Three Watercooling Questions

[ih8spam]

Hi - I'm getting ready to upgrade my system.

My pump for my system has run almost entirely non-stop 24/7 since I built my system about 1 1/2 years ago. I am starting to hear the DDC pump "surge" and then quiet down every now and then. When I turn the pump speed down, I start to hear some rattling noises. My fluid - which has never been changed - still seems as clear as new, though (as far as I can tell).

My Questions:

1. Is my pump getting ready to die, or is there just some unseen build-up in my loop that needs to be cleaned out? My CPU temperatures still look really good (30 Deg C).
2. How do I thoroughly clean/sanitize out my loop (Primarily de-gooping/sanitizing the radiator, since the tubing will be replaced, and everything else can be opened up).
3. I am looking at getting a GTX-285 for the new setup, but I have seen postings about how none of the existing GTX-285 water blocks will work on any new video cards since they have a new layout. Is this true / what are my options?

Thank you!

IH8Spam

 

[Bigbacon]

There are tons of options out there for the 285 in terms of water cooling. There are a bunch of full cover blocks or swiftech makes that two peice thing where you can use something like this
http://www.crazypc.com/products/gtx285-9365GTX285.html
with this
http://www.crazypc.com/products/9363R.html

Just have to look around and find out what you would want.

I would clean that sucker out anyway. Like having a HSF, it's probably a good idea and then see if the pump continues it's burping

 

[Clumsydenial]

Don't people normally clean out the loop every few months? or is that just a little overkill?

 

[Bigbacon]

Don't people normally clean out the loop every few months? or is that just a little overkill?

I think it depends on if you are using coolants/dyes or just distilled water.

 

[ih8spam]

There are tons of options out there for the 285 in terms of water cooling. There are a bunch of full cover blocks or swiftech makes that two peice thing where you can use something like this
http://www.crazypc.com/products/gtx285-9365GTX285.html
with this
http://www.crazypc.com/products/9363R.html

Just have to look around and find out what you would want.

I would clean that sucker out anyway. Like having a HSF, it's probably a good idea and then see if the pump continues it's burping

Thanks, Bigbacon - The Swiftech cover is exactly what I am looking at, since I already have MCW60s on my GTS 8800 SLI rig. The problem is that it looks like the board manufacturers/nVidia are moving away from the P891 reference layout. I just checked on Newegg for the XFX GeForce GTX 285 GX285XZWBF GPU, and it looks like the nVidia part number on the back is 180-10892-XXXX-A04. If the layout was the reference P891, my understanding is that the "892" would be "891".

So, I don't know if the Swiftech GTX 285 full cover (or anybody's, for that matter) will fit anymore. Does anybody know of a cover that will fit the newer layout?

Regarding my water loop, I will definitely "clean the sucker out", once I figure out how. (HINT ... HINT )

Don't people normally clean out the loop every few months? or is that just a little overkill?

Clumsydenial - I was told a while back that if I did a good job sterilizing (and, I added 1 drop of copper sulfate for good measure), that cleaning the loop that frequently was not necessary, since it is a closed system. One poster told me that they had been running for over 3 years without cleaning ... and without a hitch.

IH8Spam

 

[Clumsydenial]

Clumsydenial - I was told a while back that if I did a good job sterilizing (and, I added 1 drop of copper sulfate for good measure), that cleaning the loop that frequently was not necessary, since it is a closed system. One poster told me that they had been running for over 3 years without cleaning ... and without a hitch.

IH8Spam

I was just curious as I havent jumped into the WC world just yet. Thanks for the info.