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Cooling Quiet watercooling setup for CPU

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by SDG, 23 Jul 2010.

  1. SDG

    SDG What's a Dremel?

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    In sept im going to combine my first proper case mod and first step into watercooling.

    What im aiming for it a nice looking case which is silent. Sick to my back teeth of my current case setup and the noise it makes, i only want to cool my CPU to start with and maybe add the graphics card in at a later date when i upgrade it.

    Have a question or 2 though.

    Firstly on the loop. im looking into buying the following bits.

    Rad. (the choice depends on how much cooling, which a double do well, are there benifits for going for a massive one other than low fan speeds)

    ThermoChill-PA1403-420-Radiator
    or
    Black-Ice-GT-Xtreme-360-Radiator

    CPU block

    Swiftech-Apogee XT

    pump (how much of a pump will i need to do one loop with 2 rads ect on it.

    12V Laing DDC-1T+ Ultra 18W (Swiftech MCP355)
    or
    12V Laing D5 Vario Pump (Swiftech MCP655)

    Finally the coolant used is it used distilled water with an added dye or it a speaial mix. I work in a chemistry lab atm so double distilled is very easy for me to source.



    So in short, how big a rad do i need to cool a CPU quitly, how big a pump to i need to cool 2 compounds.

    Thanks

    feel like im :wallbash:
     
  2. Guest-56605

    Guest-56605 Guest

    In my humble opinion you can't go wrong with the DDC /ThermoChill-PA1403-420-Radiator combo, as regards which fans to mount that will be preference but you need a balance of high airflow (cfm) and static air pressure...
     
  3. SlowMotionSuicide

    SlowMotionSuicide Come Hell or High Water

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    You'll be wanting to avoid Black Ice GTX rads since they sport very high fin density, for which you'll need high-rpm fans to properly take advantage of. Thermochill works better with low rpm fans, also swifty's mcr range performs well and is pretty cheap.

    Both pumps are fine, but D5 vario is what you'll want if silence is what you're after. DDC will give better head pressure and is better suited when the loop is restrictive, which yours will not be.

    As for the coolant, stick with pure distilled with silver killcoil, or few drops of copper/silver based anti-algae solution. Dyes will only glog the blocks.
     
    D-Cyph3r likes this.
  4. PocketDemon

    PocketDemon Modder

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    This has a nice chart of the common 360 Rads vs fan speed which will give you an idea which way to jump based on how much noise you can put up with... (though you'd need to look up the fans to get the cfm equivalents)

    As to the any 420 rad, there's much less choice in 140mm fans (provisional scouting going back suggested there was far less of a 'mid ground' on the noise/cfm front) so i'd only look at that if you can find some which actively fit your desired noise/cfm profile - well for a reasonably O/C'ed CPU (plus a gfx card if you added a block for that later), a decent 360 will suffice &, as there's a greater range of fans, you could step them up in far more gradual increments if the ones you bought now weren't up to the task.


    The EK Supreme HF is a better CPU block...


    Agree completely that there's no problem with either the D5 or DCC1+ Ultra on a non-restrictive loop - personally always go for the DCC1+, but neither of mine make more than the tiniest noise (can just be heard with minimal ambient noise around 2' away with the side of the case off - & with noisier/higher cfm fans running then they're unnoticeable), as i'm using more blocks & externally mounted (above the case) radiators in both of my machines.

    Yeah, it's really whether you 'might' add further blocks in the future & go for a more restrictive rad now (see page 2 of the previous link).


    & personally have never had any clogging issues with Fesser One black - this 'may' only be this colour/brand, 'may' be down to gunk already being in other people's systems when they reported the issue (ie some rads/blocks may not be clean internally from the manufacturers & the dye's just colouring that), 'may' be that (having disconnected blocks) people aren't rinsing them (ie a stain will be left as is the norm with any liquid with a colour in evaporates), or 'may' be that i'm just randomly lucky.

    Either which way, i've used the stuff for years & have never had any issues - & the non-conductive nature of it has saved large amounts of money in the past when there was a leak.
     
  5. SlowMotionSuicide

    SlowMotionSuicide Come Hell or High Water

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    Yeah, some people manage to run dyes/premixes with no problems whatsoever.

    Others don't

    Colored tubing is your friend.
     
  6. PocketDemon

    PocketDemon Modder

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    Yeah, i've seen a small number of topics like this before... (hence why i qualified my answer)

    The problem is that actively cleaning the gunk out of the block (ie removing it from the system) & then having no issue in the future doesn't mean that it was the fluid that caused it - ie my example that if there was gunk in the system to begin with then the dye will coat it & it could 'appear' that it's the dye that's caused it.

    Since that could easily be a valid explanation, cleaning out the gunk is removing it from the system (so it's then not there to cause an issue with whatever it's replaced with), & so, that it doesn't reoccur, 'could' reinforce a mistaken belief.


    What's obviously the case though is that the *only* reason for someone posting is that they believe they've had problems with dye separation &/or gunk... ...& most people, if they're happy with stuff, tend to sit quietly & say nothing.

    An easy example of this (as i kick around there from time to time) being the OCZ SSD forum pages which are full of issues which might suggest to a casual observer that OCZs SSDs are shonky & prone to all manner of issues...

    ...however the people posting these issues are both a self-selecting group (specifically looking for assistance &/or to whinge) & a tiny fraction of the people who've bought OCZ SSDs.

    So, whilst accepting that, as with any product, there's a small %age that will fail/be faulty/etc, that there are some people posting issues with dyes doesn't mean that either the dyes are actually ever to blame or that, if they are in any individual case, this is a general issue beyond a specific batch.


    Anyway, as i don't have shares in Feser then it doesn't particularly matter - the only reason for my recommending it is d.t. it's non-conductive properties which, esp for a first time w/c builder (though we can all make mistakes when filling/emptying loops), give it a significant advantage imho.
     
  7. Sh0cKeR

    Sh0cKeR a=2(s-ut)/t²

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    A thick 360mm radiator from either Thermochill or XSPC is more than enough for an overclocked core i7. I'm getting low temperatures with the Apogee XT block, combined with Enermax Apollish fans running at just 1000rpm on an XSPC RX360 radiator. As for the pump, if you're using 1/2" Inside Diameter tubing with reasonably high flow waterblocks, then the Laing D5 variable pump is much more suited as its flow rates which will matter in a loop such as that. from what I've seen, the small Laing DDCs are for use with much smaller ID tubing, and as such need greater head pressure to overcome the added restriction of the tubing.
     
  8. D-Cyph3r

    D-Cyph3r Gay for Yunosuke

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    +Rep for answering every question and query with perfectly accurate information. So often with watercooling people get given horribly untrue responses...
     
  9. SDG

    SDG What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks for the reply and the very nice info.

    So the D5 is the best pump option but the DCC would also be suitable.

    Dyes are not that great, use coloured tubing instead.

    thero rads are proberly the best to use. I take it that the fin density is related to better cooling. More fins better cooling. But ovisourly fans will have a bearing on this. I would have to pick the right fans for the job.

    but which size rad will give me the head room to OC an i7 920 or 930 to a reasonable level.

    thanks again guys
     
  10. D-Cyph3r

    D-Cyph3r Gay for Yunosuke

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    For a CPU only loop a double is ample, if you plan on adding a GPU later stump up the cash for a triple... it's certainly cleaner and easier than multiple smaller rads in the same loop.
     
  11. SDG

    SDG What's a Dremel?

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    so a CPU and GPU can be cooled off a triple?? I didnt think watercooling was even that effectent. I thought i was going to have to add a second rad in after the CPU even if it was a single. But i surpose the temperature only goes up by a degree or too as it passes through even a overclocked CPU
     

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