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Deciding on my setup.

T

TrueChaos

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 9, 2006
Messages
142
Ok, I am a complete noob to watercooling. As it stands right now, all I will be cooling is my CPU (AMD 3800X2). Overclocking is currently stable at 250x10 @ 1.4V, but its getting toasty @ 57-58C load temps. Parts im thinking about are:

DD TDX cpu waterblock (1/2" barbs) -- 48.00$ CAD
Hydor L30 pump (1/2" barbs) -- 40.00$ CAD
Dual Floppy Bay reservoir -- 35.00$ CAD
10ft UV Blue 1/2" ID 3/4" OD Primoflex Tubing -- Approx 18$ CAD
PrimoChill ICE Non conductive UV blue liquid -- 23$ CAD (this is 32oz, will this be enough??)

What I am stuck on is the radiator. The case I have, kingwin kt424, has been fairly extensively modded, and all side / top pannels are out of the question for mounting a rad. That leaves inside the case, and at the back of the case. I do not even have enough room to mount a 120mm fan at the back of the case, so Im pretty sure this rules out a back mount. Now, this is where it gets interesting. My case comes stock with mounting for 2x80mm stacked vertically in the front of my case. Black ice makes a Micro 2, for a dual 80mm fan setup. Would this be a good radiator to use?

Thanks for your help :)

-Cameron
 
A dual 80mm rad would "work", but a single 120mm does the job much better. If you are only cooling your cpu you should be fine.

Get a different pump, a Danger Den DDC or DD D5. Much better pumps, plus their DC powered. Also I would get the Swiftech Micro Res instead of the dual floppy. And dont get that fluid...(its not uv reactive, i have seen pics in another forum) get some MCT-5 if you want non-conductive water, or use a 80/20 distalled water and Anti-freeze mix for a blue color.
 
Whats wrong with the L30? 320GPH and a 13ft head? I dont mind it not being a DC pump, plus, I can get it for 40$ vs the 80$ or so a DD pump would cost.

Is the cooling really that bad? I was looking at it more for the non conductive properties rather than it being blue. My case is completely red inside (painted chasis, 2x red cathodes) and I chose blue cause I thought it would stand out xD.

I would love to go with a 120mm rad, but I have no clue how I would mount it. I dont know if its possible to run my videocard (BFG 7800GTX) in the lower PCI-E slot on my mobo, which is an Asus A8n-SLi. Asus manual says for single card configs, run it in the top one, but If I could move it down, I could probably manage to mount a 120mm rad on there...

For loop order, how does Pump --> Rad --> CPU --> Res --> pump sound?

Id love to get that micro res, the problem is finding it available with shipping to Canada.

Ive got a 120mm Papast fan sitting here, wanting to be used... Its quite loud, but il 7v mod it.

-Cameron

Edit. I think Ive figured out how im going to mount it. Enter swiftech radbox. Because of it being adjustable, I should be able to have enough room for the mount, and drill holes to pass the tubing through. Anyone know if they make something like a 1" gromet for tubing, instead of screws? :D
 
TrueChaos said:
Id love to get that micro res, the problem is finding it available with shipping to Canada.
Click to expand...
I have a extra microres that I might be able to ship to canada. PM me if interested. It's brand new, never used.
 
Just some other options....certainly not 'laying down the law' ;)

Drop the res altogether and go with a T-line. They are cheap and easy to use although the bleeding will take a bit longer. Take the money saved on the reservoir and get a Swiftech Radbox which will mount to one of your 80mm fan holes at the back of the case. From there you can use about any 120mm radiator/heater core you want to. If noise is important you could look into a single or dual HW Black Ice Pro series which are good with lower CFM (sub 80cfm) fans and noise. The PA series by Thermochill is excellent as well but fairly pricey by comparision. If you go with a Radbox keep in mind that you will need to change to 3/8" ID tubing but thats not much of a performance hit. You need 3/8" tubing to use the PCI bracket 'pass through'.

On the pump the Hydor's have had some serious questions about their durability. You have some nice hardware so the exta $40 is well worth it in the long run IMHO to get a pump with a little more durability long term. A Hydor may just last you a good long time but that pump is not truly designed for higher restriction applications, its an aquarium pump after all. I would look into the MCP600, DDC12V, or MCP655 as the preferred pumps to use.
 
Bugsmasher said:
Just some other options....certainly not 'laying down the law' ;)

Radbox which will mount to one of your 80mm fan holes at the back of the case. From there you can use about any 120mm radiator/heater core you want to. If noise is important you could look into a single or dual HW Black Ice Pro series which are good with lower CFM (sub 80cfm) fans and noise. The PA series by Thermochill is excellent as well but fairly pricey by comparision. If you go with a Radbox keep in mind that you will need to change to 3/8" ID tubing but thats not much of a performance hit. You need 3/8" tubing to use the PCI bracket 'pass through'.
Click to expand...

I found that out after id made my post, and I can get just the bracket that attaches to 80mm fan holes w/o the 3/8" PCI adapter. I can drill 2 1" holes to fit the tubing through, no problems there.

Bugsmasher said:
On the pump the Hydor's have had some serious questions about their durability. You have some nice hardware so the exta $40 is well worth it in the long run IMHO to get a pump with a little more durability long term. A Hydor may just last you a good long time but that pump is not truly designed for higher restriction applications, its an aquarium pump after all. I would look into the MCP600, DDC12V, or MCP655 as the preferred pumps to use.
Click to expand...

On this note, I hadnt heard about the hydor durability problems. A buddy of mine has had his L30 for 2 years, w/o problems... Il look into the durability issue a lil more, thanks for the heads up.

L1ght -- PM :D

-Cameron

Edit -- What about eheim pumps? Or Danner pumps? Mag3 for same price as L30... How do these hold up for durability?

The only pumps redily available in Canada seem to be swiftech ones, and its 110$ CAD vs 40 for the L30.
 
I think when it comes to pumps everyone has 'heard stories' about failures, problems, etc. Take for example the MCP600 which Swiftech dropped from their line due to dependability problems. The problem the original manufacturer (Blueline Pumps) was fixed by upgrading one of their parts. Since then the pump has been rock solid (mines been up and running for well over a year and no noticable difference in sound level, pitch, or flow) and yet still people say the MCP600 is not a dependable pump.

My experience with Hydor came with their L-35 pump. It ran rock solid for 6 months and then started making more and more noise. Turned out the impellor went bad. Apparently this isnt all that unusual of a problem since the impellor is made for a high flow low head environment (by comparision to watercooling 'norms'). It was going to cost me $25 to fix that $40 pump which lead me to checking out the other options at that point. In Hydors favor was the fact they were willing to pull a good impellor from an existing pump in inventory in order to get it to me in under 2 weeks. They were helpful and courteous when I dealt with them.

The result in the changeover was a better flowing system, less noise, and better overall temps. I now feel comfortable leaving my system running while I am away due to my confidence (hopefully not falsely placed) in my MCP600 pump which I did not have with my Hydor.

If I wanted to save some money and use an aquarium pump I would seriously look into the Eheim offerings as a good midpoint pricewise between the pumps I listed earlier and the Hydor. I have heard the Eheim 1250 is pretty much a tank and lists for around $60. For 'quiet' cooling the 1048 is supposed to be one of the most quiet pumps people regularly use for WCing. It will produce less flow and hence less performance but its supposed to be dependable. Depending on your target goals this just may be a great pump for you.

On the Danner/Mag pumps I have heard the Mag3 is a pretty good pump once the sealing mod is done to it. The pumps housing requires a little RTV sealant (or a like product) to avoid leaking. Once that is done I have heard its also a pretty good pump. I know some people have had some extremely good results from using them but I have no personal experience with them. I have also heard they can be somewhat noisy if this is a concern. Some people were doing a 'silence' impellor mod but that lead to startup problems so I can honestly say.....I simply dont know enough about this pump to make a fair suggestion ;)
 
ntcw.com

is a site that was recommended from swiftech's site, not sure on how reliable they are but they are Canadian and ship COD and have most of what I have been looking at. Including the Micro Res (the reason i found the site), and swiftech stom cpu waterblock.

Also I have found out that even shipping to Canada the Black Ice Pro Rad's are way cheaper at DD.

I have a couple of questions that I might as well ask here:

1) What color is the DD MCT-5? or do you have to color it yourself?

2) Edit: Scratch that I will mount externally. Started measuring and internal setup will not work. I will use a swiftech mount.

3) Is the Swiftech Storm CPU block worth an extra $50?

Thanks for the help.

TrueChaos: what site are you looking to buy the compents at?
 
yep that is where I expect to get most of my stuff from, bought alot of parts from there over the years.
 
ntcw.com has them, they are in Canada, and ship COD.

I have never used them, but I got them from swiftech as a supplier.
 
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