Water Cooling Guide....v 1.3

watsonte · August 23, 2006

Please understand that this guide is constantly being updated at this time. Any update will be stated in the last post of this thread, Also dont hesistate to post questions or comments regarding the guide or water cooling in general.

Why Water Cooling?

*Created by CPU Killer from Danger Den

What is water cooling?

The long answer is: Using a self contained, continuous loop filled with fluid to cool the heat producing components in a computer system. The short answer is: We’re putting water in your case to cool that sucker down!

Putting water inside a computer?! Most people understand that mixing water and electrical computer components is wrong…right? Why do people want to water cool their computers? What are the benefits of water cooling?

The benefits of water cooling:

Noise:

With a water cooling system installed, you can cool your entire computer with an actively (with fans), or passively (no fans) cooled radiator. You can get rid of your dozen high-speed fans and bring it down to a more manageable number (if you want).

Overclocking:

Water cooling a computer that is overclocked will keep the temperature of the components at a much safer limit. Water cooling is many time more efficient at removing heat than conventional air cooling.

Frequently asked questions about water cooling:

What is a water cooling system?

A basic water cooling system will have 5 key components in them:

FLUID: heat transferring element

PUMP: fluid circulating device

WATERBLOCK: heat transferring device (computer component to water)

RADIATOR: heat transferring device (water to air)

TUBING: conduit for fluid to travel

What component can be water cooled in a computer?

The most commonly water cooled component in a computer is the CPU. You can also watercool the video card, chipset(s), power regulators, memory modules and hard drives. Virtually anything that produces heat can be cooled using water; you might just have a hard time finding a waterblock for the more esoteric components.

Is water cooling safe?

When properly installed, water cooling is as safe as air cooling. With the introduction of affordable non-conductive fluids, water cooling is easier and safer than a few years ago. Combined with a temperature monitoring program, you have a fail safe water cooling system, and you’ll see the results.

Liquid Cooling Guide

v.1.5

Water Cooling is something that every one asks about and always wants a guide for…well, here is that guide. After compiling a number of posts, videos, and tutorials from DFI-Street.com, dangerden.com, and xtremesystems.org I give you this…a (somewhat) complete compilation of all water cooling guides, questions and answers that I could find, with help from Happy Games (Administrator at DFI-Street.com), Technodanvan, and CPU Killer.

Before anything else, you need to determine for yourself if you are ready to take the plunge and spend the time and money needed to get the results you want. A high quality water cooling kit will start off around at $150 and can go much higher, depending on what your needs are. You may also need to purchase a new case if you don't already own a water cooling-friendly one, so keep that in mind as you start adding up the cost. If you have to wait a couple paychecks - do so, it's not worth getting halfway done and then realizing you can't afford to finish. Have a little patience and you'll get what you want eventually.

If you are coming into water cooling and wondering how you can get yourself a high quality water cooling setup for less than $150, stop! You will be pressed to find a high quality system at that cost. When asked about finding a system for around $100 Happy Games quickly responded:

Here’s the problem: for $100-$150, you won't get anything that is better than your current Zalman. [fan + heatsink]

period

Contact CPU Killer at this forum as he works for Danger Den. Danger Den is going to run you in the $200-$350 range depending on how much you want, but it is the top water cooling setup (Swiftech is good too, but they don't have reps around this forum to help you out), and DD is all I use when it comes to water cooling.

You just aren't going to get any decent water cooling for $100-$150, no matter what anyone comes in here and tries to tell you.

Doing the research beforehand can really save a lot of mistakes, money, and potentially damaging leaks. Finding this guide is a great first step, but look around for new products that outdate those shown here. Water cooling gear can last for a long, long time - so to save on costs, check for used gear in place of brand new components. This forum and others like it probably have some great used stuff at highly reduced costs. Watch for cases that are highly recommended for water cooling, check out pictures of what it may look like when completed. If you’re modding your case and something doesn't feel right, ask questions before cutting it up. It's never a good thing to get halfway through your mod and realize you screwed up so badly you'll have to buy a new case. Also know that everybody has their own ideas of what is right and wrong when it comes to tube size, radiator size, number of pumps, brands on water block, etc, etc, so keep this in mind:

“There is no best, only the best FOR YOU”

-Happy Games

You'll have to make a decision eventually, so set your budget and pick what you need. If you're new to this, pick products that are highly recommended in this guide or others like it, once you become more experienced and are looking for that extra 5-10% of extra performance, and then do some searches for direct comparisons of radiators, water blocks, pumps, flow versus tube diameter, etc. There's always going to be something that can be 'improved' upon, but you need to pick what's going to work for your budget, your case, and your expectations.

As you read through this guide, you need to answer a couple of questions before breaking out your credit card:

Will you have enough room?

Are you comfortable installing the water cooling system?

Do you REALLY need the additional cooling potential?

If you answered no to any of those questions, then you might not be ready for water cooling, or might need to look for a local system builder for guidance.

Also remember you get what you pay for. If you drop $150 on a pre-assembled kit you won't get the performance of a $300 system with hand-picked components.

Part I: Introduction

Water cooling can be pretty intimidating when you first start. Everyone knows and understands that in most cases, liquids and electronics don’t mix. However, with all of the water additive options currently available you will find that many are not only nonconductive, but can also protect against corrosion and algae formation. Liquids like MCT-40 or MCT-5 are non-conductive, thus not harmful if they come into contact with your components. They can be found at retail stores like Microcenter, and online at Dangerden.com. Zerex™ mixed with distilled water or Fluid XP (One of the safest of all solutions and is non conductive) are also options. But, either way, there is little to worry about in regards to destroying your computer’s components because of a small leak or spill. This isn't to say you should TRY to spill it over your motherboard, just saying a small leak likely won't hurt anything in the short term - but it'll need to be fixed if it happens. As soon as dust gets mixed in with any fluid it can become slightly conductive and potentially hazardous to your computer.

Of course the never ending question is where to start, where does one buy water cooling products and how good are they? Dangerden.com would be your answer, offering support from within the forum here at dfi-street.com and in a forum found on their website. Their outstanding products combined with their great customer service make them a wonderful place to start. Other places to check for gear can be found below. Keep in mind though that many carry similar products, so be sure to compare prices on everything.

Other Online Retailers:

Again some insight from Happy games on the subject of just beginning to water cool…

I had never done it before in my life when I contacted the Danger Den guys

they assured me that it was a moderate installation...not simple, but not so difficult as to be impossible

they told me that the very first thing you needed was a case that would accept water cooling without modding it if you didn't have the modding skills (and I don't have exceptional case modding skills, so I just bought a Cooler Master Centurion case for $50 which was their recommendation to start with).

the case is the most important part...many cases will accept water cooling, but the majority won't, and of those that do, some are worse than others, and some are a dream to work with (Cooler Master Stacker cases are by far the most friendly when it comes to installing water cooling because it is like a giant Costco warehouse inside those things lol).

Once you have a decent case, you get a single 120mm radiator (or a dual 120 but you want to spend the least money possible).

a TDX or Maze cpu water block

a DDC 12v pump (pumps seem to be the most expensive parts...typically about $79)

a 120mm fan or two

a reservoir if you want for the water, which is what I used at first...but now I don't use them, I use the fillport which eliminates the reservoir and I will never go back to a reservoir. Plus a fillport is only $8 or less I think, and you don't even need to drill the case to install it (I just twisty-tie it to something at the top of my case lol).

Some Tygon tubing (3/8" is best to start with, about 10' to 15'). I only use Tygon as other tubing sucks compared to it.

a T-line which basically just connects the fillport to the tubing

that’s really about it...”

Part II: Getting started with components

What kinds of hardware are needed to get started in water cooling?

A basic water cooling system is composed of five parts:

1. Radiator

2. Reservoir (or fillport)

3. Pump

4. Water block

5. Tubing.

Water blocks for graphics cards, chipsets, and hard drives (among other things) can all be purchased with confidence. However, water cooling for chipsets and hard drives are more often than not, unnecessary, and most people stick to either just the cpu or and graphics card(s).

The Radiator:

The radiator is used to dissipate the heat in your system, a radiator of 240mm in size, if your case allows, will provide more than adequate cooling for not only the CPU but for graphics cards as well. Radiators come variety of sizes, the size of the radiator is relative to the size of the fan(s) that will be used with the radiator:

80mm

120mm

240mm (2x120mm)

360mm (3x120mm)

These are some of the most common sizes. To better remove the heat generated by your system you will need to install fans of the appropriate size to the radiator. The higher the CFM of a fan, the better the air flow across the radiator will be and the better the overall cooling will be. The less radiators used in a system will increase the overall flow rate and decrease the pressure drop in a system. In general, it is much better to have one large radiator as opposed to a series of smaller radiators.

Heater cores (think automotive transmission cooler) are also an option, offering equal if not better performance of their radiator brethren, and tend to be cheaper. However, they generally don't look as nice and often require additional modification to be used.

Recommended Fans :

Yate Loon, Antec 3-speed, Arctic Cooling, Vantec Stealth, Panaflo, Scythe, and Silverstone, Delta, among others.

Generally a Fan with a CFM output of around 60CFM will do. Note that certain radiators require a higher CFM fan, where as radiators like the Black Ice Stealth or Thermochill HE series will allow fans with lower CFM, resulting in less overall noise.

Just be sure that when purchasing your fans or even water cooling products from SVC to use this link:

Best SVC link for DFI-Street!

Recommended Radiators:

A radiator cannot be specifically recommended to do everything you would like it too. If you are looking for a small and moderate water cooling setup… a 120mm radiator, perhaps using the Black Ice series or Thermochill series would be perfect. When cooling the CPU and GPU in SLI/Crossfire or as a single card, a radiator of at least 240mm would be needed. There are two different styles of radiators:

X-flow (single pass) - Allows the liquid to make one pass through the radiator

Two- Pass - Allows the liquid to make two passes through the radiator.

I prefer the newer Black Ice 240 GTS. (Two-Pass style)

Black Ice Stealth Radiators

Thermochill PA 120.2 Radiator

Swiftech MCR

Coolingworks 22T and 32T

Below are pictures of a mounted Black Ice Stealth GTS 240 w/ Antec 3-speed Fans...

The Fillport vs. The Reservoir:

Fill ports or reservoirs are where the liquid that cools the loop will be stored. The difference between the two can be summed up best by CPU Killer from Danger Den

I get asked alot about the diff. between a fillport and a res.

Fillports can be used with a res, or with a "T" fitting. Normally if you are using a fillport it is with a "T" fitting to replace a res.

Pros: using a fillport and a "T" fitting allows you to not use a res, cheaper, less total possible points of leaking, less fluid needed to fill the system, overall weight reduction of entire rig. (lanparty peeps like this one) and usually means less tubing in the active portion of your cooling loop. And less tubing is always better!!

Cons: Take much longer to fill and bleed the water system, and you don't get the bling of seeing the fluid in from the front of you case....

But IMO, fillports are the way to go. Plus you can install as 2nd one in a low area in your case and use it as a drain.

An Acrylic Reservoir

Fillports

The Pump:

The pump is fairly self explanatory. You need one (usually), and the higher the flow rate (in general) the overall cooling will be better. A very good pump and frequently recommended would be the Laing D5, a.k.a Danger Den 12v DD-D5, and the Laing DDC.

Laing D5

Laing DDC

Other Recommended Pumps:

Aquaxtreme 50Z

Water Blocks:

Water blocks are used to cool the CPU and graphics card(s). Solutions that cool hard drives and chipsets can be found, but are usually unnecessary, but that could change with future chipset designs. Two CPU water block options include the Swiftech Storm and Danger Den’s TDX with Lucite, Brass or Universal Top. The Universal top on Danger Den’s block allows you to mount the block on almost any platform.

The options for graphics cards vary from card to card when it comes to water cooling. For ATI’s newer series of cards the Tyee water blocks work very well, with a single card or in Crossfire. Nvidia cards are given the option of the NV-78, NV-68, or the new Koosah style block for SLI. And one to fit them all - with the addition of Ram sinks - the Maze4 water block.

Pictures of the Water blocks:

CPU Water blocks:

TDX

Swiftech Storm

Swiftech Apogee

Aquaxtreme MP-05

GPU Water blocks:

Koosah Water block:

Top View

Bottom View

Tyee Water block:

Top view including additions Heat Bridge and Video Encoder cooling

Bottom

Maze4 Water block:

Low Profile Version

Tubing and Fittings:

Tubing comes in varying sizes, but the most commonly used and suggested is Tygon™…which is less likely to kink when compared with other types of tubing. The size of tubing determines how much water will flow through your system. The most commonly recommended size would be 1/2”, but, there are tubing sizes of 3/8” and 7/16” as well. When choosing tubing be sure to pick the ID (inside diameter) size that matches up with your pump, radiator and water blocks. For example, if you choose a TDX water block with high flow 1/2” barbs you would want to choose the 1/2” ID tubing.

7/16” tubing will fit on 1/2” barbs for a tighter fit. The theory behind this is that the actual inside diameter of the barbs is 7/16", so having like size tubing will reduce restriction in some areas of your loop. They also have a tighter fit, which makes some users feel safer. The only real downside is you may have to warm up the end with a hair dryer to get them to fit over the barbs.

Various brands of tubing that can be recommended other than Tygon include Clearflex, Primoflex, and for the 7/16" Masterkleer.

You may also notice the option for perfect seal barbs, these have a larger outside diameter than the inside of the tubing, as a result a very snug fit that may not require the use of clamps.

When you are making the connections between barbs you may find that you just cannot bend the tube in the desired direction. In those instances you may use various fittings to your advantage. Elbows, Y-Fittings, or T- Fittings are all very useful but do increase the number of leak points so when using these make sure that the tube is sealed tightly around the fitting.

Fluids and Water Additives:

The fluid plays a fairly important role in how well your components are cooled. Non-conductive fluids are highly recommended due to their ability to come into contact various parts and not ruin them completely. I am not saying go ahead and spill a couple of ounces of fluid on your motherboard, but don’t have a panic attack if you have a minor spill. In the event of a spill directions are normally provided on the bottle the fluid came in. A good cleaning with 90% Isopropyl Alcohol will do the trick. The most commonly recommended “ready to use” fluids would be MCT-40, MCT-5, and Fluid XP. Both MCT products and Fluid XP run around $20-$30 and are also UV reactive if you are looking for a nice color addition to add to your water cooling loop. UV dyes can also be used to add color, however, it is recommended that you be certain the dye is meant for the purpose it’s being used for, in general make sure it can be used with additives meant to cool PC components. Other cheaper options include Zerex™ mixed with distilled water, anti-freeze mixed with distilled water, or Water Wetter which has lubrication properties to help extend the life of your pump. I have never personally used Anti-freeze but others have, therefore I cannot personally state the parts mixture for Anti-freeze and water so feel free to ask around. PC-ICE is another additive that some advertise as non-conductive and others don’t. DangerDen.com, being the most trusted retailer for water cooling products, does not advertise it as a non-conductive mixture, thus I will do the same and suggest looking into other cooling products if a non-conductive solution is what you’re after, unless you have used the product in the past and have had success with it.

PART III: Case Modifications

Is your case ready for water cooling, and what modifications might you need to make?

Most mid-tower and all full-tower cases will allow ample room for water cooling. The most commonly used case is the Cooler Master Stacker because of its large size and versatility, however, Lian Li, ThermalTake, and Antec cases will work just fine.

The radiator will need a way to vent or allow air to be pulled or pushed through it, therefore holes may be cut in top of your case, or existing holes and front bay areas may work as well. The CM Stacker allows for numerous mounting options, the front, top or bottom of a stacker will provide more than enough room for any 240mm (9 ½ in) Radiator. To cut the holes a hole saw of 108mm (4 ¼ in) in size will suffice, feel free to use 114mm (4 ½ in.) or 120mm (4 ¾ in.) if you are fortunate enough to find one. You will also need a drill for the hole saw, if you have access to air tools, that will work well, but a speed-adjustable electric drill will work just fine.

Here is a small video created by the people at dangerden.com on how to cut a 120mm hole in your case:

Instructional Videos

The links below are mods done by Happy Games:

http://www.angrygames.com/angry_mods.htm

http://www.angrygames.com/More_Mods.htm

http://www.angrygames.com/LP_Toaster.htm

You may create a hole for the fillport. (if you are using a reservoir then you can ignore this part) The fillport hole requires a hole saw of 25.4mm (1”) in diameter.

NOTE: You do not have to have a hole for the fillport if you do not wish to make one. Securing the fillport with zip ties to something in or on your case will work just as well.

If your using a reservoir it is best to mount it at the highest point in your loop to allow air to travel to the reservoir instead of traveling through your loop & damaging your pump

Once your case has the room to mount the Radiator and fill port you are almost ready to begin building your water cooled rig.

Part IV: Mounting Water blocks

Instructions for mounting your water blocks will be provided by the manufacturer, here are a few pictures of how the TDX water block, Koosah Water blocks, and Maze4 water block would be mounted.

Mounted Maze4 GPU water block

More Pictures of the Maze4 and also a TDX Water block

Koosah Backplates

Mounted Blocks in SLI

PLAN TO ADD PICTURES OF TYEE BLOCKS

NOTE: CHANGING THE HEATSINK FOR GRAPHICS CARDS AND

PROCESSOR MAY VOID WARRANTY

Installing the TDX block, very simple and straight forward, simply follow the instructions provided with the water block.

Installing the Koosah water block can be tricky; I found that the most efficient way is to prep the back plate prior to the installation.

Prepping the back plate:

To prep the back plate follow the instructions provided with the water block. Construct the back plate in its entirety prior to attempting to secure it to the water block; otherwise it will make the installation of the water block nearly impossible. I used the box the water block was shipped in, laying the video card on the water block and allowing for a nice level surface to install the back plate on. The BGA Ram on your card will need a small dot of Arctic Silver Ceramique and the GPU Chip will require a normal sized dot, about the size of a grain of rice.

For Tyee and Maze4 water blocks I recommend following the instructions and taking your time. Danger Den Instructional videos include an install of the Maze4 GPU water block so watching that will help.

Part V: The Build

After modifying the case and prepping your system you need to understand that despite how intimidating it may be its about as simple as building a system that runs on air cooling.

Holes cut for the fillport, and two 120mm Fans

Mounted with the Danger Den grills, and fillport in place.

Another Look

Prior to Installation:

Complete any and all modifications, and be sure to have a plan set in place. You will find many times that the first loop you setup is not the last and many loop changes or adjustments will probably be made...So be sure you have a good idea as to how you would like your setup to look. Also routing cables prior to the installation will certainly make things a lot less painful.

Prior to the installation of your water cooling products it is recommended that you clean them. Radiators are not the cleanest and allowing various bits of paint or whatever garbage that may reside in your radiator to get into your cooling loop is not good. In order to clean out the radiator you will need a Tupperware bowl or other plastic bucket to place the radiator in. You will want some distilled water and vinegar; these are the liquids you will clean with. To clean the radiator first fill it with the distilled water, once filled empty it and shake it out a little just to be sure to remove the majority of the water. Then fill it with vinegar, at this point you should let the radiator sit for a couple of hours, 5-7 hours is a reasonable amount of time. After it has sat empty the radiator and clean it again with distilled water. You may do this about two times to really get the radiator clean, but, it is not something that has to be done. One good cleaning should do the trick, and after cleaning, use a little compressed air to force out any loose pieces of material that might be left behind.

If you are not filling your system with a syringe you may also want to clean the funnel you are using to fill the system.

All in all just be sure to clean the items that will come in contact with the coolant as you fill your system. Eliminating dust and dirt will help keep the loop free of garbage and allow it to cool your components cleanly and efficiently..

The Install:

Once your radiator has been cleaned and you are ready to begin the install the first thing that you should do is setup the placement for the pump. Find a good location that is allows the pump to be at the lowest point of your loop to allow for the air bubbles to travel freely without fighting gravity up your T-Line and into the tube leading to the fillport or reservoir. As stated earlier in the guide if you are using a reservoir, be sure to have it at the highest point in your loop. Having the radiator mounted at the top of a case will also serve as a way to prevent air bubbles from traveling through the tubing. Eliminating the air bubbles in the tubing is a key part to running an efficient water cooled rig.

NOTE: Having air bubbles in your loop could damage your pump

Now that you have your system setup in terms of placement, build the system as you normally would, essentially have it almost completely built. I prefer to leave the power supply out of the case as no liquid should ever drop onto or come into contact with the unit. Even non-conductive formulas can ruin a power supply.

When cutting tubing try to use as little tubing as possible but be sure to allow for a secure fit around the barb. Nice square cuts are always best as jagged edges tend to leave room for leaks. Using carpet cutters, straight edge tin-snip cutters, razor blades, or a tube cutter, is the best method for getting a good cut. Even sharp knife can have a tough time going through Tygon™ tubing.

Of course now you may be wondering: “What order do I put things in?” At dangerden.com the video tutorial of a water cooling build shows that the preference would be to always go from the output of the pump to the input of the CPU water block. For the TDX, block the input is the center barb. From there you will move on down to graphics cards. Coming out of the graphics cards you will then move to a barb on the radiator and exit into the T-Line where your fillport line and inlet of the pump will meet as well. Of course this is only one of the numerous possible configurations that you could use. The loop order will vary from build to build. Different orders work better for some than they do for others so plan out how you would like the order to go in terms of what works best for your setup.

As you make your connections you will need to use clamps of some sort to secure the tubing to ensure no leaks will occur, I prefer tightening the clamps with a pair of pliers. When routing the tubing be sure that you allow it to bend itself. Do not force it to go in unnatural directions as this may result in kinks. Once you have secured all of the fittings go through the loop and check for any leak points. I like to give the tubing a little tug to make sure there is no movement up or down. If you find that a piece of tubing is loose tighten the clamp again or remove the clamp and refit the tubing. I have noticed while moving my rig around after the installation that barbs can come loose and result in leak points that were not necessarily there during the initial install, so be sure all of your connections are tightly secured.

Now that you have ensured that there are no obvious leak points you are ready to fill the system.

I took Danger Den’s recommendation and used a syringe to fill my loop, it is very efficient and easy to use, as you fill the T-Line you will need to use the Green / Black Trick PSU Trick to jumpstart the PSU allowing the pump to turn on and pull liquid through the system.

Jump the PSU for about 4 seconds then stop and continue until you see that the system has begun to fill itself and the pump is no longer pulling air, the pump must never run dry and always needs to be pulling in coolant. Running a pump dry will destroy it.

Once you have filled the system with enough coolant, meaning the outlet from the top of the pump is full you can leave the system on for the over night leak test. However, be certain that there is enough liquid flowing through the pump, again it must the pump must not draw air only as this will damage the pump.

The way I prefer to run the leak test is to plug in the fans for the radiator, the pump, and then jump start the PSU with a stiff piece of copper wire, or a paper clip, and leave it running. Plugging in the fans ensures that there is enough load to allow the PSU to be jumpstarted. The motherboard, hard drives, graphics cards and memory are NOT plugged in at this time.

As the system runs coolant will fill the loop, you should check to make sure that the line from the fillport does not go below the top of the “T” fitting. So refill the line as you walk by and notice it is getting low. Once you have tested for at least 24hrs the system is ready to be completely built. At this point add all other components as you would normally and finish up any wire routing or things of that nature. I find that when routing wires and so on it’s best to do as much as you can prior to filling the system as moving and bending the tubing will put unnecessary strain on the tubing and will increase the chances of possible leaks. A little bit on the process of leak testing...

After a day of successful leak testing your finished and ready to begin overclocking!

Technodanvan’s Recommended List:

Well, I threw together a pretty basic system that'll still give LOTS of
results. I didn't include a fan because chances are either they'll

already have one or buy one from somewhere other than DD.

TDX+D5 combo = 108.75

Stealth GTS 120 = 42.95

6' Tygon 1/2" = 16.80

9 hose clamps = 6.75

Delrin Fillport = 11.95

T-line = 1.75

Total = $188.95

Obviously some stuff could be less expensive, don't NEED to have a TDX or

the D5, or the T-line...but I feel that this is the cheapest system

that'll actually give a beneficial amount of cooling to your system. Plus

having a good pump now will allow for GPU cooling and whatnot in the

future. Personally I'd get at least a 240mm radiator as it's only a

couple bucks more...but thats up to you, and of course depends on the case

and case modding experience of the buyer.

For the next step - a basic system with GPU cooling, just swap out the

Stealth GTS 120 for a 240, and add a Maze 4 kit.

TDX+D5 combo = 108.75

Stealth GTS 240 = 48.95

Acetal Maze4 = 44.95

Ramsinks = 19.95

8' Tygon 1/2" = 22.40

11 hose clamps = 8.25

Delrin Fillport = 11.95

T-line = 1.75

Total = $266.95

Then for the 'ultimate' Sli/Crossfire system...

TDX+D5 combo = 108.75

Stealth GTS 240 = 48.95

Koosah/Tyee block (2) = 249.99

8' Tygon 1/2" = 22.40

13 hose clamps = 9.75

Delrin Fillport = 11.95

T-line = 1.75

Total = $453.54

Personally I'd recommend no less than a 360mm radiator for the last setup,

but again its user choice and that'd probably work fine anyways.

Useful Links:

The Unofficial: Liquid Cooling Questions/Discussion Thread

Xtreme Systems Water Cooling Guide

Happy Games Latest build in a CM Stacker

UncleDavid218's Build

Watercooling my $19.99 case (t_ski's version) ......Watercooling Doesn't have to be expensive

Watercooling a Silverstone Case

Technodanvan’s Water Cooled Rig:

Link

Watsonte’s Build:

watsonte · August 23, 2006

I would like to thank the members at DFI-Street that have helped with there suggestions and kind words...All of your help was needed to make this guide one of the better Water Cooling Guides on the Web..

Special thanks to Sdy284 for editing and creating the thumbnails for the pictures in the Guide...

Template for Posts, regarding your water cooled rig, Look to post below and post #7 for an Example...It should include the following

Components:

CASE:

Components Listed, If possible include Store and Price

Temperatures (Ambient room temperature = C ):

CPU -

Idle Temperature -

Load Temperature -

GPU -

Idle Temperature -

Load Temperature -

Chipset -

Idle Temperature -

Load Temperature -

Short Description:

Describe the various mods you have done, how much time, effort and cost was invloved things that might help others avoid any problems you ran into while building your rig....

Total Cost : $XXX.XX

watsonte · August 23, 2006

Components:

From Performance-PCs.com -

Cooler Master Stacker - $169.95

Fluid XP Extreme Performance (UV Orange) - $34.95

Total: $205 (Shipping not included)

NewEgg.com -

Window for Cooler Master Stacker - $14.99

DangerDen.com -

TDX Block w/ Brass Top - $58.95

12V DD-D5 Pump - $74.95

X-Flow Stealth GTS 240 Black Ice - $48.95

Danger Den Fillport, Poly "T": Included - $13.70

Fill Syringe - $1.99

Tygon 3603 Tubing 1/2" ID 3/4" OD - $2.80 per foot (8 feet)

DD 120mm Fan Grill - $9.99 (2)

Plastic Snap Tubing Clamps - $0.75 Quantity 14 item(s)

Selected options Clamp Size: 1/2" ID Tubing with 3/4" Outer Diameter

Koosah SLI for Nvidia 7800/7900 - $259.95

Total: $511.37 (Shipping not included)

Temperatures (Ambient room temperature = 23C ):

CPU -

Idle Temperature - 32C

Load Temperature - 43C

GPU(s) -

Idle Temperature - 38C

Load Temperature - 44C

Chipset (Evercool VC-RE) -

Idle Temperature - 38C

Load Temperature - 46C

Short Description:

Cooler Master Stacker, 240 GTS Radiator, Case Modded for Top Mount.

The mod done with Air Tools that were already owned by me, however, Paint Job ran about $75 in paint, primer, Sand paper, and various other cleaning products and paint thinner, and New Clear window...

Took about One week to finish...

Total Cost Not including Shipping: $806.37

watsonte · August 23, 2006

Any comments, Editing, questions for additions, things like that please...Quote the portion your think should be changed and then write your change below that. Thank you,

watsonte...

The above post is a Template for future Posts, the idea is similar to the overclocking guide where components will be listed as he has listed along with links of pictures, a short discription about what you did to your case maybe included along with links preferably of pictures of your watercooled rig...Please only include pictures that you think will help others see the work you have done...We dont need Glamour shots...but some pics to show off are certainly acceptable....

ReelFiles · August 23, 2006

Pretty cool, maybe you could ask UncleDavid218 to create a photo tutorial specifically for this thread, I was pretty impressed by his recent build.

red930 · August 23, 2006

Pretty cool, maybe you could ask UncleDavid218 to create a photo tutorial specifically for this thread, I was pretty impressed by his recent build.

If anybody has some pictures of a completed build we'd love to include them, especially for popular cases like the Stacker, Antec P180, Lian Li V series, etc.

Anything like this can give people ideas of their own, and can really help out those that don't know where to start.

Keep in mind we really are looking to make this guide as complete as possible, so if you see ANYTHING that needs to be fixed, please let us know.

UncleDavid218 · August 23, 2006

Components:

From Newegg.com -

Lian Li PC-V2000B PLUSII (Window) - $245.99

Subtotal: $245.99

3-day Shipping: $20

Total: $265.99

From DangerDen.com -

Chrome Version MAZE4GPU - $74.99

X-Flow Stealth GTS 360 Black Ice - $59.95

Arctic Silver Ceramique - $3.49

Fill Syringe - $1.99

Danger Den Fillport with Polypropylene "T" - $13.70

TDX CPU block and D5 Pump Combo - $108.75

15 1/2" ID Plastic Snap Tubing Clamps - $11.25

15 Feet of 1/2" ID Tygon Tubing - $35.25

DFI EXPERT MAZE4 CHIPSET - $38.50

Subtotal: $347.75

Coupon Savings (Enter PAGLAN06 for a 20% discount): $69.55

Discounted Subtotal: $278.20

2-Day Shipping: $28.95

Total: $307.15

From FrozenCPU.com -

3 Papst 4412 FGML 120mm Fans (67.1CFM at 32dBA) - $55.14

3 120mm Rubber Fan Silencers - $12.00

3 120mm Black Fan Grills - $9.00

Fluid XP+ Extreme 32oz UV Midnight Blue - $34.99

10 feet of C-Strip Window Molding - $15.00

Subtotal: $126.13

2-Day Shipping: $34.60

Total: $160.73

Temperatures (Ambient room temperature is 18c):

CPU -

Idle Temperature - 25c

Load Temperature - 33c

GPU -

Idle Temperature - 39c

Load Temperature - 44c

Chipset -

Idle Temperature - 34c

Load Temperature - 37c

Description:

The complete description for this mod can be found in my worklog, located here.

In the mean time here are a few photos so you can get idea of what you might want to do when using this case. All images are 800x600.

Link

Total Cost After Shipping: $733.14

watsonte · August 23, 2006

I've got pictures and would be willing to share them as needed.

This is good for everyone here as I could definately have used a guide when doing mine (I went in "blind", well, almost)

Dan and myself have been working on this for sometime now...almost a month to the date actually....So yeah I will certainly work with you on getting some pictures in..

I do have a link to your build log ...

UncleDavid218 · August 23, 2006

OK, well there's maybe 100 other pictures that werent included. I have pictures of how I mounted the pump, radiator, etc. etc. So just let me know how I can help, if at all

ReelFiles · August 23, 2006

I had a feeling that there were a lot more pictures than the ones you showed.

lowboy · August 23, 2006

These components should be included as all are very good.

CPU blocks

Swiftech Storm

Aquaxtreme MP-05

Swiftech Apogee ( I know but it does work well)

Rads.

Swiftech MCR

Coolingworks 22T and 32T same as BIX but with 12FPI for lower cfm fans works great.

Pumps:

Aquaxtreme 50Z

Tubing:

Clearflex

Primoflex

red930 · August 23, 2006

These components should be included as all are very good.

CPU blocks

Swiftech Storm

Aquaxtreme MP-05

Swiftech Apogee ( I know but it does work well)

Rads.

Swiftech MCR

Coolingworks 22T and 32T same as BIX but with 12FPI for lower cfm fans works great.

Pumps:

Aquaxtreme 50Z

Tubing:

Clearflex

Primoflex

Good call, we do need a more expansive selection of components. Of course we focused on Danger Den since they have a rep here (both reputation and representative), but that doesn't mean there aren't equally good, if not better solutions depending on your need.

So those that have other products, please list them and perhaps a link to their product page so we can include that in the specific sections (pump, rads, blocks, etc.) Please ONLY list stuff you have personally used and found to be quality - we really want this to represent GOOD watercooling systems. I don't mean a completely customized system with a different manufacturer for each part by any means - just a quality rig that'll have results.

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