I think I'm ready to take the plunge.

[Daemonkin]

[Solved]I think I'm ready to take the plunge.

Currently have the H50, and it's not keeping up with my OC.

So now, I'm going to try my hand at real water cooling.

After spending the last two weeks reading stickies here, and elsewhere, I think I have my first loop planned out. If you spot anything that you would change, please let me know.

My first attempt at WC will be a cpu loop only. Later I might plan to go after a pair of xfired 5870s in a second loop, but the Vapor-X cooling is more than sufficient for now.

I7 860 - currently at 3.5 ghz and wanting to push to 4+
Case: Thermaltake Element G

Using OCCT I hit temps approaching 80 (76-75-75-76) in a room with 23 ambient.

Now with what I plan.

Radiator: Black Ice GTX Gen 2 Xtreme 360 (1/2 in. barbs on everything)
Fans x3: Scythe SFF21G S-Flex (75 cfm)
CPU Block: EK Supreme HF
Pump: Swiftech MCP 355
Pump top: XSPC Top
Reservoir: Swiftech MCRES-Micro High Flow Res.
Tubes: 1/2 in ID tubing from whatever local hardware store has.
PT Nuke
Distilled Water

Loop will be: Res > pump > radiator > cpu > res.
Thoughts? Have I missed anything or picked any poor products? I'm currently looking to hit a 5-10 DT out of the radiator.

For the future gpu loop I'm thinking about almost the exact same as the CPU but going with Koolance water blocks, yes I saw the history, but I also saw these blocks tested good. 1/4in ID tubing.

Now as I understand it, I need to clean each piece before installation. I also need to clean the system about once a year.

Should need no more than 2 drops of PT Nuke.

Make sure all air bubbles are out of loop before firing it up the first time by rotating the case and tapping the water block with a screwdriver handle, or something similar.

Keep the reservoir above the pump to make sure it doesn't run dry.

I should probably stop rambling now.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Conumdrum]

Pretty much got it figured out.

On the GPU blocks, my Koolance GPU blocks have 1/2" barbs on them. Not sure where you get the 1/4" tubing idea from. But thats down the road.

You won't be happy with the hardware store tubing.

Looks okay by me! How to build, if you haven't seen it.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=631501

 

[Adragontattoo]

Use correct tubing, check http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l2/g30/c99/list/p1/Liquid_Cooling-Tubing.html

There are lots to choose from and typically the HW store tubing is substandard (hardens, cheap, kinks easily, cracks etc) I typically use Swiftech GPU blocks, but I am looking at getting an EK full coverage block possibly. I havent used Koolance but IIRC they arent bad.

You might want to look at getting a silver kill coil as well, It may not add any benefit but I run no PT Nuke and just a kill coil in two different loops with no issues.

Re: filling, I just spent a week, redoing a loop, three different times. Get a spare PSU, use a paperclip to power it and plug the pump into that. It makes it easier to fill, test, and work with until you are sure the loop is full, not leaking and ready to go. I used an external PSU and it saved me twice in testing. I had two different leaks that I didnt know about and if I had been using the PSU in the rig, I would have needed at least a new PSU if not more.

ONLY CONNECT THE PUMP TO TEST. That one time you think you got it, and get a little too cocky is the one time you didnt triple check and overlooked the two drops sitting on your GPU/MB etc...

YMMV JMA

 

[Daemonkin]

Thanks guys!

Conundrum: 1/4 in tubing was a typo. It should have been 1/2.

I've been reading that installation thread pretty religiously so I know every step before I start. Really don't want a disaster killing my confidence this early.

Adragontattoo: Thanks for the tip on the tubing and kill coil. I'll update my shopping list.

One thing I was thinking about. Since a w/c can't cool any cooler than ambient, would I be better off mounting my rads next to my a/c outlet? It's only 3 ft from my pc, so I'm not sure if it would make THAT much difference, but the out temp is 13c (~55.5 f). Ambient at the pc is ~23-45c (~ 74-77).

My only problem with this would be in winter when that heat is running.

Meh, I'll just mount it near the pc for a more normalized temp.

 

[Adragontattoo]

The potential for better cooling is not worth mounting the rad next to/in an AC vent. The biggest potential issue of doing that is the possibility of going sub ambient on temps and creating condensation which can release all the pretty smoke.

You would be hard pressed to get your loop to ambient anyways without some serious fans etc. Personally I am content that the GPU/CPU stay below 40c and wouldnt be concerned unless they started getting closer to 60c+ under load.

Just make sure that you still have some airflow across the board to cool the rest of it. A chilly processor doesnt matter too much if the board is baking.

 

[rickoles]

A little off topic, but whats an average price to setup a system like this?

 

[Adragontattoo]

depends rickoles..

The last loop I built cost me about double the previous one for similar HW but that was because I kept tweaking it.

IIRC my first loop (CPU, GPU, triple rad, fans, pump, res and tubing) was ~300, the last one was closer to 400 if not more.

It totally depends on what you are cooling, how, and also with what.
CPU block is 40-100+
GPU is 40-150+
Fans can be 5-30 ea.
Pump is typically 40-90
tubing is roughly 1-4 p/ft.
Rads are where it gets tricky. They can be had for 40 clear through the 150+ range depending on size, type and manufacturer.
Reservoirs are typically 30-120 (expensive ones being the pretty stare at me type)

If you start upgrading the pump top, changing block parts, and getting fancy the price goes up.

 

[Daemonkin]

A little off topic, but whats an average price to setup a system like this?

I'm at 350ish right now, but I am still shopping around for better prices so it might get lower by a little.

Quick breakdown of what I've found so far to give you an idea.

Black Ice radiator: $127 w/ 1/2 in barbs and extra bolts.
Scythe fans are $14.99 a piece. These are 1850 rpm fans so not the quietest, but I am going for performance.
EK Supreme HF cpu water block is $77.45 /w nozzles
XSPC pump top was $22.99 (Has a better inlet/outlet design for less restriction)
Swiftech mcp355 pump $67.95
Swifttech Mcres-micro high flow reservois - $25.99

That's ~ $366 ish right there, but I am still shopping around, too.

Tubing was covered pretty well already.

Adragontattoo: Point taken on the A/C And with the Thermaltake Element G I'm ok on air in the case.

 

[rickoles]

Thanks for the info. My main reason for interest is that i'm sick of fan noises. They pretty much give me a headache and when I have music playing at a moderate volume they make it sound like its raining outside.

Of course low temps would be awesome, but a super silent system would be hawt!

This will probably be my next upgrade as I want for nothing atm. I'll need to start my research soon

 

[m0r7if3r]

Thanks for the info. My main reason for interest is that i'm sick of fan noises. They pretty much give me a headache and when I have music playing at a moderate volume they make it sound like its raining outside.

Of course low temps would be awesome, but a super silent system would be hawt!

This will probably be my next upgrade as I want for nothing atm. I'll need to start my research soon

Lets avoid cluttering this thread and at least TRY to keep one of the threads in this section on topic (I know, I'm afraid too ), if you'd like help with that, a new thread would serve perfectly.

@op, recommended teardown and clean is every 6mos, not every year as you stated in the op. No one had mentioned that, but I figured I should. Also, get some real tubing, not the hardware store stuff, you might get good stuff, you might not, but for the price of tubing, why risk it?

You said you were getting the sflexes for performance, right? They're actually quiet performers, if you're looking for all out performance, panaflows or san aces are the way to go, and ultrakazes are a good option in your price range...I'm not sure if there will be a fan controller on this system, but if you want maxed performance, that's how you'll do it (without deafening yourself at least...)

 

[Daemonkin]

Lets avoid cluttering this thread and at least TRY to keep one of the threads in this section on topic (I know, I'm afraid too ), if you'd like help with that, a new thread would serve perfectly.

@op, recommended teardown and clean is every 6mos, not every year as you stated in the op. No one had mentioned that, but I figured I should. Also, get some real tubing, not the hardware store stuff, you might get good stuff, you might not, but for the price of tubing, why risk it?

You said you were getting the sflexes for performance, right? They're actually quiet performers, if you're looking for all out performance, panaflows or san aces are the way to go, and ultrakazes are a good option in your price range...I'm not sure if there will be a fan controller on this system, but if you want maxed performance, that's how you'll do it (without deafening yourself at least...)

Sweetness, thanks! Btw hello from just up the road. I live in Ringgold just north of Dalton.

 

[m0r7if3r]

Sweetness, thanks! Btw hello from just up the road. I live in Ringgold just north of Dalton.

oh man, there are a couple guys on my hall from up there, isn't this heatwave awful?!

 

[Daemonkin]

*whew* Parts ordered, and after everything is said and done, I'm $421.49 lighter in the pocket. Found a great deal on the Black Ice ($91.95).

And yeah m0r7if3r it's been just a wee bit warm lately. I've been spending quite a bit of time around Jacksonville, Fl and the humidity down there has been almost deadly. It's been bad even for there.

 

[m0r7if3r]

I laugh at the word plunge every time I open this thread...it's just funny in reference to water cooling.


Good luck with the loop, post a build log if you can

 

[Daemonkin]

I laugh at the word plunge every time I open this thread...it's just funny in reference to water cooling.


Good luck with the loop, post a build log if you can

The pun was intended.

 

[Daemonkin]

Well after looking things over Im going to do an external build. Ordered some plexiglas sheets today to build a case to hold the entire loop and just run it to the cpu.

The case I am building will be powered by my old systems psu with the power on pin jumpered to a ground. The case will also have a fan controller in it to powere 6 fans. 3 on the radiator and 3 case intake fans.


Plexiglas plus UV lighting from above = sexy lol.

This definitely will require a build log. Ill keep you guys updated on it.

 

[Tonicart]

I don't think you need to purge all the air out before you turn it on for the first time. Just don't run the pump for more than 5-10 seconds without water. If you have a reservoir, it will help separate the air from the loop and fill it with water. It's not too practical to shake around a 30-50lbs case with water inside