A n00b to the boards, and to water cooling.

Hey guys, I've finally gotten a good enough summer job that I can afford to buy some more expensive things that I've alwasy wanted, and I think I'm going to purchase a nice little $200.00 water cooling setup (without a chipset and video card block, I'll add those later). My problems is, I just can't figure out how your supposed to attach all the stuff into the case. So I'm wondering if anyone here knows any sites with a walkthrough of putting together and setting up a water cooling setup. Thank you.

Check the stickies section. They should have some info on how to. Otherwise if you buy a kit, it should come with instructions. Also, overclockers.com and tomshardware should have a review somewhere that detailed how they installed it.

Oh, I didn't see the stickies, thank you.

no worries

I'm really sorry to be a pest, but I can't seem to find any guides on how to attach the stuff the case; basically a guide that tells you how to put everything together. I looked through the stickies, and the only one that was even close was one that had a list of cases that were good for watercooling, but it didn't tell you how to install stuff into those cases. Thanks.

well what is it you're curious about? the pumps should either have adhesive pads, or you can add them. you can also bolt them intol place. The rad is tricky - if it's large and you can't fit it inside the case, you usually have to mod the case by cutting holes and fitting the radiator in the hole. check out the case modding forum for details on that. The blocks go on with a mounting kit they will come with, using some kind of thermal grease (arctic silver 5 for example). the tubes go over all the fittings (tube should be 1/2", and make sure all your pipes/barbs are as well or get adapters). then you use those silver worm clamps to tighten them down and prevent leaks (home depot has these). if you decide to get a resevoir, that just bolts into the case wherever you want it to. T lines just kinda hang out.

hope that helps.

Whoah, thanks A LOT BlueMan, that was really informative! Thanks dude. The one thing I'm still wondering now (well, two things) is: so the pump is just kinda taped on? and if you have a radiator that will fit into the case, how do I attach it to the case? Will it come with adhesive things like the pump? Thanks again.

on the pump: It's really up to you. Do you plan to be moving the case around alot? like bringing it to LANs? If so, then yes, I would "tape" it. Depending on the pump you get, you also may want to muffle it some way to reduce vibrations. this can be done by adhering the pump to something like styrofoam or cloth , and then attatching that substance to the case. This way no annoying rattle. some pumps are so quiet you don't need this (MCP600), but test it out, you can always change your mind and remount it.

Radiator: the radiator will NOT come with any kind of mounting, unless you get an expensive one. Black Ice's may, but if you read these forums you'll learn that BI's are a waste of money, and you should get a Heater Core and use that. Do a search or look at the other posts around here - you'll find out what I mean. As for mounting these - you need to put shrouds on them and attach fans to the it, so many people put brackets on the shroud and screw the brackets into the case. If you don't know what I mean by shroud, just search a bit in the stickies, it's all there.

glad to help

So, in order to mount a rad you have to get a shrowd, or you can get a shrowd? The way I picture it is; 1. Put shrowd on rad, 2. Screw shrowd with rad in it onto any free place of the case, 3. Screw fan onto rad. Is that it? Also, with a T-Line, do you have to use a Dermel (sp?) to put a hole in the top of your case? I would assume you would need to.

the very first thing you will need to decide is where you are going to place your radiator, and how much space you have for it in that location. After that we will go about selecting a proper core for your case. Some people with full towers will remove both the lower front hard drive cages and use a dual 120mm rad, ie.. something around 10-12 inches in length. If you have a smaller space, like a mid tower or a full tower that you don't want to sacrifice the 2nd hdd cage a chevette core will do nice. they are about 7 1/4 i think in total length. Make sure you have that amount of clearance or more in the lower front of the case. If not, or you do not want it there for some reason, another effective way to mount the rad is to put it in the top of the case. See if you can take a look at the case you are using, or are going to be using, and see where everything will fit. Once you have determined where everything can fit we can go about figuring out mounting methods.

a word on mounting the pump,

as stated, this will greatly depend on what type of pump you will be using. A larger pump will have 4 mount holes in it's base. You can drill holes there and use rubber gromets and nylon bolts, this will cut down on vibration. Also double sided tape or some good strong velcro are other options.


*edit* no, you will not need to cut a hole for the T-line. Just keep the line where you can pull it out of the case a bit when the side panel is off.

J.

Okay, lets just say I went out and bought a Chieftec (sp?) Server Chasis (I know it's the most common thing in the world, but it's cheap as hell), and I decided I wanted my rad in the bottom right corner of the case, under the cages, how would I go about doing that?

Well, it depends a little on what radiator you get. If you get one like the Pro cores at Dtek (that size) you will most likly have to remove the bottom drive cage and cut out a hole the size of the radiator. Then just put it in with screws or glue or whatever seems to work well. I would probably use somthing like Marine Goop (Marine Goop or a non-"Marine" equivilant. It's just Silicon glue of some sort, I use Shoe Goo once when I use to skateboard. But I do my stuff a little ghetto style.) For the pump you could do the same. Also you would be surprised how well the tubes hold stuff somtimes, you just gotta be careful tat you arn't putting pressure on stuff like the CPU and video. It's not exactly a science, whatever works, works. Thats the way most poeple do it you can always get inventive though

And
Welcome To The Forums!

So you can actually just use really strong glue to put in your rad? I think that may be best for me, I'm not exactly skilled at cutting/screwing things.

You will need to cut open the front so that you get air going through the whole area of the radiator but ya. I would probably let the case overlap the edjes of the radiator by a cm or so and then just put some glue around it. It is a little hard to get off though.
You could also cut it and leave the corners overlapping the radiator. Then drill holes so that you can use zipties or long, small screws. Come to think of it when I was using watercooling I actually used zipties. Thats probably the absoloute best way since it's so much easier to remove and put in.

The best way to cut the case would probably be either a air compressor cutting wheel, jigsaw or dremel (in order for easiest - from what I hear anyways. I have only used dreme and it's slow cutting - they are great though.).

So I have to cut the bottom front of the case off to give it better airflow? Don't those cases have grills on the front?

Not the whole thing off, just a large hole. If you can find the watercooling gallery thread you should be able to get an idea (try searching), otherwise you could look at the Alternative Modding Case gallery thread.

Yes, they do have grills and thats part of what you cut out. Most people here cut the grills out anyways to reduce noise.

BTW, I have been going back and editing the posts before I realize that you posted so you might want to re-read them to get a more comprehensive idea of what I have been saying. I didn't realize you were reading as I was posting

Well thanks a lot guys, you guys are so much more helpful than the people at GameFAQ's regarding WC. Thanks guys.

Well that is GameFAQ's... not exactly a hardware forum