over 3 years on budget setup w.via aqua pump.. time to upgrade

So my specs are in my sig, had this setup for over 3 years now it was my first run.. had my share of minor leaks here and thier, then learned over time how to avoid those situations.. Ive been using the cheap home depot tubing *they can krimp on you*, ive found a way to not have them krimp, its all in the way you face them since they kind of naturally curve. Ive used a metal wire and spiral wrapped it around the tubing to support the sides of it and it works great.

Via Aqua hobby pump and Chevette heater core have held up great and still going, i leave the pump on 24/7. Dangergen TDX water block. First thing i did to that water pump was glue the prop shaft in it per the given advice on these pumps on the internet..

This setup lasted me through an old abit bh7-II *i think thats waht it was* P4 2.53 @ 3.1 , then carried over to my gigabyte s3 w/p805 @ 4 gig.. then my now current e6400 @ 3.6gig.

Im thinking about lapping my e6400, its kind of fun when you do it. as ive done my other cpus..

So im debating if I upgrade my parts, I take it could reduce my temps a little more? Upgraded my tubing would probably be a nice thing,, since it is kind of tricky to work with this home depot stuff..

Any suggestions on budget water pumps I could upgrade to? thanks , maybe upgrade the heater core too?

I use a chevette heatercore, and it does the job for me- a bonneville heatercore might be a worthwile upgrade. I would check around the classifieds.

As for a pump, I use a pond pump as well- a Mag3, which can be had reasonalbly cheap and really move a lot of water (great head rating as well). The biggest downfall is that it is rather large.

Go budget watercooling! It seems to be a lost art these days.

I have used an eheim 1048 and Mag3 and loved the Mag3. Really good pump as long as you seal it to avoid the leak issue.

I would just buy a bonnieville(2-302) locally. Mine ran me about $15.

I use a heater core I found in my dad's garage, Braided clear hose thats near impossible to kink, a $37 pump I got at Petsmart and the apogee water block... Fans on the core are 120mm, 80mm and a 40mm (?) but I plan to use two 120s.... anyway, I run pretty cool temps

Ill take a pic of my computer when i get home,

I got a 8800gt now, if i decide to watercool that, will that add more degrees into teh waterloop? i.e. will things start to run hotter? or would physics come into play and the system would remain the same temp?

heres my setup...
maybe some of you guys could give some tips/advice on improvement.. im thinking of alternative areas to remount my heater core, maybe external out the back, or at teh very top since i got a few free drive bays i dont mind giving up...

I should be able to cut the fittings off the heatercore and solder in some barbs correct? Ive been rocking like this for 3 years!!

I had the case since 2001, good old and trusty, i still like they way it looks.. im thikning about tearing it apart and spraying the whole thing black... maybe use some expoxy appliance paint for the insides and out..

my system right now lol


so i fit barbs on the heatercore, gotta solder it.
Gonna relocated the heatercore, either external, or just at the very top..
Painting the case too.. so this will be my first modified case.. hehehhe

Probably gonna order a mag3

hypertek said:

Click to expand...

just noticed how you attached the fans on....so simple...im gunna have to use tht when i get my heatercore goin in a wcing setup.
iv been tryin to think of how to attach the fans for a while now....thank a lot

Nah sam, You're gonna need a shroud and pretty powerful fans

I'd get a Bonneville heatercore, 2 More powerful 38MM fans(100+ CFM) and make/buy a shroud.

JamesXP said:

Nah sam, You're gonna need a shroud and pretty powerful fans

I'd get a Bonneville heatercore, 2 More powerful 38MM fans(100+ CFM) and make/buy a shroud.

Click to expand...

damn....i was afraid id have to get a shroud......how dyu recon it would do passive?? its ~240x120

ok i went out and got a bonneville core.. my idea to mount it on top is like this

Im goint to build a shroud around the rad to make it look clean
and spray teh whole case black

thats all for today, im going to seal the ends of the shroud with more aluminum sheet metal and use black electrical tape to mount and clean up the look.. the whole case will be black, going to spray the inside of the case with a light layer plasticoat black...

For now i gotta survive with my computer guts on a piece of wood on the floor while my case is down and waiting for the pump, i gotta order some decent tubing for hte loop...

these are the rad fans that i have right now,
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...e+fan&lp=6&type=product&cp=1&id=1099392683289
73.7 cfm airflow volume
38.5 dBA average acoustic noise level

They are a little noisey for my tastes but I like the cfm rating.. what is a good cheap quiet 120mm fan to get?? or does quiet and high cfm not go together? i guess i could just use a fan controller if thats the case and turn em down a littlebit.

realized i never psoted finished pics..




Im not worried about any internal leaks since this new tubing, and the pump is external... and leaves the inside of my case very roomy. =p

That's some pretty nice work. I managed to stick my own bonneville heatercore into my same cheiftec copy case. Gave up 2 drive bays up front, but since I don't have a bazillion 5.25" drives, I could care less

Can anyone provide dimensions of the Bonneville core, and specs/links on the Mag3?

hypertek said:

realized i never psoted finished pics..

Im not worried about any internal leaks since this new tubing, and the pump is external... and leaves the inside of my case very roomy. =p

Click to expand...

I've got a couple of rigs set up that way - very nice job and it looks great in black!

Suprchargd said:

Can anyone provide dimensions of the Bonneville core,

Click to expand...

2-302 ('77 Bonneville w/AC) is 10-7/8" x 5-3/4" x 2" deep for the fin area. I'm not sure how much extra (exactly) you need to add in for the tanks. Off hand I'd give it a wag of 1" extra top & bottom but it may be more like 1-1/2" each, so please don't quote me on that part - I was more concerned about the fin area (for designing a shroud).

Also, IMO, you really shouldn't add those restrictive barbs to it. Just cut the existing nipples back to the 1/2" pipe area and push the tubing on. Unless you're using 3/8" tubing you should have no problem, though a hot water dip may be required for 7/16" tubing ...

havent posted in a while..

Im on my 2nd danner mag 3.. i like them.. my first one died i think it had some dead spots in the motor or something.. but i had this new one, and this still makes a noise like my first one.. has like a Rice Krispies "Snap Crackle pop" type of sound.. I have no idea what it is.. the first one made this sound, the 2nd one makes this sound.. any idea? could it be that I have one brass male to male 1/2 adapter on it? i know everyone says go with nylon fittings but my local hardware stores only have brass for this one *the other fitting adapter i have on it is nylon*.

Any idea why i get this sound? It forces me to shut teh pump off at night due to sound, which i know is bad for the pump to turn it off and on etc..

My old via aqua 1300 did not have this osund problem.

Looks to me like you _really_ need to seal up the back area. I won't be suprized if your temps drop a few C once you do that.