First water cooling attempt

Gunda · 14 Oct 2008 at 12:29

Right i've decided my 4870 is making too much noise and what better excuse to delve into watercooling which i've wanted to do for a long time.

My my case is a Lian-Li PC-7B PLUS II so its going to be alittle tight, but i'm thinking i will mount the rad on top of the case, or pos mod the top so it will fit partically sunken in the top with the fans sucking air out?in?.

The spec i've come up with:

XSPC RS240 120mm Radiator - Black(£23.49)
EK HD 4870 Acrylic Full Cover VGA Water Block(£79.89)
XSPC Dual 750 Bay Reservoir & Pump - Clear(£41.11)
XSPC Delta V3 CPU Waterblock(£35.24)
Total : £190.24

Now obviously i need tubes and fans both of which i'm not sure on what to get. Can people take a look at my spec and tell me if i'm going to be ok with this kit and/or if you would change/Add anything.

Many thanks in advance for any replys.

ps. cooling E6600 currently o/c'ed to 3.2Ghz and ati 4870 512mb.(full spec in sig)

zero-one · 14 Oct 2008 at 12:36

That rad is not enough to cool the gfx and cpu. You'd need at least a 120.3 to cool them.

Bradley8988 · 14 Oct 2008 at 12:37

get a thermochill rad if you have space and the money there a lot better rads. Also a DTEK fusion would be better.

tatts · 14 Oct 2008 at 12:44

I wouldnt choose any of them parts if i was spending that much on a new set up tbh

Ch3m1c4L · 14 Oct 2008 at 12:56

tatts said:
I wouldnt choose any of them parts if i was spending that much on a new set up tbh

care to help out the OP and tell him what yopu would get for sub £200?

tatts · 14 Oct 2008 at 13:41

Ch3m1c4L said:
care to help out the OP and tell him what yopu would get for sub £200?

The only problem with watercolling is if you buy cheap you buy twice. My first set up was a kit and it all got replaced within a year, a lot of people will back me up on this one.

The best spec atm would be this depending on budget, i know its £40 more but it is worth it (I would personally go for a pa120.3 though if you can find somewhere to mount it):

EK HD 4870 Acrylic Full Cover VGA Water Block £67.99 (£79.89)
XSPC DDC 10w Pro Pump/Reservoir £49.99 (£58.74)
Thermochill PA120.2 120mm Double Radiator £46.99 (£55.21)
D-Tek Fuzion V2 Universal CPU Block £39.99 (£46.99)
Total : £240.83

If not happy with that, anything from the below is fine too

Cpu block - D-tek fuzion, ek supreme or Swiftech Apogee GTZ
Rad - Thermochil pa120.2 or 120.3
XSPC DDC 10w Pro Pump/Reservoir if you want a pump/res in one?
If not, a DDC or D5/MCP655 with a swiftech micro res or ek multi res
EK vga full cover block

Bradley8988 · 14 Oct 2008 at 13:44

I have XSPC rads and there pretty rubbish.

Monkey Puzzle · 14 Oct 2008 at 13:53

tatts said:
The only problem with watercolling is if you buy cheap you buy twice. My first set up was a kit and it all got replaced within a year, a lot of people will back me up on this one.

The best spec atm would be this depending on budget, i know its £40 more but it is worth it (I would personally go for a pa120.3 though if you can find somewhere to mount it):

EK HD 4870 Acrylic Full Cover VGA Water Block £67.99 (£79.89)
XSPC DDC 10w Pro Pump/Reservoir £49.99 (£58.74)
Thermochill PA120.2 120mm Double Radiator £46.99 (£55.21)
D-Tek Fuzion V2 Universal CPU Block £39.99 (£46.99)
Total : £240.83

If not happy with that, anything from the below is fine too
Cpu block - D-tek fuzion, ek supreme or Swiftech Apogee GTZ
Rad - Thermochil pa120.2 or 120.3
XSPC DDC 10w Pro Pump/Reservoir if you want a pump/res in one?
If not, a DDC or D5/MCP655 with a swiftech micro res or ek multi res
EK vga full cover block

You could get that lot cheaper... and swapping the full cover EK block for a GPU only block (Swiftech MCW60, Danger Den or D-Tek Fuzion GFX) would save you that £40 if not more, and you'd be able to use it for future graphics cards without having to shell out £80 each time. Tatts suggestions are good - I'd go for a beefier radiator, or maybe two - you could fit a pa120.2 to the back of the pc-7, or one internally in the top, or a triple mounted on top of it...

jonnylaris · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:10

why go for the fuzion when the apogee is only £6 more?

tatts · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:17

jonnylaris said:
why go for the fuzion when the apogee is only £6 more?

They both perform the same as stock although the fuzion would be better with the nozzle kit.
I would only change it if you're bothered about looks and prefer one of the others

http://www.xtremesystems.org/Forums/showthread.php?t=199636

1kiwi · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:22

I would go full cover TBH - the 4870's run pretty hot (i upgraded my setup from GPU block to full cover).

N19h7m4r3 · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:27

If he goes Full cover try to avoid Ek blocks with Acrylic tops.
They have been known to crack from heat warping the card.

They also don't cover All the parts.

Interestingly the XSPC full cover blocks are rated slightly higher than the EK ones.

Monkey Puzzle · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:31

beh* said:
I would go full cover TBH - the 4870's run pretty hot (i upgraded my setup from GPU block to full cover).

but then he's going to put even more stress on the radiator and get higher cpu and gpu temps, and for little if any oc benefit. Seems pointless imo.

1kiwi · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:39

Monkey Puzzle said:
but then he's going to put even more stress on the radiator and get higher cpu and gpu temps, and for little if any oc benefit. Seems pointless imo.

A PA120.3 will easily handle that. He should be able to clock his ram allot higher using a full cover instead of ram sinks. I know mine used to get stupidly hot. Also, the VRM's used to get well over 120 degrees. That was with a single card as well. Now that i'm running crossfire i'm so glad i switched to full cover.

Gunda · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:45

wow, thanks for all the responses so far, i keep going and changnig my spec and by the time i get back here to re-post it someone else has posted with more advice lol. ok so here is what i have so far.. (still need advice on extras, like hose's, clips?, attachments and like)

XSPC Dual 750 Bay Reservoir & Pump - Clear (£41.11) (just not sure i can fit the res/pump recommended in my case where as i can make room in the 5 1/4 bays)
XSPC Full Cover Razor 4870 - Acetal (£58.74)
Noctua NF-S12 800RPM 120mm Silent Case Fan x3 (£42.27)
Swiftech MCR320-QP Triple 120mm Radiator (£38.76)
Swiftech Apogee GTZ (LGA775) Waterblock (£52.86)

Total : £244.26

1kiwi · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:47

OP: You may want to check out this thread when deciding to go full cover or not. Some good viewpoints.

Gunda · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:47

oh my case is this one: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-054-LL

1kiwi · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:48

Gunda said:
wow, thanks for all the responses so far, i keep going and changnig my spec and by the time i get back here to re-post it someone else has posted with more advice lol. ok so here is what i have so far.. (still need advice on extras, like hose's, clips?, attachments and like)

XSPC Dual 750 Bay Reservoir & Pump - Clear (£41.11) (just not sure i can fit the res/pump recommended in my case where as i can make room in the 5 1/4 bays)
XSPC Full Cover Razor 4870 - Acetal (£58.74)
Noctua NF-S12 800RPM 120mm Silent Case Fan x3 (£42.27)
Swiftech MCR320-QP Triple 120mm Radiator (£38.76)
Swiftech Apogee GTZ (LGA775) Waterblock (£52.86)

Total : £244.26

Have a look through these:

Xtream Systems - Guide To WaterCooling and Leak Testing - ALL New WaterCooler's Read Before Posting!

Overclock.com - Beginner's Guide to Watercooling

Overclock 3f.net - Water Cooling - Quick Install/Leak Testing guide

1kiwi · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:49

Gunda said:
oh my case is this one: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-054-LL

Are you going to mod it yourself?

Monkey Puzzle · 14 Oct 2008 at 14:51

Gunda said:
wow, thanks for all the responses so far, i keep going and changnig my spec and by the time i get back here to re-post it someone else has posted with more advice lol. ok so here is what i have so far.. (still need advice on extras, like hose's, clips?, attachments and like)

XSPC Dual 750 Bay Reservoir & Pump - Clear (£41.11) (just not sure i can fit the res/pump recommended in my case where as i can make room in the 5 1/4 bays)
XSPC Full Cover Razor 4870 - Acetal (£58.74)
Noctua NF-S12 800RPM 120mm Silent Case Fan x3 (£42.27)
Swiftech MCR320-QP Triple 120mm Radiator (£38.76)
Swiftech Apogee GTZ (LGA775) Waterblock (£52.86)

Total : £244.26

Change the noctua fans for Lian Li 12cm low fans - the noctuas aren't relly meant for radiators - they don't create much pressure. The lian Lis are very quiet and very cheap - you'd save yourself about £30. Or alternatively get the noctua p12 fans which are better for radiators and heatsinks.