Anything I can upgrade in my W/C setup?

I currently have a p4 2.4c (intel 478) running at 3.48 on a Abit-IC7max3 mobo with a nvidia 6800 ultra.

My load temp is 48 degrees. I was hoping to knock that down or at least see if i can get a 3.6 overclock.

Everything is 1/2 inch
I currently have a plastic tupperware res with my eheim 1250 sitting in it. I realise this adds heat to the system, but i had no way to fit in my case otherwise. I am now moving to an external system and will move the pump out.

I have the swiffy 6002 CPU block
I have a silverprop Fusion GPU HL on the 6800
I have that dual heatercore from danger den with their shroud and 2x delta 120mm fans

so I have 2 questions.
1. Are there any better CPU blocks out that dont involve spending $100 or more? Anything else I could do to the system to make it preform better?

2. Am I restricting water flow by using the stock eheim 1250 pump connectors (the ones on the pump). I think one of them is 1/2 inch and the other is not or something. Please advise


Thanks

Is there any chance you could post some pics of your system? The components seem pretty good from what you have listed so it may have more to do with the actual setup rather than any single component.

Bugsmasher said:

Is there any chance you could post some pics of your system? The components seem pretty good from what you have listed so it may have more to do with the actual setup rather than any single component.

Click to expand...

My A70 is out on RMA and should be back sometime next week

I can describe it pretty well, radiator (on its side, not flat down, dunoo if that is bad) and pump are now sitting next to case, with res sitting on top of the case.

water goes pump > rad (fans blowing air through, again is that bad? should they be sucking?) > res > cpu block > gpu block > pump etc. No kinks or anything like that.

I just sold my old maze 3 though and could afford a cpu block upgrade... i was looking at the whitewater and some others, do you think any out now are better than the swiffy $6002? I saw that silver one which was a bit more than $100 and am not looking to spend that much, but under 90 or so should be fine.

Also im interested if anyone knows about the eheim 1250 pump question i have, i saw that people are using brass barbs it seems that look bigger than stock. Do you have to apply those with any kind of sealant? And what sizes do I need, do i have to replace the plastic barb that is already 1/2 inch (i think) ?

Get those fans on the heatercore sucking. also that dangerden shroud (if its anything like the one I have got) doesnt put enough space between hc and fans.

How are your temps on the 6800 with that Fusion block? Do you have any ram sinks?
Maybe you could pick up Cathar's block for the cpu, the storm g4?

Get those fans sucking, you will get a couple C drop.

What I would do is run the system withouth the gpu block for awhile and try to get some more OC outa your cpu. I think you will find that the temp drop wont get you any more OC, but definently worth a try.

One thing I am not too nuts about is putting the res before your blocks. If possible I would put the res between the blocks and pumps. This of course depends what type of res you have and might not make much of a difference after all.

Second are there any constrictions in your line? Assuming you have a 3/8" ID fitting set on your pump are there any types of couplers in use that may restrict the flow to a smaller amount. Some couplers that fit a 1/2" ID tube actually reduce flow down to almost a 1/4" ID which is HUGE in terms of overall flow. If possible use a step up in sizes for fittings, most of the time you can still get your tubing over it by soaking it in hot water for a short while to soften it (assumes you are using some form of clear silicon/Tygon/etc type tubing). Try to maintain at least a true 3/8" ID throughout your loop for all fittings or larger.

What type of coolant solution are you using? Have you tried with a near-pure water solution to minimize the effects of the additives? Most additives lower the cooling ability of a system. If you have a system with different types of metal in it you will want anti-corrosive and most probably anti-growth but most of the time you should have a near 90% water/10 additives or better ratio.

Does the Rad have any airflow constrictions around it? You said its on its side but is there plenty of clearance around it so the airflow isnt choked? Secondly as someone pointed out you want about a 1" standoff shroud so there is space between the fan and radiator where pressure is evened outsomewhat to avoid dead spots (like the center part of the fan) in the air passing through the fins of the radiator. I think it was Cathar who said a premium shroud can improve a radiators effectiveness by nearly 40%. Thats worth checking into. It seems that having the fan pull air through the rad is as good or slightly better than having it push air through it.

Have you flushed and cleaned your radiator? During assembly there is always a decent chance of some crud getting into it. These can restrict waterflow downgrading performance.

Lastly are you completely sure your WB is securely and correctly mounted on the CPU? Its easy with WCing for the tubing to create a torque which causes the CPU waterblock/CPU seating to be slightly off of true. Also the good old standard thermal paste question? Was enough/too much used and what type?

Change your setup to res>pump>cpu>gpu>pump, trust me. Also, have you thought about adding a second pump or upgrading your radiator/fans?