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First time water cooling, need suggestions

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MacrosBlack

Registered
Joined
Jan 16, 2008
Ok, so this is my first shot at water cooling, and I'd like to keep damages minimal. I'm looking at overclocking my system beyond what I can now, and I think I'm going to need water cooling to do that. Here's what the system will have:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (not yet purchased)
GPU: 2x EVGA GeForce 8800GT Superclocked SLi
MB: Abit AW9D-Max
Case: Antec Performance One P180 (might be P182 but they both seem the same)

would prefer not to do any case moding, but I can get a new case.
As far as budget goes... I'm hoping to spend less than 400-500 dollars.

What I'm looking for is some suggestions on either a water cooling system or the separate components. I've looked around the web and have seen several highly rated WCing Systems, however, they all complain about pumps. I finally decided to ask the ocforum.
 
http://www.swiftnets.com/products/H20-220-APEX.asp

This is a nice kit that has Rad, pump, cpu block, res and tubing. The apogee is one of the best CPU blocks out there. I have one on my E6400 (2.13gz) running at 3.4ghz.

For your graphics cards I would recommend EK blocks. I have one on my 8800GTX and core temp is about 3C above water temp. That like probably isn't the best price, but you get the idea.
 
First off :welcome: to the forums!

If yo uplan to cool a quad and two GPUs in SLI for under ~500, here's my suggestions.

Radiator: Swiftech MCR320
CPU block: DTEK Fuzion
GPU blocks: Swiftech MCW60 x2 + RAM sinks (3x swiftech MC14 VGA 8 pack)
Pump: MCP655 (D5)
Resevior: Swiftech Micro Res
Fans: 3 x Yate Loon (Low or Medium speed)
Tubing: 1/2" ID 3/4" OD clear flex 60 ~10 feet
Assorted hose clamps

That's a top of the line setup right there, garaunteed to perform at the upper extremes of water cooling.


That setup is roughly $370 shipped from Jab-Tech.

That leaves you roughly $130 for a case. Thats a big radiator, case suggestions would be a TT armor, CM stacker, or TJ06 if yo udon't want to do any "case cutting".
 
Well, I just got my the the TT armor, so that takes care of the case. I'll take a look at the items you suggested.

what barbs should i get and how many?
 
what barbs should i get and how many?
i'm wondering the same. I took a look at that site jas mentioned and found the "Swiftech high flow Barbs 1/2" - BSPP-250-500-CP"... are these better than what comes with the other items?

also, the other very popular radiator is the Thermochill PA120.3 ... it costs more, but people seem to say it's the top of the line in terms of rads
 
The Thermochill PA rads perform better with low speed fans. They are easily 2 to 3 times more costly than competitors radiators, and for most users, the small temp gains are not worth the price.

As far as barbs go, stick with the 1/2" Id barbs that come with the components. Select "High flow" barbs if they are an option.

Oh, and you will love the TT Armor. Great case for watercooling.
 
Thats good to hear about the case, I just ordered it before lunch... lol. I wont be getting the water cooling for another 2-4 weeks as I've still got to get the processor and the video cards.
 
The case is pretty sweet. One of the few cases you can mount a 120.3 sized rad in without modding, although you will be limited to only using 2 or 3 of your front drive bays for anything. If you don't mind doing some cutting, you could mount the radiator along the bottom of the case, , you would lose a some of your PCI slots though, so if you are one of those peopel with a bunch of add on cards, then verticle mounting is probably the way to go.
 
Well, I only need a dvd drive, so front mounting shouldnt be too much trouble. Where would I put the res though?
 
The res is pretty darn small, so you could mount it pretty much anywhere. I would basically get everything installed, and then start playin garoudn with the placement of things. My first two thoughts would be to mount the res along the back next to the motherboard, yo uwill have a good 4 inchs of space between the edge of the mother board and the end of the fron drive cage. Or you could mount it along the rear. Liek I said, it's not very big, you'll find a good place for it.
 
Alright, I'll keep checking back in the weeks to come to see if there are any better suggestions for my setup.
 
The Fuzion is arguably the bets block for quads. As for the MCW60s, those are great GPU blocks, that can be used on other cards later down the road, unlike full coverage blocks. Alternately, Danger den makes a great GPU block too. You could also go with a Hardware Labs Black Ice GT Radiator.

You do have some option. What I laid out for yo uis basically a very tight well performing setup that shoudl be pretty easy to setup, and maintain as your first loop.
 
Ok, a friend of mine suggested I might want to take a look at TEC cooling... I've not really found any sites that explain what that is, could anyone elaborate?
 
The short explanation is, a TEC is a small plate that whenb a current is passed through it, it cools one side and heats the other side.

TECs pose their own unique problems. The voltage through them either needs to be regulated based on your chips output, or the socket will need to be insulated to ward off condensation. The "hot" side of a TEC can get VERY hot, and as such require pretty robust cooling.

IMO, if you want ot get into high end overclocking, A good water setup is the easiest, most reliable, most effecient way to go.
 
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