Simple water cooling?

[drunkenmaster]

Hi!

First of all, I have to says, that I'm really new to this water cooling theme. I only decided to get a water cooling for my PC since the summer is coming, the days are getting hotter and my PC is getting louder every day.

I want to keep it really simple (and cheap , if possible). I don't want to overclock my system (maybe a very little...), I just want it to be cool & quiet.

Here is what I have and what I want:

- Motherboard: ASUS M3A78
- CPU: AMD Phenom X4 9650
- Graphics Card: MSI N9800GTX PLUS-2D1G
- Chassis: ASUS TA-D5 "Vento AD"

I want to cool my CPU and graphics card as best as possible. The north bridge does not have a fan, so that's not an issue and the HDD is cool by default.

Which parts do you suggest for my system? (Preferably sold in Europe/Hungary or available via eBay w/ international shipping.)

Any help is appreciated!



EDIT: I have already done some research on the internet, but most sites contradict themselves, and most all-in-one solutions only have a CPU block, but nothing for the graphics card... The Thermaltake BigWater 735 looks pretty decent. But I still need a GPU block. Would be the pump and radiator sufficient in this kit if I add the GPU to the loop?

 

[thehybridfrog]

I strongly advise against the BigWater 735, actually I strongly advise against Thermaltake in general.

I don't know about Hungary, but generally ordering parts separately is cheaper here (US), and I would imagine so for Hungary. Since you are watercooling an older card, I advise getting something like the Swiftech MCW80 so you can re-use it when you upgrade versus getting an old full-block that is expensive and will be quickly useless when you upgrade. Swiftech also sells adapter plates for their universal blocks to cool your ram, or you could get individual ram sinks.

What do you mean by contradict themselves? You need:

CPU block (Almost all CPU blocks are close in performance, will depend on your availability which one you pick out)
GPU block (Recommend universal)
Radiator (Need to know what case you have, whether you want external or internal)
Fans (Depends on radiator)
Tubing (I recommend tygon R-3400)
Coolant (Distilled water)
Anti-microbial additive (Silver coin/coil/etc... or PT-nuke [1 drop per liter, ~1-2 liters in a common water loop])
Reservoir (I recommend IandH stealth-res or swiftech micro-res).
Barbs or fittings (Depends on your tubing size)

Need more details to help you out.

 

[magoo]

You are correct, most all-in-one systems are cpu only.

But.....heat is heat. The WC system will remove heat from components, but then it has to go somewhere, typically your room.....so take that into consideration as well.

I would recommend looking to EK since they are EU based. http://www.ekwaterblocks.com/shop/

A simple setup would be a small pump (Swiftech MCP-355) a T-line or reservoir, CPU block (cpu and mainboard dependant) a GPU block (I like full cover blocks but they are costly) and a radiator. Miscellaneous items include tubing and fans and barbs or compression fittings.

You can spend from 150 to 500 dollars depending on what you buy.
If you want to cool the CPU only, look at the Corsair H50.
If you want to cool a cpu and gpu, you might consider a Koolance Exos......it is exterior all-in-one but gives the flexibility of buying your own blocks and tubing.

Come back with questions and I'll be glad to help.
Another place you might want to go is Realredraider.com, there are cooling enthusiasts on that forum from all over Europe and they may have some good sources of places to buy stuff in Europe.

 

[drunkenmaster]

Hi!

Thanks for the fast reply.

By contradiction I meant, that yesterday I read on one site, that the "northbridge should be the least of the problems, since the mounting holes are always on the same place" (top left and bottom right), and today I read an article on the Hungarian PC World Mag. home page, that said, that "[the northbridge mounts are] the least standardized, they can be anywhere...". If they can't get even that right, how can I get reliable information? But anyway, my motherboard has a great passive northbridge cooling, so that's not an issue.

As for the other things:

- I looked at some shop's homepages, I can get a CPU block very easily, a blocks for the GPU seem a little scarce. Kits are almost non-existent on the pages I looked.

- GPU: Thanks for the tip on the Swiftech MCW80, that should go with my GPU (pic: http://ii.alatest.com/product/600x400/c/2/MSI-GeForce-9800GTX-Plus-1024MB-GDDR3-PCI-E-SLI-2xDVI-0.jpg). I think I won't need any seperate RAM-coolers, that's already separate on the card.

- CPU: I've read some good things about "EK" products, maybe use one for my CPU? Or do you have another suggestion? (For example: "EK-Supreme LT AMD - Acetal" or "Swiftech APOGEE™ GT")

- Radiator: my case is an ASUS TA-D52, pic: http://i.frazpc.pl/pliki/2002/board_graf/124013569356880071.jpg. I would prefer an internal, but if that's not doable, then an external would also be fine.

- Tubing: I've found a site which sells the Tygon R-3400 here in Hungary for $5

- Distilled (or deionized) water I can get at every gas station. Should I look out for something special here?

- Anti-microbial additive: I don't really understand this point, but I've found some anti-corrosion fluid on the same shop mentioned above. Is that what you mean? (pic: http://www.subcooling.hu/images/korro.jpg)

- By "reservoir" you mean the tank holding the water? (Sorry, my English is not perfect )

- Barbs & fittings: I guess I can get them at the same shop.


I guess you don't understand much Hungarian, but here is the shop I've mentioned, they have all kinds of water cooling stuff: http://www.subcooling.hu/vizhutes-c-105.html (or with Google Translate: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=hu&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.subcooling.hu%2Fvizhutes-c-105.html)


Oh, and one more question: I also read, that it's best to get all my parts from the same brand, because different brands may not "work" together optimally. How much of this is true? (Or should I just get everything at Swiftech? )

 

[magoo]

Distilled water...........use it because the heat helps control algae growth.
You need an antifungal additive in the watercooling coolant. Algae spores are everywhere, and warm water in the dark is their preferred reproductive environment.
You can use silver metal coils (the better because they last a long time and the water stays, well, water colored) or other additives.......most are just plain old automotive antifreeze, give or take.

EK makes fine blocks, if Swiftech can sell you all the stuff you need, their stuff is good too.

Tygon 3400 is fine tubing if you like black......if you want clear I'd suggest Tygon B-44-4X , you might see Tygon 3603 for sale, but in my experience (learning the hard way) the plasticizer in the 3603 tends to leach over time and cloud the tubing something fierce.

Yes, the reservoir is a small holding tank, it's primarily used to make sure the pump always has adequate volume to draw from. You can use a T-line instead, merely a straight piece of tubing and a T connector off the main loop if the reservoir is too expensive or hard to find. The Swiftech Micro-Res rev.2 is excellent and very cheap.

Unless you are going to Overclock like mad, cooling the Northbridge isn't necessary if it has good stock cooling.

 

[thehybridfrog]

-- "Get all parts same brand"

This is generally not that much of a concern anymore. Nearly all parts with threads are G1/4, and as long as you stick to the same ID/OD tubing for your entire system you have no real compatibility worries. The only real worry is parts made by certain companies, like Koolance, which can be aluminum. Aluminum+Copper = bad day. Avoid this at all cost.

That store looks good, what you can do is call them and generally places like that have someone on hand who can help you select things without messing up and they will be more than glad to help you pick out stuff to get your business.

-- "ASUS TA-D52"

Your case looks like it will be cramped. What you can do is get an external radbox by swiftech, I think some others make it but they have the most popular one. The radbox lets you mount the radiator to the rear (or top if you fancy some drilling) of your case.

 

[magoo]

Agreed: RadBox = good for external mounting, costs around 13 dollars.

Most all parts you buy now are built around a standard block/radiator/reservoir port, G1/4.
So most connectors work with most blocks and vice versa.

Some radiators are G3/8 so pay attention when ordering.

The most common mistake is not matching tubing to connector size.
Most common tubing sizes are 3/8" ID by 1/2" OD and 1/2" ID by 5/8" or 3/4".
(ID = inner diameter, OD = outer diameter)
The ID is important for barbs and both ID and OD are important for compression fittings.

 

[Matrices]

Alternatively, you might want to check out the Accelero S1 cooler for your video card and see if it's compatible. I was able to passively cool two 8800 GTs in SLI using the heatsinks from the S1 cooler (helped along by case airflow).

That way you can save yourself the trouble of cooling your video card. Seems like it's more trouble than it's worth, given the age of that card.