WC Setup - Comments?

Hi,

Been a lurker here for quite a while and finally got the courage up to go water cooled. After some research I found that none of the kits were really all that great so here's what I decided on.

All fittings & hose 1/2"

DD Maze3 water block (copper top & socket hold down)
DD chipset cooler for NB on A7N8X
Black Ice Extreme Radiator
120mm Panaflow fan (84 cfm)
370 GPH Via Aqua Pump with inline rez
Tygon Tubing

I know the Via Aqua pump is not the best, but I wanted to keep the cost down for now. If it gives out later I'll replace it with a high end Eheim. I also went with the Black Ice because of its slightly smaller size since I dont have a huge case.

So does this sound like a decent setup to cool a OC'd 2400+?

-Tony

Looks good, but I was ready to recommend a heater core, and a different brand pump, but you said you don't want that. But check out the ClearFlex 60 tubing, less cost and is just about as good as the Tygon. You'll want hose clamps too.

have you already ordered all that? or could i mention the changes i would suggest?

well i will suggest anyway, so just disregard if you have already done the ordering. i would go with the popular heatercore around here, i think its an 86 chevette heatercore people use, its small and you will likely be able to fit it in your case. I think its in the 20-30 dollar range... and if you save money on that then you can spend a little extra on a pump thats not just more reliable, but has better flow/head ratings and this could really improve your results.

I also dont know how essential tygon is if you are looking to cut costs, a cheaper alternative could probably save you money and you could make it work without harming performance.

I always preach for a heatsink and air cooling on the nb, it just doesnt put off enough heat to warrant watercooling it, especially given the flow rate hit that must result from the restriction introduced. air cooling the northbridge just makes more sense. i would expect a higher performance gain from a cooler cpu from the improved flow rate with no nb waterblock than a possible gain from watercooling the nb.

just my thoughts of things to consider. good luck.

edit: take a look here to see the importance of a good pump to getting good flow rates... it shows how head diminishes flow rates for different quality pumps.