Newb to watercooling...

[RoyCohen]

Hi, this is my first post here and hopefully not my last

I wanted to get into watercooling but I don't know a thing about it. Is it that much better than air? Is it easy to install? Are there any kits that are good? What would I need to learn to start getting into WCing? Is it worth the hassle? Can I use this just for a cpu and then air for everything else? Is it dangerous becuase I do not like the part about parts "leaking"

Thanks in advance!

 

[Silent Assasin]

Well, I suppose I'll post in here to help you not loose confidence in water cooling. I hated the thought of leaks as well, but after completing my loop I can't be happier and I have strong fealing that I will never go back to air now. But anyway, just for a quick suggestion, when I started up pretty much the same sorta thread, I had already looked a bit into different "all in one" kits. When I started talking about them, they all got shot down. Everyone here strongly suggested building a custom kit, and I'm kinda glad they did.

For now, might I suggest looking around some websites such as www.dangerdenstore.com, www.frozencpu.com, and www.sharakcomputers.com. Those are just several places for great water cooling products.

But since I'm still somewhat of a newb to watercooling, I'll let Top Nurse get in here and crack the whip.

Hope any of this helps for you.

 

[RoyCohen]

Alright, I am guessing Top Nurse is the "gawd" around here?

 

[Silent Assasin]

Alright, I am guessing Top Nurse is the "gawd" around here?

Well, I'd consider him pretty much the know it all around here, know there are several other people that hang out here that know alot more then me, but Top Nurse tends to stand out in my mind.

 

[Talonz]

Alright, I am guessing Top Nurse is the "gawd" around here?

She knows her stuff but is a little biased towards AquaComputer equipment

Also keep an eye out for Cathar, Erasmus, and Bio-Hazard.

BTW, plenty of good info in the sticky here:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=759705

 

[chronic9]

water cooling can run u a few 100 bucks up to a grand or so, if u choose to go the Aquacomputer way - like topnurse does, lol. AC stuff is VERY VERY nice, but pricey as hell and uses tubeing thats only standard to europe. so if your gonna decide to use the AC resevoir and Danger Den blocks you'll need a converter.

also you'll need a case that can hold the resevoir or if you want just a T-line. then a radiator and a pump. so a big case is a usually a must or will make things alot easier.

or if you want you can get the zalman reserator, external water cooling kit, my friend bought one and its pretty dam cool.

i was thinking of getting a water cooling setup, but then chose against it since i didnt want to drop 300 - 400 bux. right now iam looking at the cooler master aquagate, it looks cool, but from wat i gather only cools the CPU.

if your interested in AC stuff, check out sharka computers. they have mostly all of the AC parts out there.http://sharkacomputers.com/

heck i am a newb to h2oing as well and maybe some day ill even buy a setup.

i was soo getting ready to get into water cooling that i even bought a p180, but then decided against it. anyone wanna buy a new p-180 in box?

 

[Punx_Clever]

Alright, I am guessing Top Nurse is the "gawd" around here?

For low-flow european stuff, yeah. Just take what she says with a grain of salt, she can be kinda overwhelming in support of AC stuff sometimes.

Well, I'd consider him pretty much the know it all around here, know there are several other people that hang out here that know alot more then me, but Top Nurse tends to stand out in my mind.

hehehehe... TopNurse... him... hahahahah.

I personaly would say that Cathar is the god of watercooling around here... He knows his stuff well enough to truely engineer products. IE research, calculations, the whole bit as opposed to just building a system.

 

[chronic9]

cant blame topnurse for likeing AC stuff soo much. it does look the BEST especially the resevoirs and the VGA water blocks - in my opinion, they are over priced nevertheless.

i guess most people think that this forum is mainly male orientated, lol.
there is also jessicaalba on here with that cool trigun case. so its not only guys that are into hardware. lol

 

[Talonz]

AC stuff is VERY VERY nice, but pricey as hell and uses tubeing thats only standard to europe. so if your gonna decide to use the AC resevoir and Danger Den blocks you'll need a converter.

AC stuff is nice, for looks. If you are looking for the performance, you are better off using a setup that uses at least 3/8" tubing.

 

[Erasmus354]

Hi, this is my first post here and hopefully not my last

I wanted to get into watercooling but I don't know a thing about it. Is it that much better than air? Is it easy to install? Are there any kits that are good? What would I need to learn to start getting into WCing? Is it worth the hassle? Can I use this just for a cpu and then air for everything else? Is it dangerous becuase I do not like the part about parts "leaking"

Thanks in advance!

Ok here we go!

1) Is it much better than air?
Yes and no. Usually watercooling will provide you with better temps than air cooling. However some of the cheaper kits (Tt Bigwater) that utilize weak pumps, poor waterblocks, and/or undersized radiators will perform the same or worse than decent air cooling. However watercooling should most always be better than stock cooling.

2) Are there any kits that are good?
Yes!! The best performing "kit" you can get right now would probably be the Swiftech APEX kit. There are also a number of similar kits which are basically DIY components bundled in a package that comes with everything you need. These kits are your best bet IMO and provide the best price/performance ratio. Certain kits like the Coolermaster Aquagate, Evercool/Kingwin drivebay kits, and the Tt Bigwater are very poor and underpowered kits. They try to package watercooling in small, flashy packages which ends up removing most of the advantages of watercooling.

3) What would I need to learn?
You need to know how to connect and setup the loop, as well as proper maintenance. A good place to get started would be the watercooling sticky, and asking questions on things that you dont understand fully. The most important thing is understanding the risks of watercooling, and how to guard yourself against them.

4) Is it worth the hassle?
Yes! You can get a much quieter system that also cools better. Adding to the longevity of your equipment (a cooler processor *should* technically last longer than one that runs hotter). It can also help you get a higher overclock which will mean a faster system...at least for benchmarks

5) Can I use this for CPU and air for everything else?
You most certainly can. In fact I would bet that at least half of the people watercooling are only watercooling their CPU...or start off only watercooling their CPU. The only disadvantage of this is that you still need to make sure you have somewhat decent airflow through your case, if you add the GPU to the loop then you really dont have a large source of heat in your computer anymore... at least nothing that cant be cooled from the slightest breeze through your case (if that).

6) Is it dangerous?
Unfortunately there is always the danger that your loop could spring a leak. You can hedge your bets by using quality hosing and clamps, and performing a proper leak test. This should prevent any disaster, but you never know what will happen. Recently there have been a number of non-conductive solutions introduced to the market, While they are more expensive than using water + additive, they have the advantage that when spilled on your components will not cause them to short out. Madshrimps has an article about DangerDens non-conductive solution MCT-5 which spilled all over their video card and the motherboard, all the components were fine and after a little cleaning were good as new.



I hope this has answered some of your questions.

 

[Erasmus354]

AC stuff is nice, for looks. If you are looking for the performance, you are better off using a setup that uses at least 3/8" tubing.

AC gear supports 3/8" tubing natively, this is also known as 10mm tubing. The thing is that for some reason most people with AC or other "European" watercooling setups usually pair that with rediculously small 6mm tubing, which is where people get the misconception that it only accepts dinky tubing.

Some of AC's designs (Cuplex XT) look as if they offer top notch performance. I cant say how the XT rates to other blocks as there hasn't been a sufficiently sound test on it (or any other AC gear for that matter).

 

[Talonz]

AC gear supports 3/8" tubing natively, this is also known as 10mm tubing. The thing is that for some reason most people with AC or other "European" watercooling setups usually pair that with rediculously small 6mm tubing, which is where people get the misconception that it only accepts dinky tubing.

Some of AC's designs (Cuplex XT) look as if they offer top notch performance. I cant say how the XT rates to other blocks as there hasn't been a sufficiently sound test on it (or any other AC gear for that matter).

Ah, okay, I'm guilty of having that misconception

 

[drizzt81]

Ok here we go!
2) Are there any kits that are good?
Yes!! The best performing "kit" you can get right now would probably be the Swiftech APEX kit. There are also a number of similar kits which are basically DIY components bundled in a package that comes with everything you need. These kits are your best bet IMO and provide the best price/performance ratio. Certain kits like the Coolermaster Aquagate, Evercool/Kingwin drivebay kits, and the Tt Bigwater are very poor and underpowered kits.

thanks for that comment. I was currenty considering to get one of the Aquagate kits and I guess I will be better off with an XP90.