spec me cheap watercooling?

Go to a local scrappies and get:
Car radiator (about a tenner... if it has a leak crack an egg in it)
Cooling pump (if you can find one)

Go to B&Q and get
Cheap pond pump (if you never found one at the scrappies)
Clear tubing
hose clips, and lots of them

Go to Staples and get:
Large desk fan


That just means that the coolant, blocks and barbs will be a bit pricey


Or you could just get a Corsair H50?
 
bigsharn said:
Go to a local scrappies and get:
Car radiator (about a tenner... if it has a leak crack an egg in it)
Cooling pump (if you can find one)

Go to B&Q and get
Cheap pond pump (if you never found one at the scrappies)
Clear tubing
hose clips, and lots of them

Go to Staples and get:
Large desk fan


That just means that the coolant, blocks and barbs will be a bit pricey


Or you could just get a Corsair H50?
Click to expand...

that was a waste of time...

i dont mind buying second hand parts
 
Cheap watercooling isnt worth it, The H50 is cheap and very good.

With watercooling its one of them things, You get what you pay for.
 
I've just got an H50 to cool my Phenom II. Took about 20 mins to install, and its keeping the chip at about 25 degrees as far as I HWmonitor can tell me.

I've done full watercooling and I found it expensive and difficult... The H50 works like a dream!
 
Well not really, if you wanted to watercool anything extra the loop's already there, you just need an extra length of tubing and a block for it...
 
for that money i wouldnt bother mate...your not gonna see any big benefits that a decent air cooler could do(thermalright,Fennir,Noctua etc)get yourself a decent air cooler and forget about it unless your going for a full custom setup(rad,reservoir,pump etc)
 
I would be reluctant to buy 2nd hand water-cooling equipment, especially as any problems may be invisible to the naked eye i.e. components being slightly blocked/deteriorated/corroded through lack of maintenance and/or incorrect fluid being used by the previous owners.

You could probably get a 2nd hand 120.2/3 set-up for £120 but I would advise against it.

The cheapest 120.2 kit on OcUK is £178.58 at the moment so I would recommend saving up the extra or, as others have advised, either get a high-end air cooler or the Corsair H50.
 
The approach outlined by bigsharn is far and away the best option available for your budget.

I have two second hand radiators, and both my waterblocks are second hand. The reasoning is that if blocks are clean and don't leak there's not really anything to go wrong, and if radiators don't leak you're good to go. If concerned you can always flush it. The issue of corrosion doesn't worry me very much, as aluminium and copper have to be in direct contact for it to happen at any appreciable rate, and it tends to destroy the al part not the cu.

If you want pretty water cooling, pay more than this. Otherwise go and play with the H50.
 
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My loop is also second hand - but brought from people on here that I know looked after it.
But as JonJ said above there is very little that can go wrong with quality kit.

I try to avoid secondhand plex hardware as most people over tighten the barbs and put micro cracks in it - but apart for that after a wash/flush all the metal and Acetal parts are normally as good as new.
 
I bought a brand-new Swiftech kit on the bay for 70 quid. Buying second-hand on our members Market can get you cheap good-quality parts. A used car heatercore will easily cool any computer part going and Eheim pond pumps were used for users by the water-cooling community. I have two sitting on a shelf along with a heatercore.

Ask on the Market or look on auction sites. £120 can easily pay for a water-cooling solution.
 
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