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want watercooling

R

runLoganrun

Gawd
Joined
Jul 4, 2005
Messages
601
I want to get into some water cooling in my system. I plan on just starting with cpu, and wanted to get a kit that had everything in it. Was looking at Swiftech H2O-120 Premium, Zalman Reserator I, and Thermaltake Big Water SE 120, or Thermaltake Big Water 745.

The Swiftech looked the best to me, except that a few people said they had missing hardware, and the Zalman looks really nice too, I was wondering about the cooling capabilites compared to the others as it's passive. Between the Thermaltakes, I think that the 745 looks great, but for right now just doing the cpu, I thought it might be more than I needed.

Does anyone have an opinion on any of these?


Thanks,
rlr
 
water cooling takes a lot of planning.. more than you would think.

my biggest advice for people who are just starting is to spend the extra time researching what watercooling is. don't rush out and buy kits. you pay for the premium of it all being there but you may not have the best prices for your money. think of it like buying a machine at best buy instead of simply picking out your parts.

the 5 basic parts you need for water cooling is:

radiator
pump
block(s)
tubing
fillport or reservoir

depending on what you're cooling and what your case is like, will decide a lot of factors so make sure you know what you want. it also helps to draw a diagram. take a simple digi photo of your case and then draw out lines even on ms paint how you may want the tubing to go. in the end it will save you a lot of time and hassle.
 
so is there like 3 options here...
1- water cooling the cpu only
2- the cpu and the gpy
3- both + the North bridge
?

i mean does this pic represents the 3ed option?

41712809ef8.jpg


another thing..whats the pipe size in that pic? is it the same in this?

100_0179.jpg


I'm asking cuz I think its the best size (talking about the looks :D)

would the Armor Jr be ok for WC?
 
Even the H20 120 Compact does a good job with a quad core.

This is inside-case mounted, one fan in push (drawing in outside air) at a silent 1000 RPM, at 1.32v, and my hottest core.

I should note that I'm using a hotter running B3 Q6600, not a G0.

H20CompactTest1Core1.png
 
Sphere said:
If your just doing a basic cpu loop, then the H20-220 works extremely.

http://service.futuremark.com/compare?3dm06=4346282
Click to expand...

I found that kit for 170 on line, I believe it has their nicer water block with it. I planned out and set up what a kit from scratch would be. I designed it with a 3/8" tubing, and a 2x120 radiator, the pump I found was a 120gph mcp355. My setup totaled $300, this kit and the NCIX one mentioned above are about half that, I must admit that is more attractive at the moment, and they seem like quality in general. Originally I thought I would put a gpu cooler on there, but the water blocks for those are pretty pricey, I wanted to have it set up so I could add one later though. Is that where you need to jump up to a higher GPH pump, or would either of these do the job, or with two gpu coolers? Def for the mean time it's just going to be for the cpu, but want some flexibility. The NCIX one, I just realized doesn't come with a reservoir, I suppose that could be added easily, and it would still be cheaper than what I put together. For the kit I put together, would a 120mm radiator be ample, for just cpu cooling?

Thanks for the help
 
Do I need to have a drain valve if I'm using a reservoir?
I was going to get the magicool 150 reservoir, and mount it on the back of my case.

Swiftech Apogee GT, or Danger Den TDK, cpu waterblock?
I'm pretty sure the swiftech is decent, the cool thing about it is I can switch from my present s939 to my future AM2 without having to get a new cpu block.

1/2" or 5/8" OD tubing?

Thanks
 
Anything Swiftech.
I have 3/8" but I really think people prefer 1/2".
Get a Swiftech MicroRes.
 
I saw that micro res before. Don't have room in the case, would have to put it in 5.25 bay. How do you get to that refill cap with it in the computer though?
 
I highly recommend looking at the Swiftech QP-RES series radiators. Cools just as good as the basic QP, but allows you to run without a res or fill tube and T, perfect if you're mounting in a drive bay or outside the case using a Radbox where you can get to the filler port.

Comes in 120.1 and 120.2 versions.
 
Croak said:
I highly recommend looking at the Swiftech QP-RES series radiators. Cools just as good as the basic QP, but allows you to run without a res or fill tube and T, perfect if you're mounting in a drive bay or outside the case using a Radbox where you can get to the filler port.

Comes in 120.1 and 120.2 versions.
Click to expand...

I don't think I'll be able to mount in case. I have 2x80mm exhaust fans in my case, in the rear, it would be difficult, and take up space to have it inside. The only Radbox I saw was one that was a lot bigger than the single 120 radiators. Do I need this?

Also, do I need a y adapter with a drain plug at the bottom of the system? I've seen some pictures with them, and some without, or I couldn't see them.

thanks
 
My water cooling system is almost entirely made up of swiftech... it's good stuff.

The exception would be, since there's no window in my case and I wanted to see what my water levels were easily, I put in the 5.25" bay Danger Den reservoir. http://www.dangerden.com/store/product.php?productid=52&cat=27&page=1

Really easy to fill becuase I can just move it forward in the bay in my antec case and pour into the cap...

Also, check out the custom kits petrastechshop does, http://www.petrastechshop.com/wacoki.html , you can get some good ideas of some good settups there.

As for a drain plug, I just drain it out the back where my radiator is.
 
runLoganrun said:
I don't think I'll be able to mount in case. I have 2x80mm exhaust fans in my case, in the rear, it would be difficult, and take up space to have it inside. The only Radbox I saw was one that was a lot bigger than the single 120 radiators. Do I need this?

Also, do I need a y adapter with a drain plug at the bottom of the system? I've seen some pictures with them, and some without, or I couldn't see them.

thanks
Click to expand...

This is the Radbox I was talking about, it's just a bit wider and thicker than a regular 120mm fan. Comes with a PCI slot bracket, so if you use 1/2OD tubing you don't even need to drill the case, plus the fan box will mount right up to your 80mm vents:

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=19860&vpn=MCB-120&manufacture=Swiftech

Pick the 120.2 radiator, res and fans of your choice. Swiftech has the best bang for the buck, Thermochill has some good rads but you really pay for it, and only get marginal improvements for that extra money.

Stick with the 3/8ID tubing, it's really really easy to work with and route compared to the larger sizes, and doesn't cost you that much in temps/flowrate, especially for a first time build. Doesn't look as goofy (or cool, depending) as the fat tubing seen in the systems above.

You really don't need the 355 pump, the 350 runs quieter, is cheaper, and has plenty of head pressure to handle a CPU, chipset and two GPU blocks through a 120.2 radiator.

It's hard to go wrong with the Apogee GT water block, but the Danger Den, EK and D-Tek blocks are also good, just a matter of preference and how much bling you want.

There's a lot of ways to drain a system, from a dedicated drain line to moving part of the loop outside the case and tilting/tipping the system, to leaving the loop in place, removing the electronic components, and draning inside the case.
 
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