Water cooling help? (nooby)

Ok im running my current rig(see sig) at stock air and well considering the strenght of the new fans I would need to cool this baby down on air is ridiculous. Sooo..Im considering water cooling.

Is water cooling very effective? like will it drop temps 10-20C? And how much woudl a "decent" water kit cost? ...im lookin to spend 100-150$ max

with some DIY you can get a decent rig set up in that range... i dont know about your temp drop though, no P4 knowledge here... but i would definatley expect you to drop down to the low 40's at load

Well what im aiming at is a water cooled system that will lower temps and case noise with some uv fluid in it that will last we a few years

Just from reading you'll probably need to change the water AT LEAST every 6 months to a year.

Water cooling is not a "miracle cure" for temps

It still has to deal with the physics of Heat Transfer and since it actually transfers heat in more places (cpu->block->water->rad->air) it is less Efficient than air with just 3 steps (cpu->sink->air.)

*But it does have higher cooling potential and the ability to run quieter while dissipating a given amount of heat.*

One of the factors you need to look at to see how much of a temp difference you can get is to determine your current C/W:

Delta = CPU temp - Ambient Temp
C/W = Delta / CPU Watts

To find the watts for an overclocked cpu go HERE
(Note that the C/W you come up with is not going to be scientifically accurate- just a ballpark figure.)

After you know what you have now, you can determine what you need to achieve your goals

My best H2O system runs a C/W around .08 to .10, my worst around .19.

Oblivion2kX said:

Ok im running my current rig(see sig) at stock air and well considering the strenght of the new fans I would need to cool this baby down on air is ridiculous. Sooo..Im considering water cooling.

Is water cooling very effective? like will it drop temps 10-20C? And how much woudl a "decent" water kit cost? ...im lookin to spend 100-150$ max

Click to expand...

I have a 2.4b c1 @ 184fsb (3312) 1.6v. Summer came, and temps got out of control 57c air cooled. After water cooling Im very happy with my temps.
I spent around $220, and believe it was worth every penny. I probably could have saved a few bucks, and invested more time DIY'ing some stuff, and maybe a cheaper pump than the Eheim1250, but wanted to get things right the first time

I just re-read what I posted earlier and realized that I forgot to add something....

While water cooling isn't a miracle cure, and it is less efficient than air cooling, it does improve temps.

The simplest way to explain it is that a radiator has a bigger surface area than any heat sink

This WILL reduce your cpu temp, and it is possible to get within just a few degrees of ambient temp.

Proof of my belief in watercooling: I have three systems water cooled. I do also have two left on air but.........
Time may fix that

Is a C/W of .34 bad? This is a stock air cooled P4 2.4C and Ambient is 86, CPU temp currently at 60% load is 111-113.

Heatsink Rankings from the front page

I'd guess that's about average for a stock sink, but it's way too high for me

My water rigs are decent and my air rigs tend to do ok too....although you could say they are a little bit loud......

Air: 42C-46C load
Water: 29C - 31C load

Water is quieter, water has better cooling capabilites (not a 100% cooling fix).

Problems with water:

If it leaks while on you are instantly screwed. If the pump or fan dies, you will be screwed in the matter of minutes. It costs a lot of money (mine was $150-$200 all together, and that's with my brothers hardware store employee discount). It takes a lot of time and effort to build. If you are a busy person, I suggest having a backup system standing by, because it could take all week.

But in the end, you will be proud of what you have accomplished.