External Watercooling Recommendations

Hey everybody! I need help with watercooling. I am finally making the move from air (currently have a CoolerMaster V8 which is great) and want to go with an external water setup because I've heard that they are better coolers than the internal water. I was looking at the Koolance EXOS2 coolers but I've heard plenty of bad things about the brand name, but I love the look of the system. Is there another brand with a similar look to the EXOS that is more trustworthy? Also I have considered building a system on my own, however I'm afraid that it could leak if I build it . Could anybody throw together a list of parts for a good cooler? For reference, I don't want to spend any more than $300. I would do all of the research myself but am pretty bogged down right now with school work and such.
Thanks everyone!

What u want to cool? CPU AND GPU Or Cpu only? or maybe add gpu to the loop? for all in one I recommand swiftech mcr 320 drive Link Below with XT
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swmc2.html 194
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swapxtcpuwa.html 79.99
Add to this 4 Compression fiting and 5feet of tubing + 3 / 6 yate loon medium and uare set for WC.
Read some stickies itoo W8 for conum or spawn to link them...

Grosjambon said:

What u want to cool? CPU AND GPU Or Cpu only? or maybe add gpu to the loop? for all in one I recommand swiftech mcr 320 drive Link Below with XT
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swmc2.html 194
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/swapxtcpuwa.html 79.99
Add to this 4 Compression fiting and 5feet of tubing + 3 / 6 yate loon medium and uare set for WC.
Read some stickies itoo W8 for conum or spawn to link them...

Click to expand...

Thanks for the ideas. Just a couple of questions to clarify:
What are the extra fans for?
Would I need anything else besides what you have recommended to add GPU to the loop?

Appreciate the help!

There is no pretty quality watercooling. You, depending on your ability can make a neat external setup. BobbyBubblehead has built an AWESOME external Rad/pump enclosure out of an old case. Exactly what a EXOS etc has, but it has quality parts, and 300% better cooling at probably less cost.

I looked hard at many prebuilt systems. Luckily I was in no hurry and was already a member here and began to learn. 3 months later I got my first WC part and built my loop. Why hurry? It costs money and is a hobby. Do it right or have no fun. I'm still having fun, big time.

The problem with the prebuilt stuff like the EXOS is the quality of the parts and the ability to cool the water is lacking. People who have a true passion for great temps and a quiet system sometimes start out with an EXOS, ThermalTake, etc etc etc. They realize their mistake when they do more research or the POS they bought just breaks.

I'd like to welcome you to one of the better places to learn and share about watercooling. We aren't as uber scientific and uber max best as XS, or as lame and uninformed as MANY watercooling forums out there. We got a great mix of common sense, experts, and I like to think a mission statement to do it right, inform them and help them.

That said, look around. Read many posts. Get a clue first. It ain't rocket science but you can build a REALLY nice system that will last for years with quality parts and a bit of handiwork on your part.

Start with the stickies at the top of this forum. Spend time there, then move to this link.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/253958-29-watercooling-guide

Being informed is the key. It's your stuff. We know quality watercooling and how to do it, the rest is up to you. It's fun if your a tinkerer geek and have a decent attention to detail when building stuff. And it's fun as heck to talk about as you build and get ideas.

Get a read-on on some of the info, get overwhelmed, read some more and CYA in a few days.

i've always had my rads external for best performance and after mounting 2 triple 120mm rads to my case i ended up buying a 3rd triple 120mm rad. i was thinking where i could put it, but there was just not enough room. so i built a completely separate frame to hold all my rads, pumps, and res. i'm really happy with the outcome of it, though i wish i left room for more rads

here is a link to the build as pictures speak louder then words, or so i hear.


as the others have said start reading up on water cooling to get a good idea on what you need and what's involved. another guide to have a look through, http://overclockerstech.com/index.p...s&catid=40:overclocking-and-cooling&Itemid=88

xlivewire7x said:

What are the extra fans for?

Click to expand...

i assume you mean the 6 fans vs 3?

you can have various setups with rads and fans. if you have a triple 120mm rad you can put 3 fans in push so the air pushes through the rad or you can put 3 fans in pull so it pulls the air through the rad. at higher rpm's push works better if i remember correctly. and of couse, lower speed works better in pull.

but the best, excluding shrouds, is both push and pull so you need double the fans. i run push pull on all my rads for the best results as well i can run lower speed fans for silence. though my rig is pretty loud with 25 fans going.

Okay, started reading through the guides and I'm definitely learning a lot. I think for now I will go with 3 fans and upgrade later if I want. Don't want to do all of the upgrading now . I was wondering though, is it recommended / a necessity to get a chipset block? Would this just allow me to push the NB voltage higher?

Dont think AMD chipsets get that hot anyhow?
so just a fan on it may be the cheap answer.

I got my external through upgrading the case... chopped up the old one.





not the best orientation for the rads... no room for them vertical.

suspect spawn has much cleaner language and stress levels when hes priming the loop.

Very nice setup Bobby. I know AMD doesn't get as hot as Intel but I want a stronger overclock and a project to work on .

Cool idea to use another case for the job, really brilliant. Please post more photos as you go on modding.

I'm still on air and stock but I wanted to move directly to water so I started (some time ago now) to build my own system. I don't know why I started a worklog on FaceBook but this is where I'm uploading all my progress (sketching, calculating and creations):

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...l&view=global&subj=103792317428&id=1363930381

To view phases correctly start from this page and click "Previous" (comments for the pictures are below each photo).
I think I really should put it in a forum properly and not just leave it as a bunch of notes on FaceBook

It is, of course, WIP and there is so much to do yet but I'll finish it some day!
I thought you might be interested to have a glance at something different; as in "not bought" and not ready-made.

Regards,
Andy

thats some intresting project going off!

stick around I think theyll be more questions about that lot

like the asthetic of that arched rad

edit: think you may get some suggestions on how to optimise it as well.

its almost a passive rad really, a lot of surface to work for one fan?

the fin orientation looks a little against your current plan.

impressive craftsmeship and level of work

I was looking at the MCR320 Drive and it looks like a good buy. Same with the Apogee XT as it seems to have gotten really positive reviews. Grosjambon said that I would need fittings after buying each but it appears that they come with their own fittings. Could somebody confirm this and if this is the case, do I only need to get the clamps, tubing, and fans?

BTW What's everybody's opinion on dyed water in the cooling system? In one of the guides I read, the writer recommended against dyes but I've seen a lot of pics and forum talk of people using dyes and having no problem. Maybe it's just a brand thing but I'd love to hear from everybody!

AndreaACME said:

Cool idea to use another case for the job, really brilliant. Please post more photos as you go on modding.

I'm still on air and stock but I wanted to move directly to water so I started (some time ago now) to build my own system. I don't know why I started a worklog on FaceBook but this is where I'm uploading all my progress (sketching, calculating and creations):

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?p...l&view=global&subj=103792317428&id=1363930381

To view phases correctly start from this page and click "Previous" (comments for the pictures are below each photo).
I think I really should put it in a forum properly and not just leave it as a bunch of notes on FaceBook

It is, of course, WIP and there is so much to do yet but I'll finish it some day!
I thought you might be interested to have a glance at something different; as in "not bought" and not ready-made.

Regards,
Andy

Click to expand...

Wow that really is some nice work. Nice aesthetics too.

even G11 coolant makes a mess of everything.
dont think theres any dye lovers left here

the mcr320 drives good gear but expensive for what you get

just a little time to undestand whats on offer and you can save some spend and take out some of the mystery.

expect whatever currency you can find the same rad and pump for less.

edit: first link to a site that sells the drive had the same pump and rad seperate for $40 less

xlivewire7x said:

I was looking at the MCR320 Drive and it looks like a good buy. Same with the Apogee XT as it seems to have gotten really positive reviews. Grosjambon said that I would need fittings after buying each but it appears that they come with their own fittings. Could somebody confirm this and if this is the case, do I only need to get the clamps, tubing, and fans?

BTW What's everybody's opinion on dyed water in the cooling system? In one of the guides I read, the writer recommended against dyes but I've seen a lot of pics and forum talk of people using dyes and having no problem. Maybe it's just a brand thing but I'd love to hear from everybody!

Click to expand...

the XT ships with barbs and i'm pretty sure the mcr drive series does as well.

as for the drive series if you want a all in one setup with less tubing then it's a good buy, but you can get the parts separate, cheaper.


i have used dyes, but no longer use them. both colours of feser view i had gunked up the loop. not a whole lot, but still. distilled water also works best alone anyway. use a biocide like .999 silver plated fittings, or a silver kill coil, or pt nuke.

xlivewire7x said:

I was looking at the MCR320 Drive and it looks like a good buy. Same with the Apogee XT as it seems to have gotten really positive reviews. Grosjambon said that I would need fittings after buying each but it appears that they come with their own fittings. Could somebody confirm this and if this is the case, do I only need to get the clamps, tubing, and fans?

BTW What's everybody's opinion on dyed water in the cooling system? In one of the guides I read, the writer recommended against dyes but I've seen a lot of pics and forum talk of people using dyes and having no problem. Maybe it's just a brand thing but I'd love to hear from everybody!

Click to expand...

The fittings that come with Swiftech parts are plastic, which is why so many of us buy new fittings. There is the possibility that when you tighten up the hose clamps, that if you over do it, one of them could break. Also, some of the metal barbs (Bitspower, Danger Den Fat Boys) are much higher flowing fittings than the plastic ones.

As far as dye's go, brand doesn't really matter. Using them in your loop will cause bad results. They have a tendency to break down over time, and end up clogging up your water blocks and rads. If you are looking to have some color in your loop, try looking into colored tubing, like Primochill Pro LRT. I have some of it in black, and the stuff is amazing. The bend radius is very nice, and doesn't seem to kink or deform as much as some other types under similar bends.

BobbyBubblehead said:

even G11 coolant makes a mess of everything.
dont think theres any dye lovers left here

the mcr320 drives good gear but expensive for what you get

just a little time to undestand whats on offer and you can save some spend and take out some of the mystery.

expect whatever currency you can find the same rad and pump for less.

edit: first link to a site that sells the drive had the same pump and rad seperate for $40 less

Click to expand...

Yea, I realize that by buying it all in the drive I'm spending more money, but I think that this is a good place to start for water cooling.
As far as the barbs go, I didn't realize the ones they came with were plastic. I figure I'll either get some compression fittings or some normal ones and buy clamps.

deadlysyn said:

The fittings that come with Swiftech parts are plastic, which is why so many of us buy new fittings. There is the possibility that when you tighten up the hose clamps, that if you over do it, one of them could break. Also, some of the metal barbs (Bitspower, Danger Den Fat Boys) are much higher flowing fittings than the plastic ones.

As far as dye's go, brand doesn't really matter. Using them in your loop will cause bad results. They have a tendency to break down over time, and end up clogging up your water blocks and rads. If you are looking to have some color in your loop, try looking into colored tubing, like Primochill Pro LRT. I have some of it in black, and the stuff is amazing. The bend radius is very nice, and doesn't seem to kink or deform as much as some other types under similar bends.

Click to expand...

Okay, won't even bother going with the dye then, I'll just buy the colored tubing

deadlysyn said:

The fittings that come with Swiftech parts are plastic, which is why so many of us buy new fittings. There is the possibility that when you tighten up the hose clamps, that if you over do it, one of them could break. Also, some of the metal barbs (Bitspower, Danger Den Fat Boys) are much higher flowing fittings than the plastic ones.

Click to expand...

the xt and mcr drive series both ship with metal barbs in 1/2" and 3/8" sizes. i *think* the only product from swiftech that still ships with plastic barbs is the microres.

Spawn-Inc said:

the xt and mcr drive series both ship with metal barbs in 1/2" and 3/8" sizes. i *think* the only product from swiftech that still ships with plastic barbs is the microres.

Click to expand...

Can you provide a link to confirm this? Just want to make sure I have all of the info straight so I don't have to make two orders.

BobbyBubblehead said:

thats some intresting project going off!

stick around I think theyll be more questions about that lot

like the asthetic of that arched rad

edit: think you may get some suggestions on how to optimise it as well.

its almost a passive rad really, a lot of surface to work for one fan?

the fin orientation looks a little against your current plan.

impressive craftsmeship and level of work

Click to expand...

I hope there will be suggestions, although I'd hate to dismantle it to build a new one; it is taking me so much effort

Yes it is a lot of surface for one fan but it has roughly 5fpi so I'm counting on effortless air-flow and I'm going to be using an undervolted fan which, on demand, can be forced to full-power in order to release the expected performance of a rad of that size. Proper sealing on the fan and the box will do what most radiator shrouds would do on a flat rad and create the necessary suction (I hope ).

If you mean the fins on the first stage are not alligned with fins from the second stage and so on ... then you are correct. It is meant to be like this, although my computer drawing shows they are perfectly aligned (fins on 3D have been scaled when in reality they are always equally spaced).

Thanks for the compliments.

Spawn-Inc said:

the xt and mcr drive series both ship with metal barbs in 1/2" and 3/8" sizes. i *think* the only product from swiftech that still ships with plastic barbs is the microres.

Click to expand...

My MCW60 came with the plastic barbs as well. I replaced them with Bitspower True Silver barbs though. If the rads and XT are shipping with metal barbs, I wouldn't worry too much.

deadlysyn said:

My MCW60 came with the plastic barbs as well. I replaced them with Bitspower True Silver barbs though. If the rads and XT are shipping with metal barbs, I wouldn't worry too much.

Click to expand...

whoops, forgot about that block. i have one and also replaced the barbs, but for rotaries so i could fit larger heatsinks on the memory. not that there is anything wrong with there mcw60, wonder when a new gpu block will come out.