Submitted for your approval: my WC set-up

[Wireless-G]

Well then let me take this opportunity to thank everyone who has responded to my questions.

For now it looks like I'm going for a Corsair Cool and a Swiftech MCW50 GPU WB. Then somewhere down the line maybe I'll upgrade my radiator and add a Chipset WB. I've been doing a lot of researching and pondering, and I think it's time to get my hands dirty.

 

[whitebloodcell]

That's a cool configurator. For some reason, though, the Black Ice Pro II is $72 in the configurator but $51 a la carte. The Swiftech 5.25" Reservoir is also $22 versus $17. Probably their way of reclaiming the discounts on the other stuff.

The site has been undergoing some major renovations of the past few weeks. I imagine they just have not got around to updating their prices. Email and see maybe. (Id like to know, but since its US only I cant order anyway)

 

[voigts]

I went the kit route to begin with via the Swiftech route. I must say in all that several months down the road and too much money, I would have come out better with putting my own together. I took a look at the kit on frozencpu. I'm not sure where you found it for $170. Theirs is $199 if I read it right. The tubing looks like 1/16" wall which does not work very well. You are going to have to sell your rad and buy a new one. The kit may be appealing for ease, which is why I bought one, but piecing it together allows you to get exactly what you want. For instance, you really don't need a res. You could save the $20 and use a t-line. You are going to loose some money reselling the rad. The active res thing you linked to only has 1/4" fittings which is useless. And if you want to save shipping, use just two or three vendors to order your parts from. That is my .2 worth.

 

[Senater_Cache]

seven

 

[Wireless-G]

voigts, your sig is hilarious. I should be saving up money for auto repairs, but instead I'm buying a water-cooling system for my brand new computer.

I appreciate your comments. I think I would steer clear of the Corsair kit were it not for the high quality components and low price. I'm sure at some point I'll end up upgrading the radiator, but for now I think it'll work decently. Everything else is pretty top-notch. The tubing is actually 1/8" walled (3/8" ID, 1/2" OD) according to the reviews I've read. And I haven't researched a great deal on the reservoir versus T-line debate, but it seems to be just like the 3/8" ID versus 1/2" ID debate--there's no clear winner. I don't see how having larger tubing really helps. I suppose it would hold a larger volume of water in the system(which could be acheived with a reservoir), but I doubt it would move water more rapidly through the waterblocks or the radiator. Unless the pump is being restricted somehow by the smaller tubing. Maybe I'm not thinking clearly, but it seems like whatever the tubing size, the pump is only going to be able to move a certain volume of water per second.

I think that WACC P/A Reservoir is probably not worth the price, but the idea of having the system be cooled with no fans at all is intriguing. This may turn out to be a side project for me. With a little work, the same thing can be made out of a transmission cooler.

 

[clocker2]

The tubing is actually 1/8" walled (3/8" ID, 1/2" OD) according to the reviews I've read.

3/8"IDx1/2"OD means the walls are only 1/16" thick.
Think about it.

 

[Wireless-G]

Yeah, you're right. I've been at this too long. Time to rest.

 

[voigts]

Thanks for the comments on the sig. I think it has personality. 1/2" will of course allow for a little more flow than 3/8" will. A lot of watercooling blocks use the 1/2" for this reason. However, 1/2" barbs actually have about a 3/8" opening. So, if you were going to keep the tubing ID and the barb IDs the same, you would stretch 3/8" hose over 1/2" barbs, or stretch 1/2" over 5/8" barbs. I have 1/2" in my setup and have used 5/8" fittings wherever possible. I have some 90 degree bends that I could not avoid, so having 5/8" bends keeps them at the same ID as the tubing and helps with flow issues.

If you are ordering parts with 3/8" barbs, then use 3/8" tubing, and the same for 1/2". I however prefer to go all 1/2" on blocks (which I did not do on my CPU block, but that is another story) and 5/8" on fittings.

Totally passive cooling is probably best achieved by using a big copper core radiator and enough pump to move water through it.