Need some advice input on Water Cooling!

Hello I'm new to this community and am looking for advice on putting together a mid-level water cooling setup.
Next thursday(payday) I am purchasing this system:

Case: Antec P180B
Motherboard: DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 ULTRA-D
Processor: AMD Opteron 165
Video Card: eVGA e-GeForce 7900 GTX
Hard Drive: Western Digital Raptor 74GB (QT. 2)
Memory: OCZ 2GB Kit DDR500 PC4000 Platinum XTC
Power Supply: Enermax ELT620AWT Liberty 620W
VGA Cooler: ZALMAN VF900 – CU 2 Ball VGA Cooling
Optical 1: LITE-ON Black DVD Burner With LightScribe
Optical 2: LITE-ON Black DVD-ROM

With that said I want to build a completely internal system for around $200, with little modifications required. So what pump/radiator/water block/hosing do you recommend? This will be my first setup and I've read the basics and am really interested in intergrating this into my rig!

Thanks,
Mike

If any other information is needed let me know, this community seems really knowledgeable and there are some great stickies and reviews!

Thanks in advanced,
Mike

I have a couple questions for you.

questions that dictate the setup you will get
1. how loud/quiet do you want this setup to be?
2. do you feel comfortable with modding your case?
3. what performance do you expect?

other questions/comments
1. instead of spending $50 on an air cooler for your gfx card, would you consider getting a water block for it? the price would be about the same.
2. If you are willing to give up the top two 5 1/4 bays you can fit a double or tripple rad right in the top of that case. I have actually been looking at it myself.
3. If you are only going to cool your cpu then you could get by with a single rad either up front or in the back of the case.

RE: I have a couple questions for you.

questions that dictate the setup you will get
1. how loud/quiet do you want this setup to be?
Quiet.
2. do you feel comfortable with modding your case?
If it takes more then using a dremel.. no
3. what performance do you expect?
Reasonable CPU temps while maxing an OC on an Opteron

other questions/comments
1. instead of spending $50 on an air cooler for your gfx card, would you consider getting a water block for it? the price would be about the same.
Yes, but wouldn't that lessen if spread to two blocks?
2. If you are willing to give up the top two 5 1/4 bays you can fit a double or tripple rad right in the top of that case. I have actually been looking at it myself.
As long as I have two bays for my optical drives thats fine.

Thanks for the quick responce! Any other questions ask away.
Mike

if you want quiet then a BIPII and some yate loons would probably be for you.
here is an idea for how to fit it. You would need to use a dremel, but if you got a grill the finished product would look very good.

I've been toying with the idea of doing something similar myself.

I have also seen people put a single rad on the back or in the front of the case

Alright.. can you dumb it down a bit haha..

Radiator: Black Ice Pro 2
yate loons?
What water block/tubbing/anything else
do I need to purchase?

updawg said:

Alright.. can you dumb it down a bit haha..

Radiator: Black Ice Pro 2
yate loons?
What water block/tubbing/anything else
do I need to purchase?

Click to expand...

sorry.
yate loons are quiet fans. I've never owned them, but from what I hear they're the best thing going.

for everything else I would suggest:
Swiftech Apogee cpu block
7/16" ID tubing. I use masterkleer because it's cheap and works well, but some people here don't like it.
pump: danger den D5 or Swiftech MCP655. (you could get a DD mag pump if you are only cooling your cpu)
maze 4 gpu block

Is it possible to mount the radiator on a rear 120mm fan grill or a front one? This would be ideal for me. Do I need a reservoir?

you can mount a double rad on the back of your case using a swiftech radbox, or something of your own making, or you can mount a single rad on both the front and rear. I believe the p180 has 120mm fans on both the front and rear.

you can use a t line instead of a res to save space

So your saying my optimal setup would be two BIP2 (one on front 120mm one on rear) using a swiftech MCP655 pump and Apogee block connected by 7/16'' ID tubing. What other accessories do I need to purchase if you wouldn't mind making a list! You've been extremly helpful!

Thanks,
Mike

cpu block
http://jab-tech.com/Swiftech-Apogee-Extreme-performance-CPU-water-block-pr-3175.html
pump
http://jab-tech.com/Swiftech-MCP655-12-VDC-Pump-pr-2982.html
rad
http://jab-tech.com/Swiftech-MCR-Quiet-Power-Series-radiators-120mm-Black-pr-3070.html
or
http://jab-tech.com/Black-Ice-X-Flow-Pro-Single-120mm-Radiator-pr-3207.html
tubing
http://jab-tech.com/Masterkleer-Tubing-7-16-ID-5-8-OD-pr-3079.html
fillport
http://jab-tech.com/Dangerden-Fillport-Black-pr-3051.html

with 2 of the xflo BIP rads the total comes to about $210 shipped. You'll just need to get some distilled water, a T fitting, zip ties or cable clamps and some additive.

if you aren't cooling your gpu also, you can get by with only one of those rads. if you are adding your gpu then get both

Thanks so much for your help!
I think I'll stick with one radiator and once I start getting more familiar with water cooling will I expand to two.

Mike

if you're only getting one take a look at a BIX or the new BIPGT's they'll give you better performance than the BIP