Watercool-Kit or Custom

andyh · 27 Mar 2007 at 15:27

I have been thinking about watercooling my E6300 for some time, it is currently at 3.1Ghz on 1.280volts however it does get up to 62c when running orthos small fft's. I am sure it will go further but I dont want to raise the temp any higher. I would also like to watercool the northbridge but at this time I have no plans to watercool my 8800gts. Although I am looking for performance I would like the setup to be fairly quiet.
After a little research i have put together the following list:
Swiftech Apogee GT extreme CPU block
Swiftech MCW30 chipset cooler
Swiftech Radbox
Swiftech MRES resevoir
Thermochill PA120.2
Alphacool Laing DDC Ultra pump with plexitop
MasterKleer 7/16 tubing (6ft)
I already have a couple of scythe 1200rpm 120mm fans which can be used on the rad.

I think the above is fairly high spec but it comes to about £220 (inc p&p+vat).

My other option is to get the swifteck apex ultra + the MCW30 chipset cooler for about £188.

I know custom is generally better but does anyone know how much of an improvement it will be over the swiftech kit. If its only going to be a couple of degrees at the same noise levels then I might as well save my money and go for the kit.

Plus, is there anything on the list I have missed off or anything that can be changed to save some money without comprimising performance.

MikeTimbers · 27 Mar 2007 at 19:56

I would say it's likely to be a marginal improvement over the standard kit. The 18W DDC would generate some extra pressure and therefore flow, the THermochill Rad is better than the Swiftech one. The noise will come from your fans, not the water-cooling kit itself so there should be no difference in noise levels.

Personally, unless you have the £30 extra lying around (in which case you can pay for my advice!

) I would go with the kit.

andyh · 28 Mar 2007 at 09:11

Thanks Mike, do you have one of these kits?

Typhoon · 28 Mar 2007 at 10:21

The lower powered Laing pump is quieter, cheaper, last longer and is fine in my system, with Black Ice Stealth GTS 360 Rad. Temps in low 50's at 3.6Ghz. If your going for the Alphacool top, consider getting their Res too, work very well and doesnt take up too much space.

elfy · 28 Mar 2007 at 10:32

tbh if you're getting the ddc i'd get the petra top rather than the alphacool plexi

w3bbo · 28 Mar 2007 at 13:22

Noise will be slightly less using the PA instead of the swiftech as the fins are less dense and therefore there will be less restriction (noise) in the airflow through the rad. The swiftech kit is a very good kit though.

If you do decide to go custom its worth noting that you choice of pump top is crucial as it all depends where you are going to mount it and route your tubing; the plexi top gets my vote as it's more flexible than the petra top.

Don't forget about barbs and additives if you are going the custom route

andyh · 28 Mar 2007 at 13:29

w3bbo said:
Noise will be slightly less using the PA instead of the swiftech as the fins are less dense and therefore there will be less restriction (noise) in the airflow through the rad. The swiftech kit is a very good kit though.

If you do decide to go custom its worth noting that you choice of pump top is crucial as it all depends where you are going to mount it and route your tubing; the plexi top gets my vote as it's more flexible than the petra top.

Don't forget about barbs and additives if you are going the custom route

I have sourced all the parts from a single supplier so I am limited to the plexitop. The price listed includes 1/2" bards but I havnt decided on the additive yet.
I know that the only difference between the Swiftech Ultra and Ultra plus kits is the addition of the GPU and chipset block so I am assuming that if I decided to wc my 8800GTS later the Ultra kit should be able to cope with the extra heat.

w3bbo · 28 Mar 2007 at 14:14

There are better solutions to cooling the 8800 than using an mcw GPU block(you would also need the adapter plate which is not included in the kit afaik) such as the EK full cover block.

I have 2 plexi tops in my setup and both perform great - I was gonna go for the petra top but the miniscule difference in flow/head is not worth the sacrifice in flexibility in mounting the alphacool top imo.

elfy · 28 Mar 2007 at 14:52

w3bbo said:
There are better solutions to cooling the 8800 than using an mcw GPU block(you would also need the adapter plate which is not included in the kit afaik) such as the EK full cover block.

I have 2 plexi tops in my setup and both perform great - I was gonna go for the petra top but the miniscule difference in flow/head is not worth the sacrifice in flexibility in mounting the alphacool top imo.

i've seen bizarre results where plexi top performed not well, but admittedly these could be due to b0rked results

andyh · 28 Mar 2007 at 15:07

w3bbo said:
There are better solutions to cooling the 8800 than using an mcw GPU block(you would also need the adapter plate which is not included in the kit afaik) such as the EK full cover block.

I agree, but would the ultra kit be able to cope with the chipset block and a gpu block where both cpu and gpu are overclocked to max (my 8800gts temps get up to 82 when loaded).

w3bbo · 28 Mar 2007 at 15:16

It should 'cope', certainly better than air cooling but if you want it to cope well then I would look towards the Thermochill PA range of rads tbh. You are throwing out a lot of heat for a dual rad to cope with, I would think you will get better temps with a PA. You will only question your buying judgement if you dont get the best now tbh - thats what I did and ended up with a PA in the end - glad I did tbh.

andyh · 28 Mar 2007 at 19:41

Webbo is your 4ghz stable set up watercooled using the swiftech kit but with a PA instead or is that all custom?

w3bbo · 28 Mar 2007 at 22:42

Custom m8.

andyh · 29 Mar 2007 at 06:21

Thanks for the advice.
I think I am going to go for the kit to start with and look at changing the Rad to a Pa120.2 if and when I feel that I need the extra performance. The swiftech kit should allow me to eek out a little more from my cpu and reduce the temps slightly which is all I am hoping to achieve at this point.

clone · 29 Mar 2007 at 08:04

Custom build for the win tbh m8,i have a PA 160 rad cooling both my 8800GTXs and with the right fan setup will do the job of any of your cooling need`s.

andyh · 29 Mar 2007 at 10:01

clone said:
Custom build for the win tbh m8,i have a PA 160 rad cooling both my 8800GTXs and with the right fan setup will do the job of any of your cooling need`s.

I would love to custom build but the cost difference over the swiftech kit for what I intend it to do is just too great at the moment.

MikeTimbers · 29 Mar 2007 at 22:51

andyh said:
Thanks Mike, do you have one of these kits?

I have a more basic Swiftech kit with the older MCW6000 and the 10W DDC/bay res and a single MCR120 which with a 12v Titan fan is keeping my Opty146 (2700MHz, 1.6v!) at around 15C over ambient which isn't amazing but it's quiet and stable.

andyh · 30 Mar 2007 at 06:31

MikeTimbers said:
I have a more basic Swiftech kit with the older MCW6000 and the 10W DDC/bay res and a single MCR120 which with a 12v Titan fan is keeping my Opty146 (2700MHz, 1.6v!) at around 15C over ambient which isn't amazing but it's quiet and stable.

Mike, I dont know anything about the heat output of the opty, is it similar to that of the e6300 and is that at load or idle, I am just trying to get an idea of what temps to expect.

clone · 30 Mar 2007 at 08:47

Your E6600 will run a little cooler as you do need as much volt`s to run stock,only when you overclock will you see a temp rize.

MikeTimbers · 31 Mar 2007 at 12:29

andyh said:
Mike, I dont know anything about the heat output of the opty, is it similar to that of the e6300 and is that at load or idle, I am just trying to get an idea of what temps to expect.

At the volts I'm having to use, I would guess my wattage is higher tahn on a C2D. The temps are load temps since idle temps are completely pointless to relate.