new watercooling setup

i just set up a watercooling system. it is a closed loop system, eheim 1250, 317 gph pump, dangerden maze 2-2 waterblock, and a car radiator and silicon tubing throughout the system. it goes pump - block - radiator - T (breks into fill and back to pump).

im getting 38-41 degress idle and 45, 46 load according to digital doc, and like 33 idle mbm.

i was getting 38 or so idle with a glaciator, so this performance seems pretty sad. anyone have any ideas why the setup isn't cooling better?

(o yeah the water is 2 ounces of water wetter in a gallon)

Hmm, make sure you have thermal grease between all heat transferring components. Make sure you have a fan on the radiator, and make sure that the waterblock is seated right.

How are you powering the peltiers?

i have all of that but no pelts.

I don't know. Check the block. The temps aren't horrible, but you should get that high of a delta between idle and load. Where is the radiator located and how are you cooling it?

You have a maze-2-2? That means there is cold plate attached right?

Since you have no peltier that might be causing some heat conducting issues.

If you have a cold plate with no pelts it isn't neccessary to have it on there. But if you insist on having it there make sure there is grease between the plate and the waterblock.

lose the cold plate... there is no need for it if your not using pelts..

It would be interesting to see the temp difference between a cold plate with no pelts and just the waterblock.

the maze 2-2 attaches to the mobo through bolts in the colt plate . . . can i even take it off?

I don't know. Do you have any pictures?

I removed the cold plate from my DD maze2-2's, until if ever I decide to go pelt. You should be able to too. just remove the hex nuts on the bottom and the plate will come off. There was some paper in between the block and the plate on mine, it you have the same, it would really mess up your heat flow. You drop over a kilo from the overall weight of the block too. Once it's off, make sure the block is lapped, or at least sanded a little. mine was not as smooth as it could have been or is now after I worked on it for a few hours. then make sure it's seated well with some good thermal paste.

okay but are there still bolts underneath the thing to attach to mobo?

what grit sandpaper should i use to lap it? home depot only has like 800 i think...where can i get really fine grits?

i did a quick lap and i used 300 grit...tehn 800...then 1500. This should be good. Contrary to popular belief....it should not be shiny but just flat without any large nicks in it.

Shiny generally means that it's flat, too. Flat is the most important, but you get diminishing returns the farther you lap a plate.

Hoot has said he sees no better performance above 600, so HD's 800 grit will be fine.

Cold plate is the problem. Remove it and you will be fine.

I suggest your flow go pump->Radiator->waterblock.
This will get colder water to your block. This will only get you .5-1 C so it might not be worth it for you.

It also depends if the pump is submerged or not. If it is not, the water will stay cool anyway, and .5-1C will not make a difference in OC ability even if it did warm the water. Since it's an Eheim 1250, it is probably not submerged so there is not point in reversing the sysrem.

pumping any fluid adds heat. it's the law.

The friction caused by the impeller blade adds so little heat, probably on the order of hundredths of a degree. that it is irrelevant. The pump motor makes, heat but it is somewhat isolated in an unsubmerged system.

hunter00 said:

okay but are there still bolts underneath the thing to attach to mobo?

Click to expand...

Yes, there should be two sets of bolts, the ones that attatch to the board, and the ones that hold the cold plate on to the main block. On mine, nylon bolts hold the sink to the board, and then there were 4 metal hex nuts on the bottom of the block that held on the plate. It should still mount on the board and function fine w/o the plate, I think it is easier to work with without it.

what grit sandpaper should i use to lap it? home depot only has like 800 i think...where can i get really fine grits?

Click to expand...

800 should be fine. The home depot here only has 600 though, and I like to use smaller/higher grit than that. I got mine pretty shiny, but like voodoo said, diminishing returns for your work. just make sure you do it on a flat surface, like glass(I use our glass cutting board or the glass kitchen table), and that it is clean. Then sand until it is flat with no large visible scratches in the area of contact, right in the middle. You figure out how and how much as you go. It takes a while to do a good job, but it's worth it. Clean the sink well when you're done to remove any particles. Then take some thermal compound, preferably the good stuff like Arctic Silver II or III, and rub it into the bottom of the block, to fill the microscopic holes and scratches. That's how I do my sinks.

How much of an improvement in temps do you get on average? My Swiftech block came pretty flat, and after taking the rough side of a sponge to clean off the oxidation it was almost reflective.