Water cooling question

Monkey_Boy1211 · 12 Jun 2007 at 11:40

Hi, I'm planning on building a new system soon and would like some advice on the watercooling. I'll be getting an 8800gtx with water block pre-installed and a 775 block on a quad core. My plan is to use 2 * single 120mm radiators setup like this

Res >> Pump >> CPU >> Rad1 >> GPU >> Radiator >> Res

Would this provide enough cooling? I plan on doing some overclocking. I would like to only use the single radiators as they can be mounted inside the case (Planning on getting the P182SE)

ArchAnGeL · 12 Jun 2007 at 11:45

Monkey_Boy1211 said:
Hi, I'm planning on building a new system soon and would like some advice on the watercooling. I'll be getting an 8800gtx with water block pre-installed and a 775 block on a quad core. My plan is to use 2 * single 120mm radiators setup like this

Res >> Pump >> CPU >> Rad1 >> GPU >> Radiator >> Res

Would this provide enough cooling? I plan on doing some overclocking. I would like to only use the single radiators as they can be mounted inside the case (Planning on getting the P182SE)

rads are in the wrong positions and i would cool the gpu first, the coolest part of the system should be before the hottest item imo but I'm by no means a water expert.

should be

res>pump>rad1>gpu>rad2>cpu>res

I would want rad2 to be at least 120.2

Monkey_Boy1211 · 12 Jun 2007 at 11:49

OK, thanks. I thought the rads would come after the hot stuff to cool the water down. Would using 2 120.1 instead of a 120.2 for rad2 work as well? I can fit 3 * 120.1's in

ArchAnGeL · 12 Jun 2007 at 11:56

Monkey_Boy1211 said:
OK, thanks. I thought the rads would come after the hot stuff to cool the water down. Would using 2 120.1 instead of a 120.2 for rad2 work as well? I can fit 3 * 120.1's in

it seems sensible but in all honesty, I don't know. i can't imagine there being a massive difference.

DaveMac · 12 Jun 2007 at 12:12

Loop order makes no measurable difference due to the flow-speed, keep res before pump to avoid cavitation and tubing lengths short and kink free for max performance.

I'd recomend at least a PA120.3 for that loop, multiple singles impact on flowrate and will not perform as well.

waso_dude · 12 Jun 2007 at 12:41

i'd go for:

res>pump>gpu>rad1>cpu>rad2>res

then will cool straight after a block.

weescott · 12 Jun 2007 at 13:06

Forget 2 x 120mm rads. You need a 120.3. Unless you plan on using some deltas?

Monkey_Boy1211 · 12 Jun 2007 at 19:05

weescott said:
Forget 2 x 120mm rads. You need a 120.3. Unless you plan on using some deltas?

I'm very new to water cooling, what are deltas?

stinka · 12 Jun 2007 at 19:17

delta fans very high cfm but noisey as ****

Monkey_Boy1211 · 12 Jun 2007 at 21:27

stinka said:
delta fans very high cfm but noisey as ****

Doesn't having noisey fans kinda defeat half the point of having a water cooled system? IE noise

w3bbo · 12 Jun 2007 at 22:24

Sort of. It depends what rads you use. A decent rad will perform well with undervolted (quiet) fans so will be quieter than aircooling. However if you use cheap components then it will be just as noisy as and air cooled setup - but still cool better

.

Monkey_Boy1211 · 14 Jun 2007 at 13:05

w3bbo said:
Sort of. It depends what rads you use. A decent rad will perform well with undervolted (quiet) fans so will be quieter than aircooling. However if you use cheap components then it will be just as noisy as and air cooled setup - but still cool better .

So basically its a balance between cost and noise then. Is it a reasonable assumption that the thicker the radiator the better it will perform?

ArchAnGeL · 14 Jun 2007 at 13:35

some decent info on rads here
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=75873

weescott · 14 Jun 2007 at 18:30

Monkey_Boy1211 said:
So basically its a balance between cost and noise then. Is it a reasonable assumption that the thicker the radiator the better it will perform?

nope

w3bbo · 14 Jun 2007 at 21:55

Monkey_Boy1211 said:
So basically its a balance between cost and noise then. Is it a reasonable assumption that the thicker the radiator the better it will perform?

Some radiators performs better than others regardless of size and cost what you have to do is match the radiator to the fans and also consider how much restriction a rad of a certain design (single or dual pass - free flowing or dense fins?).

Very basicly put : The more dense the fins on the rad e.g Thermochill HE - the higher CFM fan you will require. Don't be fooled into thinking that the thicker the rad the higher cfm fan you need because the thermochill PA is a thick rad but performs really well with low cfm fans as the fins are more free flowing and not as dense as other rads.

***F1ZZY*** · 15 Jun 2007 at 08:01

It is strange to say 2 x 120.1 radiators wouldn't cool a gfx card and a CPU... There should be considerably more cooling available than stock. (OK it won't be uber cool compared to 120.3..but)

water > air: and bigger fans and more surface area than stock.

I assume that you want to put 1 rad on front intake and 1 rad on rear exhaust. If this is the layout, I would consider 2 loops, otherwise heat removed from rad1 will pass into rad 2.

Personally I would have the cpu loop running of the front intake and the gpu running off the rear exhaust as GPU can handle a higher working temp. This will keep the cpu cooler than your all-in-one loop.

If you have a side intake blowing over gfx card then great, this will "dilute" the heat from front cpu rad before it goes over rear gpu rad.

This will obviously increase the cost as you will need 2 pumps.

Given todays heat outputs for GPU and CPU, your 2x120.1 is not ideal, but I believe my suggestions should maximise the cooling without cutting holes trying to squeeze a 120.3 in your case.

Monkey_Boy1211 · 15 Jun 2007 at 10:24

***F1ZZY*** said:
It is strange to say 2 x 120.1 radiators wouldn't cool a gfx card and a CPU... There should be considerably more cooling available than stock. (OK it won't be uber cool compared to 120.3..but)

water > air: and bigger fans and more surface area than stock.

I assume that you want to put 1 rad on front intake and 1 rad on rear exhaust. If this is the layout, I would consider 2 loops, otherwise heat removed from rad1 will pass into rad 2.

Personally I would have the cpu loop running of the front intake and the gpu running off the rear exhaust as GPU can handle a higher working temp. This will keep the cpu cooler than your all-in-one loop.

If you have a side intake blowing over gfx card then great, this will "dilute" the heat from front cpu rad before it goes over rear gpu rad.

This will obviously increase the cost as you will need 2 pumps.

Given todays heat outputs for GPU and CPU, your 2x120.1 is not ideal, but I believe my suggestions should maximise the cooling without cutting holes trying to squeeze a 120.3 in your case.

The P182 case has a rear and top exhaust, front intake by HDD bay and a fan in the middle of the lower section. The setup would be along the lines of

hot bit >> exhaust cooled rad >> intake/mid cooled rad

This way the hotest rads are going straight out of the case and the slightly cooler rads have cooler air and aren't going to increase case temps as much.

I'm also considering using a number of L pieces to keep it tidy, how much do these affect the flow rate?

And thanks to everyone for their advice, this is really helping.

MikeTimbers · 16 Jun 2007 at 11:01

"L-pieces"? You mean 90 degree bends? Not good. Avoid. Go to a plumbing shop and get a 12mm copper bend shaped as a curve instead of an angle. Although any curve to your tubing increases resistance, right angles are hugely resistive.

weescott · 16 Jun 2007 at 13:00

MikeTimbers said:
Go to a plumbing shop and get a 12mm copper bend shaped as a curve instead of an angle. Although any curve to your tubing increases resistance, right angles are hugely resistive.

I did this a few years ago. 1/2" tubing. PITA to fit but wider than the inside of the tubing so very little restriction.