Watercooling Thinks

[Mungus]

Been a while since I've done anything interesting to my PC, so decided to jump into watercooling. Looking to watercool my current basic setup consisting of an i5 750 and a 3GB GTX580.

This is what I'm thinking I'll need to start - keen to get some thoughts and opinions:

	EK Full Cover VGA Block EK-FC5X0 GTX GW EN Nickel	In stock	$129.00	1
	EK Supremacy Nickel	In stock	$85.00	1
	XSPC Laing DDC BayRes One	In stock	$49.00	1
	EK Laing DDC-Pump 12V DDC-1Plus	In stock	$99.00	1
	EK-Ekoolant UV Blue (premix 1000mL)	In stock	$14.00	1
	EK G1/4 High Flow Fitting 1/2	In stock	$3.50	8
	PrimoChill PrimoFlex Pro LRT Tubing UV Blue 1/2ID 3/4OD	In stock	$9.00	3
	EK Twin 5mm LED Kit - Ultra UV	In stock	$5.50	1
	Black Ice SR1 240 Radiator	In stock	$85.00	2
	CoolerMaster 120mm 2-Pack Silent LED Fans	In stock	$19.00	2

So basically:

- EK Nickel waterblocks for both CPU and GPU. See-through plexi tops for added wank.
- EK Laing DDC pump stuck into an XSPC dual-bay reservoir.
- Two Black Ice SR1 240 rads (one rad for each block, although on single loop)
- Connectors and tubing and shit for aforementioned wank value.

Not sure how I'll order the loop, probably pump -> rad -> CPU -> rad -> GPU -> pump. Or something like that.

Weeee

[Wrathlon]

I have a watercooled system and my advice is get the Swiftech Waterblock, I'm running an Apogee XT and it does an amazing job.

With water cooling, reservoir capacity makes a BIG difference as the more water in the system the more water there is to absorb heat and can handle much higher loads.

I have a Swiftech MCX655 and that pump is even better than mine so should be perfect.

1/2" ID tubing is a massive PITA to work wit as its a lot bigger than you think it will be but considering its pretty much set and forget its worth it. I advise buying about 1m more tubing than you think you'll need.

I have an EK Waterblock on my Radeon 5970 and its awesome, EK's GPU waterblocks are fantastic.

In regards to coolant, unless you specifically want the UV glow, you dont NEED coolant shit, tap water + anti-algae from the aquarium is more than sufficient, been running that for 2.5 years now with only 3 water changes in that time (One of which was because I had to take out my GPU to test something at one point).

In regards to fittings, the barbs themselves are fine, albeit a little messy once you add in clamps, but the threaded sections are prone to leak unless they are O-Ringed. A solution is a few drops of superglue on the threads. They will still unscrew with a little bit more force needed but should never leak. I use the barb types on my reservoir because they are the only type that fit there as the inlet and outlet ports are so close together. I have had endless problems with the fuckers leaking and everything else. The rest of the system uses Koolance compression fittings and they not only look better but are functionally a hell of a lot better. Also some quick connects on at least one join is a good idea because filling/draining will not work as well as you think it will. I have a fill port at the highest point and drain port at the lowest point and I still have to disconnect a pipe near the top, put a stopper in and blow into it to get the water out properly. Quick connects would make this 100 times easier and less messy.

2 Radiators is overkill, I'm using a Koolance HX1000CU 3x120mm fan radiator which has about 1000W of cooling capacity. As long as your radiators cooling capacity is equal to or larger than your PSU rating, it will never be the problem (Cant generate 1000W of heat with 850W of power). The big thing to be aware of is making sure you dont mix Aluminium and Copper. If you do, you will get galvanic corrosion and it WILL spring a leak and destroy waterblocks. You can mix Aluminium and Nickel or Copper and Nickel NP. Copper radiators will be better than Aluminium ones.

As for loop order, mine goes:

Pump --> GPU --> CPU --> Radiator --> Reservoir --> Reservoir --> Pump (I used 2 smaller reservoirs instead of 1 big one, makes no real difference). Another good idea is to have a flow meter of osme kind so you can see the water flowing, otherwise if it stops, you probably wont know until it boils, pressurises and blows a hose. An external relief valve is a good idea too - water blown out through a valve in the rear/bottom of the case is better than water blowing out inside the case in the event of a disaster.

The GPU temp under 100% load using furmark, overclocked as high as the card can take, never ever goes above 50 degrees (45 degrees at idle). The CPU is a Series 1 i7920 overclocked to 4.2Ghz - its also the batch that overclocks like shit too so needs a fair whack of vcore (And the associated heat increase) to get it there. Even then it never sees over 65 degrees prime 95 with 8 threads. Even with the video card not in the loop the temp only drops by 2 degrees.

Also, compare the price when buying from these guys: Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come

Here is my thread:

http://gamers-underground.com/hardware-tech/32168-my-watercooling-stuff.html

I paid around $120 less from the US for the same gear + a few extras even WITH an extra $150 shipping. And that was when we were trading at 1AUD = 0.85US, would be an even bigger saving with our strong dollar atm. Thats compared to PC Case Gear.

[Wrathlon]

Also take how long you THINK it will take you to get this all working how you want it and double it at least. Took me nearly a week to get it all in and working properly (But that said half that time was spent making the custom shroud).

[Bad Crispy]

the only thing i did to mine was to get some (koolance QDC) barbed quick disconnect fittings - obviously both male and female, for if and when i get around to doing my gpu.

They also do threaded fittings which i will probably end up with on the cpu block and possible radiators.

[Milenko]

You guys got balls for putting water inside your computers. I am way too paranoid to do it

[Wrathlon]

You guys got balls for putting water inside your computers. I am way too paranoid to do it

I leaked all over everything inside 6 months in and no damage done, luck yes but a water spill isnt the be all end all of computer components everyone makes it out to be. Much like "Dont touch the gold tabs on the slot" and "keep in static bags, use anti static straps" is technically required but how many boxes of old shit thats been thrown around, man handled, frisbeed, had shit spilt on it and it still works just fine? Its BAD but as long as you catch it early it shouldnt be fatal barring a full on burst hose.

[grandinferno]

I leaked all over everything inside

This is a family site.

[Wrathlon]

This was a family site.

Fixed.

[Aegis]

i watched someone, who also believed anti-static straps were pointless, zap a $2k stick of RAM for an IBM server back in the late 90's. He was very upset with himself over that, and upset at me for not telling him it was a $2k stick before he started handling it ;P

[Wrathlon]

Oh they arent pointless, just a case of the odds of something actually going wrong are pretty damn slim. Which is the point I was making.

[Mungus]

Cheers for the tips.

So two rads is overkill - would one 2x120 be able to handle it? Would probably be more comfortable with a 3x120 but my case doesn't have the space (Coolermaster CM690 II Advanced, if curious) - going by your PSU rule, a 2x120 should about match my 750w supply?

Also you mentioned the volume of the res being important - do you feel the dual bay jobbie will be enough?

And finally, what exactly are compression fittings? Just smooth connectors that require you use clamps?

Cheers again!

[Milenko]

They are typically a threaded fitting with a brass or copper olive acting as a seal.

[Wrathlon]

So two rads is overkill - would one 2x120 be able to handle it? Would probably be more comfortable with a 3x120 but my case doesn't have the space (Coolermaster CM690 II Advanced, if curious) - going by your PSU rule, a 2x120 should about match my 750w supply?

Part of the specs of the radiator should be the cooling capacity, just find one close to your PSU wattage and it will never be a problem (Remember even the BEST PSU is only 90% efficient, so a 750W PSU is really a 675W continuous and even then you'd have to literally convert that to heat with 100% efficiency to meet it, close enough should do it. I chose the big one because I have a big case (Lian Li A10B). A 2x120mm should be fine.

Also you mentioned the volume of the res being important - do you feel the dual bay jobbie will be enough?

It's not so much the res volume as the overall volume of the system, though the easiest way to increase this is obviously via reservoirs. My reservoirs are 540mL each (1.1L total) + capacity of radiator/water blocks/hosing, its about 2.5 to 3L all up.

And finally, what exactly are compression fittings? Just smooth connectors that require you use clamps?

Compression clamps have a barb in the middle with an extra ring with thread on it around the outside. There is a collar you slip over the tube, push tube onto barb, screw collar down onto the fitting around the tube and barb. Compresses the tubing into the barb with a LOT of force, will NOT leak regardless of pressure - hose will fail long before the fitting does. Here is a video showing some Bitspower ones (Though they are all the same really)

.

As for your case, most radiators can attach fans on both sides, so an option if you have a top mount fan hole is to create a plenum of sorts to bolt to the radiator bottom to basically create a tunnel underneath it for air to travel through (I used 3 Technofront Airboxes to make one underneath mine, see my watercooling thread to see what I'm talking about), bolt the tunnel to the bottom of the radiator, bolt the other side of the tunnel to the top mount fan hole, bolt three fans to the top of the radiator. Mine blows down through the top, into the tunnel, down through the 120mm fan hole and out through the rear fan in the case. A cheap way of doing this is with a few dead fans, just gut them and cut out the sides so the form a tunnel with their outer frames. Otherwise, as long as you dont care too much, you could just run some external lines to the bigger radiator on quick disconnects and sit it next to the case on the desk. Quick disconnects would make relocating it no real issue.

My next plan for mine is to buy a SFF case and relocate my radiator, pump, reservoirs, etc into the SFF case and just have a pair of quick disconnect lines running to the towers line in and line out. Will make everything so much easier and make maintenance and relocation a heck of a lot easier (Just unplug the cooling box).

[Mungus]

Cheers again for the advice. Just ordered basically the above setup, except with different connectors and one rad.

Ended up getting it all from pccasegear, mostly out of laziness. Also impatience.

Dunno if I'll do a build log, but I will almost certainly be asking more questions once it all arrives.