need help choosing cpu/gpu blocks

[xdkimx]

iv decided to get watercooling and i need some help, for now im wondering which cpu and gpu blocks to go with

for the cpu block which would perform the best out of the maze4, swifttech apogee, swiftech storm

and for the gpu, maze4 or swiftech mcw55

or are there better? my budget is $150-200 for everything so silver blocks like the storm g5 are a bit too much

thanks in advance

 

[5|*42]

What CPU/Motherboard and GPU are you using? And what pump do you have?

 

[xdkimx]

here are my specs

cpu: amd 2x +4400
cooling: xp90+92mm vantec tornado
case: antec p180
gpu: xfx 7800 oc 490/1300
psu: enermax noisetaker 600w
ram: ocz 2x1gb platnum 2-3-2-5 3200
mobo: dfi lanparty nf4 sli dr
hdd: 74gb western digital raptor
bios: 6/23

i dont have a pump yet or any wc parts i need some advice on that as well

thx

 

[nachosyumm]

As of now, the storm is still reccomended the most. I, along with most people, think that the apogee will perform worse than the storm in real life applications. However, the apogee still remains untested outside of swifttech.

For my setup I will be using the apogee or storm (to be decided after testing is done), a maze 4, swiftech 655 pump, and a heater core.

 

[mysterfix]

According to Swiftech cpu's with a bigger foot print will see better performance with the apogee than the storm. The Maze 4 acetal gpu block is still the king of the hill but you can get more expensive blocks that will cool the ram also. For most people ramsinks are more than enough.

 

[bapski]

go for the STORM and MAZE4

 

[diehrd]

I use the 6002 Swifty ,,, Block performs like a champion prize fighter..Are there any better ? Sure but no way it could be by very much . . If price is close get the newest popular block..But for me even if i had to buy another block today the 6002 would still be my choice

 

[xdkimx]

hm wut about for the radiators black ice x-flow or 2-pass standard? or heater cores? im planning on using 2 single fan rads

do the maze4 low profile and standard perform the same?

and pumps between the stech 655 and the dangerden d5 which would come out better or are they practically the same

and finally the tubing 3/8 or 1/2? wuts the difference performance wise?

thanks for all the help

 

[bri1]

storm and other stuff will cost 2 much

strom = 60+
maze 4 = 45+
pump (need 655 for strom to work the way it should) = 80+
radiator atleast a bix if not a bix2 = 40+ (60+ if bix2)
pananflos = 12each if you get them at a good site
say 10 feet of tubing = .59 cents per foot is the cheapest ive seen so 6 dollars +
tline = i dont know 2 dollars
filport if you whanna make it nice= 10 bucks

thats 255+ if your getting a single 120 bix

 

[mysterfix]

hm wut about for the radiators black ice x-flow or 2-pass standard? or heater cores? im planning on using 2 single fan rads

do the maze4 low profile and standard perform the same?

and pumps between the stech 655 and the dangerden d5 which would come out better or are they practically the same

and finally the tubing 3/8 or 1/2? wuts the difference performance wise?

thanks for all the help

2 chevette heatercores would probably be the cheapest and perform just as good as any other rad.

The maze 4 performs the same in both flavors, the D5 and MCP-655 are the same pump just relabled.

Most people use 1/2 but you can also use 7/16 masterkleer which seems to be a bit easier to work with than 1/2. Either way your not going to see much difference between the three, maybe a degree or two if that.

 

[mysterfix]

storm and other stuff will cost 2 much

strom = 60+
maze 4 = 45+
pump (need 655 for strom to work the way it should) = 80+
radiator atleast a bix if not a bix2 = 40+ (60+ if bix2)
pananflos = 12each if you get them at a good site
say 10 feet of tubing = .59 cents per foot is the cheapest ive seen so 6 dollars +
tline = i dont know 2 dollars
filport if you whanna make it nice= 10 bucks

thats 255+ if your getting a single 120 bix

You don't have to have the 655 for the storm block to work good, the MCP-350 will also work great and actually any pump with good pressure will work.

A cheap heatercore will work just as good as those expensive rads from DD.

 

[xdkimx]

hm do heatercores perform better, cuz in dangerden at least the prices for single fan heater cores are the same as the black ice ~$30 is there a place i can get em cheaper, and they dont come all used and old looking like this do they? http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=47&cat=14&page=1

for the tubing size im assuming 1/2 perform the best even if its just by a few c? and wuts the smaller tubing ment for? harder to kink?

and wuts the difference between the x-flow and 2 standard? to me it looks like the x flow looks less restrictive since it starts at the top and exhausts water out the bottom? am i wrong?

sorry for all the questions lol, im trying to get this done the best i can since i want this thing to last and an improvement over air or it seems like a waste of money and time.. yeah and looks like i got a bit carried away ($)

thx

 

[RDWest2005]

Talk about carried away?
heh - look below at my sig - i just built this box a couple weeks ago

the pD 840 dual core was 60c idle with factory intel HSF
i was going to send it back
but everyone here said it was fine - that the dual cores produce twice the heat

so after running it about 8 hours, i went and got the thermaltake bigwater kit at compusa

i did not do no research at all - i was in a hurry to get temps down

now i added sli blocks and an extra radiator and i'm still not satisfied

so i'm about to order...
D5 Pump
Black Ice XtremeIII
the DG Sli low profile gpu blocks with mem heatsinks
the DG northbridge chipset block
i have not made up my mind on cpu block

i'm the one getting carried away
<-shoot me - my ole lady already has the gun loaded - haha

The cheap thermaltake drop temps from 60c to 40c

but i want a nice looking 1/2" tubing system thats top dog on the block

I won't be happy till i get it...

*********************

The botton line here dude...

For 149.99 you can't beat the thermaltake big water kit
it does its job pefectly
you may get an extra 5 or 8 degree drop from the best custom built system

cuz as i figure it, you can't get temp as low as room temps anyway with just water

my pump has only 1/4" inlet/outlet

it won't even pump 25g/h - its rated at 90L/h

I WAS TOLD by a couple people in here that adding extra radiator and sli blocks that this pump would * NOT * work

WRONG - works great for what it is capable of i guess

the pump and resorvior can only use 1/4" tubes
but i dropped 1/2" tubes from cpu block into sli cards and out to both radiators

webcam shot - you gotta look close - its not a good cam
http://www.carolina-customs.com/snap-13.jpg

and my current temps here...
http://www.carolina-customs.com/snap-16.jpg

Good luck with getting water on your system
It is the way to go to drop temps

I don't think me being the top dog on the block will drop my temps another 20c from this thermaltake system

I'm a noob to all of this so thats my experience so far

Top Dog $$$
20c plus drop $

its up to your pocket

good luck
~RD

 

[xdkimx]

haha ok ill remember that, and thx for ur recommendation, but im aiming for top quality parts also i really didnt think it would cost over 200 but i guess i was wrong

i think im done picking out my parts, does this look ok?

60 radiator - 2x two-pass black ice

75 pump - dd d5

50 cpu block - swiftech apogee

45 gpu block - maze 4 low profile

23 tubes - 10 ft tygon soft (1/2 id) (5/8 od)

20 chipset block - koolance http://www.koolance.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=29_46&products_id=86 (still not sure if im getting this)

30 resivoir - dd dual bay 5 1/4

10 clamps - 30 metal clamps

thanks

 

[jcw122]

I'd grab a Swifty 6002 also, their on sale because they were JUST discontinued (they were great though...not discontinued because they were bad or had defects...just stupid Swiftech being idiots), HUGE SALES...most can be had for just above 30 bucks, and w/ their performance it's a steal.

 

[RDWest2005]

I just made my order a whalla go...
d5 pump
BI Extreme III
apogee cpu block
maze 4 chipset block
2 maze 4 gpu blocks (not low profile) and added the 16 mem heatsinks
3 120mm fans

$474.89

 

[xdkimx]

hm i need some help with the pump, now im thinking of using this mag 7 pump http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=DN1125

is it a fair trade for +2.5' head, +383 gph, +46watts

is the better flow worth the extra heat? and if its not would it be if i added another radiator?

and for this pump would a relay like this one http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/pumrelswitki.html allow me to keep this pump in the case?

thanks

 

[mysterfix]

hm i need some help with the pump, now im thinking of using this mag 7 pump http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=DN1125

is it a fair trade for +2.5' head, +383 gph, +46watts

is the better flow worth the extra heat? and if its not would it be if i added another radiator?

and for this pump would a relay like this one http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/pumrelswitki.html allow me to keep this pump in the case?

thanks

IMHO it's not woth it, your just spending more money to get maybe the same performance or less after you add the extra rad which in turn will add more restriction. Also those numbers are based on best case senario (No restrictions of any kind). I could be wrong as I've not seen any data comparing the 2 pumps but it seems like a lot of trouble to go thru for very little gain if any.

 

[xdkimx]

hm thats a good point, i kind of figured the same, i guess ill stick with what i have

thanks for the input

now im down to the last thing before i make the order, for the vga ram sinks would something like this work with the maze 4 low profile http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/vaiccobgara.html they say they stand 9mm tall, or if thats too tall should i go with these? http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...ription=ZALMAN ZM-RHS1 Aluminium RAM Heatsink (6mm tall)

 

[Happy13178]

For 149.99 you can't beat the thermaltake big water kit
it does its job pefectly
you may get an extra 5 or 8 degree drop from the best custom built system

~RD

I have to agree here...

I'm running an intel-d 830, and stock hovered around 60 degrees pretty much all the time. I didn't run much load, because frankly I was scared to see how hot it would get.

I built WC with:
BIX3 with 3 delta fans, MCP650, Storm, and a reservoir in a loop (no gpu block yet), and my temps dropped to about 33/41....makes sense that the big water kit would perform at about 5-8 degrees more. If you're looking at starting out you can go for that or one of the swiftech kits...most of the guys in here would recommend them, they're best to upgrade components down the road if you want, and they come with everything you need to get going. Least number of question marks, for best performance.