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This a good setup, anything im missing?

V

V0ltage

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 7, 2004
Messages
1,231
Well ive decided im going to be watercooling the compaq micro-atx tower that im in the process of heavily modifying.
specs are:
Biostar M7NCG 400 mATX (Nforce 2 IGP)
Athlon XP 2500+ or Mobile 2400+ (cant decide yet)
256-512mb of Corsair PC-3200

Heres the dangerden WC setup ive picked out:
DD TDX block with 1/2 fittings
Black Ice Xtreme Radiator
Hydor L35 or Eheim 1048 pump
7 feet of Tygon tubing
Fluid XP+ non-conductive coolant.

Now is there anything im forgetting? and which pump is better?
(this is my first time w/cing)
 
the 1048 is quieter, but with less power than the l35. fluid xp is a waste of $$.
you could have found out everything here by doing a little more research and reading btw.
 
ive been doing some research but i just wanted to get the opinion of some [H]'ers.
 
V0ltage said:
Well ive decided im going to be watercooling the compaq micro-atx tower that im in the process of heavily modifying.
specs are:
Biostar M7NCG 400 mATX (Nforce 2 IGP)
Athlon XP 2500+ or Mobile 2400+ (cant decide yet)
256-512mb of Corsair PC-3200

Heres the dangerden WC setup ive picked out:
DD TDX block with 1/2 fittings
Black Ice Xtreme Radiator
Hydor L35 or Eheim 1048 pump
7 feet of Tygon tubing
Fluid XP+ non-conductive coolant.

Now is there anything im forgetting? and which pump is better?
(this is my first time w/cing)
Click to expand...

Looks good. I would get more memory myself though. Newer games really do demand having over 512mb.
 
I also think that fluid XP is a waste of money. Just use distilled water and spend the extra $ on some more memory, or just save the money.
 
fluid XP does not seem like a waste at all.
it should acctually save me money in the long run.
if there is ever a leak or anything goes wrong and i get liquid on my components, they wont fry. takes most of the risk out of w/cing and works just as good as water, and prevents any alge growth.
 
Ive been wc for years and never had a leak. That said even if you were to have one and had fluid xp in your system by the time you noticed the leak the fluidxp will have been contaiminated and destroyed your system anyways. Hopefully they have some sort of a warrenty to cover your machine if it were to fail due to fluidxp.
 
I read a review of the stuff and when they were testing they had a leak and it spilled all over their system when it was turned on and the system still worked...
 
Yeah, but the stuff's ability to be non-conductive gets weaker over time, so say you get a little leak but don't notice it for a couple weeks, the stuff will eventually become conductive, or get stuff that is conductive stuck to it from the air. And it's not as good as water for cooling properties.... I believe the official statement from the company says that it has something like 87% of the effectiveness of water (That's not the exact number... but it was somewhere in the mid to high 80's).

Also if you're looking to save a little cash and get better performance, go for a dual 120mm rad. You could either buy a 77 Bonneville heatercore from your local auto parts store for $20 and mod it yourself (Search a bit.... don't remember which forum it was, but weapon posted a real nice tutorial on how to do this), or 2Fresh is selling some nice pre-modded ones for a very reasonable price. Sorry I don't have a link for you, look in the FS/FT thread, or hopefully someone else will have a link.

Those BIX's just seem like a rip off to me.... if you're set on a single 120mm rad, you could get a pro core from dtek that will outperform the BIX for $35, plus $10 for a shroud, so $45 total. And if you go for one of their clearance models, which have small non-performance affecting dents, you can get them for $20. And either rad will require you to buy a 120mm fan, so that BIX will cost you a total of at least $70-75, while the pro core can cost $35-40 in total if you play it cheap.

Oh and one more thing.... were you planning on having a reservoir or a closed loop (Use a t-line or FBK) setup. If you're thinking an FBK, I've noticed that Swiftech's FBK is built from parts you can buy for less than a dollar each at Lowes (I don't mean parts that will serve the same purpose... I mean the EXACT same parts), so you could go even cheaper and build your own knock-off. You can also make your own res real cheap, search around a bit and you'll find a bunch of examples. I use a bay res (Angeleye rev 2) and am pretty happy with it, I switched from an FBK and like it much better, but many people have had bad experiences with them, maybe I'm just lucky.

And spend the money you save from being cheap on some more memory.... 256 definately will not cut it, and a gig will be much better than 512 (I just made the switch from 512 to gig not too long ago, using the Corsair 3200 XMS you mentioned even, and it made a very noticable difference). I can OC it to 450 mhz Prime95 stable no problem, but if you really wanna push that processor (Out of those two, definately recommend the mobile), you might want some higher rated stuff unless you want to run a divider.

Sorry it's a bit long winded, I have a tendency to be that way ;) .
 
server_error said:
Yeah, but the stuff's ability to be non-conductive gets weaker over time, so say you get a little leak but don't notice it for a couple weeks, the stuff will eventually become conductive, or get stuff that is conductive stuck to it from the air. And it's not as good as water for cooling properties.... I believe the official statement from the company says that it has something like 87% of the effectiveness of water (That's not the exact number... but it was somewhere in the mid to high 80's).
Click to expand...

Where did you get that? From the testing, I have seen it has the same thermal properties as a water glycol mix. Moreover, I have not seen anything that says this stuff looses its non-conductive properties in the in a few weeks. The material data sheet says it has a stable shelf life of 5 years.

The only downside I see is the price.
 
server, thanks alot for all the advice!
I think i will end up getting one of those pro cores, since i cannot get a dual-120 rad, because it wont fit in the mATX case im using, and i will most likely go with an external res.
the only problem im having currently is finding an mATX socket A board with multiplier and voltage tweaking, and preferably mobo mounting holes.
and what kind of liquid should i use opposed to the fluidXp?
 
Go distilled water.

It has better cooling properites, and it's really cheap.

As long as you have high quality tubing and make sure to leak test, the chance of a leak is almost nill.

As for becoming more conductive over time, Fluid XP is mostly water, and so it can dissolve certain substances, which add conductivity. You ever see one of those little experiments comparing the conductivity of pure water and salt water? Salt, as well as many other substances, makes water much more conductive. Absolutely pure distilled water actually doesn't conduct, but it's almost impossible to keep it pure.
As the Fluid XP comes in contact with your components, it will dissolve small traces of the chemicals that cover computer PCBs and other substances. Eventually, it will become conductive enough to destroy your computer.
Don't get me wrong, if I had a choice of dumping Fluid XP or water on my running computer, I'd choose Fluid XP. But since the chances of a leak are so low, and since even Fluid XP isn't completely idiotproof, I'd say it isn't worth the money.
 
whats the best additive for the water?
water wetter still the best or should i go with something else?
 
V0ltage said:
whats the best additive for the water?
water wetter still the best or should i go with something else?
Click to expand...

WW has been known to chunk up, stain lines, etc. Valvoline Zerex is supposed to be better.

My system will be 100% copper, so I'm thinking that a couple drops of iodine will keep the veggies out, without hurting performance. Anyone have any experience with iodine?
 
wouldnt fluidxp evaportate before the aforementioned "weeks" had passed and it had been contaminated by conductive substances?

Rob
 
Robolf said:
wouldnt fluidxp evaportate before the aforementioned "weeks" had passed and it had been contaminated by conductive substances?

Rob
Click to expand...
No

I will have more info after I have run some more experiments with it. However, from what I have seen thus far it is the real deal.
 
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