Cooling solution adapted to my needs

[Pennarin]

Total DIY computer noob here. Hi all

I will buy this very good rig, assemble it, tweak it, but won't overclock it because I want to run silent or near-silent cooling on it, with an option a year or two down the road to upgrade my system with more GPUs in SLI (same models as current but by then at a bargain price) and by overclocking the CPU and motherboard FSB.

By that point I will probably have to dish the passive liquid cooling system I would like to try (passive as in no fans), and go with stock Nvidia fans and a regular heatsink/fan combo on the CPU.

My goal is to get performance with low noise, and increased performance at low price down the road, with the sacrifice of switching to heatsink/fan to get the added heat but gaining a bigger noise profile.

...of course if this whole silent cooling scheme is crappo and won't work, I'll immediately overclock the rig to my heart's content

What I'm lacking here is DIY exprience, judging heat production and dissipation through cooling solutions, that sort of thing. I have zero experience doing that, never having had a computer worth a damn.

My core system would be:
Core 2 Duo E8500 3GHz
EVGA nForce 750i SLI FTW
4 x 2GB 1066 DDR2 (Vista x64 Ultimate...of course)
1 x Geforce 9800 GTX
Toughpower 1000W

The passive watercooling for these specs, but with no overclocking:
Thermaltake Armor regular case fans
Zalman Resorator 1 v2
Waterblock on CPU, plus one of those sexy 9800 GTX custom '08 waterblocks from Germany
4 x Thermalright HR-07 memory heatsinks

Now my question:
Can I do this? Run those specs with regular board fans + that passive Resorator watercooling tower? Am I gonna fry my system playing Age of Conan on 1900x1200?

If you think my omelette would break eggs, I'll switch right now my buying options to heatsink/fan combos such as the '08 Vandetta. And break my heardrums, of course. That damn Nvidia stock fan!

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EDIT: If y'all think I'm delusionnal with my Resonator scheme, I would be glad to hear of the most silent cooling method you know, be it liquid or otherwise. No fancy sub-zero stuff or "plug it into your house AC" crazy-*** schemes though, kay?!

 

[Moto7451]

It's doable. The best way would be to use a large ~5 gallon tank of water (like a drinking cooler type bottle) and water cool everything. I'd recommend using at least a few very low CFM fans to keep some airflow going through the system. They'll be quieter than the hard drives.

This setup will let you overclock as well. It just isn't necessarily the most portable. You may want to invest in some good quality quick disconnects and hook the system up to a heatercore or black ice style radiator for the occasional LAN party.

 

[Neuromancer]

Only way to go totallly passive is to water cool everything and have a ridiculous res like mentioned (5 gallon)

But a couple of rads and low speed fans will be nearly inaudible and suit your purpose AOK. I think

Will be no louder then the PSU im sure

 

[Pennarin]

Cool info all around guys.

I'm unsure based on the Resorator test reviews which shy the user away from overclocking because the pump is only 300L/hr. Hence the silence.

Zalman has the bigger, pricier Resorator 2 and even other bigger cooling solutions. I'll read reviews and post updates.

 

[Conumdrum]

Pumps make niose, as much as an undervolted Yate Loon, some pumps more, some less. But pumps aren't silent. And you'll need more than 5 gallons to run 24 hours.

 

[Pennarin]

You saying such a watercooled rig can't run 24-hrs a day, say...on downloads? The coolant becomes hoter than the medium, or some such?

Were I a WoW addict, or some such game, who runs his rig in the ground during his w/e...I would fry a regular watercooled rig?

 

[TheCrysisIII]

Have you ever consisdered oil cooling your computer? I got it from this topic.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/strip-fans,1203.html