Help a water cooling newbie

G

ggp759

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 12, 2008
Messages
145
Hi guys i would like some information about water cooling. I have a E8400 C2D Gigabyte X48-DS4 mobo and a GTX 470. I want to apply water cooling to both the CPU and GPU. For the GPU i will use a DareDen water block and i need advice on what the main system should be. I mean which water cooling kit to get that is going to be compatible with my CPU(and Corei7) and have enough power to cool the GPU as well. Something silent and efficient if possible. Thanks in advance.
 
First of all some questions;

- What case do you have (for size, something small youll need to get a rad box and mount externally)

- When you say i7, are you going the 1156 size (8xx chips) or 1366 (9XX chips)?

- Are you going to be overclocking? The more heat you make, the more heat youll have to lose.

Watercooling is as silent as the fans on the radiator and pump.
Any danger den block is fine, the MC-TDX for example comes with different back plates for 775 (like yours) and for the different i7. But I am not 100% sure if it is the same block with a different backplate, or a slight different size.
To make stuff as queit as possible, whatever pump you get, id reccomend gell stuff, which you can get from here. This cuts down on the vibrations from the pump, which is the cause of most the noise. Also make sure you bleed ALL the air out the loop, especially the pump. Air if the pump causes lots of noises.
Radiators are the most important part of any loop. For a CPU your going to need a DUAL 120mm. And for the 470 probably another one. so either a 4x 120mm radiator, or 2 2x120mm, 3 and 1 x 120 etc.
For tubing id definately go with TYGON. Its smooth bored, so the water moves around easy, and its easy to bend without kinking.
 
I used to have the Danger Den water block... it was ok, but I upgraded to the Enzotech sapphire and the temps dropped about 15c on full load

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...zotech_sapphire_rev._a-_-35-708-019-_-Product

also consider masterkleer tubing (can be purchased from the mcmaster carr website for less than $0.50 per foot) or clearflex for less than a dollar per foot, that is much cheaper than tygon but it is comparable in performance and resistance to kinks

http://www.jab-tech.com/Clearflex-Tube-c-318.html


for fans I would consider the Yate Loon 120mm, you can get Hgh, med or low speed... these are hard to beat for the price to performance ratio

http://www.jab-tech.com/Yate-Loon-mid-17.html

if noise is not an issue for you you should consider the Scythe Kaze Ultra 120 x 38mm 3000 rpm fans...

http://www.jab-tech.com/Scythe-ULTRA-KAZE-120-x-38-mm-Case-Fan-High-pr-3940.html


you do not need to have a res but it is nice, you can just use a t line...

use either metal hose clamps or the plastic alligator teeth clamps... some people use zip ties or nothing at all... I do not think that is a good idea... but its up to you
 
Last edited:
DeathPrincess said:
First of all some questions;

- What case do you have (for size, something small youll need to get a rad box and mount externally)

- When you say i7, are you going the 1156 size (8xx chips) or 1366 (9XX chips)?

- Are you going to be overclocking? The more heat you make, the more heat youll have to lose.

Watercooling is as silent as the fans on the radiator and pump.
Any danger den block is fine, the MC-TDX for example comes with different back plates for 775 (like yours) and for the different i7. But I am not 100% sure if it is the same block with a different backplate, or a slight different size.
To make stuff as queit as possible, whatever pump you get, id reccomend gell stuff, which you can get from here. This cuts down on the vibrations from the pump, which is the cause of most the noise. Also make sure you bleed ALL the air out the loop, especially the pump. Air if the pump causes lots of noises.
Radiators are the most important part of any loop. For a CPU your going to need a DUAL 120mm. And for the 470 probably another one. so either a 4x 120mm radiator, or 2 2x120mm, 3 and 1 x 120 etc.
For tubing id definately go with TYGON. Its smooth bored, so the water moves around easy, and its easy to bend without kinking.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the quick reply. All this is very confusing to me. Lets say that for the time being i will get a waterblock for the E8400 and for the GTX 470(both dareden). Thats 2 parts i understand. Can you please provide me with links to everything else am going to need? pump,good silent fans etc? As I said this is very confusing and your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks again. oh the case is a mid tower soprano. And yes i will be overclocking both CPU and GPU.
 
ggp759 said:
Thanks for the quick reply. All this is very confusing to me. Lets say that for the time being i will get a waterblock for the E8400 and for the GTX 470(both dareden). Thats 2 parts i understand. Can you please provide me with links to everything else am going to need? pump,good silent fans etc? As I said this is very confusing and your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks again
Click to expand...

To make sure it shall all fit in the case, which case do you use? It's important because it effects options like radiators and things like that. If you don't mind an external solution its alot easier, as long as your case has drilled holes for watercooling. Otherwise you going to have to do those yourself.
 
hows ur water cooling process going? im hoping to also water cool my next system
 
Thermaltake Soprano mid tower doesnt look like it has any watercooling ports, and its quite small inside. If you want an easy life, you could upgrade to one with these ports, or a bigger case. Its something worth considering because it would solve lots of headaches, though it will add to your bill, but watercooling is hardly ever the cheapest option!

Theres videos on the dangerden website about making holes in your case, you should watch this before you answer. its a similar precedure for water cooling holes.

One thing is, what kind of watercooling are you going for? Functional, or showy? Functional just makes use of waters better cooling properties, and is ugly and basic. Showy is the one with all the glowing stuff!!!

I'd read around on the danger den forums and watercooling guides first of all, so you get a good general understanding of what to use. Theres lots people giving advice, and confusingly, most of it's correct. Because its not a precise science, and theres more than one way of doing things. But everyone has their preferences based on their experiances.
Theres also there threads on the forum that i'd read! Theres lots of myths about watercooling, and even bad watercooling is usually better than good aircooling, just a load more work.

You going to need a loop something like.

Pump→T→CPU block→Radiator 1→GPU→Radiator 2.

The T is for easy bleed and refilling. You don't really need a resevior, but they look nice! If you did want one, it means less work after the first fill, but its not really necessary, but if you wanted one, id mount it on the fill line.
Its extra tubing, but putting one rad before the GPU means both parts get cold water.

For doing both sets of radiator and block, your going to need a good pump. When your looking at the pump, the most important measurement is max. height. for example;

DD-CPX-Pro 12V Pump
•Max Height - 4 meters (13.1 ft)

This means the pump will give pressure around 4m of tubing. You want to have some room here, incase you need more radiators, more components. etc.

The T can be something basic. or more showy.

CPU block you have various choices for. Any on the danger den website are fine, or you have the other suggestion. Either one is fine. (mines betterer, I win damnit!)

For radiators theres lots of choice. I use the black ice stealth something because of size and looks. I've not owned many radiators, but reading reveiws on the site this one seems good.. But theres cheaper options. Youre going to need two.

GPU block, is a 470 one. theres two options here. Full coverage. This is where the block cools both the RAM and the GPU. Or, GPU only with mini heatsinks for the RAM. (you can choose these from the options).

If your going through your case, your going to need grommets. These are rubber rings that fit over sharp metal edges that stop the tube from being cut by the exposed metal. Their easy to find on frozen CPU etc.
Secondly you going to need clips for holding the tubs onto fittings. You can go compression fittings (expensive) or simple plastic clips. . These ones are fugly, you can find prettier ones.
Distilled water! Your going to need this, you can buy it from garages, aanywhere. YOoull need to flush out EVERYTHING before you put things together. And this is the easiest way.
Screws. Mounting fans to radiatos and then to something else shall need long screws. But for these youll have to wait untill you get things to see how long everything needs to be. All the dangerden stuff uses m4 screws I think.
Gel pads! For suspending the pump and stop its vibrations. The link I gave before is the stuff I use, and it helps loads.

Then of corse your going to need tubing. You can clearflex (cheaper) or Tygon (betterer!) but clearflex works fine!

Oh and the water. Most basic of all is plain distilled water with silver kill coils (for those damned algae). Then theres always premixed oretty ones.

TIM cleaner! Always clean your processor before you stick more stuff on it. More gunk = less heat transfer.
Then of course your going to need some new thermal stuff. .


The layout i'm still thinking about. You could try something more experimental like Pump→T→Y splitter→Left path (GPU→RAD) Right path (CPU→RAD)→Y Splitter→Pump. But im not sure how that would affect flow.
 
Thank you for the AMAZING post and all the help. Now i will have something to think about and get back to you.
 
ggp759 said:
Thank you for the AMAZING post and all the help. Now i will have something to think about and get back to you.
Click to expand...

It's fine! Just make sure you read up on your subject. Never use only one point of veiw, you know, get as much advice as possible. You can never know too much about something, and it shall allow you to make more informed decisions! Read this!!!
 
Quick question. If i decide to buy the newest version of the Zalman reserator 2. It comes with cpu and gpu waterblock. Will i be able to use waterblocks for cpu and gpu of my choice or do i have to use the supplied ones?
 
ggp759 said:
Quick question. If i decide to buy the newest version of the Zalman reserator 2. It comes with cpu and gpu waterblock. Will i be able to use waterblocks for cpu and gpu of my choice or do i have to use the supplied ones?
Click to expand...

On the website it says it fits any graphics card with heatsink holes. But it predates the 400 series of cards, so I don't know 100%.
The CPU cooler only fits up to LGA 775 CPUs. So it would be problematic if you wanted to cool an i7 with it. (it predates them I think). You could change over to a different water block as long as the thread sizes were compatible with the tubing that it uses. It lists compatible sizes as (Outer x Inner) : 14 x 10mm, 13 x 10mm, 13 x 9mm, 12 x 9mm, 12 x 8mm, 11 x 8mm, 10 x 8mm. As long as the replacements had compatible barbs it should be fine.
 
Thanks i just wanted to know if a dangerden waterblock would work with it. I guess i have to try:)
 
ggp759 said:
Thanks i just wanted to know if a dangerden waterblock would work with it. I guess i have to try:)
Click to expand...

Any 2 barb cooler will work with it! You just need to make sure you get compatible barbs! The tubing size is 12 x 8 mm. So your going to need 8mm barbs on whatever you get.
 
Also please can you provide a link to a store with those 8mm barbs? All those sizes on danger den store are confusing requiring info about fitting size and thread type.
 
The g 1/4 is a standard size for barbs. This is just the size of the screw at the base of the barb. Most watercooling uses g 1/4 (apart from one company that I never use, who i've forgotten the name of). The other type is g 3/8. (its 3/8ths of an inch, instead of 1/4).
The other two sizes are;

OD (outer dimention) this is how thick the outside diameter of the tube is
ID (inner dimention) inner dimention, how thick the insides are.

If you have 8mm ID tubing, like with the reserator, your going to need 8mm OD fittings. Whichis nearly impossible to find as its not standard. So i'd go for 9.5mm (3/8 OD fittings. Like these. And stretch the PVC tubing over it. You can do this by heating the ends of the tubes over the spout of a boiling kettle, or with a hotair gun.
 
I emailed dangerden and they told me that the zalman reserator it does not have enough power to cool a CPU and a modern(GTX470) GPU. Decided to go with a Koolance external system and use a CPU waterblock and GPU water block from Koolance as well. My question is this: On their site there are a lot of external systems. Which one should i choose that i will be able(have enough power) to cool a CPU and a GTX 470? Can you please help? Dont know which one to choose. thanks
 
ggp759 said:
I emailed dangerden and they told me that the zalman reserator it does not have enough power to cool a CPU and a modern(GTX470) GPU. Decided to go with a Koolance external system and use a CPU waterblock and GPU water block from Koolance as well. My question is this: On their site there are a lot of external systems. Which one should i choose that i will be able(have enough power) to cool a CPU and a GTX 470? Can you please help? Dont know which one to choose. thanks
Click to expand...

What you need to do is determine the amount of heat being produced by the cpu+gpu...For example, I believe the GTX470 is rated at 235W TDP..Now let's say your cpu is going to produce 140W TDP...

235W+140W=375W of heat that you need to be able to cool...I believe the Exos 2 or 2.5 can easily handle that amount of heat...

I am using an 8 yr old Exos 1 with a socket A cpu block with modded brackets to cool my X6 1055T @ 4.1Ghz...I was told by numerous people the Exos didn't have the power etc etc...

Well, I only paid $35 for it, and more importantly I already had it, so I said WTF..I'll try it..I did lap the cpu block with 600,800,1000 grit wet sandpaper..

I was putting up temps of 50-54C under load in an Antec 900 with Sythe fans and a TT120 HSF...Once the Exos was installed, I have been rock solid with temps never going over 41C (in my sunroom with 95F temps outside)..load temps have been between 34-36C when it isn't so hot outside...

I am not an expert in water cooling by ANY means, but considering this was my first venture, I feel having everything external offers a degree of easier installation and the piece of mind of most of the coolant being stored out of the case itself..

 
If you want ease of installation, have you thought about using a H50? Theres a deal on in another thread. http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1526920 which has one for 59$. This is an all in one unit that has the CPU, radiator etc all in one. And shall fit inside your case, and works with 775 and i7s etc. For the GPU youll need a second loop, but i'd never recommend running both CPU and GPU off the same loop over a dual loop, because a single loop is always going to be as hot as the hottest component. So it's good to have that separation.
You could use the Koolance system to cool the GPU if you like.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top