Hey everyone, I'm new to watercooling and plan to set up a new rig next year hopefully. I'll be buying a watercooling set to out into a Cooler master HAF X. How often will I need to change the water in the system? And is there any specific important information that I need to know? Thanks a lot.
I change mine every 6 months, but 8-12 is acceptable. Do some research on the net, read a few guides including bloody petes. However much you budget for.....it will cost more, and however long you think it will take.....it will take longer. Or at least if your anything like me lol.
Absolute bare minimum budget is £300, and that's if you're really skimpy with parts, you'll likely wind up spending more, dependant on what you want to plumb into the loop. Firstly; Always plan for worst case scenario, this means: Have a drain line setup. It doesn't matter if you're filling from a reservoir in the top of the case; if there's a leak in the middle; you need a way to get it all out as fast as possible. I find a T-line at the lowest point usually works best, stick a plug in the spare hunk of tubing and simply remove when you need to drain. Secondly; think about how you're going to fill. Ideally; you want your input point to be at the highest possible point in the case, and the shortest possible route to the Pump possible, so you can get a lot of liquid in, and don't have to cycle the pump so much. It also helps bleed air out of the loop a lot faster if your input is at the top.
I took a look at your system and am aiming for the same set up - it looks very nice. Great advice there, will definitely keep these points in mind.
QFT! (especially when the measurements for your fabricated panels turn out to be wrong ) Its expensive and yes it takes longer than throwing an AC system together in an afternoon but its also very rewarding when you see those temps. Go for it but be prepared to stretch your budget. I found this guide to be the most complete and most useful, pretty much followed it word for word and have had no problems yet: http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/water-cooling/33772-water-cooling-guide-beginners.html
I've always wondered about these two points and never really managed to get such a good answer! +rep! Would it help to have the pump high up too then?
You don't need to. As long as you have a direct, unrestricted path from res to pump, with the pump no higher than the res outlet, all will be well.
Ah ok then - thanks for the reply. I'm not thinking about WCing any time soon - just good to feel that I have some knowledge if (when) I do take the plunge (so to speak). GK
Basically; you want the reservoir above the pump, with a straight-ish hunk of tubing connecting the two, so you can completely fill the Res, then start the pump, then fill the Res again if you need more fluid. While it might be neater to, say, have the pump at the other side of the case; it makes filling a pain in the arse. Not to say it's not possible, but having the two as directly attached as possible and gravity assisted where possible makes life a hell of a lot easier if you have to fill it.
Read Mattewrblack on "loop check". That seems a lot of radiator to the loop ,just for CPU N Graphics Cards is it worth put more 2 on it??
Bloody_pete and youtubing DazMode helped me a lot. Read, read, read, read though. That is what you should do before you start.
