Water cooling Q's and i need A's

[eatmyshorts7569]

well im building this $1000 comp i have everything ready just one thing left. Cooling. Well i thought to my self why not go with water but then i slaped my self and said " what in blimy do u know about water cooling" so i decided to ask you guys.

1. Is it worth it?
2. Will it leak?
3. What happenes to the water do i have to change it?
4. What do u refill it with? (Im not stupid or nothing just wanted to know if there is any water like meterials that you guys use.)
and most impotently
4. What should i buy?

Is this any good (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835124005) and will it carry the comp at the bottom.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v512/eatmyshorts7569/comp.jpg

ps. im reusing a 512 PC3200 and a 9800Pro again.

[eatmyshorts7569]

o and also what else do i need. like caps or somthing. What do i need and how many.

[Craptacualr]

that kingwin things a piece of junk, run away screaming. to answer your questions:

1. If you're overclocking heavily and want a PC that doesnt sound like a tornado its WELL worth it
2. Only if you buy blocks with clear poly tops and forget to use hose clamps
3. If you set it up right with some algicide then nothing happens to it. Has to be topped off with a few ounces every 1/2 year
4. Most people use Distilled water, a biocide, and sometimes an anti-corrosive.
4. Most people do it themselves with parts from DangerDen, Swiftec, D-tek, Sidewinder, Voyeur Mods, and Little River (most popular dealers). If you really want a pre-made kit get a swiftec, otherwise do some reasearch, read some stickies and make it yourself :)

Dont get that MSI mobo, do yourself a favor and get a DFI NF4 Ultra-D or some other NF4 brand, none of this NF3 nonsense ;)


PS, I think you meant #5... :p

[phoenix111384]

first thing i recommend is reading the water cooling stickies. it'll help a lot in understanding watercooling with its pros/cons.

1. depends on what you're looking for. cooling? quiet? you tell us, and we'll more than likely tell you its worth it:)

2. leaks depend on you. if you install everything properly and use hose clamps, and LEAK-TEST without computer components installed, then no it won't leak.

3. typically the water does not have to be changed unless you're changing out a block or something.

4. distilled water is usually used to fill a system. some ppl add many different additives (ie antifreeze, zerex, water wetter, etc). other ppl can make recommendations on this.

5. up to you! are you looking for ease of installation and performance(premade kit)? go for a swiftech kit. Good performance for the price. if you're more of the adventurous type, a DIY kit would be better. You get much better performance than premade kits at a much lower price.

as for that kingwin kit, that looks more suited to cool your harddrive than anything else. in other words, its crap. you can get something better for that price.

hope this helped, welcome to world of water cooling!

[sideroxylon]

Ugh! That system will probably not be able to beat a stock air system. Don't waste your money.

As far as what you DO need, I suggest reading the stickies and browsing and searching these forums. Most if not all of your questions has been covered at some point.

[eatmyshorts7569]

ok im still reading these stickys but what do u guys mean cutome kit?
like choosen peace by peace. also thnx for the replys.

also Craptacualr imma check out that DFI NF4 Ultra-D and the other NF4 stuff.

[eatmyshorts7569]

o yah one last Q. i need a block for CPU and a Block for the 9800pro. Any thing else i need blocks for.

[CCUABIDExORxDIE]

get the dfi ultra, trust me, best nf4 board EVER, soo many choices for everything, but yea custom means pick out parts piece by piece. its not too bad, all you need is a pump, tubing, radiator/heatercore, cpu block, gpu block, clamps, a tline or resivour. it seems like alot now, but its not that bad.

[CCUABIDExORxDIE]

negative, unless you wanna cool that northbridge, they get kinda hot, but its not really needed.

[eatmyshorts7569]

ok well more Q's how much willl these all cost. i have like 140 or so maybe 160 if i can squaze my dad

[eatmyshorts7569]

I was searching for parts when i saw this. Is this any good.

This (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811155987)

[CCUABIDExORxDIE]

its decent, but building your own will be better. and you gotta buy water blocks to go with it, it doesnt come with any.

[eatmyshorts7569]

Swiftech MCP350 12 VDC Pump for liquid cooling system - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835108063)

Swiftech MCB-120-BL "Radbox" kit - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835108061)

ZALMAN ZM-GWB1 VGA COOLER - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118218)

ZALMAN ZM-WB2 Gold CPU Block - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118110)

ok what u guys think. im having a bit of secound thoughts about this. im pusshing the envelope with the money. i have $16 left and i still need clamps, Tubng, and tline or resivour. can any one find these for cheaper. i only know newegg and Tiger D For supplies. Rememver $174 left. Thnx.

[jcw122]

What i'd suggest...is just taking some of ur time and really learning about watercooling, its a facsinating and very education type of cooling, and also looks AWESOME in many cases.

Next, what they mean by custom kit...probably means DIY, as in u buy every part seperate, cut the tubing ur self, and basicly assembly it all urself....i dont water cool but I imagine its alot more fun than a kit (which usually dont perform as well anyway). Building ur WC loop urself, if u chose ur parts w/ good knoweledge, your WC system will perform REAL REAL well. And when i say I dont watercool, doesnt mean i dont know a few things about it.

Last, as I said before, dont rush urself, take ur time to learn about watercooling, how it works, and how all the different parts work, and how well different parts perform, its alot of fun to learn about, and will help u build a WC system that u will be much more satisfied w/ later.

[eatmyshorts7569]

any recommendations on a site that is relativly cheap but the supplies dont suck. im outa ideas.

[Sneaky]

the exxos isnt spectacular - its an into. kit, but very overpriced at it - most beginners can handle aseembling a DIY setup, which will perform much better in the end


and as far as your choice of ram goes, don't mix sticks of ram - if you want the OCZ Gold VX, get 2 512mb sticks, don't mix it with some generic pc-3200

and also, the gold VX is made to work with high voltage (VX = voltage extreme), which many motherboards will need vdimm mods to give it that extra voltage - the DFI NF4 boards are the only boards that i know of that can supply the needed voltage (w/o mods) to the RAM to allow for optimal performance - so definitely check out the DFI boards (particulary the NF4 Ultra-D as mentioned above)

then for a video card (because its a PCI-E x16 board), look into a x800XL or 6600GT to replace the 9800 (agp)



then for WC parts, i'll suggest the same things that i tell most people, because not only does it perform very well, it is also quite cost-effective as far as WCing goes

CPU block: Danger Den TDX w/ brass A64 top & extra nozzles

GPU block: Danger Den Maze4 w/ acetal top + Copper OCZ BGA ramsinks

Radiator/Heatercore: Weapon Dual heatercore w/ shrouds or D-Tek Pro-120 Combo (HC w/ shrouds)

Pump: Swiftech MCP-655 pump (not 100% out yet, but its shipping to resellers) or AquaExtreme 50z

Resivoir/T-Line: "T" Fitting and Fillport/T-Line cap of sorts or Danger Den HDPE 5.25 Resivoir

Tubing: 10ft Clearflex60 1/2" ID x 3/4" OD (1/8" wall) tubing

Hose Clamps: X number of stainless steel worm drive hose clamps (thin band, 7/8" max. dia) (x = number of barbs total in your system)

Liquids: Distilled Water w/ 10% antifreeze (biocide also suggested) and water dye of choice (if wanted)

feel free to ask any more questions :thup:
-Justin

[phoenix111384]

Danger Den (http://www.dangerden.com)

Cooltechnica (http://www.cooltechnica.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc)

FrozenCpu (http://www.frozencpu.com)

are a few sites with water cooling equipment. they are pretty much approx the same price, i doubt you will find much cheaper sites.

[Fighter2a]

This is comming from someone who was in your situation a month ago. I was really interested in water cooling but didn't know very much and was looking for something cheap like you. I almost bought that zalman piece of crap but luckly the people here saved me. The single most important piece of advice I can give you is to read the stickies. I learned everything I needed to know from those stickies. I also learned that you get what you pay for so IMO you are going to need to save up some more money. Some people set up cheap WC setups by buying cheap parts and moding them but I wouldn't recommend that route to a person starting out. I went to dangerden.com and put together a setup. The people that work there are also very helpful.

[eatmyshorts7569]

This is comming from someone who was in your situation a month ago. I was really interested in water cooling but didn't know very much and was looking for something cheap like you. I almost bought that zalman piece of crap but luckly the people here saved me. The single most important piece of advice I can give you is to read the stickies. I learned everything I needed to know from those stickies. I also learned that you get what you pay for so IMO you are going to need to save up some more money. Some people set up cheap WC setups by buying cheap parts and moding them but I wouldn't recommend that route to a person starting out. I went to dangerden.com and put together a setup. The people that work there are also very helpful.

and that is why im thinking of going with Dryooling for now and in a month or two get a uber Water cooling.

[Craptacualr]

May I suggest checking out the classifieds... For instance, this guy (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=380984) is selling a complete system, case included. Vengance here (http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=385248) is selling some really good components, especially since its got a universal Dtek Whitewater.

There's tons of components F/S in the Cooling Classies section, go check it out since its a great way to save monies :)