Water cooling, setup advice.

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Yesterday I ordered my new system. Parts to be watercooled are a Q6600 and a 8800 GTX (I am using Nvidia :eek:).

The setup I am thinking is as follows:
Swiftech MCP655 Pump
D-Tek FuZion
D-Tek FuZion Accelerator Nozzle Kit (£3.29 is it worth it? As reviews seem varied)
EK FC8800 8800GTX Acetal Top
ThermoChill PA120.3 Triple Radiator
EK Multioption RES 250 Rev.2 (or get the 150?)
All tubing and barbs will be 1/2".

Is the above setup going to be sufficient to overclock both cpu and gpu? If not should I get two 120.2s?

Also the other thing I am not sure about is it best to build the loop outside of the case test for leaks and then attach to hardware? If so just leave the loop on the desk and leave the pc on 24hrs with molex connected to the pump?

Also read on some forums people leave their watercooling of 24/7 so they don't get air in the system. I take it this isn't necessary as I can't leave mine on 24/7.

Thanks for your help guys.
 
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That setup looks fine. A PA120.3 will cope with your cooling needs.

I personally would mount the blocks on your CPU/GPU and then attach the tubing as it can be a pain getting a good mount with tubing attached. Leak testing outside the case is all good and well but its pointless if you have to strip it back down and put it back in the case.

You don't need to leave it running for 24hrs to get rid of bubbles, they will go over time. Aslong as you get the big bubbles out(bleed the setup) then your good to go. In fact its better to stop/start the system to allow bubbles to rise to there highest point rather than trying to force them out of your loop so the 24hrs to bleed your setup in one go from is incorrect.

As for the accelerator kit, I have one next to me but aint fitted it yet. I can't see it making a huge difference tbh but every degree counts to a certain extent.
 
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Associate
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I have the Accelerator kit and got 3c better with my Quad, but as we all know not everytime is the CPU block fitted to it's best so I would say 1 degree either side would be a good estimate.
IMO the nozzel kit is the cheapest way I've found to save 3c.
 
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Had a look at the DDC and doesn' t move more water per hour on max setting so why is it better?

Is it agreed best to set the water cooling up in place? But how can I run the pump without having the pc on in this case?
 
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Had a look at the DDC and doesn' t move more water per hour on max setting so why is it better?

Is it agreed best to set the water cooling up in place? But how can I run the pump without having the pc on in this case?

have everthing unplugged then you need to jumper the psu main plug to power it up
 
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DDC + XSPC custom top = best and then you can mod the thing aswell to do 18V

Interesting - I know of 3 people who have cracked their XSPC tops fitting them. And the Laing D5 is set up for 24V out of the box. I prefer the D5/MC655 over the DDC2 as it's more controllable. The 18W DDC2's just seem to blast water around the pipes, causing whirlpools in the reservoirs and generally making whooshing noises. And apparently, if you run them at less than 12V to counteract these issues, they destroy themselves. Not good.
 
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Interesting - I know of 3 people who have cracked their XSPC tops fitting them. And the Laing D5 is set up for 24V out of the box. I prefer the D5/MC655 over the DDC2 as it's more controllable. The 18W DDC2's just seem to blast water around the pipes, causing whirlpools in the reservoirs and generally making whooshing noises. And apparently, if you run them at less than 12V to counteract these issues, they destroy themselves. Not good.

So technically the pump burns itself out at less than 12v

personally i prefer/ use the Laing DDC Pro with Plexi Reservoir Top

Nice informative post WJA96,
 
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Soldato
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Looks exellent spec ;) for quad's quite a few people reckon the nozzles make a difference but i dont have one on my fuzion , and it's just a idea but you could use 7/16" tubing which will make installing the jubilee or pvc hose clips abit easier on the cpu block , that is the only thing i dont like about the d-tek block the barbs are very close together with 1/2" tubing .
 
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So technically the pump burns itself out at less than 12v

Well, that's what people are saying. I've never actually had it happen to me.

personally i prefer/ use the Laing DDC Pro with Plexi Reservoir Top

On the advice of my welsh guru, I've just acquired such a piece of kit with foam in it, to stop any bubbles apparently. Does yours have an o-ring or seal between the reservoir top and the plexi-top bit that sandwiches onto the pump? Mine doesn't and I'm thinking it's bound to leak!
 
Soldato
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Snip
Does yours have an o-ring or seal between the reservoir top and the plexi-top bit that sandwiches onto the pump? Mine doesn't and I'm thinking it's bound to leak!


Yes mine does have the O ring seal seated between pump and the plexiglass.

The O ring is in situ already on the laing pump when you remove the barb (intake/outake) part of the pump. You use the O ring all ready in situ. When you place the plexi res on top of the O ring be vigilant that the O ring is seat properly and does not become misaligned or pinched.

Without the O ring it wont just leak but wet itself:eek:

This pump/ res in my opinion is a wonderful bit of kit


with foam in it, to stop any bubbles apparently.

I do not use any foam in mine, never had a problem with air bubbles. Just slightly unscrew res cap and it purges itself. I found running my system for 24hrs after installation removed excess air.

Although there are micro bubbles in the system, this has not had any affect on my custom set up/ performance. No gurgling air noise either. I would presume the foam is for removing the micro bubbles as you mention.
 
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Soldato
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Yes mine does have the O ring seal seated between pump and the plexiglass.

If yours does not have the the O ring as you describe i would recommend returning it. Without the O ring it wont just leak but wet itself:eek:

Ah. Shame. The pump/plexitop was new, but the res was second-hand. Nevermind - off to the plumbers for a 2mm x 70mm O-ring then!

This pump/ res in my opinion is a wonderful bit of kit

Agreed - The thing that I hadn't spotted before I bought the reservoir top is that it actually gives you much more flexibility about the angle of entry for the intake water as you can mount the top in any direction so the inlet can face any direction. Brilliant!

I do not use any foam in mine, never had a problem with air bubbles. Just slightly unscrew res cap and it purges itself. I found running my system for 24hrs after installation removed excess air.

Although there are micro bubbles in the system, this has not had any affect on my custom set up/ performance. No gurgling air noise either. I would presume the foam is for removing the micro bubbles.

The micro-bubbles are what I was told the foam is for. I really think the more powerful pumps are wasted on a nice, short loop with maybe 2 high-flow blocks. After all these pumps are designed to pump water around a microbore central heating system several hundred feet long with huge panel room radiators. I only buy the 10W Laing DDCs now after having a bit of a bad experience with the 18W version and an EK reservoir that looked like something out of Twister. The air sucked in at the reservoir formed a neat little trickle of air all through the water pipes. EK has now released an Anti-Cyclon (sic) device and I've got one to test. Thanks for the heads-up on the o-ring.
 
Soldato
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Agreed - The thing that I hadn't spotted before I bought the reservoir top is that it actually gives you much more flexibility about the angle of entry for the intake water as you can mount the top in any direction so the inlet can face any direction. Brilliant!


That is the main advantage of this kit. It can also be mounted for example at the bottom side, by means of the standard uncouplings or even better, it can be installed in place of 80mm fans. The overall liquid capacity is 110ml as well.

I really think the more powerful pumps are wasted on a nice, short loop with maybe 2 high-flow blocks.

I totally agree :)

Look forward to your deliberation/ review.
 
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Soldato
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The micro-bubbles are what I was told the foam is for. I really think the more powerful pumps are wasted on a nice, short loop with maybe 2 high-flow blocks. After all these pumps are designed to pump water around a microbore central heating system several hundred feet long with huge panel room radiators. I only buy the 10W Laing DDCs now after having a bit of a bad experience with the 18W version and an EK reservoir that looked like something out of Twister. The air sucked in at the reservoir formed a neat little trickle of air all through the water pipes. EK has now released an Anti-Cyclon (sic) device and I've got one to test. Thanks for the heads-up on the o-ring.

Exactly what happens with my 18w version, it's also way too noisy for my liking, as the main reason for me going w/c was silence, going to be down-grading (or upgrading in noise terms..) to the 10w, will also be going dual loop next year, so 10w should be fine in a single/double block loop.

Once again, some very informative posts from the w/c guru's, wp guys
 
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