Watercooling newbie needs some help!

X

Xylene

n00b
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
59
I am considering installing some water cooling in my Athlon XP box and I have a few questions.

First, do I need a reservoir? I am only going to be cooling my processor.

Second, probably the most nub question: What should I get that'll get me the most bang for my buck? I don't really want to spend a ton.
 
Well first off what is your budget and then we can go from there. Asetek makes some nice stuff for a reasonable price or a Koolance EXOS Al can be had for a good price. For what you want to do then just about anything will work good. :)
 
Okay that is doable :D

How about a simple AC pump, a inexpensive reservoir, some tubing, and a CPU block?

Danger Den TDX block.
Hydor L20 pump.
Choose your own reservoir off this page.
Add some tubing and compression fittings and you are set to go for under $150. :D
 
if your on a budget, I suggest going w/ a T-line, specially if you have a limited space

I'd go w/ the swiftech and a mcp600 (50z) or mcp655 so if you wanted to add a VGA WB or upgrade your parts later, you have plenty of room to work w/ as far as the pumps concerned

plus I'd spend more on silcone tubing as it's easier to work w/ and won't put too much strain on your compents

keep us posted
 
Somewhat related, I've never got how you can drain and fill though a T-Line. If it's facing up, you can fill fine... but do you hold your rig upside down to drain it? :eek: Never done a WC rig so wondering how the whole fill/drain thing works with my buddy gravity.
 
Xylene: Top Nurse's suggestions are good, and for the radiator, go to your nearest Autozone/Pepboys/etc. and look for either a 1986 Chevette (single 120mm) or 1977 Bonneville (dual 120mm) heater core for about $20. Mod in barbs (excellent guide here, or just use epoxy & stick some 1/2" barbs in the pipes) & make a shroud from carboard & ducttape or something else, and youll be in business.
If you dont feel like doing some work & ending up with a slightly ghetto (can be as good/bad as you want) looking radiator, you can just buy a BIP/BIX, but thatll cost you a lot more $.
You should really look on overclockers.com in the tips section & learn some more about WCing, and decide from there what you want to do. There is no absolute best bang for the buck setup, although since youre staying under a budget, 1/2" tubing=free extra flow & better temperatures over 3/8" and smaller tubing sizes (get everything the same size fittings as well).

n64man120: Most people will unplug a connection to drain a closed loop system, and wiggle components around to get as much fluid as possible out as needed.
 
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