Watercooling question from an utter n00b .......

{SAS}TB

{SAS}TB

{SAS}TB

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I have been tinkering with the idea of watercooling for a while and really like the idea and looks of the Zalman XT external kits, but reading up i very much doubt they will have the grunt that I would be looking for ?

I would, ideally, like to WC my

CPU - Q6600 (currently OCd at 3.2)
NB - EVGA 780i
GFX - (Currently) 2 x BFG 8800GTX OC2 in SLI - Although these may well change

First question, which im pretty sure I know the answer to, would the Zalman XT have the cooling power needed ? (I know id have to buy extra blocks, tubes etc)

Second off, if not and I was to custom build (ideally with bay mounted Res / pump) would one loop cope with the above ?

Thirdly - Is there any decrease in performance / noise etc from using a res / pump combo ?

And lastly what kind of temperatures would you thihnk I would see? I appreciate this is hard to judge and prolly benefit more when under load, but ill ask anyway :rolleyes::p

My current idle temps (today being a lot cooler than recently)

Core 1 - 40 (36 if all case fans on full)
Core 2 - 38 (35 if all case fans on full)
Core 3 - 36 (34 if all case fans on full)
Core 4 - 36 (33 if all case fans on full)

CPU 1 - 67 (58 if all case fans on full)
CPU 2 - 64 (54 if all case fans on full)

Any comments / ideas would be hugely appreciated

Cheers

TB
 
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the XT's are pretty decent kits, obv you will need to buy extra bits and bobs like an extra GPU block etc. Temp wise can only be judged in how warm your room is. If it shut off to air from outside or a thruogh draft your temps will slowly build, the same will happen to all w/c kits.
If you nosey arouynd the net im pretty sure there are a few reviews on the XT and they'll talk about the noise.
Having all that stuff in your case that you want w/c will take away a bit of the porformance as the water has to get around all that tubing, you could by a cheapy pump to give it a hand or something.
 
The room isn't too bad, I have the radiator shut off in here and the window is usually open.

The temps aren't that bad as it is under air cooling. But after some prolonged gaming all the hot air dumped into the room makes it quite toasty in here!

With all the fans full bore it can get quite noisy too

I have read around and the XT looks (or sounds) very quiet and generally gets good reviews - but some enthusiast sites don't give it great reviews (but then they can be quite hard core).

I was just concerned that it wouldnt perform with potentially 4 blocks, two being the OCd GTXs and one being the raging furnace of the 780i NB :D
 
Its things like this i need to know :P

Id be interested to see peoples thoughts about this versus a custom build as well as the cost of the XT plus some additional blocks will probably be in excess of £300
 
Custom build will always in a sense be better cos you can create it to YOUR needs. So if you have a few things in your w/c loop that create a lot of heat your gonna want a big rad or maybe an extra smaller rad. If you have a fair few things in your loop your going to want a decent pump to push it all around.
There are pro's and cons to kits and customs builds. Kits are shortcuts so that people know theyt are getting everything they need, it might not cool it as good as something like a custom build. But they will know everything is tried and tested and works well together.
 
Before someone spec's you a custom watercooling loop the following answers to these questions would help.

spec of hardware

CPU: Q6600 (G0 or B3)
NB: EVGA 780i
GPU: BFG 8800GTX OC2 in SLI
GPU: BFG 8800GTX OC2 in SLI
Case: Coolermaster 832 stacker

Is silence / very quiet your MAIN aim?
I'm looking to reduce temps?
I want to increase my OC?
I want it to look 'cool' at LAN parties?
I'm a methodical worker?
I want 'the best'
I'll always 'tweeking' my system
I'm happy for some of the loop to be outside the case - Yes
My case lives - under desk / on desk / other
My budget is = £300
 
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Hopefully this will help :

CPU: Q6600 (G0 Stepping)
NB: EVGA 780i
GPU: BFG 8800GTX OC2 in SLI
GPU: BFG 8800GTX OC2 in SLI
Case: Coolermaster 832 stacker

Is silence / very quiet your MAIN aim?
Yes
I'm looking to reduce temps?
Yes
I want to increase my OC?
Would be nice
I want it to look 'cool' at LAN parties?
No, its more important at LAN parties to be in the bar ;)
I'm a methodical worker?
When needs be
I want 'the best'
Im prepared to pay extra for quality, yes
I'll always 'tweeking' my system
Yes
I'm happy for some of the loop to be outside the case
Yes
My case lives - under desk / on desk / other
On
My budget is
Hopefully no more than £300

Thanks :)
 
Are there any particular manufacturers to avoid, or any that are considered "better"

Also (as original post) are there any issues or reduction in performance from a combined res / pump set up ?

** oops double post **
 
The flow into the pump should always be maximised - so either use an aftermarket top (with our without microres) or a submerged option (like the Zalman Res's)

If swapping your Graphics cards might be worth useing GPU block instead of full cover ones as they will be reusable.

I'd also surgest you look at the hybrid passive cooling.
Konvekt-o-matic ultra with the optional booster kit (basically a fan and shroud) - removes 175w in passive mode and 680w in active mode (aka surf/Game) should fit the bill but at an overpriced £200 without any blocks/pump/tube etc it's not a budget choice - (got all my passive rads secondhand at 40% retail or below :D)

But to be honest a 120.3 with three fans at 7v is a more cost effective option and quiet enought for most. It will also give you the option of all copper rad/block harware which is the way to go if starting from scratch.

Stick with G1/4 threaded blocks 1/2 barbs and 7/16 tubing and you can't really go wrong.
As to block choice and pumps I'll leave it to the active cooling pro's. (My knowlage is bias towards passive setup)
 
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I tried cooling a setup very similar to yoru in a single loop and had massive problems.

I ended up having to add aditional rads.

In the end i got a new case and re did it from scratch in two loops. Temps and noise were so much better.

I put NB and CPU on one loop and graphics on the other
 
So help a n00b along here - two loops re two res / 2 pumps / 2 rads ?

What size of rad / res / pump per loop?

Ta
 
Water cooling isn't quieter than air cooling in 99% of cases. The only thing that makes a lot of noise in a PC is the fans. A PA120.3 by definition adds 3 120mm fans and that's probably more fans than you have now, so why would anyone expect a PA120.3 system to be quieter?

What some of us are doing is going down the slightly ghetto route and using microbore house central heating radiators which are cheap, efficient and absolutely silent.

I do have systems using Zalman Reserators and the XT the OP mentions could probably cool a Q6600 and one GTX, but I'm no sure about two of them. An Innovatek Konvekt-o-Matik Maxi Plus would do it though, and no fans involved, hence near total silence. The strong Euro makes the Innovatek stuff look very pricey indeed at the moment, but it does still come up sometimes on ebay at good prices. Like ShadowScotland I picked up all of my passive cooling gear cheaply from Member's Market when it was out of fashion. Passive cooling isn't as sexy as active cooling, but it generally gets the job done and you can still hear yourself think!
 
I currently have 6 x 120mm fans :P

This is one of the issues that I cant seem to get a straight answer on - I was always flummoxed as to how you cool without the noise and was told, by several people, that due to the slower fan speeds, less noise ?

As for a "micro-bore radiator", you mean as in a standard domestic radiator :eek:

After a bit more reading and replies from other forums it looks like id be looking at 2 loops - one for CPU NB and possibly SB and one for the GFX - which is starting to get pricey - what kind of price are the Innovatek Konvekt-o-Matik Maxi Plus ? I can see the Danish webby and a few euro retailers but no prices :S
 
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