Watercooling - Finalling having a go, suggestions?

[NikoDG]

Yeah, 90 degree bad

[Gr4vitas]

Yeah, 90 degree bad

 

Thats what I thought, thanks for the info.

 

Any suggestions for a ~$250 setup?

[NikoDG]

What are you cooling? And in what case?

[Gr4vitas]

So far I've got:

 

Swiftech: MCP655

Apogee HD

 

I still am unsure as to which rad to get, there are a lot of options and from what I read there really isn't a giant difference between them. I read that really the most important thing to look for in a rad is flow rate. That being said are there any specific rads on the market that are bounds ahead of others in terms of flow rate / quality? Otherwise I think I'll just get this koolance high-flow 20 fpi rad.

 

Other than that I think I may go ahead and spend a few bucks on compression fittings, after watching a lot of setup videos it just seems as though it will be a lot easier and quicker working with those for not only the initial build but also any time I want to or need to take it down for maintenance.

 

Edit:

What are you cooling? And in what case?

 

I believe I mentioned earlier, the case is a Haf X, and im only cooling the cpu for the time being. Will probably add a GPU after I run a CPU only loop for a bit.

Edited February 7, 2012 by Gr4vitas

[Waco]

I would suggest a lower FPI radiator unless you're planning on running noisy fans. My Swiftech MCR320 is ~13 FPI IIRC and my RX360 is ~8. They are SILENT and cool very well even with my 1300 RPM fans running at nearly half speed.

[Gr4vitas]

I would suggest a lower FPI radiator unless you're planning on running noisy fans. My Swiftech MCR320 is ~13 FPI IIRC and my RX360 is ~8. They are SILENT and cool very well even with my 1300 RPM fans running at nearly half speed.

 

Yea I was wondering about that, realistically noise isn't a huge factor for me, I have a nice headset I'm wearing most of the time and when I'm not wearing it im watching a movie using my custom 17.2 speaker surround so its not an issue lmao.

 

However that being said, my first build ever had a bunch of high rpm fans in it and for a while it was just sweet (and cool!) but it really did wear on me. I just got tired of it being so noisy every time I cranked it up.

 

But sound advice, I'll look for a 'high flow' ~13 FPI, is there any particular brand you can recommend?

 

Edit: How about the RS360? A step down from the RX360, there website doesn't specify a FPI for the RS but from the pictures it looks very similar to the RX which is sub 9 FPI. $62 is a little easier to swallow than $90.

Edited February 7, 2012 by Gr4vitas

[NikoDG]

Oh, a HAF X, I had one of those ^^

Why not go all Swiftech and get an MCR320?

[Gr4vitas]

Oh, a HAF X, I had one of those ^^

Why not go all Swiftech and get an MCR320?

 

Just looking at the MCR now, it looks like a solid rad, but at 15 FPI I'd almost rather just get the RS360 at 2 less dollars with a few less FPI.

[Waco]

I haven't used the RS radiators but I've heard good things. They should work well with pretty much any fan, which is a nice bonus.

[NikoDG]

The MCR is a much higher quality radiator in my opinion

[Gr4vitas]

The MCR is a much higher quality radiator in my opinion

 

The only bonus right now to getting the MCR is that I can order everything from one place (so far). Otherwise I really feel like the RS / RX rads are a little nicer. But I think when it comes down to it, there very close in FPI and flow rate, and only a few dollars difference in price, I may just get the MCR simply for the convenience of being able to order all from the same place. (xoxide btw any thoughts?).

 

So the Swiftech Apogee HD, Swiftech MCP655, and MCRx320 for core components, any final thoughts? I still need to find a res I like, I really wanted a bay res but while they loot pretty, I can see them being a pain sometimes, bleeding or adding to the system could be a hassle I'd imagine if you don't have good room above it in your bay for access. I may just go with the Swiftech MCRES, cheap and practical. (or maybe both, MCRES for bleeding and adding and bay for general).

[Gr4vitas]

Anyone have a suggestion for a res? I really would like a bay res, but I just can't find one I like, and half of them come with pumps, I don't particularly want fancy, more want utility and price. It'd be cool to get one with a temp monitor in it though.

 

Side note, holy hell it sucks getting parts together. It seems like no one site sells everything you need, I'm looking at having to order from 3 different sites right now. Why doesn't someone just sell everything you need for parts? Frozen CPU definitely has the most stuff but there prices are garbage, I could technically order all my stuff from there together if I wanted to spend an extra 60 bucks on parts.