Under $200 Custom Water Cooling KIT. Advice

[WhOdInI]

Can anyone please list the best components for building a custom water cooling kit for less than $200? I know there are a lot of sites out there selling components and all i have to do is search, but am a noob when it comes to water cooling and i would like to avoid any noobness that could ruin my hard built pc :P Please try and list components that can be purchased from a single shop, cause i live outside the U.S and shipping charges are already killing me :D
Thanks in advance

[R.Rabbit]

there seriously needs to be a sticky for this, i must have written this about 30 times, not your fault though, im glad to help
heres (cue trumpets) the list
pump:ehiem 1250-60ish
tubes:10ft 1/2inch clearflex60-15ish
block:TC-4 with aluminum top-45ish
radiator:87 chevette heater core-20to35ish
res:drive bay res(they look cool and much easier than a t-line)-maybe 15ish

everything above you can get at www.dtekcustoms.com, but i would recomend buying the heater core at an auto-parts store or on ebay, they may not come with the 1/2in barbs but the tubing should be able to fit over the barbs already on it, and you'll save alot of money
oh and for the fan/s:2 120mm panaflos and make your own shrouds 30ish, or this 172mm fan http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=220&item=CF-141&type=store
its a 24volt fan so at 12volts it is whisper silent and has over 100cfm

[ryuen]

ya i recommend you buying it off autozone or some auto shop. other websites usually rip you of 10-20 bucks

[markrb]

I have almost the exact setup as stated above with 3 differences.

1. Spir@l water block
2. Maxi-Jet 1200 Pump in res
3. No shroud with the Patriot fan.

I actually tried a push/pull config with 2 Patriot fans and actually decreased performance and increased noise level a good deal..
IMO since the Patriot fan covers over 80% of the heater core I don't think a shroud would help more then the PIA factor it would cause to build one. Maybe someday, but my temps are fine so why worry.

Mark

[Obitus2k]

For a great kit that will cost right at $200, you can check out JPI's OTIS kits. Specifically the OTIS #3 seen HERE (http://jpiperformance.com/otis_prime.htm). I have seen lots of people on different forums that have these kits and they all give raving reviews.

[TheMightyBuck]

try making your own waterblock, it saves u a bundle. get copper from www.onlinemetals.com if u make yer own, you'll feel better about it. you can probably use a machine shop at a junior college in your district, or a good electric drill with a proper dremel bit worked wonders for me. it takes A LOT of time, ,though. check out mine here. http://www.geocities.com/themightybuck/mypage.html

[WhOdInI]

how about these parts:

WB: Swifttech MCW5000

Radiator: Black Ice Xtreme

Pump: HydorL30-SC

Tank: D-Tek BayRes crlear reservoir with 90' fittings

tubing : 10ft 1/2" Clearflex60(1/8" wall)

Auto-on pump relay switch kit

a 120mm delta fan 75CFM at 34db

10 double grip hose clamps

All for $230.
Comments?

[Wangster]

BIX will not be as good as a HC w/ shroud(s), it is also more expensive.

That particular reservoir is not necessary (especially with 90 degree fittings). Try a T-fitting instead or submerge the Hydor.

[WhOdInI]

thanks for the feedback. my chipset has a gigabyte fan on it, am planning on increasing my FBS to 156 after i get the wc kit, should i get a wb for the chipset as well? my system temp is 34C full load @ 152FBS.

is this better than the black ice xtreme? : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3409340147&category=3673

[Wangster]

Why don't you hold off on the NB block until you know for sure that it's holding your OC back. I know that NB chipsets are running a little hotter these days, especially the NF2 series, but WCing it to the detriment of overall flowrate may not be the best course of action (unless you have a beast of a pump or are running pumps in series).

[R.Rabbit]

Originally posted by WhOdInI
thanks for the feedback. my chipset has a gigabyte fan on it, am planning on increasing my FBS to 156 after i get the wc kit, should i get a wb for the chipset as well? my system temp is 34C full load @ 152FBS.

is this better than the black ice xtreme? : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3409340147&category=3673
ya thats an 87chevette heater core(or at least it appers to be) so yes its better than the bix(black ice xtreme)

[WhOdInI]

i have read arround that copper is far more suitable than alluminium when it comes to waterblocks or heatsinks. but today we had a discussion in my physics class on which of the two is better for heat absorption, copper or aluminium. Copper has a specific heat capacity of 400 and aluminium has 900, more than double than copper. water has 4200 which is dobe :)

shouldnt i go for an aluminium water block rather than a copper one?

[JFettig]

yes copper block, the d-tek blocks have aluminum tops, they are anodized, they do no heat trancefer whatsoever. so it doesnt really matter what the top is made from.

[WhOdInI]

can u fit 1/2" tubing on 3/8" outlets/inlets without soldering new openings?

[Wangster]

Whodini,
I'm not sure what circumstances you are pondering but usually 1/2" tubing (Tygon/ClearFlex) means that the inner diameter (ID) is 1/2", thus accomodating a 1/2" outer diameter (OD) hose barb which happens to have 3/8"ID.

Where are these 3/8" outlet/inlets coming from?

[Professor12]

Hmmm personally I would go for the following:
chevetter heater core or the like (the bigger the better) ~ 25
lifetech pump (700-900 gph) ~ 30 - 45 on ebay
dtek, dangerden, swiftech, or silverprop water block 50~65
tubing (tygon or clearflex) ~ 20
other bits needed... (hose clamps, fittings, t-line, fansetc) ~ 30

This would leave you with room to spare for a NB block if you so choose. The pump i have listed is very powerful (though people say its noisy so you might need to take steps to quiet it down). Have fun !

[R.Rabbit]

Originally posted by WhOdInI
i have read arround that copper is far more suitable than alluminium when it comes to waterblocks or heatsinks. but today we had a discussion in my physics class on which of the two is better for heat absorption, copper or aluminium. Copper has a specific heat capacity of 400 and aluminium has 900, more than double than copper. water has 4200 which is dobe :)

shouldnt i go for an aluminium water block rather than a copper one?
i think what your saying is that that aluminum blocks can hold over twice the amount of heat as copper,
but that isnt the goal, the goal is to transfere the heat else where, in this case copper easily wins, what would be really cool is a block made of cusil, cusil is a combination of silver and copper that has a heat transfere twice that of copper itself, but diamond is like 20 times better but that would be a little expensive:D

[WhOdInI]

wangster, the outlets are coming from this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...7&category=3673

what is a t-line ? how can the system operate without a reservoir?
i liked those hdd like reservoirs from detek, y go for a t-line rather than those? any pics?

thanks for ur concern ppl

[snyper1982]

from wht i understand a tline is just a t stuck in the line that runs up to the top of your case somewhere, so that when air comes through the tube it can escape through that. now i may be wrong but i believe that is the general idea of it.

[R.Rabbit]

yep thats pretty much it, used for filling and bleeding, i have a t-line but its a real pain to fill and bleed teh system with it, i still recomend the bay res, its expensiver but it's easily worth the long term hassle that it will save