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Lifespan vs pricespan

T

TheBlank

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 15, 2006
Messages
164
Alright. I've got all my plans drawn up, I've got the measurements, I've got the links and I've got the prices....

$700+ for a new watercooling setup is really getting my heart rate up (not in a good way) and I need to find out some more information in order to justify the expense. I've got some people to convince that I'm not going insane.

1). What is the lifespan of a well taken care of radiator? I'm looking at the PA 120.3 because I want to be able to use this for many builds to come (in order to justify the expense). I will eventually be cooling a Quadcore and an SLI setup, and I don't want to have to rebuy later on. But how long will this radiator last me?

2). Is it worth it to cool the 8800 GTS I have right now. I runs hot and dumps a good deal of heat into my case, which seems to affect everything else. I've been looking at the Swiftech Stealth (this is a recent notion of mine, kind of a "well, I'm spending this much already... and it does seem to be an issue...)

Here's what I'd be purchasing:

- Antec P182 case (really don't want to cut up my current P180 for watercooling, and I can use the 180 elsewhere)

- Swiftech Microres
- MCP665-B pump
- D-Tek Fuzion
- Swiftech Stealth
- PA 120.3 (mounted externally)
- 1/2" ID tubing.
- Yate Loon SL-12's


My other option would be to get an MCR320 instead of the Thermochill to save some money, but I don't know how "future proof" that rad is because it reportedly doesn't cool as well as the Thermochill. Will it pay off in the long run to go expensive now instead of upgrade later??
 
Both radiators will last you a REALLY long time. They don't really lose their ability to transfer heat if you keep them clean. The PA is a great radiator, don't get me wrong, but if you want to save some cash the MCR320 is no slouch either. Since you seem to be caught up on price right now, my suggestion is to go with the MCR320. Also you might want to get a GPU block that can be transferred to other ones (future proof like the rest of your items). Get simply a MCW60 and some ramsinks, that way if you upgrade your video card you don't need to get a new block.
 
Erasmus stated everything that needs to be stated. I'll just add a few tidbits. Watercooling is an addiction. The worst thing you'll experience is wishing you had sprung on better performing components after realizing your system isn't performing up to what you'd like. The two most important components in a watercooling loop will be your radiator and your pump. Those two will last you the longest and will be reused for builds to come. In this case, i'd suggest you stick with the Thermochill radiator and a Laing pump.

Waterblocks and tubing will be the pieces that will become outdated the most quickly. The only way to minimize the risk of purchasing a waterblock with a short support life is to purchase from universal blocks from reputable companies like D-Tek and Swiftech, who release new mounting mechanisms each time a new socket is released.

I would not purchase the stealth even though it's currently the best performing block for the G80's. 1) The G92's are 3-4 months away, 2) its a proprietary design that won't allow for it to be used with the G92's (at least that's what most speculate). Stick with the MCW60's w/ ramsinks as you'll be able to reuse the block again and again with future cards. The MCW60's have been in use ever since the Nvidia FX days. This speaks volumes about Swiftech's desire to release new mounting kits for future revisions.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, I have changed my GPU cooler over to the MCW60 as it completely makes sense to go that route.

I'm finally set to buy... and I find that a good deal of my list is out of stock! The Fuzion, the PA 120.3, the MC8800 RAM sinks... all out of stock at Jab-tech. How long am I going to be waiting for these items to come back IN stock?

I noticed that the PA 120.3 is out of stock everywhere. Is there a shortage of supply?
 
Unless something has changed in the past year, DangerDen is the sole North American distributor of Thermochill products. I have issues with the way DD makes their orders to Thermochill. I had wanted a PA160 a year ago, around November-ish. They were sold out everywhere. I contacted Marci at Thermochill to find out what was up, he said he had no idea that everywhere was sold out, because they had not received any orders from DD. Long story short, DangerDen held off on ordering new products for a month and a half because they didn't want the order to show up on the financials for that year.

I would suggest sending emails to Marci informing of the PA120.3 shortage (and inquire if it is on his end of DD's). Then I would send an email to DD asking when they expect to have more in stock. If DD is still the sole NA distributor I think Thermochill needs to change that, because they don't seem to be doing a good job keeping things stocked over here.
 
TheBlank said:
Thanks for the suggestions, I have changed my GPU cooler over to the MCW60 as it completely makes sense to go that route.

I'm finally set to buy... and I find that a good deal of my list is out of stock! The Fuzion, the PA 120.3, the MC8800 RAM sinks... all out of stock at Jab-tech. How long am I going to be waiting for these items to come back IN stock?

I noticed that the PA 120.3 is out of stock everywhere. Is there a shortage of supply?
Click to expand...

Look at Petrastechshop.com for most of your products. For the Thermochill, you can get it if you act fast at www.mountainmods.com
 
Petra had everything I was looking for and missing. But mountainmods were out of the PA 120.3 as well.

Looks like my choice might be being made for me rather soon... I'm going to e-mail about the Thermochill.


Edit:

Trying to figure how much of a price jump I'd see just ordering it from Thermochill itself... not finding much out. Anyone know kinda of offhand?
 
Ranker said:
Erasmus stated everything that needs to be stated. I'll just add a few tidbits. Watercooling is an addiction. The worst thing you'll experience is wishing you had sprung on better performing components after realizing your system isn't performing up to what you'd like.
Click to expand...

I will attest to this as I just made a semi jump to WC about a month ago. I first started with swiftech's 220 kit + a Stealth rev. 1 (2 days before they announced the rev. 2), and that didn't last too long before I sold the Apogee and the Stealth. Also I bought my own barbs/clamps/tubing/cooling, basically the only thing I'm using from the kit is the rad, pump, res, and radbox :p I also just ordered another mcr320, grill, and some other toys. My $250 venture has probably doubled by now, and I really want to run 2 loops now hahaha. I decided not to keep track of these new expenses as I don't want to cry. Oh well, live and learn. I was going to get a PA 120.3, but they are sooo thick, I don't think I can mount it internally at the top of my v1200.

TheBlank said:
Petra had everything I was looking for and missing. But mountainmods were out of the PA 120.3 as well.

Looks like my choice might be being made for me rather soon... I'm going to e-mail about the Thermochill.


Edit:

Trying to figure how much of a price jump I'd see just ordering it from Thermochill itself... not finding much out. Anyone know kinda of offhand?
Click to expand...

FrozenCPU.com might have them in stock (albeit a bit more expensive). Supposedly new stock of the PA's are coming in the next 2-3 weeks?
 
TheBlank said:
Edit:

Trying to figure how much of a price jump I'd see just ordering it from Thermochill itself... not finding much out. Anyone know kinda of offhand?
Click to expand...

AFAIK Thermochill will *not* ship to you direct. You are SOL until DangerDen orders more.
 
They will ship direct. I'm within the US so I'm not sure if they'll ship to other places outside of the EU and the US. The price comes out to be $5 cheaper than ordering within the US, but you'll have to wait a 1 to 1.5 weeks for the product to arrive from overseas.
 
Is that $5 cheaper before or after overseas shipping? That's what's fouling me up.
 
With shipping. However, if you're in the US, you'll notice how the Republicans have made our dollar lose ground to all other currencies over the past few years so things may look different now. I had ordered this 2 years ago.
 
Thermochill sent me a reply to an email I sent them. The shortages are not NA specific, they are having extreme difficulties keeping up with orders world wide. Their demand is really high right now. I was told that they aren't fulfilling as many orders as DD wants, simply because DD could eat up the entire worldwide supply.

Thermochill is also trying to bring a second factory into production. I was told that they are expecting samples soon so that they can test for the quality of the production before they start producing retail units.

Hopefully they can start making more of these bad boys soon :)
 
TheBlank said:
Well crap... maybe I'll have to get a TC later on then :-\.
Click to expand...

It's alright... Since you're not going SLI, your setup will be quite fine on a triple mcr-320 radiator...

Just add in a single 120mm radiator of any manufacturer if you want to go quad core and SLI... It should handle it with ease!
 
TC 120.3 radiator does not justify its price over performance. I can buy almost three MCR320s for the price of one TC 120.3. And if you compare both of them MCR320 is almost as good as TC120.3, so why pay tripple when you can get the same performance for third the price. :confused:
 
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