks and the eheims are a bit pricey. Thats why I've been leaning towards the danner mag2. The mag3 is only like 5 or 10 bucks more I think but I don't really need the extra cost, flow, head, heat, and (probably) noise. Is the mag2 a bad pump or is it just a waste of cash when the mag3 is so close in price? I can't seem to get a comment on it.
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not many people on this forum use danner pumps.

i don't think that the mag2 has enough head and flow to really cut it. the MCW6002 does pretty well under low flow conditions, and neither block that you are proposing to use in your loop is very restrictive, so it might do it, however i think that the mag3 is probably quiet enough, and will perform better.

so long as i have the vibration deadening under my big and fat mag, even that does not make any noticeable noise.
 
I guess that settles it then. I'll dish out the extra $10 and get the mag3. What the heck, I'm already considerably over budget! :p If I can find a used one, maybe I'll spring for a MCW6002 while I'm at it! Thanks for all the help!!
 
What price are you seeing for a Mag3? I'd suggest if you're ok with 120vac pumps, look in the FS/T here (or other forums if no one has any right now), or if you're looking at spending $40-$50 as I said before, the CSP-MAG is reliable (the older model had problems, but those have been worked out), is plenty of pump for your loop, doesn't creat too much heat or noise, and the thing is about a 2" cube (much smaller than other 120vac pumps, especially Eheims, my 1048 more than 10 times bigger than the mag :eek: ). Plus, you don't have to deal with an external power cord.
 
not trying to pimp any store in particular, just have some time to kill waiting on my car and no decent book handy:

http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...<>ast_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1131040014923
http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_powerheads_pumps_danner_mag_drive_supreme.asp?CartId=
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog...16;page=2;sort=;pcid1=2181;pcid2=;breadcrumb=
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...<>ast_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1131040402331
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/category.xml?pcid1=2181;category_id=3855
http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_powerheads_pumps_hydor_seltz.asp?CartId=

the hydor seltz L35 might be just about the sweet spot in terms of having minimal heat dump and enough kick to drive a low-restriction loop, at a reasonable price. looking at things a second time, the mag 2 is probably enough to do the job, if you want to save a few bucks.
 
Dew itt right said:
I don't OC very often and am mostly interestd in liquid cooling for the acoustic benefits (plus it just looks figgin' sweet!). I'm hoping to stay under or around $150 to retain the current domestic tranquility. Any suggestions or preferences?
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Thermaltake bigwater for sure then. Nice small tubes and low noise. Definitely looks cool.
 
Not to worry, Thermaltake (and all kits) are out of the question! :D You guys are so funny with all your very different opinions. From what I've gathered from my short time here, hydors can be good for their size but can also be loud and vibrate quite a bit. The mags are a good middle ground as far as price and performance are concerned, the danners not as good as the CSP's. But if you really want to do it right, you have to save a wee bit more for a good eheim. Maybe even get a gently used 1250 from the FS/FT threads. Does that about sum it all up?
 
different people have different experiences.

asetek uses hydor pumps in their kits, and few people find them loud.

tons of people complain about danner pumps leaking. use plastic barbs, put some teflon tape on the threads, and tighten the barbs in to the minimum torque that will seal them, and you don't have to worry about cracking or leaks. read about the issues that people have with a product, and you can often figure out how to avoid them yourself.

for myself, i kind of suspect that mounting strongly affects how loud or quite a budget pump ends up being in your rig. if i mounted my big danner directly to the case, the whole computer would end up being a sound box and it would be quite loud. put a square of sponge under the thing, and it's as quiet as can be. you could likely do the same with a hydor.
 
i kno the bigwater se kit in not liked around here and it is understandable but i too was looking for quiet cooling for mild overclocking. So i bought the kit and installed it on my 3700+@2.6 and i idle at 32c. It would be lower but my computer is right by the heater and i am also cooling 2 6600gts on it. All in all tho it is a great beginner kit untill you upgrade to something better. O and the pump is silent no joke. when u turn down the fan on the rad all u can hear in my case is the trickling sound from the resevouir.
 
Kid8 said:
i kno the bigwater se kit in not liked around here and it is understandable but i too was looking for quiet cooling for mild overclocking. So i bought the kit and installed it on my 3700+@2.6 and i idle at 32c. It would be lower but my computer is right by the heater and i am also cooling 2 6600gts on it. All in all tho it is a great beginner kit untill you upgrade to something better. O and the pump is silent no joke. when u turn down the fan on the rad all u can hear in my case is the trickling sound from the resevouir.
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The bigwater se kit works great on my P4 Prescott. Mine will idle at 43c and loads usually take it up to 50c to 55c, which is a lot better then having it up around 80c like it used to be.

Don't anyone take any offense to this, but whenever I read something on these forums about water cooling, everyone seems to be saying "dont get a water cooling system if your not going to overclock your CPU" when there are tons of other applications for it. But I still listen to everyones advice here and learn from others mistakes.

The bigwater kit for me will help until the day comes that I get some super water cooling system and let me tell you how much of a pain it is to have your pc rendering for 4 days just to have it stop because the CPU overheated
 
I've got a Mag3, a Mag5, 3xL20s and 2xL30s. The hydor pumps are all notably quieter than the Mags, which tend to rattle; not the same thing as the vibration, which all of the pumps do.

As far as quirks go, one L30 was stalling when turned on, and I had to sand down the impeller shaft to fix this. The Mags have a reputation for leaking around the seal, and for developing cracks when the barbs are screwed in too tight; I haven't encountered the leak problem, and I use metal hoseclamps around the outside of the plastic inlet to counter any pressure from the barb, just to be safe. I tried changing out the impeller to see if I could fix the intermittant rattle from both Mags, no joy. No idea if this is a trait of all Mags, or just my two different models purchased from different people at different times.

The L20s are somewhat quieter than the L30s, but I wouldn't want to run a complete system on just one; they're for GPU loops, or for running in series for redundancy, etc...

Found this: http://cgi.ebay.ca/Danner-Mag-Drive...ryZ46312QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

If the listed specs are right, looks like a good cheap option, just as good or better than the mag2 and possibly cheaper.

In other news, Mag3's are $40 US here: http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/category.xml?pcid1=2181;category_id=3855
And yet, on the Canadian version of that site, they're $100. WTF. That's just obscene.

If I was buying another pump atm, I'd be looking at the CSP Mag, an entirely different beast than the Danner MagX's. Reviews had it as very, very quiet, and it's tiny.
 
I think the Big Water kit would work if I were to go that route, but I'm not looking for a kit anymore. It's fun picking out all your parts and what not. Plus the Thermaltake Gpu blocks aren't compatible with my AIW 9800 Pro. :( I've had a seperate thread just for find out which blocks can fit this video card. http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=972973 Think I'll stick with a used eheim 1250 or a CSP-MAG.
 
Okay, I guess I definitly won't be under $150 but at least i won't break $200! Here's the hopefully final roster:

Black Ice Pro Radiator - $29 @ DangerDen
MCW6000 CPU block - $40 @ SVC
MCW55 GPU block - $50 @ SVC
CSP-MAG pump - $50 @ DangerDen

Let me know if you know of better palces to buy the stuff (new) or if I still haven't got the selection quite right yet! Thanks for all your help so far!
 
Thanks a lot for this thread. Its very informative for a WC noob like myself.

My objective is #1 quiet, external cooling so I can push the heat to a different location. Also I run stock speeds 80% of the time. I'm now looking at


Black Ice Pro 3 Radiator - $45 @ DangerDen
MCW6002-A CPU block - $43 @ SVC
MCW60 GPU block - $39 @ SVC
CSP-MAG pump - $50 @ DangerDen


Total: $177 - hoses & clamps. OK so its 'best cooling solution between $150 and $200 :D

Any opinions here?
 
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(313)dnoyeb said:
The Apogee looks good if it will fit my Asus A7n8x Deluxe Motherboard.
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the apogee will fit almost any motherboard.

however, with such an old board/proc watercooling isn't worth it at all. just save your cash and direct it towards a hardware overhaul.
 
annaconda said:
First of all i won;t recomend homemade water cooling. When you can buy Thermaltake 745 water cooling for $150 shipped.

But still if you guys wanna make water cooling by yourself then here are few options i can find out.
Peltier type radiator for ulta cool water cooling
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dude........do you know the first thing about peltier cooling? do you even know how to plan out a water loop? no, i'm not talking about you reccomending the bigwater, i'm talking about the "peltier rad."

if you think that such a poorly concieved cooling product will do anything at all good for a water cooling loop, i'm not supprised that you have not had terribly good success with DIY water loops and therefore reccomend the bigwater instead.

rather than putting that "peltier radiator" into your loop, why not just run an extra length of tubing, call THAT your rad, and dig a small space heater out of the garage to run beside your computer? while that "rad" is cheap, the plastic tubing will cool about as well, and the space heater will warm up ambient and consume hydro like running the pelt will.

hell, you could just run the tubing alone and call it money saved, if you don't want to dig out the space heater.

i'm glad that you're happy with your bigwater but geez.........learn something about how to plan a loop before you talk about DIY.
 
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DFI Daishi said:
the apogee will fit almost any motherboard.

however, with such an old board/proc watercooling isn't worth it at all. just save your cash and direct it towards a hardware overhaul.
Click to expand...

I plan on adding a 7800GS to this system which will supposedly be sufficient to run todays games. I don't feel the system is ready to retire yet. And as stated my objective is quietness and heat shifting.
 
ahh the a7n8x mobo, that was my first mobo for a built-from-scratch :D Something you are forgetting with the parts list, how about some fans for that radiator? Also since its a 3x120 rad, do you have plans on how to route it outside of your case and where/how to attach it, or maybe you have a HUGE case?? IMO the move from 1x120 to 2x120 is well worth it, 2x120 to 3x120 wont provide much if any improvements on noise or performance.
*edit in responce to above post* lol yep, a socket a platform will be struggling to keep up with a 7800gs, nevermind questioning how crippled the gs is compared to the rest of the 7x00 line, but let him find out the hard way :p
 
(313)dnoyeb said:
I plan on adding a 7800GS to this system which will supposedly be sufficient to run todays games. I don't feel the system is ready to retire yet. And as stated my objective is quietness and heat shifting.
Click to expand...
regardless of your VGA card, your CPU will be holding you back. i'm not necessarily advocating moving to the latest and greatest, however aftermarket air for a64 is very effective and quiet, if you're not trying to push the limits of your OC for the sake of running it faster.

a zalman heatsink on the CPU and an arctic cooling nVidia silencer has my buddies' rig running damn quietly. PCI-E makes little, if any difference, however the modern processors with integrated memory controlers and good overclocking potential on air cooling are really nice.

CPU, mobo and aftermarket air upgrades offer some good value for the money. water cooling doesn't.
 
theseeker said:
I have a great answer, but I do not wish to be banned.
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in this forum, i think that you have to work at it in order to get banned. if you have something constructive to say, then say it.
 
Sorry to interrupt, but I started this thread (what seems like) forever ago and wanted to thank the early post-ers for their advice! If you've got the $$$, do NOT go with a kit!! The learning experience of putting one together yourself is WELL worth the extra money. Plus it's customized with your own choice of parts and (from what I hear) it typically performs much better.

As you can see from my sig, I wound up spending much more than $150! :D :p I don't regret it a bit though! You get what you pay for. Especially the pump - I only run it at 40%, it gets great flow, and it's literally silent!

Thought you guys wouldn't mind a couple pics of my "baby"! Thanks again for all the help and advice!


 
WEll the video card will be about $320 and its the fastest I can get for AGP. It does nto have to be the most cost effective card, just the most cost effective one for someone in my position. Either spend $320 for a new card or spend $320 + a new system for a PCI-Express card. The cost is not even comparable. if $320 gets me another year, then I am saving a lot. You should realize that I am running an Ati 9700Pro right now and am quite happy :cool:

I need to MOVE the heat away from my computer so the radiator will be about a foot to the right of my computer, not inside of it. And Ill only have 2 fans on it for now, but I got the bigger one because it was marginally more expensive and gives me room to grow. Perhaps the bigger one IS too much and Ill fall back down to the 2 fan wide version.

Right now I have some aftermarket silent fanless number on my ATI and a volcano or some such on my cpu. its relatively quiet when the room is cool, but when the a/c is not on and the temp gets a bit hot i have to crank the fan up and its not quiet anymore. The watercooling will carry me with this system, and i can keep it for my next upgrade which will likely be Christmas. Then I can sell the new video card for ~$200 im sure.
 
Forget it. Too many negative comments about price performance of 7800gs... Still getting the watercooling though.
 
Dew itt right said:
Sorry to interrupt, but I started this thread (what seems like) forever ago and wanted to thank the early post-ers for their advice! If you've got the $$$, do NOT go with a kit!! The learning experience of putting one together yourself is WELL worth the extra money. Plus it's customized with your own choice of parts and (from what I hear) it typically performs much better.

As you can see from my sig, I wound up spending much more than $150! :D :p I don't regret it a bit though! You get what you pay for. Especially the pump - I only run it at 40%, it gets great flow, and it's literally silent!

Thought you guys wouldn't mind a couple pics of my "baby"! Thanks again for all the help and advice!
Click to expand...

Wow, i'll give you props on your hard work. The screenshot clearly shows you actually put some time in it (over a year?). Would you care making a list of all the equipments that you've purchased as well as the price? if not that's fine. I just need a rough estimate and an overview of the materials needed. How are the results, btw? But yes, Kudos for you!
 
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