Koolance vs Custom

[klath]

Hi, I'm new to water cooling and I'm considering going water cooling as a summer project. I have no experience modding a case so I would not prefer to do so in case I screw something up and I'm in college so I do not have the tools for it either.

I have been looking at the Koolance PC2-650 as my first water cooling system. It seems to be very easy to install and I would need a more roomier case anyway if I wanted to go water cooling. However, $300 is not pocket change and I also wonder about the performance since many reviews made it sound like an entry level system. I also read the Q&A sticky about water cooling and many peope have recommended to customize my cooling solution rather than buying a kit.

So right now, I'm just wondering anybody have any recommendations for a easy-to-do cooling setup? It seems a lot of people with retail radiators have Black Ice and I'm wondering how easy is it to install? Do I just screw it in any 120mm slot or are there other requirements I have not read about? Does the 120mm Black Ice have better performance than the Koolance with 3x80mm fans? Furthermore, how does someone mount a reservoir, is it placed or glued or what? As you can see, I'm a beginner to the water cooling scene so I would greatly appreciate it if I can get some how-tos, links, recommendations for easy setups, and what components (and brand of) I should get as well as general advice.

Thanks in advance.

[Voodoo Rufus]

To answer your questions:

New Blackice radiators will screw directly onto 120mm or 80mm (for the micro) fan mounts. They should perform better than the Koolance as well. Just need 6-32 screws.

A reservoir is not neccessary, but if you have one you can place it anywhere. It may or may not need to be attached somewhere but it would be a good idea if you move your case a bit.

An easy setup would be to just stick with a pump, radiator and single block. You can always add blocks later if you want. Just make sure to get the highest quality (reliable) parts within your budget.

Some high performance H2O manufacturers make kits that will easily outperform the Koolance. Examples are:

www.dtekcustoms.com
www.swiftnets.com
www.dangerden.com

Should get you started, hope it helps.

[RoD]

speaking from personal experience, pass on the kit and you'll save money in the long run

i just ordered everything for my new custom setup minus the NB and GPU blocks (not 100% needed) and i only spent 120.00

[rogerdugans]

Koolance largely fills a market niche that I think is very important:
Very simple water cooling solutions.

They generally perform adequately, as do he few other pre-made systems.

A home built system will perfom better when done well: it IS a bit harder to do...you have to pick components and maybe order from multiple sources to get the prices you want on the parts you want. You will also have to do your own mods (if needed) and cut the tubing. ;)
None of this is all THAT difficult though, and the end result is a system that has lower temps for less money.
And that YOU can have some pride in making.

Kits get the word on water cooling out there and more water coolers means lower prices and better components. :)
But the performance is still lacking when compared to "rolling your own."

[klath]

Thanks guys. A few more new questions after reading the posts. Are the clear flex tubing easy to cut and what would you use to cut them? All I have are office scissors and kitchen knives (in college ><). Also, where/how would you mount a round resevoir as opposed to a bay one which is obviously in a bay slot? Last question, are the tubings merely pushed on to the barbs or do I have to apply adhesive to prevent leakage and it coming off?

[Voodoo Rufus]

For tubing, scissors should work with a bit of muscle, pipe cutters are better. Or a knife.

What kind of round reservoir? You mean a bottle? PVC pipe?

Barbs do not require sealant. The best way to give more ease of mind is to go get metal screw type hose clamps from the auto parts store, and tighten until barely snug.

[pauldenton]

Originally posted by klath
Thanks guys. A few more new questions after reading the posts. Are the clear flex tubing easy to cut and what would you use to cut them? All I have are office scissors and kitchen knives (in college ><).

(bypass) secauters are excellent accoring to someone on OCAU...

[klath]

I meant a bottle for the reservoir. Since I can't do case mods, I might consider a bay resevoir but since I need a roomier case, the server case panel would just block it out anyway and I would like it to be more visible (I think I might use blue dye). Anyone know of a nice roomy case for wc but doesn't have the server panel which blocks access to the drive bays anyway?

For the barb to tube connection, would you guys recommend getting clamps? @DangerDen, they are 12 for 9.50.

I wish I had access to secauters or the like but it looks like I have to tackle the tubing with a knife, hehe.

On another note, since you guys recommended overwhelmingly to not go with koolance, what would be a good temp monitor / rheobus to monitor/control my system?

[Voodoo Rufus]

Digidocs are good if you like hardware monitoring, some other guy asked that in the H2O area today I believe, might check it out. For software there's lots of apps, most popular being motherboardmonitor.

If you attach the bottle res to your pump directly you won't need to bolt it down, but if it's separate, fix it somehow. Velcro would be good for non-permanence.

[klath]

Hopefully my last question, how would you mount the pump since it looks like most of the pumps are made for aquariums and do not come with standard mounts. For example, I'm looking at the Eheim 1250 or the Hydor L30, how would one normally mount these? Or are they just floating around at the bottom of the case?

Also, another quick question, what's a pump relay?

[VeiL0]

Originally posted by klath
Hopefully my last question, how would you mount the pump since it looks like most of the pumps are made for aquariums and do not come with standard mounts. For example, I'm looking at the Eheim 1250 or the Hydor L30, how would one normally mount these? Or are they just floating around at the bottom of the case?

Also, another quick question, what's a pump relay?

You can bolt it to the bottom and place some type of absorbing material such as carpet or some type of material in between the pump and the case. You can use velcro as well as another member stated. :)

[Voodoo Rufus]

The Eheims come with sliding type mounts. You can drill holes for it in your case ir attach it with velcro.You can orient them in three ways.

[klath]

I'm thinking about getting this case for my system:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=11-144-077&depa=0

However, the only 120mm port is in the back(exhaust) for the Black Ice extreme radiator. Is it recommendable to have the radiator so close to the CPU (it will be blowing out so I'm not sure if there will be a problem)?

Anyone have any good case recommendations (around $100 please) that has a 120mm blow hole on top or has a nice location for a 120mm radiator?

[Voodoo Rufus]

There would be no problems mounting a BIX there I'd think. It doesn't matter that it's close to the CPU, only that you can make the tubing bends without kinking. You could check out the H2O Case compilation sticky and see if you can find one that fits your budget. There are many choices.

[klath]

Hmm, the thing is I have been using the search button and I see a couple problems with my setup. =P

First, a lot of people say JR-120 has better performance for a lower price than BIX.

Second, my radiator's fan should be sucking from the radiator rather than blowing.

Are these true?

[Voodoo Rufus]

1. If you can fit a JR120, go for it. It is a better deal.

2. Pulling rather than pulling hardly makes a difference.

[shraad]

I just switched from a Koolance PC2-600 to a custom built rig; RBX, Maze4 GPU, MCP600 and JR-120 Rad. If you want adequate, whisper-quiet cooling, and don't really care about overclocking, then go for the Koolance. If you want performance and want to keep your overclocked system cool, go custom.

With the Koolance, my idle temp was around 43C (acc. to MBM 5 on an Asus A7N8X-Deluxe v2.0)

With my new setup, my idle temp varies between 36 and 37C. My new rig is in the same exact spot as the Koolance was on my desk, so I think it's safe to say that ambient temps haven't changed.

[klath]

Originally posted by shraad
I just switched from a Koolance PC2-600 to a custom built rig; RBX, Maze4 GPU, MCP600 and JR-120 Rad. If you want adequate, whisper-quiet cooling, and don't really care about overclocking, then go for the Koolance. If you want performance and want to keep your overclocked system cool, go custom.

With the Koolance, my idle temp was around 43C (acc. to MBM 5 on an Asus A7N8X-Deluxe v2.0)

With my new setup, my idle temp varies between 36 and 37C. My new rig is in the same exact spot as the Koolance was on my desk, so I think it's safe to say that ambient temps haven't changed.

That's almost the exact setup I want to build minus the GPU block (I'm not planning to overclock my new Geforce anytime soon). Where did you purchase your items and about how much was the setup? There also seems to be two versions of the JR-120 unless the stores were just messing around with the title decription.
Right now, I'm looking at the following vendors:

FrozenCPU, Dtek, DangerDen, and SVC.

Also, how's the noise level of the Swiffy MCP600? Since it will only be going through the CPU block, I think I might not need a MCP600 but if it's quiet, might as well get it in case I feel like getting the other waterblocks as well.

[Voodoo Rufus]

The Swiffy is supposed to be quiet enough, though not as quiet as say an Eheim 1048. It's not loud from what people say.

[oc_byagi]

how about corsair hydrocool? aren't they simple and better cooling?