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A cooling idea, but needs work.

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tsulas

Registered
Joined
Jul 14, 2004
Location
Ontario, Canada
Ok, so here's my System:
TBird 1.4 Ghz stock running at 100/100
PcChips M830L Mobo
512 Mb SDRAM (2x256xPC133)
XFX FX5600 (Fan died, had to put a new one on)
350W PSU (Which runs hot enough to warm my feet on cool nights playing games)

My BIOS reads 55 Celcius on the CPU after 8 Minutes of run time, and as the heat increases this summer it's just going hotter. Yesterday, it was at 62, the day before it was above 65 and wouldn't load WinXP.

So, I have been looking into building my own Water Cooling system, and here's what i was thinking:

CPU block - If I remove every other vane in the heatsink I have right now(aluminum), I can wrap 3/8in O.D. copper tubing along and back 9 lengths for the water to run through, and with heat transfer grease along the sides where it contacts. Also, I'll put the fan back on for added cooling.

PUMP - I have a 200 Gph Submersible aquarium Pump/Power Head

RAD - I can get a car Rad from an autowrecker for $10 to $15 in fairly good shape.

RAD Cooler - a 12 inch oscillating Desk fan.

Resevoir - An extra rubbermaid container.

One of the major questions I have about this setup already is the copper tubing trough the aluminum heatsink... #1, will it cool enough, and #2 corrosion.


Another important note is that I will be overclocking my computer once the watercooling is in place and working well.

Any help/suggestions would be more then welcome. I dont want to purchase a waterblock or kit unless I absolutely have to.

Also, does anyone have any suggestions as to the mixture to use for cooling. I already know distilled water with engine coolant, but what mix should it be?

I should also mention that I am using the desk fan becuase it would be several hundred CFM, and it will be in the next room, with the lines passed through the wall, so noise is not an issue.

Thanks.
 
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Seriously, you'd be better off buying a block, i mean the other stuff is pritty much ok, but i wouldn't bother with the effort.
 
Perhaps

Perhaps you are right, but I would rather try it without having to spend much money on it first. I dont want just a cooler that "will do" so, I'd be looking at a fairly expensive unit. Also, next will be the GPU, HDD and then the PSU also. So, learning the best way of doing things is sorta another good reason to be doing it all without buying premade parts.
 
Your waterblock design is going to kill you.
You'll have very little contact between the heat source (CPU) and the transfer media ( water).
First you have the interface between the chip and the HS.
Then the interface between the HS and the copper tubing ( which will be pitifully small) and finally the contact of the water with the copper tube.

All in all, you've described a worst case scenario for a waterblock design.
I admire your ambition...have you seen Blueball's work?
 
Thank you for your reply clocker... I was wondering if that would be the case... Time to head back tot he drawing board for the cooling block. And, thanks for the link. Do you know if his acrylic topped block ever did any good?

Thanks again.
 
Well, actually, the into another room part, is 8 inches away. Straight through the wall. :) The pump is more then strong enough. It has a 3 foot head. (or head rate. i.e. it'll push 180 Gph out at 3 feet above itself. It was a $190 pump when I bought it for my fish tank... which is now gone. :)

I can see what you are saying about the acrylic though, my experience working with it in the past is the same... not on Waterblocks obviously, but on many projects; so I am fairly adept at constructing things with it.

I'll look into building a copper block though.
 
lol... no offense but 200 gph pump with 3 feet of head is nothing. Most pumps nowadays pump out 250+ with 6 feet of head. Get a eheim compact. They are submersible, have 260 gph with 6 feet of head, and only cost 25 bucks!
 
Go all out the first time and you'll be more satisfied. If it takes a little longer to save and get the parts it will be worth it. All we have is time anyway.
 
Ok, I have decided that I will go with a water block, and i have also decided that this entire unit should be completely enclosed within my case. I will be adding a link to a website I am creating to document my journey to watercooling later once I put the site up.

Thanks all.
- cheers
 
Raider84 said:
lol... no offense but 200 gph pump with 3 feet of head is nothing. Most pumps nowadays pump out 250+ with 6 feet of head. Get a eheim compact. They are submersible, have 260 gph with 6 feet of head, and only cost 25 bucks!

200gph AT 3 ft head is about like a Mag 2.

Still weak for my tastes, but not "nothing".
 
Raider84, nice little pump. And, I bet you'd be right about it not getting into another room... at least not well anyway. Thanks for the advice, thats one of the main reasons I've now decided to put the whole thing into my PC.
 
well, I am looking for high performance if I can get it. At the time of writing this, my omputer is running at 59 celcius. 38 in case... Without the side on...

I want this thing to be cool, and then I will be overclocking also; so I need it to handle quite a bit. Those light duty blocks seem to be for watercooling a stock CPU, without O.C. though I could be wrong...

Also, keep in mind, I am running a 1.4 Ghz TBird, it's about the hottest most energy inefficient processor you can get.

Has anybody checked out my Block design? I'd like to know if there are suggestions how I could improve the design considering I dont have access to a milling machine.
 
Trus. all the reviews I have read about them seem to be good, and performance is up there also... But, I live in canada, so that price just became $70, oh, and UPS needs a good cut too... so now it's $86... and, then later I may decide to cool the GPU also... uggg.... Anyone in Canada getting good prices on CPU and GPU WBs?

By the way... I still want to build my own custom water block, and apparently my dad wants to get a Milling machine soon, so version 2 should be great.

Note: I have used drill presses and milling machines before almost a thousand times, for making pieces much more complex then these... Like sprockets, and full gears.... So I'm a little more then a bit dangerous with one once I actually get my hands on it...
 
P.S. Sunday is waterblock day for me. For the cross drill design I put on my site at least. Wahoo! Time for some fun.
 
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