first time water cooling

[bobstone]

hey all, had some questions about it, I am planing on going in to it with some money (willing to go to about 300ish)

wanted to know several things, the assembly and leak testing I have covered from all the threads here but parts and there effectiveness I don't have as much of a handle on.

from what I read going with dangerden is a safe choice to be able to get all my components from one source (I live overseas and don't want to have muti shipping costs) also I will use them for my questions

can someone recommend another place that has a good selection of all the parts so I can compare.

I plan on overclocking decently ( I got my 3800 x2 to 2.7 stable on air but it wanted to get a little hot at the voltage I had it at to get that ) with the water cooling I hope to hit 2.8 possibly 2.9 stable and also oc my 7900gtx a bit.

and here are my important questions

Ok for the CPU block. what is with silver waterblocks. is it worth my money to get that or is the difference nill compared to a copper block of the same design. also what is with the maze, tdx, rbx, I am guessing the tdx and rbx are better then the maze, but on the rbx I notice it has 3 ports ? how would that work.

for the gpu block. what you all have to say about the dd 78 ( the one they say will work with a 7900gtx also. my thought on getting it is that since all my ram is on the gpu side and that block will help cool the ram also it seems like a nice solution to get it all cooled good. however I want some input from people who have used it and also oc'ed there 7900 gtx.

rads. pretty basic here I guess, I am looking for easy to mount and good flow. my main questions on rads is will there be a noticeable difference if I use 2 rads over one, maby a 1x120 size and 2x120 right before the gpu and cpu respectively. and have the cycle be

res>pump>1x120>gpu>2x120>cpu, back to res

I was thinking that since even when my cpu was oc'ed it ran cooler then my gpu, so initially cool the water a bit before the gpu then give it more area to dissipate the the added heat before it reaches the cpu.

and for the pump a Danger Den DD12V-D5 Pump, I really dont know much about pump effectiveness, just that I want this system to be completely internal no out side ps required

chipset ?? worth it or just get better hsf and as5 it, I have a dfi ultra-d mb, and the chipset is right below my vidcard, is there a low profile waterblock I can use there ( the stock hsf touches the bottom of my card).

final question. I currently have a thermaltake shark case. will I have issues fitting it all in there or should I upgrade to a different case ( I am not in to fancy cases even this one is to curvy for me, I prefer lian-li cases styling, plain and great quality)

any ways thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks beforehand for any input

 

[Eastcoasthandle]

hey all, had some questions about it, I am planing on going in to it with some money (willing to go to about 300ish)

wanted to know several things, the assembly and leak testing I have covered from all the threads here but parts and there effectiveness I don't have as much of a handle on.

from what I read going with dangerden is a safe choice to be able to get all my components from one source (I live overseas and don't want to have muti shipping costs) also I will use them for my questions


can someone recommend another place that has a good selection of all the parts so I can compare.
Performance-PCs.com
Xoxiode.com
FronzenCPU.com
Coolerguys.com
It would have been nice for you to tell us where you are from. They have some decent online stores in the UK as well. However, I don't recall them at this time, sorry


I plan on overclocking decently ( I got my 3800 x2 to 2.7 stable on air but it wanted to get a little hot at the voltage I had it at to get that ) with the water cooling I hope to hit 2.8 possibly 2.9 stable and also oc my 7900gtx a bit.

and here are my important questions

Ok for the CPU block. what is with silver waterblocks. is it worth my money to get that or is the difference nill compared to a copper block of the same design. also what is with the maze, tdx, rbx, I am guessing the tdx and rbx are better then the maze, but on the rbx I notice it has 3 ports ? how would that work.

Stick with 1 type of metal when water cooling. Copper is the prefered metal. Storm edges out the Apogee for the CPU WB don't waste your money on any new tech that hasn't been proven...or at least sound


for the gpu block. what you all have to say about the dd 78 ( the one they say will work with a 7900gtx also. my thought on getting it is that since all my ram is on the gpu side and that block will help cool the ram also it seems like a nice solution to get it all cooled good. however I want some input from people who have used it and also oc'ed there 7900 gtx.

Memory on a video card does not require the same amount of cooling as the gpu itself when overclocked. I am still using the bandaids that come with the stock x1900xtx hs and have yet to install the ramsinks. Why? Because it's not needed and those flimsy looking pads do the job well. Therefore the EK WB and DD WB is overkill IMO. I simply use the Maze4 and be done with it

rads. pretty basic here I guess, I am looking for easy to mount and good flow. my main questions on rads is will there be a noticeable difference if I use 2 rads over one, maby a 1x120 size and 2x120 right before the gpu and cpu respectively. and have the cycle be

res>pump>1x120>gpu>2x120>cpu, back to res

hey all, had some questions about it, I am planing on going in to it with some money (willing to go to about 300ish)

wanted to know several things, the assembly and leak testing I have covered from all the threads here but parts and there effectiveness I don't have as much of a handle on.

from what I read going with dangerden is a safe choice to be able to get all my components from one source (I live overseas and don't want to have muti shipping costs) also I will use them for my questions


can someone recommend another place that has a good selection of all the parts so I can compare.
Performance-PCs.com
Xoxiode.com
FronzenCPU.com
Coolerguys.com
It would have been nice for you to tell us where you are from. They have some decent online stores in the UK as well. However, I don't recall them at this time, sorry


I plan on overclocking decently ( I got my 3800 x2 to 2.7 stable on air but it wanted to get a little hot at the voltage I had it at to get that ) with the water cooling I hope to hit 2.8 possibly 2.9 stable and also oc my 7900gtx a bit.

and here are my important questions

Ok for the CPU block. what is with silver waterblocks. is it worth my money to get that or is the difference nill compared to a copper block of the same design. also what is with the maze, tdx, rbx, I am guessing the tdx and rbx are better then the maze, but on the rbx I notice it has 3 ports ? how would that work.

Stick with 1 type of metal when water cooling. Copper/plastic is the prefered metal. Storm edges out the Apogee for the CPU WB


for the gpu block. what you all have to say about the dd 78 ( the one they say will work with a 7900gtx also. my thought on getting it is that since all my ram is on the gpu side and that block will help cool the ram also it seems like a nice solution to get it all cooled good. however I want some input from people who have used it and also oc'ed there 7900 gtx.


Rads
No, don't waste your money like I did. Get a 120x3 rad, period. You will thank me on those hot days. Even with central air on it will benefit you to get the 120x3 rad and never have to worry about upgrading again then to get a 120x2 and wish you had the 120x3. Now which should you buy? That depends. The Thermochill is simply overpriced because of the stronger Euro vs any other currency, unless you live there. Over here in the states it will cost $100+ which doesn't make much sense when you get average performance with low speed fans. Is the Thermochill rads top of the line? Well since you paid so much for them go ahead a feel that way. However, I recommend you get a GT360 from HWlabs. It has 30 fins per inch and requires the same fans as the thermochill but cost a whole lot less.

One thing to note about rads....get a dual pass rad (rad with holes at the top) and not a single pass rad (rad with hole at top or bottom). Dual pass rads cool better then single pass rads. However, dual pass rads are more restictive then single pass rads. Single pass rads perform just as well as dual pass rads when the flow rate is greater then what must DC pumps produce.

Pumps
This means you have to go AC on your pump and the only AC pumps I know worth while are from Iwaki MD (Meg Drive) 20RLT and MD 30RLT. The most import aspect of any pump is the amount of head it produces...not just flow rate alone. Referred to as Hmax this is the most important aspect to any pump you buy. The AC pumps will typically outperform DC pumps (made to be used by your PSU) but the downside to AC pumps is heat it dumps back into your liquid. The best DC pumps are DDC (try to stay away from arcylic tops as they do crack a lot) and D5...thats it.


and for the pump a Danger Den DD12V-D5 Pump, I really dont know much about pump effectiveness, just that I want this system to be completely internal no out side ps required

chipset ?? worth it or just get better hsf and as5 it, I have a dfi ultra-d mb, and the chipset is right below my vidcard, is there a low profile waterblock I can use there ( the stock hsf touches the bottom of my card).

This depends on your setup. I believe that its worth it but you must remember one thing, the weakest link to your loop is your pump. Make sure you understand and consider any additional restrictions to your loop.

final question. I currently have a thermaltake shark case. will I have issues fitting it all in there or should I upgrade to a different case ( I am not in to fancy cases even this one is to curvy for me, I prefer lian-li cases styling, plain and great quality)

any ways thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks beforehand for any input

read this link regarding slight modifications I had no room for a rad so I had to buy a swiftech rad box kit and mount my rad on the rear of the case. Also note, I found out the hard way that a 1/2" T is intended for a 3/8" ID (inner diameter) tube. I am using a 1/2" ID tube so I had to buy a T that is 3/4" OD (outer diameter) with a 1/2" ID.

Make sure you use distilled water and add some sort of additive to prevent corrosion and alge growth.

Make sure when you order your parts you specify 1/2" or 3/8"

Get at least 10 tube clamps

Get at least 10' of Tygon tubing...always have spare tubing. Last thing you need is to puncture a hole and have to order more and wait a week in shipping.

Make sure you can live with the extra fan noise. If you are sound sensitive like most having 3 fans won't help the matter. Make sure you research your fans before you decide to just get whats on sale this week.

 

[mwin]

Ok for the CPU block. what is with silver waterblocks. is it worth my money to get that or is the difference nill compared to a copper block of the same design.

I don't think so, and it makes it alot harder to fit in your budget.

also what is with the maze, tdx, rbx, I am guessing the tdx and rbx are better then the maze, but on the rbx I notice it has 3 ports ? how would that work.

The tdx and rbx are better than the maze. The rbx has one intake (in the center) and two exhaust ports. So after you run your line in, you've got to "Y" the two output lines back into one tube. I don't have any first hand experience with it, but it seems like a pain in the ass. The TDX is my favorite waterblock.

for the gpu block. what you all have to say about the dd 78 ( the one they say will work with a 7900gtx also. my thought on getting it is that since all my ram is on the gpu side and that block will help cool the ram also it seems like a nice solution to get it all cooled good. however I want some input from people who have used it and also oc'ed there 7900 gtx.

I don't like the big NV-68/NV-78 blocks. My reasons can be found here.

and for the pump a Danger Den DD12V-D5 Pump, I really dont know much about pump effectiveness, just that I want this system to be completely internal no out side ps required.

I really like my D5. Pumps like a bastard and it isn't too loud (especially if you turn it down).

chipset ?? worth it or just get better hsf and as5 it, I have a dfi ultra-d mb, and the chipset is right below my vidcard, is there a low profile waterblock I can use there ( the stock hsf touches the bottom of my card).

I'd just get a better HSF for it. I used to have a block on my chipset, but I got rid of it and replaced it with a passive heatsink. Works just as good and a million times easier.

 

[PhyberOptic]

Silver's advantage over copper in terms of heat conduction is very small. That makes it a very expensive way to get very little, if any, extra cooling performance. The design of the waterblock is much more important that what it's made of. Even a well-made brass block will work better than a poorly-designed silver block.

Investing in a stronger pump or more efficient radiator/fan combo is always the preferable way to lower temps. Two radiators will always be better than one (assuming equal efficiency), but it's not always practical (nor neccessary).


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