Water Cooling Advise

Hello All!!,

I am new to water cooling and have been thinking about it for a very long time. I am ready to take the dive and try it out, so I have done some research and came up with some parts that I like from Swiftech. Looking at my sig what would you do. Here is what I have found so far....

CPU - Apogee GTZ or XT (Which is best)
VGA - Epsilon HD5970 AC
Chipset - MCW-NBMAX
Pump - MCP655 w/spd controller

I know there are a few other things that are needed and that is were I need help. Like hoses, clamps, fittings and most of all res, fluid and maybe a chiller. Thank You All in Advanced that can help....

\\joecastle

I think for people to give advise, they are going to need to know how much you are willing to spend. Be realistic! I thought I set aside more than enough for a cooling system and wound up spending twice as I originally alotted.

Pretty solid start. You'll need a radiator, guess what you called a chiller.

Swiftech makes some nice rads. They also have one with a built in pump and resiviuor.
Look at the top of this forum for a nice sticky.

Take a look at this link I wrote, it has many good guides etc.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/253958-29-watercooling-guide

There are more than a few links in there that I'm sure you will be bookmarking, hint.

You got to have a good idea of the heatload your planning to have to cool. So some research and understanding is gonna be required.

xt > gtz

youll need a rad! triple 120 fan sized one for all that. personally, i refuse to buy gpu blocks that only fit one kind/generation of card. the cost is just too high for me. try things without the gpu first and see how you get on with it. can always add later.

some tygon tubing, distilled water, and a splash of red radiator fluid for color/corrosion inhibitor in case of mixed metals in the system is my combo of choice.

that chipset block only works for a few asus boards, so make sure you have the right one.

otherwise looks like a good build, the apogee XT is better then the Apogee GTZ.

some guides for further help.

http://overclockerstech.com/index.p...s&catid=40:overclocking-and-cooling&Itemid=88

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/253958-29-watercooling-guide- though i personally take my blocks apart to inspect for anything.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=631501

WOW!! Thank You all for your quick reply!!

Gotts,

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I am one of those type of people that wont settle for less. I have always stuck to cheaper is not really cheaper because it can cost you twice if not more than what you originally paid so I much rather by the quality even if it means buying 1 or 2 items at a time until I have what I want...

Conumdrum,

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Very nice link. Very knowledgeable advice and I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Yes, I did mean something that would be to cool the fluid that will run in my loop and your link has given me a lot of details. I have posted a link of my case that I will be using at the end of this thread and lol I would need to know how I would bookmark that link if it gives you any credit I will most deffinately be more than gratefull in doing so. The sticky in this forum also has given me a lot of detail as well and also makes it a bit confusing to what product I whant to purchase so I would ask which rad would be the absolute best for cooling and flow rate...

The_Jizzler,

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I do plan on upgrading my bfg8800gtx later on so I will probably wait unless I plan on OC'ing it further which I have not done as of yet but thank you for your knowledge as well. I will be looking for the "ABSOLUTE BEST" tubing and fluids that will help in all aspects of my loop. I have been doing a liitle research and found a very long thread of someone who used different mixures and caused some very ugly gunk build up in his loop so I would not settle for anything cheap when it comes to this part of the build.

Spwawn-Inc,

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I have an ASUS P5E. How would I know what chipset block to use for that board? I will be getting that apogee XT and thank you as well for sharing the links and your knowledge...


This is my case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Image... Steel / Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Give it some time. Read lots of threads here and other places. Look through all what the stores offer. Read on rad types and test at skinnees. Tubing and fittings will fall into place.

Took me 3 months before I bought a part, probably 2 months before I even began to build a parts list.

Looks like your rad will be on the outside hanging out back.

Bookmarking does nothing for me, but having it bookmarked for your use and to help others by you in the future is what matters. What it gives you is a source for many different links and some thoughts I came up with as I wrote it. It's there for everyone to use, thats all.

i don't see how it would fit unless the heatsink can be removed from just the nb chipset.

Spawn-Inc said:

i don't see how it would fit unless the heatsink can be removed from just the nb chipset.

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Yes it can be removed. There are 3 fillip screws that hold it in place and it is rectangular in size. Looks like it would fit unless the heat pipe that looks like it runs underneath it is in the way...

standard set up
1/2 inch barbs for everything

mcp655 pump or mcp355
http://www.jab-tech.com/Swiftech-MCP...r-pr-3803.html
65.00

tubing
http://www.petrastechshop.com/7id5odmagepu.html
.59 a ft

rad feser performance but not the price
RX360 74.99
http://www.tilatech.com/products/XSPC-RX360-Triple-Radiator.html
or RS360 39.99
http://www.tilatech.com/products/XSPC-RS360-Triple-Radiator.html

fans
http://www.jab-tech.com/YATE-LOON-120mm-Case-Fan-D12SH-12-High-Speed-pr-3771.html
3.70
or
panaflos better choice
http://bestbyte.net/merchant/mercha...e=FA12PAM1BX&Category_Code=FA12&Store_Code=BB

fan controller
http://www.xpcgear.com/rheobusext.html
28.99
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998808
15.00

reservoirs or tline
http://www.crazypc.com/products/watercooling_reservoirs.html
20-xxx

cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...zotech_sapphire_rev._a-_-35-708-019-_-Product
best bang for the buck block out there period.

Thermal paste : OCZ Freeze or IC Diamond

Coolant: distilled water and 2 drops of pt nuke

one is for just distilled other is used with U/v dye
http://search.store.yahoo.net/cgi-b...&.autodone=nsearch.html&x=0&y=0&query=pt nuke

Loop should go
res-pump-rad-cpu-res

Comparison of i7 waterblocks using the RS360
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/509875-another-round-waterblocks-i7.html

Rad Comparison
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/518786-huge-radiators-roundup.html

Umm the RS360 is an older rad and has been way beat by their newer one, the RX360.

The CPU block you listed is pretty good and is the best bang for the $. There is better at more cost.

Conumdrum said:

Umm the RS360 is an older rad and has been way beat by their newer one, the RX360.

The CPU block you listed is pretty good and is the best bang for the $. There is better at more cost.

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That is a given. The RX is thicker and bigger meaning more surface area which interns better heat dissipation. I am giving him options depending on his budget
Also with a better block it may be like a 1-5 degree difference really when comparing to the Sapphire Rev A

Here are some specifics on the RX360. It's not just thicker. It's internals are better and it has less FPI. Much improved over the RS360. The pressure restriction is dropped by over half. At 400 watts of heat using close to the same fans at the same RPM a RS has a DT of 7.5. The RX with close to the same fans has a DT of 6, and thats with lower RPM than the RS test.

So there is more to just thickness on a rad.

RX360 test
http://skinneelabs.com/xspc-rx360.html?page=1

RS360 test
http://martin.skinneelabs.com/XSPC-RS360-Radiator-Review.html

Found a great comparison on the blocks. Yea, it's about 2.5C away from the current top block. For the price it's a good block.
http://skinneelabs.com/i7-blocks-2.html

Conumdrum said:

Here are some specifics on the RX360. It's not just thicker. It's internals are better and it has less FPI. Much improved over the RS360. The pressure restriction is dropped by over half. At 400 watts of heat using close to the same fans at the same RPM a RS has a DT of 7.5. The RX with the same fans has a DT of 6, and thats with lower RPM than the RS test.

So there is more to just thickness on a rad.

RX360 test
http://skinneelabs.com/xspc-rx360.html?page=1

RS360 test
http://martin.skinneelabs.com/XSPC-RS360-Radiator-Review.html

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Already know that. I am the watercooling editor on Overclock.net

Ohhh. I used to go there.

I just remebered I have an old Lian Li case that I used for about a day on one of my builds and decided to use another case. Here it is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112074 I think this one would be better for my loop build.

Juggalo,

I thank you for the advise as I thank all who share there knowledge and expertise. I am really only interested in the best quality and what is going to be the best water cooling solution for my loop. I have decided to stick with what I have listed above (Apogee XT, Epsilon HD5970 AC, Chipset - MCW-NBMAX ( if it is the right one for my board), MCP655 w/spd controller) which to me swiftech has the better blocks out there I think IMPO. So I need to start thinking of what RAD, RES Tubing and fittings I want to get, again, what is the best RAD out there that will work for the above case and most of all "best cooling" as well as the rest of the puzzle....

Thanks

\\joescastle

For tubing, I recommend Primochill Pro LRT. It's about $2 a foot from Jab-Tech, but it is very well worth the price. The bending radius is amazing.

Yes, I will second the Primochill LRT tubing. I love the stuff and it's easy to work with. And seems to hold up well over time too.

My build so far will be,

CASE - LianLi
CPU - Apogee XT
VGA - Epsilon HD5970 AC
Chipset - MCW-NBMAX
Pump - MCP655 w/spd controller
XSPC RAD - RX480 Quad
Tubing - PromoFlex Pro Have not decided what color..

What size Tubing, fittings am I going to need? Are there fittings that have led lighting? I have seen many pics in this forum and in others with tubing that have and do not have clamps to hold them in place. Which no clamps look aesthetically better. What are your thoughts? Once I have my entire list made up, then I will start to purchase in pieces...

Thanks

\\joescastle

Please run clamps. Some don't, very very few. Since it's your first you will have enough minor issues, don't need a big one like water dripping on the Mobo and breaking something.

Like these.
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/brmihocl7int1.html