Mct-5 Worth the money???

[toddm27]

I am setting up a water cooling loop next week when all the pieces get to me and was wondering if it was worth getting some nonconductive coolant or just using distilled water? If you guys think it is worth it how much will I need approx with a bip3, apogee, maze4 gpu, dd d5 pump, and fill port. Its going into a lian li pc71b with radiator mounting on the top. I was thinking 2 bottles but don't want to order it and not have enough to finish the job.

[DeViL_909]

Personally I don't think it is worth the money. The stuff is pretty expensive and will raise your temps a little bit. I would just stick with the water. As long as you leak test and make sure that everything is water tight, you should not have any problems. I believe that you mean deionized water. Or maybe i am just mistaken

[toddm27]

I was thinking distilled water as deionized water would have the same nonconductive properties and be about the same price as the mct-5.

[Perseus]

It's worth it if you value its benefits and don't mind the expense.

[toddm27]

ok so about how much fluid will I need?

[Aidenswarrior]

go with distilled and it will only cost ya about $1 to fill your system.

[Perseus]

ok so about how much fluid will I need?

A liter + probably. Having some spare coolant around is always a good idea.

[Tat2monsta]

i only used just over half a bottle with a 120x2 rad maze4 gpu and polarflo tt 1/2 tube

[poogl3]

As far as I know, distilled water is still conductive. And de-ionized water will destroy your components in no time flat.

[Perseus]

Last I heard it isn't the water that's conductive, it's the dissolved minerals and other things floating in it that make it so.

[killermiller]

I got bored fairly quickly but
http://www.wileywater.com/Contributor/Sample_2.htm

If you spring a leak and the system is off, distilled water has a smaller chance of causing corrosion which will kill your system when you turn it on.

If it leaks when it is on and it hit the hardware I think you may be SOL. That is the chance you take with WC though. A 24 hour leak test is not always enough, I have had them leak much slower than that.

[Aidenswarrior]

I don't understand why people need nonconductive fluid. if they feel that insecure about water cooling then they probably shouldn't have it in the first place. if you take your time and use clamps, leaks shouldn't be a problem

[Fighter2a]

Buying fluid like mct-5 is easy. All you do is unscrew and pour. Some people don't want to be hassled with mixing crap and hoping nothing grows.

[killermiller]

I don't understand why people need nonconductive fluid. if they feel that insecure about water cooling then they probably shouldn't have it in the first place. if you take your time and use clamps, leaks shouldn't be a problem
For the leaks that I experienced was the reservoir cracked where the barbs thread in.

And then on the same style res it leaked because I didn't thread them down enough because I didn't want to crack it.

It's not about being scared or insecure, it's about being prepared. People don't wear seatbelts because they think that they are going to die, they wear it because they don't want to die :D

[poogl3]

You are all convincing me that non-conductive fluid is the way to go. There must be a cheaper way to get it than with mct-5 though, right? Does anyone know of a place to order it in bulk?

[MassiveOverkill]

For the leaks that I experienced was the reservoir cracked where the barbs thread in.

And then on the same style res it leaked because I didn't thread them down enough because I didn't want to crack it.

It's not about being scared or insecure, it's about being prepared. People don't wear seatbelts because they think that they are going to die, they wear it because they don't want to die :D

Right on brother!! I use MCT-5 in my system. My apogee block sprung a leak because I hand tightened the barbs because I didn't want to strip anything out.........figured it would be enough........NOT. By the time I found out, my processor was completely soaked.............down to the pin-grid array.

There's alot of tension on my barbs since everything's crammed into a micro-ATX case. $20 is pretty cheap insurance when you consider you can lose $1500 in parts.

[Moto7451]

You are all convincing me that non-conductive fluid is the way to go. There must be a cheaper way to get it than with mct-5 though, right? Does anyone know of a place to order it in bulk?

Yes, your cheaper solution is Distilled water. By nature of distilling, Distilled water lacks minerals. When you put any water containing substance through your loop, it will pick up minerals however. Nothing is going to change that. The main ingredient in mct-5 is dihydrogen monoxide. The second ingredient in it is ethylene glycol. Thats the same mixture I run in my loop & if cost me $4 to make two gallons of it.

[Perseus]

I don't understand why people need nonconductive fluid. if they feel that insecure about water cooling then they probably shouldn't have it in the first place. if you take your time and use clamps, leaks shouldn't be a problem

I don't think it's a matter of need so much as want, which is just fine. Look at it as an insurance policy that covers circumstances beyond your control. Beyond that, even the best of us are capable of mistakes and/or oversights.

[Mekanic]

I'd have to recomend PC ICE From PrimoChill. Cheaper than MCT-5, proven non conductive (watch the vid) and comes in pretty colors and a shiny bottle!!

Also temps were always 1-2*C off from distilled+glycol, so its also one of the best performing of the non-conductive coolants :)

http://www.frozencpu.com/scan/se=Water%20Cooling/se=Fluids/mp=menu_search.html
you ll see them in the middle, comes in 3 UV reactive colors and clear as well.

Or if money is no object, you can go with Fluid XP+, which is supposed to be the best there is

[Quaxor]

For the leaks that I experienced was the reservoir cracked where the barbs thread in.

And then on the same style res it leaked because I didn't thread them down enough because I didn't want to crack it.

It's not about being scared or insecure, it's about being prepared. People don't wear seatbelts because they think that they are going to die, they wear it because they don't want to die :D

Aidenswarrior says:
i dont wear a seatbelt.

[5|*42]

Or if money is no object, you can go with Fluid XP+, which is supposed to be the best there is
If money was no issue, I'd use fluorinert :p

[Aidenswarrior]

If money was no issue, I'd use fluorinert :p

if money wasnt an issue, i would bring my computer to pluto.

[Mekanic]

If money was no issue, I'd use fluorinert :p

I had never seen that.......my god, average of $240 a litre....thats wrong.

[poogl3]

I'd have to recomend PC ICE From PrimoChill. Cheaper than MCT-5, proven non conductive (watch the vid) and comes in pretty colors and a shiny bottle!!

Also temps were always 1-2*C off from distilled+glycol, so its also one of the best performing of the non-conductive coolants :)

http://www.frozencpu.com/scan/se=Water%20Cooling/se=Fluids/mp=menu_search.html
you ll see them in the middle, comes in 3 UV reactive colors and clear as well.

Or if money is no object, you can go with Fluid XP+, which is supposed to be the best there is

Wow. Thanks for recommending this stuff... looks like a pretty safe solution.

[Tat2monsta]

ive used fluid xp to.. but lookout if you use dye.. i used a dye from the same site.. recomended for use with fluid xp.. red dye.. was bright pink when added YUK! and after about 3 weeks fluid started to turn to jelly..but that may of had something to do with my crappy bigwater kit with badly anodized aluminium parts.

all in all there both worth it! just watch what your mixing it with mct-5 is green allready str8 from the bottle

[lowfat]

Just spray paint your motherboard :) total cost $3.

[toddm27]

Just spray paint your motherboard :) total cost $3.
yeah if you don't mind voiding any warranty on that component

[White Runner]

Just spray paint your motherboard :) total cost $3.

Be sure to use a metalic paint :shrug:

[michaell]

As far as I know, distilled water is still conductive. And de-ionized water will destroy your components in no time flat.

Yup it becomes ionized once it meets some copper (or some other metals).

[Perseus]

Yup it becomes ionized once it meets some copper (or some other metals).

Not very fast though, and I wouldm't call the process "ionization." Deionized water slowly tries to recover equilibrium by leaching electrons from any available source.

[Aidenswarrior]

yeah if you don't mind voiding any warranty on that component

using water cooling voids the warrenty anyway. thought it would be harder to return a motherboard that is spray painted than one that was used with water cooling :) :beer: