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Recommendations - Cheapest Watercooling

S

SEALTeamSix

2[H]4U
Joined
Aug 15, 2003
Messages
2,434
I'd like any recommendations you can give about what is the cheapest/best-value watercooling equipment to do their CPU, and possibly the GPU or chipset if the price is right. This is for someone who's never watercooled before, but is familiar with the concept. They want to get into it, but don't want to spend a lot. Thanks for any advice you can give.

-SEAL
 
my guess would be...dangerden maze4 block($35), go to a petstore for a pump($20), and go to local auto parts store for a heatercore(I got mine for $35) and $5 for misc tubing and clamps from home depot
---> $95

but you can also buy pretty much all of that from dangerden as well. I havent been to their site in awhile and didnt notice all the other stuff they carry now
 
I do not reccomend watercooling your GPU. What if you have to replace your video card? Its a total pain.
For a n00b I reccomend the Thermaltake Bigwater. It is a prebuilt kit that actually does quite well.
If you want to go pro, stick with Swiftech or DangerDen. Swiftech looks a little ugly (subjective), but performs great. DangerDen shares a lot of the same parts but switftech mods them for performance usually.
 
I dont have a problem watercooling my vid card. First of all both of my vid cards used the same block (9800 pro, x800 pro vivo) so I didnt have to change it out. Seccond, it keeps the card very cool, so you can get some good overclocks out of it. Let alone my computer is extermely quiet. But as far as the water cooling kit goes, I would go with a custom setup, I usually go dangerden for the blocks because they perform great. Then with tubing, you can get just everyday tubing or you can go tygon or clearflex if you dont want it to kink. If you go to a local hardware store, it will be a very thin walled tubing that can kink real easy. For the radiator, go to auto zone and get the chevette heatercore. Then you need a shroud, which you can get from dangerden, then a 120mm fan to go with it. I would also get some distilled water and some hydrex addative (for killing bacteria and fighting corosion). Lastly, I would try to find a dremel, if you dont already have one. Overall what you would be looking for all of this would be about 100 for a CPU only setup and about 140 - 150 for a CPU + GPU setup. A chipset isnt worth watercooling, just get a nice passive cooler on it and it will be just fine. Some sites to check out are:

www.dangerden.com (CPU & GPU waterblocks + tubing + shroud + fan)
www.svc.com (hydrex water addative)
www.autozone.com (heatercore)
www.xoxide.com (another place to find water cooling supplies)
 
This guide looks about right to me, but what do I know? I'm new to watercooling, so can someone look this over and tell me what they think?

-SEAL
 
SEALTeamSix said:
This guide looks about right to me, but what do I know? I'm new to watercooling, so can someone look this over and tell me what they think?

-SEAL
Click to expand...
The kid makes some good points on what to get, but he is very biased and closed minded against alot of things out there. But hey, he's just a kid. Lot of good info, but READ alot of other guides and reviews. There is alot of other stuff out there that works just as well, if not better than what's in the guide depending on what you're cooling and hoe you implament it.
 
Razorblade Handcuffs said:
...Asetek WaterChill...
Click to expand...

The WaterChill Antarctica is $260... thanks for the advice, and I'm sure it's good, but then again there are lots of good kits. While I appreciate the effort, I'm looking for the cheapest parts that will still provide adequate performance, and this isn't it.

Bio-Hazard said:
READ alot of other guides and reviews. There is alot of other stuff out there that works just as well, if not better than what's in the guide depending on what you're cooling and how you implament it.
Click to expand...

I HAVE read many guides and reviews, but most of them leave out the cost factor, and most of the kits reviewed are more expensive than a home-built system would be. I was using that guide as an example of very cheap watercooling... of course there is more effective watercooling out there, but I'm looking for cheap. Do you have any specific suggestions on what would be the least-expensive watercooling solution for a 90nm s939 A64?

-SEAL
 
If you get one of the new swiftech cpu blocks, you can save a bunch of money on the pump because they don't require a great deal of pressure. You can use a heatercore for the rad, and PVC for the reservoir, or don't have a res at all. I don't even have a t-ine in my system, and I don't have any airbubbles. Took awhile to fill though. :D
 
Jonsey said:
If you get one of the new swiftech cpu blocks, you can save a bunch of money on the pump because they don't require a great deal of pressure. You can use a heatercore for the rad, and PVC for the reservoir, or don't have a res at all. I don't even have a t-ine in my system, and I don't have any airbubbles. Took awhile to fill though. :D
Click to expand...

What would a good pump-block combo be to exploit the low pressure requirements of the new blocks?

-SEAL
 
Low buck route with decent performance. Better than ur average kit. heck, Better than most kits: Note all prices are very aproximate

Swiftech 6002 CPU block 50.00
DD Maze 4 GPU block 40.00
Via Aqua 1200 Pump 20.00
77 bonneville heater core 20.00
2X 120mm fans of your choice 2 X 7.00 ( ranges widely)
Homemeade PVC reservoir 5.00
7 to 10 feet clearflex tubing about 1.00-1.25 per foot
Aprox 10 steel clamps .50 ea
1 bottle of additive ( HydrX, Zerex, etc) ?

So about 175 final price. All in USD. If ur outside USA prices will be higher and not just exchange rate higher. The VIa Aqua will need a foam type pad to sit on. The heatercore will need fittings for the tubes mounted and a fan shroud made. All easy for a home DIYer.
 
MikeP said:
...Via Aqua 1200 Pump 20.00...
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for speccing it all out! A quick question - would a better pump like the Mag 3 (~$40), be worth the $20 jump from the Via? Perhaps even an Eheim 1048 and Hydor L20 would be better?

-SEAL
 
MikeP said:
Low buck route with decent performance. Better than ur average kit. heck, Better than most kits: Note all prices are very aproximate

Swiftech 6002 CPU block 50.00
DD Maze 4 GPU block 40.00
Via Aqua 1200 Pump 20.00
77 bonneville heater core 20.00
2X 120mm fans of your choice 2 X 7.00 ( ranges widely)
Homemeade PVC reservoir 5.00
7 to 10 feet clearflex tubing about 1.00-1.25 per foot
Aprox 10 steel clamps .50 ea
1 bottle of additive ( HydrX, Zerex, etc) ?

So about 175 final price. All in USD. If ur outside USA prices will be higher and not just exchange rate higher. The VIa Aqua will need a foam type pad to sit on. The heatercore will need fittings for the tubes mounted and a fan shroud made. All easy for a home DIYer.
Click to expand...

Nice recommendation. I think what people don't realize is that although no one thing costs a whole lot, all those things add up.
 
One thing... i would NOT reccommend a resivor just because of the fact that they are not needed, and only add to the crap to take care of. I just use a T-valve and fill it though there. Thats just what I think because resivors have been known to leak when transporting and such.
 
77 bonneville heater core is now $30.00, is what I use for my heater cores. I sell them Painted with fittings threaded in for $37. LMK if I can help ya out. =)

You can use a MaxiJet pump/res. The pump is in the res, and they kickass. Should check into one.
 
SEALTeamSix said:
The WaterChill Antarctica is $260... thanks for the advice, and I'm sure it's good, but then again there are lots of good kits. While I appreciate the effort, I'm looking for the cheapest parts that will still provide adequate performance, and this isn't it.
Click to expand...

What do you define as cheap? $260 is pretty cheap IMO. LMK and I'll take another swing.
 
Razorblade Handcuffs said:
What do you define as cheap? $260 is pretty cheap IMO. LMK and I'll take another swing.
Click to expand...

I'd say ~$160... remember that it doesn't have to be (and for the price, probably CAN'T be) a kit. By "adequate performance," I mean temps at least several degrees below air cooling, and hopefully with less noise too.

What's it for? Good question... it'll probably end up cooling a 3000+ 90nm A64 overclocked CPU and an soft-modded, overclocked 6800nu GPU.

-SEAL
 
SEALTeamSix said:
Wow, thanks for speccing it all out! A quick question - would a better pump like the Mag 3 (~$40), be worth the $20 jump from the Via? Perhaps even an Eheim 1048 and Hydor L20 would be better?

-SEAL
Click to expand...

The Mag 3 and Mag 5 have very good reps. I dont think you would go far wrong with either but I have no direct experince with them. I do have direct experience with the Via Aqua and have absolutely no complaints about it.
 
Avengeance said:
One thing... i would NOT reccommend a resivor just because of the fact that they are not needed, and only add to the crap to take care of. I just use a T-valve and fill it though there. Thats just what I think because resivors have been known to leak when transporting and such.
Click to expand...

Acrylic res's are known to leak. PVC ones dont unless u did an amazingly bad job of putting it together. You can stand on mine with no problems. And "crap to take care of" ? You have to take it for walks every day? clip its toenails? Am I neglecting my res by not taking care of it?
 
What are the advantages to having a res? I would think it might lower temps by having more water to distibute heat across... but that might not be right.

This stuff will go into an Antec SuperLANBoy case, so space is at a premium, which might influence the res/no res decision as well...

-SEAL
 
I didn't use a res or t-line at all. I put my stuff together in the case, so that the lines were the right size and in the correct orientation. Then I took the whole system out of the case, still connected. I disconnected the line between the rad and the pump. Then I put the rad on the floor and held the rest of the system above it. I filled it with fluid until the rad was full. Then my wife held her finger over the open rad line while I filled the rest of the system. I shook the system around some to get the air to the top, and then put the line back on the rad. I have one tiny air bubble. I might get a res yet, but this was an easy way not to have to mess with one.
 
I did the mod to my Via Aqua 1300 to quiet it, and put it on a foam pad. It's totally silent now. It's been running for about 24 hours to test it before it all goes in the case, and I can't believe how quiet it is. I can't tell the system is on unless my head is within 1 foot of the pump. Amazing. Now I'm going to have to rethink running high speed fans on the 77 bonnie radiator. I think I'll set the Panaflows to 5v and get a couple new Seagate drives. I'm shooting for 3.8ghz on my 2.8c, and a decent overclock on my 6800gt, with an almost silent system.
 
Advil said:
I did the mod to my Via Aqua 1300 to quiet it, and put it on a foam pad. It's totally silent now.
Click to expand...

It seems most of the noise in the Via Aqua is vibration based. Mine was whinning like crazy until I made a little multi-layered pad for it. Gettting rid of the suction cups helps too. Its had about 200 hours on it now and still running perfect. I took a switch from an old PSU and a bit of wire to wire it in so its now mounted right beside the power switch to turn the pump on with the comp.

FOr the thread title " cheapest watercooling" it is def the cheapest pump you can get. Ive seen them on sites at $14.95. I got mine for $21.00 a while back.
 
OriginalOCer said:
That is easily the best deal out there.... plus it's one of the highest performance kits out there.

peace,
OriginalOCer
Click to expand...

Wow. Their prices are crazy low. Worth a close look tahts for sure. But how can it be one of the highest performance kits out there when it uses an Aluminum waterblock? There is an option to upgrade to a copper based one. Any reviews of this kit to back up its performance?
 
OriginalOCer said:
BEcooling has complete kits (pump, tube, block, rad, and various hardware to hold it all together) for 65 bucks....

$65 for a complete watercooling kit!

That is easily the best deal out there.... plus it's one of the highest performance kits out there.
Click to expand...

Wow! This would be really awesome... if the performance were good. There are a few things that make me raise my eyebrows, though. For one, the radiator is the size of an 80mm fan... shouldn't it be bigger? Another thing is the aluminum - copper really seems the way to go. Also, what are the flow rates and head size of the pump? What about the block - is it a jet-flow design, or just channeled? Lots of unanswered questions, but lots of potential... a review or two would really make me more comfortable buying this kit.

-SEAL
 
MikeP said:
Wow. Their prices are crazy low. Worth a close look tahts for sure. But how can it be one of the highest performance kits out there when it uses an Aluminum waterblock? There is an option to upgrade to a copper based one. Any reviews of this kit to back up its performance?
Click to expand...

Mike P! Cool, you have same name and last name intial as me....

Yeah the prices are rediculously low... what makes it impressive though is that the $65 dollar kit is universal as the hold down clamp works with any mobo with four mounting holes (which all P4/Athlon64/FX mobos are suppose to have).

As for performance, I meant PRICE/PERFORMANCE.... with that said I know for a fact that the $65 dollar kit performs better (and quieter) than any aircooling solution, and isn't really that much more expensive. As for reviews they'll be hard to find, and even harder to find something that is comparable as that block from BE has been around since the Socket370 days, 5 years ago (meaning even if you found a review, comparing P3 800 temps with even the lowest AthlonXP/64 or P4 won't give realistic performance).

peace,
OriginalOCer

p.s. With watercooling (especially 3/8" diameter systems) a lower end solution will perform within a couple of degrees of the highest-end... so when you consider the price you'd be an idiot to buy anything else.... I mean, it'd be cheaper to buy that $65 kit and then buy a TDX standalone block at teh same time, rather than blow a huge wad on an entire TDX KIT (which I think is double that 65$).... that way you'd basically have the performance of a TDX kit, WITH AND additinal waterblock, for even cheaper than the price of a real TDX kit.
 
OriginalOCer, it seems like you have experience with this kit... do you think that there's enough power to add a GPU cooler in the line and still get good performance?

edit: I just had an idea - What about getting a good copper CPU block (Swiftech 6002 or similar) and moving the aluminum block provided over to the GPU, as it puts off less heat... is that an acceptable solution?

-SEAL
 
SEALTeamSix said:
OriginalOCer, it seems like you have experience with this kit... do you think that there's enough power to add a GPU cooler in the line and still get good performance?

-SEAL
Click to expand...

I have... BUT, I no longer use the res/pump that came with it (I went inline and got a bay-res). From memory I would say it CAN do it... the pump that came with the system I used was somehting like 250GPH, and since it was a 3/8" system that provided more than enough flow.

Today I use an even crappier pump (like 130GPH) in my dually (which also has the chipset and video watercooled) and have had no problems.... deduction tells me that the pump that comes with that kick would have absolutely no problems. ALAS, I don't to promise you anything as I haven't used that specific pump in a 4 waterblock (or even 2 waterblock) loop...

Email them (BEcooling/Aquastealth) and see what they say.

EDIT: as for moving the included block to the GPU; this would absolutely be sufficient (better than the stock cooling of any videocard) but the hose barbs are 90degrees so you'd have to replace them with eblowed hose barbs (which is actually good cause it means you'd be able to fit RAMsinks under them). It would be the cheapest way to go, and should give you comparable performance to top-end stuff (at half the price)

peace,
OriginalOCer
 
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