Help me choose a water cooling setup

Bikerz

Bikerz

Bikerz

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Hi guys, this is my 1st go at water cooling. This is not due to wanting to overclock seriousley (tho i bet i will get the itch), but instead to try and reduce my temps, but mainly to make my system as silent as possible, so please bear noise as one of the main factors when choosing parts. I have no budget as am a working man(lol) but dont be mad as im not a mad overclocker.

I needs to cool in my Antec 900 Ultimate gaming case?:

CPU - Quad 6600 GO
GFX - 8800GT 512mb

Do I need to cool the following, would it be of use?

Mobo - Asus P5KC?
Memory ?
HDD's?

Can you cool my Corsair 520W PSU as surley that is a fan that maybe noisey, or are they pretty quite? Would a fan controller be of benifit? I dont mind it being loud when gaming, but when doing general applications I want it to be super quite, so would a fan controller be of use to me?

I dont got for all these flashy lights (well the mrs doesnt) so dont want any of those unless they come on the parts.

Looking at barb and pipe sizes I would say the larger the better surley? Tho knowone seems to say this why not? surley the more you can flow the cooler it can be?

What bits would you recomend?

Sorry for long post
 
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Right :

Is it specifically watercooling you want, or just quiet ?

I used to watercool, but have gone to an MATX case and its the quietest system ive ever had.

5v Yate-Loon 120mm fans all round, passive mobo, arctic cooling passive gpu, scythe ninja, WD5000AAKS

Quiet as a mouse :)
 
Well I think it would just be cool looking. At the mo I have theralright cpu cooler and 120mm fan with the standard antec 900 case and fans that come with it. its far too loud at idel when not playing games. I dont want to change my case as I quite like it realy.
 
Your basket
Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Thermochill PA120.2 120mm Double Radiator £42.99
(£50.51) £85.98
(£101.02)
DangerDen Maze 5 Video Card Liquid Cooling Block £29.99
(£35.24) £29.99
(£35.24)
DangerDen RBX Block (LGA775 Processors) £30.99
(£36.41) £30.99
(£36.41)
Zalman Anti-Corrosion Coolant - Blue (500ml) £10.99
(£12.91) £10.99
(£12.91)
Swiftech MCP350 12 VDC Pump £42.99
(£50.51) £42.99
(£50.51)
DangerDen Single Bay 5.25" Resevoir £18.99
(£22.31) £18.99
(£22.31)
Sub Total : £219.93
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £40.05
Total : £268.93



That a good idea? Im trying to do research myself but realy dont have a clue. Just need barbs and tubing with that stuff, but cant find any on OC
 
PT Nuke and De-Ionised Water to replace the Zalman coolant.

Possibly a Swiftech Micro Res or T-Line and Fillport.

3/8" Tygon on 1/2" barbs. My new favourite.

IIRC The Maze 5 isn't as universal as the D-Tek Fuzion GPU block, probably nothing in performance between them though.

DDC pump with after market top is slightly better, but D5 is more reliable.

Add some Yate Loon fans. Job Done!
 
Bikerz said:
Antec 900 Ultimate gaming case
Click to expand...

Not an ideal case for water cooling i'm afraid!


Bikerz said:
Do I need to cool the following, would it be of use?

Mobo - Asus P5KC?
Memory ?
HDD's?
Click to expand...

Nope, no need to cool any of those really. Chipset if its hot (most arent) can be done with something like an Thermalright HR-05, the rest dont need cooling (caddy for the HDD might reduce noise though.


Bikerz said:
Can you cool my Corsair 520W PSU as surley that is a fan that maybe noisey, or are they pretty quite?
Click to expand...

Its a VERY quiet PSU, so no need.

Bikerz said:
Would a fan controller be of benifit? I dont mind it being loud when gaming, but when doing general applications I want it to be super quite, so would a fan controller be of use to me?
Click to expand...

Very useful, Yate Loons or Sharkoon 2000s are pretty damm quiet on reduced voltage, i run a fan controler in my rig for that very reason.


Bikerz said:
Looking at barb and pipe sizes I would say the larger the better surley? Tho knowone seems to say this why not? surley the more you can flow the cooler it can be?
Click to expand...

above a certain point the benefits of increased pipe size is negligible, the major piping sizes are all pretty similar.

Hope that helps.
 
CPU Block:
If you're going for a single loop for the CPU only then either the D-Tek FuZion or the ApogeeGTX. The GTX and FuZion are about neck and neck for performance if the nozzles work for you on the FuZion. FuZion is cheaper though, so may be the better buy. I personally use the GTX with copper top and like it due to the fact it has an official hard mount with back plate.

GPU Block:
Not sure what fits the 8800GT here, but the Maze 5 you picked is a very good block if it does, used to have one on my X1900XT. These cards are not limited by cooling capabilities, so going water will drop temps but none will really allow it to go any higher clock wise than an other. Will give the biggest noise drop from stock fan though.

Reservoir
Swiftech MCRES without a shadow of a doubt. Small, comes with a mounting bracket and is the best reservoir I've used to date. Has a interior wall to stop turbulence so it quiet. Bay reservoirs are poor, especially when it comes to turbulence. If you want a bay reservoir, I recommend you stay clear of DangerDen and get the XSPC one :)

Pump
Laing DDC 18w with XSPC after market top. This is a cheap top, but has the best performance out of all after market tops (tests by OC3D, although the performance differences between tops won't make any difference but if it's cheap as measured as the best, then you can't lose).

Choose 1/2" barbs and use MasterKleer 7/16th ID 5/8" OD tubing with clamps of your choice.
 
the antec 900 case can be used if you dont mind your rad placed externally o/s of the case.

My first water build was with a antec 900. Placed the radiator up right at the rear of the case never had a problem at all.
 
You say choose 1/2 " barbs Mekrel but it all seems to be 3/8" how can I get stuff with 1/2 " barbs? Id like 1/2" barbs if possible but kit doesnt seem to come with it

There are no Yate Loons fans on OC UK are there?

The swiftech micro res looks a pian to install arnt there any good bay ones out there?

The Thermochioll rads are a good buy? 1 or 2?

Which Fan controller?
 
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Im realy worried about these barb fittings, the laing pump all I can find is 3/8" ones so doe sthat mean I have to get 3/8" everything?
 
What do you mean 3/8th barbs are only available?

The watercooling shops I use have a drop down list under the product to select barbs (included in price of the block) you want before pressing the buy button.

Reservoir and T-Line has no performance differential, just bleed time and aesthetic differences.
 
Bikerz said:
Im realy worried about these barb fittings, the laing pump all I can find is 3/8" ones so doe sthat mean I have to get 3/8" everything?
Click to expand...

The Laing pump has a plastic moulded top with barbs in built which are 3/8th, you need a top for it so you can choose barbs as they're threaded. Top also increases performance.
 
A T line and fillport is an alternative to a res. It takes up less space and is cheaper. No performance difference, but argueably doesnt look as nice as a RES.

Tubing. There use to be a debate about 1/2" tubing being the best for flow and temperatures. 7/16"th tubing then became the tubing of choice as it was more manageable than 1/2" tubing but with very little performace loss. Then recenty it was reported that tubing size really makes no difference to performance. Then there was the whole " use 7/16"th tubing on 1/2" barbs without clamps" thing. IMO that is BS. Depending on brand of barbs 7/16th tubing can come loose easily. I now use 3/8" tubing on 1/2" barbs (instead of 3/8" barbs). It work very well, in fact better than 7/16"th tubing. With Some barbs the tubing needs heating in boiled water but it creates a better seal. I recommend 3/8" Tygon and 1/2" barbs to everyone. So much better!
 
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