Looking for guidance on a Cooling system

[Strider2678]

Hi all! My first post on this system so I will keep things brief.

 

I am building a new system and I am having problems deciding on a meathod of cooling for it. Here are the stats for what I've got in mind. I am purchasing them one component at a time as my cash flow allows.

 

Apevia X-Jupiter G-Type Case w/ (5) 120mm fans [intake on front and side panel, exhaust 1 on top and 2 in rear]

700W Power Supply

AMD Athlon 64 x2 6400+ "Black Edition" Processor (Purchased)

Arctic Silver 5 Compound

Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 Motherboard (Purchased)

4GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 800 Low Latency Memory

(3) Seagate Barricuda 500GB SATA II, 7200rpm, 32MB Cache Hard Drives (In a RAID 5 Configuration)

(3) Vantec model HDC-502A, 5,000rpm Hard Drive Coolers

ATI Sapphire Radeon HD 3850, 512MB, 256-bit, GDDR3 Video Card

Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI ExtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro 7.1 Sound Card

(2) Lite-On Super All-Write Lightscribe 20x SATA DVD Burners

HP 7-in-1 Card Reader

ViewSonic X Series 19" 2ms Super-High Resolution Widescreen LCD Monitor

 

Ok, now I know that the AMD processor runs a little hot right out of the box, and it does not come with a fan. I am planning on initially setting the processor for a mild overclocking level, then cranking it up as I become more comfortable with the whole setup. Let me add that the noise from cooling system fans/pumps is not a big factor for me. As long as it keeps my system cool, I can live with the "White Noise." If I can hear it, that just means I don't have my sound system up loud enough!

 

Right now, if I were to go with an air-cooled system, my first choice for a CPU cooler is the Zalman CNPS 9700 NT 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler. The rest of the components would be as-is for their cooling.

 

Now I have heard that a Water Cooled system is much more efficient in cooling than an air system. I'd like to keep the cost for the entire cooling system under $200 if at all possible. I don't know if I want to buy a pre-built kit, or go with the peice-meal, built-it-yourself system. Also, I'm not sure if I should extend the cooling system to cool the Video Card as well as the memory? Or leave them as air-cooled components? I saw D-Tek's Fuzion CPU Water Block as a start, but I wanted to get advice from a more experienced source before I take any further steps.

 

Any advice on this would be appreciated. My time table for this system build right now is looking like 2 months, and the total cost about $1500-1700. I'm taking my time on gathering the components waiting for any sales or discounts.

 

Again, thanks for hearing me out and for any advice you have to give.

Edited January 8, 2008 by Strider2678

[nightsider]

My recommendations would be this kit and add the gpu block to it...

 

i am running something similar to what you are building maybe the link road gave me would be of some use to you

[Strider2678]

Thanks for the response Nightsider!

 

I checked out the linked site. But it's just a bit outside my budget for a basic CPU cooling system. I think the total was something like $270 for the kit.

 

I did a little more research and I am leaning towards getting a water-based cooling system. I am thinking about building the system myself and have just began to look for the individual parts. For a basic system, I have come up with a baseline for my search.

 

(All components must support 1/2 inch tubing)

CPU water block - must be copper and have a good flow rate

Water Pump - must maintain at least a 25 gallon-per-hour flow

Radiator - not too sure on this one. I was thinking about mounting it at the top of my case where i have a 120mm exhaust fan port, and have the fan vent the case air vent through the two rear 120mm fans and be blown through the top vent with another 120mm fan. Not sue what type of radiator to go with yet either. The search continues.....

Hoses- 1/2 inch Silicone Tubing, clear, crimp resistant

Steel Worm-Drive Rings

Coolant Tank - some kind of plastic or synthetic, could be mounted in my two empty 5 1/4 inch bays. not sure on this one either

Cooland Additive - something that will be UV reactive (I'm setting up a dual cold cathode "Black Light" system inside the case for effect)

 

I have not taken any steps or done any research towards looking at the memory or video card cooling components yet. For now, I am looking for the Basic Water Cooling System to be under $200. If i proceed with cooling the memory and video card, i'll factor in additional costs (Blocks, extra tubing, upgraded water pump or even a dual tandem-pump setup).

 

If onyone has any advice for parts or tips on the coolant system design, I'm all ears. In the mean time, I'll comtinue to search the web.

Edited January 8, 2008 by Strider2678