Watercooling advice

T1rez · 16 Dec 2007 at 16:10

Hey im kinda of new on this forum.. ive been buying most of my PC parts from here for years..

i'm finally wanting to make the jump from Air to water cooling..

I want to have a Coolermaster cosmos for the case.

Im a total nub at this water cooling lark so i was wondering if you could help me out..

Will this
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-001-DT
be suitable for cooling my ati x2900 xt or will the standard air cooler be quiter and better?

Is this kit any good for cooling a 4200 x2 929 pin
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-002-TT

do i need anything else to get these two products linked up and running?

Thanks very much

T1rez

Mekrel · 16 Dec 2007 at 16:28

Thermaltake products are not very highly regarded in the watercooling scene. Their parts are usually very old designs and poor quality and don't cool very well. The kit on it's own could cool the processor, but I'm not sure to what degree. I've not owned an AMD setup for a couple of years now.

The D-Tek FuZion GPU block is a very good block, probably the best performing GPU only block out currently but that comes at a price. The block is very very restrictive and the pumps in Thermaltake products are usually quite weak and this will hinder performance to try and push through the FuZion GPU.

The kit will use small bore tubing, at a guess 8/10mm and this will require buying new barbs for the FuZion block.

My advice is to stay away, else you may find yourself down a cul-de-sac when it comes to upgrading.

T1rez · 16 Dec 2007 at 16:30

do you mean stay away from that kit? or from watercooling?

can you suggest a setup that would be good or any kits?

Thanks

Mekrel · 16 Dec 2007 at 16:50

Stay away from that kit.

Kits I would recommend are the Swiftech Apex ones, they're all good parts.

Such as:
Masterkleer 7/16th tubing, bend nicely and fits over 1/2 barbs nicely for less chance of leaks.
ApogeeGT, not the best block out but still very good. Other blocks above it like the FuZion, GTX, EK Supreme are only really better on a Quad core, cooling an AMD 939 processor even an X2 should be easy to handle.
Swiftech MCRES - Best reservoir I've ever used, small and bleeds well and quells noise from sloshing water.
MCW-60 (part of plus Apex kit) again a great block which is very versatile. It's only 1-2 degrees worse than the D-Tek block you linked to but it's far less restrictive and can be swapped onto future cards as it utilises adapter plates.

Warning: People will come in here saying to build custom because it's more "elite" if you do and they will be ignoring the fact you're not cooling a C2Q etc. I build custom, but I know when it's right to recommend a good product to someone who wants to be introduced to water.

I can specify a custom set up for you, but you seem to have your heart set on a kit.

Good thing about this kit is, it's very interchangeable with other water cooling parts as watercooling shops usually give you the option to add barbs when you add the block to basket. All you do is specify 1/2" barbs and it will fit within your current loop no problem.