Which Water Cooling Kit to Buy?

Hey guys im planning on gettin a water cooling kit for a intel p4 socket and a video card cooler with it. i want an internal wc or drive bay ones. if you have any advice for me not gettin one and to get a DIY one instead.

read the stickies

you might decide to DIY if you have any confidence in your won abilities

i c.. any ptha suggestions?

I suspect that the responses will be mostly like thorilan's and there is a good reason for that -- none of the kits contain all of the best parts as there is not one company that makes the best of every component. besides, the kits are usually overpriced.

instead of looking at kits, check out the individual components and then put them together. you will end up being much happier with the end results. going this route isn't really any more difficult than going with a kit - it is just a matter of making sure you order everything you need. If you order a kit, you are still going to have to do a lot of the same things to make it fit your case (i.e. cut the tubing to fit, mount the components, etc.). That really isn't any more (or less) than is required with a kit.

for starters, you might consider something like this:
waterblock:
--Danger Den TDX or Dtek Whitewater, 1/2" ID fittings - if this is your 1st H2O system, the TDX would be easier to setup as it only has 2 fittings so you don't run into a tubing maze and with good flow rates, the performance is very respectable.
danger den options - tdx (copper or 99.998 pure silver)
tdx:
http://www.dangerden.com/mall/Blocks/tdx_main.htm
dtek - whitewater
http://www.dtekcustoms.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=209

--Dtek procore with shroud or modded chevette heatercore with coolingworks shroud + 120mm fan or a modded 77 bonneville heatercore w/ dual 120s if you have enough room in your case.
dtek procore combo:
http://www.dtekcustoms.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=18

info on how to mod the bonneville core:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25182

--clearflex or tygon 1/2" ID tubing (order 6-10 feet just to make sure you have enough or premeasure the distances in your case and then just add a couple of feet to it, if you go with clearflex, the 20% discount kicks in at 10 feet so it doesn't cost that much more to have the extra tubing):
http://www.dangerden.com/mall/Misc_...ubing_clamp.asp

--criticool's waterplant if you want a res
http://www.criticool.com/7accessories.html

--pump - danner mag3 or a swiftech mcp800 if you want to spend that much on a pump and you have a power supply with enough juice.
swiftech pump:
http://www.cooltechnica.com/Merchan...tegory_Code=SWS
mag3:
http://cheapcorals.com/product_info.php/cPath/38_80/products_id/179

if you want to add chipset and GPU cooling:
chipset block:
DD maze4 model:
http://www.dangerden.com/mall/blocks/maze4_chipset.asp

GPU block:
DD maze 4
http://www.dangerden.com/mall/blocks/maze4gpu.asp

you will need one (or two) 1/2" wye fitting(s) if you add the GPU & n.bridge blocks
http://www.dangerden.com/mall/Misc_Hardware/fittings.asp
^bottom right hand corner of the page

hose clamps - get the metal ones used on auto hoses - autozone or the local auto store will have them.

add distilled water and water wetter.
water wetter:
http://www.dangerden.com/mall/Misc_Hardware/additives.asp

the usual loop is:
waterpump -> radiator/heatercore -> CPU block -> reservior -> back to pump

if you go with the GPU and n.bridge block:
waterpump -> radiator/heatercore -> CPU block -> 1st wye fitting -> one tube to GPU block, one tube to n.bridge block -> 2nd wye fitting -> reservior -> waterpump

if you use the criticool res you can also use this route but you will need to get one extra brass barb for the res:
waterpump -> radiator/heatercore -> CPU block -> wye fitting -> one tube to GPU block, one tube to n.bridge block -> tubes from n.bridge and GPU block plug into 2 inlet fittings on the reservior (that is why you needed the extra brass barb) -> waterpump

well if you really want a kit i would got with teh asetek waterchill kits as they are pretty much the best kits out there, but for best orefirmance you should get a diy setup.
somehthing like a mcp600 pump, a rbx or tdxcpu block, maze4 gpu block, some 1/2"id clearflex60 and a jr120 rad should make a pretty good but basic setup.

wow thanks A LOT for the infomartion guys. ima do a DIY wc now.