• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

Which pump for this setup?

S

strwrsxprt

n00b
Joined
Mar 12, 2005
Messages
43
I am setting up watercooling in my current system as practice for building a new one this summer. I'm hoping you guys could answer a few questions I have. Thanks in advance.

Current setup:
Asus A7N8X Deluxe Rev 2.0
AMD Athlon XP "Barton" 2500+ (I've had this thing on air at 200x11 for about a year now)
2x512MB Corsair XMS PC3200LL Platinum
Geforce FX 5950 Ultra 256MB
Antec 1040BII Case w/ 450W TruePower PS

Watercooling setup (already purchased):
Danger Den TDX for Athlon XP
Danger Den MAZE4 GPU
Danger Den MAZE4 Chipset
Danger Den Cylindrical Reservoir
'77 Bonneville Heater Core
12.5' Clearflex and 20 clamps
Dual Sunon 120MM Fans

I've already gutted the front of my case to make room for the rad in the front. It fits perfectly, but I still need a shroud for it.
computer001-1.jpg


First, I need a pump to run this system, preferrably a 12V DC one. I need it to be able to run 4 blocks (SLI system in the future), res, and rad. I'm open to any suggestions and past experiences you guys have. Second, will my 450W PS be enough to run this sytem? I'm guessing it won't once I get a new system with a couple video cards, but if I can stick with this one for now, that would be the best. Last, is there somewhere I can buy a shroud designed to fit a Bonneville heater core or should I just attempt to make my own (not a lot of spare time)? I'll post any more questions as I come up with them. And of course I'll take plenty of pictures as I get around to building it.

P.S. The A7N8X is terrible in my experience at OCing. It refuses to go above a FSB of about 206. Should I expect anything different after WC? My guess is no. Thanks again.
 
if it's not to late, you should probably cancel the chipset waterblock.

you probably won't get better temps than good air cooling of the chipset wil give you, and there is an ongoing thread about how hard it is to watercool NF4s, meaning that you will likely not be able to carry the thing over to your next system.

there is a custom maze4 for the asus NF4, but i'm guessing that is not the one that you ordered.

the second downside is that the added waterblock will cut down on your flow, making everything else run hotter.

i am also doubtfull that you will get any more out of that board's FSB after watercooling, but don't give up: stranger things have happened.
 
I bought all the Danger Den stuff from someone who was willing to give me %15 off MSRP, so I took what I could get. I know I'll need new CPU mounts for a new system, and most likely a few other things. I suppose my biggest concern right now is which pump to go with. I'm looking primarily at the Danger Den DD12V-D4 or DDC12V and just wondering which will do a better job, be louder, etc. If you have any other alternatives I'm open to those as well. Also, do the different nozzles for TDX blocks make a noticeable difference?
 
The DD-D4 pump=great pump but makes an irritating whining noise.
The DDC-12v=great pump and is quiet too. It's native 3/8" though. You can make it better by modding the inlet to 1/2". Pretty simple mod from what I've seen. Gives an increase in flow of about 70%.
The AQX-50Z=GREAT pump. Has similar performance as the D4 but is very quiet. Has native 1/2" so no mods needed. This is my favorite.

I personally have used both the D4 and the AQX-50Z and the AQX beats the D4 hands down. Mainly due to noise factor. If noise isn't a factor than any of these pumps will work for you.

And as almost everyone on these forums will tell you...get rid of the chipset block. You'll see no performance gain and may actually lose some cooling performance.

Most people seem to use the #4 nozzle for the TDX.
 
Ordered an AQX-50Z after reading a couple reviews. It should be perfect for my setup. Based on your recommendations, I won't be using the chipset block after all, so I guess I'll try to sell it or trade it later. Thanks to both so far for your advice. I'm still hunting for a good shroud for the heater core. Wasn't there a forums member selling shrouds that would work with Bonneville heater cores?
 
The guy you looking for is weapon--. I think he has several different sized shrouds in stock now.
 
Both Weapon and 2Fresh will sell you shrouds, although Weapon has some bad @$$ shrouds.


You might actually see a performance benefit from watercooling your chipset. In general it doesn't help, and it is absolutely unnecessary in an A64 system. However in older systems and P4 systems (basically any system where the memory controller is part of the chipset ... aka not A64) you can see performance gains by watercooling the chipset. The other benefit of it is to take out that sometimes noisy NB fan.


I really dont think the chipset block will have any adverse or positive effects on your system at all. (The maze4 chipset block is pretty unrestrictive, and using 1/2" tubing the little bit of extra tubing wont add much restriction either). If you want to cool the chipset I say go for it since you already have the block.
 
I got all my blocks today and will hopefully have them on by tonight. I can't get the chipset heatsink off though. Any tips? It seems to be glued down with some thermal paste from hell. Thanks.
 
when i had mt A7N8X, it was just parafin wax based thermal goo.

like catkicker said: heat it up with a hair dryer, and it should soften up.

you DID remember to undo the pins first, right?
 
Hair dryer worked like a champ in about 10 seconds. I can always count on [H] forums for sound advice.
 
New random question:

Is it safe to run the Geforce FX 5950 Ultra without the molex power connector since I'm no longer using the built in massive cooler? Thanks.
 
Ugly_Jim said:
It'll be safe, but undoubtably unstable.
Click to expand...
i think that you mis-used your "big word" there.

what you just said means that you think that it will be stable, when what i believe you meant to say was that it might not be stable.

and now my comment: keep that molex plugged it. the card needs the added power, with or without the stock cooler.
 
Fantastic. My heater core has a leak somewhere inside of it, not at the solder points that I did. I think I'll just avoid another heater core and buy either a Black Ice Xtreme II or Pro II. Any suggestions? I've ditched the 2 Sunon fans and will be using 2 Nexus 120mm fans with a Vantec fan cotroller. Thanks.
 
black ice pro II does better with low powered fans.

did you remember to fill the core with water while soldering? did you leak test it before soldering? have you considered a DD pre-modded core, as opposed to the black ice?

if those are the nexus real silent fans, then why do you need a controller? are they not quiet enough already?

seriously, if nexus makes loud fans as well, please pardon my ignorance. i know what is available up here best, and the only nexus that i can get is the real silent, and that for a premium price.
 
i firmly recommend the eheim 1250. as my grandma would say, "its an oldie, but a goodie". ive jumped around trying several different pumps, and i definitely like this one the best for my setup:

A64 3000+ @ 2.4ghz w/ DD TDX
NV6800gt w/ polarflo TT gpu
Dtek 120mm Heatercore

idle temps are ~35c and load is in the low 40s for the cpu
the gpu idles at 45c with a max load temp of 53c

add to this the fact that this pump is dead silent, and you have a winner.
 
Nexus fans are quiet, I just like the idea of them being on a controller. I didn't leak test it before I soldered it, but the leak is on the other side of the heater core, so I doubt it's something I did.
 
strwrsxprt said:
Nexus fans are quiet, I just like the idea of them being on a controller. I didn't leak test it before I soldered it, but the leak is on the other side of the heater core, so I doubt it's something I did.
Click to expand...
i was not trying to assign the blame for the leak to you. if you had leak tested it before modding it, and found a leak like that, then you could probably have gotten an exchange on it. that's all that i was trying to say.
 
Oh I know you weren't saying it was something I did, but I also didnt have a pump at the time to leak test it. I figured I would get as much done as possible while I selected the right pump for the job. That's why this thread got started. :) Thanks for all the good info though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top