Summer project, need some WC help please

T

thaddeus.cto

Gawd
Joined
Nov 16, 2007
Messages
676
Hey forum people! I have a couple questions concerning water cooling:

1. Does it require a lot of maintenance? I know this probably depends on the solution I go with (type of coolant, etc), but in general, I need to know if it is going to be worth the time and money I'm willing to put into it. I do plan on overclocking.

2. If the answer to question 1 is no, or something along those lines, then here is the setup I'm going with:

-1 Black Ice Stealth 220 (might try a 320, i've seen pictures of one fitting in the case I have.
- Swiftech 655 pump with speed control and 1/2" to 3/8" adapters.
- 3/8" tubing (might go with 7/16", and not use adapters on the pump)
- Swiftech Apogee GTX all Copper with AM2 mounting plate.
- Swiftech MicroRes
- 4 low speed yate loons
- Fluid XP Extreme (Phantom Black)

I was going to water cool the video cards, but I upgrade cards every 4 to six months, so it might be too much of a hassle.

Oh, this setup with cool an Phenom X4 9850 Black Edition, and will go into a Lian-Li a-05b case.

I plan on also cutting a side panel window, painting the inside black, and cutting the top panel for the radiator, but all that if for a different thread. Probably not worth a worklog, but I'll post pics when it is finished.

Thanks for any help you can give me!
 
I personally think its a pain in the ass, but its so fun. With a resivour they arnt super high maintenance. With a window you will be able to keep an eye on the water level. My system has been up for nearly a month and I haven't had to add since the system was fully primed. If you're only doing you processor I would stick with the 220. You'll also be told here that watercooling is only slightly benefitial vs high end air for processors. Both are limited by the fact they can only cool to ambient air temps. IMO I would at least do processor and northbride. I'm not quite sure how phenoms overclock but I know I had to bump NB voltages up for 4.2 on my e8400. Honestly, you won't see a vast improvment from a 300 dollar watercooling loop for your processor vs a 70 hsf combo. If you're like the rest of us then go for the loop. My favorite thing about my loop is how quiet it is. Any radiator can dissapate any amount of heat with enough airflow. If you plan it right you can use the reverse principle that with a large enough radiator you can cool the water to ambient with very low speed fans. The 220 will be sufficient for just a processor.
 
i dont do hardcore overclocking so no its not really beneficial to me greatly, i just mainly do it for the looks lol
 
i havent touched my WC loop in nearly 4 months now. runs perfectly.. although it is starting to get a little low.

if you do it right, its just as low maintence as air-cooling most of the time. just draining it every 6 months.. which isnt even that bad. w/ a res it takes about 3 hours
 
I've had a WC system run for 14 months before I drained it... No reason to drain it really, unless you're using both aluminum and copper in the same loop.

As for your components, I'd suggest:
Dtek Fuzion V2 waterblock
Swiftech MCR220 radiator (or 320, if it can fit)
And use 7/16" masterkleer tubing, it's by far the best "cheap" tubing you can find.
 
Dont mean to Hijack here, but just how good is masterkleer compared to tygon? Speaking 7/16"

And how do they compare in clearness and UV reaction pass thru ability? And stiffness?

I plan to use PentosinG11
 
It's just as nice in the stiffness part, It's easier to route, and a lot more secure. It isn't however, anywhere near as clear as tygon. Tygon is crystal clear... most masterkleer is cloudy. You can, however, "shine" it with some rubbing alcohol and mineral oil.
 
Hmmm thanks! I had not heard it was cloudy, guess I will have to splurge for the tygon
 
a573573 said:
Hmmm thanks! I had not heard it was cloudy, guess I will have to splurge for the tygon
Click to expand...

Make sure you get good clamps then. Home Depot worm drive clamps are the best.

Oh, and any tubing will go cloudy after a month or two of operation... The masterkleer hasn't really gotten any worse since I've installed it in my server, 14 months ago.
 
maintnence isnt that heavy with Liquid Cooling, other than changing the fluid every 6 months to a year thats pretty much it. maybe cleaning the dust out of the rads everyonce in a while.

i dont recommend the Fluid XP....at all...i used some last year...big mistake, if you spill any and miss even 1 drop, it WILL rot a circuit if it lands on it. im running the Feaser stuff right now, best stuff i've ever used, only stuff i will ever use.

as for the masterkleer vs tygon, i cannot speak for the MK but the tygon is really a good choice. the coolant looks extremely vibrant flowing through it. as for it clouding after a couple months of use i cannot yet say.
 
Well I plan to use 7/16" Over 1/2" so I dont need clamps right?

Ya, I planned on getting some Feser FA Aqua and adding PentosinG11 to it, so I need any other additive?
 
a573573 said:
Well I plan to use 7/16" Over 1/2" so I dont need clamps right?

Ya, I planned on getting some Feser FA Aqua and adding PentosinG11 to it, so I need any other additive?
Click to expand...

I still use clamps with 7/16, I'd rather be safe that sorry.
 
a573573 said:
Well I plan to use 7/16" Over 1/2" so I dont need clamps right?

Ya, I planned on getting some Feser FA Aqua and adding PentosinG11 to it, so I need any other additive?
Click to expand...

im unsure about the FA Feaser, i use the F1 (just Feaser One) and you dont need any additives for that stuff
 
save yourself a bunch of money and just by distilled water from your grocery store. De ionized / ultrapure water become ionized the 1st second it touches the metal in your loop so there isnt any point when you can save alot of money by not paying $7/liter for deionized water when you can spend $.99/gallon for distilled at your local grocery store.
 
Ohh really, Thanks for the tip. So just some distilled from the store and G11 would be fine then?
 
I hear a 50/50 mix of distilled water and some light green antifreeze will work as well. Some people had the color fade after a while in the loop (turns cloudy color)
 
Well I want UV blue so I thought G11 would be better then buying a premixed UV blue bottle
 
I'd go with a Dtek blue dye... in a concentration of 3%... in distilled water.

Should be bright blue under UV, and semi blue under normal light. No need for G11 unless you're mixing metals.
 
I wouldn't use any dye at all, just straight distilled..

if you must have UV, then use feser UV tubing

dye stains and clogs your blocks.. not to mention, UV longevity sucks ass on all dyes + if you see what dye does to the internals of your blocks. You wouldn't ever use UV dye again..

acry. is right, no need for G11 unless you need corrosion prevention but the UV longevity of G11 is worse then dyes. I'm going to guess your going to add more when the UV runs out. Keep in mind corrosion inhibitors make temps worse..
 
Hmm well cant that just all be cleaned every 6 months or so? The blocks I mean. I would think about using UV tubing but there isnt any good priced around. Tygon is expensive but the best from what I gather, Feser or most other UV tubing is just as expensive sometimes more and not as good of actual tubing, correct?
 
a573573 said:
Hmm well cant that just all be cleaned every 6 months or so? The blocks I mean. I would think about using UV tubing but there isnt any good priced around. Tygon is expensive but the best from what I gather, Feser or most other UV tubing is just as expensive sometimes more and not as good of actual tubing, correct?
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well no, even if you clean your blocks every 6 months, you would still have to replace tubing. UV dye stains your clear tubes and there is nothing around it. Even if you use nothing but distilled water, the clear tubes will eventually cloud. You always have to throw out the tubing..

I understand feser UV is 2.75/ft but its worth it in the long run since you can always reuse the same tubing...

these days I will only use the following

feser uv tube
primoflex pro lrt
or tygon black
 
Hmm well either way stained UV or clear would be cloudy right? And if the clear is stained blue that is ok with me, or I could possibly just not get G11 and use Feser Clear/UV blue dye and Distilled then.

I am not so much worried about stained tubes, Buy new tubes every 6 months or so would not be so much of a issue to me

Just trying to find the best way to have good looking UV blue tubes and good actual Tubing and still have good water/dye/anticc mix

I guess I should have made my own Thread!!!

Sorry to the OP!!
 
a573573 said:
Hmm well either way stained UV or clear would be cloudy right? And if the clear is stained blue that is ok with me, or I could possibly just not get G11 and use Feser Clear/UV blue dye and Distilled then.

I am not so much worried about stained tubes, Buy new tubes every 6 months or so would not be so much of a issue to me

Just trying to find the best way to have good looking UV blue tubes and good actual Tubing and still have good water/dye/anticc mix
Click to expand...

it seems like you have your mind set. if your cool with changing tubing every 6 months then go for it. but i'm going to assume you've never watercooled before because UV dye only lasts a month if that.. I know, trust me.. I know this from experience.. Just trying to save you some headaches.. I still recommend feser uv blue and straight distilled

http://img466.imageshack.us/img466/4259/img0255hz5.jpg
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/927/img0262jy3.jpg
http://img360.imageshack.us/img360/1785/img0263ke8.jpg
http://img487.imageshack.us/img487/2563/img0267lo6.jpg

i've since change all that crap out and use just straight black tygon now.
Im about to change to feser blue myself..
 
Well what about Tygon And Feser that is premixed? Does that dye only look UV for a month as well? If so, how about the G11 how long does it stay UV?

Yeah New to WC, and do want UV blue, but I'd rather not have UV tubing as it is blue in a NON UV area right? Plus I want 7/16 and I cant find Feser that size

Ahh all to much to decide for something so small!!! HAHA

It would be great if feser shipped overseas
 
premixed is just dye + distilled + 5 percent of other chemicals. It's the same, lasts about a month.
G11's UV properties are about the same.. It's not so much the dye that goes away. its what the dye does to the tubes that make the UV effect dwindle..

I understand you want 7/16, so I guess clear is the way to go for you
also feser has a tube that's clear but blue under UV

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=59_413_416&products_id=23611
 
Ahh yeah I forgot about that site as I have not bought there, I did see those same at Frozencpu, also ONLY 1/2 not 7/16

Yeah, that maybe the way I would want to go then. How is this tubing itself? That seems really thin walled, I wanted 7/16 ID and 5/8 OD... EDIT I guess I am tired, 3/4 would be thicker walled then 5/8 eh!!

Thats funny Feser itself does not offer 7/16 I bet that could be just relabeled as 7/16
http://www.feser-one.com/site/index.php?cPath=74
 
Thanks for all the replies! It sounds like water cooling is quite the hassle, but could be worth it anyways. Looks like I'll be getting 7/16" Tygon and some Feser F1 black coolant. Would that stuff be better then the Fluid XP?
 
Always use clamps. Tubing can expand over time and with an increase in temperature. You don't want to walk home 6 months down the line and find fluid leaking out where the hose meets the barb.

As for clamps, worm-driven are the best in my experience. The nylon clamp ones never seem to provide the same level of clamping power around the barb (i.e. the front may be more tightly clamped than the back).

Good luck!
 
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