first watercooling venture

manisinghb

manisinghb

manisinghb

Associate
Joined
12 Apr 2009
Posts
627
hey guys as the name suggests am a newbie 2 this so wanted some advice on setting up a watercooling project? firstly, what equipment? from my research i gather i need:

1x cpu cooling block
1x reserve
1x radiator
1x pump
hoses
barbs and fittings

and any good makes/recommendations?
 
Last edited:
Good idea, water cooling is much better than air. However,

1/wrong section
2/reserve=reservoir
3/you start with a long piece of tubing and cut it into pieces of the right length, one per component
4/you've not said a budget or what you're cooling

Setting it up is plumbing the thing together, filling the reservoir with water making sure some has run down to the pump, then running the pump for a couple of seconds with the system off. Refill reservoir, repeat. When the system is pretty much full run the pump overnight with bits of kitchen paper near the blocks. If any are damp in the morning, sort out the leaks then retest.

Laing make good pumps. Very good pumps. EK make good water blocks, thermochill for the radiators. Reservoir, as long as it doesn't leak you're good. Tygon make excellent tubing. Bitspower make the best barbs. However if your budget isn't unlimited you'll probably have to compromise on some of these.

Answer can be more detailed if you specify budget, reason for using water, components to cool. Cheers
 
£200 may be cutting it close, it's a shame you don't have access to members market for second hand parts yet. I'll see what I can put together from ocuk's range.

What case, and what components?

As a second iteration,
nmnkah.jpg


This can be refined, but not until more is known.
 
Last edited:
u may have read my other post :) its a Coolermaster HAF 932 case with:

MOBO - Gigabyte EX58-UD5
PCU - i7 920
Memory - 6GB CORSAIR PC3-12800 1600MHz 240-Pin DDR3
GPU - Sapphire ATi 5850
1xBlu-ray player
1xDVD player
2xHDD
1xSSD
4xfans and fan controller included with case, looking to add soundcard and tv tuner card also
 
Ah, that's why it should all be in one thread :(

That case holds a triple radiator, be a shame to waste that. I'll update the first spec.

Difficult to do for 200. You still need deionised water, pt nuke/kill coil, jubilee clamps. That's about £10 on top of the current set. I have a feeling this could be done better, dropping to the 10W ddc + res top (out of stock) and getting a better cpu block perhaps. We'll see what the rest of the forum comes up with.
 
Last edited:
cheers mate, just couple things though:
- any difference between PA120.2 and PA120.3?
- can i stick with XSPC reservoir? just looks a little more 2 my taste (blue led's etc hehe) and works out a little cheaper if i get the XPSC reservoir and Swiftech pump...
- and i have cheap UV tubing already (MasterKleer) u think this will suffice?
 
MasterKleer is good, what size is it?

One takes two fans, one three. The 120.3 is 1.5 times bigger, and will cool better. The 120.2 will do for the i7, but won't really do any more when in the near future you realise you want the graphics card water cooled as well. Plus there's space in the top of the case for the triple, that's a rare luxury. Take advantage.

The one I linked to has holes in the base for leds. I think it comes with a blue one. You can use a bay reservoir + the D5 if you like, it'll perform pretty much the same. I don't quite trust bay reservoirs not to leak, and the ddc + xspc top performs significantly better than the ddc by itself. Plus I'm using the one in the above spec, so I'm biased in favour of it.

The ek supreme is better than the ek supreme lt, but not by very much. The heatkiller is marginally better than the ek supreme.
 
JonJ678 said:
MasterKleer is good, what size is it?
Click to expand...

7/16" ID 5/8" OD PVC (40" length i think) btw is this true: 3/4" will fit 3/4in O.D. tubing (XSPC. TYGON R3603), and 5/8" will fit 5/8 OD Tubing (Masterkleer 7/16" tubing).

sorry for my naivety, but triple size? does that mean a radiator like the 120.3? so you're suggesting the 120.3 yes?
and how have u fitted your reservoir in to your case? (doesn't seem like it can fit a 5.25" bay)
 
Triple as in triple fan, thermochill call it 120.3, feser call it 260.

Barbs. You match the inner diameter of the tubing to the outer diameter of the barbs. You want 1/2" barbs with 7/16" tubing. The outer diameter of the tubing depends on wall thickness, so it is specified by the inner diamater. 1/2" barbs and 1/2" tubing works but is more likely to slip off than 7/16" with 1/2" barbs.

My pump is sitting on the floor of my case, held in by the tubes running to and from it, and by a load of molex wires that I've pushed out of the way. I want to suspend it, but am having trouble finding the materials to do so.

I've not used it, but it is very well reviewed. The ek supreme lt is about as good as it gets in terms of performance / pound. I like ek workmanship, their blocks are beautifully machined. I hear mips are also good. The heatkiller is currently considered the best on the market for raw performance, note that this means about a degree better than the alternatives.
 
ok so far i've definitely decided -
Thermochill PA120.3,
Heatkiller CPU 3.0,
MasterKleeer 7/16" UV tubing,
Swiftech MCP-655-B pump,
and i think 8x 1/2" barbs?
you didn't tell me how you fitted your reservoir in as it don't seem to be fitting a 5.25" bay?? or have set it externally?
 
JonJ678 said:
My pump is sitting on the floor of my case, held in by the tubes running to and from it, and by a load of molex wires that I've pushed out of the way. I want to suspend it, but am having trouble finding the materials to do so.
Click to expand...

manisinghb said:
you didn't tell me how you fitted your reservoir in as it don't seem to be fitting a 5.25" bay?? or have set it externally?
Click to expand...

The reservoir is attached to the pump, I'd have thought this was extremely obvious from the picture of the pump/reservoir.

The last time I looked the heatkiller was £50, which puts you over budget. If the budget is flexible, then by all means go for the heatkiller or the ek supreme. I would buy the latter.

The pump you're looking at has plastic barbs built in. You either use these or an aftermarket top for it (ek make one) which lets you use normal barbs. If separate reservoir & pump then you will need 8 barbs in total.
 
lol sorry mate time of night concentration levels are low... :(
i found a heatkiller at £31.99 don't know if its same one your talking about (Heatkiller CPU Block LGA 1366 Rev 3.0 LC)
 
Nah, that's a different (worse) one. At a guess the £30 heatkiller performs exactly the same as the ek lt, as they're the same concept. Take a great block, cut the production costs, sell it with a slightly different name. I'd still buy the ek, but that's bias on my part. Loads of people on here would want the heatkiller. Find a review comparing that specific heatkiller with the ek supreme lt, or just take whichever you think looks nicer.

I'm at my best at this time of night, probably a sign that I should be working really :)
 
lol yeah same here really but can't help it!! hehe
so some personal opinion - Laing DDC 3.2 with XSPC Reservoir Vs. Swiftech MCP655 with XSPC Reservoir
p.s. does a EK Supreme LT Acetal @ £29.99 sound right??
 
If it looks like this you're onto a winner

WC-034-EK_400.jpg


Does the heatkiller come with a back plate? The ek doesn't and needs one really, lets you tighten the block down with no fear of bending the motherboard. So at the same price point if one has a back plate included, take that one. Otherwise they sell for a fiver or so, my ek one looks like this:

153mseq.jpg


Personal opinion is always difficult. The ddc and d5 are both excellent. I use the ddc, and it was a reasoned decision. It is the higher pressure pump and I intend to run many blocks, so head pressure is important. For a one block loop either would do. I wouldn't use a bay reservoir, I want my optical bays for other things and would always worry it would leak. The ddc + top works out cheaper than the d5 + ek top + reservoir too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom