Pics of WC'ing setups

Where can I get some great pics of some great/good/average water cooling setups? I have seen some here, but what about doing one big thread? I am trying to get some ideas on how I want to do my setup.

Just about every thread I've seen that tried to do only pics wound up with almost as much commentary as pictures, so.... If we were to have a gallery, a moderator would have to set it up and enforce the rules, and that hasn't happened yet. But, here's a link to a pic of my current project that was posted in another thread http://www.ocforums.com/showpost.php?p=3649671&postcount=63

Hope this give you some ideas. BTW, what were you thinking of building?

Next time you two might want to take a look at the Watercooling sticky

Wicked_Klown said:

Next time you two might want to take a look at the Watercooling sticky

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That's a sticky? What's it called, 'cause I looked at the current stickies and the "old" stickies before writing my response and didn't see it. Either my eyesight is worse than I thought or I've had way too much single malt I will bookmark it though, that's a nice thread.

MVC said:

But, here's a link to a pic of my current project that was posted in another thread http://www.ocforums.com/showpost.php?p=3649671&postcount=63

Hope this give you some ideas. BTW, what were you thinking of building?

Click to expand...

That's a pretty cool setup. I would love one of those Lian Li cases (maybe if I wasn't married ).

I am not sure what set up I am doing yet. I did happen to pick up a Brand New DD 775 waterblock (1/2") for $36. So that's at least my start. I am still not sure which pump, rad, and whatnot to get. I am looking at only spending about $150 for both. Hopefully less. I have looked into the Eheim pumps and the DD Xtreme rad's.

My one question is about the big debate between reservoirs and T-Lines (I think that's what it is). I figured that maybe since I am just starting, I just may go with the res. I am also trying to get the CHENMING 901AD case for the setup. I would get the Lian Li, but can't do the cost just yet.


Wicked Klown: I must have just overlooked it. My bad.

Resevior or T-line is really a choice of aesthetics, tube routing, and space. There's no performance gain/loss from one to the other. I prefer a T-line since its simpler, cheaper, and takes up less space. Its not the most aesthetically pleasing thing in the world, but it gets the job done for sure

Wicked_Klown said:

Next time you two might want to take a look at the Watercooling sticky

Click to expand...

I need to work on my posting skills and general attitude - edited by cw823

Bugalaman said:

thats one hell of a stupid *** thread, I DON:T WANT TO FRREEEEKING CLICK EACH liNK TO SEE EACH STUPID PIC

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I'll disagree here. When one is looking for ideas and is ready to spend hundreds of dollars, mouse clicks are cheap. Besides, with Firefox, use the middle button and they all open in new tabs so you can do dozens of them, one right after the other, and then "scroll" through the newly opened tabs. But, even if I had to visit each seperately it would be worth it... I've got more then enough spare parts now and I don't need any more; seeing what others have done and what parts they used (or didn't use) helps greatly!

Bugalaman said:

thats one hell of a stupid *** thread, I DON:T WANT TO FRREEEEKING CLICK EACH liNK TO SEE EACH STUPID PIC

Click to expand...

Ok first how about we lose the caps. Second no one is forcing you to click anything in here. People around here believe in putting in some time and effort before doing things.

hey, if its suppose to ba a gallary, I want to see the rigs. of course I can click them, but WHY!? every other gallery at every other forum has the pic actually in the thread.

big_dish said:

That's a pretty cool setup. I would love one of those Lian Li cases (maybe if I wasn't married ).

I am not sure what set up I am doing yet. I did happen to pick up a Brand New DD 775 waterblock (1/2") for $36. So that's at least my start. I am still not sure which pump, rad, and whatnot to get. I am looking at only spending about $150 for both. Hopefully less. I have looked into the Eheim pumps and the DD Xtreme rad's.

My one question is about the big debate between reservoirs and T-Lines (I think that's what it is). I figured that maybe since I am just starting, I just may go with the res. I am also trying to get the CHENMING 901AD case for the setup. I would get the Lian Li, but can't do the cost just yet.

Click to expand...

Well, the easy one first. Use a t-line. It won't cost you anything but a little more tubing and whatever you use to cap it off. Even a cheap reservoir will run you 15-20 bucks plus shipping.

Before today I'd have recommened the AquaExtreme 50z as the best pump to buy (you want DC, not AC, for ease of instalation on your first set up) but with Cathar's preliminary review of the MCP655 (at Swiftech I would imagin judging by the model number) that would be a good choice too. Figure US$75-$80 for either of them. (Danger Den doesn't appear to have the new Laing D4 that Swiftech has renamed the MCP655, though Swiftech doesn't appear to be listing it yet either....)

You didn't mention if you wanted to cool your GPU as well as your CPU. If you're doing both, I'd go with a double 120mm radiator. Right now, I'd recommend the Thermochill 120.2. It's a couple dollars more expensive than the HW Labs Black Ice Extreme II, but with the bleed valve and the ability to seal the fans to the radiator (it has the cross piece between the fans), I think it's well worth the extra cost.

And, lastly, if you're cooling the GPU as well as the CPU, the Danger Den Maze 4 with an acetal top is one of the best blocks you can get. If you're buying other stuff from Danger Den, it could pay to save on shipping....

another vote for a 50z or the new REV. D4 also if money is a consern get a heater core w/ shroud from www.voyeurmods.com it will run you about $50-60 for a double core

check out hardforums sticky for pics if you want more. also amdmb has one. lots of forums have their own watercooling pics thread

link to my thread

not too old so i thought id post it

Bugalaman said:

hey, if its suppose to ba a gallary, I want to see the rigs. of course I can click them, but WHY!? every other gallery at every other forum has the pic actually in the thread.

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For the simple fact that many pics takes up alot of bandwidth. Inet runs a few sites on the server that holds OCF. So why would be want to bog down thier server which they are suppling us with.

I have been out for the last week due to a death in the family, so now I can get back to this stuff.

I don't plan on cooling the gpu right now. That may be for the future.
I did take your suggestion and get a 12v pump. I got a good price (under $50 only 1 hour of use on it... )on the Danger Den DD12v-D4 and while I was at it, I also picked up a better Power Supply, as currently, I am using the one that came with my Just PC case (420 watts, I think). I did that because the 12 volt rail is showing as 11.00 in SpeedFan and 11.16 in the bios.

I think I am going to go with just a single 120 mm Rad for now. I figure I will start small and if I want, then go big. I still need the rad, tubing, res or t-line and a case. I may just get a big cheap file server case and mod the crap out of it.

Does anybody know where or direct me to the place to get temp sensors with digital displays? I would like to add one to my cpu when I go water cooled and possibly one to my gpu.

check the link in my sig for mine.

Mr.Guvernment said:

check the link in my sig for mine.

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Your machine is insane. I will have to check that case out. I also plan on doing dual psu's.

Maybe I missed it in the posts, but what are your temps?

my temps arent that great cause of a rcappy fan - i get about 54C full load on a day around 28C ambietn temps with no wind in my place - thas a pressy 3.2 @ 3.6ghz right now.

it has hit 49C @ night time under full load which seems more like the temp i want to keep it @.

I love my case to death cooler master stacker - using it in BTX arrangement - and the dual PSU's is awsome!

big_dish said:

I think I am going to go with just a single 120 mm Rad for now. I figure I will start small and if I want, then go big.

Click to expand...

If "going big" later is part of the plan you'll have to be very careful where you mount the first, smaller radiator.
Installing this part is usually the most time/space consuming aspect of the job so you'll have to be certain that there is room/clearance for the future upgrade.

Make sure that you leave room for the tubing to make it's bends/connections, too. This can be very deceptive.
You do not want the tube to be torqueing on the waterblocks so the tube route is critical. What looks like it'll work may not, so leave yourself some wiggle room in the design.
In my case, I left the pump and air trap unmounted and moved them around till I got the setup I was happy with. Then I drilled the mounting holes and finished up.

One trick I've picked up is to leave your clamps (assuming you are using any) loose until everything is installed.
It's tempting to tighten them out of the case while leak testing, but that could leave you with a clamp that can't be tightened/removed when in situ.

Here is my latest attempt at watercooling ( I've gone back and forth several times over the past few years)....

Although it is a comparatively simple loop, it took nearly a week to get to this point.
Breaking down a water filled loop is very time consuming and boring, just changing one hose means the entire system has to be bled dry and then refilled.

Patience is a definite virtue in this endeavor.

nice foam insulation, going for the real stuff instead of thin matte