This is a good opportunity for me to ask a question that's been on my mind recently. When you quote CPU temps, are you going by CPU readings or core readings? It may seem a silly question, but I have a big difference according to SpeedFan.
http://www.koolance.com/water-cooling/product_info.php?product_id=832 - Just read about it on The Register.
Yeh its a nice bit of kit! Im impressed how far Koolance has come recently - they even have copper rads now
Can anyone recommend any improvements on that? I went for things that seemed reasonably priced and recognised brands. Just want to get the watercooling system out the way before I upgrade to AM3. Edit: Hose lengths are an estimation, I've got no idea how many meters I'd use.
I'm not so sure about that pump. (Considering the quality of the other components it lets them down a bit)
So everything but the pump is sound? I thought that it seemed reasonably spec'd and was cheaper than the Laing DDC-1T Ultra 12V and the D5-Vario 12v. If you had everything above presented to you bar pump, what would you get?
Not so much going for silent, just not loud but cool. Want to push for some heavyish overclocks. Still suitable?
yep its a good little pump. from a sales point of view they sell out as soon as we get them and there are no returns
On the idea of NCF (non conductive fluids) how am I supposed to know how much to buy for my system? What's the average consumption of a small watercooling system (CPU/Chipset) in terms of litreage? I was thinking about 4 litres, but I dunno.
That depends. I am still on a socket A platform.... do newer have internal probes? Or you talking about the socket thermistor? I personally hope to use a K-Type thermal probe hooked up to a meter for phase-change duties. I think anything stock would start to lose resolution (accuracy) after a certain point. Does anyone know of a host for pics? I think photobucket would get its arse handed to it by this site.
You can host some pics up on your personal albums here if you want. User-Cp and then the option will be on the left somewhere.
Right, so I am no English scholar and my writing style might be all over the place. But, I am going to attack this at a different angle then most by trying to get down the basics FIRST. Rather then just doling out a tool list and what not. This is intended to reduce the amount of people just flat out giving up when it starts getting really crazy all of a sudden. The Refrigeration Cycle: These are 4 conditions of the refrigerant in a refrigeration loop, and they are: 1) Hi-Pressure Vapor The state of the refrigerant after it has left the compressor. Compressing a gas increases it temperature. 2) Hi-Pressure Liquid The state of the refrigerant after it has been cooled in the condenser and became condensed from a vapor, to a liquid, while under pressure from the compressor. 3) Low-Pressure Liquid This is the state of the refrigerant as it is exiting the metering device, cap-tube, TXV (Thermostatic Valve), etc. Usually is accompanied by varying amounts of low-pressure vapor as well. 4) Low-Pressure Vapor The state of the refrigerant after it has gained heat, usually from the evaporator. Knowing when these states are supposed to occur can help troubleshoot a system later down the road. When it is not doing it job, you know that one of these processes is not occurring or rather poorly. The cycle is best described as so: Compressor: High Pressure Vapor ----> Condenser: High-pressure liquid ----> Metering Device: Low-Pressure Liquid ---> Evaporator: Low-Pressure Vapor---> Back to compressor. Pressure-Temperature Relationship of Refrigerants: These go hand in hand. If you increase pressure, you make it easier for liquid to condense at higher temperatures. If you decrease pressure, it more readily evaporates and can produce lower temperatures. This is directly related to how strong of a pull your compressor can muster (btu/hp rating). Common types of Compressors: “Scroll” and “Rotary” compressors (typically in window units) are known for their pull down. And is personally the type I aim for when making a chiller or vacuum pump as they can produce more vacuum (lower temps/pressures). These are typically shaped like a tall can and run R22 or colder gases. You typical compressor in smaller devices is a “reciprocating hermetic”; meaning piston style compressor, in a sealed shell. This is the one that is shaped like a ball/boulder; for lack of better description. Lmao. These will usually work for direct-die (watch the HP rating) as the loads are less. Refrigerants: I exclusively use R290 (propane) due to the fact it’s cheap, cold (same as R22), and can double as a shielding gas during brazing with some precautions. Not to mention legal to possess and relatively harmless to the environment.
TOOLS YOU NEED: 1) Brazing rods: I use bernzomatic P/N: PS3 copper brazing rods. They have no silver in them and some people will gripe about that. But as long as you heat the work enough you should have no problem getting them to “flow”. Avg Cost: $2-3. Brazing Rods 2) Torch: I use a “click-start” style torch. Bernzomatic sells one of these as well but they can be found under many brand names. Will take MAPP gas for heavier work. Avg price. $20 for torch. $20-30 for a kit. Torch 3) Gauges (Gauge Manifold Set): You can find these in many brands and configurations. It’s up to you how much money you want to spend. But the two key features to look for is a Sight Glass and Press/Temp scales on the dials for the gas you will commonly use. (R22 for propane usually works). Although any will ultimately work as you can look up each gasses’ press/temp chart. Summit-racing was offering a set for $60 shipped as of May13th (Ebay). 4) Vacuum Pump: This is the most expensive but essential part of the whole tool outfit. It is responsible for removing excess water which can turn refrigerant oils acidic and also turn to ice blocking metering devices. It averages around $200 for a good pump in the 3scfm range. The higher that number the larger of a system it can reliably evacuate. Stick to a decent brand, Robinair as an example. These can be homebuilt using two spare compressors brazed together in series. More on that later. (going to draw this) 5) Tubing tools: You will need a tubing bender, tubing cutter, and flaring/swaging tools. A GOOD swaging set will be of the clamp/block style that you can change out the heads on. The type you pound with a hammer will cause more cussing then anything else and will probably end up ruining vital connections. Such as your compressor outlet. Invest in one of these babies…. Flaring/Swaging Set on Ebay $45. 3/16-1/2” Tubing Cutter. $5-10 6) Simple hand tools: Use common sense here; since most of you are modders you will have dremels, hammers, drills and drill bits. The above is the specialized bits. BRAZING Ah yes, the major almost controversial (with how much it is discussed) section of building your own phase-change unit. It is really easy to get the hang of and my best advice is to mount 4” pieces of copper that you have swaged/flared in a vise and have at it. The goal here is to get the work hot enough so that the brazing rod flows like solder. The key difference between soldering and brazing is the temperature. That’s it. So what you’re looking for is a dull red-orange glow. Too bright and you risk making it brittle or oxidizing the crap out of it. When connecting a lighter in gauge/thickness material to a heavier one you want to heat the heavier one first; as this will hold the heat long enough for you to heat the lighter piece second. This prevents you from burning the light piece up. Such as cap-tubing. There are two “cones” in a typical torch flame. The inner almost white/blue cone is the one that dishes out the most heat and is the one you want to “aim” with when trying to get that glow. The outer cone (darker blue) can be used to keep already heated parts at the correct temperature without over-doing it. (I don’t own a camera right now, may have to borrow one for examples.) Using propane as a shielding gas: I usually flow gas ahead of the connection I am working on, and out the service valve of the compressor where I take a lighter to it to burn the gas off so it doesn’t collect somewhere and do nasty things. I control the gas using some extra cap tubing (think restrictive, 10ft - 0.026” dia) brazed to an extra Schrader valve and then passed-thru/controlled via my gauge manifold. It takes a light hand to get the flame so its not 10 inches long, so take your time getting it to about candle height. Why do this? Copper likes to Oxidize; or form a black coating when heated. This can chip off later during heat cycles and possibly clog a cap tube. A few people get away without this step. But it is not hard to prevent, so I just do it. Now most people are thinking…. Propane? Torches? This is dangerous stuff! The conditions of brazing do not allow for a sealed oxygen and propane rich environment to risk an explosion. As far as fires go, propane is heavier than air and likes to collect near the ground. This can be a problem, but quite simply. Just keep it lit and have some windows/fan going/go outside if your worried. Picture showing propane "adapter". Basically a cheap torch with a de-cored shraeder valve brazed on. Used map due to the thickness of the torch. It in action. DO NOT attempt to use other refrigerants as shielding gas! These can release a host of bad chemicals not meant to be inhaled. ONLY propane and dry nitrogen! PLEASE don’t release anything with R-12! Its 18x times as bad for the atmosphere than R22! And even R-22 is scheduled for discontinuation around 2010-2011. (ODP) Ozone Depletion Potential is just that. It’s meant to be a reference of how bad a certain gas reacts to the health of our Ozone. Examples: R-12 (ODP 0.93) --- R-22 (ODP 0.05) ---- R-134A (0.00) --- R-507 (0.00) The closer the number to a whole number (1 in this case) the more damaging, think of it as a percentage. If there are any requests for other refrigerants and their Ozone Depletion Potentials (ODP) I will gladly post them. Assembling your first system and what parts it is comprised of will be a different post.
I love air cooling, and don't really mind the noise- i used to have 3 Sharkoon Silent Eagle 3000RPM fans in my rig and left on overnight! anyway: Cooler: Asus Silent Knight CPU: Core 2 Duo E6600@3.1Ghz GPU: HD4850 with Akasa Neo Vortex Case: Thermaltake Armor Jr Ambient Temp ~ 25C CPU Idle/Load: 20C/34C GPU Idle/Load: 40C/51C however, the coolest i've had my PC on air: after coming back from holiday, no heating on
