Total NEWB at Water Cooling

[gas-man]

Hello all,

I am researching water cooling as an option to cool my system and came in search for help.

I don't know much at all about water cooling, just that my Dad doesn't want me to have it, but I think I could talk him into it. He said he just doesn't want water and stuff coming in my room blah blah

I don't really even know the basics....like, is there a tank you have to fill up or something?

I hope you guys can walk me through it, I'm sick of my 50+ tempereatures on my Athlon.

Thanks guys

[ken257]

Water cooling is such a great way to get rid of the heat but if it is gonna cause you problems with the old man :D why not try a better air cooling solution. Many people have been haveing great luck with the Alpha 8045 and the price isn't that bad either (I just ordered 1 myself tonight) There are many other great coolers out there. Check out the front page there is a link to a cooler shootout there.

[gas-man]

I'm just sick of the whole fan thing, my system is very loud and it bugs the hell outta me! It also heats up my room! I'm gonna have to talk pops into it....

[Hoot]

Water cooling, when implemented correctly will provide you with an excellent CPU cooling system. It is a long term solution also. ask your Dad if he worries about coming out to the car every morning and finding a puddle of coolant under the car? Water cooling uses the exact same method as his car and is equally reliable. Go to a Web site like danger Den and actually read all the information there. After that, go to the Swiftech site and read their material. That's all I did, besides reading the posts here and the articles on the front page. People here generally are self secure enough to post both their failures as well as their successes. You can learn from both. Make it a "Dad and Lad" project. Between the two of you, you can explore the possibility of building your own from scratch, or as I did, buy new from a respected source. Either way, the journey there can be as rewarding as the results. It would certainly make an interesting Science project for school. You see, the arguments/persuasions are abundant. So are the rewards.

Hoot

[UserName]

hoot's a little modest too.

Hers a pic of his setup. Show this to your dad after you understand it and see if he dont think it's cool

[gas-man]

Hoot, awesome reply man thanks a lot. I am going to talk to my Dad tomorrow about it.

I read the article at Tom's HW where they made their own and I think I understand it all now, just have to see what my Dad thinks.

He's really smart so he should be able to figure everything out :)

I'll keep ya posted!

[gas-man]

I twisted his arm hahaha

I am now free to research options. I figure I will get a pump from a pet store, but I will have to find a rad and water block. I'd like to cool the video card too, maybe even the mobo - this will require 3 water blocks, correct?

Is there a wide range of quality in water blocks? Anyone got any good shopping links?

Thanks guys

[The Overclocker]

Originally posted by gas-man
Hoot, awesome reply man thanks a lot. I am going to talk to my Dad tomorrow about it.

I read the article at Tom's HW where they made their own and I think I understand it all now, just have to see what my Dad thinks.

He's really smart so he should be able to figure everything out :)

I'll keep ya posted!

tom is an idiot i wouldn't use his web site if it was the only one avalable

as for options. get an Ehiem pump, they are the best in all aspects
danger den make well made and good blocks which will be easy to fit/ set up
and there are lots of options for radiators, to get a better idea see this http://www.overclockers.com/articles481/

[gas-man]

How is the quality of Danger Den products? Their prices don't seem too bad. What is the most important thing in a cooling system - the water block?

Will I be okay with a simple fish tank pump, what do I need to make sure of when buying a fish tank pump?

Radiators I may be able to build, but what would you reccomend. I hope to spend not too much over $100 for the system...

Thanks guys

[gas-man]

Oh ya, and what does a peltier do?

[Hoot]

Learn to crawl before you run. Forget the peltier for now, though they're fun to experiment with once you become comfortable with your water cooling system. You want to hit a "home run" your first at bat? If so, go to Danger Den and order everything you need. "One stop shopping", one credit card transaction on good old Dad :D

That's what I did. I have the wherewithall to design, machine and roll my own, but life is short and some times I get in the mood to let someone else do the dirty work.

PM me if you want to discuss it further.

Your Dad's the lucky one. I wish I had a son to do things like this with. My daughter, at age 8, has absolutely no interest in this stuff.

Hoot

[f155mph]

As for radiator, I would use an heater core. Much cheaper then the one you get online. Go to autozone or a junk yard to get it. I got a new one at autozone for $19. You just have to figure out what size you need. Givin for odd sizes the core is going to cost more. So if you can't find one new, go to the junk yard and rip one off of an old foreign car. They seem to have smaller core. I got two 12x6x2 but I have a server case. You can also try ebay. I got one 8x7x1.5 for $7 plus shipping. It is aluminum and it brand new OE heater core for a 94 GM truck. It look sweet too, kinda like a intercooler for turbos. I decide not to use it cause I don't want to mix copper and aluminum together. As for pump Eheim is the best you can get, but they cost around $50 or more, depending which one you get. I got the Maxi-jet 1200 from petsmart.com for $20. I think the Maxi is a great pump, you should look into it if you are on a budget. Don't rush into it, do your homework before you start buying anything. Draw pictures and make sure you have the room for everything(pump, radiator, res, hoses, and etc). Danger Den blocks are great, swiftech is good too, but they are expensive and they mix the metals which I don't like. Lastly peltier is a device that when you run power to it, one side get hot and the other get cold. I would like to use one myself but then you have to get an extra psu and worry about condensation bla bla bla. Hope this help. :)

[GoldenTiger]

The MaxiJets don't have EMI shielding which can cause problems with some computers and distort monitor images sometimes. Get a Danner Magdrive... it's those pumps with EMI shielding :). They're prone to leaks, though, so you need to get some plumber's goop for about $3 to seal it up and then it's as good as an Eheim at about half the cost. You can also mod it quickly by gluing the drive to the impeller shaft to quiet it down (doesn't matter if it's submerged since the water muffles the noise). Good luck with your endeavors!

[gas-man]

Thanks guys for the advice.
I think a pet-store pump is the route I'm going, and I had also thought about a heater core.

I wonder, is it cheaper at all to buy a kit? What about safer to buy a kit?

Sounds like the DangerDen water blocks will do me good, just have to put the system together. My main goals are:

1) Silence
2) Cooling
3) Overclocking

Obviously I want cooling first over everything else then silence. I'll have to wait and see if I have any head room to unlock my XP and go from there....

So anyone know any CHEAP kits? No $300 jobs....

[OTMOPO3OK]

Hey wassup, i'm also getting MAG5 500gph i know about leaking problem but never heard of glueing smth there could you explain more plz...

[Trieber]

Hoot!! I can be your son!! You can buy me stuff to cool and overclock lol!! I want to!! My dad thinks computers are devil machines lol..

Until 2 years ago, he was using a 3MB machine with like 166MHZ proc... With like a 660KB HDD... I swear... He then moved and got a new computer to hook up to the network at his office, and was like, "Email? WTF?!?! Sterling get in here and whatever.."

Now he is knowledgeable but doesn't understand the OC "passion" we all share, to test it and prove those Intel and AMD people that we can make their stuff better, somewhat lol...

Now I am working on him, and on a job to get $$ to go and get some nice equipment so I can OC with something decent and not this email checker \ website browser lol.. It runs Quake 3, just not at benchmarks worth bragging about. Oh well.

Adopt me plz? LoL...