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got watercooling, what now?

Q

quakefiend420

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 22, 2004
Messages
224
i picked up an aquarius II kit from anandtech fs/t for $60 shipped...i just kinda wanted to get my feet wet(pun intended...damn i'm witty ;) ) with watercooling

i know this isnt the greatest performing kit out there...i just wanted to get started without building a custom kit...

i'm pretty impressed with it so far...much quieter than my slk700 hsf i had before...and my temps went from 46C idle to 38C idle on a barton mobile 2500+ @ 2.2ghz @ 1.75v, through tweaking it i've gone from 44C idle to 38C load temp now is 47C

i cant get any higher with it though...my cpu needs 1.825v to be stable at 2.3ghz, and that gives me a prime loaded temp of 52C (too hot for my tastes)

i'v already lapped the cpu block, and have my loop set up like this:

pump output>rad>block>back to resv/pump

i think i've pretty much exhausted what i'm going to be able to do with what i have...i changed my loop order, lapped the block, tightened my block down as far as i dare(i was kind of afraid i was going to crush my poor little xp's core, lol) and changed the fan on the rad to push fresh air through instead of pulling warm case air...the rad is mounted on the side panel of my case where a case fan used to be...the fan is on the outside, the rad on the inside of the side panel

which brings me to my question...whats going to be the best bang for my buck upgrade...should i get a new pump/resv? a new block? a new rad? i was thinking of getting a 80 to 120mm fan adapter and a 120mm fan to push more air through the rad i have now...would that make a noticeable difference?

i'm thinking a new radiator would be the next best thing...but i'm a watercooling n00b(been overclocking for a while, but always on air) so i wanted to ask you guys...i've been reading through old threads, and it seems like you guys know your stuff

please keep in mind, i'm on a budget right now...need to spend as little as possible...so what do you say?
 
will more airflow through my current radiator make a difference?

i'll be using a 120 to 80mm adapter so itll act as a shroud...plus i'll probably be pushing at least twice as much air...i'm a broke mofo right now, lol...just trying to get my temps down a bit more so i can get my 2.3ghz and stay under 50C while spending as little money as possible...if that probably wont help i may just bite the bullet and get a bigger rad...but if more airflow will give me the difference i'm looking for, i'll be happy with that for the time being
 
probably not your gonna want a bigger radiator take a look at the black ice II passively that will dissapate more heat then the tiny aquarius rad, then put two 80mm on it (black ice II) and itll rock
 
a 1/2in rad can be converted to 1/4in for use in a 1/4in system so yes it will work, however you may have to spend a few minutes at home depot figuring out how to convert it. it shouldnt be too difficult
 
will i lose performance converting like that? or would it not be enough of a loss to matter?

sorry for all the questions...like i said i'm a water n00b :)

another question...whats the difference between a radiator and a heater core?
 
a heater core is a radiator its the same thing. people use heater cores out of old cars because there cheaper than rads made for pc watercooling and they perform just as well. Also you will not lose any performance going through a 1/2in radiator.
 
cell_491 said:
a heater core is a radiator its the same thing. people use heater cores out of old cars because there cheaper than rads made for pc watercooling and they perform just as well. Also you will not lose any performance going through a 1/2in radiator.
Click to expand...

cool...in that case i may just go hit up a scrapyard :D
 
make sure you clean out that rad VERY well, used cores from cars will have some gunk, if not a lot. I could just see getting a nice big chunk of bars-leak clogging up your pump or waterblock...
 
Punx_Clever said:
make sure you clean out that rad VERY well, used cores from cars will have some gunk, if not a lot. I could just see getting a nice big chunk of bars-leak clogging up your pump or waterblock...
Click to expand...

any suggestions for getting all the gunk out?
 
fill a bunket with mineral spirits and dump the rad in there then leave it there overnight
 
Also, you may consider just buying a new heatercore. For quite a few cars, they are pretty cheap.
 
isn't a bonnovile core like, $17 from autozone? I bought mine in town (we dont ahve none autozone) for $35, which when compared to most dual rads is a helluva deal anyways.
 
cool...i may just go hit up autozone and see what they have :D

thx for the advice everyone!

btw should i blow or suck air through the rad?

or just test and see what works for me?
 
pigpen said:
nnnccc
Click to expand...

what does that mean?


UPDATE: i got a radiator from the local auto parts store and a couple of 120mm fans...the only problem is that the fans are mismatched interms of airflow...i alrady made a shroud...but is that going to impact my cooling at all?
 
just a quick observation. If i read right you say your fan is on the outside of your case and the rad is on the inside. You can try to turn this around, have the fans pulling cold air from outside the case through the rad instead of warm air from inside the case through it. If you have other fans in the case just reverse them so you still get decent air flow.
 
Mismatched fans shouldn't be a problem, just make your shroud so that it has two seperate chambers and you'll do just fine.

However, if you had two of the higher-performance fans you'd be better off than one high and one not-so-high power fan.
 
well...i got the radiator set up...with the ac on in here so the ambient temp is about 68 my cpu is sitting at 32C...w00t...used to get to about 36C wiht the 80mm thermaltake rad...i think the next thing to upgrade will be the waterblock...what do you guys think?
 
cell_491 said:
no i still think a good pump will be your best upgrade
Click to expand...

any recommendations?

i'll need a resv as well...the one i have is the miniature one that came with the kit
 
youll need a 3/8 or 1/2in 12volt pump that has ALOT of head so it can pump a 1/4in system and heres a good one right here http://directron.com/dd12vd4.html
and for the res why not just rip out the pumps (or leave them in?) in your current res and reuse it :D
 
cell_491 said:
youll need a 3/8 or 1/2in 12volt pump that has ALOT of head so it can pump a 1/4in system and heres a good one right here http://directron.com/dd12vd4.html
and for the res why not just rip out the pumps (or leave them in?) in your current res and reuse it :D
Click to expand...

ouch@ the 75$ pricetag...anything a bit cheaper that can do the job?

and i can't reuse the resv considering it holds about 4 oz. of water...and the pump is built into the resv...and its sealed except for the fittings...so i would hafta rip it apart and probabaly break some plastic to get the pump out...and i dunno if a decent pump would even fit in there...

EDIT: hey i'm not a n00bie anymore :)
 
a power cord sticking out of my case is no problem for me if i can save 20-30 bucks :)

thx for the advice :beer;
 
You can save even more & get a much smaller Hydor L20, slightly bigger Eheim 1048, or Via Aqua 1300 for around $25-40 depending on where you look. Just remeber to get your pump plugged in before you turn on your computer, otherwise you wont have a cpu cooler than 75C for more than a few seconds :p
 
ikellensbro said:
You can save even more & get a much smaller Hydor L20, slightly bigger Eheim 1048, or Via Aqua 1300 for around $25-40 depending on where you look. Just remeber to get your pump plugged in before you turn on your computer, otherwise you wont have a cpu cooler than 75C for more than a few seconds :p
Click to expand...

couldn't i just leave the pump running all the time?

whats mtbf on those?

my my comp is usually running 24/7 anyway...generally the only time its down is when i'm changing parts or something.

EDIT: also the new radiator is made of aluminum...my block is copper...is this going to cause corrosion problems? my loop is filled with 100% distilled water...
 
You shouldnt have bought an aluminum HC period, unless you got one helluva deal on it. You will get corrosion in you loop, as the aluminum & copper will act as a weak battery in your loop. You also need to have something in your liquid to act as a biocide, at least 5% antifreeze will work well enough.
 
ikellensbro said:
You shouldnt have bought an aluminum HC period, unless you got one helluva deal on it. You will get corrosion in you loop, as the aluminum & copper will act as a weak battery in your loop. You also need to have something in your liquid to act as a biocide, at least 5% antifreeze will work well enough.
Click to expand...

so a bit of antifreeze will stop corrosion? cool, i'll get that in there today then...thx for the advice
 
Yes, that will cause corrosion problems, you might want to look into getting a copper radiator actually, it will dissipate heat much better and cool more effectively. Look at a 1977 Pontiac Bonneville heatercore, should be $17 or so at AutoZone. And it should be about the same size as your current rad (as it fits two 120mm fans), so mounting shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

In terms of a pump, I advise going with a 12v pump as well. The Eheim 1250 is a great pump if you are looking for a silent setup, but unfortunately it isn’t quite as powerful as many of the 12v pumps out there. I would check out the DDC (its quiet and powerful, and you can perform a modification to it to make it have 70% more flow if you ever feel the urge). It is $75, yea, but that’s only $15 more than the Eheim, and you really don’t want to get anything less powerful than that. Plus, you can use a T-Line instead of a reservoir, which saves you a good $20 there, as a T-line is only about $1 at any hardware store. It makes it a little harder to bleed, but once you get it up and running its just as efficient, and cheaper.

One other pump you might want to look into is a Danner Mag-Drive 5. It is an AC pump, so you would need the power chord, but it is VERY powerful, and cheaper as well. Just make sure you coat the area around the barbs with sealant first, as it has a tendency to leak after a while, but some epoxy will fix that. You can also get the Mag 3 for $10 less, but I would get the 5, its significantly more powerful. Might kind of be overkill even for your current loop, but if you ever want to add a GPU block you will not have to worry about getting a new pump. Here’s the links to the pumps I mentioned:

DDC
http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=135&cat=4&page=1

Mag 5
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=DN1123

Mag 3
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=DN1121

One last thing though, these pumps, as well as the Bonneville heatercore, all have 1/2" fittings, which means you might have to ditch your 1/4" tubes and get some 1/2" tubes. This will give you a significant performance increase actually, but its just one more thing to worry about. And considering that your waterblock has 1/4" barbs, it wont accept the 1/2" tubes, so this leaves you with two options. First, you could get some 1/2" to 1/4" adapters and use the 1/2" tubes on your current waterblock, but this will seriously kill your flow and almost negate the benefits of the new tubing. Second, you could get a new CPU waterblock as well, one that has 1/2" barbs and takes advantage of your new setup. The Swiftech mcw6002-A is the one you want, its about $40 and is an EXCELLENT waterblock, performs as well as anything else on the market save very expensive ones, and is available for a very reasonable price. Here’s a link for it:

MCW6002-A
http://sidewindercomputers.com/swmcforamd.html

Now you probably don’t want to do this all at once, which is reasonable, as it would cost you upwards of $100 or so. But these are the upgrades I would recommend to you if you decide to do an overhaul to your cooling system, even if it is gradual and not all immediate. You can get these one at a time and use them for the most part without problems, so if that’s what you want to do, go for it! Oh, one last thing, if you want to go the ½” tubing route, which you should eventually, don’t get generic 1/2” vinyl at home depot or something. You want Clearflex60 or Masterkleer, both available at www.mcmaster.com for very reasonable prices. Tygon R-3603 is also very good, but a tad pricey. Either way, make sure you get ½” ID tubing, and ¾” OD, it will kink less and therefore be less susceptible to problems when routing. Well, that's about it, I hope you take these suggestions to heart, otherwise I’ve wasted a good part of my morning ;)
 
Home Depot stuff is just about as good as Lcearflex Tygon, and 10' of 1/2"id-3/4"od for $6.50 is definately nothing to be angry about :cool:. Mine doesnt kink unless youre turning the tubing against itself, and then only slightly. You havent really said what your budget for everything you want to get is, so that would help us some more to know.

AS for the pumps, everything Achilles17 is really good, but id you need to save money, a Via Aqua 1300 or Hydor L20/25 can work well for you, depending on the restrictions of the parts you have/are going to get.
 
If you care about the long term appearance of your loop, you want to avoid Home Depot tubing. It yellows and hardens far quicker than C60 or Tygon.

I just now *want* to replace my tygon after about 30 months of use. I don't *have* to, it's still soft and the flow is still great, but it's starting to look grody.

I had to replace HD tubing after 5 months because it was nasty orange/yellow and getting really hard.
 
What liquid were you using? Sounds more like algae buildup than bad tubing to me, but thats mostly coming from the fact that I dont want to return my HD tubing.
 
thanks to everyone for all the suggestions...i'm pretty sure i know what i need to be doing with my water setup now :D
 
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