Black Ice Micro2 Radiator

[Xpl1c1t]

Im thinking of using it in my Lian-Li case because it has dual 80mm fans in the bottom front and this radiator would make a perfect fit on them. Anyone have any experience using this radiator? If so, how is it? Anyone with it in the same case?
Thanks

 

[amohedas]

Scroatdog (a guy on these forums) has had experience using that radiator. He bought it for his coolermaster. Send him a PM and then tell us about it. I am interested in knowing cuz i have a coolermaster that I might water cool.

 

[Scroatdog]

Hey fellas,

I'm currently using the Black Ice Micro II Rad. I attached a pic at the end so you can see the system out of the box during the fill and bleed stage, otherwise, you wouldn't see it. I've got the Coolermaster ATC-201SX case which has two 80mm intake fans top to bottom. On the Lian Li, you are side to side, right?? Don't know if you'll have the clearance to lay the rad sideways or not. You can get the dimensions from Swiftech's site. My current setup includes the Swifty MCW-5002 waterblock, Swifty MCP-600 pump, the rad obviously, the Danger Den MAZE4 GPU block, and a clear res from Danger Den. Using all 1/2 ID tubing. Everything fit in the case, which is what I wanted in the first place. Idle temp is 30C, load 38C. I'm running my 3.0C at 3.45, 230 FSB. Haven't OC'd the 9800 pro yet, though. Just did some tests, and it did raise the temps about 2-3C during the OC tests. I bolted two Panaflo H1a 80mm fans on the back of the rad for the pulling action, and the two intake case fans are doing the pushing. All fans run through a fanbus so I've got them pretty low. I can hear my hard drives.................

 

[Xpl1c1t]

The lian-li case has 8" of side-to-side clearance so the Micro2 SHOULD fit (and if it doesnt ill MAKE it) so i shouldnt have a problem there.

Wow, you have 4 fans pushing/pulling, thats crazy, i was just thinking of laying it in back of the installed ones, which should work fine.

How are your swiftec parts? Ive heard ALLOT of the latest Danger Den RBX heatsink and am looking toward it being in my first water system.

Also, i am quite a newb to watercooling, which pump should i get? and if i get a pump that is too powerfull/not powerfull enough is it bad? And is 1/2" tubing and fittings any better/worse than 3/8" tubing?

I am looking forward to making a sweet sytem this summer and am getting ready for it with watercooling parts. I am going to cut a window in my case and have a AMD aplique to put on it .I am also going to spray the inside of my Lian-Li case with a glossy red paint, should be sweet. Im kinda tempted to put some UV stuff in there, but hmmm... kinda weird looking huh? What kind of lighting should i use?

Thanks for looking.

BTW scroatdog, niiice system, GIMME!

 

[johnzm]

mine fit with the HD rack in place!


very tight fit tho the cage had to be modded for everything to work out.

 

[amohedas]

Xpl1c1t

You might want to consider another block other than the RBX which has a hard time fitting AMD rigs because of the Y fittings. I have read some comparisons of the best waterblocks to date, and the winner seems to be Cathar's Cascade, but it is really expensive (ie $113 plus shipping from Australia), and hard to get. My suggestion is go with the Dtek WhiteWater. This is only from what I have read....I dont have any experience with these two blocks.

As far as pumps go I think anything from 200 - 300 gph should be fine. Could go even lower, but there are some pretty good cheap pumps out there (Mag3, VIA 1300 ect)

Hope it helped.

 

[mustang_steve]

If the BIm2 doesn't fit, you can always try two BiM rads in paralell.

It would cost more, but it will be a rather flexible setup if you ever change cases.

I've used the regular micro before, and it's not a bad rad, just not very good at dealing with anyhting more than a single proc. Add in a vidcard and your northbridge and things start to look a bit blah. So yeah, the BiM2 would probably be a good choice, and so would using 2 of the regular micros in paralell, since both setups have better heat dissipation values than the single regular micro.

 

[Scroatdog]

Since you are a first time watercooler (as I was), you might want to consider a block that uses the standard retention clips, so that you don't have to remove the motherboard to install hardware. That was one of the main reasons for me going with Swiftech on the CPU block. Went with DD on the GPU block because I read too many good reviews about it. It's an impressive block too, quite beefy.

I stayed away from RBX for my first time because I didn't want to worry about y adapters and the like. But of course now that my system is EXACTLY the way I wanted it, it's only a matter of time before I need to do something else to it...

I went with 1/2 (ID) inner diameter tubing because several watercooling forums recommend it for higher flow rates. The Swifty pump I'm using is good because it uses a standard 4-pin molex connector so you don't have to worry about drilling the back of your case, or installing a relay card.

Good luck with your project, and keep us posted on your progress.

 

[Scroatdog]

So did you go with the BIM2???

 

[kronchev]

what sucks about the predone heatercores (I got the single heatercore at DD as I was noob and didnt want to have to barb my first rad) is that its wide as hell, much bigger than even a 120 mm. looking at stuff like the BIM2, I would rather get a rad that could accomidate two 80mm's and just have a 2 on each side stack (4 total, for those a little slow ), instead of the two 120's on one side for the heatercore I now have. this is of course only to save space.

I dont like black ice rads for the pure fact theyre painted heatercores. find what its from and you can get the same things for <$20 from autozone, unpainted so they dissapate much better, you just have to barb it yourself and a lot of people dont like the unpainted look (I admit, its ugly)