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Water cooling advice

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goodgod

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
I'll get the money for my new project that will involve WC within the next month, so I need to know if the parts I've choosen are good and compatible.

Specs:
opty 165
A8n-sli
7900gt
2gb ocz platinum
sliverstone 600w modular
Lian-li v1200b w/window

WC:

CPU block: DD TDX A64 3/8" or the Swiftech Apogee (which is better?)

GPU block: Swiftech MCW60 or DD Acetal Maze 4 (again, better?)

Pump: Eheim HPPS plus 12v (I was thinking about MCP350 but I don't know if the Eheim would be better has it is stronger)

Rad: BIP3 (top) and maybe a BIP1 as the 120mm exhaust (do I need the extra 120mm BIP? Does it worth the pressure drop vs the efficient cooling?)
3X120mm AC Ryan Rad Grillz

Fans: 3 X Arctic cooling ACF12 56.3 CFM 23.5 dBA (not sure, they are cheap and seems the best for quiet operation, but maybe the deltas or panaflos can be a better solution when at 7v - i just want it to be quiet)

2 X Coolermaster 120mm LED Silent fan 42.7 CFM 22 dBA (for intake and exhaust)

Reservoir: The people seems to hate it, but I think I will stick with the TT aquabay M1 res, because of its look (that can change ;) )

Coolant: cool-cases-usa UV Coolant Brilliant Orange coolant (I heard that it's good, and it's alot cheaper than buying coolant, anti-algae stuff, and anti-corrosion and uv dye as it's all in one)

Tubing: 3/8" ID, what OD is the best to fit? (I have no idea...maybe an other size is better for 3/8" ID fitting, like the 7/16" for the 1/2" ones)
material: dunno between tygon r1000, r3603, primoflex?

Some say that a chipset (NB) WB is useless, other say that it's cool, what do you think? Should i get the DD a8n sli?

Please comment my upcoming build.

Thanks! :)
 
personally, i'd use a panaflo low-speed fans for your rad, and i'd lose the res altogether.

GPU i'd use the maze4, CPU i'd use the apogee. for tubing, i'd use 1/2" ID, r3603 or clearflex 60. For pump, the MCP350 is good, but i'd prefer an MCP650/D4 or MCP655/D5. Coolant i'd just stick with plain distilled water and antifreeze.

Other then that, your setup looks solid.
 
CPU block: DD TDX A64 3/8" or the Swiftech Apogee (which is better?)

GPU block: Swiftech MCW60 or DD Acetal Maze 4 (again, better?)

Pump: Eheim HPPS plus 12v (I was thinking about MCP350 but I don't know if the Eheim would be better has it is stronger)

Rad: BIP3 (top) and maybe a BIP1 as the 120mm exhaust (do I need the extra 120mm BIP? Does it worth the pressure drop vs the efficient cooling?)

drop the extra rad and go with the 350 instead of the ehiem unless you are doing completely mission critical work.
 
SolidxSnake said:
personally, i'd use a panaflo low-speed fans for your rad, and i'd lose the res altogether.

GPU i'd use the maze4, CPU i'd use the apogee. for tubing, i'd use 1/2" ID, r3603 or clearflex 60. For pump, the MCP350 is good, but i'd prefer an MCP650/D4 or MCP655/D5. Coolant i'd just stick with plain distilled water and antifreeze.

Other then that, your setup looks solid.

If I keep the res, should I stick with the 3/8" for compatibility or use 1/2" with reducers before the res?

For the coolant, I need UV reactive orange one, and it seems good to me...

Is the MCP655 quiet? That's one of my goal, to have a low overall noise from my pc. I could also pick the D4 or D5 ones, but Frozencpu and performance-pcs don't sell them :(

Finally, what's a good panaflo model that can run quiet (25 dBA) at 7v?

EDIT: and that panaflo fan need to give me more than 56 CFM and less than 25dBA at 7v, because the arctic cooling ones are way cheaper, the panaflos need to worth the price.
 
goodgod said:
If I keep the res, should I stick with the 3/8" for compatibility or use 1/2" with reducers before the res?

For the coolant, I need UV reactive orange one, and it seems good to me...

Is the MCP655 quiet? That's one of my goal, to have a low overall noise from my pc. I could also pick the D4 or D5 ones, but Frozencpu and performance-pcs don't sell them :(

Finally, what's a good panaflo model that can run quiet (25 dBA) at 7v?

EDIT: and that panaflo fan need to give me more than 56 CFM and less than 25dBA at 7v, because the arctic cooling ones are way cheaper, the panaflos need to worth the price.


I'm almost positive the medium speed 120x38mm panaflo should give 56cfm at around 25dBA. Runs 35dBA @ 12v, 2100RPM, 86.5CFM. Low pitch noise as well.

http://svc.com/fba12g12m1a.html

I'd just use 1/2" barbs for everything, the block, pump, rad, res, everything. I thought the TT came with 1/2", guess not.

BTW, MCP655s are kinda expensive (roughly $74.95 @ the DD store), and they have a potentiometer to adjust the RPM level built in. The D4's have a whine to em, so i don't think you'd want that. the MCP355 is a good pump though, and that should run fine.

If you're bent on getting a res, you should get the swiftech res/MCP355 pump combo, fits inside one 5 1/2" bay, and isn't too expensive.
 
SolidxSnake said:
I'm almost positive the medium speed 120x38mm panaflo should give 56cfm at around 25dBA. Runs 35dBA @ 12v, 2100RPM, 86.5CFM. Low pitch noise as well.

http://svc.com/fba12g12m1a.html

I'd just use 1/2" barbs for everything, the block, pump, rad, res, everything. I thought the TT came with 1/2", guess not.

BTW, MCP655s are kinda expensive (roughly $74.95 @ the DD store), and they have a potentiometer to adjust the RPM level built in. The D4's have a whine to em, so i don't think you'd want that. the MCP355 is a good pump though, and that should run fine.

If you're bent on getting a res, you should get the swiftech res/MCP355 pump combo, fits inside one 5 1/2" bay, and isn't too expensive.
At 7v, the Panaflo M1A gives about 51-52ish CFM.

120mm PANAFLO FAN PDF

Going from 12v to 7v almost halves everything. (Can a senior check if I am right on this)
 
SolidxSnake said:
I'm almost positive the medium speed 120x38mm panaflo should give 56cfm at around 25dBA. Runs 35dBA @ 12v, 2100RPM, 86.5CFM. Low pitch noise as well.

http://svc.com/fba12g12m1a.html

I'd just use 1/2" barbs for everything, the block, pump, rad, res, everything. I thought the TT came with 1/2", guess not.

BTW, MCP655s are kinda expensive (roughly $74.95 @ the DD store), and they have a potentiometer to adjust the RPM level built in. The D4's have a whine to em, so i don't think you'd want that. the MCP355 is a good pump though, and that should run fine.

If you're bent on getting a res, you should get the swiftech res/MCP355 pump combo, fits inside one 5 1/2" bay, and isn't too expensive.

For the fans, what's the pros of buying panaflos and to put them at half speed when I can get Arctic cooling ones and put them at full speed for half of the price? (same dBA and CFM....)

Some say that 3/8" tubing doesn't make a difference in cooling vs the 1/2" one, so why shouldn't I go with the TT (yea, the TT aquabay only uses 3/8" and 1/4" ID) ? I know that the TT pressure drop must be really bad for my WC loop...

Maybe I could look for the Aquabay M3? It uses 3/8" but with less restriction (no flow meter indicator), and I want my water level to be shown on a 5.25", that would be cool.

The mcp350 sounds good, it's expensive too but nothing will stop me for my next project, even the money :p
 
Last edited:
For the whole tubing thing, in my current project Operation Compression, a WC project, I'm going to using 3/8" OD Stainless Steel tubing, this is because almost all liquid cooling systems, they use 1/4" NPT fittings, so as long as you tubing is bigger than that you'll be fine, also the orafices that are in CPU blocks and such might even be smaller, that's why I'm not concerned at all about tubing size.
 
goodgod said:
For the fans, what's the pros of buying panaflos and to put them at half speed when I can get Arctic cooling ones and put them at full speed for half of the price? (same dBA and CFM....)
Panaflo (Panasonic/NMB) is a respected fan manufacturer. For water cooling you have to find certain fans that will do the job right. You need thick fans (120x120x38 or higher) which will ultimately lead to higher pressure. THe more pressure, the more air is going to penetrate through the radiator. Panaflos also have good bearings. The higher quality bearing, the less clicking, whining youre going to get. Not to mention lifespan.
 
BWR said:
Panaflo (Panasonic/NMB) is a respected fan manufacturer. For water cooling you have to find certain fans that will do the job right. You need thick fans (120x120x38 or higher) which will ultimately lead to higher pressure. THe more pressure, the more air is going to penetrate through the radiator. Panaflos also have good bearings. The higher quality bearing, the less clicking, whining youre going to get. Not to mention lifespan.

ok, i'll go for 3 of these Panaflo M1 medium noise as they are presleeved and cheaper than the ones on frozencpu.
 
The sidewinder computers ones are cheaper than performance-pcs, but they charge way too much for the shipping (only us rush shipping to canada), and that make the fans cost more than the ones at ppcs.

And SVC doesn't ship in other countries than USA. :(

w/e.

I still need to know if you guys think that the TT M3 res is a better solution as it doesn't have the flow meter and seems more like a normal 5.25" bay res with a window to see the water level.
 
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