Cooling First attempt at WCing, advice needed.

Ok im fed up with how hot my CPU and NB are getting when under full load, so im planning on going for watercooling. Ive been selling off some bits and bobs and worked out i can afford this WaterChill kit at £152.69 (inc vat) with the aim of adding a NB cooler in the future.

Im paranoid about it going wrong though, so i need to know how to add a flow meter or something that would shut the pc down if the pump stopped.

Also some basic advice\opinions on that kit would be well received. Like how good\quiet is the pump? is it powered from a 12v source or do i have to use a seperate plug? Is 1 120mm fan/rad sufficient to cool a 3.4 Prescott? (+ a NB in the future?)

It'll all be mounted in the bottom of my V1000 case (fingers crossed that it will all fit...)

thanks

 

I'd just get something to monitor CPU temps and force a shutdown if it's a problem. A dead CPU fan will overheat a processor *much* faster than a stopped pump or radiator fan will, but regardless thermal throttling should kick in or something to prevent instant death.

I believe that's a Hydor L20 that's got a converter to allow it to run of 12v. I could be wrong though, the picture doesn't show it well. That little box may just be a controlled relay thing... I can't say for sure.

Yes a single 120mm rad should be enough for a preshott. Northbridges run fairly cool (relative to procs at least) so don't worry.

 

after abit of digging, it looks like the Pump runs off a pass through PSU lead, but is also linked via a Molex connector to allow it to power on automatically when the pc boots.

It seems like a pretty good kit for a WCing newbie. i really think that with the Lian Li v series of cases you need watercooling as they aint so good for aircooled pc's...

 

The WaterChill control unit is basically a mains relay so it starts when it receives 12V from your PSU The Hydor L20 isn't bad, push for the L30 if at all possible.

 

yer, i bought bits of a kit like that off a friend, the control unit just sits somewhere in the case so doesn't need a pci slot of anything, it consists of a relay and some resistors, i managed to blow mine tho turned on my new water set up and there was a bang and a flash and the room went dark! lol, need to replace the relay in it, the units sperate cost about £15!
can't you set your bios to turn the PC off if it goes over a certain temp?

 

You could add a flow sensor, or else a simple flow switch. The flow sensor would put out an RPM signal like any fan and as such you can either configure some mobos to shut down at "fan failure" or put a fan alarm inbetween (Innovatek sells some).

With a flow switch it is simply a matter of hooking it to an inverter which in turn activates a relay that runs parallel to the on/off switch. No flow triggers the inverter and closes the relay. You may need a few seconds delay on that to allow flow to establish itself during startup. Better break out the electronic circuit design book then...

 

that sounds like pretty good advice, ill look into getting a flow meter aswell, then!

i think i may plumb for this kit as ive not heard any negative views or read any bad reviews of it!

 

Ok im now after abit of advice on the setup.
This is the basic idea ive got so far...

(The GFX will be cooled by an Artic Cooler for now untill i expand the loop in the future)

i think this is the best setup for the kit, does anybody have any better tips?

im not sure which way i should have the 120mm Fans blowing, but this is a simple case of trail and error i think.

 

You want to put the resevoir before the pump as most pumps for our use are not self-priming. Running them dry will damage them. After that is all done, have your fan suck air through the radiator for quieter operation and possible cooler temps.

 

So i need to have the pump sucking directly from the resevoir and then pumping into the CPU?

are there big benefits from the position of items in the loop? ie having the pump closer to the radiator?

 

The oulet of the res should go directly to the pump, yes. Route the tube the easiest way (ie the least tube length possible), the order of the rest of your componants doesnt really matter. Looking at your diagram, just reverse the flow (blue lines become orange, orange lines become blue) and youll be all set.

 

one thing i would say is make sure you have some good flexible pipe as the bend to connect the CPU to the NB us rather tight. i tried it with some of that UV reactive tubing and it was almost impossible!