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n00b at WC'ing

M

master6

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
319
so, i am working on a hypothetical build. it will have the most up to date hardware, and/or software. here is what i have for hardware so far:

SILVERSTONE TJ07-BW Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
2 x Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive♥
2 x Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST31000340NS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
ASUS VW266H Black 25.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
3 x EVGA 01G-P3-1284-AR GeForce GTX 280 SSC Edition 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 or 2 x GTX295's
Saitek PK17U Black/Silver USB Standard Cyborg Keyboard
Silverstone SST-RADSUPPORT09 radiator Supporter
ASUS P6T6 WS Revolution LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i7 940 Nehalem 2.93GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
TRIPP LITE Power It! TLM615NC20 6 Outlets Power Strip
Swiftech MCR220-QP Liquid Cooler Radiator
TRITTON AXPro True 5.1 Gaming Headphones with 8 Precision Speakers, Removable Microphone
2 x OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
8 x Scythe SY1225SL12SH 120mm "Slipstream" Case Fans
Koolance 1300/1700W Liquid-Cooled Power Supply, Rev 1.5

so i got this far no problem hardware builds are easy. here is the hard part...

i want to cool just about everything in this case, with a TEC assisted waterblock for the CPU and some TEC assisted GPU full coverage blocks if they even exist. here is my current loop idea:

res-pump1-TEC CPU-rad1 (240mm)-vreg1-vreg2-split to RAM blocks-NB-SB-ram hot gets spliced back in-rad2 (240mm)-pump2-tri SLI vid cards (or quad w/e)-PS-rad3 (480mm )-then back to the res.

note this loop only has the CPU TECA. so could some people with knowlege give me some pointers on waterblocks and teh like? if there is a better case out there tell me. also it seems that the only TECA waterblock i can find is made by swiftech, but it is copper with an aluminum top. and if anyone knows of some full coverage motherboard blocks i would like to know them too.

thanks
master6
 
FOR THE GLORY!!!! (in a Scottish accent). meh its just pretty cool. and to get sub ambient temps? cmon what watercooler wouldnt want that? plus it gets hot here in the summer. lol. even if i wern't to go TEC got any suggestions or anything to my loop or w/e? ive never actually built a water cooled system but i will need to in the future. so it will be good to be proficient at these things.
 
You do know that the efficiency of a TEC is roughly 30% right? For every 1w of heat it moves from the cold side to the hot side, it produces an extra 0.7w... To cool a CPU with a TDP of 200w, you'll be moving the 200w, and adding another 175w or so of heat into the waterblock... This means a single Quad Core CPU will add around 400w of heat to your loop...

Then, add in 3 GTX280 Cores, with a TDP of around 225w each, and you're right around the 1100w of heat mark when you add in the rest of the blocks (quite possibly 1150w).

This is a lot of heat to dump efficiently. There is *no* way you could cool your GPU's with TEC's with the 2+2+4 radiator setup you're proposing either.

TEC's aren't worth it. They really, aren't.
 
well ya i realized that to cool my GPU's with that would be leik CPU suicide but i was just wondering is such a thing existed. but with that rad setup, would it be able to handle the extra TDP from the TEC? a 240 swiftech can handle 400w of disipation i think... but the other two i am using are higher quality TEC xchanger ones.

m6
 
TECs are neat, but in the end are not worth it. You could put together a really good dual loop system without TECs and use less rad-age.
 
Would love to see the finished project but with all them loops it's really gonna be hard to ever change anything in that case and boy will it be stuffed...

So you think you will not have enough GPU power with eg just 2 GTX 285's... no need then to watercool them... Secondly an Antec spotcool will cool ya NB sufficiently... my GB UD5 NB gets around 65°C (according the bios ) with the spotcool it's around 40°C..

A watercooled PSU is such a waste... nice to show off and impress peeps but that's where it ends to me...

If I had to WC 3 GPU's I would do them in a seperate loop and not include them in the same loop...

I would do a triple rad for the CPU and a dual rad for the GPU's.

Which pumps and tubing did you have in mind ?

And I agree with the other posters, TEC is nice but only complicates the build even more ( and drains ya wallet big time !)
 
Not to forget the extra electrical power that TEC needs.

But I respect your decision so if you want, I suggest getting 2 loops, one for the TEC water block, one for the GPUs.
 
leeghoofd said:
Would love to see the finished project but with all them loops it's really gonna be hard to ever change anything in that case and boy will it be stuffed...

So you think you will not have enough GPU power with eg just 2 GTX 285's... no need then to watercool them... Secondly an Antec spotcool will cool ya NB sufficiently... my GB UD5 NB gets around 65°C (according the bios ) with the spotcool it's around 40°C..

A watercooled PSU is such a waste... nice to show off and impress peeps but that's where it ends to me...

If I had to WC 3 GPU's I would do them in a seperate loop and not include them in the same loop...

I would do a triple rad for the CPU and a dual rad for the GPU's.

Which pumps and tubing did you have in mind ?

And I agree with the other posters, TEC is nice but only complicates the build even more ( and drains ya wallet big time !)
Click to expand...

tubing is tygon 3603. and pump is 2x http://www.dangerden.com/store/product.php?productid=175&cat=23&page=1#tabs.

the TEC i was looking at for swiftech is only about $160 but it has an aluminum top so if i did get it i would have to mod it to an acrilic top or something.

i agree with you on the quad SLI stuff though. that would also allow me to change the mobo to a different one also. i would go with 295's though.
 
Just do 2 loops mate (if you really need to cool them GPU's) , forget about the TEC...
 
Forget TEC.

If your going to OC your i7 youll want a triple TFC/Thermochill at least.

For GPUs, a Quad TFC/Thermochill should handle 3 GTX's, but dont quote me on that.

If i were you i probably wouldnt bother with two loops, one single loop but use two pumps.

Forget the liquid cooled PSU. Thats an F-ing waste.

IMHO though, if you have to ask questions about setting up a set up as extravagent as this...your probably in way over your head.
 
nissanztt90 said:
Forget TEC.

If your going to OC your i7 youll want a triple TFC/Thermochill at least.

For GPUs, a Quad TFC/Thermochill should handle 3 GTX's, but dont quote me on that.

If i were you i probably wouldnt bother with two loops, one single loop but use two pumps.

Forget the liquid cooled PSU. Thats an F-ing waste.

IMHO though, if you have to ask questions about setting up a set up as extravagent as this...your probably in way over your head.
Click to expand...

+1...though the koolance water cooled PSU is kinda cool....
 
I see. We have given him the disadvantages and reasons why he should not go TEC. If, after all the persuasion, he still insist on TEC, perhaps we should give him advice.

PS: Go to www.xtremesystems.org if the people here would not cooperate.
 
Okay you want useful advice?

For one, your rads aren't enough. You're going to need a feser quad or 2x TFC triple rads. You're also going to need a very strong TEC cpu block. I do not know of any ones on the market currently due to their inefficiency and unpopularity so you're SOL there.

Also...if you look at XS which I also frequent. The TEC sub forum is pretty much dead. One of the TEC experts there pretty much ruled out TEC cooling for the newer CPUs, aka i7.

Quote from an XS member

Phase is the way for i7. After good results on e8600 I did some power testing on i7 965 - there is no TEC that can cool that sucker with OC at load. I would not recommend TEC for any CPU that needs more than 150W at max OC, 180W with the TEC at absolute crazy top. And for anything over 100W, you have to WC the TEC hot side.

But with the much lower thermal profiles of the C2D, many of them look like TEC would work. Those chips also give some nice OC even when the cooling is only a little below ambient - I think they have plenty of life for those who don't have the $$$ to do i7 at full bore. User = Uncle Jimbo, XS member
Click to expand...

So please, stop encouraging him.
 
Interesting information. BTW, it's from Uncle Jimbo

So instead of TEC, which is not possible due to its limitations, the OP should go with phase.

Be forewarned. It requires lots of time to insulate, prepare, find the parts and assemble it. Plus, you will need a considerable sum of money.
 
Yes that was from Uncle Jimbo who is somewhat considered an expert TEC user on XS =) I just didn't notice my quote didn't include his name
 
Really have to agree w/ the folks pushing from tec to phase. I'd thought about tec for a really long time, & even though it's neat it's just not worth it compared to the alternatives. The cost of the swifty tec block is only the beginning, as it really should be run off an independent aux-psu. So the costs start to add up. Combined with the fact that as mentioned, it's very likely the i7 puts out too much head load for any currently available tec plates to handle. All it would do is kill the pelt and then act as an insulator :eek:.

If you're wanting to go to extreme temp's, build yourself (or pay someone to do it for you) a custom phase chiller & run your loop through that. You can get one made to accommodate you heatloads & use it to cool the entire system. Granted all your shit will be covered neoprene & silicone boogers, but for -20c temps who cares.

Anyway, good luck w/ your build, sounds like it will be a nice one.
 
young boy said:
Go to www.xtremesystems.org if the people here would not cooperate.
Click to expand...

HAHA, good luck. The Vultures over at XS are way less accepting than the guys here :)

I refuse to post there, as everyone treats me like I've got absolutely no idea what I'm doing... Even though I've set up more WC'd systems than most of the posters combined (official count is in the 300 range now :))
 
sorry i have not been on for a while. ive read the posts and decided thet yes, a TTEC would not work in this application. i will look into that phase cooling. we are gonna be redesigning our site soon over at geektronic.net soon and i will be applyng what i learn here to some of the preset builds we post there. thanks all.
 
Arcygenical said:
HAHA, good luck. The Vultures over at XS are way less accepting than the guys here :)

I refuse to post there, as everyone treats me like I've got absolutely no idea what I'm doing... Even though I've set up more WC'd systems than most of the posters combined (official count is in the 300 range now :))
Click to expand...

Really? Anyway, go there for TEC/phase. Not wc. For wc, anywhere is alright.
 
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