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New to water cooling and I have some questions

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Jcsmothers

Registered
Joined
Feb 5, 2010
Hi I'm new to water cooling and I'm currently ordering parts for my first water cooling build. So far I've gotten my Case which is a Thermaltake Armor+ VH6000BWS and I've got 1 T-virus reservoir by Frozen Q . I plan on water cooling an Intel Core i7 920 plus the NB/SB, Mofset and the RAM of a evga x58 3-way sli classified motherboard. I also plan to w/c an ati radeon HD 5970 and maybe a physx card if the are compatible with ati. Any ways I was reading the Water Cooler guide for beginners and came up with a few questions to ask.

Before I read the guide I wanted to water cool the cpu , nb/sb,ram and the mofset on one loop with a 120.2 or 120.3 radiator w/fans . Now that I have read the beginners guide and see how hot the core i7 runs I see now that I can only run one loop just for the cpu. Can the i7 handle a 120.2 radiator?

As for everything else I'm going to w/c I'm wanting to keep the inside of the case clean for example a good/clean wire management with good/clean tubing routes in other words I don't want wires and tubing's going everywhere where you can't see what I have to show off. So my next question is does anyone make an enclosure for external radiators?

My current plan now is to have one loop inside the case , and another one or two running from an enclosure with my Desktop sitting on top of the enclosure tubes and wiring for the fans running from the bottom of my case, up to what ever else I plan on water cooling.

I also have a question about radiators and water cooling blocks, from the communities point of view. What is the most used or what is the best company out there for water cooling blocks and rads? Just asking cause I don't want to be mixing metals that cause accelerated corrosion like Alu+Cu.

I'm sorry if I confused anyone about my post, just asking questions and trying to make a good solid build.
 
Any of the ones you see in the many posts and guides here are just fine. Same goes for the radiatiors. What you need to figure is the wattage you have to worry about, the noise level you can tolerate for the fans.

Since your new at watercooling, you might not know that watercooling the ram is completly pointless, you get NO gains and the one or two solutions worth their stuff is over $100. It's pretty much the same for the NB/SB/Mosfets.

Watercooling the ram and NB etc really adds to the flow restriction, and you might need to add a second pump to compensate. Thats another $70+ not counting the $100 + for the Mobo blocks.

Cool the CPU only and the GPUs. It's all you need to do, save yourself $300+.

A i7 with a 120 x2 rad? Yep. Seen it done many times. Seen many go to a 120x3 later if they really like to overclock the mobo. Or put massive loud fans on the 120x2.

If your going to cool that 5970, so you know it puts out 300 watts of heat. For a quiet PC the GPU alone will need it's own 120x3 rad. It's own pump, it's own res.

Best bet is start reading lots of posts here and all the stickies and accompaning links. Might take you a week.
 
I know water cooling the NB/SB and Mosfets are basically useless, but would it hurt to do so in one loop with the cpu with a 120.3 rad ?
As for the other question I have found what I am looking for at MountainMods.com its a Tower Pedestal 24 which I will basically attach to the bottom of my case and run the 2nd radiator with tubing ,and the 2nd res and the 2nd pump. As for the fans go the noise doesn't really bother me I can tolerate loud noises (have 3 step kids that feel the need to yell all the time) I do wish I could aim for quietness though. This desktop will be going in my living room being used for gaming and entertainment ,and some sound editing for music (I help out in a local rock band) .

As for manufactures for the items I was going to get I was aiming towards Koolance water blocks but I don't know how reliable they are with the materials that they make their block with are. So now I'm still looking......
 
Looks like you got the case figured out, awesome choice! We really don't consider koolance a top choice in may ways due to their really terrible history. They have some decent stuff but I guess you really don't know of all the other options since your new to this.

My first suggestion is don't rush it. I spent 3 months watching 3 forums almost daily as my watercooling curiosity got me piqued. Then after 3 months I ordered my first part. Been a sweet quiet dream ever since.

Please dig hard at the links at the stickies. Read the last 30-50 posts here, every single input, catch up if your in a hurry. Don't be.

Use these links as a link to other links. Bookmark them, you WILL need them to asnswer questions as you become informed.

http://www.overclockers.com/annual-water-cooling-cleaning-rebuild-journal/
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/253958-29-watercooling-guide
http://www.overclockerstech.com/water-cooling-guide-for-beginners/
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=312743
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=202394
http://www.skinneelabs.com/
http://martin.skinneelabs.com/
http://www.hardware.fr/articles/781-6/dossier-vraie-consommation-73-cartes-graphiques.html
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=170188
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2246926&postcount=1

As you can see, bit of info we'd love for you to spend a week or two reading before asking questions easily answered by some home work.

Grab a beer, cup of coffee, whatever. Read a LOT if your in a rush. Or just hang out for a few months, it's all repeated over and over for the new folks.

Welcome to OCF, we'll help as much as we can. Need a bit of effort from you tho.
 
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