Watercooling Kit

ahenners · 20 Jul 2010 at 22:13

Hi guys, now that it is summer and becoming warmer I have been thinking about getting a watercooling setup that would hopefully make my pc cooler and quieter. Long gaming sessions are a nightmare on hot days with the heat it currently chucks out!

If I go ahead I will be looking at just cooling the cpu (q6600 oc'd) on water for the moment and then maybe doing the gpu at a later date. The gpu might be a ball ache since its a sapphire hd 4870 and its a non reference card. Anyway I have done quite a bit of research and spec'd some stuff and just wondering what you all think. This will be my first watercooling setup so I want to make sure its ok and I haven't missed anything etc. Please feel free to make suggestions/criticisms but my budget is about £200 really.

Thanks

bifday2k · 20 Jul 2010 at 22:21

Missing 1 fan, as the rad takes 3 and u have 2 in the basket, apart from that its not a bad setup.

Normaly i would say 120.3 rad for just CPU is overkill, but as that rad is so cheap, why not lol.

scrlk · 20 Jul 2010 at 22:21

A triple rad just for an OC'ed Q6600? Bit overkill IMO. A dual one will suffice for CPU + 1 GPU

EDIT: Will 7/10 would with 1/2?

bifday2k · 20 Jul 2010 at 22:36

Vinni3 @H|H said:
A triple rad just for an OC'ed Q6600? Bit overkill IMO. A dual one will suffice for CPU + 1 GPU

EDIT: Will 7/10 would with 1/2?

He would be paying more for a dual rad, then he would that triple, so would be a bit daft.

The 7/16th is fine used over 1/2" barbs, as its an extremely tight fit.

mjones1 · 21 Jul 2010 at 07:06

I would get a good 5m of tubing if it's your first time since you might want to change your loop order.

HW91 · 21 Jul 2010 at 09:26

I would change your pump + res to one which doesn't use a drive bay, they are either quite annoying or quite dangerous to fill up the loop with plus it means that it probably won't be the highest part in the loop which it should be

also I'd switch the block to an ek supreme HF as they perform a good few degrees better

rjk · 21 Jul 2010 at 09:35

that is a great starter setup and will put you in good stead to add a GPU at a later point.

as mentioned you will need another fan but apart from that its good to go.

i would maybe look at the ek supreme hf block but the heatkiller is still a great block.

ahenners · 21 Jul 2010 at 10:16

Thanks everyone for your input, much appreciated

Oops, didn't realise that I had only added 2 fans instead of 3, thanks for pointing that out!

Any recommendations in terms of coolant/fluid for the system? Am I right in thinking most people prefer de-ionised water rather than fancy dyed coolant etc?

Also what are the best fans in terms of pressure/noise to stick on the radiator? Heard the vipers can be quite noisy.

Amidar · 21 Jul 2010 at 15:55

Your using UV hose so no need for fancy liquids,just get some de-ionized water and a silver kill coil to prevent algae growth.

ahenners · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:22

Amidar said:
Your using UV hose so no need for fancy liquids,just get some de-ionized water and a silver kill coil to prevent algae growth.

Without wanting to sound stupid, what is a silver kill coil? Is it literally just a piece of silver coil that you put in the system somewhere?

Marvin · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:25

Yes exactly, and apparently you want distilled not de-ionized water.

Amidar · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:32

Marvin said:
Yes exactly, and apparently you want distilled not de-ionized water.

The problem with distilled is it's quite hard to find and the difference between the two isn't that much anyway.

Marvin · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:34

So it's not as bad as the drama queens claim? I'm currently using de-ionized.

Amidar · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:42

Marvin said:
So it's not as bad as the drama queens claim? I'm currently using de-ionized.

De-ionized is perfectly fine.

bifday2k · 21 Jul 2010 at 16:43

May want to get one of these for use with the Fans, http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-031-AK&groupid=701&catid=48&subcat=

Will allow u to use the cpu PWM capablity. For any PWM fans.

The vipers are loud at the full 1900rpm, but what fan is'nt. I use 2 on my rad, generally the highest i ever have them running is 1100rpm, and its a gently hum at most. Most of the time they are 700rpm, and utter silence.

You will rarely have to have them at full whack, depening on your mobo, and if it came with any software to change cpu fan profiles, u will never hear them to be honest.

ahenners · 21 Jul 2010 at 17:25

bifday2k said:
May want to get one of these for use with the Fans, http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CB-031-AK&groupid=701&catid=48&subcat=

Will allow u to use the cpu PWM capablity. For any PWM fans.

The vipers are loud at the full 1900rpm, but what fan is'nt. I use 2 on my rad, generally the highest i ever have them running is 1100rpm, and its a gently hum at most. Most of the time they are 700rpm, and utter silence.

You will rarely have to have them at full whack, depening on your mobo, and if it came with any software to change cpu fan profiles, u will never hear them to be honest.

Yeah the mobo has some bios settings and asus ai suite to change the fan speeds. Thanks for the suggestion bifday2k

bifday2k · 21 Jul 2010 at 17:34

Ah should have checked what mobo u had, yeh i use AI suit for my fans.

To set ur mind at ease andy about noise, put it this way, my I7 never ever goes over 70c on the cores, even when F@H or prime95/IBT/LinX, and thats with fans at 1100, i can even get away with lower fan speeds at times, all depends on the ambient room temp.

So with a triple rad, 3 vipers, and just cooling the Q6600, u will i would say never have to run them full speed, mainly only to find the lowest temps u can get, but thats just braffing rights lol.