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First time Watercooling, need information.

O

Ohmycaptain

Gawd
Joined
Jul 10, 2011
Messages
717
Alright guys, I've been building computers and progressively learning more and more for about three years now. One thing I've never really dabbled in but want to do, and want to learn about is watercooling.

I'll be actively researching for a couple of weeks about everything, but in the mean time I'm going to need all of your help and knowledge.

Let's just say that I don't know anything about watercooling, other than just the pure basics. I know I need a 360 rad for my 800D, but I'm not sure which is the best. I don't know much about any of the companies which sell blocks, bits, and radiators, or how they perform against eachother.


I want to watercool my CPU and GPU initially. I currently own an i5-2500k and a Radeon HD 7970. I'll be throwing in a second 7950 most likely, when they're released as well.


So, if anybody can recommend parts (bits, fittings, tubing, blocks, radiators, resivoirs, pumps, etc.) and explain why you chose what you chose, exactly what the advantages are over another, and pretty much any other knowledge I might find useful, I'd really appreciate it.


Any tips from people who have done some extensive watercooling or have a lot of experience is really welcomed as well. I don't know much about the process of watercooling, I just know the basics. The place I lack the most knowledge is in the fittings I'll need.
 
There are a lot of articles on this topic; I am fairly sure you have read a few of them.
Very basic advice is offered by Koolance: http://www.koolance.com/technical/howtobuild/index_01.html
MaxPC does it's usual job on the topic: http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/build_kickass_liquid_cooling_system—6_simple_steps Just enough info for you to get into trouble.
Then there is the article found on Tom's Hardware: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a-beginners-guide-for-watercooling-your-pc,1573.html It is more indepth than most of the articles.
Even PCWorld and PopularMechanics have done articles neither of which are worth linking to.

I too have been considering building a water cooling system for my PC, but right now (even after reading lots of articles on the topic) I am not sure I can build it right and the last thing I want to do is put it at risk. I do find it interesting that the most efficent liquid to use is; BEER! Whats up with that?
 
Well in a 800D you can put a triple rad in pretty easily.

First off you need to put out a budget....

Whats ur budget?

Do you want the best no matter the cost or the best price/perf?
 
"Radeon X1900 XTX" heh, once I saw that in the Tom's guide I looked up at the date and saw it's from 2007. All the basic info still seems to be accurate though and is a decent guide. Thanks for the link, I totally missed that one in all my googling
 
Yeah, it seems pretty straightforward, the hardest part for me is choosing what to buy, whether I want compression fittings or not, the tubing size, etc.

My budget... maybe $300 maximum for this. Again, all I want to watercool is my CPU and GPU. I may be adding a 7950 when they're released, but for now, just the 7970 and i5-2500k.

Here's a rough picture of the loop and set up I have in mind using an old picture with my 5970's;


20359149.jpg



I do want one of those cylindrical reservoirs that mount next to the motherboard, those are really sweet looking. I like thicker tubing because I have such a large case, thin tubing would look just plain stupid. I'm not sure if 1/2 inch is big enough, though.

I also want it to be as clean as possible, I've seen some pretty messy, ugly loops and I definitely don't want that. As far as tubing is concerned, I don't know if I want clear tubing with red coolant, or red tubing with plain old distilled water. And for the blocks, I prefer black/nickel over copper, I don't really like the look of just plain copper blocks. Red/black/nickel plated would be the best, and that's what I'm trying to keep as my theme here.
 
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That pump is well respected and what I'm going to use, don't have much experience with the other parts. Brand wise they are solid, the Apogee HD was mentioned by Overclock.net iirc in their Youtube guide.
 
Here's my two cents.

Pump: Swiftech MCP 655, buy it here: http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swmc12vdcpu.html .........you won't find it anywhere cheaper.

Radiator.......I use Swiftech, there are bigger, thicker and more expensive.........but, if you want to mount the thing in your 800D it needs to be thin or it will mess with th cleaence at the top of the board.
Buy this one: http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swmcexperase2.html

reservoir, again I use swiftech's Micro-Res, why? It's small, fits anywhere and can be bled and drained /filled with ease.
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swmcmire2re.html

CPU Blocks......well there are a bunch of good ones, that's for sure......

1) Swiftech's Apogee : http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swaphdcpuwab.html
2) Heatkiller's 3.0 : http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/heatkiller1366.html
3) XSPC's RayStorm : http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/racpuwai.html
and 4) AquaComputer's Kuplex :http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/aqcocukrrfso.html

It really comes down to cost. Me, I use the Heatkiller. I have had EK,Swiftech and Heatkiller blocks, I think Heatkillers are the most carefully crafted and heaviest blocks I've seen. They work well and look good too.

Gpu blocks.....can that Koolance thing.....their stuff is made pretty cheaply and the gaskets have been known to leak.
I'd wait a week or so and see what EK or Heatkiller have to offer. EK had some problems with plating a while back, but seems to have solved those. EK and Heatkiller will cost more, but be worth it.

Hose.....use Tygon 3400, try to stay away from the 3603, it fogs badly after a short while.
You can go nuts and use all sorts of colored tube as well. If you do....PrimoChill ProFlex is probably the best around.

Connectors.......I only use compression fittings......but they are a bit expensive.
Nothing wrong with barbs and clamps, but they don't look as clean.

Fluid.......use plain old distilled water and throw in a couple of "kill-coils".

Have fun, it's addicting.:D If you want some good advice....go to RealRedRaider.com and check the guys out there. They are hard core cooling addicts, that's for sure.
I link Sidewinder because I have found Gary has the lowest prices, most knowlege, cheapest shipping and best customer service. Selection can be slim sometimes. If you want more to choose from Performance-Pcs has about the widest selection around; but higher price and shipping.

Don't look to newegg for watercooling stuff, they don't care about it because it is a small segment. You need quality shops. The best is Sidewinder, followed by FrozenCpu,Jabtech, and Performance. Again, I think Sidewinder is the top due to price and service.
 
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Haha, I'm already at like $600. I was wanting to keep this around $300 but I guess that will never happen :p
 
Ohmycaptain said:
Haha, I'm already at like $600. I was wanting to keep this around $300 but I guess that will never happen :p
Click to expand...

If you want to spend less, one of the all-in-one solutions, like the Corsair H100 would be your best bet, but no GPU cooling there.:D
 
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Do not go cheap when doing watercooling. If it's too pricey then just don't do it or you will either have big regrets later on or end up with problems (poor performance, bad fits etc).

Some of the all in one solutions are OK, but generally you can't watercool your GPU with them and you could always build something yourself that is better.
 
Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm willing to spend $600 on watercooling my rig, I would just prefer to spend $300 :p

I didn't realize just the fittings themselves could cost me up to $150 - $200, I figured maybe $60 for them all.

It's just going to take me a few more weeks to save up to do this is all :)
 
If you're putting together a custom loop that takes care of the gpu's as well as the cpu, $300 is just more than likely not a reality. Especially when you're looking at the quality of parts you're using and what they're capable of - if you're dropping blocks on 7970's and expecting gains over standard air, you're going to need to sink some money into it, as once you start pushing them, they draw quite a bit more power and put out a fair amount of heat.

I'm actually in a pretty similar position as you, as I'm putting together a new loop as soon as I can get a set of FCB's for 2 7970's. And ironically, I actually had started ballparking much lower as well too when I was just giving it a casual glance. But once I started to put the whole entire part list together, things added up quickly, especially if you're doing it to "look nice" in addition to provide better/quieter cooling. For me, sinking hundreds into a loop to not be completely happy with it seems like a waste, so as Sufu said, you're pretty much stuck doing it 100% or having regrets.

And yes, I had the same sticker shock when I priced out all the compression fittings =) You don't really think much of them in the price analysis when you've done standard barbs in the past, but they add up extremely quickly. On the bright side, they'll work well, look much nicer (opinion), and hold up for a long time.

Finally, based on your initial post, I have to suggest that if you're doing a second card for xfire in the near/immediate future, just do another 7970. Running 7970/7950 together is just wasting potential on your 70, more so if the 50's turn out to not have the same headroom that the 70's do. If you're putting all of this time/effort/etc. into this system, it seems like just getting the second 7970 is the way to go. Maybe others will disagree with me, but just food for thought at least.

In any case, good luck with your build and keep us all updated!

Edit: Also, I'd say a 360 rad is just on the borderline of being able to support 2 7 series and your cpu. Might have to consider fitting a little more rad in that case, unless you're not putting too much stress on the gpu's oc.
 
Don't stick the reservoir inline, it's flow restriction for 0 reason. Just stick it on a T line.
 
Ohmycaptain said:
Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm willing to spend $600 on watercooling my rig, I would just prefer to spend $300 :p

I didn't realize just the fittings themselves could cost me up to $150 - $200, I figured maybe $60 for them all.

It's just going to take me a few more weeks to save up to do this is all :)
Click to expand...

holy crap! 0.0 I had no idea those compression fitting things were so expensive! Are they made of silver? :p ;)
 
Ohmycaptain said:
What do you guys think I should get for a res? I feel like that Danger Den one won't fit.
Click to expand...

I already linked you to the Swiftech Micro-Res.

Unless you want some dumb-ass blingy thing with lights, the Micro-Res is small, lightweight, sturdy, and has a top and bottom access. that and it only costs 19 bucks.....and comes with everything you need.

Do not use a bay reservoir. While they look really cool and light up and all that. They are very difficult to fill and bleed, what you want in a reservoir is something that is easy to fill, bleed air from the system and easy to empty.

The triple radiator will be fine for what you want to do, if you want more radiator, buy a Swiftech Rad-Box and install a 120.2 on the back of your case.
 
I won't be adding a second card for now, so I'll just be using the triple rad for the 7970 and i5-2500k.

Again, I do want a cylindrical reservoir to mount beside the motherboard, the danger den one just looks too big. I'm thinking about the bitspower 150ml one they have on sidewinder though.
 
magoo said:
Radiator.......I use Swiftech, there are bigger, thicker and more expensive.........but, if you want to mount the thing in your 800D it needs to be thin or it will mess with th cleaence at the top of the board.
Buy this one: http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swmcexperase2.html
Click to expand...

Completly untrue. I have a RX360 from XSPC (one of the thickest rad around) and it clears it just fine. There's even some room for shrouds for push/pull. But that would be quite tight.
 
If you're on a tight budget, you could look at one of the xspc rx360 kits and simply adding a gpu block. That's what I started out with (althought I have the RS) and I added a second 360 rad and both gpus to the loop. Since its more of a kit instead of a closed loop you can change the pump, res, etc later on (or now in this case). I think the rx360 kit can be had for 150 or so, and adding a full cover block will be another 100-120 most likely. This will get you with barbs and clamps though. I am still using barbs right now. That's the beauty of water cooling, there is always an upgrade for you.

And dont pick up water cooling as a hobby if you don't intend to sink rediculous amounts of money into it!
 
FireBean said:
Completly untrue. I have a RX360 from XSPC (one of the thickest rad around) and it clears it just fine. There's even some room for shrouds for push/pull. But that would be quite tight.
Click to expand...

So you have this radiator in an 800D, on the top, in push pull, and you can still plug in your 8 pin ATX with no problems; after the radiator is installed?

I'm not buying it, I had problems doing that with my Swiftech.:D But maybe you got more skillz than I do?;)
 
I didn't say that it would be easy ;) . Here's a pick of a what I got, but it's not push/pull. But as you can see, it is possible, space wise. I've been thinking about adding shrouds, but my temps are very good and don't see the reason. Other than just wanting getting the absolute most out of my system.

P1193168.jpg


P1193167.jpg
 
I have mine in push-pull, and given the radiator is 1.5 inches thick, it's easier......but I still had to leave out one bottom fan to get stuff plugged in.

Your set-up looks like some tricky work, my fingers aren't that nimble, and my patience isn't that forgiving......the radiator would be out in the snow if I got aggrevated.:D
 
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