Cooling Which radiator/waterblock...

Hello all. I'm new to watercooling, and want to overclock a little bit, but not too much. I want to watercool an Nvidia 6800 GT, and an Athlon 64 3800+. Here are the thoughts floating around in my devious mind.

GPU Block: Danger Den 6800 Waterblock (this is the part I'm trying to get the most out of, ultra's are too expensive, and I've heard these overclock to Ultra performance levels.)

CPU Block: Danger Den TDX Waterblock. Does the RBX style really make a difference because I don't feel like routing more tubing because of it if the difference is subtle. Also, does anyone have any other recommendations on a waterblock, because as of yet, the only one i've found I think looks cool is this one.

Reservoir: Tank-O-Matic reservoir

Radiator: This is where I'm iffy. I was looking at Black Ice Extreme II, and Black Ice Pro II (what's the difference?). I looked at Heater Cores, and the Airplex 240 Evo. Which one should I get??? Which one has the best performance? Do the heatercores really cool that much better that they're hideous look can be justified?

Pump: Eheim 1048 pump with 1/2 OD fittings.

Tubing: Tygon

 

IIRC, the Black Ice Extreme II is rated for 900+W, the Black Ice Pro II is rated for 400+W.

 

LOL, I had to look that one up, IIRC that is. Alright, so then I should definately go with the BIX II. Does anyone know anything about how the Evo 240 performs? Thanks again guys and gals.

 

The extreme's are like 50% thicker than the pro's and as such are rated for more heat. Dangerden's own double heatercore is probably one of the better ones out there, and definately the least expensive. From what I've heard the Evo 240 is the most flow-restrictive and probably doesn't cool quite as well, and costs more I think. I was going to get one originally but decided it would be too close of a fit... oh well.

I like the look of both the TDX and the Polarflo TT. You can have the TT in either a 2- or 3-barb config (one in, one or two out). One test even showed it perform better in two-barb although logic would say otherwise. They're about the same price, although in my own pre-purchasing questions polarflo seems to be much more responsive and helpful. They also have nice multi-block deals

 

personally i'd go for the TDX, with a BIX2 and a hydor l30.... believe me you want the l30, it outperforms the EHEIM 1250 and is cheaper. i have had 2 and they rock. check out the pump reviews on www.overclockers.com if you want a second opinion

 

I would stick with the Eheim. Far less reliabilty issues than the Hydor. You get what you pay for.

 

Airplex EVO 240 = EUR40,99 @ connix.de

 

Don't get an Airplex EVO. It is designed for low flow systems and will seriously lower the flow rate in a high flow system.

Either go for all hgh flow parts or all low flow parts. Things get complicated when you try and mix them.

 

You may want a more powerful pump for that TDX. It is a great block with high flow but the performance dramatically decreases when the flow is reduced

im currently using a very similar setup to what you are after: SS-TDX, NV68, Thermochill 120.2 rad (a tiiiiiiny tiiiiny but better than the BIX2 supposedly, but basically identical) and an eheim 1250

theres also the option of the D4 pump, which is a bit noisy but has a lot of power behind it