I'm sure you are fed up with this but i'm going to ask anyway!

savagesam117 · 30 Jan 2015 at 20:09

I want to go 'underwater' as they say..

How much will a basic setup cost me? I know NOTHING about water cooling other than it looks amazing when done properly.

I don't have a reason for doing this other than aesthetics tbh.

I've had a look around the forums and stuff most people seem pretty clued up about it, I've tried to make sense of them and it goes straight over my head :confused:

What does a basic set up consist of?

Thanks

skyripper · 30 Jan 2015 at 21:10

Pump (at least one), reservoir (normally only one), blocks (1 per piece of computer equipment you cool), hose, connections (barbs or compressions), fluid.

jacob1995knight · 30 Jan 2015 at 23:24

skyripper said:
Pump (at least one), reservoir (normally only one), blocks (1 per piece of computer equipment you cool), hose, connections (barbs or compressions), fluid.

You know radiators help to right????

GiraffePencils · 31 Jan 2015 at 00:00

one 120mm fan space per component cooled, plus one extra is the best formula

skyripper · 31 Jan 2015 at 10:28

jacob1995knight said:
You know radiators help to right????

Oh yeah

them too. And fans. To go on the radiators.

Cerelia · 31 Jan 2015 at 15:56

Its like...

Pump:50
Res: 40-70 (High end 90)
Hose: 15-25
Rads: 70 and upwards.
Blocks: Cpu around 50, gpu around 90
Compression fittings, around £4 per.
Fans: 12.50 per fan around so... 25-37.50.

Cpu only around 350 average, gpu 450-500 average.

murah · 31 Jan 2015 at 17:21

It can be done much cheaper (Think my set up is going to end up costing £120 total once I'm done for a 240mm rad + cpu block + pump/res + compression fittings + tube + fluid)

OCUK do an entry level 240mm rad kit for £100 http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-082-TL&groupid=2180&catid=2184

contact OCUK and ask them to change the barbs to XSPC compression fittings it shouldn't cost much more and will be a perfect platform to get you started

Will you be wanting to include your GPU/s in the loop? add a 120mm rad and a block for the card for £100 , maybe upgrade pump to something like a D5 or DDC 18w

or build your own from scratch for example:
YOUR BASKET
1 x XSPC X2O 420 Single Bayres/Pump £39.95
1 x EK-Supreme LTX - Acetal CSQ Intel CPU Waterblock £29.99
1 x MagiCool Copper Radiator II - 240 mm £28.99
6 x XSPC G1/4" to 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD Compression Fitting (Black Chrome) £3.49 (£20.94)
2 x XSPC 7/16" ID (16/11mm) High Flex Hose - Clear (1m Length) £2.99 (£5.98)
Total : £125.86 (includes shipping : ).

+£10-15 for fluid

if you want to go GPU then you will most likely need a more powerful pump, I have made a decent set up that would happily power CPU + GPU/s here:
YOUR BASKET
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-DCP 2.2 X-RES £34.99
1 x EK-Supreme LTX - Acetal CSQ Intel CPU Waterblock £29.99
1 x EK DCP 2.2 Pump (12v) £29.99
1 x MagiCool Copper Radiator II - 240 mm £28.99
6 x XSPC G1/4" to 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD Compression Fitting (Black Chrome) £3.49 (£20.94)
2 x XSPC 7/16" ID (16/11mm) High Flex Hose - Clear (1m Length) £2.99 (£5.98)
Total : £150.89 (includes shipping : ).

You would need:
A block for your card £50-70
A 120/140MM rad to go with it £20-25
Fans (most people have them lying around I have a draw of them

) 2x for 240 + 1x for each 120mm you add £30(or double if going push/pull fan set up)
Fluid (Mayhems pre done probably) £15 (might want to get double the fluid just in case you need extra)
another 1Meter of tubing.. £3 nothing sucks more than cutting your tubing too short and not having anything left to redo it with!

Mynight · 31 Jan 2015 at 19:06

You could save a lot of money on the GPU block as it's an 'old' card. I got my 7970 block for £35 brand new they were pushing £90.

If you can spring for the DDC pump go for it! You won't regret it. Don't get me wrong the EK dcp are great but they're a bit noisy for my liking(obviously that can be minimised). The 10w version should be more than enough if only for single GPU/cpu and two rads.

What case is it going in?

savagesam117 · 31 Jan 2015 at 20:34

Oh no, it's no longer an old card, it's a shiny new 290X

Yes i would like to include my GPU, I want to fully watercool it. It will be something i will do over time, the next couple of months or so. So i will buy bits as and when. I'm one of these people that likes to spend more if i will see a benefit, it doesn't have to be really cheap i just wanted to get an idea and start collecting some parts

I want to do it all myself as i like the challenge. Kinda worries me that it could spill everywhere and **** my pc though

I will buy a new case when it comes to it, I will decide that closer to the time and I'm probably going to put a second GPU in around that time too because ya know, who doesn't want more power?

I actually do not have any fans laying around! I will be wanting the best fans, i like quiet!

Mynight · 31 Jan 2015 at 21:30

My apologies I assumed it was the spec in your sig. I'm jealous I want a 290x

.

If you're going dual GPU you'll probably end up with another rad in which case I second murahs reccomendation of the 18w ddc or d5.

If you like quiet go for some low fpi rads, the 18w ddc and a fan controller. I currently have a ddc and 14 scythe GTs running on a lamptron fc touch and its whisper quiet. The hard drives are the loudest thing

. (Can't wait for SSD to rival HDD cost).

Since scythe are MIA

() I believe the new EK fans, corsair sp or noctuna fans are the best you can get.

Edit: the chances of a leak are minute as long as you follow standard practice. As for screwing your system in the event of a leak as long as your system isn't powered on when leak testing you don't have anything to worry about. 9/10 times as long as it's new fluid and no power just wait for it to dry out and you're good to go.

savagesam117 · 31 Jan 2015 at 21:35

Mynight said:
My apologies I assumed it was the spec in your sig. I'm jealous I want a 290x ..

This was the correct sig until about an hour ago

I just got myself an SSD so not for me

Okay, i think i'm going to have to spend many hours in product research finding the best stuff for the and what will suit me best!

I better get saving! Bike or PC? Bike or PC? such a hard decision

But thank you very much for you help, i will certainly be back! Hopefully with a bit more knowledge next time

jimhaumman · 31 Jan 2015 at 22:34

Short on cash?look for second hand parts on bay

savagesam117 · 31 Jan 2015 at 22:53

jimhaumman said:
Short on cash?look for second hand parts on bay

Not particularly

I shall have a look, someone may be selling their complete set up or something

murah · 1 Feb 2015 at 18:00

I'm also running GT1850's off a fan controller, generally the loudest thing is the hard drive but now all I hear is a rush of air since I bungee corded my HDDS in the 5.25" bays to completely decouple them

try to source GT's second hand they are IMO the best fan for rads still despite looking like they are from the 90's

savagesam117 · 1 Feb 2015 at 22:35

I shall have a look into these.

I can see this being expensive.

I thought my bikes where expensive, this is just as bad! I just want to put more and more money into the bloody thing!

spoffle · 1 Feb 2015 at 22:51

Cerelia said:
Its like...

Pump:50
Res: 40-70 (High end 90)
Hose: 15-25
Rads: 70 and upwards.
Blocks: Cpu around 50, gpu around 90
Compression fittings, around £4 per.
Fans: 12.50 per fan around so... 25-37.50.

Cpu only around 350 average, gpu 450-500 average.

Oh LAWD no.

Mynight said:
My apologies I assumed it was the spec in your sig. I'm jealous I want a 290x .

If you're going dual GPU you'll probably end up with another rad in which case I second murahs reccomendation of the 18w ddc or d5.

If you like quiet go for some low fpi rads, the 18w ddc and a fan controller. I currently have a ddc and 14 scythe GTs running on a lamptron fc touch and its whisper quiet. The hard drives are the loudest thing . (Can't wait for SSD to rival HDD cost).

Since scythe are MIA () I believe the new EK fans, corsair sp or noctuna fans are the best you can get.

Edit: the chances of a leak are minute as long as you follow standard practice. As for screwing your system in the event of a leak as long as your system isn't powered on when leak testing you don't have anything to worry about. 9/10 times as long as it's new fluid and no power just wait for it to dry out and you're good to go.

I've got a D5 in my set up, and oh LAWD it's noisy on full speed when it's not fully decoupled from the case. It was quite a lot of fuss to get it vibration free as my case has ended up being quite cramped.

I've got all my stuff in a Corsair 540, and I've managed to stuff a 280x55mm, 360x45mm and a 120x 45mm radiator in the case, with an XL-ATX, 2 graphics card, 2 3.5" drives and 4 SSDs, everything in the front just about fits, and a lot of the back is taken up with cables, so there was little the D5 wasn't pressing against.

savagesam117 said:
I shall have a look into these.

I can see this being expensive.

I thought my bikes where expensive, this is just as bad! I just want to put more and more money into the bloody thing!

It might be a good idea to go for universal GPU blocks. They are a lot more versatile, and you can easily move them between different graphics cards for when you upgrade.

I've got 2x EK universal blocks that I had on my 2x 7950s, which went over to my 2x 290Xs no problem.

I needed to add VRM cooling, but the inconvenience of that is far outweighed by being able to move the blocks to different cards.

Going used is a good idea too, and not even to save money. Sometimes you end up finding stuff that isn't available any more new, for example.

savagesam117 · 1 Feb 2015 at 23:02

spoffle said:
It might be a good idea to go for universal GPU blocks. They are a lot more versatile, and you can easily move them between different graphics cards for when you upgrade.

I've got 2x EK universal blocks that I had on my 2x 7950s, which went over to my 2x 290Xs no problem.

I needed to add VRM cooling, but the inconvenience of that is far outweighed by being able to move the blocks to different cards.

Going used is a good idea too, and not even to save money. Sometimes you end up finding stuff that isn't available any more new, for example.

I'm getting a new case no matter what, a big one, i want it to look neat and decluttered.

As I'm doing more research, it seems to be a case of if it's worth doing, its worth over doing. Well that's what it seems like.

What is VRM cooling? i haven't come across this yet. I will definitely be looking into used stuff, just seems logical.

I want to get specific blocks as I won't be upgrading this system from what it is only adding another 290x. When i do upgrade it will be a whole new build with x99 or whatever the latest is with the top end ghraphics cards, it will be massive overkill and no time soon!!

Thanks for taking the time to reply

spoffle · 1 Feb 2015 at 23:38

Oh, mine definitely looks neat and uncluttered. That's what the rear space is for on a 540, so you can keep a load of the unsightly stuff, well out of sight.

VRM cooling is cooling the voltage regulation modules on a graphics card. With my 290Xs having universal blocks, only the actual GPU core is water cooled, so I've had to get some aluminium heatsinks for the VRMs. It's just a little bar style heatsink that you bolt to the card close to where the power connections are.

My 7950s I had the universal blocks on actually came with VRM cooling that wasn't built into the main core heasink as stock, as they weren't reference models, but my 290X cards are reference so the VRM contacts are on the built into the main stock cooler.

savagesam117 · 2 Feb 2015 at 00:00

spoffle said:
Oh, mine definitely looks neat and uncluttered. That's what the rear space is for on a 540, so you can keep a load of the unsightly stuff, well out of sight.

VRM cooling is cooling the voltage regulation modules on a graphics card. With my 290Xs having universal blocks, only the actual GPU core is water cooled, so I've had to get some aluminium heatsinks for the VRMs. It's just a little bar style heatsink that you bolt to the card close to where the power connections are.

My 7950s I had the universal blocks on actually came with VRM cooling that wasn't built into the main core heasink as stock, as they weren't reference models, but my 290X cards are reference so the VRM contacts are on the built into the main stock cooler.

Mind uploading a picture?

Oh right okay, seems logical. a quick Google image search clears that up.

Okay, god there is so much to think about.

Would you say to get into watercooling get a cpu cooler, like the corsair ones and stuff like that? I like the rajineck one or whatever its called. Just so i can suss it out, doesn't really sink in unless i see it and get to have a play with it

spoffle · 2 Feb 2015 at 00:10

Yeah no problem:

I wouldn't really say an all in one unit is really "watercooling" as such as you're not really doing anything. Plus if you're looking at cooling your graphics card(s) you'll only end up wanting to replace the all in one unit anyway to do a full loop.