thinking about a kit...

[1cem4n]

i'm thinking about getting the Swiftech Watercooling Kits because the CNPS7000-cu just doesn't cut it anymore. I'm looking only to cool my CPU and I think a kit would be my best bet. I don't want to spend a lot of money either so should I get a radbox or should i just mount it inside my P180? and which one because i have so many places to mount it. This will be my first time watercooling too but I know all the basics and how a t-line is better but I want to go with a reservoir first. Is this kit good or could somebody else recommend something else for less than $170?

-1cem4n

[calvin]

1) Only advantage of T Line is they are cheap.
2) Internal is cleanest
3) Which kit?

[thegreek]

Storm - $75
D5 - $75
X-FLOW - PROII Rad - $38

Total - $188

or you can get a 302 heatercore and reduce the price to $175

[SewerBeing]

1) Only advantage of T Line is they are cheap.
2) Internal is cleanest
3) Which kit?

1) they are also safer because reservoirs can crack and leak
2) yep but external can also be pulled off
3) Swiftech Apex: http://www.swiftnets.com/products/H20-APEX.asp

[thegreek]

3) Swiftech Apex: http://www.swiftnets.com/products/H20-APEX.asp
That costs $260 on their online site.

[SewerBeing]

sorry I misread his budget, I thought he said 270 not 170. Anyways with the budget I suggest not using a kit period because a heatercore will be cheaper and finding parts indidually is usually cheaper as well.

[S_Wilson]

Recently I had to give up water cooling and in general hardware due to an upcoming interstate move. Now that the house is sold and the move made I have started rebuilding. I like the simplicity of air but dislike the noise and inefficiency so last week I put together watercooling for the new system .

Basically I used the components of the Swiftech H2O-120 Kit (http://www.swiftnets.com/products/h20-120-R3a-0.asp) with a T-line. Jab-Tech sells the kit here (http://www.jab-tech.com/Swiftech-H20-120-FK-REV3a-Kit-for-Athlon64-and-P4-478-Black-Chrome-pr-3069.html) or the individual components which will be cheaper. SVC (www.svc.com) has these also.

This is not an aggressive setup but that was not my desire. I wanted good quiet cooling that fits inside the P180 without much modding. The Swiftech MCR120 Radiator will fit upfront behind the door if you remove the upper and lower plastic parts that hold the upper hard drive bay in place. I did not like the location so mounted it to the upper exhaust with a Panaflo and this seems to work very well at keeping the X2 3800 @ 2.7 fairly cool, 8-10C lower on average over an XP90C. I am still trying different fans and fan configurations. Here are some pics. BTW, the 92mm fan is to put a little air on the mosfets. Airflow in the upper right area is terrible in this case.

http://myweb.cableone.net/sswilson/P180WC01.jpg
http://myweb.cableone.net/sswilson/P180WC02.jpg

[calvin]

1) they are also safer because reservoirs can crack and leak

When considering a res it's like anything else, caveat emptor. Avoid poorly constructed models, stick with mfgrs who have gone to the trouble to do a quality job. I have had the same metal res for several years now and it has performed flawlessly.

[1cem4n]

I think i will run a t-line. but it seems that the fan seems to need some fan on the upper right hand. what should I use? I will be replacing the chipset cooler with a Swiftech Copper one later but what should I do about cooling the RAM? I'm thinking about making that RAM cooler. I also checked out my blow hole on the top and i'm not sure a radiator could fit there with a fan but i may be wrong.

-1cem4n

[S_Wilson]

I think i will run a t-line. but it seems that the fan seems to need some fan on the upper right hand. what should I use? I will be replacing the chipset cooler with a Swiftech Copper one later but what should I do about cooling the RAM? I'm thinking about making that RAM cooler. I also checked out my blow hole on the top and i'm not sure a radiator could fit there with a fan but i may be wrong.

-1cem4n

That particular radiator is 1.3" thick and the fan is 38mm or about 1 1/2" thick. A 25mm fan is only about 1" thick so if you have 2 1/2" to 3" clearance on the top blow hole then it should fit. The radiator will also bolt to the front fan mount if you remove the plastic holders that the drive bays slide on, they are held on by a few screws.

I am using a 92mm Nexus to get air to the upper right part of the board. any low power, low noise 80mm or 92mm fan should work fine as this area just needs a little help not a lot.

[1cem4n]

well i'm using that hd bay cause it's too much of a hassle to move them down to the bottom. actually i don't know but I will see how it goes.

-1cem4n