FEATURED Input Needed - Forum Announcements?

[David]

Dear Water Cooling Forum browsers/posters,

If, hypothetically, a message were to be displayed to all users at the top of the page when viewing the Water Cooling forum (below the banner ad), what advice would it give new members?

I have suggested that it contain a message such as:

Welcome to the water cooling section! Setting up a water cooling loop is a (potentially) very time consuming, detailed and expensive job. The wrong loop, or an incorrectly installed one, can lead to damaged hardware.

Please help us to help you:

• Please read the stickies here and here; these contain lots of useful information that you need to know before delving in.
• Please don't simply ask us to design you a loop - you must consider the available options carefully and have a fair idea before discussing the finer points.
• When you do post, please include your full system specifications, and be clear about what you wish to cool with your loop(s).
• Please start by suggesting a loop yourself; we'd be happy to critique it and help make sure you choose the correct parts.
• Please be realistic about costs (it's not cheap) and space (one small radiator will not cool your quad SLI set-up) when proposing a loop.

If you have any suggestions/comments, we'd be very pleased to hear them.

Kind regards,

David

 

[Brolloks]

Looks like a great intro David, thanks for taking the lead.
Would be good to link some good WC setups and pics as reference, also maybe link a few experts as go to people, if they agree to be SME's.

 

[onefstsnake]

Looks good to me as well.
I might change the second line, as I personally wouldnt mind putting together a parts list for someone. Could just be me though.

 

[thobel]

I would agree 2nd line kinda feels snobish to me

I would also add Conundrums home phone number ot the list

 

[evangs]

looks good, but, and I'll say this once and be done, all the text in the world won't matter if us watercoolers don't treat newcomers better. It is going to take each of us posting to make a change.

 

[David]

Absolutely - but I'm hoping that between a shift in attitudes in the forum, and better equipping people to start their first thread in the best possible way, we can achieve what we're looking for. Sort of like a small movement on each side bringing the the newbies and the regulars closer together.

 

[Bijiont]

The point;

"Please start by suggesting a loop yourself; we'd be happy to critique it and help make sure you choose the correct parts."

Could be very confusing to new members as we all don't build the exact same loops. . . For example I think personally I am one of the few here with a pure 140MM build. I could be wrong but with most watercoolers using 120MM I have very little place to offer advice unless it's 140MM related in terms of parts/experience. Granted in that example I would simply not offer advice but what happens when the OP gets 10 replies all with different RAD and PUMP choices? Yes we all known the major players but a new person to watercooling will not.

I guess my point is won't this lead to arguments on part selection or will this be monitored due to recent events until the Admins/Mods are comfortable with the input?

 

[evangs]

The point;

"Please start by suggesting a loop yourself; we'd be happy to critique it and help make sure you choose the correct parts."

Could be very confusing to new members as we all don't build the exact same loops. . . For example I think personally I am one of the few here with a pure 140MM build. I could be wrong but with most watercoolers using 120MM I have very little place to offer advice unless it's 140MM related in terms of parts/experience. Granted in that example I would simply not offer advice but what happens when the OP gets 10 replies all with different RAD and PUMP choices? Yes we all known the major players but a new person to watercooling will not.

I guess my point is won't this lead to arguments on part selection or will this be monitored due to recent events until the Admins/Mods are comfortable with the input?

that's the difficulty with water cooling. There are so many different choices for parts and none of them are wrong, just depends on your needs and what you want to accomplish. Takes a well informed enthuisiast to make the right decisions. That's partly why we try to educate them and teach them the science behind the water so they can make decisions for themselves and be happy with the end product.

 

[RGE]

The point;

"Please start by suggesting a loop yourself; we'd be happy to critique it and help make sure you choose the correct parts."

Could be very confusing to new members as we all don't build the exact same loops. . . For example I think personally I am one of the few here with a pure 140MM build. I could be wrong but with most watercoolers using 120MM I have very little place to offer advice unless it's 140MM related in terms of parts/experience. Granted in that example I would simply not offer advice but what happens when the OP gets 10 replies all with different RAD and PUMP choices? Yes we all known the major players but a new person to watercooling will not.

I guess my point is won't this lead to arguments on part selection or will this be monitored due to recent events until the Admins/Mods are comfortable with the input?

I understand the point you are making. But, If a newcomer says build me a loop without any input, that post will get a poor response (even if responded to), since it gives nothing to go on. Cost? gpu vs cpu or both? UK or usa stores? value or high end? Not to mention the assembly would go poorly without a basic understanding. I think in that case politely directing them to the stickies that introduce watercooling, is the best help for them.

There have already been many threads where new builders do research and suggest components, and those people usually have a case/rad/fan etc in mind. Those people it is possible to give good advice to, and those usually go well. Most realize there are multiple good cpu blocks or fans and some less so, and we dont argue over top 5 (not much anyways). And even with disparate advice, often either is acceptable and just leaves builder with a choice.

I think David has hit nail on head, if newcomers followed those rules in first post and give us something to go on with loop design, that would relieve a lot of frustration from those giving advice.

When I see a post of design me a loop with little to go on, I just shrug my shoulders and move on to something that I can help with. However, if I took the attitude that I would help every single poster no matter what, I would eventually self-implode if had that same issue over and over where I could offer no useful help since I had nothing useful to go on.

But you could combine 2 and 4 into an explanation, like:

Please start by suggesting a loop yourself. It is impossible for us to give useful advice without a starting point of your loop components, since varying costs, aesthetics, performance, etc is a personal choice.

 

[Adragontattoo]

While there are 100x100x100 choices out there for setups and hell each one is pretty much personal to folks, the same base line pieces apply.

Pump
Rad
Res/T-line
CPU block
GPU block
Tubing
barbs
clamps
Additives (kill-coil, Anti-corrosives, dye, distilled, blood of the damned, whatever you choose)

Everything above is needed. Additives is everything from pure distilled clear through Glycol...

I dont think anyone is going to say that any of the above is an option excluding the Res vs T-Line and block #.

You dont need to reinvent the wheel, you just need to have a list of the parts you MUST have, and then the "SHINIES!" part list for additional drooling.

 

[Bijiont]

Great point RGE, I didn't look at it that way.