Buying watercooling components - suggestions and comments

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DarkenReaper57

2[H]4U
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Oct 2, 2003
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Right now, im trying to make my own w/c system, but i am on a limited budget. I want this to be a more DIY thing, although i dont want to get in over my head. It must also work on an A64 and radeon, so when i upgrade, i can use it (i dont mind it if i'll need to buy some adapters for waterblocks).

Here is what i'm thinking of getting so far:

Danger Den TDX or D-Tek Whitewater (dunno which)
Maze 4 GPU block or D-tek GPU block
Eheim 1250, Hydor L35, Mag 3, or MCP600 pump (leaning towards the 1250 for price/performance/reliability reasons...i dont want the thing to leak)
Danger Den Double Heater Core, or something similar (suggestions welcome)
Insert Res here, no big deal.
Tubing, either clearflex or tygon

The CPU Block:

What would you guys recommend for performance and Socket A/A64 compatability? I'm seriously looking at the whitewater, since it has a a64 mount kit that i can get when i upgrade later.


The GPU Block:

I researched much here...but i'd like to find a relatively inexpensive high performing block that will work on my current gf4 4600 and will work on a radeon 9800 or x800. I dont mind if i need to buy some extra clamps or whatever later on.


The Pump:

Ive done a lot of reading here, but its difficult to make a decision. Since the whitewater is not a very restrictive block (i hope i am correct here) i would want a pump that delivers more gph than head. I like the MCP 600, and hear good things about it, but it is a bit pricey...


The Heater Core:


First, do you guys think it would be cheaper to get a double heater core from autozone, one like this: http://dangerden.com/images/heater_core/dbl_heater_core_lg.jpg and put barbs on it for 1/2 '' ID tubing, and make a shroud and get a 120mm fan or two for it, or:

Just buy one from that link provided, and make my own shroud and buy fans, or

Simply buy a complete heater core with fan and shroud.

Also, is there a noticable difference between the cooling ability of a heatercore and a double heatercore. Does the extra price justify performance?


The Res:

No worries here, ill just order something online, make my own, or make a T line.


The tubing:

Tygon, silicone, or clearflex? My case isnt huge, but isnt small either, its a med sized ATX, of that helps. Does one type respond better than others to bends? I dont want a kinked system.

Thanks a ton for any help and/or suggestions.
 
The CPU Block:
What would you guys recommend for performance and Socket A/A64 compatability? I'm seriously looking at the whitewater, since it has a a64 mount kit that i can get when i upgrade later.
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The whitewater is a fairly restrictive block, check this review for details. (to sum it up, its a lil more restrictive than the RBX). I'd recommend the TDX from dangerden since you plan on having a double heatercore + a GPU block too. You can just buy a new top when u make the move to a64

The GPU Block:
I researched much here...but i'd like to find a relatively inexpensive high performing block that will work on my current gf4 4600 and will work on a radeon 9800 or x800. I dont mind if i need to buy some extra clamps or whatever later on.
Click to expand...
No clue :p

The Pump:
Ive done a lot of reading here, but its difficult to make a decision. Since the whitewater is not a very restrictive block (i hope i am correct here) i would want a pump that delivers more gph than head. I like the MCP 600, and hear good things about it, but it is a bit pricey...
Click to expand...
Since ur on a budget i'd recommend the mag3 (if u dont mind fixing the impeller) or the hydor l35, in that order.

The Heater Core:
Click to expand...
If you've got the means, then yea, make ur own heatercore! if not, yea, get the heatercore from dd or somewhere (2fresh is selling really nice heatercore's at a GREAT price in the FS forum, check it out)

The tubing:
Tygon, silicone, or clearflex? My case isnt huge, but isnt small either, its a med sized ATX, of that helps. Does one type respond better than others to bends? I dont want a kinked system.
Click to expand...
I suggest clearflex, its almost 1/2 the cost of tygon, but if u can afford tygon go for it. I've heard the only difference is that tygon is "lab grade"
 
Hadez026 said:
Since ur on a budget i'd recommend the mag3 (if u dont mind fixing the impeller) or the hydor l35, in that order.
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I don't mind tweaking something if its fairly easy and inexpensive. What exactly needs to be done to fix the mag3 impeller?

Also, why is the mag3 better than the hydor l35, other than some stats...is it more reliable?

Thanks.
 
DarkenReaper57 said:
I don't mind tweaking something if its fairly easy and inexpensive. What exactly needs to be done to fix the mag3 impeller?

Also, why is the mag3 better than the hydor l35, other than some stats...is it more reliable?

Thanks.
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oh god

dont get a mag3

its seriously not worth buying a pump that comes broken

get a hydor, theyre smaller, quieter, and pump the same amount of water.

/edit: and yes ive owned both I do know
 
kronchev said:
oh god

dont get a mag3

its seriously not worth buying a pump that comes broken

get a hydor, theyre smaller, quieter, and pump the same amount of water.

/edit: and yes ive owned both I do know
Click to expand...

But will the hydor be good enough for my needs (in terms of gph and head)? Is it relatively quiet? Does it sweat or leak? I just want to be sure...i hear so many mixed reviews about every pump...and i dont want to buy something that will fry my equipment after a month's use.
 
DarkenReaper57 said:
But will the hydor be good enough for my needs (in terms of gph and head)? Is it relatively quiet? Does it sweat or leak? I just want to be sure...i hear so many mixed reviews about every pump...and i dont want to buy something that will fry my equipment after a month's use.
Click to expand...


hydor doesnt leak at all, it has a blue ring in the front thats the seal and it holds very well, you just have to make sure you put it on straight (like all WC components, you have to pay attention while you do it).

the L35 has 6.5 max head, 320 GPH @ 0 head....I have a L20 and its penty for my setup. Its very quiet, its a LOT smaller than a mag 3, and its as good as an eheim.
 
Get a hydor or Eheim for your pump.

And Tygon is super nice if you can get it.

One more thing, I bought a heatercore from an auto parts place, and putting new barbs on it was really easy.All I did was bought the new barbs at lowe's, slipped them inside the heatercore pipes and then used a torch and some solder to seal it up. Took me all of 20 minutes and does a damn good job.
 
Hmm...i see that 2fresh has a good deal selling radiators fans and shrouds in the For Sale section. Although, ive heard the heater cores perform better than radiators...would i be better off just going to autozone and buying a heatercore (id want to get a double or large one...the 86 chevette seems kinda small...) and put my own barbs on, or do you guys think 2fresh's rads will do just fine?

Maybe he is selling heatercores and i'm thinking they are radiators...if i am mistaken...please correct me...

I'm seriously thinking of buying one of 2fresh's radiators and maybe a couple fans (i can make my own shroud)...i hear that they perform well.

But, if id get better performance with a heater core from say...autozone...id wanna do that...(it would probably cost less to do it myself too...right?)
 
Yeah Clearflex over Tygon. It's cheaper and does the same job. You could pick up a HC and do it yourself or grab one off of Dtek's site. It's the same thing realy.
Everything else looks fine.
 
2fresh is selling heatercores, i think the bennville(sp?) one. You could get the same preformance by buying a heatercore at a place like autozone and adding the barbs on urself.
 
hmm, well i want to get something like the "double heater core" danger den sells. How much would that cost if i went to a place like autozone? I imagine that the barbs arent too expensive, so i could just get those at home depot. Bleh, maybe i'll just order one that is pre-barbed for convenience...but i think i can make my own shroud with sheet metal.
 
Autozone had my chevette rad priced at 18.99, but they were out of stock so i had to get it from o'reilly for $23... even with the couple bucks i spent on adapters it still worked out cheaper than any retail alternatives i saw.
 
DarkenReaper57 said:
hmm, well i want to get something like the "double heater core" danger den sells. How much would that cost if i went to a place like autozone? I imagine that the barbs arent too expensive, so i could just get those at home depot. Bleh, maybe i'll just order one that is pre-barbed for convenience...but i think i can make my own shroud with sheet metal.
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get 2Fresh's, he does a great job on them.
 
the heatercore by 2fresh is the bennville one, and it is a double heatercore. check out his thread here
 
2Fresh's reservoirs are nice for a cheap little res, mine has been pretty good.
 
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