Cooling Custom Water-cooling Setup...What You Think?

I was recommended by a good man here on the forums, to just pick everything out for water-cooling, then ask for your guys opinions instead of asking you guys to build me one. Here is the list..

Pump: Hydor L35
Radiator: Black Ice Xtreme Radiator
Reservior: Danger Den Single 5 1/4" Bay Reservior
CPU Waterblock: Danger Den MAZE4 for Intel Socket 478 Mobo's
GPU Waterblock: Danger Den Acetal MAZE4 GPU

Thats the main setup I like at really good price range. What do you think of it? I have a few questions too that need answered please. I looked on the Danger Den website to see if the GPU waterblock was compatible with a Geforce FX5200, but I wasnt sure. Help me on that? Another question is, when I go to see how much the UV tubing costs on Danger Den, it says sumthing about, over 10 and it becomes .99 cents. Is this true? When I go to the dropdown box, it goes up to 50, and when selected, the price is still .99 cents. Is it messed up, or is that like the sweetest deal? My last question is, what exactly do I look for in a water additive? I didn't know what to pick, and I was hoping you could help me on that. If it helps, I want one that allows UV water dying and also keeps the liquid cool for the CPU and GPU chips.

Thanx for the help guys.

 

Overall I would say you would get better gaming performace, from getting a decent graphics card. If noise is an issue.. even underclocking your cpu, untill silence.. would probably give more performance wiht a decent graphics.

Hydor L35 - iirc thats about twice as powerfull as the l30? I think an L30 would be plenty.. L35 afaik is not a common pumpfor watercooling.. which probably becuase its too big.

Radiator - a heatercore would be cheaper.. and theres other makes like thermochill for watercooling rads which are good..dunno the price/performance of them.. but im uing two heatercores which cost £20 in total.

Res - I really hate bay res's. At minimium id recommend the ones made of plexi tube. Im usinga6" criticool res and although its not perfect (doesnt hold enough water for my d4 on 12v, too small fittings etc..) its better than all the other commerical ones ive seen in the same price range (innovatek? make a res about twice the size for about twice the price).

CPU block - Maze4 was a resonable block but there are much better performers for the same price, like the RBX, TDX etc.. I didnt like any of them so I got one made.

GPU block - I dont think theres much difference between the gpu blocks.. again I made my own.

Additives - with that setup you should not have any problems with corrosion so additives are not really nesasary..
I think UV dye of any colour looks horrible, and it also stains the tubing, and all components.. I leave my water clear..

One additive you might want to add is a biocide.. to stop the algy from growing. The one I use I got from work and I dont know the name of it but it works well.. otherwise expect to clean your system every month or two, including every wet component.

Make sure you use distilled or de-ionised water and not tap water..

 

If i was new to water cooling and i'd just read that last post, i think i would throw the towel in before even starting!

IMO, the set-up looks spot on though i've never been a big fan of Hydor pumps but that was just after a bad experience a couple of years back and i'm sure they have the problems straightened out by now.

The Maze4 CPU block was, and still is a very good performer (that's why they still sell them) though if you want absolute performance the TDX will get you a couple of degrees but at a higher cost compared to the Maze4.

A single Black Ice Extreme will certainly cope with your Geforce FX5200 and CPU block no problem at all and you will find you can run the 120mm fan at 7volt which is almost silent.

I hear it mentioned by quite a few on various forums that they don't like the Bay-Reservoirs but most just say it without thinking why and i'm yet to hear a good explanation.
I say go for it...they look great IMO, are an ideal shape and take advantage of wasted space in terms of an unused 5.25 bay and are easy to fill (just slide out the front of the case about an inch or so and fill) oh and did i mention they are cheap and strong!
I've used various Bay-Res here here here and here to name but a few.

The Acetal Maze4 GPU is another great choice and will fit you card......just make sure you order the right one to fit nVidia cards (if your worried e-mail dano@dangerden.com and he will keep you right)

Just go for 6 or 7ft of clear DD hose which will give you maximum glowment when using UV dye and a couple of UV cathodes......get it lit up and be proud of it
This might help on mixing ratios

Add a few drops of Water Wetter or Zerex and the same of UV Dye to either deionised or distilled water which will prevent corrosion and algae growth and you shouldn't need to clean you system for 6 to 10 months (maybe longer)

....hope that is a bit more helpful.

Good luck with it and let us know what you end up with and how you get on!

 

Absolutely. You have to appreciate, kbn, that XplicitContent is just looking for a reasonably-priced working setup, not an in-depth critique as to the pros and cons of various components.

coolmiester is da man. He's built more WC systems around DangerDen components than anyone (except, perhaps, the guys working at DangerDen). Follow his advice and you can't go wrong.

 

Agreed. Though I certainly would not discount kbn's ideas, the setup that was proposed is certainly an acceptable and useful one.

I do recommend the possibility of looking into a new graphics card, but all things come in time and this is neither the hardware nor the graphics forum. I will say I had a 5200 right up until 2-3 weeks ago, when I got my new 6600gt. If it does what you want it to for now, then you're all set. But I'd maybe hold off on buying a really good block for it in case you decide in the near future that you want to upgrade, because then you may have to buy a new block as well, raising the price of the setup.

And why is everyone so down on the bayres? I find them to be useful space-savers, and noone has ever been able to tell me why they're oh so horrible. The only time I wouldn't use one is in a custom case build like the one I'm building now, because I'm building out of acrylic and that means I can fuse the res straight into the case.

 

Wow, you guys have been awesome! So, because I dont have the money to afford the awesome 6800gt and a awesome waterblock for the gpu, the selections I made good? After what coolmeister said about the Hydor L35 pump, Im not sure I want to get one. I thought it was decent because it was small and compact, and pushes enough water for me.

What did you mean by a 'small issue' and that they might have fixed the problem by now? What was 'that issue'?

Is there any other small, good pumps other than the Hydor L35? What is better, the L35 or L25 for my system?

Still on the topic of pumps, is the Eheim 1250 enough or too much for this setup. I just dont want a 7" pump on the bottom of my case.

Thanx coolermeister, Nexxo, and Da Dego.

 

The selections you have made are great. I would consider not watercooling the GPU right now unless you have a future upgrade in mind, and then buy a block that works with both your current card and the card you are eyeing up.

I'm not too sure as to the issues that coolmiester talked about, but he will probably reply shortly. Personally, I have a beast of a pump that I don't need, so I'm looking at those c-systems mag pumps now. Small, affordable, and whisper quiet... I personally don't have any experience with hydor, though I have never heard bad things about them. The eheim 1250 is a larger pump and fairly loud, iirc.

 

Thanks for the fast reply. I have to agree with you on the gpu, I might as well save up after summer for the 6800gt and an great waterblock for the gpu. So people, I subtracted the gpu waterblock out. I just looked at some more danger den pumps, and like Da Dego said about the Eheim being loud, I kinda want to stick with the Hydor L35 since it is also small.

So, I need to know anyone who has had experienced/or heard about, the Hydor L35 pump, is it good, decent, awesome?

Oh yeah, I took coolermeister's advice and decided to get a Copper TDX Block for the Intel 478 Processor CPU waterblock, because according to him, it is better, and only $10 more!

One more thing, because Im a little nervous about mixing ingredients for the water/additive, I was wondering what is the best bottle to buy that includes everything needed, and allows water uv dyeing.

Thanx again for the help!

EDIT: By the way, because I am not water-cooling the gpu, should I just get a good, fanless heatsink for the card, or leave the card stock with its small heatsinks? It is the XFX Geforce FX5200 128mb, 128-bit AGP 4x/8x. Thanx.

 

Just leave the gpu as is, won't be a problem.

"Water Wetter" is really the best compound that I can think of that's largely 'all in one.' It's an anti-corrossive and has anti-fungal properties (to prevent algae). Don't worry about mixing difficulties, everything comes with instructions! You'll just need to measure how much water your system takes, then add accordingly. For dye, you just add a small bit at a time until you get the desired effect. More is NOT better here.

 

I prefer Zerex Racing myself, but with all additives you need about a 5% solution. For UV dye just follow Da Dego's advice: try out tiny amounts first. Too much actually reduces the effect.

 

The TDX block is designed to work best with hi flow so if you are pushed for room maybe try the Laing DDC from Danger Den which is an absolutely brilliant little thing and also silent if mounted correctly. It come standard with 3/8" barbs so you need to use step up adaptors. It also runs off 12volt Molex so turns on with your PC where as Eheim all run of the mains.

BTW, the Eheim 1250 and 1048 are also very quiet if mounted right.

This Pump Performance thread will give you an indication to sizes and flow......the Hydor isn't there but it's sort of in between an Eheim 1250 and Lang D4 in size.

Early days i bought a load of them which all ended up leaking so they went back and i've never tried them since.......I know Leeum loves his but my early bad experience with them has put me off.

It's best to make your solution up in a large measuring jug if possible before you start filling you system.

Like Nexxo recommends around 5% Zerex or Water Wetter to deionised water and then start adding UV Dye a couple of drops at a time and keep testing under UV Light until you reach maximum glowment.

A word of warning.........don't over do it with Water Wetter as it will result in your water foaming up once you turn the pump on. I'd only recommend around 2% or 3% max

To sum up IMO...

Eheim 1250 is perfect, very quiet but large and runs off mains
Lang DDC 12volt is small, powerful and very quiet, runs off PSU but needs 3/8" to 1/2" step up adapters.
Laing D4 is very powerful, runs off PSU but has an annoying whine.
C-System Mag Drive is worth investigating as it is small and powerful but i don't have any first hand experience with it...yet.

Personally i just love the Laing DDC and that way you can get all items from DD to save on shipping

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Im still deciding what to pick and do, so I decided to gather/save more money after Im done working in the summer. So, Im going to pick the best watercooling items available for it then. That way, I dont have a somewhat average kit, when I can have a superior one after summer. Problem is, I am getting the Thermaltake Shark case, meaning there is not a lot of room to work with on the inside, for certain things like a Tank-O-Matic reservior which I wanted, so I might get one of them Aquatubes or sumthing, where I can hang it on the top of the case. Any other great water cooling items and brands I should get then?

Thanx for the help guys.