Why a reservoir in WC??

[daveip]

Hey guys ... gosh I really should post more considering the time I've been lurking around on the forums. But most of the time I manage to find what I'm looking for!

I'm considering WC for my i7 rig. Its just not cool enough for my liking.
I have a C0 core, and I managed to push 3.6GHz easily, but my temps shot up to 85-90c fully loaded with all my fans on max. Cooling is a P180 case, with a Mugen 2 HS and Yate Loon D12SLs all over.

Because of the temps, I've brought my OC down to 3GHz. I idle at 46c (30c ambient) and 65c loaded.

Yeah ... they're ok, but its a significant drop in oc.

So ... I've been doing a fair bit of reading and I'm looking to get a triple rad in a HAF 932. I haven't figured out what components I'd like to get yet, but I'm puzzled by the amount of systems I've seen with reservoirs. From what I understand, reservoirs actually hinder performance, because the pump has to accelerate still/slow down water, whereas without a reservoir, the water enters the pump at speed already.

So my question is ... why are so many people using reservoirs and not just a fill port?

Lastly (might as well try kill 2 birds with 1 stone) should I upgrade my PSU? I have a Seasonic 550W and comp spec is below.

MSI x58 Eclipse (gosh I wish I hadn't bought this ... too late now)
i7 920 C0
6gb pc12800 ocz ddr3
creative x-fi
9800gt 1gb
9600gt 1gb
5 hdds
2 dvd±rw drives

Seems to be holding up for now, but I do hear the smaller 60mm fan spin up when I oc high and fully load the computer.

Thanks!!!

 

[Bubo]

The only significant difference between a rez and a t line is that having a rez makes bleeding air out of the loop vastly quicker and simpler. You mention a performance difference between the two but that is going to be negligable. The reason for that miniscule performance difference is down to *maybe* the rez being slightly more restrictive than a straight t line, and thus will have a slightly larger pressure drop across. In practice the difference is naff all. The only other benefit of a T line is that it takes up less space, though then again depending on how you route your tubes you may end up with a long length of tube seemingly going to nowhere and sticking out like a sore thumb.

 

[Ducky Spud]

I use a res just to make life easier for myself Like Bubo said, its going to have a negligable effect on performance really. I just think its a much easier way to fill and bleed the system rather than just using a fill port.

Plus they tend to look pretty cool too haha

 

[.:SAmSuNG:.]

Saves cutting ur case too.

 

[shadowscotland]

The dynamics of a t-line loop and an open loop with a res are very different.

With a res as the others say it make bleading any air bubbles out much easier.
But that not the main reason its there. It's there to 'feed' he pump water using mavity.
As most of the stronger watercooling pumps are NOT self primeing. They push water out
but they do not suck water in. This is part of the reason the Res top on the DDC being such a good upgrade.
Anyway the air bubble in the res 'breaks' the loop [why bleading is easier] but also loses
some kenitic energy
You can balance the loop by filling the res above the inlet but care is needed not to
create a back presure

A t-line is part of a sealed loop - so the pump pushing water round the loop also feeds
it's self. This is a more advanced setup as it have some issued when filling. But once blead it will out perform a res loop with the same hardware.

It also allows for a smaller pump to be used as it doesn't require a first push to get the whole loop moving.
Instead its starts slowly then builds up (well that's how my 3w pump worked )
I think it also reduced laminar flow within the loop - but that's most likely wishful thinking

 

[daveip]

Thanks for the replies guys.
I'm still considering the need for WC in my rig, but I'll take the above into consideration when putting a setup together.