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wanting to make a diy watercooling loop

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dark bishop

dark bishop

Member
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Joined
Jan 19, 2008
Location
Folding the PWN, Salem Oregon
starting my water loop.

I read the sticky on how to post so in order:

I want to water cool because I'm going for a quieter machine and the performance boost.

Budget is pretty small as I'm still in high school and don't have time for a job and my parents don't wanna give me any money but i can probably get around 120-150$

I have a shop full of tools at my disposal and a pc club, home depot, and scrap yard not far away.

The case is: http://www.pcclub.com/product_details.cfm?itemno=A1313319

Parts are listed in my sig, the only thing i want to cool for now is the cpu.

I was planning on making a custom copper block as it wont be much trouble and id like to give building one a try. this is the radiator i was looking at: http://www.xoxide.com/swiftech-mcr120-quiet-radiator.html
Im gonna head down to the aquatics pet shop to see what they had for pumps. the res would be a simple t line and im gonna check the pc shops around for tubing.
 
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'77 Bonneville Heatcore will work very well for a radiator. They are around $22 I think.

You get major kudos for actually going with "ghetto" watercooling (not using retail parts). I think ben333 will agree with me on this ;)
 
thanks for the ghetto coment, I <3 ghetto, most of the stuff i build is ghetto because i can never afford much, that means i have idea of what im doing. ill look into heater cores, i was going with that rad because i knew i could mount it in my case.

one of my worries with that radiator was if it would be enough to cool my cpu. i eventually plan on making some custom blocks for my gfx card and chipset.
 
i was thinking about making a block like this but with another set of holes drilled to get for water through.
pic9go9.jpg

pic8sj3.jpg
 
Or, you could do a plexi top and make divets in the copper, Ben333 will be able to find what I'm talking about.
 
A block like thideras said would be more effective. Don't get me wrong, corss drilled blocks are fine but there is a reason why the water cooling companies don't make them anymore ;) On the rad vs heater core debate, I prefer heater cores and they aren't much harder to mount. I'd be more than glad to help you in your diy adventure though :)

Check out this thread: http://forums.procooling.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=10708
Puzz drilled his own blocks with only a drill press and he shows how to mount a heater core in your case.

EDIT: Also, check this out to get some ideas: http://forums.procooling.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=9263
 
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finished looking through all those and it looks pretty good, the case he had is way bigger than mine and i would have trouble mounting one of those anywhere. the blocks were cool and a lot looked like they were simple enough to make with the tools i have, only worries i have is a multiple piece design, im just not comfortable with those for some reason. The jet impingements and diveted ones look good but with the design i had planned on using i think i could get just as good of results. i may do a two piece block but i dont have anywhere to get delrin or acrylic.
 
Lowes or Home Depot sell acrylic. There is also a good chance your local hard ware store will have it. A two piece block is a must in my mind. Unless its a memory or chip set block.
 
Well in a cross drilled block, water doesn't actually go over the die, I think thats some of it. Keep in mind, I am in no way an expert in making waterblocks. Also in a two piece block you can use pins or divets to create turbulence and throw off more heat as where in a single piece block the path the water flows through is smoother.
 
apogee_gt_1.jpg

that is what the surface of an apogee gt waterblock looks like

The surface is rough to create turbulance in the water and helps with heat pickup.
Now, If you have the patience try and take a drill press with a small bit to make a similar pattern if you can or something with small ridges...
 
Experimenting is good :) You know, you can also take an existing heatsink like one of the older pentium pin sinks, shave down the pins and stick in a a plastic electrical box for example. (like what outlets are in.)
 
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