a while back i purchased a thermal take big water 760i, not the best i know but served me well for getting into water cooling, im looking into building my own rig now.....only going to cool me q6600, and then my 9800gtx...after any advice/ recommendations
looking to build my own water cooling rig
- Thread starter copey
- Start date
Yes.
Read up about watercooling, take your time to pick your components for fit (physical) and quality, and then go to any of the bazillion threads on watercooling quad-core systems in this subforum.
The more you know, the fewer mistakes you'll make and the less frustrated you'll be.
True this.
My mistakes were assuming I didn't need a reservoir or t line, assuming I didn't need a drain line, and using blue feser 1 which filled my blocks with crap. All three were very frustrating.
This valve is threaded at both ends, and works very well to block the end of a t line for draining or filling. I screw an end cap into the exposed end after use out of paranoia, but the valve itself hasn't leaked yet.
yeh i figured ide be better ready up a whole lot,
was thinking of this for pump and reservoir
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-011-XS&groupid=701&catid=193&subcat=1040
radiator
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-002-TO&groupid=701&catid=193&subcat=1041
then im right in thinking, that seems my radiator is copper, i will then need a copper cpu block
its just all the fittins and connectors that baffle me slightly, i understand i need to keep all the threadds the same size for my item, e.g 1/4 inch......so should i get connectors for them all which are like 1/4inch, ones i were looking at had 1.4 inch thread, and the other end 3/8, assuming this is the tubing size
was thinking of this for pump and reservoir
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-011-XS&groupid=701&catid=193&subcat=1040
radiator
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-002-TO&groupid=701&catid=193&subcat=1041
then im right in thinking, that seems my radiator is copper, i will then need a copper cpu block
its just all the fittins and connectors that baffle me slightly, i understand i need to keep all the threadds the same size for my item, e.g 1/4 inch......so should i get connectors for them all which are like 1/4inch, ones i were looking at had 1.4 inch thread, and the other end 3/8, assuming this is the tubing size
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Your radiator will be brass, not copper. A lot of people forget this.
To be honest, it makes little difference what blocks get stuck in the loop as long as you use appropriate corrosion inhibitor (Purple Ice/Redex or whatever it's called now). Or, if you have too much money, Feser 1 or some other non-conductive fluid.
Copper blocks are, however, the norm and you'll probably struggle to get any other type.
Fitting-wise, think about it. Thread sizes are largely irrelevant as you may buy different components. The important thing is the bit the tubing goes on to. You could have the biggest mix of thread sizes in the world (G1/2, G1/4 or G3/8) and if all your barb ends were for 3/8" tubing, you'd be fine (as long as you had 3/8" interior diameter tubing). Same applies for 1/2" ID tubing, 8mm ID tubing, etc.
Component-wise, I'd get the best you can afford. Watercooling has a nasty habit of starting out cheap and winding up extremely expensive, as it becomes a hobby and - like all hobbies - you try and tweak this and fiddle with that...
Thermochill radiators are among the more expensive and best on the market, althoguh the difference in performance between them and the XSPC RX, Black ICE GTX, TFC whatever is minimal.
Think about your ocmpoment size: can you fit a 120.3 radiator in your case? Or are you going to mount it externally? Are you planning on adding a whole lot of other heat-producing stuff into your loops (like hoter chips, northbridge/GFX/etc.)? If not, then the 120.3 is probably overkill.
Keep reading.
To be honest, it makes little difference what blocks get stuck in the loop as long as you use appropriate corrosion inhibitor (Purple Ice/Redex or whatever it's called now). Or, if you have too much money, Feser 1 or some other non-conductive fluid.
Copper blocks are, however, the norm and you'll probably struggle to get any other type.
Fitting-wise, think about it. Thread sizes are largely irrelevant as you may buy different components. The important thing is the bit the tubing goes on to. You could have the biggest mix of thread sizes in the world (G1/2, G1/4 or G3/8) and if all your barb ends were for 3/8" tubing, you'd be fine (as long as you had 3/8" interior diameter tubing). Same applies for 1/2" ID tubing, 8mm ID tubing, etc.
Component-wise, I'd get the best you can afford. Watercooling has a nasty habit of starting out cheap and winding up extremely expensive, as it becomes a hobby and - like all hobbies - you try and tweak this and fiddle with that...
Thermochill radiators are among the more expensive and best on the market, althoguh the difference in performance between them and the XSPC RX, Black ICE GTX, TFC whatever is minimal.
Think about your ocmpoment size: can you fit a 120.3 radiator in your case? Or are you going to mount it externally? Are you planning on adding a whole lot of other heat-producing stuff into your loops (like hoter chips, northbridge/GFX/etc.)? If not, then the 120.3 is probably overkill.
Keep reading.
Not always true. Feser xchangers use brass for the chambers at the end, but copper for the fins. Retailers tend to say copper for the water channels as well, but I'm struggling a bit to see this on fesers website.
7/16" tubing stretched over 1/2" barbs is the most common answer I believe. Compression fittings are a bit of a nightmare to fit and more expensive, but are pretty and do work well once fitted.
The pump you probably want is this laing ddc as it's small, fairly quiet, and has a high head pressure. The 10W version makes less noise, and you can get various replacement tops for it which improve performance. I'm using the xspc reservoir top, but if you want a bay reservoir get one of the others. I can't fit a bay reservoir in my case
yeh i do plan to cool my graphics then no doubt my northbridge, so i would rather start out and buy the big rad, than having to upgrade again later.....but if you say the difference is minimal i might go for a slightly cheaper option then.
thanks for the heads up on the threads, so general jist is, doesnt matter what size the thread is, long as the end the tubing goes on is al the same size.
thanks for the heads up on the threads, so general jist is, doesnt matter what size the thread is, long as the end the tubing goes on is al the same size.
Apologies - I should have been clearer.
The radiator fins will almost always be copper, but the tubes will almost always be a brass alloy - I was referring to the bits in contact with the water in the loop.
this is the Swiftec H2O 220 Apex Ultima plus (plus is gfx and NB blocks)
It is a good kit...I had never done any WC before and it went in first time...just pays to measure twice and cut once.
Take your time working out where your tubes will go and will you have enough tube. Also res at top and pump at bottom.
view my install pics at http://www.jezzerash.plus.com/case/
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Thats right, make sure the tubing sides are all 1/2" or 3/8", depending on what tubing your using
If you go for the Thermochill, that will need a 3/8" BSPT thread, but pretty much every other block/res/rad uses the more common G1/4" thread so you'll probably mainly be buying those. Just read the descriptions to see what you need
Also, Thermochill rads have different spacing for the fans which make the rad a bit longer. This also means if you do plan on fitting it internally somewhere but then want to change to a different rad, it probably wont fit!! Thermochills are good, but just fussy too
