Methinks it is time to watercool

[Captain Newbie]

I can't hear over my Volcano 11 heatsink/fan anymore, even at low RPM, and I'm not happy with the performance. So instead of doing the logical thing for me---finding better air cooling---I'm going to go near-silent.

I wanna watercool my rig.

The kit that appeals to me is the Swiftech kit with the 80-mm radiator. This is my first cooling project and I would prefer to get something tried and true that has good performance and is easy to leakproof, and is also somewhat maintenance free. Thus the swiftec-closed-loop thing.

I come to you asking for help:

1) I'm going to cool the chipset and CPU with this. Thinking of doing it in serial (pump->radiator->cpu->chipset), with perhaps a second 80mm radiator installed with Y-adapters. Swiftec says that radiators in parallel are reccomended for high performance, so it sounds good to me. Any suggestions on the dual-rad setup? Any case-installable kits that are better than the Swiftec, but still are "zero-maintenence" and simple to leakproof?

2) My case at the moment is a hulking ThermalTake Xaser-III. I've got a crapload of stuff in there and there isn't much room to run cables. I currently have three hard drives and two opticals in there and it is difficult to work on the interior of the case. Of the watercoolable cases mentioned in the WC Cases sticky, which one would you reccomend?

3) Anything else I should know?

Thanks in advance. I wanna be silent!

[AFIsoldier]

look at my thread. It's a "kit" but it is really just boxed components. It will be about the same skill required, and I believe you will get better temps and lower sound with that since it is a larger rad.(no need for two) and it's 120mm

[Captain Newbie]

Though the thing is on that it has a reservoir--I would rather not have to mess with one of those, the swiftec closed-loop (sans reservoir) is tickling me in all the right places because it can be easily leakproofed. Additionally this swiftec setup allows me to make these changes with as little physical change (i.e. cutting) to the case as possible.

That, and there's really no place to stick in a 120-mm radiator save the forward drive bays...which i need to keep.

[AFIsoldier]

ooh, well with those issues, that setup could be just perfect. Try and make mock pieces and set them in there to see how much you have to cut. Then try it with the 120mm rad and see which suits you better.

[Captain Newbie]

I'll try that.

Anything else I should know?

[Cyrix_2k]

I have the D-tek kit w/ the WW and L30. I personally think you should buy that as it will give you MUCH better performance and allow your computer to run almost silent. I can run at 1.85vcore and turn off all the fans (PSU included) in my system and the LOAD temp is only 50c!

And yes, you can run without a resivoir. I scrapped the resivoir in my kit and converted to a T-line. You simply need to buy a T connector from D-tek at the time you buy your kit.

Also, buy an EXTRA 120mm EVERCOOL fan (make your own shroud. I personally sealed off the front of my case and used that space aas a shroud. Note, they DO INCLUDE ONE SHROUD.) They run dead silent when turned down (NO motor noise AT ALL) and if you run the rad in a push/pull setup with the dual evercool's, you can have low temps and SILENCE.

One last note: If you do leak water over your system, and you probably will, you'll be fine as long as it's unplugged and you let it dry. I leaked all kinds of water over my system, then I found out I was supposed to use hose clamps. I also, spilled water on one of my 120mm fans and din't know it. Turned the system on and sprayed water all over the Mobo and Vid card. Luckily it was deionzied water and nothing shorted. :D

[Captain Newbie]

:-| There isn't any ROOM for a 120-mm fan on the inside. I have to keep the drive bays.

[Cyrix_2k]

Can you fit TWO of the 80mm Rads in your case?

[Captain Newbie]

Yep. On the exhausts...like Swiftec says I should. This in itself opens a whole new bag of worms...

[ls7corvete]

I know you cant fit a 120mm BUT

I dont see the advantage to WCing if your not using a 120mm, especially for silence.

[Cyrix_2k]

Well, you can still have a silent rig with 80mm rads. Infact, at low speeds, 80mm fans are often more quiet than 120's thanks to the ultra precise motors being used by several compamies. Another benefit of using 80's is the fact you no longer need a shroud. YEAH!!! I also believe that 80mm fans usually have higher static pressure than 120's which is good when blowing air through a restrictive rad. (I'm checking on this now)

Infact, if I were you, I'd mount an Areo blower ($7.99 each at SVC, http://www.svc.com/comaaeseblfa.html ) on each rad. They're quiet at only 23dba and should push plenty of air through the limited surface area of the 80mm rads. Normal (axial) 80mm fans would miss the the center of the rads and cause your temps to rise. Also, they don't provide the static pressure that blowers do.

To keep your system quiet, I sugest a sunbeam rheobus (fan controller). These are also found at SVC.com and adjust between 0v and 12v, plus they have dual color LED's. (Blue for above 7v, Red for below 7v) The Sunbeam has some massive Heatsinks in it that allow it handle a load of 20w per channel, and there's four channels for a total capacity of 80w! (BTW, I killed a channel on a Nexus fan controller using a 6w 120mm fan :()

If at all possible, I recommed you go with 3 80mm rads w/blowers, but two will do. Just remember, the more surface area, the better your temps. Also, you can tie ALL the blowers into ONE channel on the rheobus. That way one knob controlls the speed of all the blowers in the system.

Hope this helps

[Captain Newbie]

That's the best thing I've heard all day :attn:

I'm gonna do some sketching on my trip to Seattle tomorrow and then let you know what I've decided. Thanks guys.

[ls7corvete]

I cant argue with that idea, if those blowers are ass good as they say.

[Silent Buddha]

Originally posted by Captain Newbie
I'm gonna do some sketching on my trip to Seattle tomorrow and then let you know what I've decided.

Be careful, it's supposed to rain :D

[ls7corvete]

Link.....

http://www.hot-mods.com/aeroblower.htm

I couldnt find much, if you do get them tell us the results.

[Cyrix_2k]

Sorry, don't have much time. From what i hear, the Aero's an excellent fan, especially for your application. I personally have a blower that I know longer use. It suffers from motor noise, but that's because it's worn out (20+ years old) I must say the aireflow was VERY impresseive and very focused across the entire output, very even. I had It blowing across my vid card it it let me OC like mad!

[Cyrix_2k]

Oh, if you haven't already, cut out the holes for the 80mm fans. Less air resistance=more flow=lower temps=less noise!

[Cyrix_2k]

Few more things.

1) Your case is fine. I'm using a midtower aluminum job I got cheap. I simply cut the front out and put my rad & fans up front. Obviusly you're not going to do what i did.

2) Skip water-cooling the chipset. Just get a LARGE PASSIVE heatsink. Zalman makes some nice ones. WC'ing the Chipset is overkill and rarely allows you to gain extra MHZ. Also, that introduces another block in your system that A) can leak B) reduces flow C) heats up the water (not by much) D) makes it harder to route tubing. You need the water to cool your CPU, and if you have a highend vid-card, the GPU. NOT THE CHIPSET!

3) I would AGAIN recommend as many rad's as you can get your hands on. This will let you have a higher OC at lower speeds. With 3 or even 4 rad's, you could probably run passivly when you're computer's at lower speeds/ low load. Of course your computer should be FOLDING instead of being idle. I would also run all rad's in parallel for max flow.

Diagrams:

2 rads: Pump->Y->Rads->Y->CPU->Pump

3 rads Pump-Y->Y/rad->rads->Y->Y->CPU->pump

4 rads Pump->Y->2 rads-> 2 more rads ->Y->CPU->Pump

[Cyrix_2k]

Just did some research. See if you can fit a DUAL 80mm rad (Black ICE Micro II) in the back of your case. It's only 65.99 at dangerden.com ( http://www.dangerden.com/mall/Radiators/hwlabs.asp ) and that coupled with the single 80mm rad from swiftech will be more than what you need. The single 80mm rad is 46.99 from swifttech and the cheapest 80mm rad I could find was 38.99, so the dual 80mm rad's a good deal. I think a setup like what i just described would be what you're looking for :D

Here's pic from dangerden's website:
http://www.dangerden.com/images/bice/BIMicro2_blackbg_med.jpg

[Cyrix_2k]

Have you decided yet?

[Captain Newbie]

Just got back from Washington, and it only rained part of the time :p

I'll check it all out and get back to you on this. I'm thinking about either water, or high end quiet air (i.e. big heatsink + 92mm Panaflo == silent) so that I can hear my hard drives full speed.

[Cyrix_2k]

Captain,

One thing to think about witha big HSF is the stress on the plastic tabs and the CPU core. My friend killed his mobile 1700+ with an SLK900A by simply bumping into the case pretty hard. It cracked the CPU core. It really sucked for him becasue he later killed his mobo when he accidently shorted it.

BTW, to give you an idea of what water can do, I'm running my 2000+ at a straight 2ghz @ 1.85v right now. (Yes, I know it can do 2.4ghz at that voltage, but I don't need the speed right now) I'm running an unlapped D-tek WW (D-tek's lapping sucks) a D-tek core w/ push/pull 120's. I have both fans turned down at such a low speed, to get them to turn on, I must "jump start" them with my hand! This is a all on 1/2ID. My pump's a L30.

My temps at full load right now are 35c ambient and 49c on the CPU. If I ran it passivly I'd prob be at 52c on the CPU. If I turned the fans all the way up, I'd be at 38-39c. You just can't do that on air and stay dead silent. I have my poor hard drives sitting in foam (Yes I know it's a heat trap) and I can still here them spinning. My little air pump pump for my aquairum makes more noise then my computer, and I have a VERY quiet air pump on it. ( went through 20 or so before I got this one). I sleep with my computer on, so noise is VERY important to me, and water cooling keeps my system running SILENT.