thinking about water cooling / evaluate my setup

[dalec]

I am looking to get into water cooling soon, and after doing some research these are the components I have come up with for an extremely cool and quiet system. I was hoping to get some forum input from you guys before making any purchases though Smile

PolarFLO SF 1/2" ID 3 barb CPU block w/ Y-adaptor
- www.polarflo.com
- Came down to this and Swiftech MCW6000 block, both seem to perform extremely well under low flow.
- I love the PolarFLO TT block, but it's not available for Socket A systems. :-/

DangerDen 6800 Series GPU Water Block
- www.dangerden.com
- This block is not out yet, so I am waiting for reviews before committing, but it seems like the best choice for my 6800 GT.
- Ideally I would like a block similar to the SF CPU block for the GPU, but PolarFLO doesn't make a Super Finished GPU block :/

Eheim 1048 Pump
- I also looked at an Iwaki MD20, but I think that it would be over kill in my setup and additionally it's too big to fit inside the case.
- Is foam enough to dampen vibration on this pump or should I elastically suspend it?
- I keep hearing about an impellor mod for this pump? Can anyone provide more details?
- This pump has 3/8" ID fittings, so I am going to need a 3/8 -> 1/2 adaptor, does this degrade performance at all? Is there a better way to put 1/2 ID tubing on this pump?
- Additionally any recommended adaptors, or will any do?

1/2" ID Tygon tubing,
- Is there really any difference between this and ClearFlex or other cheaper stuff?

Pro-Core Radiator w/ 120mm fan + shroud
- http://www.dtekcustoms.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=103
- Any difference between any of the single 120mm fan heater cores out there?

5-1/4 Bay reservior of some sort.
- I want the simplicity of bleeding that comes with a reservior. I would really like a closed loop system, but I don't want to deal with having separate tank outside of the case.

Distilled water + Zerex
- Is there a better combination for fighting gunk growth and corrosion?

Some sort of pump relay
- Any suggestions? Is it even needed?

Some sort of plumbers tape for all threaded connections
- Is this recommended? Does anyone have alternative ideas? Is it even necessary?

I am hoping to get temps in the range of 30C - 40C under load w/ an Athlon XP 2800 @ 2.1GHz (10.5x200) (perhaps more overclocking if things work well enough Smile) Ambient temps are in the 20C to 25C range.

Does this seem like a good setup for meeting my goals?

Thanks,

Dale Curtis

 

[OneMadPoptart]

My first comment to you would be to get a better pump. The 1048 is ok, but for a nominal upgrade fee, you can get the 1250 which will help a lot. I'd consider it a waste to not spend the 10$ and get a much better pump for a 1/2'' system. The Iwaki pump is also good, but you're right...It's too big to be worth it. If you can afford it, check out the Dangerden D4 12V pump. I would consider it one of the best out there for 1/2'' systems, plus you don't have to worry about adapters and such...

Foam is enough to mount a pump and keep if from vibrating the hell out of your case. No need to worry about suspension and other things.

My second comment is about the CPU block. The polarflow blocks are nice, but for low (and high) flow systems, it is out performed by the Dtek Whitewater. Just something to think about...

Go with clearflex. If you don't anticipate any very sharp bends, then Clearflex will do you fine.

Nice radiator. Just a side note: A dual heatercore will out perform the Procore, and if you can fit it in your case, its a good deal at 35$ from dangerden.

For the pump relay, if you get a 12V pump like the D4, you dont need one. It would just go to a molex on your powersupply. If you go with an Ehiem, then you should check out the Criticool II PCI relay card. I like the way mine functions, and it looks decent.

Let me know what you think.

Good luck!

-OMP

 

[HeThatKnows]

Eheim 1048 Pump: weak. For only a few dollars more, you can get a Swiftech MCP600 which pumps more, uses less power, and runs off the computer's 12V line. Additionally, you won't have to worry about adapters, relays, or impeller mods.

Tygon tubing: good stuff. It bends easily and doesn't kink. Ultimately you can use any kind of tubing, it's a mattter of spending time (getting the cheap stuff to do what you want) or spending money.

5-1/4 Bay reservior: pain in the ass. Bay res are for looks, not for functionality. They're horrible to fill, horrible to drain, prone to leaks, and aren't very good at capturing the air in the system. On the other hand, they look cool, especially with a couple of LEDs. If you want the ease of a reservoir, get/make a tank style one and mount it as close to the pump as possible.

Some sort of plumbers tape: DON'T!! When you screw threaded connections together, the edges of the threads cut off shreds of tape. In plumbing that's no big deal, in a water cooling loop, it can clog your block or radiator. Use a thread sealant paste instead, and be careful not to get it everwhere.

Pro-Core Radiator: decent. You want a radiator with a big frontal area (120mm fan sized is a good start), and not too thick (2 inches thick is pushing it, an inch thick would be better for air flow). You want a radiator with as few passes as possble (the Pro-Core is two pass, which is good for water flow; tube-and-fin radiators may be anywhere from 5 to 20 passes).

 

[dalec]

My first comment to you would be to get a better pump. The 1048 is ok, but for a nominal upgrade fee, you can get the 1250 which will help a lot. I'd consider it a waste to not spend the 10$ and get a much better pump for a 1/2'' system. The Iwaki pump is also good, but you're right...It's too big to be worth it. If you can afford it, check out the Dangerden D4 12V pump. I would consider it one of the best out there for 1/2'' systems, plus you don't have to worry about adapters and such...

I'm definitely going to look at the DangerDen pump now as well, it fits my requirements to a T (quiet, powerful, small) and even runs on 12V power.

My second comment is about the CPU block. The polarflow blocks are nice, but for low (and high) flow systems, it is out performed by the Dtek Whitewater. Just something to think about...

Do you have a head to head comparison of these blocks? I was under the impression that the better the finish on a block the better it would perform at lower flow rates. According to this page: http://www.procooling.com/html/pro_testing.php the Dtek is out performed by the SwiftTech, I was thinking the TT was a better block than the SwiftTech thus better than the Dtek.

Nice radiator. Just a side note: A dual heatercore will out perform the Procore, and if you can fit it in your case, its a good deal at 35$ from dangerden.

I would like to keep everything self contained if possible.

For the pump relay, if you get a 12V pump like the D4, you dont need one. It would just go to a molex on your powersupply. If you go with an Ehiem, then you should check out the Criticool II PCI relay card. I like the way mine functions, and it looks decent.

Let me know what you think.

Good luck!

-OMP

Thanks for the help! I will definitely look at those relay cards as well.

 

[dalec]

Eheim 1048 Pump: weak. For only a few dollars more, you can get a Swiftech MCP600 which pumps more, uses less power, and runs off the computer's 12V line. Additionally, you won't have to worry about adapters, relays, or impeller mods.

I've heard of leaking problems with some of SwifTech pumps, that scares me

Tygon tubing: good stuff. It bends easily and doesn't kink. Ultimately you can use any kind of tubing, it's a mattter of spending time (getting the cheap stuff to do what you want) or spending money.

I've also heard the PrimoFlex at http://www.voyeurmods.com/ is pretty good. Anyone have any experience with this stuff?

5-1/4 Bay reservior: pain in the ass. Bay res are for looks, not for functionality. They're horrible to fill, horrible to drain, prone to leaks, and aren't very good at capturing the air in the system. On the other hand, they look cool, especially with a couple of LEDs. If you want the ease of a reservoir, get/make a tank style one and mount it as close to the pump as possible.

That's disappointing :/ I was hoping for a nice convient, space saving way for keeping the water.

Some sort of plumbers tape: DON'T!! When you screw threaded connections together, the edges of the threads cut off shreds of tape. In plumbing that's no big deal, in a water cooling loop, it can clog your block or radiator. Use a thread sealant paste instead, and be careful not to get it everwhere.

Thanks! That makes sense, I will definitely keep that in mind when putting it together.

Pro-Core Radiator: decent. You want a radiator with a big frontal area (120mm fan sized is a good start), and not too thick (2 inches thick is pushing it, an inch thick would be better for air flow). You want a radiator with as few passes as possble (the Pro-Core is two pass, which is good for water flow; tube-and-fin radiators may be anywhere from 5 to 20 passes).

How do you know that it is a two pass radiator? I don't see that anywhere on the page. I definitely want to try and get a single pass radiator as they have 1/4 of the resistance of a two pass.

Thanks for the info though! I'll be sure and post once everything is setup in a month or so.

 

[HeThatKnows]

I've heard of leaking problems with some of SwifTech pumps, that scares me

First I've heard that. Danner Mag3 has a reputation for leaks, but the Swiffy? If you've got a link, I'd be interesting in reading it.

How do you know that it is a two pass radiator? I don't see that anywhere on the page. I definitely want to try and get a single pass radiator as they have 1/4 of the resistance of a two pass.

Two pass is just looking at it--water comes in, goes down the tubes on one side and into the the bottom tank, goes up the tubes on the other side, and out. For single pass you'll have to go DIY. Either find a single pass heatercore and put barbs on it, or mod an existing rad/heatcore to make it single pass (easiest is to tap an outlet into the bottom tank, giving you two intlets/one outlet or vice-versa)

 

[OneMadPoptart]

Do you have a head to head comparison of these blocks? I was under the impression that the better the finish on a block the better it would perform at lower flow rates. According to this page: http://www.procooling.com/html/pro_testing.php the Dtek is out performed by the SwiftTech, I was thinking the TT was a better block than the SwiftTech thus better than the Dtek.

A recent (unofficial) review by pH at procooling said he wasn't impressed with the TT compared to what he had reviewed thusfar. I didn't compare the whitewater to the swifty through...The Swiftech looks like a good block, go for it.