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[WithoutATrAce]

Stupid Computer...I posted this a minute ago, or at least I thought I did and nothing posted.GRRR, i have to retype everything. You're not going to get cookies but you have to pleasures of helping me .

Anyways, Hi! My names Kamil, Male, 18 from NYC and running on around a $300 max budget for WC. I want to plunge into this *world* basically for the looks and silence. It doesnt have to be dead silent but hey...I don't want it LOUD like air cooling.
My current set-up is...

ASUS K8-n Mobo
AMD 3700+ socket 754
1Gb (2x512) OCZ Platinum Ram
ATI Radeo 9800 256mb Vid Card
2 DVD Drives
2 WD Hard Drives
Ultra x2 550 watt PSU
Creative XtremeMusic SoundCard
NZXT Trinity Case

Ive been lurking around these forums but Ive never actually posted. Basically, I wanted to cool both my Vid Card and Cpu but eventually noticed I cant. I wanted to get the 240GT but noticed I have no where to mount it. I would put it on the back of the case put it would be impossible hooking up the cables from the monitor and what not. And i def. don't want to runa round cutting my case up mounting it in some crazy place, LOL. So, unfortunatly, I think Im stuck to just cooling my Cpu. *tear* Here's what I plan on ordering AFTER i get some decent feedback from you guys...

-Storm 2 cpu block
-*was going to get Maze 4 Acetal but no more *
-MCW655 Pump Not sure if thats the right model number
-Going with a T line because people say its better...drill Fillport to top of case
-120GT Rad ***and whats the difference with the x-flow version***
-Going to give the Koolance liquid a try for now, its UV blue, antialgae/corrosion etc. See how it works...
-Should 8ft. 1/2" of tygon tubing be enough? And which tygon should I get?
-A handful of plastic clamps
-DD FillPort
-Plastic T Line

Is there anything else I would need or would that be it? And basically clean the parts with water and viniger, hook them up and leak test it for a day right? Is that all it takes? And how would i bleed out the air with the t line?

Thanks for checking the post out and I'll be happy to listen to your suggestions etc.

 

[chickenselects]

i opened a thread about the xflow awhile ago and its really not imporant, its for high pressure systems or something but dont worry about it. Dont close the T-line with a fillport and just run the loop untill the air is out.

I have my parts in and im ready to do the same just waiting on conroe...

good luck and be sure to post results

 

[Arcygenical]

Ahhhh FINALLY a user with a REALISTIC budget!!! 300$ can get you ONE HELL of a setup.

For your CPU block I definitely recommend either the TDX, Storm or Apogee. The storm works the best in a high flow situation (coupled with the swiftech MCP655 or DD5 pump) but most of these blocks are within 1-2'c of one another.

Pump, well the ones I mentionned earlier.

As for a fillport and Tline, you seem to have the right Idea. I'd stay AWAY from Tygon tubing because of it's price! Did you know that the 7/16" MasterKleer tubing is IMO MUCH better than Tygon? It's literally about 1/2 the price, a bit thinner (easier to route, but not thin enough to cause major kinking) and you DONT NEED HOSE CLAMPS if you're using 1/2' barbs.

If you're just cooling the CPU, I suggest the Stealth GT rad. The difference between the Xflow and the regular one is slight. The Xflow works better in low flow situations. As an added benefit there's 1 barb on each side of the setup, so for me it works really well (as my tubing is farther apart). It's slightly longer than the regular radiator, so be careful! The HWlabs website has all the nominal dimensions of each of their products.

As for a fan I recommend the 4$ Yate Loon on Jab-Tech.com. Get a few of them, they're an AWESOME deal. I'd also recommend getting a nice northbridge cooler, to help with your NB temps. The little sink on the K8n just isn't enough IMO.

Realistically, you're stuck to WCing the Chipset and Processor with a 120mm rad. You'd need to cut out the top of the case / get a new case if you wanted to cool your GPU. You'd be better off getting a new card and slapping on one of the Arctic Silencer fans... But that's up to you.

Leave vinegar in the radiator (and any copper blocks) for 12hrs (3 hrs for the blocks) and change the vinegar halfway through. It should be GREEN. A little bit of bleach after the vinegar won't hurt either, it should turn RED (dont leave it in for more than 5 minutes or so). Make sure to clean out the radiator between each cleaning session with water. Distilled is not necessary if you plan on using the radiator within a couple of days (if you leave hard water in your rad for a week you'll have problems).

As for bleeding... What I do is add my water (or coolant if you must) and pulse the pump, just turn it on and off. Keep adding more water (make sure the inlet to your pump ALWAYS has water going to it) untill it's mostly full. Turn off the system, wait for the bubbles to coalesce (10 minutes) and close the fillport. Move the entire case around in different directions to dislodge the air. Keep adding more coolant etc. until you're at least 90% full and leave it off overnight. Keep adding more water in the morning etc. You should bleed a Tline system in less than 2 days completely. I find that turning the pump down to about 50% helps too.

Um... That's it for now, post back if you have any other questions!

 

[WithoutATrAce]

Wow, great post! But wouldnt 1/2 tubing give better results? And also should 8 feet be enough or should I get more?

Plus I heard masterkleer isn't really that good..opinions?

 

[N H O]

i dont see why you cant add your gpu to the loop, even on a singl 120mm you should still get good temps. i have a 3000+ winnie, my chipset, and a 6800gs pci-e all in the same loop with a swiftech mcr120 and i get good temps, better than air. you could also use a radbox to mount a dual 120mm rad in the back of your case too ya know

oh btw, masterkleer tubing is really good tubing

 

[virtualrain]

Wow, great post! But wouldnt 1/2 tubing give better results? And also should 8 feet be enough or should I get more?

Plus I heard masterkleer isn't really that good..opinions?

This is advice from someone (Cathar) on another forum (I think it's so good it should be a sticky on any/every forum)...

Been rolling the whole tubing size idea around in my head, and thinking about trade-offs and the like.

I like the idea of 3/8" ID tubing, but I just can't shake the feeling that for >4LPM that it starts to become an increasingly significant source of restriction for those who wish to make use of strong pumps capable of pushing the higher flow rates. It's not that 3/8" tubing is bad at all for coping with moderate flow rates, it's just that it could be better. For example at 6LPM, 7' of 3/8" ID tubing is offering pretty close to 1mH2O of pressure drop all by itself.

But 3/8" is attractive because it's very light, and it bleeds air-bubbles fast.

1/2" tubing is fat and unattractive. Unless flow rates are getting past the 6LPM mark, air-bubbles don't bleed very well. It's heavy, and it requires fairly thick walls (1/8") before it can turn good radii without kinking, but this wall thickness comes at a cost of making it stiffer to turn, thus putting more leverage on the water-block's all important thermal contact. However, it takes around 13.5LPM before 7' of 1/2" ID tubing offers 1mH2O of pressure drop, so really it's almost overkill.

So I looked to the middle-ground, that being 7/16" (~11.1mm) that has 3/32" wall thickness for a total of 5/8" OD. Per length of tubing it's about 2/3's the weight of the 1/2" ID (3/4" OD) tubing. Being a thinner ID it is able to be bent into tighter radii without kinking, allowing for the use of the 3/32" wall thickness, which means that it also becomes easier to turn those radii. It offers 1mH2O of pressure drop at 9.5LPM for a 7' length, which pretty much puts it still as a very attractive offering.

Then I took into account stretching the 7/16" ID tubing over 1/2" OD fittings (barbs) with 10mm ID orifices. Due to the "lip effect" the 1/2" ID tubing actually offers nearly 3x the transitioning resistance at fittings as the 7/16" tubing whose ID more closely matches the ID of the fitting. Over a typical full system when fitting resistance is taken into account, the 7/16" ID tubing offers almost the same amount of tubing + fitting resistance as the 1/2" ID tubing.

Results were obtained using the pressure drop calculator from http://www.pressure-drop.org.

This all got me to thinking that really what us 1/2 inchers may really want to be doing is fitting 3/32" thickness walled 7/16" ID tubing over our 1/2" barbed systems, and pretty much be enjoying no extra system resistance, but gaining the benefits of lighter tubing that is easier to bleed (bleeds very well at a predicted ~5LPM), easier to bend, isn't as bulky, "hangs" less off water-blocks, and is significantly cheaper due to less wall material being used.

ps... where's my cookie?!

 

[Arcygenical]

Even the low flow, 6mm thick ID tubing in the aqua computer stuff performs really well... Honestly, flowrate and tubing size only affect your water block. If your block is designed for high flow (TDX or Storm) then you need larger tubing, and a higher water pressure level. Low flow blocks (like the Cuplex XT) benefit from smaller tubing, or slower moving water. It's a fact of life, and no... it doesn't make sense .

 

[Bbq]

Even the low flow, 6mm thick ID tubing in the aqua computer stuff performs really well... Honestly, flowrate and tubing size only affect your water block. If your block is designed for high flow (TDX or Storm) then you need larger tubing, and a higher water pressure level. Low flow blocks (like the Cuplex XT) benefit from smaller tubing, or slower moving water. It's a fact of life, and no... it doesn't make sense .

Actually, Cuplex XT is an impingment based design, which works well with low-flow, but excels at high flow. Right behind MP05 and Storm.

OP:

-Storm 2 cpu block
-*was going to get Maze 4 Acetal but no more *
-MCW655 Pump Not sure if thats the right model number
-Going with a T line because people say its better...drill Fillport to top of case
-120GT Rad ***and whats the difference with the x-flow version***
-Going to give the Koolance liquid a try for now, its UV blue, antialgae/corrosion etc. See how it works...
-Should 8ft. 1/2" of tygon tubing be enough? And which tygon should I get?
-A handful of plastic clamps
-DD FillPort
-Plastic T Line

First: Good choice on lots of things but:

1. It's an MCP 655 pump. Not mcw
2. Go with a 2x120 rad instead. You'll thank me. Do it with the Black Ice GT.
3. Don't bother with the koolance fluid. Go with a small bottle of pentosin and water. Mix it 9:1. Petra stocks the stuff for about 3 bucks for 2 oz. Makes 20 oz of fluid.
4. don't bother with Tygon. Overpriced. Masterkleer is every bit as good, and only 39 cents a foot as opposed to at least 3-4x the price.
5. I like the steel clamps more than the plastic's, just because of how well they grip onto the tubing.
6. Try Petra's Delrin fillport. DD's are alu + cu. And expensive.
7. Try The Yate Loon D12SL12 fans. They're 4 bucks each at Jab-tech, and great fans they are.
8. Where's my cookie?

 

[xXxDieselxXx]

First: Good choice on lots of things but:

1. It's an MCP 655 pump. Not mcw
2. Go with a 2x120 rad instead. You'll thank me. Do it with the Black Ice GT.
3. Don't bother with the koolance fluid. Go with a small bottle of pentosin and water. Mix it 9:1. Petra stocks the stuff for about 3 bucks for 2 oz. Makes 20 oz of fluid.
4. don't bother with Tygon. Overpriced. Masterkleer is every bit as good, and only 39 cents a foot as opposed to at least 3-4x the price.
5. I like the steel clamps more than the plastic's, just because of how well they grip onto the tubing.
6. Try Petra's Delrin fillport. DD's are alu + cu. And expensive.
7. Try The Yate Loon D12SL12 fans. They're 4 bucks each at Jab-tech, and great fans they are.
8. Where's my cookie?

I second this 100%

 

[WithoutATrAce]

WOW I love this forum! lol. Yeah, I really do want a GT240 but can't see anyway of making it fit on the back of my case. Will that swiftech radbox work and give me enough room? Think about it, I still have that humungo CRT monitor cable popping out of my case,lol.

As for the liquid *ehhh*,lol. I just want to try the Koolance stuff out and see how it is. If I really don't like it Pentosin here I come.

And i really hope you guys are right about the tubing size,lol!

 

[xXxDieselxXx]

7/16 Masterkleer or Tygon for 1/2" barbs all the way

 

[WithoutATrAce]

so would the swiftech radbox give me enough room to mount the gt240 on the back of my case or not?

 

[Bbq]

Yes, it will.