Cooling Advice on what to get my hands wet with

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Shadowed_fury, 1 Feb 2005.

  1. Shadowed_fury

    Shadowed_fury Minimodder

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    I'm stepping into the world of watercooling.
    Quick run down of my rig,

    Pentium 4 Chip
    Intel 865 - Abit Ai7 mobo
    Ati 9550 (ignore this atm)
    1 hard disk, 1 dvdrom/cdrw
    All in a midi case.

    The case has 2x80mms up front, next to each other like lian li's, and a 120mm exhaust, and i've got a 300w (decent) psu with 120mm fan, so good airflow all round.

    So far, i'm going 1/2, i've brought a DD TDX block for the p4, and i've got a Rad on the way (Black Ice Pro II)

    Since i'm using such a small case, i need to know a few things.

    What Pump? To start with i'm only doing the CPU, but i'd like to cool the graphics soon aswell, maybe the chipset too.
    Also, Quiet is nice, and smaller is great, 12V even better, not cost the earth though!

    Res suggestions? I've heard Bay Res' are prone to leaking from a few places, so i've been put of this, yet i dont really want to spend £45 on a res.

    Best Tubing? Tygon / ClearFlex / DD?

    And wheres the best places to mount everything? Rad esp. :blush:

    Feel Free to add any advice for the newcomer :)
    Thanks a lot
     
  2. Firehed

    Firehed Why not? I own a domain to match.

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    I'd say sticking the rad at the top is best, but mine's at the very bottom (only place it fit) and it's not a problem. But I have casters attached to the case so it sits about 2" off the floor. I mounted my res at the top but in a different way than most - just two 1" (or were they 3/4"?) holes for the top fill plugs and some small holes in the corner to actually attach it. Somewhat unique, easy filling (and fairly easy bleeding, but the pump I used in a loop that small doesn't help), and I don't have to see the disgusting yellow bleach stain inside it (my fault)

    Pump - I really like the CSP 750's that I got from Dtek. Very quiet, seem to have good flow. Absolutely tiny. Not that expensive (like $35, and I think scopEDog still has some spare he could sell you) :) Did I mention not only 12v but low enough power draw to run off a mobo header, complete with RPM sensor (well at least on mine)?

    Res - I agree with the bayres thing, they suck and look tacky if you ask me. I've used a criticool waterplant which is pretty decent, but it's really too small to use in a 1/2" system (the way I have it anyways) since water doesn't sit in it long enough to bleed well. The little dangerden one seems decent, basically the same thing with a different mounting system and a divider plate going up half the middle to help bleeding the system. If you've got some spare cash a 1/2" modded aquatube (see snt-systems.com) would be really nice especially if you get an "aquazilla" with it (1/2" version of the aquajet). Talk to dan over there if you want more info about it - I love my aquatube in my German-based system (6mm ID)

    Tubing - people love tygon. I use whatever's on sale. I picked up some generic 3/8" ID 1/2" OD clear PVC tubing at Ace hardware and no problems (as well as some 1/2"-3/4")
     
  3. Shadowed_fury

    Shadowed_fury Minimodder

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    Thanks for that Firehead :)

    The pump, CSystems square little thing right? Do you think the flow is good enough for TDX, and are they 1/2?

    Res, I don't really like the look of the DD res, i might get a Criticool 4" res (is this the one you ment? )Check here
    I do love the aquatubes, but they seem a touch expensive for my first dive, and thats a US site :sigh:

    As for tubing, i'll just get what I impulse click ;)
     
  4. JuMpErFLY

    JuMpErFLY Minimodder

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  5. Shadowed_fury

    Shadowed_fury Minimodder

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    ohhh, bad quality control or what!
    D4 then? :( damn, £50 for a pump.
     
  6. Da_Rude_Baboon

    Da_Rude_Baboon What the?

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    www.wizd.co.uk is the official UK supplier of aqua-computer kit You may be better off with the fass-o-matic from coolercases as its an Aqua-Tube clone which you can fit 1/2" barbs too.
     
  7. BAcon

    BAcon What's a Dremel?

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    best pump is the swiftech mcp 600 rev 2, can only gt it now under the name of aquaextreme 50z, nightic in the sale forum has one for sale if your in UK

    i say grab that, quieter and more powerful than the DD12v, reccomended by cathar as wel above all others
     
  8. Leeum

    Leeum What's a Dremel?

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    I'll vouch for the Hydor L30, it's an Eheim 1250 in sheeps clothing for about £20 cheaper :D
     
  9. jetsetjimbo

    jetsetjimbo Up-up and away

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    Be sure not to skimp on the tubing if you'll be needing it to bend relatively tightly. If you get cheap thin walled generic stuff it'll just kink and restrict flow.

    The criticool res' are ok but I had difficulty getting all of the air out of mine and had terrible trouble due to bubbles and high flow rates... the res is so short that any air in there will just get sucked back through the loop rather than being able to escape.

    As far as the the mounting of the res goes it kind of depends what case you have and what res you get. :)
     
  10. Autobot

    Autobot What's a Dremel?

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    For tubing go ahead and get yourself some Masterkleer from McMaster-Carr. I just recently got some 7/16" ID tubing. Its quite flexable and here is the big part....CHEAP! Its only 37-cents per foot! I just spent $7.40 and got 20 feet of this stuff. Ya know its good tubing if Cathar recommends it. :thumb:
    If your interested, give this link a click and check this stuff out...
    http://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?partnum=5233K44&pagenum=82
     
  11. jetsetjimbo

    jetsetjimbo Up-up and away

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    The problem is finding the stuff in the UK...
     
  12. Shadowed_fury

    Shadowed_fury Minimodder

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    Yeah please, UK sites only, (unless they rock and except paypal and drop customs charges ;))

    I've put my interest in a MCP600 pump, it looks rather nice ;)

    Still not sure which res to get :worried:
     
  13. Leeum

    Leeum What's a Dremel?

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    I'd go for something simple to fit like a Danger Den bay res, no modding involved unless you'd rather go for something that does :)
     
  14. Shadowed_fury

    Shadowed_fury Minimodder

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    Considering i've gotta cut two 120mm holes in my beautiful case, lol, modding is welcome ;)

    By the DD res, you mean the little round red capped one?
     
  15. Shadowed_fury

    Shadowed_fury Minimodder

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    MCP600 on the way soon.
    Hmm, make a project, or not?
     
  16. Firehed

    Firehed Why not? I own a domain to match.

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    I think that only affected first generation ones. Mine has had no issues at all. And yes, they are normally 1/2" and should have enough flow for a TDX. Get two and run them in series or parallel if you're worred about failure, that way you'll have redundancy and increased pressure/flow (depends how you run them, I think pressure/head=parallel and flow=series)
     
  17. Shadowed_fury

    Shadowed_fury Minimodder

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    no worries, got a beefy mcp600 on the way ;)

    I've read that these 12v pumps need decent PSU's... they're only taking power from the molexes so... basically is my 300w pretty good make psu gonna be alright?
     
  18. Risky

    Risky Modder

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    Probably OK. The power rating is 9W so that's only a 0.75A draw.
     
  19. BAcon

    BAcon What's a Dremel?

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    i use a mcp600rev2 as my AQX 50z came DOA, amazing pumps, but just be careful not to run them dry....make sure water has been primed into the impellar area first.

    it uses a ceramic bearing that unless primed with water will get raped when it starts spinning at a few thousand rpm
     
  20. Shadowed_fury

    Shadowed_fury Minimodder

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    How do i prime it...? </n00b>
     
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