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Watercooling Setup

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T-line vs. res is pure preference. I prefer the res top b/c #1 - the liquid is literally right there at your pump. & #2, as jr1 mentioned, bleeding is cake. Fill res up, bump the pump to put through lines, fill res up. Repeat until liquid flows back to the pump, then fill as the bubbles dissipate. Much easier IMHO, not because of the bleed necessarily, but because of the amount of liquid. A t-line only holds a little bit of liquid (unless it's ridiculously long), so filling is much more cumbersome.
 
Coreyoliseffect said:
My good amn you are all over my questions. :d Thanks for answering them. I meant to comment earlier on your avatar. That's some quality stuff right there. Well it is all down to ordering the parts now, so I will have to update this thread wehn I have more progress.
Click to expand...

Np and ty .am sure issues with smaller barbs and larger id hose can be solved with some attention , but be careful and test it before putting everything in the case
 
What is a site that I can order tubing from? Looking for somewhere that is going to carry 7/16. Went to the local Home Depot and they had 5/8OD with 1/2ID. I still like the idea of 7/16 better, not to mention I an thinking about seeing if I can get it some different colors. :p
 
Good news! Working on the 4th of July finally paid off. :D I went ahead and ordered XSPC reservoir top and 6 ft of 1/2in. ID tubing. Couldn't find any 7/16in. ID that was blue like I wanted but I am not afraid of using clamps and such. Now on to the second part.

I know that there is supposed to be some magical formula of water and such that goes in the tubing. :D Does anyone have any suggestions on what that magical mixture might be?
 
I am pretty sure that the res is all copper. Never the less the barbs on the CPU block are not. What was the additive that I needed to counteract that?
 
Barbs aren't that much of a problem; they're usually chrome-plated brass. It's aluminum you need to worry about. As long as your radiator is all-copper inside, you're good to go.

If you're unsure, you can slow down the corrosion with ethylene glycol (antifreeze) and a smidge of water wetter, plus some PT Nuke (not PT Nuke PHN, which is for straight distilled). Note that I say slow down as you can't stop it altogether. You'll need to keep an eye on the block(s) interior(s) and clean them from time to time to keep corrosion from reducing their effectiveness.
 
I feel pretty good about the Rad being all copper. The water supply that I am using otherwise is well water and is riddled with minerals. I know that it has killed a few heating elements in the water heater over the years. SO I think i will go with the first option.

For anyone else that is watching this thread I will be trying to make my own shroud for my fans rather than buying one. I decided to go with a heater core from a car. There is a pic posted on the first post.

Thanks for all the help so far. Once again I will be updating this thread when I get a little further along.
 
Well good news and bad news.
Bad News: The rad that I was using has a leak in it. :mad:
Good News: The rad I had, had a leak in it. Which means that it was on the outside of my comp when I found out. :eek: :temper:

That all aside it looks like I am going to have to actually buy a rad. As with anyone new to WCing I was wondering what the best "bang for the buck" is. I am willing to sack some performance to get a better price but that is not the main focus. Mostly looking for personal preference here so I can compare mental notes. I did take a look at the Swiftech MCR320-QP Stackable 3X120mm - Black. I like the idea because it seems scalable, so if later I wanted to add more I could. I see that there is a smaller fan mounted in-between the two rads in the pic. I understand the function there. How many could I stack before I start to suffer, WoW term, diminishing returns? I also suppose that I can mount a wider 120mm fan on either side to help with push/pull. I really do like the looks of this rad and the price seems right. If I am off base please provide your opinion/information/experince. :D I will be using all 1/2" barbs and 7/16" tubing to allow for "max" water flow. I do have a list of things that I purchased a little further up in the thread.

**WARNING BROWN NOSING ALERT***
As always thanks for any help in advance. I have always received patience, understanding, and good advice on these forums.
**WARNING BROWN NOSING ALERT***
 
The Swiftech rads are great for bang for the buck. They work well with nice quite low to medium fans too because their fin density isn't the highest possible.
They aren't the best of the best, but only lose by a few degrees, and win by many dollars in my book.

I have a MCR320-QP-Res myself and like it, but it won't work with the stackables as the inlet/outlet tanks are backwards placing the barbs toward the centerline of the rad.
I personally prefer not to stack them though, as doing so HALVES the water speed in each rad by linking them in parallel, so it will not give you twice the cooling power.

BTW, it's pictured with 120mm fans in between, but they're 25mm thick giving the illusion that they're smaller. They only thinner.
You could go nuts and put 9 fans on a stacked setup, but I'd doubt you'd need that much air power with 6x120 worth of rad.
 
I'd get the regular MCR-320 over the stackable. You're shooting yourself in the foot using the latter by shooting heated air from the first rad through the second one. Instead of two radiators, IIRC from stuff on XS, you'd be getting effectively more like 1.5 radiators.

Sorry you had a leak...the good news is definitely good news though!
 
Thanks for the info. From Diggrr's comment it sounds like you have to have a certain res unless that was a typo. :p

I like the looks of the MCR-320. I will be putting three fans on it. That being said. I saw where someone had suggested Panaflo 120x38mm. I was wondering if the suggestion had changed since I had changed my rad. Also, are there any good options out there that allow me to have LED's and good CFM's? Obviously performance is my main concern. :D

Other than that I can't really think of any questions that I have right now. Any general advice is welcome. Thanks to those who have posted once again.
 
I have the 320 with an extended top tank with a fill port on it, so the res is the radiator. It runs with the barbs at the bottom, and the fill port on top.
Easy to fill and bleed the air from the system. Fewer points of failure to leak (separate res or T fittings).

I never gave LED fans a second look personally, it reminds me too much of a bug zapper for humans, but the shock is in the performance and noise.
I spent the cash on 3 Noctuas instead. The funky color is kind of growing on me too.
I guess there's no harm in some UV paint on quality fans and a couple of UV LED's to light 'em up. Just a thin coat to prevent changing the blade's balance.
Not perfect, but you do end up with a quality fan that way.
 
That sounds like an awesome setup. Sadly I do already have the pump and res so the rad is going to have to be a separate connection. Well thanks for the info. I will update some more when I actually get the parts ordered and installed.
 
well it's to late, but i second the mcr series as well if you need some more convincing. i have 3 of the MCR320's and love each and everyone!
 
Spawn-Inc said:
well it's to late, but i second the mcr series as well if you need some more convincing. i have 3 of the MCR320's and love each and everyone!
Click to expand...

You're not to late. I have not ordered them yet. Though I am glad to see someone else backing them. I will have at least two weeks before I can think about ordering. I will still be looking at this thread daily to see any suggestions. :D
 
Best site for ordering parts?

I have finally become financially stable enough to order parts again. I have noticed that it seems like all the sites have different prices. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am looking at getting the MCR320 rad, some tubing, and the fans.
 
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