Ok guys, need a bit of help here with the WC setup

[dethzero]

All my core equipment just came in:

Intel q6600 g0 from TankGuys
ASUS p5k premium mobo
2gb crucial ballistix pc8500 ram

Here is the equipment so far that I'll be using for watercooling setup:

DTek Fuzion cpu block
Thermochill pa120.3 radiator
Liang d5 water pump

Only other thing left is what reservoir to use? Type of luquid to use? and most importantly, how to make all those connections with tubings? Is there like a specific instruction booklet or drawing on how to properly connect everything with tubings? Thats one thing I can't seem to find anywhere on the forums. My case is a mid tower so everything will have to be on the outside of the case.

Oh and one more thing, I'll be lapping the cpu and the waterblock. I'll get a GPU block sometime next year when I get a new video card. Right now, my ati x1800 512mb card seems to play everything I throw at it.

Should I also get waterblocks for the nb and sb? I will have a 120mm fan on the side blowing onto the motherboard

[acompdude]

You dont have to a res. You could just use a T line instead. That is what I am using and it works great. For liquid there are many options. Some people use distilled water and antifreeze. I cant remember the ratio but its like 90% water and 10% antifreeze or something like that. There are other options such as Water Wetter(Thats what I am using) and hydrx(sp). Just got to almost any website that sells water cooling stuff and they will have a selection of additives. Just make sure you use distilled water and NOT tap water. Tubing wise make sure you use worm drive hose clamps on all connestions since they provide the best protection. A proper loop should go something like this: Radiator--->CPU Block--->T Line--->Pump--->Radiator. If you use a T line just make sure it is before the pump. Waterblocks for the north and south bridges are not necessary unless you plan on doing some major overclocking plus it will add heat to the loop and increase you water temp but with a triple 120 rad you would be ok I think. That is really up to you.

[BobcatDan]

Everything he said. Also, I used 7/16" ID tubing instead of 1/2". The added restriction is negligible in shorter loops (basically loops contained in case or just outside of the case), and I have heard that it actually decreases the restriction at fittings since the ID of the two are closer. It also makes routing easier, as 7/16" can make slightly tighter bends. Some say you don't need clamps with it, but it is a good precaution. With worm drive clamps be careful not to over tighten them, as it will reduce the life space of the tubing there. All you are trying to do is apply a little extra pressure to keep the tubing on.
Dan

[QuietIce]

Contrary to popular belief anti-freeze/water-wetter doesn't add much performance or protection to your loop - all your parts are copper so you won't have any corrosion issues as copper oxide conducts heat as well as clean copper or brass. A very small amount of anti-freeze, maybe 1-2%, might help a little to "grease the pump" but every bit you add not only increases restriction in the loop, because it's "thicker" (more viscous) than water, but also lessens the ability of the liquid to conduct heat. Anti-freeze/water-wetter are not only poor heat conductors they give you no protection again bacteria or alga.

The best loop coolant "formula" I've seen (using one quart of water) is:
~98% distilled water
~2% anti-freeze
algaecide as instructed (same as used in aquariums - follow directions for the amount to use as they vary between products)
5-10 drops of proviodine (it contains no alcohol)*
... *This is sometimes disputed since even "regular" iodine (NOT Beta-dine) has so little alcohol it probably won't hurt anything.


Since this is your first loop(?) I would recommend a good 1/2" tubing like MasterKleer. 7/16" tubing is better but is very difficult to remove from 1/2" barbs, so once the tubing is on there it often has to be cut for removal. But MasterKleer isn't very expensive, just be sure to order a few extra feet if you go with 7/16". ;)


Screw clamps are very popular and advisable. The best are non-perforated screw clamps, which don't dig into the tubing like regular screw clamps. They can be found at McMaster-Carr, along with a wide variety of tubing including the MasterKleer (cheap but good) and Tygon (expensive and very good): http://www.mcmaster.com/


Good luck with your loop and keep us posted on your progress ...!!! :)

[EmAn]

you don't need iodine or anything if you go with the tygon silver anti-microbial tubing as it has bits of silver in it and it doesn't let any light shine into the loop but it is also more expensive

[treatmentx]

QuietIce has given you very sound advice, the only thing I wanted to add to that was the 7/16". It IS very difficult, esp for first time WCers to put it on, at least it was for me, let alone taking it off.

Putting it on, I have found a stove of hot water with couple dabs of dish-soap quietly brewing (near boiling) to be very helpful. I would take a small bowl and bring hot water to my bench, dab my tube and then slip it on. Made the process VERY easy.

As removing it, I have an Exacto knife at my bench at all times and has remedied that issue quite easily and quickly. Slice once, go over it again, then peal it off. 1 cut is all you need.

[acompdude]

Forgot to mention tube size but as others have said 7/16 is good if you want the added security but it is difficult to put on the barbs. I am actually using 7/16 masterkleer and no clamps but I wouldnt reccomend that. I dont know much about the additives so if I were you then just take QuietIce's advice there.

[dethzero]

Radiator--->CPU Block--->T Line--->Pump--->Radiator

Cool, finally got a good idea on things. Now, what is a good quality T line to use? And what exactly do I do with it? Do I just use it to fill the system with water and then block it off?

I am actually planning on using distilled water and add some stuff it it from those suggestions above =]

Now with the tubing, if I use the Tygon Silver Antimicrobial Tubing, how do I check for air bubbles since I wont be able to see anything? Also a way to check waterflow would be a good idea too is it not? I also noticed some tubings that have coils, does that help with lowering temperature as water travels through those tubings?

Still undecided if I should use the 1/2" or the 7/16" tubing. I'll probably just flip a coin when time comes or order both types and see which will work better =]

[batboy]

The coils on the tubing is mainly to prevent kinking/collapsing, but also for looks. They are not required.

I personally prefer the following: res (or T-line) > pump > CPU block > rad

But, you can use almost any order as long as you use the shortest tubing possible without making sharp bends. The T-line is generally best put just before the pump, because air in the pump is bad. If you use a T-line you add the coolant there and leave just a little space and plug it. You might need to add more coolant as you bleed air out of the system, so watch the T-line and don't let the fluid level get too low.

[dethzero]

The coils on the tubing is mainly to prevent kinking/collapsing, but also for looks. They are not required.

I personally prefer the following: res (or T-line) > pump > CPU block > rad

But, you can use almost any order as long as you use the shortest tubing possible without making sharp bends. The T-line is generally best put just before the pump, because air in the pump is bad. If you use a T-line you add the coolant there and leave just a little space and plug it. You might need to add more coolant as you bleed air out of the system, so watch the T-line and don't let the fluid level get too low.

Gotcha, that answered pretty much most of my questions =]

Thanx for all the help guys. Now to start putting a more complete list together and see how it goes. This stuff is exciting :clap:

Right now I'm just listing things and information collecting. Hopefully by the time October hits right before my bday, I'll have everything up and running. Right now my funding is messed up till I buy that ring thingiemajiggie for a proposal :eek:

[BobcatDan]

Contrary to popular belief anti-freeze/water-wetter doesn't add much performance or protection to your loop - all your parts are copper so you won't have any corrosion issues as copper oxide conducts heat as well as clean copper or brass. A very small amount of anti-freeze, maybe 1-2%, might help a little to "grease the pump" but every bit you add not only increases restriction in the loop, because it's "thicker" (more viscous) than water, but also lessens the ability of the liquid to conduct heat. Anti-freeze/water-wetter are not only poor heat conductors they give you no protection again bacteria or alga.

Do you have anything to back this up, a link or test numbers? You want most of your fluid to be distilled water, but the addition of a surfactant (a liquid that reduces the surface tension of another liquid, like water wetter) should aid in heat transfer between the water and the block/radiator.

As for the 7/16" tubing, I think it's really better all the way around. I mean if your going to go as far as to make a custom water cooling setup, a little extra work and extra $5 in tubing is basically nothing. Of course, the difference is probably not noticeable, and it can be a pain in the ass...
Dan

[QuietIce]

Cool, finally got a good idea on things. Now, what is a good quality T line to use? And what exactly do I do with it? Do I just use it to fill the system with water and then block it off? I use a 1/2x1/2x3/4" copper T with 3/4" tubing for the T. Not only does it store more than twice as much water over a 1/2" line (almost 3x as much as 7/16") it also catches more bubbles, helping the system bleed faster, and adds almost no restriction to your loop like a 1/2" barbed T does. One the other hand, it does take up a little more room than a 1/2" barbed T and is a little more trouble since you have to "build" one.


I use a simple rubber stopper on top of two of mine. The third one is attached to a Delrin fillport. Don't want the grandkids getting into it, I might wind up with chocolate milk or OJ in the loop ... :eek:

[acompdude]

Pretty much any plastic or copper T with the proper size barb for your application will work. As QuietIce stated you can use a larger one to increase your bubble catching ability, but you will have to use another size tubing. I just use a 1/2 OD copper T and forced my 7/16 tubing over it. (with the help of some hot water and a couple dabs of dishsoap) And to answer the other part of your question, yes you basically use it to fill your system then cap it off to prevent foreign objects/substances to enter the loop. It can also help in later in the draining of the system.

[billb]

Something like this..........
http://forums.procooling.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=12787&page=2

[dethzero]

Cool guys, thanx for all the help so far! =]

Now I get the system together and tested to make sure CPU, mobo, and ram work fine, now is the time to start ordering the watercooling stuff. =]

Hehe, once I get it done, I'm gonna post some pictures for you guys to see how bad of a job I did =D

BTW, one thing thats annoying me really badly right now, with the p5k premium, in the BIOS it wont let me change the FSB frequency for overclocking. Not sure what the hell is up with that. I had to change the ram timings because the AUTO settings caused ASUS to yell at me about bad overclock or something.

edit: Never mind, you have to manually type in the FSB hehe.


BTW, anyone got a recommendation on a device that could monitor water temperature and also have it set so that it gives off an alarm when it reaches too high of a temperature?

[QuietIce]

Any temp sensor that alarms can be used to monitor water temps. If you're running 1/2" tubing just get a 2-3" piece of 1/2" copper and insert it where you want to monitor temps. Attached the temp sensor with some thermal tape on top and maybe a little Ceramique under it then cover the whole thing with foam to isolate the copper from the room. If you use a copper T-line you can put the sensor there ...

[dethzero]

I'll have to look into that. I've seen pictures of people systems that contain some kind of a dashboard bay readout on their case measuring the temperature of water. It seems very usefull and it looked pretty cool too =]

[dethzero]

Another question, does the entire WC setup have to use the power form PSU or can it be plugged in via external sources?

The main reason I'm asking is because I want to turn the pump on and let water circulate around and have the air bubbles bleed out before turning on the system.

Also would be interesting to know if my power supply can handle this or if I need to get a new one?

[AZNBoiOnFIYA]

It might be pushing the limits for that psu, but it should work fine. As far as bleeding by turning on and off the psu you can just jump it with a paperclip and switch it on and off using the switch from the back.

[QuietIce]

... just be sure to unplug everything else before you turn the pump on ... :)


BTW - You jump pins 3&4 (black & green?) on the mother-board plug.