It meas they have had a lot of complaints from people trying to use other manufacturer's fittings with their blocks, who haven't chosen the correct fitting and have damaged their blocks or have had leaks because the fittings haven't sealed properly. If you use fittings other than EK branded ones, you won't get get any sympathy from EK if your blocks or fittings leak. Personally I haven't had any issues with this in the past because I'm always careful to use fittings with the right threads for the blocks. I'd just use EK compression fittings anyway, they're great quality and look awesome. [edit] Oh yeah, if you buy G1/4" barbs/fittings and are using them on blocks with G1/4" threaded ports, obviously you should be fine. Some "el cheapo" fittings can cause problems, but if you stick to EK, Bitspower, Koolance, Phobya, DangerDen etc fittings you will be absolutely fine.
Yeah just read your PM there - unfortunately I'm nowhere near you today, I'm working in Dungannon all day and it's looking like it'll be most of the evening as well - I'll be up on Monday or Tuesday if it suits, or I can just post them on Monday morning.
A friend (mpe91) just watercooled his setup. Got a 2600k and 580 cooled by 2 240 rads in a cm690. Using GTs at around 1100rpm, currently got the cpu at 4.7 and gpu at stock, going from a H70 and stock cooling. Massive improvements, especially on the gpu, he'll post some pics in a mo
Yeah, as George said, gpu improvement is massive. My 580 now has load temperatures similar to that of my idle temps on air. My cpu idles around the same (previously cooled by H70 w/ 2 1850 GT's), but has knocked 10/15C off the load temps. Running the Metro benchmark at 1080, DX11, very high settings, and fans at ~1050rpm, my gpu maxed out at 40C, with the cpu at 50C or below. Temps at full speed Temps at quiet speeds.
Decided I may well go with a EK watercooling kit, one of the 360 options, as there arent enough cheap 2nd hand parts to make it worth my while. Anyone any thoughts on the kits?
Yea the cpu blocks look a bit wick but couldnt always improve later, that said I wish there would be a kit to include or rather give the option for a GPU Block, bloody things are worth more than their weight in saffron.
Sounds like you're itching to get into liquid cooling. As an extreme liquid cooling fanatic I would agree with some of the others here that your temps are already pretty good for air so unless you do something insane like I've done and have your radiator sitting by the open window sucking in outside air, you won't see a massive drop. GPU though now that's a whole different ballgame. I was also in the same position as you, bought a 560Ti with a twin frozr BS heatsink that's "20c cooler than the rest" (according to the sales crap) and it was 83c in summer and noisy as fecky. In summer it won't even hit 45c with liquid and that's with low noise 120mm rad fans able to move air well even at low speed. Last night both GPU's were 23c full load (SLI). If you liquid cool the GPU you can always expand with a CPU block as well later. You don't need a separate loop for the CPU.
A friend of mine picked up an EK Supreme HF 240 kit recently; it's damn good. Gives you plenty of tubing, although the res is a little wimpy, only includes a dye, not actual coolant, though. The Supreme HF is one of the better blocks you can get, comparable to the Heatkiller 3.0 I'm running around on, the EK DCP 4.0 pump is more than fast enough for most uses, the only upgrade from there is to the massive D5 pump. The EK Coolstream radiators tend to behave well, I'm using a 360 Coolstream at the moment and it'll drop my liquid to ambient in a few second if I choose to give it some airflow, and that's with some crappy NZXT 120mm fans on there.
Yea I want a 360 rad and going to mount outside the case in a stand, let the ambient 18-21c cool it down better. Busting to get a test bench though
I've got mine on the window ledge, pulling cold air in. I can achieve sub-zero liquid temperatures in the loop if I leave it open and whack the fans up. Tend to leave the window on the catch though, so I get 18 degree idle at the moment.
Yup. I don't use a Radbox, just a radstand with some Velcro on the bottom to stop it falling over, all it really needs in this scenario.
Mine is a bit unconventional, but I can dig a couple of pics out. I think they're floating around here somewhere. Hokay. Dug through my imageshack and Pictures folder. Found the little sods. Radiator, fan and Pump. Note use of Tactical Packing Tape to hold the fans in place, because none of the screws i had would fit. I need to swap the intake and outtake around on the radiator. That just lets air build up. So I have to literally shake the rad to clear it out at points. Top of the case, I routed everything through the 120mm exhaust hole. The 1/4" ID tubing is too fat to fit through the expansion bracket I was planning to use. Interior. Complete with window reflection! Had to use the Tline that way. Tubing refused to make the turn otherwise.
Your setup is pretty much the same as mine except I made a wooden stand for the res which also sits vertically. It's a 500mm heatsink choob and also strapped vertically to the wooden stand is the 360 water rad, also the pump sits below the res surrounded by foam. Whole thing sucks in outside air. Avoids the waste heat being recirculated into the pc and means the rad always breaths fresh air. Ideally would have the rad mounted on outside of house but that ain't gonna happen.
My setup is a bit of a mess at the second. Mixture of 3/8" id tubing and 1/4", which is making my pump spaz out constantly due to the flow issues, Need to get some good fans and some actual proper mounting screws, some more coolant, ideally a couple of angled fittings too.
