Lazy water-cooling?

Bugblatter

Bugblatter

Bugblatter

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13 May 2003
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Hi folks. I want a nice quiet system, maybe overclocked a little, but I don't want a lot of hassle.

I'm planning a new system, probably based around a fast-but-not-extreme Core2Duo CPU.

I've currently got a Zalman Reserator, the original version. It's been going for around three years with no problems. The cooling isn't fantastic but it's ok, and it's totally silent.

The things I don't like about it are the difficulty of moving the system around and the tubes coming out of the back...they get in the way, get mixed in with the cables, and I'm always wary of them leaking if they get caught on something. Even putting the case on it's side is a bit of a mission.

So what's an easy-to-setup WC system that doesn't get in the way?

I've seen this here (bottom case): http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Thermaltake_715.html

Looks about as easy as it gets; anyone have any knowledge of it?

I've also looked at the Asetek Waterchill Xternal, which looks a lot simpler than the Swiftech H20-220 Apex "Ultra".

And if the quick-release fittings on the new Zalman Reserator mean that I can just unplug the tubes to move the thing around then that could be good enough too; having to drain it would be a real pain.

I realise this is slumming it for most of you, but what do you think?
 
Transportation isn't the main issue for me. I've been through the whole dremeling thing but I just don't have the time or inclination for that stuff anymore. I want something that's dead easy to install and very quiet; if it doesn't cool as well as something else then that's fine. Some degree of portability would be handy too of course.
 
I has a look at the Asetek stuff. Looks lazier than most of the W/C solutions, which is good, but the placement of the rad looks obstructive. Doesn't it get in the way?

I just saw these new W/C cases from Thermaltake: http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2775&p=11

No info about blocks, pumps etc, it looks as though you source them yourself, which means you're not restricted. The middle one may even let you source your own rad.

They're not out yet but I'll be keeping my eye out for them :-)
 
I think turbotoaster gets the point. I'm not looking to do any mad overclocking, I'm not bothered about getting my temps lower than anybody else's. I want a very quiet PC without a lot of hassle.

The company that can deliver hassle-free water-cooling will finally bring water-cooling into the mainstream. Zalman went a long way towards that, but if you can get water-cooling pre-built into a case then it opens it up to a lot more people.

The fact that the Thermaltake stuff isn't as good as Asetek isn't the point. Saying that I should go for air-cooling if I don't want to use the best water-cooling is also missing the point. Air-cooling equivalent to the Thermaltake water-cooling would be noisy!

Remember, quiet is the new overclocking ;)
 
weescott said:
The whole point of watercooling is performance and or silence over air. Having watercooling for the sake of it or with no gains over air is pointless. If you are going to watercool then do it properly.
Click to expand...

Yep, and it's the and/or bit that's crucial. Yes if there was no benefit over air then it'd be pointless. But even a low-end W/C setup has one major benefit over air and that's silence.

I know this place isn't called pindrop.co.uk but plenty of people, including me, are far more interested in a quiet system than an overclocked one. And if we can do a little overclocking at the same time then cool, but it's not a requirement.

Some of us don't want a racehorse; we want a comfortable ride ;)

Now where are my slippers... :p
 
i've done the whole quiet-air-cooling thing, my server's air-cooled and is pretty damned quiet. Thing is it also runs pretty warm, which is ok as it's not pushed hard but I wouldn't want my gaming system running that warm.

And the biggest problem with air-cooling is that unless you have a duct and a HS that's designed to have air sucked through it (and there aren't many that I know of) the heat isn't taken straight out of the case and tends to warm up the northbridge and gfx card. With water-cooling the inside of the case is far cooler even without much air going through it, in fact the only parts that really need much airflow are the harddrives. Before I got the Zalman I had a problem with the northbridge overheating when I was gaming and I had to turn the fans right up. Afterwards it was just never a problem because it wasn't getting blasted by hot air from the CPU.
 
Thanks Andy. Sounds as though that's lazy-ish...gonna wait for reviews of the new W/C cases and kits that are being released shortly :)

I've been using a Zalman Reserator for around three years now and apart from having to be careful of the tubes and top it up every now and then it's been pretty damned lazy. I was bloody careful when I put it together and leak-tested it thoroughly before switching it on, but since then I've not really worried about it much.

Liquid-cooling for the masses is coming, the trends are pretty clear. It may be a long time before your mum buys a liquid-cooled rig from Dell, but it's certainly becoming more mainstream for people building their own systems. It's becoming less Heath Robinson and more fit-it-and-forget-it...just not quite quickly enough for me :)
 
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