Questions About Water Cooling

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XacTactX

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Hey guys, I'm thinking about getting onto the water cooling scene, but I have a lot of things to figure out. I hope you can help:

  • I know that "self-contained" systems like the Corsair Hydro series do not have an external reservoir and pump and all those doohickeys(<- Not marked wrong). Is it possible to make a CPU loop that only has a CPU block being connected with tubing to a radiator so that the whole thing is compact?
  • I'd like to water cool my CPU, then if I see that WC is for me I'd get into GPU cooling and all that jazz. The GPU is actually what I'm more excited to water cool but right now I have a 9600GT so there's no sense in doing that right now. The top of the case I have(NZXT Lexa S) has two fan mounts which can accomodate (2) 120mm or (2) 140mm fans. Would a 240 or 280 radiator be acceptable for an i5 750 and would the top of the case be a good place to put the radiator? I'd like to add that I want a 240 or 280 for the sake of future-proofing so that I don't have to upgrade for the CPU loop in the event that I change the CPU one day.
 
The most compact is the corsair hydro. But before you start, are you OCing the CPU and when do you plan to upgrade the GPU?
 
So are there any compact self-contained ways I can implement water cooling for a CPU using a 240 or 280 radiator?

Right now I don't do much gaming at all, so I have no plans to upgrade the GPU to anything beyond a 4850(and even then I think it would be more trouble than it's worth).

I currently have a Hyper212+ on my 750, the 750 can do 3.2GHz Turbo at stock volts, but I haven't tried anything beyond that. My main concern with upping voltage on both the CPU and GPU is that I don't want noticeably decrease the lifespan of my components. As long as the CPU doesn't become a ticking time bomb I'd like to bump the voltage a little bit once I get into WC (1.25v maybe?)
 
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No, there really aren't anyways to make a compact system. The best would be to get one of those drive-bay reservoir/pump combos, maybe a single-slot reservoir with an MCP-355 that can be stuck inside it. And then getting a 2x140 radiator and CPU block. The 2x140 radiator will provide you with better cooling than a 2x120.
 
The XSPC kit is very attractive price wise. I'm wondering, could I do a similar or better job by buying the parts myself from the forum? Now that I'm thinking about it, it doesn't need to be so compact.
 
You wont get the same performance vs price point making your own. Your better off going with and xspc kit.
 
Wicked_Bass said:
You wont get the same performance vs price point making your own. Your better off going with and xspc kit.
Click to expand...

I disagree. He's talking about buying used parts off the forum. You certainly can get much better price/performance buying from forum members.
 
Tsumi said:
I disagree. He's talking about buying used parts off the forum. You certainly can get much better price/performance buying from forum members.
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From a PITA factor, you would have to assign practically no value to your time for buying used to be a better deal. Our FS/FT section isn't exactly packed with WC gear and then you have to worry about the previous owner running any additives or dye in the gear. The XSPC kit is an easy one stop shop and very expandable, the RS360 version of the kit is the basis of my loop.
 
In terms of versatility and longevity how do the XSPC kits fare in general, the Rasa 750 kits and any that may be a little bit more expensive? Do any of them have components that will be worthwhile for a long time and not need to be upgraded?

R-Type brought up a good point, it would be harder to find a good DIY setup for myself, but assuming that I was willing to stalk the forum and had $120-200 to spend, would it be worth it to get parts myself?

Just curious what's the difference between the RS240 and RX240 radiators. The RX is a little bit more expensive I see.
 
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The parts in the XSPC kits are fairly good, they're not the best, but they hold their own. They're usually with 5 C of the top equipment in their respective cases.

The RX240 is much thicker, which allows it to cool better.
 
The RX versions are thicker rads capable of cooling more. If you want to run a CPU and only one GPU go for the RX240, if you plan on adding more than 1 GPU go for the RX360.

You're going to spend more than $200 if you buy the parts on your own. Reason being if you're piecing together your own kit you'll be buying the same exact stuff since your budget won't allow you get really get higher end parts.

In terms of performance the Rasa block is one of the BEST performers for its price point. They shouldn't need to be upgraded for some time especially seeing how newer processors are beginning to run cooler than older ones an example would be the Sandy Bridge line from Intel.
 
Thank you for the responses so far, I've learned a lot already :).

So from the responses I have gauged that the XSPC water cooling kits are user-friendly and good values.

This is a logistical question: If someone has the RS360 where would it be placed? I've never seen a case with 3 x 120mm fan mounts. Does it have to be externally mounted? I'd like to keep the whole case inside of itself if that makes sense.
 
If users don't have the space they do two things -

A. Mod their case to fit it
B. Mount it outside of the case.

It all depends on what you want to cool though. If you don't need a 3x120mm rad then don't get one, but if you do then you need to figure out for yourself what you'd like to do if it doesn't fit.
 
An option for you is the Swiftech radiator mount, which allows you to mount the radiator externally attached to the rear 120mm fan place. Another would be mod your case. I modded my case to fit a 3x140 ;)

There are plenty of cases with 3x120mm fan mounts. These cases are almost universally full-tower cases, not mid-tower cases, and are usually more expensive ($150+ range). Examples include the Cosmos S, HAF 932, Corsair 800d, and more.
 
XacTactX said:
Thank you for the responses so far, I've learned a lot already :).

So from the responses I have gauged that the XSPC water cooling kits are user-friendly and good values.

This is a logistical question: If someone has the RS360 where would it be placed? I've never seen a case with 3 x 120mm fan mounts. Does it have to be externally mounted? I'd like to keep the whole case inside of itself if that makes sense.
Click to expand...

I modded my case and put it in the top.



The radiator bracket I used is here.
http://jab-tech.com/Bitspower-Rad-Guard-BP-MRG360A-BK-pr-4629.html

My full build thread is here.
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1591085
 
Nice. :cool:

R-Type said:
I modded my case and put it in the top.



The radiator bracket I used is here.
http://jab-tech.com/Bitspower-Rad-Guard-BP-MRG360A-BK-pr-4629.html

My full build thread is here.
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1591085
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I would like to do. Realistically, I will only ever own at most a single GPU, and the one-below-the-best like the 6950 2GB, unlocked of course ;). From the little that I know about WC, it seems that a 360 is plenty for a midrange CPU and a badass single GPU.

I could get a case with the intent of adding three 120mm fan mounts up top, and then I would have a kicking case and WC setup that I wouldn't have to mess with for a while.

How would the CM590 work for adding a 120.3 up top?
 
You can pull off a CPU and single GPU on an RX240 and would probably need to add a shroud at most, but I didn't look to see what case you have.
 
I have an NZXT Lexa S, it has two preinstalled 120/140mm fan mounts up top, one 120mm rear exhaust, one 120mm intake, and one 120mm side intake.
 
The 590 would work, but it would work in the same way it works for my case (well, instead of trying to go for a 3x120, I opted for a 3x140 instead).

The 590 has non-standard spacing on the top for the 120mm fans. This means that radiator mounting will not line up properly with the holes. You would have to cut along the entire top and create a custom mount for mounting the entire radiator. In my case, I decided to be lazy, and go with 140's because the 140mm spacing is standard. Then I found out I had to cut into the drive bays, and that's where the fun began :p (3x140 radiators are a little too wide to fit in standard 5.25" drive bays).
 
True, 140mm x 3 would be noticeably better than 120mm x 3, but if I can avoid mutilating the top of the 5.25" drive bays in some way, 120.3 radiators and fans are much cheaper and will be easier to implement for me. What kind of cases would mesh well with 120.3 radiator up top (for cheap)?

140.3 sure is badass though :).
 
I'm not sure if any mid-towers can do a 120x3. Most are full towers, and will cost you at least $100.

I would go with the Cooler Master CM 690 Two (or 692 as some like to call it). The basic can be had for ~50, and it will fit 2 2x120 radiators (one on top, one on bottom). Otherwise, look for cases that have 2x120mm fan mountings on top spaced close together, and then all you would need is to cut a hole for the third fan.
 
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