First watercooling attempt

Cat_J · 7 Dec 2011 at 15:59

Hi,

I've been building computers for years professionally but have never needed to put together a watercooled setup. I now want to get better performance out of my i7 and reduce my case temp while playing games.

I will probably eventually end up with a watercooled card in the loop but I have a GTX295 with a dual pcb and it seems impossible to find blocks for them anymore.

I was looking at the V12 kit which looks nice and future proof. I have a Cooldermaster Silencio which I loath to get rid of as its pretty new and I like the drive bay in the front.

So my plan was to cut the top of the case to accommodate the radiator, this will have to go either on top of the case or inside the top depending on where is will fit. I'm fine with doing this, got the dremel etc. I would then mount the pump in the bottom and the res in the 5.25" bay.

My main question is; will having the res below the radiator likely cause a lot of air to get trapped in the radiator. If so then I probably need a new case to mount them at the same level but would rather hack mine about if possible.

Thanks in advance

cjgardens · 7 Dec 2011 at 16:05

you can bleed it anyway

Cleeecooo · 7 Dec 2011 at 19:40

cjgardens said:
you can bleed it anyway

this. it'll be fine as long as the res is before th pump.

BTW, your sig is 2 lines too big

Cat_J · 7 Dec 2011 at 20:42

Sweet, I'm actually looking forward to this now. That was my main concern, now I can just cut some holes in the top of the case and mount the rad on the top.

Cheers for the heads up on the sig

What kind of performance difference would you expect between the V12 and V8 for the processor only. I doubt I'll be swapping gfx cards soon as there still seems to be nothing that really touches the sides of the GTX295 performance, and I'm running a 2560 x 1440 screen

Harpss1ngh · 7 Dec 2011 at 20:50

Have you thought about mounting the Rad externally without any cutting using Rad mounts? That's what I'm doing and I'm finding it pretty easy to do. I'll have it all assembled over the weekend. Thank the computer gods for pre-drilled holes for WC tubes!

Cat_J · 7 Dec 2011 at 21:15

That sounds good, I main reason I liked the idea of cutting the top of the case was the air off the rad could be pumped over the gfx card. It would still be cooler than the air the CPU cooler is pushing onto it now.

Have you got a link to those mounts? I can't seem to find them.

Thanks

Cat_J · 8 Dec 2011 at 15:32

Well I've ordered the V12 kit. Got them to change it to black pipe so it looks a bit nicer with the black rad & black case.

Just gotta wait for it to arrive. Fun times ahead.

skyripper · 8 Dec 2011 at 18:52

Cat_J said:
...main reason I liked the idea of cutting the top of the case was the air off the rad could be pumped over the gfx card. It would still be cooler than the air the CPU cooler is pushing onto it now.

The heat in the air coming from your Radiators will be the same or more than the heat coming out of the current heatsink/fan as your Rad is still cooling your CPU - thats the bit making all the heat.

It will be quieter and more effective at removing heat, so the temperature of the air will be the same or more than current. Unless you are blowing the hot air out the top of your case instead of into your case.

Also consider any airflow that will be needed for your chipset and mosfets around the CPU.

A side panel fan is generally the way to go to get cooler air fed into your gfx card if you arent putting the gfx under water as well.

Cat_J · 8 Dec 2011 at 20:28

Fair enough, makes sense. I'm waiting to get the parts so I can mock everything up before I decide exactly how I'm going to set it up.

I am considering getting a block for the chipset, but thought I'd get it all working first, I know exposed chips can be delicate when screwing heatsinks onto them.

Cat_J · 19 Dec 2011 at 10:13

Finished!

Well got all my parts the other day and had an interesting time fitting everything. Had to cut a large hole in the top of my (very new) Silencio case. Although I did see that coming. Excuse my messy desk...

Shiny new stuff!

Mounted the radiator on top. Still yet to modify the 3rd fan so it will fit.

Got everything plugged in and running, checked for leaks then rebuilt and ran the water loop for a further hour before booting the PC again.

All tidied up... Well mostly.

Temps are way better now. It used to get up to 80C running the hardest stress tests under the freezer pro. Now it hasn't gone over 48C yet and that's with over an hour of testing. I used MX-4 which I haven't used before but heard good things, I was always

Cleeecooo · 19 Dec 2011 at 11:22

Looks good, by you need to sleeve those cables!

Cat_J · 19 Dec 2011 at 11:37

Maybe when I get some free tome over Christmas... Looks like I forgot to finish my sentence. I was saying I always used to use Arctic Silver 5 but actually think MX-4 may be better, also its non conductive.

Cleeecooo · 19 Dec 2011 at 11:41

MX 4 is awesome

Cat_J · 19 Dec 2011 at 13:25

Yeah I think it'll be my standard thermal paste from now on. I've bought 4 tubes of it. Especially as its supposed to last up to 8 years.

Was looking at that IC Diamond 24 Carat stuff but its so expensive for what looks like very little improvement.

breadturbo · 19 Dec 2011 at 13:28

are the pipes jsut pushed on with no clamps?

Cleeecooo · 19 Dec 2011 at 13:38

breadturbo said:
are the pipes jsut pushed on with no clamps?

he's using 1/2 fittings with 7/16 tubes so there's no need

Cat_J · 19 Dec 2011 at 13:47

Yeah they are. the 7/16" pipe was a tight fit on the 1/2" barbs. Put it in hot water to loosen them up to fit them on.

Cleeecooo · 19 Dec 2011 at 13:53

I found that i didn't need the hot water. They slipped on quite nicely. Getting them off was a PITA though

Cat_J · 19 Dec 2011 at 15:10

Well hopefully I wont need to for a while. I am starting to wonder about GFX card upgrade so I can WC that too but there just doesn't seem to be anything on the market work upgrading from a GTX295 to. I'm not that fussed about DX11 at the moment.

If I was to get a new card I'd like to be sure it will cope better with the 2560x1440 resolution of my U2711. The GTX295 does a good job keeping safely above 30fps in most new games but I'm starting to see drops to 20fps in the latest Assassins Creed. I'm too picky to turn the graphics down.

Cleeecooo · 19 Dec 2011 at 15:25

Cat_J said:
Well hopefully I wont need to for a while. I am starting to wonder about GFX card upgrade so I can WC that too but there just doesn't seem to be anything on the market work upgrading from a GTX295 to. I'm not that fussed about DX11 at the moment.

If I was to get a new card I'd like to be sure it will cope better with the 2560x1440 resolution of my U2711. The GTX295 does a good job keeping safely above 30fps in most new games but I'm starting to see drops to 20fps in the latest Assassins Creed. I'm too picky to turn the graphics down.

I'd wait for the next gen of cards before upgrading. As you said, the 295 is still a very capable card.