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Ordering first WC setup, Comment on components

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DrKevorkian

New Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
So i've decided to take the plunge and get a Water-cooling setup to cool both my 2 8800 GTX's and Q6600. Here are the components i'm looking at now.

D-Tek Fuzion CPU Waterblock
2x - Swiftech MCW60-R VGA Waterblock
2x - Swiftech MC14 BGA Heatsinks
2x - Black Ice Xtreme 2 Radiator
Thermaltake Aquabay Reservoir
3/8" Clearflex hosing
D-tek 3/8" hosing barbs
4x - Scythe SFF21F 120mm Fans

I was planning on my flow looking something like
pump -> Y Joint -> VGA's 1 and 2 -> Y Joint -> Radiator 1 -> CPU -> Radiator 2 -> Reservoir -> pump

I was planning on mounting all of this in a cooler master stacker 832.

Any comments, suggestions or improvements?
 
MC14 ramsinks are TERRIBLE. They don't stick to jack. Enzotech BMR-C1 sinks are much better and cheaper.

Black Ice Xtremes are alright rads. Swiftech MCR220's are a better choice though since they are cheap and work great. I recommend a tripple 120 rad, the MCR320, though for those 8800's. And probably another triple 120, MCR320, for that quad. Those are hard to keep cool, even under water.

What pumps are you using? You will most certainly need two pumps for a loop like that.

I'd go with 7/16" ID 5/8"OD Masterkleer tubing.

Swiftech Microres is a much better res.


Why are you using a Y- joint? Why not just use two seperate loops.
Pump > GPU1 > GPU2 > rad > pump?
Pump > CPU > Rad > Res > pump.

Or do some kind of y-split for the res so the two loops can share the res.
 
Oops, forgot to mention the pump i guess. I was planning on Swiftech MCP355. I'll need two then? That would enable two separate loops then.

Regarding the y-joint, i was thinking that i'd want the water temp to be the same when it reaches each GPU in order to clock each to the same level.

Can you recommend an online retailer where i can get all of this? Or will I have to buy from separate stores?
 
MC14 ramsinks are TERRIBLE. They don't stick to jack. Enzotech BMR-C1 sinks are much better and cheaper.

Black Ice Xtremes are alright rads. Swiftech MCR220's are a better choice though since they are cheap and work great. I recommend a tripple 120 rad, the MCR320, though for those 8800's. And probably another triple 120, MCR320, for that quad. Those are hard to keep cool, even under water.

What pumps are you using? You will most certainly need two pumps for a loop like that.

I'd go with 7/16" ID 5/8"OD Masterkleer tubing.

Swiftech Microres is a much better res.

Why are you using a Y- joint? Why not just use two seperate loops.
Pump > GPU1 > GPU2 > rad > pump?
Pump > CPU > Rad > Res > pump.

Or do some kind of y-split for the res so the two loops can share the res.

I can't help but chime in here.
First, since when do you need TWO MCR320 rads to cool a quad and 2 gpus? And since when are you going to need TWO pumps? A single MCR320 will cool that setup all day long very well, and a single MCP355/DDC3.2 will do the job all day long. You are only talking about having a Fuzion block, which is about the least restrictive block on the market, and two VGA blocks and a rad. A single MCP350/DDC3.1 will do the job for that matter.

The MCP350/DDC3.1 is the uber-quiet pump to get if noise is a concern to you. It has a bit less head pressure and flow than the 355, but it won't make a difference with the parts you are looking at. If you use 3/8" tubing then this will work well as the MCP350/DDC3.1 and 355 both use 3/8" ends. If you want to get more performance and use 7/16" tubing with the MCP350/DDC3.1, get a Petrastechshop top. It increases the flow of the pump a lot. An MCP350 with Petras top is my weapon of choice for both quiet and performance. Others prefer the MCP655 as it has more flow, but it is also louder and larger.

The Swiftech MCR rads perform better than the Black Ice rads for the same cost. Get an MCR320.

As for the res, do not get the Thermaltake aquabay. It has aluminum in it which is best avoided. Stay away from ANYTHING Thermaltake when it comes to watercooling. Their products are made for bling but suck when it comes to quality. Go with a Swiftech Microres. It is made well, is small, and can mount almost anywhere.

The tubing is really a matter of preference. 3/8"ID 9/16"OD tubing with 3/8" barbs is going to be very easy to work with but does require good tight clamps to hold well. The 7/16"ID 5/8"OD with 1/2" barbs is about the most efficient in terms of tubing sizes, but it takes soaking the ends in hot water to get the tubing onto the barbs. However, once it is on, it isn't coming off. I personally still use hose clamps regardless.

As for the Y, this is a common misconception. In by far most cases, running everything in series is the preferred way to go and yields the best results. There is only about .5c temp difference or less in the water across an average loop, so loop order isn't very critical when it comes to temps. The ideal order is res-pump-rad-cpu-gpu-gpu-res, but it is the best choice just to use the easiest tubing routing that will naturally run the fluid so that air will bleed easily into the res.

Having two loops for this setup is total overkill. One loop with a MCR320 is what you need.

I would probably get at least the pump and rad from crazypc.com as they have very good prices. Petrastechshop is also a favorite. If you go with 3/8" tubing, you can just get the Masterkleer. If you use 7/16", I would probably go with Tygon R3603 as it stretches a lot easier than Masterkleer does.
 
Wow, thanks for all the input voigts.
Question though: How much of an impact on OC potential does moving from 2 to 1 loops have? In other words am I going to lose any performance by doing this? Will it be noticable?
 
Wow, thanks for all the input voigts.
Question though: How much of an impact on OC potential does moving from 2 to 1 loops have? In other words am I going to lose any performance by doing this? Will it be noticable?
Unless you were aiming for 4Ghz on that Quad and wanted to volt mod those 8800s... not much ;)
 
I agree that MC14 heatsinks are quite weak to stick...i took everything off to bare copper and used AS5 and seems to stay on ok...tho sometimes can slip off slowly when sideways :p...but sticks upsidedown very nicely..(it can slip sorda easy but suction i guess keeps it from coming off down :p)

Oh and since its a 8800 series...dont you need the MCW8800?..or do you have heatsinks for voltage reg.?..if you need them...i got them since i thought i needed to cool it lol
 
What if at some point i did want to volt mod those 8800's... how much extra heat would that give off?
Incidentally at what voltage does the 8800 OVP kick in? I've heard different things from different people.
 
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