First timer - Help with selection?

[SonWolve]

Hey guys, this will be the first time for me to actually build up a water loop so any thoughts on my current selection would be great!

First, I'll tell you what I have in mind for the computer components...

C2D E6400 +
Waiting on the new nforce chipset in November, so the motherboard will be based off this chipset, hopefully I'll get one by Asus
2 Raptors 150GB Raid 0
Right now I have a 7950GT, not even a month old... may RMA to have the 500$ or so for the 8800GTS, or just spring for another 7950GT for SLI... haven't decided yet, though I'm leaning more in the direction of the 8800 series.
Also have a spare Enermax 500W that I'll probably be using for this setup unless the 8800 series demands more power, which I'm not quite sure I'm going to be going with anyway.
Already have a MozartTx case, so room shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I think that covers what my intentions are component wise...
What I'm thinking for the watercooling system (Real noob here so, help me out!)

Swiftech Storm
DD PA120.2 w/ Yate Loon's
Laing DDC w/Petra's DDCT-01 Top
Swiftech MCRES-MICRO Hi-Flo Reservoir
Chipset waterblock? Not sure if this is needed, I want to do some overclocking, which incidently I'm pretty noobish with also, but I tend to just dive in to these things and hope for the best!
I'm going to hold off on a GPU waterblock just now until I figure out what I'm going to be doing regarding all that...
As for tubings/fittings and anything else (Fan controller(s)?) I'm really not too sure on despite reading up on this stuff for some time. Not sure to use plastic or metal clamps. The whole specifications regarding tubing size is slightly confusing but I'm thinking there are two different sizes... the thickness of the actual tubing and the space in between the tubing where the coolant actually flows through...

Let me know how this whole thing is sounding so far as I'm kind of curious in how well I'm doing regarding picking this stuff out... Thanks guys!

 

[jreffy]

Swiftech Storm
DD PA120.2 w/ Yate Loon's
Laing DDC w/Petra's DDCT-01 Top
Swiftech MCRES-MICRO Hi-Flo Reservoir

Looks fine to me, however you'll get a much better cooling performance with a 240 rad. However you said you are only cooling your CPU so this should be fine for you, just keep in mind the more heatsinks you have, the bigger rad you are going to want.

Chipset waterblock? Not sure if this is needed, I want to do some overclocking, which incidently I'm pretty noobish with also, but I tend to just dive in to these things and hope for the best!

I asked this same question, most people seemed to think it's just a luxury and not needed. Maybe a passive heatsink, but that's all you should need, even for OC'd systems.

As for tubings/fittings and anything else (Fan controller(s)?) I'm really not too sure on despite reading up on this stuff for some time. Not sure to use plastic or metal clamps. The whole specifications regarding tubing size is slightly confusing but I'm thinking there are two different sizes... the thickness of the actual tubing and the space in between the tubing where the coolant actually flows through...

Personally, when deciding on my first watercooling system I didn't want hoseclamps if I could avoid them, I think they'd look ugly and bulky. I just passed a 24 hour test with my current loop and I used Masterkleer 7/16" tubing (that's the inside diameter of the tubing) with my 1/2" barbs (that's the outside diameter of the tubing). As far as the sizing, the barbs and fittings always refer to the OUTSIDE diameter, since the tubing goes around the fittings, and tubing always refers to the INSIDE diameter, since that's what you're putting around your fittings/barbs. Anyway, ran the 24 hour test, no clamps and no leaks whatsoever. You just have to dip the ends into boiling water for a few seconds before fitting them on the barbs. As far as tube thickness, McMaster has 2 different thicknesses for Masterkleer tubing, and the only difference between the two thicknesses is how far you can bend them before they kink. In a watercooled system, you'er gonig to want the more flexible tubing to make some of the crucial bends (e.g. between the CPU and GPU blocks).

Let me know how this whole thing is sounding so far as I'm kind of curious in how well I'm doing regarding picking this stuff out... Thanks guys!

As far as I can tell you're system is just fine, good luck with it! Your first watercooled system is always teh scariest (trust me, I'm working on mine right now )

 

[rjblanke]

The 120.2 Rad is a double rad, and a PA is the best you can get. Very nice choices.

Overall, a chipset block really isn't necessary. The biggest reason to get one is to eliminate the noise from its fan. But even then, a good passive heatsink should have plenty of cooling capability while still eliminating the noise.

As far as clamps are concerned, better safe than sorry. Although if you use 7/16 tubing on 1/2 barbs, the tubing is really going to lock on to the barb. Enough so that when you decide to remove the tubing, you're probably going to have to cut it off. 1/2 is a bit easier to deal with as far as fitting it on the barbs goes but you MUST use clamps with it. I really suggest getting a couple EK barbs for the Storm to replace the plastic ones it comes with. Petra should have some in stock very soon.

All the parts you picked are top notch. Have fun.

 

[SonWolve]

Wow thanks for the great info! Didn't expect all that! I probably will hold off on the GPU and Chipset blocks, thanks for the info so far, very very helpful!

So the barbs are those things that you screw into the waterblock for attaching the tubing? And the barb your refering to is this

or this?

 

[rjblanke]

Wow thanks for the great info! Didn't expect all that! I probably will hold off on the GPU and Chipset blocks, thanks for the info so far, very very helpful!

So the barbs are those things that you screw into the waterblock for attaching the tubing? And the barb your refering to is this

or this?

Yes, and stick with the first one, if you're using 1/2" ID tubing or 7/16" ID tubing. I just personally don't like the plastic ones that Swiftech uses.

Just an added note, the stickies at XS have a lot of great information.
http://xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=70

 

[SonWolve]

Is there anyone else that carries the Eddy's stuff? If not, won't matter too much since I can't find any single place that has everything, in stock anyway... ahh well...

Oh and another quick question regarding shrouds... I see a lot of people not using them and a lot vice versa... what do you think I should do?

Thanks for that link btw, looks interesting going to have to check that out!

 

[rjblanke]

Is there anyone else that carries the Eddy's stuff? If not, won't matter too much since I can't find any single place that has everything, in stock anyway... ahh well...

Oh and anothe quick question regarding shrouds... I see a lot of people not using them and a lot vice versa... what do you think I should do?

I don't know of anyone else, but Petra is supposed to start carrying them soon (like this or next week, hopefully). If you have the space and money, get the shroud. It helps keep the airflow from your rad fans from escaping without hitting the fins, and by putting some space between the fan and rad, it helps distribute the air more evenly across the rad. So it helps, but not to the extent that you wouldn't be fine without it.

 

[SonWolve]

I'm thinking Petra's shop is going to be the best bet but most of the stuff that I do want that they have, which is basically everything, they don't have in stock and I'm not really sure how often they renew their stock...

 

[Petra]

I'm thinking Petra's shop is going to be the best bet but most of the stuff that I do want that they have, which is basically everything, they don't have in stock and I'm not really sure how often they renew their stock...

...as often as Swiftech actually has something to send to us? Seriously, they've been having production/supply issues for a while now.

They've only been able to send us about 5 Storms every couple weeks or so, despite the ludicrous number we have on backorder with them--the blocks disappear within a couple days of receiving them. The same thing goes for pretty much everything else from Swiftech. It's quite aggravating, actually...

As for the Thermochill radiators, we still have a few PA 120.2's left in the warehouse--if you want one, just shoot us an e-mail or mention it in the order comments field and we'll add it to your order. We won't "officially" be selling Thermochill stuff until we stock-up on it within the next couple weeks.

Now for some general inventory notes....

-EK barbs should be here soon (they shipped from Slovenia on 10/11) and we'll likely be ordering EK blocks and stuff sometime in November.

-AquaXtreme should be arriving on Monday--for whatever reason, it has taken them a month to get our order to us.

-We've been having to bounce back and fourth between getting DDC-2's from Swiftech and Danger Den due to Swiftech's supply issues (we prefer to carry the Swiftech-branded version as it includes extra mounting hardware... but we don't really have much choice here).

If there's anything I'm forgetting, just let me know...