Tips on watercooling a v1200

D

DamTheMan

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 22, 2006
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Have been slowly collecting parts to watercool my pc and was looking for some
tips on how do it and make it look good.

The parts I have are:
lian li v1200b
pa120.3
3x ap-15s
heatkiller 3.0
evga x58 mobo/920

A few specific questions I have are:
1. What's the best and or easiest method for mounting the radiator to the top
of the case? Is there some kind of kit that could accomplish this, or just use the
old tape and dremel method?

2. What kind of pump/reservoir should I get with the combination of what I have?

I was considering something like a pump/res 5.25 combo but am weary of the power
of those pumps being a good combo with my radiator as I'm going for performance.

3. I want to cool my 5870 in that loop eventually as well, is this possible to do in
the same loop while still keeping things cool with slight oc?

4. Is watercooling the motherboards chipset worth it?

I know this seems like a lot of questions and I'm researching them on my own as well
but wanted to get input alongside my research of which direction I should head. I have
built a few watercooling loops in the c2d era but that was simply buying whatever parts
and putting them together without any real research. The machines would end up being sub par performing monstrosities which I wasn't really proud of displaying. So i'm looking to avoid that with this build and build something that will be of good quality.

Thanks!
 
1. Either way, you're going to have to dremel the case or cut it somehow to allow airflow. Not sure what my dad used, it was one of those metal cutting tools that uses compressed air. I swear, he made it look so easy. Literally took him ~5 minutes to cut the top of my case (Cooler Master Cosmos 1000). And then just take a drill to it to drill the mounting holes. There are some kits out there, not really worth it if you already have the tools yourself. They just might make the edges a little straighter, or make the measurements a bit easier.

2. MCP355 or MCP655. There are many aftermarket reservoir attachment options for these pumps if you really want an all-in-one pump/reservoir solution, including ones that fit in the 5.25" bay. In reality, the amount of water pump does not affect temps as long as flow rate is above 1 GPM. The two pumps I mentioned are more than capable of pushing that through your system, even if you add two GPU blocks.

3. That 3x120 radiator is more than sufficient to cool a single 5870, and will probably handle two 5870's and the i7 920 OC to 3.5 ghz or more, depending on revision.

4. In general, no. Unless you're going for massive overclocks where active cooling on the VRM's is absolutely necessary.
 
If you want it to look nice you can get the koolance top thats made for the lian li 1200 case. Makes it look nice and you can use whatever fans and rad you want.
 
Following. Maybe it will help me decide to keep this case. The mobo mounting on the opposite side is a real bummer.
 
I setup my buddies' awhile back...

Do not use a MCP 355 they are all junk... modded tops, etc. I've had 2 die and a few guys I know had theirs fail too eventually. I've had a MCP 655 or D5 (same thing) for about 6 years now, they are much better pumps.

This build had the CPU and GPU (5870) cooled and worked great.

IMG_4992.JPG

DSC03476.JPG
 
I have a v1200 case and I’ve been wanting to water-cool for a while in a manner almost exact to what you’ve done with your buddy’s pc here. Just wondering if you could provide a parts list for this or comparable parts that will fit my build: GA-X58A-UD3R, i7 920, GTX260 in a V1200.
 
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read tons on these forums today about water cooling and then got crazy and ended up with these parts ordered. I'd be interested to know any gotchas or suggestions on how to implement. I got the koolance kit because I wanted to dremel the top of the case and put it on top because it looks cool, but now I'm thinking that might change the flow of the loop considering the t-line. Anyway, any help is appreciated.

Swiftech MCP655-B 12v Water Pump w/ 3/8" Conversion Kit (317 GPH)
Swiftech Apogee XTL (Rev 2) High Performance CPU Waterblock - Acetal - Sockets 775/1156/1366
Swiftech MCW80 VGA Liquid Cooling Block (NVIDIA GeForce / ATI Radeon)
Primochill 1/2" UV Reactive Leakproof T Fitting - UV Brite Orange
Bitspower Matte Black Sealing Plug For ID 1/2" Tube (BP-MBWP-C31)
Danger Den Premium Delrin Tubing Clamps - 5/8" OD - UV Orange (10 Pack)
PrimoChill Pure Performance Coolant (32oz) - UV Brite Green
Radiator/Fans/Shroud Assembly Kit, 3x120mm, Aluminum [no nozzles] (KIT-EHX1020AL)
Nozzle Pair, Swivel Angled [For ID: 13mm (1/2in), OD: 16mm (5/8in)] (NZL-L13P)
10' Tubing, Clear UV-Reactive PVC, 1ft/30.5cm [ID: 13mm (1/2in); OD: 16mm (5/8in)] (HOS-13CL)
 
theb4sa said:
I have a v1200 case and I’ve been wanting to water-cool for a while in a manner almost exact to what you’ve done with your buddy’s pc here. Just wondering if you could provide a parts list for this or comparable parts that will fit my build: GA-X58A-UD3R, i7 920, GTX260 in a V1200.
Click to expand...

Make your own thread...
 
hey so now that I have everything set up, the 1/2" tubing I ran doesn't look nearly as big as in the v1200 rig pics above (#5). is that larger tubing and, if so, where do I go for converting the 1/2" barbs I have on everything now to something larger to accommodate the huge tubing? When I ordered it all, 1/2" ID was the largest I was offered for barbs. Also, what kind of valve/fillport fitting is that on top of the t-line?
 
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