WC Setup, I'm confuzzeled need help

[EternityZX9]

In the last 72 hours I have just learned the basics of how water cooling works and the parts needed to build a system. Now I am toying around with a setup, but I want the [H] Gods opinions on what would be best. Here is the setup I'm planing to use: (keep in mind I don't want to go anything bigger than using 2 x 120mm Fans on a radiator/heatercore)

- AquaXtreme 12V Pump OR Swiftech MCP600 Pump
- Airplex Evo 240 OR 77 Bonneville Heatercore (Both using TT A1280 120mm Fans + 1" Shroud)
- DangerDen High Density Reservoir
- DangerDen 6800 Water Block
- Cuplex Evo 1.1 CPU Water Block
- Twinplex for NB Chipset Water Block
- Tygon Tubing + CoolSleeve OR Primoflex UV Blue Tubing
- Zerex Coolant + Swiftech HydrX Additive

Alright, now for the questions:

1. As for tubing what size is best: 1/2" or 3/8", ID and OD, for cooling, I want the best performance. However, I don't want the Fans on the radiator/heatercore that loud!

2. Can I get the same barbs sizes on all of this equipment, so that I can have the same tubing throughout the entire setup?

3. I'm really confussed with what tubing size would be best for this setup and what coresponding pump/radiator would best as well.

4. Does water cooling the NB Chipset really make any difference? I have seen a lot of water cooling setups on this forum and a lot of people just do the GPU and CPU.

5. Would this system work with a single loop, should I go double? Would I need another pump?

6. What are the best clamps to use, where can I find them? I searched the forums, this part is still confusing to me.

7. In your opinions, should I get a different CPU / NB Chipset water block? If so, what?

8. Would I need a second power supply to power up this system?

Btw for a case I plan to use the Coolermaster CM Stacker and place the radiator/heatercore in the same position that is in the "Coolermaster Worklog" if that matters any. Coolermaster Work Log

 

[rtierney]

I'd get the MCP650 pump, not the 600.
Also, the difference between 1/2" and 3/8" tubing is very small. Maybe 1 degree C, and 3/8" looks a whole lot cleaner.
The DD/Swiftech Poly res is nice. I like mine.
I'd go with the 77 bonneville with ac heatercore and two 120mm Panaflo fans. Pretty quiet and good cfm. Remember to get shrouds for them.
I like my Swiftech CPU block. I reccomend it. My temps are pretty solid.
NB waterblocks are rarely if ever needed, I'd say. They're more to just complete the waterblock look. I'd think that the Thermalright NB-1C copper heatsink + quiet 40/45mm fan will cool the northbridge down plenty to let you squeeze the last few MHz out of your CPU.

If you have the money for it, get Tygon tubing. Very good stuff. I love mine.

As for coolant, you don't need both Hydrx and Zerex. Hydrx acts as a corrosion inhibitor, algeacide, and surfantant. Adding thick Zerex (which does the same thing, except it's not a surfactant) will only slow your flowrate and yield no benefit.
I use just Hydrx in my loop.

A single setup will be fine if you go with a 77 bonneville w/ ac and two good fans.

For clamps, I went with all metal clamps. They're easy to tighten and remove and can tighten very well. They're like $.60 a peice at Home Depot.

A new PSU is something that depends on your current PSU. If you have a quality PSU (from Antec or the like) that's rated at 430W or above, you should be fine.
I have an Antec true 430w, and I run everything fine.

 

[bellevegasj]

A very good choice is to use 1/2 barbs with 7/16 Tygon tubing. You can force it onto the 1/2 barbs without losing as much flow or cooling. If you want the 'best' performance, I would do this with some high CFM fans using a rheobus to turn them down when you want quiet.

People don't cool the NB because the NB fan doesn't make much noise at all. I've read that cooling the NB will only give a ~10mhz increase in over-clocking.

You can run all of this off 1 good power supply. I would suggest the Antec Neo Power

3/8 systems can perform good, but are mainly for silent cooling. They can be done, but it hasn't really been determined if they can keep up with the 1/2 systems. A good test will be done soon over at the procooling.com website as soon as pH gets the Nexxxos XP block in. Proc's testing methods are more technically sound than any other review sites that you're going to find. By looking at this graph you can see that with higher flow rates, there is a drop in loop temps.

 

[EternityZX9]

Hmm...ok, what CPU block do you guys think would be better for a "high flow" system using 1/2" tubing: The Danger Den TDX/RBX or the Swiftech CPU blocks? Or would these water blocks be better used with 3/8" tubing?

 

[Devilpup]

by the research i did it looks like the swiftech blocks are the best @ any flow except for custom blocks by cathar. oddly enough the 3/8 block by swiftech does better than their 1/2 block.

keep in mind though that the swifty pump has 1/2 fittings, and it's damn hard to put 3/8 hose on 1/2 fittings.

 

[EternityZX9]

Well, then what do you think would be a more suitable pump for a 3/8" tubing setup Devilpup?

 

[Devilpup]

i use an eheim 1048 but that's a 110v pump, not 12v. i think if you want to go with a 12v pump you're going to have to either go with 1/2 inch tubing (at least to and from the pump) or get some adapters. i built my system for silence though, not max performance.

you said you want best performance, so i would suggest probably going with the swifty pump and a 1/2 inch loop as the difference in the swifty blocks are minimal (like 1*C with high flow), so you can basically use either block. if you use the 3/8 block just be sure you do some serious clamping to prevent leaks.

i just like the swifty blocks because there's not much performance difference with high versus low flow, so it's a good all-around setup.

 

[Pooky]

3/8 systems can perform good, but are mainly for silent cooling. They can be done, but it hasn't really been determined if they can keep up with the 1/2 systems. A good test will be done soon over at the procooling.com website as soon as pH gets the Nexxxos XP block in. Proc's testing methods are more technically sound than any other review sites that you're going to find. By looking at this graph you can see that with higher flow rates, there is a drop in loop temps.

Huh? 1/2" is best for high flow yes, but 3/8" isn't for "silent" cooling only. Swiftech proves that outight. Many of their parts are 3/8" and they perform on par with 1/2" systems. I think you're thinking of 3/8" OD or 10mm tubing, not 3/8" ID. Even so, as a user of 6/8mm I don't feel that it's only good for "silent" cooling either as I get good temps with a pretty low flow. It might not be able to topple the 1/2" ID throne, but I find it's a viable alternative. The testing on Euro styles VS US styles never took shape at Pro Cooling, so I suppose we'll all just have to wait until it does to get a definitive answer. Testing one block isn't going to show for the entire style of water cooling.

I do suggest however, if you're planning on 1/2" parts, drop the EVO 240 rad and the Cuplex Pro. I have both and I use them with 6mm tubing and an Eheim 1046 (Aqua COmputer Aquastream 2.0) as well as a northbridge block and 2 hard drive blocks, along with an AlphaCool GPX-A radeon block. Buy the TDX/RBX/WW/MCW6000 (or wait for the Storm G4) and a nice 12v pump like the MCP650 (it's also the 2nd revision of the Danger Den Laing D4). Tygon is excwllent for the price, it's super bendy and will go places nothing else will.