Basically i messed up today and an old p4 1.6 system i had which was a test fit system still worked but was used to test fit cases for atx. Anyways i messed up and popped the cpu and heatsink out. YOu think oh just put it back in NO how bout that the problem is it was a stock heatsink for intel which is HUGH and uses thermal adhesive to stick the cpu to the heatsink which means it will be alot of work to just reuse the stock heatsink when i have it off and can upgrade cooling. Ok now to watercool part. I have never installed a watercooling system and was planning on ordering the parts to watercool my main system in the next month. MY question is should i use the old p4 as a practice wc. Meaning get parts and watercool it to hone my watercooling skills on it before my main system. The only deliberation is if i watercool this system i will have to wait another month or 2 for my main watercool rig. IF i do watercool the intel i would probally order a new mobo and vid card for it so i can maybe oc it a bit and still use it for media linux setup. So basically should i A. watercool the intel system as a practice watercool system and wait to watercool my main system or B. should i just reinstall the old intel heatsink and watercool my main system. Edit: Intel specs are: p4 1.6a socket 478 256 pc133 ram 40 gig HD 7000 series 64mb video(yes series it is all combined series with bests of each one) Intel mainboard witch(used on purpose) has no features period.
I've always considered every installation as "practise". Why buy two sets of parts...just go for the final install.
If the problem is that the CPU appears gluded to the Heatsink, then I suppose you could freeze it (in airtight zip-lock) and then separate them more easily.
I'm just starting out in water cooling too. I was worried about leaks so I'm building a model of my PC in wood (just a wooden box with the side missing) and I'll install the gear in it and set it all up like a test fit so I can check leaks etc (my res is a fass-o-matic and has to be mounted vertically as it has a barb coming out of the base). Once I've built a bit of confidence and test run the setup for a week or so then I'll take my main rig apart and install it (my case is a Gaming bomb and it's going to take some serious modding to fit a 120.1 rad, fass-o-matic and eheim 1250 in there!). No need to risk a computer or buy two lots of gear, you could even look down the tipo for a drawer that someone had thrown out as part of a piece of furniture, remove the handle, stand it on its side, install the rad in the front, res in the top, fasten the block to the base (which is now a side panel) with sticky tape and put the pump on one side (now the bottom of your test case). Voila!
You will have exactly the same amount of risk installing a watercooling system into any PC. tbh i dont see whay you need to practice? Test fitting etc needs to be done but i dont see the point on doing it on a different computer to the one you will finally install it into. Once you have it installed you test it without the PC being tunred on. That way if it does leak nothing will get damaged.
Its just that I have the oppurtunity to figure out the world of watercooling on a computer that if something happened to it, it wouldn't be the end of the world. If i watercool my current rig and mess up then i would have to build another computer. I dont think i would mess up but i would think it would be better to install it on a crappy computer for my first time to learn just basics like best way to run tubes and etc. The rig would only be an 80 rad a p4 block and of course a res and a pump. The thing i was thinking is if i do this then i could buy the pump and res i want for my main computer then once i get the rest of the parts for my main rig just take apart the intel rig and stick the old heatsink on or somehthing. Then again if i do mess my main rig up i might be able to sucker me pops into getting a new 64 bit rig. HMMMM
If you take the right precautions, it's fairly hard to kill a computer just by watercooling. Meaning either using a 12v pump or a relay, and doing enough leak-testing and clamping sufficiently (assuming it's barb based and not pushfit). I've spilled water on most of my components at some point or another, no harm done provided they're off at the time. Just let them dry off and you're good to go (I had a more-or-less small hurricane come in through my windows all over my SLI rig, totally soaked, so glad it was off at the time, but no harm done)
If you get a block like the Polarflo, or the White Water, which have a "universal" mounting system, it won't be too difficult to switch the entire system into your main system once you're happy with it. You might have to shorten the odd tube, and replace some with longer pieces, but for the most part you should be able to reuse it all.
