Goal: Silence, Stability, Light OCing

[nervoustwitch]

Ok folks, im new to this WCing thing, so heres what im looking at doing. Im very tired of the noise my PC generates, especially the fan on my 6800. id like to get rid of as many internal fans as possible, but i havent any experience actually putting together a WC system.

Id like to cool the CPU and the video card at least. I dont think ill be able to cool the northbridge as I have an asus p5n32 which has those heatpipes with radiators up near the CPU (unfortuneately that means ill have to use those tiny fans they shipped with it, which will probably be just as noisy).

So heres the question: Whats the quietest, most reliable setup out there? Would i be better off going with AC, the zalman tower thingy, or one of the koolance kits in terms of reliability, or would custom tubing provide a more robust solution? Noise is my primary concern here, so whatever pump the system has, it better be quiet.

 

[BioPort]

AC, innovatek, zalman, and koolance are the kings of silent watercooling.

you could go with a custom kit from swiftech or dangerden, but imo i think you would be happiest with a koolance exos 2. The only other setup I will recommend is aquacomputer. They are dead silent, and look fantastic.

 

[Erasmus354]

You shouldn't equate a watercooling brand with noise. The only things that make noise in a watercooling system have (almost) no relation to the company. The noise makers are the fans on the radiators and the pump.

Quiet Pumps:

Eheim 1046,1048,1250
Laing DDC
Aquastream and HPPS (basically DC Eheims)

Radiators Designed for Quiet Fans:

Black Ice Pro Series
Thermochill PA Series



Choose waterblocks based upon how much you want to spend and basically which one you want the most. However you should look out for restrictive blocks like the Storm, MP-05, Nexxxos XP, and possibly the Cuplex XT (we will find out in a week or two). Since most of the quieter pumps also push less water you are probably best off chosing a waterblock that is flow agnostic, and also has a low pressure drop. This will allow you to add more stuff to your loop without sacrificing a lot of performance. Some large bore blocks that fit the bill are the Swiftech MCW6000 and the Apogee. Innovatek makes some nice low restriction small bore blocks.

You can make just about any companies water cooling system near silent if you intelligently choose your parts.

 

[Liquid_Cooled]

this would be a nice quiet system:

Dangerden Waterblocks
Thermochill PA120.3 (w/ x3 Yate Loons @ 7v)
D5 Pump (or possibly dual DDC's)

 

[DFI Daishi]

this would be a nice quiet system:

Dangerden Waterblocks
Thermochill PA120.3 (w/ x3 Yate Loons @ 7v)
D5 Pump (or possibly dual DDC's)

it would be very nice indeed, though still not "silent."

if you are only after a light OC and want things as quiet as you can make them, my picks would be: eheim 1048 pump, apogee waterblock(i really hate this one but the 600x is sold out), and PA160 and whatever GPU and chipset block you like.

i would remove the heatpipe cooler entirely, watercooling the chipset, and use thermal epoxy - thermal compound mixture to attach heatsinks to the mosfets.

temps won't be as low as with a PA120.3, however they should be good enough for a light OC, the rad should be easier to fit on to the back of the case and the system would be very quiet. if you DO go for the PA120.3, nuts to 7V, run the fans as low as they will keep turning.

a DDC pump would perform better, but are audible if you hold one up to your ear. i think that the DDC is quieter than anyone will hear through a closed case, and it is 10x quieter than the HDDs, but not strictly silent. the eheim should not be audible at all once the air is out of your loop.

PSU and rad exhausting air, passive inlet near HDDs and/or GPU.

dual DDC pumps, storm CPU block, PA120.3 rad, chipset and GPU block would still be much more quiet than the HDDs and not comprimise on performance at all.

 

[Erasmus354]

If you do get the PA160 you will probably want to get some better barbs for it. DangerDen gave me some plastacular barbs with some tape already on the threads. I started leak testing this morning and there is a very slow leak coming from the threads on the barbs on the PA160. This is the first time I have ever had a leak around the barbs, and I am convinced it is the crappy plastic barbs which is the cause. Since I am lazy I am gonna get some silicone sealant or something to stop the leak (it is really slow).

 

[nervoustwitch]

hmm so perhaps i need to ask the question more intelligently:

how do i calculate how much heat i need to dissipate (pentium d820 & 6800GS) and how do i calculate how much heat the WC system will be able to radiate, and how much do i have to add to be safe (ie keeping the system around 80% of capacity under load, if thats what most people go by).

i guess additionally, how do i calculate how much my xp120 can radiate as a bonus question.

im not a physics major, and i never took a flud dynamics class, but im not an idiot so i should be able to parse a basic explanation.

err, i just found a basic explanation at overclockers.com, so i guess how do i figure out what my system is putting out, and figure that in.

 

[DFI Daishi]

intel white papers should have power ratings for you chip........total draw on the 6800 should be around 110W for the whole card. what say 80 watts max for heat load on the GPU core itself.

working out the precise temperature differential you can expect with your thermal load isn't exactly easy because of the interaction between coolant flow rate and flow resistance. it also isn't really necessary, as a general rule.

rad sized for 2x120mm fans on one side is "enough" for good temps and moderate noise. still quieter than air at that point, but not as quiet as water cooling can get.

the PA160 gets performance similar to a 2x120 rad with a single fan opperating at similar noise levels to the combined noise of the 2x120. it's a bit of an oddball with that wide and free-flowing finned area funneled down to a 120mm fan.

the PA120.3 usually represents a way to get similar performance to a 2x120mm rad, at ultra low noise levels. running powerfull fans on the 120.3 results in marginally improved temps as compared to the 2x120, but the difference from a performance standpoint is minimal. if you choose to run a 3x120 rad of any sort, it should be a low airflow restriction rad, since the only reason to use one in a regular watercooling loop is for the low noise level combined with good cooling.

for "light" overclocking, and low noise levels, the PA160 or a 2x120mm rad should do the trick. for overclocking as far as you can get you system to go, while maintaining cooling noise levels that will make the spinning of your HDDs seem loud in comparison, a 3x120mm rad is about the best there is.

 

[Shmuckety]

I don't know exactly what you're looking for, but this might work:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118111
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118120

Good luck

 

[topcat989]

if you want silence and to save a few bucks, check out the bonny heater core. 2fresh sells them for only $35 (painted w/barbs) or if you don't mind a little DIY then you can buy them from autozone and other part stores for arounf $20. They make extremely effecient rads, my set had it mounted to the top of my case, and no fans attached. I had 2 intake fans, a 92mm through PSU, and an 80mm new bottom of case. I had a rectangle hole cut in top of case and put rad there. Air exhuasted through the top, through rad. Even the exhuast air was heated air from case, it did the job admirably. And the watercooling loop was a single loop cooling CPU, GPU, PSU, NB, & 2x80gb WD drives in raid array. These are the best rads for silent watercooling IMOHO. Only custom made passive rads like the zalman resorator or some of innovatek ones are quieter.