New to watercooling. any advice?

BriT

BriT

BriT

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Hi guys,

Basically i want to get into watercooling my system. First i wanna know if my Antec 1200 is up to being watercooled and everything will fit?

Secondly what are the main parts i would need to buy?

Thirdly is there some sort of guide to assemble the parts?

Cheers
 
If you don't mind some modding you can get watercooling to fit in most cases.

The main components in usual loop order are

Reservoir
Pump
CPU Block
GPU block
Radiator

Here is how i got started.

I read the ocuk advanced overclocking sticky
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17803239
Trawled the xs forums
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=70
and the stickies there
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=202394
and then discovered skinnee and martin, two of the best reviewers of watercooling gear. This is where delta temps and watercooling clicked in my head, the graphs and tables didn't mean much to me at the start now i go straight to them to see how many watts can be disapated at XXXrpm fan speed
http://www.skinneelabs.com/
http://martinsliquidlab.org/
Be clear on what your goal is. Silence, performance and aesthetics and match your hardware to your needs. Think about your future cooling needs as it will probably save you money in the long run and most of all be patient.
 
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The more reading you do the better, really you cannot read enough and ask as many questions as you need there are a lot of knowledgable people here to help :)
 
JeffyB said:
Found this build log, although he's chosen to mount his res outside. Shows that you can fit a tripple rad in the front of the 1200 and how much modding to expect to do.

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=169397
Click to expand...

One thing I didn't understand is actually what he modded to get the fan inside. I haven't owned a 1200, but I assume there are brackets or screws that hold the 120mm fans in? So was it just a matter of taking the fans out, screwing them to the rad and then fitting the rad and fans (as a single unit) back into the case?
 
How's this?

Laing DDC-1T Pro Pump 440 L/hr 10W (MCP350) - £62
XSPC 5.25" Dual Drive Bay Reservoir for One Laing DDC Pump Multi Fascia - £45
EK Supreme HF CPU Waterblock Intel 1366 - £50
EK CoolStream XT 360mm Triple Radiator : XT 360 - £48

Total - £205

What tubing and fittings would i need?
 
You have a choice on fittings, barbs or compression fittings. Both are good most will prefer one to the other and they both have pros and cons. Barbs are cheaper and will give a cleaner look to a build if you don't use clamps but this also increases leakage risk. You only need to match ID (inner diameter) of your tubing although many will use 7/16id tubing over 1/2 barbs for extra snugness. Compressions generally cost more and can be bulky but clamp onto the tubing on both sides. With compressions you must match both inner and outer diamenters of your tubing. I prefer compressions.

Tubing choice is important as cheap hose is notorious for leeching which will cause cloudy tubing and gunk in your loop. I only use primochill proflex LRT as bend radius is great and the colours are excellent. Size is not overly important but will affect the cost of your fittings as larger fittings are generally more expensive and by the time you have bought 10 fittings it soon adds up. a lot of people, myself included like the bigger 1/2id 3/4od hose if space is not an issue but anything over 3/8id will not show any noticable temperature gain.

Now you just need to source some unicorn tears and some unobtanium to keep the tears clear ;)
 
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EK and XSPC do some complete kits that are good value and are as good as a custom loop and it takes away the whole worry about getting the right parts. I am getting the EK supreme 360 kit as soon as i know when BD is out :).
 
There is no worry in chosing parts provided you research properly and ask questions when you need to. The kits do offer good value and simple out of the box ease but it's better to source parts for your specific goal in the long run.
 
Totally agree but for some the ease with buying a kit is a lot more preferable and less problamatic and the EK kit is spoken of quite highly also these kits are just good for those taking their first steps into watercooling. I see my kit as my start but not my end if you understand what i mean but then i am only going to watercool my cpu gfx fan noise and stock temps have never bothered me and WC'ing the north or south bridge seems a lot of hassle for little return if you have a case that has good airflow already.
 
Just so you know, the XSPC Rasa 240 kit is incredible, you get everything including fans, just have to get some coolant :)
 
Thanks. Had a look at it and it does look good. Does it come with a manual? Looked on google and can't find anything that states it comes with a manual.
 
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Ok i ordered the XSPC Rasa 750 RX240 WaterCooling Kit last night. No idea when it will come but im excited :D. Will post pics etc when it arrives and no doubt some questions when installing lol

Think im gonna mount the rad at the back of my Antec 1200 as it has fans there anyway. Is it best to have fans sucking out air from the PC or sucking in air from room?
 
Air from room, It's slightly cooler. However, the only problem in doing that is you may mess up the airflow in your case...

Mine comes on tuesday, I reckon we should both post pics here :)
 
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