Internal (kit?) or external (e.g. Exos) watercooling?

[Elledan]

With summer arriving in a few months I'm interested in installing watercooling in my main system. One thing I am not interested in, however, is hacking up my case and sacrificing space to install a pump, reservoir and radiator.

I've been looking with interest at the Exos and similar external watercooling solutions. What I like about them is that they're truly fool-proof solutions. Installing a pump, radiator, etc. inside a case always seems like a DIY-job, especially with so many different cases out there. With, for example, the Exos it's almost as simple as mounting the waterblocks, attaching the tubing and filling the thing with water. There are also fewer places inside the case which could leak.

With this said, can anyone give me any reason why I should not go with an Exos or similar? If you can't, please give your thoughts on the Exos

 

[Punx_Clever]

Cost? Tubing size? e-penis size? OOOH! portability! Plus it looks much cleaner to not have hoses running outside of your case...

I'm a big proponent of DIY stuf though... if you want an external setup, buy teh Q/d's yourself and build an external box. Top Nurse would disagree with me but I think you'd see better performance this way.

I honestly think I have plenty of room available in my pc-6077 even with a Bonnivile core stuck up in the top two drive bays and a bay res at the bottem. It's all in how you route your stuff.

As far as leaks are concerned... just make sure you use hose-clamps everywhere in your case.

 

[Top Nurse]

If you use properly designed connection devices leaks should be almost non-existent. The fittings that usually have leaks are barbed and straight fittings. If you use the proper crimp type hose clamp the chances of leaks can be essentially brought down to the chaos factor (aka shit happens).

The use of pneumatic air type fittings that are used on Swiftech, Asetek, Aqua-Computer, and others provide for a quick connection and seem to seal well. The ferrel-less tubing compression fittings that Koolance and Innovatek use also work very well too. Of the two the pneumatic fittings provide better ease of installation and the compression fittings provide more of a lock solid connection.

You can have it both ways though if you are using Koolance coolers and Aqua-Computer accessories as they both use 6mm ID hose. So if you use the A-C hose I think it will fit properly over the Koolance connectors, but the Koolance hose will not probably work right with the A-C connectors due to it having a different OD size. Use the fittings that seem best for the job at hand Check out my home page for some pics.

 

[Top Nurse]

...Plus it looks much cleaner to not have hoses running outside of your case...

Unless you have a mirror on the back wall you will not be seeing any tubes...

 

[jyi786]

External DIY. I'm turning into a believer of removing all WC components into an external box, much like what Biohazard did, to eliminate clutter and any removing all sources of heat released by the video card and CPUfrom the system.

 

[Elledan]

External DIY. I'm turning into a believer of removing all WC components into an external box, much like what Biohazard did, to eliminate clutter and any removing all sources of heat released by the video card and CPUfrom the system.

I've been thinking about this option, but came to the conclusion that it's not as straightforward as it appears at first sight: the Exos and kin come with quick-release valves, temperature probes w/ LCD readout and such. If I were to go the DIY route, then I'd have to find those components myself, and integrate them into the whole system.

And I don't think that an external box I'd make myself would look as good as any of the existing solutions.

In other words, I'm lazy and don't trust my own skills ^_-

 

[Top Nurse]

Jeez....never thought I would hear that a Koolance idea might actually have merit from a DIY

If you go here you will find some fittings that would allow you to run tubing easily through the case wall. Most of the companies call them bulkhead connectors. They can also be handy when routing H20 lines through the Lian-Li V series cases. And of course when using these type fittings you do not lose any flow due to decreased cross sectional area as commonly seen in compression type connectors.

The temp stuff is easily resolved if you use the Innovatek or Aqua-Computer temperature sensors that measure actual water temps. The Innovatek unit uses compression fittings and the Aqua-Computer unit uses the pneumatic style T connector. These can be easily interfaced to just about any common temp LCD unit. If you want fancy then you can get an Aqua-Computer Aquaero or Innovatek Fan-O-Matic unit.

 

[Elledan]

I'm also partial to Zalman's Reserator, but find its price a bit steep for the offered features.

At this point I do know that I want an external solution, and I like the simplicity of the Reserator, so I might come up with my own version of it. I've still got a few months until it's summer, so I've got plenty of time

Thanks for the help so far, everyone.

 

[R1ckCa1n]

If you use properly designed connection devices leaks should be almost non-existent. The fittings that usually have leaks are barbed and straight fittings. If you use the proper crimp type hose clamp the chances of leaks can be essentially brought down to the chaos factor (aka shit happens).

I would disagree with your statement as I only use barbs on my setups. If you use the proper tubing (ie. 3/8" ID / 1/2" OD Tygon 3606 on 10mm barbs), the fit is so tight you can never have a leak. I typically have to cut the tubing off the barb when taking it apart to clean.

As for the posters question, I have both and find the external a pain in the ass when it's cleaning time; you should clean out the water and flush at least twice a year. The sight of the external tubing coming out the rear of the computer is very unsightly and you will not be able to obtain the "quiteness" of an internal setup.

 

[Top Nurse]

I would disagree with your statement as I only use barbs on my setups. If you use the proper tubing (ie. 3/8" ID / 1/2" OD Tygon 3606 on 10mm barbs), the fit is so tight you can never have a leak. I typically have to cut the tubing off the barb when taking it apart to clean.

If you want trouble free tubing issues then the smart money is on the proper hose clamp. I rarely see just tubes hanging off any hunk of machinery. Besides why would you want to go to all the trouble of having to cut off something and possibly damage the barb thus creating a possible leak point not to mention the cost of replacing all your tubing.

The sight of the external tubing coming out the rear of the computer is very unsightly and you will not be able to obtain the "quiteness" of an internal setup.

You can usually only "see" the tubes if you have a mirror on the back wall

 

[R1ckCa1n]

If you want trouble free tubing issues then the smart money is on the proper hose clamp. I rarely see just tubes hanging off any hunk of machinery. Besides why would you want to go to all the trouble of having to cut off something and possibly damage the barb thus creating a possible leak point not to mention the cost of replacing all your tubing.

I guess its all in how you do things. I do not like "quick connectors" as they have to restrict flow somehow plus they just clutter up the inside of a case. Again, its is all about how well you do things. I seriously don't think you can damage a metal barb by cutting tubing off it.....

You can usually only "see" the tubes if you have a mirror on the back wall

Damn,,,,,, there goes my mirror! It would still bother me just knowing they are there!

 

[Top Nurse]

Hose barbs and quick connectors all cause flow restriction issues. The only ones that don't are the pneumatic connectors like Aqua-Computer, Swiftech, and others use. The barbs can be damaged if you use a knife or a metal tool that cuts or scratches the surface of the metal or plastic connector.

You know the mirror on the wall does sound like a cool idea at that

Well it is off to the ACP swapmeet. R U going?

 

[R1ckCa1n]

ACP? What is that.....

I am off to hide 12038274921 eggs for all the family coming over in about two hours. Nothing like a house with 10 kids all going crazy.

 

[Top Nurse]

It is a swapmeet called the ACP Computer Show and is in the Advanced Computer Products parking lot (on Edinger near Grand in Santa Ana). It happens every 2 months and has the newer stuff mixed in with the good stuff. I got a new Enermax PSU for my brother for $80, 3 ea 700va UPS's for $40 total, and 3 ea 6 foot aluminum power strips (12 plugs each) for $55. Some new stuff and some good stuff

 

[thewhiteguy]

Put the radiator outside, that's the only thing you should have trouble putting inside. Plus the radiator will get cooler air that way. See my thread.

 

[Punx_Clever]

If you want trouble free tubing issues then the smart money is on the proper hose clamp. I rarely see just tubes hanging off any hunk of machinery. Besides why would you want to go to all the trouble of having to cut off something and possibly damage the barb thus creating a possible leak point not to mention the cost of replacing all your tubing.

If you use the proper hose clamps with the proper barbs and the proper tubing, you will have zero problems. As far as the permanent crimpconnections go: yeah they work, but added hassle of ever removing them when you dissasemble your sytem even for cleaning reasons makes them a very bad choice. Simply using worm-drive hose-clamps will give you enough of a seal that you should never have a problem considering that computer watercooling systems have very little pressure.

Think of it this way, worm drive clamps are used on cars on much larger and harder tubing with very poorly designed barbs. Considering that if you do it right, you will have zero leaks even with ~50 psi of pressure while driving along a road.

So, considering how soft the tubing in computer systems is, and the fact that the barbs are usually very well made, using barbs and worm-drive clamps should NEVER give you a leak unless you didn't tighten anything down at all.

Plus, most people advocate the use of 5/8 OD barbs in 1/2" ID tubing. You loose very little flow and have zero problems with leaks (you have to heat up teh tubing just to get it to stretch over the barb).

Finally, having tubes behind your case is an eyesore in my opinion. but tehn again, my computer sits on top of my desk and everytime I go through teh door I see a nice side-profile of my case and teh tubes would just piss me off.