Help Needed with Phase Change Decision

[Sunin]

Hi everyone,

I'm very new to the OC world, and just recently pushed my 3.2EE to 3.6 with a Zalman, but now I'm thinking of moving to phase change in the next couple of months.

I've researched this a bit and I see several makers.

VapoChill
Prometia
Cascade
Jintuu(sp) unit

Not sure if the following are phase change units:
Peltier
Tec
one other but it escapes my memory. From what I read people were using these to chill the water in a water system, so not sure the applicability here.

I don't want to go water cuz it just seems a half arsed step between air and phase change to me.

So what are my options, what am I missing? I've noticed the vapochills are semi reasonable and made here, where the prometia seems to be purely overseas. Also the vapochills seem to be cheaper at about 900 bucks.

Also I have a 6800U that I'd like to take to a more extreme OC (420/1150 atm) is there a unit that can cool both? I guess how do the adapters work can I upgrade them as I upgrade systems.. IE when I move to the 2007 45nm technology or to SLI etc...? Or are these things limited to one GPU or CPU only?

Also how hard is it to build one yourself? I know how to solder copper pipes and wire things up, I wired my last house and all, so not being an AC person I'm curious how hard it would be.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

P.S. we really need a Stickied FAQ that explains some of the Q's I have above in this section!

 

[LongShotHero]

nevermind

 

[Forthy]

Not sure if the following are phase change units:
Peltier
Tec
one other but it escapes my memory. From what I read people were using these to chill the water in a water system, so not sure the applicability here.

No, they're not.

So what are my options, what am I missing?

You're not missing anything. Pretty much personal choice and budget from there.

I've noticed the vapochills are semi reasonable and made here, where the prometia seems to be purely overseas. Also the vapochills seem to be cheaper at about 900 bucks

The vapo's are made in denmark! But yeah, they are great. I have one myself. But then I don't have any expereince with any of the other manufacturers.

Also I have a 6800U that I'd like to take to a more extreme OC

All the commercially available units are only designed for CPU. AFAIK the only way to cool a GPU with one is to modify a bracket yourself. Even then you would need two complete units; One for the CPU and one for the GPU.

Also how hard is it to build one yourself?

For me, immpossibel! But lots of people have done it. Somebody else will have to tell you how, and how much difficulty they had....

 

[Sunin]

OCZ FTW what timing... a sub $300 system in the next couple of months... I'm going to have some fun with that with the Dothan...

 

[Malignant Kid]

I would recommend going with the OCZ man. Most of the other solutions run around the $1000 range. Making one yourself will involve lots of time + cash and may involve breaking laws unless you happen to have a HVAC cert. hiding somewhere in your house. Chilly1 is behind the design for this new unit from OCZ and he has a Huge reputation for his custom phase change units. It should be ready for retail in march just in time for CEBIT. More drool can be found here
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=85243

Edit: The initial price should be $350 and there will be kits available stateside for modding it.

 

[Sunin]

I would recommend going with the OCZ man. Most of the other solutions run around the $1000 range. Making one yourself will involve lots of time + cash and may involve breaking laws unless you happen to have a HVAC cert. hiding somewhere in your house. Chilly1 is behind the design for this new unit from OCZ and he has a Huge reputation for his custom phase change units. It should be ready for retail in march just in time for CEBIT. More drool can be found here
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=85243

Edit: The initial price should be $350 and there will be kits available stateside for modding it.

Yeah $350 is still nearly 1/3 what I was looking at and here is my thought process.
1. at this price range it gets my feet wet in phase change
2. Some good experience with phase change
3. Later if I want -120c processor etc... then I can upgrade!

I saw that thread previously that is where I decided what I was going to do. I can't wait to see my little dothan at 3.1ghz or higher! I've already knocked of 10s from my superpi scores from my 3.2EE that was oc'd to 3.6... A sub 24s run is doable at 3.1ghz.

One question I do have is what do you have to do for a naked processor? No IHS so I'm curious if there is anything additional you must do for an open core?

 

[Malignant Kid]

One question I do have is what do you have to do for a naked processor? No IHS so I'm curious if there is anything additional you must do for an open core?

To ensure that condensation will not cause problems it is best to insulate the components on the chip. On most Intel chips they are underneath the core but AMD likes to place the components underneath the IHS. I found a nice guide with pictures to help you understand this process. http://wwww.vr-zone.com/?i=230&s=3

The number one rule with phase colling it that nothing can ever be too safe. Take your time and you wont be disappointed later. I would read up on this stuff even if you plan on getting the OCZ unit. Read through the stickies in this thread. http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=80
You may just find yourself building one