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Thinking about water, some thoughts

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Pntgrd

Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2001
I have been scouring these pages for a few days after making my decision to go H2o. I have come to the following conclusions, but feel free to correct me. At first, the Koolance stuff looked like the way to go, either the 601 case or the Exos since I already have the 1000 series Antecs. After more reading I have come to the conclusion that neither of those is a good bet for higher-end cooling. I do not want to lose my bottom hdd rack so I was not sure about radiator placement but it looks like the JR-120 from D-Tek will fit under it. I also figure that the D-tek WW block is about as good as it gets at this time. So even though alot of people say bad things about "kits", how can you go wrong if you get the Flowmaster-XT kit from Dtek with the WW and 1250 upgrades, along with the rad/fan shroud? At this time I don't know if I would go water on my 9800. I have the VGA Silencer and although it is not the greatest at cooling the card, it lowered my casde temps by 7c. If my thinkings are off, please point me in the right direction. If I am going to do this, may as well get it right the first time.
 
You will be well served by that kit. 1250, WW, D-Tek core and shroud, looks like a match made in H20 heaven. I doubt you will fit the core under the drive cage though, maybe I am wrong but there are plenty that run that rad with your case, ask around!
 
the pro core that comes with that kit is (with tanks) 6"W x 7.25"H X 2"Thick.
the JR-120's Dimensions (with tanks) are 5.5"W x 6.38"H X 2"Thick.

you could always assemble the same parts but with the other rad....
 
Thanks for the head's up on the rad. I had not noticed the difference. I think my best bet is to go home and get out the tape measure. I spec'd it out with the JR120 and Tygon tubing and came to 215.00 for the whole thing. Hey, that is not a kit, it is all items purchased seperately,,,, a custom w/c system ;)
 
I have the Flowmaster XT kit with the WW block, 1250 pump, and pro core radiator on my 2.4C @ 3.5 GHz in my sig. I have been very pleased with this kit so far. My CPU temp dropped about 11C versus the SLK-900 I had before.

In addition, I have concluded that my system temp dropped about 4C by switching to water cooling. I assume that this is due to the fact that with air cooling, the hot air from the CPU heatsink is blown onto the mobo heating up the surrounding area.
 
I really don't know what to expect. This system is a [email protected] now. It has an SP94 (wish I had that 50 bucks back) and cooling is not bad. Abit board (high temps) at around 40c idle and 45-46c load. Case temp is 29-30c with the VGA Silencer. I wonder what would happen to case temp to loose tha Silencer and go water on the 9800?
 
Now that I have got home and taken a look with a tape in hand, I see NO way of putting a pump and radiator/fan/shroud in my case without loosing the botton drive bay and on the other end, my optional USB bracket and my Soundblaster Live (if I keep the VGA Silencer) If I loose the Silencer I would still have to put the s/c in the next pci slot and who knows if a vga block would fit between them. Maybe if I put the rad outside or used something like the 80mm Swiftech or the BlackIce compact, I could get it to work. Are either of these compatible with a 317gph pump? Is there a rad to maybe mount outside on the back where the 2 80mm fans exit?
 
Pntgrd said:
Now that I have got home and taken a look with a tape in hand, I see NO way of putting a pump and radiator/fan/shroud in my case without loosing the botton drive bay and on the other end, my optional USB bracket and my Soundblaster Live (if I keep the VGA Silencer) If I loose the Silencer I would still have to put the s/c in the next pci slot and who knows if a vga block would fit between them. Maybe if I put the rad outside or used something like the 80mm Swiftech or the BlackIce compact, I could get it to work. Are either of these compatible with a 317gph pump? Is there a rad to maybe mount outside on the back where the 2 80mm fans exit?

your case is this iirc
SX1040BII_inside.jpg


usual ploy is to lose the bottom drive bay and put the rad there - is it vital to you? - or is it the cards etc you're concerned with, in which case its a question of finding a pump that'll fit...

you can get 2x80mm rads but they're seriously restrictive to the flow...
what about putting the rad in the top panel?
 
BTW, I have that kit with the WW and an L30 (supposedly outperforms the 1250 in terms of max head, just check gruntville). I love it, however I am running a push/pull fan setup. I have a 120+CFM Y.S. Tech pushing the air through and the original evercool fan pulling the air through. I can ron both fans at approx 5v and get the temps I was getting with evercool alone at 12v. I highly sugest you invest in a second fan.
 
I have the same case and essentially the same rad (Dangerden Heatercore) and I had to hack off the support to the bottom bay and remove it to the fit the rad in front, as it turns out I'm going to just make a seperate box for my Rad, res and pump...
 
usual ploy is to lose the bottom drive bay and put the rad there - is it vital to you?
Vital? - maybe not. I could lose oe drive and move the other to my last 5 1/4 bay. That would still leave 2 for Raid and one for d/l and backup.
As for the card end, bottom slot is a USB panel, which I can do without. Soundblaster may be able to go up another slot. That may give just enough room for the beveled edge of the 1250 to fit. Maybe. Otherwise it would have to go fairly close to the rad. Would that be OK?
L30 (supposedly outperforms the 1250 in terms of max head
What about this L30? It is small enough to fit with no problem. Will it do just as good as job? And last?
 
I'd have to agree w/ losing the bottom set of bays - that might be the only way.

As for the cards, what about turning the pump around? Here's my setup & the pump is well away from any of the PCI cards. If you wanted to use a bay reservior you could just stand the pump on end & run it that way.

WC1.jpg



WC2.jpg


It's not easy to tell in the pics but the hose from the res to the pump is nowhere near the PCI slots & I have plenty of room for a card or two. As you can see the pump out/res in line passes behind the AGP card which is a large Fx5900.

I realize the Eheim is much larger than the maxi, but I think it would fit. Also, as I mentioned if you wanted to use a bay-res you could just stand the pump on end.
 
I am ready to order, any thoughts on the Hydor? And da**, Dtek is out of shrouds for the rad for the 2nd fan. Does the one that will be pulling air need a shroud anyway?
 
No experience, but from what I've read the L30 is a fine pump. The l20 is a bit light on the flow.

You can always make a shroud. There's a thread around here about making one from a glad container. There's also a DIY article on the main site making one out of metal. Bottom end there's those like mine - simple nylon standoffs from Lowes & wrap the fan in aluminum tape (also from Lowes, used to seal water heater & furnace vents).

Also, can be purchased here:

http://www.aquastealth.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=107&HS=1
 
Glad to hear you decided to go H20.

Just a heads up on few things...
1.It would save you ALOt of headache if you just lose the bottom cage... Such a nice fit afterwards...
2. hydor L30 is a fine pump but some people including me have experienced problems with the impeller assembly and when that happens the pump starts making loud rattling noise. Stick with 1250 as its more reliable. If you want the best performing pump get Mag3... That pump works the very well with WW but is quite large and have to be careful with it when you put the fittings on.
3. Try to stay away from Zerex or Water Wetter as they will stain your tubing and make your coolant look sorta cloudy...
4. Good Luck!!
 
I made the plunge. Dtek kit with WW block and the 1250 and a VGA block, just in case I have to loose my VGA Silencer. Bottom drive bay is expendable. IF I use the res, I will either have to find a place to mount 1 hdd or loose my SB Live Drive bay. Stuff would probably ship right out except they are out of the shrouds at the moment. They should get them tomorrow <fingers crossed> Thank's for all the help guys. :)
 
sounds like a good arguement for a tee instead...
That is probably what will happen if I don't change my mind and just build a box to put the rad and pump in. Then I might jsut use the res. It came with the kit, I would not have ordered it ;)
 
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