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starrant

Registered
Joined
Jan 24, 2010
Location
New Hampshire
Hey All,
I am new to the forum and glad to see there is so much information available for first time water coolers, which is me. I have done some research as suggested by reading other threads and now I have decided to post what I think I may need based on the build in my signiature. Any suggestions or advice is most welcome.
I have decided to water cool my CPU, and video card to start and then add in the future another video card and maybe the chipset. This is what I have decided on so far. Please feel free to comment with your expertise as I can use all the help I can get. Thanks in advance for your input and the all that contribute to this forum.


1.DD Tower - 26 Black Series Edition
2.Black Ice GTX480
3.Yate Loon 120mm Medium Speed Fan: D12SM-12
4.DD / Laing DDC-12V 18 Watt Version 3.2
5.MC-TDX for Intel I7/Nehalem/1366
6.DD-5970 Water Block
7.Danger Den RAD-Reservoir
8.Tygon 3603 Tubing
 
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Okay, I have a couple things to say:

1. That rad is a good one, but it is optimized to high speed fans. I don't think you will see its true performance using only medium YLs. I've been thinking about what fans are good for GTX rads, and to be honest, I'm not sure. I would say high speed YLs, but the whole reason to get them is to undervolt them. At stock, they aren't the best performers. I've heard a lot about GTs, but I'm not sure how good they are on the GTX rads.

2. The TDX is very out of date, especially for an i7. Go for a Heatkiller 3.0 or a Swiftech Apogee XT. Those two are really much better.

3. The tubing you have there is 1/2"x3/4", but the outlets on the MCP355 has 3/8" barbs. This is okay because you should get an aftermarket top for the pump to really see its true potential. Try the XSPC top or the EK top.

edit: 4. What coolant/biocide are you planning to use?
 
Okay, I have a couple things to say:

1. That rad is a good one, but it is optimized to high speed fans. I don't think you will see its true performance using only medium YLs. I've been thinking about what fans are good for GTX rads, and to be honest, I'm not sure. I would say high speed YLs, but the whole reason to get them is to undervolt them. At stock, they aren't the best performers. I've heard a lot about GTs, but I'm not sure how good they are on the GTX rads.

2. The TDX is very out of date, especially for an i7. Go for a Heatkiller 3.0 or a Swiftech Apogee XT. Those two are really much better.

3. The tubing you have there is 1/2"x3/4", but the outlets on the MCP355 has 3/8" barbs. This is okay because you should get an aftermarket top for the pump to really see its true potential. Try the XSPC top or the EK top.

edit: 4. What coolant/biocide are you planning to use?


I appreciate the quick response as well as the correction on the tubing. I was having a problem finding info on which fans to use with that radiator. I understand your concern and was thinking I would rather have a radiator that supported a low speed fan. Do you have a suggestion as I have not made a purchase yet. Maybe Thermochill?

I will make the change to one of your recommended CPU block as I was not aware my choice was out of date, thanks for that one.

As far as coolant goes I was going to use distilled water with a biocide additive. Not sure of the brand but I read you could make a purchase at a pet store as this is basically to prevent algae growth.

I will also check out the pump tops you recommended as well.

I sure appreciate you taking the time to point me down the correct path as I would not want to spend money on bad choices that I made as a first time water cooler.
Thanks again :D
 
Yes, the Thermochill PA120.4 rad should be a good rad for low or medium speed Yate Loon fans, like it smaller brothers. Another good radiator for those fans is the XSPC RX480, which will also save you some coin to buy yourself a good aftermarket res top for the MCP355 pump. I would recommend the XSPC Res top. I have that Res top and it makes it dead easy to bleed your loop. I will also recommend going for either the heatkiller 3.0 or Apogee XT waterblocks instead of the MC-TDX. I have one and it's performance isn't in the same league as the other 2 blocks and actually wasn't in the same league as the earlier Swiftech GTZ block or D-Tek Fuzion blocks.
 
Okay, I have a couple things to say:

1. That rad is a good one, but it is optimized to high speed fans. I don't think you will see its true performance using only medium YLs. I've been thinking about what fans are good for GTX rads, and to be honest, I'm not sure. I would say high speed YLs, but the whole reason to get them is to undervolt them. At stock, they aren't the best performers. I've heard a lot about GTs, but I'm not sure how good they are on the GTX rads.

2. The TDX is very out of date, especially for an i7. Go for a Heatkiller 3.0 or a Swiftech Apogee XT. Those two are really much better.

3. The tubing you have there is 1/2"x3/4", but the outlets on the MCP355 has 3/8" barbs. This is okay because you should get an aftermarket top for the pump to really see its true potential. Try the XSPC top or the EK top.

edit: 4. What coolant/biocide are you planning to use?

+1.


as for low speed rads, check out the XSPC RX series or the black ice SR-1 series.

for a biocide grab one of these.



silver kill coil

Silver Strip

PT nuke PHN


for pumps and tops,

Swiftech MCP355 with XSPC Acrylic Reservoir for Laing DDC or EK-DDC X-Top Rev 2
 
I am impressed

Man, it sure is nice to drop into this forum and come out smelling like roses. All you guys have great knowledge to share among the noob's and it sure is impressive. I again have to say thanks to all of you that responded so quickly. Also I have made changes to my list of goodies to buy. I will list them here. I do have another question that pertains to the size of the tubing. Is there a noticeable difference between the 3/8 and 1/2 inch ID tubing as far as cooling and flow rate performance? Any other suggestions?

Thanks guys!!!:D

New shopping list so far:

1.Swiftech MCP 355 12v DC Pump
2.YATE LOON 120mm Case Fan - D12SL-124B - UV Blue Frame with 4 Blue leds
3.XSPC - Acrylic Reservoir for Laing DDC
4.XSPC RX 480 Quad 120mm Radiator
5.Swiftech Apogee XT Extreme Performance CPU waterblock
6.DD Tower - 26 Black Series Edition
7.DD-5970 Water Block
8.Antimicrobial Silver Strip
 
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IMHO, I'd go with medium speed rather than low speed. If you think they'll be too loud, invest in an inexpensive fan controller. I'd hate to see you have that nice loop without enough fan to keep it cool when you've got that GPU and CPU under heavy load.

Aside from that minor point, you've already been steered toward a very nice loop and should be very happy with its performance!
 
IMHO, I'd go with medium speed rather than low speed. If you think they'll be too loud, invest in an inexpensive fan controller. I'd hate to see you have that nice loop without enough fan to keep it cool when you've got that GPU and CPU under heavy load.

Aside from that minor point, you've already been steered toward a very nice loop and should be very happy with its performance!


You make a good point, I will purchase the medium speed fans and if needed a controller as well. Thanks for that...

To Conumdrum: Thanks for the store links and your input on flow rate. If I decided to later cool another video card and possibly the chipset would I benefit by purchasing 1/2 ID tubing and hardware now to accept that 1/2" tubing?
 
Hehe, if you decide to cool another GPU and the chipset, you better be looking at two fully seperate loops. Another pump/res setup, fully seperate from the other loop. You add too much and NO rad setup will help, and your flow rate will suffer. So do this loop first.

I like 1/2" x 3/4" tubing myself.
 
Hehe, if you decide to cool another GPU and the chipset, you better be looking at two fully seperate loops. Another pump/res setup, fully seperate from the other loop. You add too much and NO rad setup will help, and your flow rate will suffer. So do this loop first.

I like 1/2" x 3/4" tubing myself.

Okay, that makes perfect sense. I guess from here I will order the parts then start the build. I think from here I will move over to the overclocking section. This is all too much fun :D. You guys are great...

Thanks
 
Any recommendations on tubing, such as brand and type. Also how much tubing do you guys think I should purchase based on what I have talked about in this thread? I noticed there are food grade versus chemical. Also what is everyone's favorite G 1/4 thread fittings?

Thanks
 
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I'm a huge fan of Primochill Pro LRT and I know Conumdrum is too. The stuff is great. It bends very tightly without kinking (within reason of course) and is nice and easy to work with, very pliable.

The size is really up to you. I prefer 7/16"ID because of the added security on the barbs. You have to use a hair drier or boiling water to heat it up so that it goes over 1/2" barbs. The trade off is that I have to cut it off with a razor when I redo something. 1/2"ID comes off easier and can typically be reused (not too many times and depending on how the clamp has affected it) after toying with a loop.
 
I don't use a hair dryer or boiling water. To me that will negate the idea of having a REALLY tight connection. Using heat will cause the tubing to stretch out. What I do is use a tiny but of dish soap as lubrication and force the tubing on. If you do it right no soap should get into the loop, it's never happened to me. And you get the best connection IMO. You still have to cut it off though
 
I like the idea of the 7/16" Id tubing with 1/2" barbs. I looked at the Primochill tubing and I liked the price as well as the flexibility and handling various temps.
What would be the normal length of tubing to start with? And I was looking at the Dangerden FB (Fat Boy) G 1/4 Fittings - 1/2" Barb fittings. I read these are nice but would like some feedback if possible.

Dish soap - That is an interesting suggestion. Is the application consist of rubbing a little on your finger and then the id of the tubing?
 
gsrcrxsi - The heat should only make it more pliable it while applied. Once it cools off, it goes back to the original shape/tightness. Heh, if I have to cut it off with a razor (and I do), even if it doesn't go back to its pure, original state, it's tight enough for me. Especially since I use worm-drive clamps to go with it. :)

starrant - Barbs really are a personal choice. Just make sure they have a recessed o-ring so you don't have to worry about bulging. I use d-tek high flow barbs b/c they're cheap and have that recessed o-ring. As far as length, I always order 12 feet when ordering. It's plenty to get the loop done, plus some extra for when you want to redo any routing (or if you screw up).
 
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