I have always flirted with the idea of water cooling, but I did not want to go through the process, due to laziness.
So, I came across an article in Computer Shooper for the CoolerMaster AquaGate, a completely contained water cooling solution! There are 2 versions of the AquaGate, the 80mm & 120mm, obviously this depends on your case. Unfortunately, my case only supported the 80mm.
Being a proud owner of a GA-8KNXP, I decided to go through the tedious mundane process of completely ripping apart my entire system and installing the water cooling system.
First problem: The piping system is designed to go away from the back of the case, however, the memory gets in the way on the 8KNXP!! The pipes were crimped and I could not lock the water pump/block in place. It may work better if you do not use Dual Channel mode.
Second problem: In order for me to properly secure the block I had to reverse the direction of the water pump/block, so as not to interfere with the memory. In doing so, the DPS could no longer be used (not sure it is doing anything for me anyway).
Third problem: My case. I have an old Chieftech case, which I believe, is now owned by Chenming. My case fans were held in by snap in plastic holders, which previously were great, except when trying to mount a radiator on them.
Temps:
Pre AquaGate - Using 6000 RPM Jet engine fan:
Idle - 42-45 C
Load - 50-55 C
Post AquaGate:
Idle - 36-40 C
Load - 47-51 C
Was it worth it? Hells yeah, noise is greatly diminished. Would I do it again? Probably not.
So, I came across an article in Computer Shooper for the CoolerMaster AquaGate, a completely contained water cooling solution! There are 2 versions of the AquaGate, the 80mm & 120mm, obviously this depends on your case. Unfortunately, my case only supported the 80mm.
Being a proud owner of a GA-8KNXP, I decided to go through the tedious mundane process of completely ripping apart my entire system and installing the water cooling system.
First problem: The piping system is designed to go away from the back of the case, however, the memory gets in the way on the 8KNXP!! The pipes were crimped and I could not lock the water pump/block in place. It may work better if you do not use Dual Channel mode.
Second problem: In order for me to properly secure the block I had to reverse the direction of the water pump/block, so as not to interfere with the memory. In doing so, the DPS could no longer be used (not sure it is doing anything for me anyway).
Third problem: My case. I have an old Chieftech case, which I believe, is now owned by Chenming. My case fans were held in by snap in plastic holders, which previously were great, except when trying to mount a radiator on them.
Temps:
Pre AquaGate - Using 6000 RPM Jet engine fan:
Idle - 42-45 C
Load - 50-55 C
Post AquaGate:
Idle - 36-40 C
Load - 47-51 C
Was it worth it? Hells yeah, noise is greatly diminished. Would I do it again? Probably not.
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