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BigWater 745?

i am a newb who is interested in water cooling and has been trawling through most of the review sites..
theres a starter kit which is quite good and has options for upgrades here in the UK, perhaps its not available in the US but i htought i should throw out this brand

XSPC X2O cpu cooling kit
 
Yes. CPU/VGA/and chipset blocks. Radiator (one or two fan radiator) and integrated pump/radiator.
 
DarthBeavis said:
I have one of these kits I have not used (well I did use the tubing but that is it). I can part with it for 150.00

http://www.cdrinfo.com/forum/tm.asp?m=117668&mpage=1&key=&#117668
http://www.bytesizedreviews.com/?rev_id=290

I think it is the single or dual fan version.
Click to expand...
ah, one of the asetek waterchill kits.

it works reasonably well in the medium noise category and is available in north america.

the only warning that i have heard about that kit is that the res can tend to pull away from the pump and leak.
 
Oh well another thread against Bigwater 745. Well as a proud owner of the Bigwater 745, i will give you some picture shots, and some feedback. I just added Sweiftech's GPU water block in the loop, with my Opteron165@2.8ghz.

Well i am going to repeat this again and again, for $135 you cannot beat this water cooling Period!

Some pictures of my system.

In these pictures i had 7900gt with out water block, now i have X1900XT @ 700/800 with MCW60 sweiftech water block 3/8" tubbing.

Temperatures of the Opteron165@ 2.8ghz = Idle=31C Load = 44C

X1900XT @ 700/800 = Idle = 31C Load =44C
 
DarthBeavis said:
I hope you are lucky and your CPU block does not crack. It sure makes a nice mess.
Click to expand...

Well i think the only way CPU block will crack when you try to screw those nuts too tight. :D
 
dragonorta said:
It wouldn't be too hard to piece together a system from used parts if you take the time to scoure the FST forum. I did one for ~$150.
An AquaExtreme 50z pump - $50
Swiftech MCW6002 - $35
BIP2 - $25
Masterkleer 7/16" tubing - $8.50
2 Panaflo 120mm M1A fans - $15
Radbox - $15.
Click to expand...

some of us don't like doing used equipment, and like the idea of a warranty/etc.
 
lopoetve said:
some of us don't like doing used equipment, and like the idea of a warranty/etc.
Click to expand...
then buy off of e-bay and rely on paypal for issues of out of the box failure.

most watercooling gear has a liftime warrenty. you could ask the seller for the original invoice if you're that worried about it.

other than a $2 o-ring, most watercooling parts should last for decades.
 
for around your $200 upper limit:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=27367&category_id=3859&pcid1=2181
http://www.petrastechshop.com/aqwhwaliedun.html
http://www.petrastechshop.com/sicyfu.html
http://www.petrastechshop.com/dadenblicepr1.html
http://www.petrastechshop.com/7id5odmagepu.html about 12 feet of it.
http://www.petrastechshop.com/ststwohocl.html twelve clamps.
http://www.petrastechshop.com/1odtf1and7id.html
http://www.petrastechshop.com/1odyf1and7id.html

and that is a pretty good loop all around.

alternately, a slightly louder and less well respected pump, which is still good enough for most people.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=33561&category_id=4025&pcid1=2181

and a somewhat better CPU waterbolck:
http://www.petrastechshop.com/aqmpproliedu.html

for about the same price. knock off the Y fitting if you go for the MP-05.

of course, if you went with the white water and the cheaper pump you might be able to get it all for $200 US shipped.
 
DFI Daishi said:
then buy off of e-bay and rely on paypal for issues of out of the box failure.

most watercooling gear has a liftime warrenty. you could ask the seller for the original invoice if you're that worried about it.

other than a $2 o-ring, most watercooling parts should last for decades.
Click to expand...

Ebay == devil spawn :p I'd rather buy a new kit or new parts... Lifetime warranty doesn't normally transfer between owners either... :(
 
lopoetve said:
Ebay == devil spawn :p I'd rather buy a new kit or new parts... Lifetime warranty doesn't normally transfer between owners either... :(
Click to expand...
if you have the invoice along with the part, how do they know who did or didn't buy it?

i don't sanction trying to get warrenty on parts that you broke yourself or anything, but if you treated the part properly and it broke on you.......it shouldn't matter if it broke while you were using it or the previous owner: it's still supposed to last well neigh on forever.
 
annaconda said:
Oh well another thread against Bigwater 745. Well as a proud owner of the Bigwater 745, i will give you some picture shots, and some feedback. I just added Sweiftech's GPU water block in the loop, with my Opteron165@2.8ghz.

Well i am going to repeat this again and again, for $135 you cannot beat this water cooling Period!

Some pictures of my system.

In these pictures i had 7900gt with out water block, now i have X1900XT @ 700/800 with MCW60 sweiftech water block 3/8" tubbing.

Temperatures of the Opteron165@ 2.8ghz = Idle=31C Load = 44C

X1900XT @ 700/800 = Idle = 31C Load =44C
Click to expand...


You forgot to mention how you're looking to replace the radiator of your kit. As I already said before, once you get this kit, you'll end up swapping out the parts because you won't be happy with its performance for long.

Not that I hold much stock in internal temperature readings, but those temperature deltas are pretty large. I would expect to only see that in air cooling.

As far as warranties go, most WC equipment doesn't break with the exception of the acrylic tops of CPU blocks. It's much more common that WC equipment breaks other stuff. And no one will cover those parts. Remember, motherboard, video card, etc manufacturer warranties do not cover such damage and the manufacturer of your WC equipment isn't held accountable either.
 
You can get polarflo blocks along with a hydor pump and a black ice pro II for less than $150.
 
annaconda said:
Well i think the only way CPU block will crack when you try to screw those nuts too tight. :D
Click to expand...

I ran it for at least 6 months before it cracked. If I tightened the nutts too tight it would have cracked immediately (I only hand tighten).
 
DFI Daishi said:
if you have the invoice along with the part, how do they know who did or didn't buy it?

i don't sanction trying to get warrenty on parts that you broke yourself or anything, but if you treated the part properly and it broke on you.......it shouldn't matter if it broke while you were using it or the previous owner: it's still supposed to last well neigh on forever.
Click to expand...

Shouldn't, but does. And because I have no idea how someone treated the part before i got it.
 
CoW]8(0) said:
You forgot to mention how you're looking to replace the radiator of your kit. As I already said before, once you get this kit, you'll end up swapping out the parts because you won't be happy with its performance for long.

.
Click to expand...

you might not be happy for long, but you didn't blow $250+ finding out that WCing wasn't for you. I've always relied on air, so I have no clue if I'm going to want to stick with water.
 
lopoetve said:
you might not be happy for long, but you didn't blow $250+ finding out that WCing wasn't for you. I've always relied on air, so I have no clue if I'm going to want to stick with water.
Click to expand...

Who told you to spend $250?
 
Stellar said:
Don't bring that logic in here, the DIY'ers don't want to hear it.
Click to expand...

hehe, it's actually a good bit better than air. A good custom kit will be better of course, but it's deffinately not what I would call "bad"
 
CoW]8(0) said:
Then why would you trust the Bigwater 745? Strange reasoning...
Click to expand...

complete kit with warranty and support, vs some pump originally intended for an aquarium. ;)
 
lopoetve said:
complete kit with warranty and support, vs some pump originally intended for an aquarium. ;)
Click to expand...
an aquarium pump..........

which is rated for continuous duty, which the Tt pump is not. which is for a very well respected OEM, which the Tt pump is not. which opperates with less the 22 dB of noise using real noise noise measurements, which the Tt does not. which is able to ingest a bit of sand or silt without a problem vs the Tt which can be stalled and killed by a bit of algea growth.

who cares what application the product is marketed for, if it offers outstanding performance in the application that you want to use it for?

it's a pump. it's made to pump fluids. you're using it for it's intended purpose regardless of what their marketing department says.

if you really want to get the product that marketing says you should get, then shell out the extra $40 to pick up the eheim HPPS or aquastream. they're still made by the same manufacturer, and are based on their aquarium pumps, but if you don't think that the actual aquarium pump will work than they are more than happy to oblige you with a more expensive product marketed for your precise application.

and once again, all of the parts are under warentee. what about that don't you understand? if something breaks or doesn't work right, you seek warentee on that part.
 
lopoetve said:
complete kit with warranty and support, vs some pump originally intended for an aquarium. ;)
Click to expand...
You realize that aquarium pumps are a bit sturdier than pumps intended for watercooling? Simply compare the impeller the design. Now think about which one would jam easier? Aquarium pumps are also designed with longer lifetimes than watercooling pumps. They're capable of handling much worse things than nice clean closed loops.

So whats wrong with aquarium pumps?
 
You all just don't get it, do you?

It's the difference between going out and buying a bunch of random parts for $200 that were never designed to work with each other (not to say that they don't, because they do, but they were designed by different companies and never tried together by the company itself), with no instructions or guide or warranty, just to try something.

I won't fucking blow that much money on a trial. So I spent $110 on a kit with guide, instructions, designed all by one company.

If I wanted a motorcycle, I wouldn't go out and buy 2 wheels, a motor, a gas tank, etc... I'd buy a bike!
 
CoW]8(0) said:
You realize that aquarium pumps are a bit sturdier than pumps intended for watercooling? Simply compare the impeller the design. Now think about which one would jam easier? Aquarium pumps are also designed with longer lifetimes than watercooling pumps. They're capable of handling much worse things than nice clean closed loops.

So whats wrong with aquarium pumps?
Click to expand...

Nothing, but when I call the aquarium pump place trying to get it to work in a computer application with a bunch of water blocks, they're going to look at me funny. Vs. calling TT and saying "it doesn't work!". not to mention that they cost more?
 
DFI Daishi said:
SNIP.
Click to expand...

Where, when you go to buy an Aquarium pump, are you going to find instructions on how to set it up inside a computer in a watercooling setup? Or get support from them on that? A custom setup is just that: custom. You ain't going to get a drop of help from them unless it breaks.

THATS my point. For a first timer, trying it out and trying to decide if this is something they want to do or not, Dropping $200 on something with no support for their particular application (or instructions/etc) is a bit much.
 
So out of curosity, what system are you running?

If you're so against buying separate parts, I would assume you're running a Dell, Compaq, Gateway, or some other premade system. And I think I'll also assume you're running whatever graphics card it came with.

And we all know those easily outperform everything else.

I'm not sure if you're getting it. :p
 
to lopoetve : i am a newb at watercooling but even i could see that your post make no sense at all.. most of hte parts in your computer comes from different manufacturers and chances are, the designer of that component, is not designed to work with your specific combination at the outset, thats why there are standards to uphold

and if you are arguing the fact that the pieces are not meant designed as a kit from the outset, can i ask whether you upgrade your pc personally or do you bring it to a shop and tell them you want a better graphics card and leave it at that?
cos with you posting in this forum, means that you are interested in upgrading your system to get the best.. otehrwise you would only be in teh general hardware subforum, asking the peep here to spec you a system, if thats your line of thought, what are you doing in this section of the forum anyway? since you are not interested in getting the most bang for the buck, some proper research and some practical application of brainpower?

cos if you are arguing for custom desined, then i would suggest dell, monarch and so on or maybe alienware . after all, its the easiest and you are underwarrantte if your comp doesn;t work when you get it

just my 2 c
 
Don't go water at all if you don't want to do research and if you don't know what the hell each component does. When/if your bigwater breaks, please don't complain about it hear, go to thermaltake.
 
CoW]8(0) said:
So out of curosity, what system are you running?

If you're so against buying separate parts, I would assume you're running a Dell, Compaq, Gateway, or some other premade system. And I think I'll also assume you're running whatever graphics card it came with.

And we all know those easily outperform everything else.

I'm not sure if you're getting it. :p
Click to expand...

Not the greatest analogy. Modular PC parts are designed to work together.. e.g. PCI express video cards work in PCI Express slots, etc. There are RFC specs and other industry standards they must follow. Aquarium pumps and automotive radiators and clamps and hoses from a hardware store are not all designed to work together, or in a PC, and they are not documented or supported to work in that manner.
 
But parts such as clamps and pumps are far simpler and have a much wider range of uses. Aquarium pumps are not designed to simply do one specific task. That's why Eheim calls it's line of pumps, "hobbyist pumps". And that's why many pumps have removeable parts to fit several different applications.
 
Stellar said:
Not the greatest analogy. Modular PC parts are designed to work together.. e.g. PCI express video cards work in PCI Express slots, etc. There are RFC specs and other industry standards they must follow. Aquarium pumps and automotive radiators and clamps and hoses from a hardware store are not all designed to work together, or in a PC, and they are not documented or supported to work in that manner.
Click to expand...


Actually, it's pretty simple. Just ID's and OD's. Usually 1/4", 3/8" or 1/2". Not too complicated?
 
I am a little late to the party but I wanted to address the OP's first post. You are asking for advice on a kit in a DIY forum. 90% of the users are going to say go DIY because that is what this forum is about.

DarthBeavis said:
I ran it for at least 6 months before it cracked. If I tightened the nutts too tight it would have cracked immediately (I only hand tighten).
Click to expand...

Any block with an acrylic top can crack if the barb is over-tightened.
 
Stellar said:
Not the greatest analogy. Modular PC parts are designed to work together.. e.g. PCI express video cards work in PCI Express slots, etc. There are RFC specs and other industry standards they must follow. Aquarium pumps and automotive radiators and clamps and hoses from a hardware store are not all designed to work together, or in a PC, and they are not documented or supported to work in that manner.
Click to expand...
ehm......

the pump in an aquarium or pond is designed to be fitted with thread-on barb fittings, have hoses put onto and clamped onto those barb fittings, primed with water and then be plugged in. the pump them proceeds to pump until it is unplugged or fails.

the pump does not know or care if it's pumping through a fountain head directly, through filter media and back to the tank, driving a protein skimmer or whatever else. as long as you meet those first several conditions, it works. you also meet those conditions in a watercooled PC.

eheim makes pumps for innovatek and aqua-computers. asetek waterchill re-sells hydor pump in their kits. companies that make and sell pre-fab watercooling kits use aquarium pumps. why is it that end users should not do so themselves?

there are also standards which apply to tubing and fittings, as saberwolf pointed out. it's pretty much as basic as knowing that an AGP card will not fit into a PCI-E slot. if you can't figure out that a 1/2" outer diameter barb fitting is supposed to go inside of 1/2" inner diameter tubing, what are you doing poking around inside of a computer to begin with? the very name tells you what it is compatible with.

anyone feel like trying to put a square peg into a round hole while we're at it? i mean if everything requires documentation and support.

the fly of your pants is not documented or supported either. it is a really simple piece of equipment that is spectacularly easy to opperate. documentation and support is not needed. you needed to learn how to do it at one point, pretty much anyone you asked was able to answer your question, and you were able to do it from then on.

i would say the same goes here: it's a really simple question, which the salesperson at the aquarium store will be able to answer. hell, chances are they'll ask what kind of tubing and fittings you want in the hopes of adding to the sale.
 
lopoetve said:
It's the difference between going out and buying a bunch of random parts for $200 that were never designed to work with each other (not to say that they don't, because they do, but they were designed by different companies and never tried together by the company itself), with no instructions or guide or warranty, just to try something.
Click to expand...
if you are a litterate individual who does a bit of research before you go out and buy things, the parts aren't random. there are industry specs for the fittings and tubing which allow the parts to inter-opperate and all parties involved follow those specs. it is easy to select parts that will work together.

work optimally? not quite as easy. that takes more reading. then again, the thermaltake bigwater doesn't opperate optimally either. in fact, i'm not sure that it's possible to do worse using repuatble DIY parts. so even if you don't put yourself together a master-grade system, you're not worse off for it as compared to getting a Tt kit.

i might add that this is significantly easier than selecting and fitting computer parts together. if you're thinking of watercooling, chances are that you own a custom PC. if you could sucessfully complete that task, why not the easier selection process for your cooling gear?

lopoetve said:
Where, when you go to buy an Aquarium pump, are you going to find instructions on how to set it up inside a computer in a watercooling setup? Or get support from them on that? A custom setup is just that: custom. You ain't going to get a drop of help from them unless it breaks.
Click to expand...
no support from the pump manufacturer, no. so how about the company selling the waterblocks and rad? you don't think they offer support?
 
Yep. A lot of people use things not meant for the original purpose. Aquarium pumps are the origin of watercooling, along with heatercores. They aren't purposely designed to cool a computer instead of a car or moving water in an aquarium, but they work very well for that. Eheims, Hydors, Magdrives, and others are originally designed as aquarium pumps.

I advise you stay away from the Hydor. Not to great in the leak-free department, in my experience.




and a square plug will fit in a circular hole, if you push it hard enough.
 
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