Few general water-cooling questions...

[8Complex]

Ok, so I've got the basic concept down, the routing is pretty self-explanitory, and the parts list is pretty simple. Though I still have a few remaining questions...


1. Do you need to cool your chipset? I've seen a few people doing this lately and wondering if it's really necessary for only slightly overclocked systems. I don't plan on going nuts with my system, so I'm mainly looking into water-cooling for the lower volume levels.

2. I do plan on using a VGA cooler on a Geforce 4 card, but why is it that they're more expensive then CPU coolers? Also, yes, I plan on piecing it together myself.

3. What is up with aquarium cooling? I have seen it mentioned a few times, but I am yet to see what it is that appeals people (unless they have far too much desk space, that is) other then having a very large, easily-monitored resivour.

4. Final question. When people are using water and other solutions to cool, I have seen a few people using antifreeze for automotive use. Knowing that water actually has a better heat-transfer property then most coolants, I am just wondering why people would use it instead (unless it's for the color). Also, has anyone tried NPG+ instead of coolant? Works very well as coolant in a vehicle. For that matter, I bet water with Water Wetter in it would work pretty damned well as well.


Ok, thats it for now. Pardon some of the randomness to the questions, this is still all pretty new to me.

 

[Disarray]

Originally posted by 8Complex

1. Do you need to cool your chipset? I've seen a few people doing this lately and wondering if it's really necessary for only slightly overclocked systems. I don't plan on going nuts with my system, so I'm mainly looking into water-cooling for the lower volume levels.

This will probably vary depending on your hardware. Some info about your system will help.

 

[8Complex]

Originally posted by Disarray
This will probably vary depending on your hardware. Some info about your system will help.

I was planning on an Athlon 64 3000+ or maybe 3200+ depending on the price (hope it comes down soon with the 3400+ coming out). I was planning on using an Asus K8V Deluxe mobo and either Corsair XMS or Mushkin level 2 RAM. Video card I planned on using was a Gainward 5800 ultra (IIRC).

 

[camay123]

1. No real need to cool your chipset if you OC a little.

2. Dont know why they cost more

3. Aqarium cooling. Serve as a big reservoir and also help bringing down the temp of the water.

4. People use some automotive coolant in very small quantity mix to the water. This help to prevent corrosion. Between thos automotive coolant some are prefer for there effectiveness and quality ( such as not smelling bad ) .

 

[AggieMEEN]

Originally posted by 8Complex
1. Do you need to cool your chipset? I've seen a few people doing this lately and wondering if it's really necessary for only slightly overclocked systems. I don't plan on going nuts with my system, so I'm mainly looking into water-cooling for the lower volume levels.

No, you generally will not need to cool your chipset. A slight overclock may raise temperatures by a bit, but nothing that would require a block.

2. I do plan on using a VGA cooler on a Geforce 4 card, but why is it that they're more expensive then CPU coolers? Also, yes, I plan on piecing it together myself.

GPU coolers may be more expensive due to design requirements. They would have to fit onto a vid card, work inverted, and be small enough to allow PCI 1 to fit in its slot, among other things.

3. What is up with aquarium cooling? I have seen it mentioned a few times, but I am yet to see what it is that appeals people (unless they have far too much desk space, that is) other then having a very large, easily-monitored resivour.

It's a combination of all of those things, and a bit more. Certainly ample desk space is a factor, and it does add to the L337 appearance. However, having such a large volume of water for the reservoir also means it can passively cool itself, so a radiator (with its associated pressure loss) may not be needed. Note that I said that a radiator may not be needed, not that a radiator isn't needed.

IMHO aquarium cooling is an intriguing notion, but I'd have to see more results data before using one on my system.

4. Final question. When people are using water and other solutions to cool, I have seen a few people using antifreeze for automotive use. Knowing that water actually has a better heat-transfer property then most coolants, I am just wondering why people would use it instead (unless it's for the color). Also, has anyone tried NPG+ instead of coolant? Works very well as coolant in a vehicle. For that matter, I bet water with Water Wetter in it would work pretty damned well as well.

You're right about pure distilled water being a superb coolant. However, if you've got dissimilar metals in your loop, you could set up conditions that are just right for galvanic corrosion. Also there is the possibility of creating your own little Wild Kingdom of bacterial goop in your lines. Zerex is used because it helps inhibit corrosion and bacterial growth. Ditto with Water Wetter.

As an aside, some coolants are even mildly UV reactive. Don't know which ones, though.

Ok, thats it for now. Pardon some of the randomness to the questions, this is still all pretty new to me.

We all gotta start from somewhere.

 

[8Complex]

Ok, great info on the chipset cooler... I thought it sounded like it was a bit overboard.


I gotcha about the VGA coolers, but there have to be more people like me out there that will only be running two cards in the machine (video, wireless NIC). I don't mind if it's large, as long as I can fit a card 2-3 slots down from there. I'm considering making one myself, so I guess if nothing shows up that is economical and works well, it's off to the shop to cook up something.


Cool. Aquarium cooling did seem like a neat idea, but I think the idea of taking up just that much extra space just doesn't work with me. As it is, I will be building a full water-cooled rig into a mid-tower case pretty tightly. I'm considering skipping on the Bonneville heater core and going with a smaller core, maybe even a pre-made one if I can find a suitable one for price/effeciency.


Are you talking about this zerex? Some pretty pricey stuff there. Perhaps I'll try it with straight distilled water and change it every month or so. I know there will be a mixture of materials in the system, as I planned on making my own distribution block and fittings for a lot of things, so as to arrange it much more cleanly. Not that I plan on showing off the case, but it's just nice to have a tidy system for when you have to go in and mess with things.

 

[__Maad__]

Originally posted by 8Complex
Some pretty pricey stuff there. Perhaps I'll try it with straight distilled water and change it every month or so. I know there will be a mixture of materials in the system, as I planned on making my own distribution block and fittings for a lot of things, so as to arrange it much more cleanly. Not that I plan on showing off the case, but it's just nice to have a tidy system for when you have to go in and mess with things.

Try the Hydrx stuff that swiftech makes (and includes with their kits, for that matter).. 2 oz bottle for like a few bucks.. no biggie.. UV reactive (if you care - I didn't at first and then I was like what the hell and decided to light up the green liquid with UV - and it looks pretty neat

 

[8Complex]

Interesting stuff as well, though a bit more expensive. *shrug*

Maybe I will just use a standard antifreeze and mix in distilled water. Works for cars over tens of thousands of miles without changing, and they surely have a mixture of materials it goes through. Probably not much copper or brass, but steel, aluminum, iron, etc.

And I wasn't thinking much about lighting it up, but I'll have to see how I can lay it out first... not sure if I'll have room for a CC in there.