New to the wonderful world of Water Cooling..

[Morbid]

I'm new to this whole water cooling thing (new to this forum too :D ).. I would like to water cool my AMD Athlon XP 1800+ AGKGA, see how far I can push it. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated. Question to all who read this : What route would YOU go personally?

My System Specs are as follows:
(processor you already know)
ABIT KG7-RAID (No case yet, still deciding on ideal case.. any suggestions?)
256MB of Crucial PC2100 DDR
3D Prophet III (GeForce 3)

I would like to get atleast a good 300MHz gain after unlocking... any suggestions/comments are well received!! Thanks in advance
:)

[AntiHeiss]

That is a complex question..and let me go ahead and say that it will probably require a complex answer...here we go *in my opinion* First, it depends a LOT on how much money you'd want to spend. On my watercooled unit I have as such...well, tell ya what, take a look around DangerDen.com (http://www.dangerden.com). Personally, I don't think it gets much better than what they offer. But you have plenty of options. Good luck.

[wild_andy_c]

For a 300MHz gain over 1533MHz you may be needing to use a peltier (of high wattage) as well as your waterblock.

[The Overclocker]

a maze 2-2 is the best waterblock for you, you can use it on its own thn add a peltier (or two) later on, it uses a special hold down for the peltier offering great performance.

for the radiator their are two options, get a black ice which is designed for pc's or get a heater core from a car, the heater core will be better and cheaper but not as easy to fit and you will need to clean it and probably adapt the fittings

for the pump get a Ehiem. look in the region of 200GPH

[wild_andy_c]

Milton Keynes - whereabouts - I'm in Furzton at the moment right next to the lake !

[The Overclocker]

Originally posted by wild_andy_c
Milton Keynes - whereabouts - I'm in Furzton at the moment right next to the lake !

bradwell village - near heelands

[ButcherUK]

wow nick_cw is from MK too and I used to live there, I swear that place warps peoples minds into overclocking ;)

[GoldenTiger]

Go for:

Maze 2
Heater Core
Eheim 1250
(if using a GFX card AND CPU on your watercooling setup use a Y-splitter to split/combine at the radiator so they don't heat eachother up)

All from dangerden.

Peltiers are too hard to cope with, balancing loads on the CPU, insulating, controlling condensation, etc. only for a little gain compared to a normal watercooling setup. It's costly on the electric bill ($70 a month in many cases), and generally a pain in the @$$, especially from never having done any watercooling in the first place.

The supercube at dangerden constricts waterflow badly on the corners, reducing the efficiency of the setup and straining the pump.

An Eheim 1048 is only slightly cheaper than a 1250, and doesn't offer the perfect target flow (250-300gph; 1250 is right at perfect). Keep in mind that the rated GPH is only within a few horizontal inches of the pump... as it rises to go up to your CPU it slows significantly. That's why you want a 1250 instead of a 1048, since it will hit the 1048's GPH at the CPU, whereas a 1048 would be very low.

For tubing, go to mcmaster.com and snag some (search for SKU: 5157K45). It's braided reinforced silicone tubing, and unlike normal PVC won't kink on bends. It's VERY strong, and will curve easily without kinking or leaking. It's not very expensive either... the sites like dangerden and dtek charge a ton for their tubing. Get it from the actual source (mcmaster.com is one of the major supplier companies that homedepot and the like use).

[Morbid]

Thanks alot to everyone who posted, I got a good general idea of what to go with. Thanks alot for your input, I appreciate it! :)

[GoldenTiger]

No problem :). Good luck, and let us know how it goes!

[Morbid]

Anyone got a good case in mind that I should use? Perhaps a Antec model?

[DodgeViper]

Antec SX1040. Comes with a 400w PS. It's big and roomy. 4-80mm fans. Take a look,

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=manufactory&catalog=7&manufactory=1516&DEPA=1

[Morbid]

Thanks, I was thinking about that same case. I think they have one up at CompUSA for like $99... i'll have to go see if it's infact a SX1040B. It looked pretty spacious from what I seen of it.

[Morbid]

I think I found it on thier website, SX1035B ATX Tower Case, Black, with 350W PS -- $129, I can get it cheaper though due to discounts :)

[Billvill]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

I would look to www.dangerden.com for the water cooling setup. As for the case I like the INwin Q500 full tower. http://www.neoseeker.com/Hardware/Products/InWin_iwq500

Billy

[Morbid]

Originally posted by Billvill
Hello and welcome to the forums,

I would look to www.dangerden.com for the water cooling setup. As for the case I like the INwin Q500 full tower. http://www.neoseeker.com/Hardware/Products/InWin_iwq500

Billy



Thanks! I'll check that out.. i'll post sometime soon with what I think I want to go with, hopefully someone can tell me yay or nay :)

[Morbid]

Ok, I think I have it all planned out now... tell me what you think!

Antec SX1035B w/400W PSU (perhaps bigger PSU?)
Window Kit - 1 Blue and 1 Black Light cathodes
Eheim 1250 with 1/2"
The Heater Core with 1/2"
Maze2 with 1/2"
?5 feet? of Braid-Reinforced Silicone Tubing 1/2" ID, .800" OD, .15" Wall

Thats all I have partially figured out soo far, is it good? Anyone know if WaterWetter is good? Anyone have any ideas for a good resevoir? Thanks alot for all the input in advance, you guys are helping me out TONS! :) :)

[wild_andy_c]

Originally posted by the overclocker


bradwell village - near heeland

Cool - I'll have to meet with you and nick_cw one of the days - feed you alcohol and that kind of thing.

[Billvill]

I would stay away from Water Wetter. Some swear by it but I have not had good luck with it. I personally think it causes more harm than good. Water Wetter and plastic don't play well together over time.

As for a reservior I suggest a 6x6 plastic outdoor electrical box from home depot . The more water you have to circulate the more heat it will disapate. This is true in that I can almost run my water cooling system with the rad fan turned off. ( remember one of the benifits of a water cooled pc is that it is quiet ) You can use a 4x4 if you don't have room for the 6x6.


Billy

[Billvill]

Had to find this pic or I would have posted it with my original reply.

Billy

[Morbid]

So I could pick this 6x6 resevoir up at my local Home Depot? I think i'll have enough room for it... if not, i'll try to find the biggest one I can get without cutting up my case too much :)

Would Anti-Freeze be a better solution than WaterWetter?

[Morbid]

Bump ;) :D

[Newbie_Doo]

It is true that WaterWetter and plastic don't play nice sometimes. The trick is to only use enough Water Wetter to reduce surface tension and inhibit growth and corrosion.

Too much in the mix will make plastic tubing gummy. My first micture was about 1/4 WW and 3/4 Distilled. Bad mix, adding more WW doesn't help.

Now I am running 3 capfulls WW to 1/2 Gal distilled, and no problems with the vinyl hoses.

N_D