New to watercooling

Lately I've been thinking on moving from air to water cooling. I've read various posts in this forum and visited many websites but I have a few questions and I hope you guys here can help me.

I live in Europe and I am thinking of ordering from DangerDen because they ship internationally. Here is the configuration I've come up with:

Maze4 AMD WB
1/2 Fittings
Black Ice Extreme Radiator
Sunon 120mm Fan
Eheim 1048 Pump
7Ft Clear Flex Tubing
Clear Cylindric Reservoir
Arctic Silver 5
4oz Water Wetter
Socket Tab for Maze4
(TOTAL: $230 .. in fact, I am a little over budget here!)

Is this a complete working system or am I forgetting anyting? (please let me know if I let something out, even if it is something you take for granted that I will buy anyways)

Also, how powerful is a system like this? For example, how much could I raise the voltage on my Athlon XP? From what I've been reading *I think* it will be a pretty good system but I have no idea about how good it will be.

Do you know whether I will have any problem installing this on my A7N8X Deluxe mobo?

And now the part that concerns me the most. I recently bought a Coolermaster Wavemaster computer case. It was not a cheap case and I want to avoid modifying it in any way, if possible. The way I see it the biggest problem will be with the radiator and the fan, since there is nowhere I could mount it and I wouldn't want opening a new hole! Is there any solution for this kind of problem (e.g. installing it externally)?

I'll stop here for now. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

since you're ordering from dangerden, a heatercore would be cheaper and better (it is a shade larger - but since you can't fit the bix internally anyway - without cutting - i guess thats not necessarily an issue)
http://www.dangerden.com/mall/Radiators/heatercore.asp

best to get your pump locally/in europe due to voltage differences: US is 110v/60hz, Europe (and australia/NZ) 230v/50hz.... i believe Cyprus is also iirc. they are used in ponds etc so may be available on cyprus....

i believe A7n8x deluxe has mounting holes around the CPU
http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socketa/a7n8x-d/overview.htm#
you can therefore use them rather than the socket hold down, saving a few $ (and getting a firmer mounting too)

suspect you might want a bit more than 7ft (if only just in case...)

You'll probably want to get a couple more feet of clearflex - that'll let you make some mistakes. Also, the RBX is a much better perfomer than the Maze4, although I'm not sure how it would do with your pump. Someone else might be able to clear that up.

The Black Ice Extreme won't perform as well as DangerDen's heatercore with a shroud. The heatercore doesn't look as nice, but the extra performance is definitely worth it. It's also a bit cheaper too. If you're worried about looks, some spray paint (not on the fins!) makes it look pretty nice.

Are you sure you need that socket tab? Check to make sure your motherboard has mounting holes.

Otherwise, it looks to be a pretty good system. You could be fine at at least 1.85v+.

You could install the radiator and stuff externally, although I don't know how good it would look. You'd definitely need some more tubing. Maybe the heatercore and shroud could just sit inside your case, in front of the intake fans or something?

Ok, until now it seems that I will be replace the Black Ice Extreme Radiator with the DangerDen's heatercore.

About this system I was wondering .. would it be ok if I add sometime in the future a VGA and/or a chipset WB? Or do I need a more powerful pump like the 1250?

Also, I would appreciate any suggestions regarding the installation of the heatercore (I want to avoid modifying my case). Has anyone else enountered this problem as well?

I see you love your case and dont wanna mod it, but in watercooling ist almost guarranteed that at some point you are going to hold a dremmel and switch on that switch. If you go fishing expect to get wet

I just found this image. Look at the placement of the radiator. Do you think that it would be ok if I did the same thing with the system I mentioned above? The way I see it, by laying the radiator to the bottom of the case I can avoid any modifications. I don't know though what the impact on performance will be. Let me know what you think.

That looks like a terrible idea. Maybe if you stood it up, and still had case fans... If the Eheim 1048 is the best you can get, you should go for the Maze 4. The RBX is more expensive AND requires a better pump for optimal performance. If you get a low restriction NB and VGA waterblock, and run them in parallel to your CPU, you should maintain decent CPU temps. Upgrading to a 1250 would be an excellent move, but I don't think it's necessary if you're only doing your CPU and you're using a Maze 4. Also, that isn't the best reservoir (All of the commercially sold one's I've seen are poorly designed) and you may be forced to make your own, or use a Tee line. if you have holes in your motherboard for waterblock installation, you can avoid the socket hold down.

That picture looks like the guy modded the bottom of the case so that the fan could intake air from the floor. Just having a radiator in a setup won't do - you need something to take the heat away from the radiator also. You're going to have to get a fan of some kind. Unless you set the radiator right side up with a fan sucking air through it (like I said, in front of your intake fans), you're going to have to do some modding.

You can see the fan sticking out through the bottom of his case... it's a clean mod. There are obvious problems in the design... you would need to increase the height of the 'feet' in order to provide space for the air to move. You would also need to *seriously* filter that thing... you'd pull up all kinds of dust and lint putting your intake that low to the ground. If you have a carpeted room, forget it.

Don't forget to buy hose clamps. You don't want them to fly off now.

Please be patient with me for a little more

What about this? I place the heatercore outside of the case at the back, down on the floor with the fan on the top. The tubes will be entering the case from the bottom PCI slot and connect to the WB/pump .... etc. I think this should work, right?

Also, only one guy replied about the use in the future of a VGA and/or chipset wb with this setup. What do others think? Will it be ok or will I be needing upgrading my pump as well?

Btw, is a 5.25 reservoir better than the one I included? I think I prefer the 5.25 anyways! And finally, can someone pls explain what a T-line is?

A T-Line is just that...a T shaped connector with 3 hose barbs. You connect an additional line to the top T connector, and you can fill your system from there without having to use a reservoir.

It sounds like you want to lay the heatercore on the floor...how is it going to get air? It needs to be upright so air can flow through it.

maybe you're best bet would be to make a box to put the majority of the parts in (and keep them out of sight:

you could put the rad(s), pump, res in the box - fans drawing air in through the rad and then out...

so your pipe would just enter the case (maybe through a pci slot) to the block, and then out again to the box...

An external cooling box sounds like the way to go for you, not wanting to mod the case and all.

Watercooling is great but it isn't a miracle cure for heat:
Air circulation is just as important and fans need some free space in front and behind them to do their best work

Case cooling is still required in any water cooling system: there are many other components that heat up

Now, on to some of the concerns about external H2O boxes: you will need longer tubing and if you plan on cooling video and northbridge as well you may need a stronger pump.
Every fitting, component and the length of your tubing all add up to more flow resistance and worse performance and while an Eheim 1048 is a good pump, it may not perform well with that much of a load. Look for something similar to the 1250 model.

External boxes, especially when you have a strong pump, add a lot of flexibilty:
You can make one that your pc sits on top of or make one that goes under your desk. Or in a closet. And so on. But you do need a stronger pump the farther it gets from your pc.

i would def go for the 1250 ...that way you will not be limited to what you want to do in the future ........

ohhh hose clamps

the a7n8x has mounting holes .....

and more hose i got 8ft just to make sure and i nearly used it all .....so many cutting mistakes.......and bending hoses to much

andy