Watercooling n00b, need some advice.

I would use a real radiator designed for PC use they are much better at the job

I think the real benefit of a 'proper' PC one is that it will fit 120mm fans easily. Otherwise the technology is identical. Pretty much all water-cooling stuff except the blocks is existing kit 'borrowed' to do the job. Pretty much all the pumps that are highly recommended are German made Laing central heating pumps. They don't need to be modified in any way and they are 1/2" or 3/8" out of the box. Most tubing is just lab-grade Tygon or Masterkleer, which has been available in school supply catalogues for some time now. Your local plumbcentre is probably as good a place as any to start your watercooling career.

I'm very keen on trying out one HUGE radiator like the Innovatek/Alphacool etc. etc. MO-RA2 which is 360x360 and takes 9 120mm fans or can be used passively. This is basically a car radiator that has G1/4 threads on the inlet and exit and a fancy mounting cover to make it easy to fix to a PC.

, I use Thermochill because they appear to be the best, I have 2X 120.3 Thermochills thought I might need 2 but they are so efficient even though I have quite a lot in the loop I only need to use one

I agree - Thermochill are just on a different planet to the other suppliers, both in terms of efficacy and the actual effort that goes into designing and proving their parts. I do wish they would go to G1/4 thread though.
 
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I would use a real radiator designed for PC use they are much better at the job, I use Thermochill because they appear to be the best.I have 2X 120.3 Thermochills thought I might need 2 but they are so efficient even though I have quite a lot in the loop I only need to use one


I agree - Thermochill are just on a different plant to the other suppliers, both in terms of efficacy and the actual effort that goes into designing and proving their parts. I do wish they would go to G1/4 thread though.

I agree with both ops,

I agree with WJA96, i to wish they would adopt the G1/4 thread for more flexibility even more so for 3/8 tubing use. It would allow a little bit more flexibility instead of looking for/ using reducers.
 
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ok thanks what would u say is the most exspemsive part of a setup?

Do you mean what should you NOT compromise on? The radiator (£60 for a PA120.3), then the CPU block (£35-£45), then the pump (£30-£75) (In my opinion). One excellent thing about water-cooling though - you can always sell the stuff on, if you buy good stuff in the first place. There is also a very healthy market in good, used, water-cooling kit. Once you get your 250 posts and access Member's Market there are lots of bargains to be had - In the last month I've bought a new, unused, Laing D5 for £35 Incl. delivery and a D-Tek FuZion for £20 Incl. and I've sold my own older stuff too.
 
Do you mean what should you NOT compromise on? The radiator (£60 for a PA120.3), then the CPU block (£35-£45), then the pump (£30-£75) (In my opinion). One excellent thing about water-cooling though - you can always sell the stuff on, if you buy good stuff in the first place. There is also a very healthy market in good, used, water-cooling kit. Once you get your 250 posts and access Member's Market there are lots of bargains to be had - In the last month I've bought a new, unused, Laing D5 for £35 Incl. delivery and a D-Tek FuZion for £20 Incl. and I've sold my own older stuff too.

I agree totally, it's like almost everything in life buy the best it either lasts longer or holds it's price better if you sell it later.
 
Do you mean what should you NOT compromise on? The radiator (£60 for a PA120.3), then the CPU block (£35-£45), then the pump (£30-£75) (In my opinion). One excellent thing about water-cooling though - you can always sell the stuff on, if you buy good stuff in the first place. There is also a very healthy market in good, used, water-cooling kit. Once you get your 250 posts and access Member's Market there are lots of bargains to be had - In the last month I've bought a new, unused, Laing D5 for £35 Incl. delivery and a D-Tek FuZion for £20 Incl. and I've sold my own older stuff too.

I agree totally, it's like almost everything in life buy the best it either lasts longer or holds it's price better if you sell it later.

As both ops state In the long run it is wiser to invest in quality products although the initial investment will be expensive. In the long term this investment will pay off both financially and you will have peace of mind and a "feel good factor" about your W/C set up. But most importantly is that it performs as you intend it to.
 
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ok....do u think i would be able to get this kit 2nd hand anywhere....i would like to use a heater matrix rad.....would i need to modify it in some way to connect tubing or is it same fitting?

Car scrap yards would have something. Normall just two pipes coming off. Might be lucky and get some around 1/2"

You could always do something to get some pipes on.
 
I would use a real radiator designed for PC use they are much better at the job, I use Thermochill because they appear to be the best, I have 2X 120.3 Thermochills thought I might need 2 but they are so efficient even though I have quite a lot in the loop I only need to use one, the other sits under the table waiting for a new home.

I disagree with a PC rad being better. All radiators are designed with max surface area to distribut heat/lose heat.
Only thing with PC rads are 120mm fans go straight on, no mods.
A 120mm fan wouldnt cover a heater matrix to give max efficiency.
 
What can you reach on air?

Im on 3.42 @ 1.45v. I wanna get to 3.6, maxed out on my mobo and ram. But I need to up the voltage and its getting dodgy on air. I recon im gonna be on 1.5v, tried 1.475 but it didnt like that. Temps were going past 65c and only after a couple of mines od stressing. With side of case off to and room was cold.
 
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