spec me a water cooling system please?

neomax · 29 Apr 2007 at 15:16

Hi i built my pc about 18mnths ago and it cost £1000 exactly. Haven't changed it since but recently came into about £300 for some remodding. I'm going to order the lian li a05B and would like to try my hand at water cooling it. Then after that i mite change some of the other specs. My present spec is:

Amd 64 3700+ @2.21ghz
1Gb Geil value RAM
Asus A8NE
Nvidia 7800Gt OCUK
Hiper 580w type-r (no comment please - i'm already on my second replacement!)

So what would be a good watercooling spec for this system? And what components do i need for a watercooled system? And finally how hard is it to install? Cheers.

chaparral · 29 Apr 2007 at 15:23

Only one left http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=595&catid=596&subid=667

M0t0r0la · 29 Apr 2007 at 16:23

**Edit** D-Tek Fuzion (with 1/2" Barbs) £40.00
Eheim 1250 WaterPump £40.00
Black Ice Pro III 360mm Radiator £25

Then all you need to get is a cheap res, barbs and tube. Shouldn't cost more than £15-£20. So although it may cost a little more than the kit it will seriously out-perform it imho.

Rob43 · 29 Apr 2007 at 16:42

M0t0r0la said:
XSPC X20 CPU Waterblock (with 1/2" Barbs) £14.99
Eheim 1250 WaterPump £40.00
Black Ice Pro III 360mm Radiator £25
Smoothy F1 NON-conductive Water 1Ltr (UV Blue) £7.95

Then all you need to get is a cheap res, barbs and tube. Shouldn't cost more than £15-£20. So although it may cost a little more than the kit it will seriously out-perform it imho.

No way will that seriously out perform the Swiftech kit

Jokester · 29 Apr 2007 at 16:44

Was thinking the same. Is the pump a D4 or D5? Annoying that each manufacturer calls it a different name.

Jokester

chaparral · 29 Apr 2007 at 16:44

M0t0r0la said:
XSPC X20 CPU Waterblock (with 1/2" Barbs) £14.99
Eheim 1250 WaterPump £40.00
Black Ice Pro III 360mm Radiator £25
Smoothy F1 NON-conductive Water 1Ltr (UV Blue) £7.95

Then all you need to get is a cheap res, barbs and tube. Shouldn't cost more than £15-£20. So although it may cost a little more than the kit it will seriously out-perform it imho.

That kit i posted comes with a MCP655 waterpump and STORM cpu waterblock.

which i would say are much better then the pump and cpu block you recommended..Plus the MCRES-MICRO reservoir that many people use..

M0t0r0la · 29 Apr 2007 at 17:01

But the kit comes with smaller tube which will restrict flow-rate, which will then limit performance/cooling!
Also it only comes with a DUAL rad not a triple and when going custom you can get low restriction dangerden 1/2" barbs.
As far as pumps go I don't think their is a great deal between the two (both pumps do 1200 LPH).
Agree the Maze is a better block, swap the one I speced for a D-Tek FuZion and it will undoubtedly beat it what with its 1/2" tubing, dangerden barbs and low restriction D-Tek waterblock.

marscay · 29 Apr 2007 at 17:05

M0t0r0la said:
XSPC X20 CPU Waterblock (with 1/2" Barbs) £14.99
Eheim 1250 WaterPump £40.00
Black Ice Pro III 360mm Radiator £25
Smoothy F1 NON-conductive Water 1Ltr (UV Blue) £7.95

Then all you need to get is a cheap res, barbs and tube. Shouldn't cost more than £15-£20. So although it may cost a little more than the kit it will seriously out-perform it imho.

worst advice ever, no offense.

stick with the swiftech kit if you want an all-in-1

M0t0r0la · 29 Apr 2007 at 17:07

marscay said:
worst advice ever, no offense.

stick with the swiftech kit if you want an all-in-1

lol, hardly. The Storm WAS a good block, D-Tek Fuzion kills it now, as do many NEW top performing blocks.

chaparral · 29 Apr 2007 at 18:23

M0t0r0la said:
lol, hardly. The Storm WAS a good block, D-Tek Fuzion kills it now, as do many NEW top performing blocks.

But that XSPC X20 CPU Waterblock that you recommended is not a D-Tek Fuzion

Adding the D-Tek Fuzion to your recommended list instead of that XSPC X20 CPU Waterblock would put the price up yet another £20 to £30 quid..

Jokester · 29 Apr 2007 at 18:51

M0t0r0la said:
lol, hardly. The Storm WAS a good block, D-Tek Fuzion kills it now, as do many NEW top performing blocks.

For a single core A64 the Storm will hold it's own and may even still be the best choice. Even on quad cores the Storm isn't that far (a couple of degrees) behind a Fuzion or GTX.

7/16" is about as near as you can get to 1/2" without actually being 1/2". Even the difference between 3/8" and 1/2" is insignificant - remember most blocks have less than 1/2" ports anyway.

Jokester

WJA96 · 29 Apr 2007 at 19:24

With the kits these guys are recommending, I think you need to re-think your case.

That case is extremely tight inside. Would you consider an external water cooling solution like a Zalman Reserator or Preytek Serenity?

marscay · 29 Apr 2007 at 19:30

M0t0r0la said:
lol, hardly. The Storm WAS a good block, D-Tek Fuzion kills it now, as do many NEW top performing blocks.

unless you're talking quad core the fuzion doesn't perform any better than the storm, it's most redeeming feature is the flow rate.

and as stated your block isn't a fuzion anyway.

the storm IS a good block period with any processor, you're confusing hype with reality.

VeNT · 29 Apr 2007 at 19:55

marscay said:
you're confusing hype with reality.

wow, NEVER! PC components being overhyped!

marscay · 29 Apr 2007 at 21:01

you mean those quad core rigs with SLI/PC9200 SLI memory/Ageia Physx/Killer NIC running Vista OS with Ready Boost is just a con? ohhh foooey

Raikiri · 29 Apr 2007 at 21:42

WJA96 said:
That case is extremely tight inside. Would you consider an external water cooling solution like a Zalman Reserator or Preytek Serenity?

The swiftech kit can be fitted externally though.

WJA96 · 29 Apr 2007 at 22:21

Raikiri said:
The swiftech kit can be fitted externally though.

Yes, but if you think where the rear fan is on that case, it's going to be a right pigs-ear of a job - I've had a look at mine and I reckon it'd have to be fitted upside down.

I only posted as some of the posters didn't really seem to have considered how it was actually going to be fitted and even now there's a full scale cat-fight going on about something or other.

Some cases are good for water-cooling and some are not. The PC-A05 is a "not good" in my opinion.

You would probably get away with a single 120mm radiator in the rear fan mount which is OK as it's an intake, but a deep twin-radiator (let alone a triple 120mm radiator) will never fit neatly.

Any case can be water-cooled, but that doesn't mean it will sensible, or easy to do so.

If he went for a Zalman Reserator V1+ it's £130 Incl. and the fundamental case/system cooling is unaltered. The question I asked is - would that be acceptable to the OP?

neomax · 29 Apr 2007 at 23:00

nah i'd rather not have an external cooling system. The reason i started this thread is that i saw a guy's rig, and it was th a05 watercooled, and it looked awesome. So im guessing it must be ok for water cooling...

WJA96 · 29 Apr 2007 at 23:19

neomax said:
nah i'd rather not have an external cooling system. The reason i started this thread is that i saw a guy's rig, and it was th a05 watercooled, and it looked awesome. So im guessing it must be ok for water cooling...

Where was the radiator and how big was it?

chaparral · 29 Apr 2007 at 23:27

WJA96 said:
Where was the radiator and how big was it?

This is what i like to know....

(1)Maybe a slim 120mm rad on the rear inlet fan would fit ??
(2) or a rad top mounted rad ,but then you lose a load of PCI slots..
(3) or fit a rad to the bottom with blow holes through the bottom and fit wheels on the case to raise it up to let the air in/out...