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OperativeSix

Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
Location
SW and SE Michigan
Ok, i've been going over my watercooling options, and i've got it mostly figured out, except for one thing.

I plan to use a whitewater S478 block for CPU, and probably a dangerden or swifty block for my GPU. The GPU *may* be pelted at a future date. Given that i'm planning to use two blocks, one of which seems to like high pressure/flow rates, would I be better off spending my money on a better radiator, or a better pump? BOTH is not an option :p .

C'mon you WC experts out there...help me figure this out!
 
A good radiator will be the better choice over a better pump any day, unless your pump is an Eheim 1046 or weaker. The White Water will perform well even with lower flow rates, but ultimately the radiator is what sets the temperature of the water. Use at least a double fan radiator.
 
Cathar said:
A good radiator will be the better choice over a better pump any day, unless your pump is an Eheim 1046 or weaker. The White Water will perform well even with lower flow rates, but ultimately the radiator is what sets the temperature of the water. Use at least a double fan radiator.

I second that. At minimum I recomend a BIX or heatercore, but the good choice would be a double BIX or any other quality double 120mm sized rad.

Maybe down the road think of a Hydor L30, Eheim 1250. For now you will be better off with a good rad. Nice choice on waterblocks too.
 
A really weird question now actually, pertaining to tubing...

The white water is a 3 barb design. I know most people run a system like this:

pump->block->Y fitting ->rest of loop.

What about running it like this though:

pump->block->GPU->Y fitting->radiator

Essentially, one output from the CPU block goes to the GPU, while the other goes to the Y fitting. After passing through the GPU, the two channels meet up again. To be honest, they only thing I can think of it doing is allowing you to move the Y splitter somewhere else to improve asthetics, and reducing the flow rate some. How much could this hurt flow rate though? What would happen if I used the other split to cool the northbridge, and joined those two?

Just food for thought I suppose.
 
One thing. Your GPU block only has one inlet. For the CPU block to be in front of it, you'd still need to have the Y fitting before the GPU.

I'd think it best to keep the Y fitting closer to the block and reconnect the two lines before going anywhere else, otherwise you'll have a pressure difference between the two, causing a flow difference. If you just wanted to put the Y fitting elsewhere you should at least keep the tubing lengths similar.
 
OperativeSix said:
A really weird question now actually, pertaining to tubing...

The white water is a 3 barb design. I know most people run a system like this:

pump->block->Y fitting ->rest of loop.

What about running it like this though:

pump->block->GPU->Y fitting->radiator

Essentially, one output from the CPU block goes to the GPU, while the other goes to the Y fitting. After passing through the GPU, the two channels meet up again. To be honest, they only thing I can think of it doing is allowing you to move the Y splitter somewhere else to improve asthetics, and reducing the flow rate some. How much could this hurt flow rate though? What would happen if I used the other split to cool the northbridge, and joined those two?

Just food for thought I suppose.

iiuc you mean pump>ww>gpu (one outlet) and bare tubing (other outlet) >Y>rad>pump.....

the problem(s) would be that:
a) you have unbalanced the block, since there is much more resistance on the arm with the GPU block on than the other - iirc this is likely to harm the whitewater's performance....
b) only a small proportion of the flow will go through the GPU block - possibly not enough to cool effectively (depending on the overall resistance of the system....)

if the NB was on the other arm (assuming the same block) then it'd drastically reduce a) and also reduce b) to a level unlikely to be a problem...
 
I wouldn't even recommend taking advantage of the the 3 barb block. Close off the middle one if possible, and lead directly to the video block after that. If you have a solid radiator (some kind of copper block) you'll lose around 80% of the heat immediately. I have a chipset and CPU overclocked, but even still with my dual radiator setup, i can run it without a fan! Because of this, I turn it off overnight to reduce noise, and it's virtually fanless except the PS. Every morning, I never even have temps above 55C even with a 1.85 vcore. It's incredible, and never even gets unstable unless im really using it (temps will climb to mid 60's). Those copper cube radiators are a must get if you have the money!
 
Trique said:
I wouldn't even recommend taking advantage of the the 3 barb block. Close off the middle one if possible, and lead directly to the video block after that.

whatever you do, do not close off the middle barb of the whitewater - its the inlet and designed to give a high pressure directly over the die...
 
Besides uneven flow, I would think that sending it water that has already been heated by the CPU would reduce the cooling power. after all, water can only absorb so much heat, if it'sheated prior to hitting the GPU, then it won't cool off the GPU as much as if it was cool water.
 
pauldenton said:


whatever you do, do not close off the middle barb of the whitewater - its the inlet and designed to give a high pressure directly over the die...

i appologize, he's right about the inlet, but there is no point in having two outlets on this.
 
Trique said:
i appologize, he's right about the inlet, but there is no point in having two outlets on this.
Of course there is one, you double the section by wich the water flow out of the wb, dont forget the WW has fins all the way (almost) up to the two outlet so the space for the water is very small, hence the two outlet.
 
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