Need some suggestions about watercooling

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game14

[H]ard|Gawd
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Nov 8, 2006
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I have an X-Qpack filled up with the bottom listed stuff . I use a Thermalright XP 90 heatsink with 80 mm Fan , and a TT 120 mm sensor controlled Fan as exhaust .My temp with aircooling are quite good CPU (AMD X 2 4200 ) 37 idle and 48 load , Gpu 47 idle and 59 load , systemtemp around 33 all time . Overall im quite happy with my rig if it wasnt about the noise , not from the fan themselves but from the airflow . So i was thinking about Watercooling for my CPU and GPU . After 2 month of searching i still didnt find anything i would be happy with , no way i could fit 3/8" or 1/2" tubing in my case . I dont want to do any big mod to my case either , i would like to fit everything in the case so that it looks nice and clean from outside .
Has anybody experience or an idea of a setup for watercooling for an X-QPack ???
I was wondering if watercooling is really that quiet because i still need a fan for the rad ???
How about the temp ??? any big difference to expect ???
Or is change to watercooling in my case just a waste of money ???
I m on a tight budget so i dont want to spend more than max $ 150 for a new coolingsystem.
So could anybody outthere help me please ??? :(
 
First off, thanks for joining.
Secondly, this should go under the watercooling subforum... I'm sure a mod will take care of it shortly.
Also, try a search and see what that digs up ;).
 
Fitting a watercooling system cleanly into an X-Qpack is going to take some cutting. You probably will need a double rad to get temps that are worth the effort. This will require some cutting, and careful planning. Others have done it, and there are some worklogs around. There's one such projectgoing on here in the wtercooling forum as we speak. link

If you are going ot make it work, you're going ot need a low profile (not a BIX or a PA - more like a BIGTS) double radiator - probably mounted on the side of the case. Use a DDC (18W) stashed away in a corner somewhere, and connect the dots to your blocks. 3/8" tubing is not impossible. It just takes planning, planning, and more planning. I don't see much benefit to trying for bigger tubing than that though. Things are too tight IMHO. But you do NOT have to go to 1/4" tubing just because the case is tight.
 
i cant find the link, but I will post when I do, you could bolt a Nautilus 500 to the top, it will look clean, and take most of the parts out of the system except the blocks... and it fits your $150 price range.
 
bradyapba said:
i cant find the link, but I will post when I do, you could bolt a Nautilus 500 to the top, it will look clean, and take most of the parts out of the system except the blocks... and it fits your $150 price range.
Click to expand...


That is a good idea. That nautilus is a rather decent performer too.. and you wouldn't have to worry about mashing a radiator/pump/res inside the case.. just an in let and outlet spot for the hosing.
 
bradyapba said:
i cant find the link, but I will post when I do, you could bolt a Nautilus 500 to the top, it will look clean, and take most of the parts out of the system except the blocks... and it fits your $150 price range.
Click to expand...

Um... I missed the price target in the original post. There's no way to watercool the CPU and GPU with new parts (that don't completely suck ass) for $150. Trying to fit it all into an X-Qpack just compounds the issue. You're looking at at least $200 in parts.

If the OP wants to "ease into it", then a Nautilus is definitely a trouble-free way to start out without breaking the bank or modding the case. You could probably even put a GPU block into that loop without replacing everything - just tweaking the tubing arrangement. If you want to overclock with both blocks on one loop you're going to want to step up to a bigger radiator, and that would be the best time to start cutting things up...
 
Eulogy said:
First off, thanks for joining.
Secondly, this should go under the watercooling subforum... I'm sure a mod will take care of it shortly.
Also, try a search and see what that digs up ;).
Click to expand...

Oh sorry , i thought i was in the watercooling forum .... anyways it is now , thanks for moving !! :D
 
Thanks guys for your replies , thanks nonlnear for the link . Its a quite interesting mod the guy is doing .
About the Nautilus , nice system but i definitly want to fit everything INSIDE the case , no more clutter out on my small desk .
I found some more X-QPack mods with WC , but mostly Evercool or TT . Fits nicely but what i have read in reviews about their performance doesnt sound to good .
I dont overclock ( mostly due to the MSI mobo ) . So thats no issue .
One question about the rad , if i go double rad means 2 fans on it , that means noise or am i wrong ???
Maybee i was thinking about 2 x 80mm rad , one on each side of the case , wondering if thats enough ? :confused:
 
A double rad means more fans that you can run slower. This means less noise for a given level of performance. Running a single 120mm radiator, you'll need a fairly high speed fan to blow the ehat away. With a double rad, you'll be able to undervolt a couple of yate-loons to 7V (or maybe even 5V) and still have nice temps. More fans is not always louder.

If you're thinking of 80mm radiators, I'd think looooong and hard about why and how you're doing it. A 2x80mm radiator (like the BI micro II - available at dangerden) has less frontal area than a single 120mm radiator (about 8/9 as much area, to be precise). If you run two of these, you can come close to the cooling capacity of a 240mm rad, but I would only do something along these lines after doing some very detailed measurements and drawings of your case layout. A 240mm rad is something you probably won't mind reusing in a future build. Any 80mm rad (single or double) is likely to be a writeoff.

*The BI micro radiators are very thick - 1.8" thick. Bear this in mind before assuming that they are smaller all 'round. They are only small in two of three dimensions.
 
If i understand you right you mean that 2 single 80 mm rad have less frontal area than one single 120 mm rad , means less cooling capacity .
About their size almost 2" thick . Doesnt sound to good .
Maybe im really better off with 2 "thin" single 120mm rad .
Just got to find one thats really 120mm wide and not 135 like most of them .
Pump would be DDC 18W or swifttech MCP 350, looks like the same pump to me . Guess that would be the best pump for my purpose .
On the reservoir i would go with swifttech micro , its small enough to fit.
About the fan i like to keep my TT 120mm i bought half a year ago , they are almost noiseless at low speed , what really makes noise is the wining 80 mm fan on the CPU and the airflow itself .
Anyway ,where have u seen those yate - loons ??
For now im going back to the drawing board , trying to figure out how to fit it .
On the cooling blocks im not decided yet , but i think the mayor problem to solve is how to fit the radiators.
 
The MCP355 is the 18W version. The MCP350 is the older 10W version.

Yate-loons are available from petrastechshop, jab-tech, and a bunch of other stores. Jab-tech has them the cheapest (esp. if you buy 3 or more), but if you're ordering other parts from other stores, it might be better to combine shipping and not worry about the price difference. They're dirt cheap, move adecent amount of air, and are very quiet. The other moajor plus is that they don't have any kind of tick ofr noise when undervolted like a lot of other fans.

Good luck with finding radiators and placement positions. SFF watercooling is an adventure.
 
Before starting my project I did alot of measuring and research. No 120mm rad will fit into the qpack without some form of cutting. If you look in the SFF section someone did put a 120mm rad inside the back of the case but there was some cutting and fabbing needed.

My system has been leak testing for the last few days and the dvd-rom will be installed tonight. With all 3 120mm fans (1 S-Flex and 2 yate-loons) and the pump running (case off) it's near silent. No doubt in my mind with the case on it would not be hearable at 2 feet.

There are kits that will mount a 120mm rad on the back of the case where the fan goes.
They aren't cheap but it could give you some ideas for your own setup.
xoxide-h2o-qpack-4.jpg
 
nice picture ... looks like the primochill kit for X-QPack , i thought they didnt build it anymore ???
problem with the fan inside the case and rad outside is that you blow all the hotair from the rad in your case , would make more sense to get the rad inside where the fan is and mount the fan on the outside , so it blows all the hot air from the case and the rad out of the case , or am i wrong ???
But anyways thx for the ideas , im still thinking about reasonable setup and if it really is worth the effort. :confused:


[IO]ERROR , i have seen your pictures of your mod , quite interesting , just keep up posting new pictures in your threat , im very curious how it turns out .
 
I guess i got an idea how to fit everything with minor cutting , going to post when i got the exact details . :D
 
Is there any 120 mm radiator outthere that is actually only 120 mm wide ??? maybe 122 mm but no more .
Anybody knows ????
 
game14 said:
Is there any 120 mm radiator outthere that is actually only 120 mm wide ??? maybe 122 mm but no more .
Anybody knows ????
Click to expand...
I don't think there is. The whole concept of those is that you can match a 120mm fan perfectly with the fins portion. I'm going to slowly go through w/cing a microfly (same thing as xqpack) as well. I saw a picture where someone had the radiator horizontally and it fit nicely inside where that 120mm and the space there is. The problem with that I'm assuming is that there's going to be cutting to the top for exhaust, or it wouldn't make much sense
 
The only rad that i found till now that would fit that 120 mm space where the fan is are the Thermaltake or the Evercool radiator , where u actually can take off the rad casing and use the core only .
But i didnt find any data at all about their coolingcapacity , i guess if they hide that data its because u cant expect that much cooling from those radiators .
Other question would be if u could get out the heatercore out of a swiftech or BI 120 mm radiator ...
Also heard about the alphacool nexxus 120 mm rad thats about 122 mm wide and would fit , but cant find it nowhere for sale . :confused:
 
mashie said:
If you want truly silent computing get something like a Zalman Reserator. I have a Reserator 1 plus for my HTPC (Intel D930 and x1600pro in the loop). It's not the coolest solution but considering it has 0 fans it is good enough to keep my system rock stable at no added noise.
Click to expand...

Heard that the pump of the reserator doesnt seem to be very good , dont know if its true . Anyways the reserator is huge ...no way to fit onto my desk and the other problem is transporting the computer ....u have to drain the system ( or am i wrong ?? ) . I definitly want to fit everything inside my computer .
But anyway thanks for ur suggestion. ;)
 
mashie said:
You don't have to drain it for moving, the tubes going to the radiator use auto closing quick connects so no water will escape when you disconnect the tubes.

As for the pump, well it isn't a Laing D5, that is for sure...
Click to expand...

Auto closing .....nice feature !!!
It doesnt have to be the best pump on the market ...if it works its fine for me and it seems that yours does . :D
 
game14 said:
Auto closing .....nice feature !!!
It doesnt have to be the best pump on the market ...if it works its fine for me and it seems that yours does . :D
Click to expand...
I'm coming from a Zalman Res 1 Plus and mine has worked for nearly a year with ZERO problems at all. Moving the PC isn't much problem at all with the quick disconnects.

As for it's cooling. well if you aren't OCing it's more then enough to cool a CPU and GPU. It cooled my 3700+ and 6800GTOC with no problems.

As for the pump, well I held some people had problems with their pump dying on them. Mine hasn't but it's not the most powerful pump thats for sure. Zalman even tells you to try and keep the case and res at the same level cause the pump isn't strong enough to pump the water up hill. I personally think that is just being safe as mine was setup like that for a while and worked just as good as on the same level.
 
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