Watercooling Questions

leoncc

leoncc

leoncc

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thinking about giving water-cooling a try as I have a few £££'s spare

is it actually worth it? i haven't actually overclocked anything before but have a good understanding how to, currently have this hardware on order.

q6600
evga 680i
ocz sli 2gb pc6400
lian-li pc-343b
evga 8800gt
coolermaster real power modular 850

will take the cpu to 3.6ghz for now which the ram can sustain fine right? though 1600 fsb on the 680i, how much will it suffer?

no idea what the best stuff to get for a water-cooled setup is, definitely don't want to buy an all-in-one kit, from looking at other peoples setups, the d chipset block, d-tek cpu block, pa120.3 is the way to go?

is it worth cooling the GFX as well? considering i'm buying an 8800gt would i gain a noticeable difference? is it better to add the gfx on a different loop? or just stick to the cpu for the best performance?

how quiet are the pumps?

what’s the best reservoir to get? i'm thinking one of the 5.25" ones to go in my lian-li?

tubing? i don't like the thin tubing, but there’s so many to choose from?

how easy is it to maintain? how often does the system need cleaning out? i do like to re-build my rig from time to time to get rid of the dust etc, but i don’t want to be changing the water or something every week!

i have around £250 to spend purely on water-cooling, but not too sure what i actually need, would appreciate it if someone with a good setup could help me out here!

thanks :)
 
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You'll be lucky to get over 3GHZ on the 680i
If you're buying the GT then id invest in a EK8800 GT block as the cooling isnt the best on them and are quite loud (the gts is a lot quieter but still too loud for me)
Best rad & cpu block probably has to be the PA120.3 & D-tek fusion, as for the res that doesnt really matter much so buy what ever you want :)
I've also had a few different types of tubing and have now gone back to tygon R3603, yes its slightly more but worth every penny imo.

Oh and aslong as the coolant is right it only needs cleaning out ounce every 6-12months (depending on use)
 
You've got one of the best, if not arguably the best cases for water-cooling. In terms of radiator mounting there are two main options and neither requires cutting of the case. Either use the Lian Li 5.25"->Radiator Adaptor brackets and mount the PA120.3 in the front ports of the RHS of the case, or buy the PA120.2 adaptor plate that fits in the roof panel.

In terms of componentry, you've named most of the good stuff already. I would be looking at something along the lines of;

PA120.2 or PA120.3 depending on mounting options
EK Supreme or D-Tek FuZion water block (I like the Cuplex Di myself, but it's way too expensive to recommend as a sensible choice). Do make sure you get a backing plate though - the new D-Tek 775 Professional kit is brilliant with the FuZion block
EK 8800GT Full Cover waterblock
Swiftech MicroRes or EK Reservoir (you choose the size that suits) with the Rev 2.0 base and Anti-Cyclon
Laing D5 Vario pump or Laing DDC2 Ultra with Petras Tech top or EK Reservoir top with Anti-Cyclon. Don't get an EK res without the anti-cyclon, it's carp.

On tubing, if you like fat tubes then Tygon R3603 is your best option, but I love the fact that properly fitted Masterkleer 7/16" doesn't need any clips (try getting 1/2" tubing and jubilee clips on a FuZion!) and it looks very, very clean when installed.
 
WJA96 said:
but I love the fact that properly fitted Masterkleer 7/16" doesn't need any clips (try getting 1/2" tubing and jubilee clips on a FuZion!) and it looks very, very clean when installed.
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lol sorry I couldn't resist :D

IMG_3204.jpg
 
tatts said:
After Mountain mods that is ;)
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Sorry, but I'm not an MM fan. It's a big box with a gazillion 120mm holes cut in it. How designed is that? The LL has had some thought put into it, a sort of evolved MM if you like.


tatts said:
As the DDC2 been sorted with a new revision now? most i've seen die a painful death due to the impeller hitting the top :confused:
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I just send a note to Laing and they send me a new cup and rotor. But I haven't had it happen recently. As far as I know thy haven't changed the design.
 
tatts said:
After Mountain mods that is ;)
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You can't be on about those over priced metal eyesores otherwise known as a MountainMods case can you? ;)

Just a quick note, the PC343B isn't Thermochill compatible, you will need to drill out the four rivets that holds the top plates to either of the 5.25" rails. This is a piece of urine to do though, can keep the tops after and pop them back on with rivets and you wouldn't know it was ever removed.

Also the top panel isn't PA120.2 compatible as far as I'm aware? I believe it has set fan holes that are not far enough apart from each other for Thermochill?
 
Mekrel said:
You can't be on about those over priced metal eyesores otherwise known as a MountainMods case can you? ;)

Just a quick note, the PC343B isn't Thermochill compatible, you will need to drill out the four rivets that holds the top plates to either of the 5.25" rails. This is a piece of urine to do though, can keep the tops after and pop them back on with rivets and you wouldn't know it was ever removed.

Also the top panel isn't PA120.2 compatible as far as I'm aware? I believe it has set fan holes that are not far enough apart from each other for Thermochill?
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There is a place in Cambridgeshire that does a PA120.2 panel for the roof. ;)
 
thanks for all the replies, decided to change the spec a little after talking to someone of here!

q6600 @ 3.6ghz hopefully :D
maximus formula
4gig of crucial pc-5300 oc'd to 800mhz obv, is this a wise idea? just making sure!
coolermaster real power modular 800watt
palit 8800gt
2 wd raptors @ raid 0 16k clustor/stripe
2 wd aaks
2 samsung writemasters
2 zalman fan controllers
1 old matrix orbital display :D

the cooling setup is going to be

silverstone tj07
pa120.3 rad
laing ddc 18w pump
d-tek fuzion cpu block
ek fc-88 full cover gpu block (nickel plated)
dd northbridge block
tygon 1/2" id tubing
swiftech micro res
yate loon 120mm fans

sound ok?

what about adding the southbridge into the loop? or is it really not needed, hinder cooling performance etc for the overclock im aiming for?

also im not sure how to route this, or where to put the gear in the tj07 case? :confused: im guessing the rad in the top on a custom pa120.3 grill, res underneath to the right a little and pump at the bottom of the case somewhere? if anyone has a similar setup or a better idea for this case could you please post some pics/info of your setup! im sure it will come together when its in front of me :eek: just want to make sure its all going to fit and look nice before i go blowing £1200 :)

thanks again!
 
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I like what you have spec'd and am looking for a water cooling setup myself so i'll also use these recomendations :)

My only quiery is, Do the radiators come with fitting kits to mount the fans and bolt it onto your case? If not where do you get them i dont see them anywhere on the overclockers site.
 
Ranger07 said:
I like what you have spec'd and am looking for a water cooling setup myself so i'll also use these recomendations :)

My only quiery is, Do the radiators come with fitting kits to mount the fans and bolt it onto your case? If not where do you get them i dont see them anywhere on the overclockers site.
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No - they come with a packet of screws usually (not always), but water-cooling is still VERY enthusiast, and it's really not entered the general consumer age yet. You are supposed to be able to cut big holes with a 114mm holesaw, dremel out little holes, fabricate brackets and generally be very DIY capable.

Overclockers sell the parts, but not the expertise, so I always recommend new water-coolers find themselves a friendly water-cooling specialist to start out with. There are three or four really specialist water-cooling places in the UK, and they all have forums (where you find most of the same people you'll find on here) but they tend not to be so restrictive about talking about sourcing from competitors and so if your shopping list actually requires you to buy from three or four places they can tell you exactly where to get the bits you need. OcUK are box-shifters - the support is supplied for free from these forums.
 
Thanks i did think there would be a bit of work and modifying involved, I've got access to a good workshop so i'll probably get the case built first with all the fittings before installing anything else.
 
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