Spec me - A water cooling setup

nbkpsycho · 26 Dec 2010 at 18:14

Hi peeps, Im looking at moving from a Corsair H50 to a proper water cooling setup early next year. Budget of £300. Also would it be worth while water cooling my two 5870's? Any help/advice would be great as this is will be my first water cooling setup. Spec in sig...

mike gunnz · 26 Dec 2010 at 19:29

You'll need at a minimum

Pump (DDC or D5 are popular)
Reservoir (personal preference)
CPU block (EK HF are excellent)
360 (3 x 120mm) radiator
Tubing (several brands to choose from: tygon, xspc, primochill, mkleer etc..)
Compressions or barbs (barbs are cheaper, compressions look better imo)
2 x GPU blocks if cooling the 5870s (EK or XSPC blocks are good if going the full cover route)

I doubt you can get it all brand new within your budget of 300 especially if cooling the 5870s. If silence and cool temps are your thing then its worth cooling the cards but at around 70 quid for a 5870 block it gets crazy expensive. I don't overclock my cards so couldn't comment on that front. I always water cool GPUs now and couldn't imagine running one on air but you have to decide whether you're willing to pay that.

You can get used blocks at auction for less than half the price of new but make sure it comes with all the accessories if you do.

trigger-happy · 26 Dec 2010 at 19:33

I think OCUK needs to start selling proper complete kits like the post above.

mike gunnz · 26 Dec 2010 at 19:38

They did run some water cooling lines a year ago or so but their prices were never competitive and their stock levels were erratic to say the least.

nbkpsycho · 26 Dec 2010 at 20:59

Thanks mike, When i said i have a budget of £300 that was just for water cooling my cpu. I understand that id need to spend more money for the blocks. But im also looking at selling my 5870's and moving to two 6950's if they can be unlocked. My main concern with water cooling is that it leaks and kills my components lol. Something that has always put me off.

mike gunnz · 26 Dec 2010 at 21:51

Leak testing before you turn on your pc is the answer to your concerns.

trigger-happy · 26 Dec 2010 at 22:01

nbkpsycho said:
Thanks mike, When i said i have a budget of £300 that was just for water cooling my cpu. I understand that id need to spend more money for the blocks. But im also looking at selling my 5870's and moving to two 6950's if they can be unlocked. My main concern with water cooling is that it leaks and kills my components lol. Something that has always put me off.

try to get hold of a card with no warranty, should go easy on the budget. Removing the stock cooler will void the warranty just for a heads up.

N00bbuilder79 · 27 Dec 2010 at 12:01

nbkpsycho said:
Thanks mike, When i said i have a budget of £300 that was just for water cooling my cpu. I understand that id need to spend more money for the blocks. But im also looking at selling my 5870's and moving to two 6950's if they can be unlocked. My main concern with water cooling is that it leaks and kills my components lol. Something that has always put me off.

A leak doesn't always spell death either (unless it goes undetected and you cook your CPU or GFX) most of the liquids used are non conductive (or claim to be).

Martini1991 · 27 Dec 2010 at 12:03

N00bbuilder79 said:
A leak doesn't always spell death either (unless it goes undetected and you cook your CPU or GFX) most of the liquids used are non conductive (or claim to be).

Indeed.
I was using barbs on my 120.1 RAD which I was using on my CPU. The tubing was getting a little hot and it created a small leak, it leaked a little on my 6870.
This is while the PC was on.
Thankfully it didn't kill the card.

JeffyB · 27 Dec 2010 at 17:40

I built my first loop a few months back and i was nervous at first but it's really not that difficult if you prepare well and dont rush anything. I watercooled the cpu and 5870 and my loop came in at about £370. It would not make a lot of financial sence to watercool a pair of 5870's now as the money spent on blocks would be better on newer tech imo, unless you can pick up a couple of gpu blocks second hand.

If your worried about leaks i would deffinately suggest compression fittings, i was amazed how tightly they clamped around the tubing and reassured me immediately and they were not hugely more expensive than decent barbs (4 pack of 3/4od comps were £10). My build log is linked in my sig if your interested, my goal was to have great temps and near silent running noise.

TheCenturion · 27 Dec 2010 at 18:37

nbkpsycho said:
My main concern with water cooling is that it leaks and kills my components lol. Something that has always put me off.

That's what a lot of people think. Look at all the build logs in the project log section. Most of them involve watercooling. Very few, if any have had a leak. Comp fittings and barbs are both good. Research them and see which one you'd prefer to use. I used 1/2" barbs and 7/16" tubing, no leaks at all.