buying a new WC setup...

I'm new to watercooling, so I just gotta ask: I've been looking at the Koolance cases for watercooling, are they any good? What would the temperature difference be between a Koolance setup and a custom setup with a heater core and 1/2 inch tubing? I'm running an A64 3200+ and it's running at 42 idle, I'd like to get down to at least 35. Also planning on taking it to 250fsb at least, 2.5, 2.6 ghz I'm hoping, and want to keep the idle under 45.

Thanks!

Her are some WC kit testing results. The Koolance WC built into their case doesn't appear to be as good as the stand alone kits. Prolly because it is trying to cool the warm air in the case as opposed to cooling the ambient air at room temp.

http://www.overclockers.com/articles373/waterkit.asp

The biggest problem with kits is most of them use small ID tubing, which hurts performance in most cases. When I entered WCing it was before there were kits available so i have always built my own setups. Its not too difficult but takes a bit of planning and case modding. Results are better then any kit i have seen, though perhaps more expensive then most kits.

What would the price difference be between the two? a koolance will run me around $300 with the cpu and gpu waterbocks.

Also, is there a way to make your watercooling case highly portable? I go to a lot of lan parties, so this would be an issue for me.

Thanks again!

Just approximate prices but:


Waterblock: $50 - $60
GPU Block: $35
Pump: $70 - $100
1/2 ID Tubing : $10
Rad/HC: $25 - $40
120mmFan: $17
Shroud: $12
Clamps: $8
Case: $60 - $120

Those are just guesses since I have not shopped around lately. In anycase you can build a much better system yourself for cheaper/same price then the koolance. If you want to be portable I would get an aluminum case to cut down on the weight.Need to be really carefull with transporting any watercooled system.

I have taken mine to a couple lan parties with no problems, but you need to always check to make sure nothing comes lose during the ride.

Do some shopping around before you decide, build a system on paper and see what it would cost..

as a general rule, what would a top-of-the-line watercooling setup cost?

I know these are probably answered in the stickies, but...what are the best waterblock, gpu block, pump and radiators?

Idle temps are meaningless. If you even want to start judging temps you should go by load temps, a couple hours running prime will do it, overnight is better. Dont expect WCing to be a magic wand to overclocking, I am not sure if what you want is a reasonable expectation of your chip or not, just saying that there are lots of factors in OCing.

Anyways, get a "kit" from one of the reputable sites, Dangerden, swiftec, many sites sell their stuff in kits too so you can pick and choose what you want, this is a great way to go and also how I wish I would have done mine in the first place.

http://www.cooltechnica.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=C&Category_Code=WCK

Nice selection if kits there.


Have fun water cooling.

cool thanks!

I know that temps make very little difference on an A64, but I'd still like to watercool for the heck of it. I'm hoping for a stable 2.5 out of my 3200.

hmm...

http://www.cooltechnica.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=R

what's the major difference between the Black Ice and the Black Ice Xtreme?

besides being able to handle twice the heat

oh and also, would a BIX be better or a heater core?

I know, I should use the edit button