Budget External Truck Radiator Build

In anticipation of Vista, I'm planning out my 1st water project for my workhorse machine to bring it up to speed. Specs are in my sig. Goal is to build an external setup utilizing a used 4 cylinder copper core downflow truck radiator I have laying around similar to this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Toyo...8QQihZ009QQcategoryZ33602QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I need suggestions on cheap copper watercooling components which would work well with this system in mind (cpu block, chipset block, vga block, pump, reservoir quick connect fittings). Not decided on a video card yet, but depending on final pricing I've been watching the X1950 PRO. As for where I'm putting everything, I plan on building a case with fans which would sit near my desk, or modifying a piece of furniture like a cabinet.

First off, what does your budget look like??
It sounds like you want overkill, so i'll work from there for now.

I think dual heater cores might be more cost effective when going for overkill. But thats just me. And overkill is most often about what YOU want.
One thing to remember is that there are a lot of Swiftech and DIY fanboys here. Its not a bad thing at all, but sometihng to keep in mind when planning.

I dont know what size inlet and outlet that radiator uses. But i can tell you that copper parts dont seem to be cheap any more. Somthing about the price of raw copper ore becoming more of a rareity. Vynil tubing, and plastic fittings will save a lot of money and seem to be the norm. Always get the worm drive hose clamps, they are worth the cost.

UM... lets see, i doubt you will find a copper pump But the MCP 655 is a favorite on these boards. I went for a mag drive 3 (aquarium pump) that gives similar preformance for half the cost.

A cheap copper res may also be hard to find. I found a swiftech mico for $14 though.

I dont see a lot of guys loving the chipset blocks these days... i'll take thier word for it as im still making my first WC loop.

VGA blocks are good, although i know VERY little about them... I know a lot of full coverage blocks are rather specific to a given card and are rather pricey. I also know that there are a few universal ones that only cover the GPU core. But thier name escapes me atm.

As for a CPU block, if you leave the IHS on the CPU, a swiftech apogee is supposed to preform very well for the price.


As for where to put it all, that dpeneds a lot on what tools you have. Not often does WC come mod free.
I went for an external box of MDF, that was a lot of work, and its about 40lbs dry. I like that its what i want in terms of useability, but i was supprised to see how large it got on me.


Oh yeah and Good Luck on your project.

The biggest plus for using a radiator like that (other than having one handy!) is for quiet cooling. Somewhere in these forums is another radiator thread - he didn't use any fans at all for awhile and got good temps but did better when he added the fans. I've used Scythe fans for my projects but many prefer Yate Loons (cheap) on a rheostat to turn down the noise, 12v to 7v. Another option you have for something that big is one of the 250mm fans out there - quiet but moves a lot of air.

(Here's that thread: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=429836 )

If you're going to keep the IHS on your CPU then an Apogee will work great - de-lidded and a Storm works better.

The MCP655 and DDC+ (18w) are both favored not so much from "fanboyism" as from practicality - both pumps are VERY reliable. Fish won't die from a few minutes w/out a pump, CPUs will.

Considering you're using a radiator I wouldn't worry about a res or T-line. If you can mount or temporarily position your radiator above the pump then you can prime the pump to fill the system. After the system is full it doesn't matter where the radiator is as long as it's not dry and the pump is pulling off the bottom outlet.

OR, If you tap a 1/2" inlet near the top of one of the side tanks you can use the normal radiator cap for filling and still keep a closed loop (as long as the water level is kept above the inlet). This would also let you mount the pump at the radiator outlet and avoid the fill problem completely.

Standard automotive screw clamps work great. If you're going with an external box you'll want to use 1/2" tubing to reduce resistance. 1/2" tubing will also fit right over 1/2" copper and PVC pipe - just heat the tubing in hot water. You may need to use a small tool to help it along - my favorite is a small Allen wrench - but when it's on and clamped it won't come off. Except for your water blocks forget barbs and use 1/2" copper or PVC pipe - no extra restriction with those.

Good luck on your project and keep us posted ...

Yeah, I'm definately aiming for quite here. No budget is set in stone, but If I can keep the total cost as low as possible and have a system which is close to ambient and almost silent, I'd be happy. If I can save money here and there I can splurge it on better components later down the road is my thought.

Good suggestion not needing a reservoir. I'll definately have more capacity than I need.

Cheap would be 1/2" tubing (available everywhere) and PVC for all your pipe & fittings. I wouldn't scrimp on the pump - an MCP655 is $75 but I've never heard of one failing w/out major operator error. Filing the edge of the pipe a little will help get the tubing on and some guys even trim the interior of the tubing ends but that's a little much for me.

The Apogee is the cheapest block I have personal knowledge of - $40 maybe $35 if you shop around - but there are cheaper blocks out there, I don't know how well they perform ...

I agree, the pump is not something which can be compromised, and it will be the key to how well this system performs. It definately needs to be quality to flow through this radiator.

I think quiet ice and i differ in oppinions on the pumps we use. Both of us i think are happy with the choices we made. Each have similar stats: head shutoff points, power consumption, and flow rates. The do however have thier own ups and downs when using them for your loop... and those change a good bit depending on the situation.

For me and my external enclosure, the Mag drive 3 was more convenient offering submersible options, 120v 3 prong power conection, and then only one moving part that can fail. I liked it mostly because i was able to keep my options open when planning my loop.

QuietIce on the other hand uses the MCP655 which is a 12v pump, smaller in size, but (i think) needs to be driven off a power suply instead of straight wall power.

The MCP655 is $75 or so, and the Mag drive 3 is only $40.
But regardless of price, pump choice is what works for your setup and what you are comfortable with.

When I built mine, I wasn't so sure about a small pump like the DDC or 655 working so well with a rad that large because the flowrate through it would be quite small fed through 1/2" tubing. Flow-rate is king for heat transfer, which is all I can say about that method..I didn't go there.

I used a manifold system and a fountain pump w/1" outlets that gives the radiator all the flow it wants, and a 3 way parallel split in the computer to give the blocks all the flow they could want. See further and radiator in my sig.

Either way you go, now is the time to decide. It's not like the heatdump from a 50Watt 110Volt pump will overpower your radiator at all, a small four cylinder is how many watts?

A 135hp toyota truck's 4cyl engine translates into roughly 100,000 wats -- give or take 10k or so.
But not the whole engine went to driving its own water pump.
Now, how much power the trucks origional water pump used i dont know. Nor do i know what the heat dump was.

But yeah, dont worry about heat dump from a pump with a rad like that on a PC.

LOL I think he was talking about the heat dump of the engine.

Sleepy_Steve said:

I think quiet ice and i differ in oppinions on the pumps we use. Both of us i think are happy with the choices we made. Each have similar stats: head shutoff points, power consumption, and flow rates. The do however have thier own ups and downs when using them for your loop... and those change a good bit depending on the situation.

Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with your system at all and I didn't mean to imply otherwise. Your post confirms we're both happy with our choices ...

Well, my system foams for the moment... and i need to adress that. :banghead:
But i think thats more user error in filling than any fault of the pump.

Indeed, i totaly read that last line of Diggrr's post wrong lol.