Water Cooling??

[freefrag]

Hiya, I found that the temperatures in my computer are a bit too high, and because of that my overclocking has reached a limit, thats why Im getting WC.

Thing is Im really limited on space and my antec p182 takes most of the space under the desk so I would like the WC system to be confined within the case.

Im pretty confused and Im not sure what a system like that would require, I googled it but most of the tutorials are really unclear on it.

Ive got a Gigabyte DS3R motherboard and a GeForce 8800 gt, for now I would only like to cool the chipset and the cpu (core2duo), with a possible extension to GPU in the future.

What should I buy, and is it possible to keep all the required stuff inside the case?

[psycho_terror]

What should I buy

first piece of advice for you: nothing made from acrylic. <_<

[freefrag]

and, btw the PSU in my case is placed on the bottom, so does that mean that there will be no place for my pump and reservoir there?

[radodrill]

The best piece of advice for watercooling is to stay away from cheap brands such as Koolance, Thermaltake, or Zalman as they often use low quality components and/or use aluminum in their tops/radiators, which when combined with the copper bases in the cooling loop makes it more prone to corrosion issues. The only brands I'll ever consider using are DangerDen, EK-Waterblocks, D-Tek, Swiftech, Thermochill, Hardware Labs, and LIANG. However, even with Swiftech you have to be careful as their Apogee GTX CPU block and Stealth GPU block both come stock with aluminum tops and it wasn't until they got numerous complaints (particularly at XS) that they released a replacement copper top for the Apogee GTX; other than those 2 blocks their stuff is among the best.

 

For the CPU block, the block currently regarded as the best on the market is the D-Tek Fuzion, but the DangerDen TDX is also a very good block.

 

Chipset: generally the chipset doesn't really need watercooling (most commonly done for the bling factor). On a lot of newer boards it requires modifications to both the northbridge as well as the southbridge cooling (and sometimes the PWMIC as well) since they're often tied together on one heatpipe system; also, it is critical to check for clearance issues to make sure that the chipset blocks don't interfere with your other hardware.

 

GPU blocks: there are 2 options in this arena, full cover blocks or Core onle blocks with RAMsinks. I personally prefer the full-cover blocks since they invariably are single-slot solutions and will allow the adjacent slots to be populated as well, both DangerDen and EK-Waterblocks make excellent full-cover blocks. The core only blocks will typically occupy the adjacent slot, but are often a bit less expensive than full-cover blocks; further, Core only blocks are more universal and can be used on just about any card (right just have to get different RAM/MOSfet sinks when changing cards) while full-cover blocks are designed for a specific card and can not be kept when upgrading to a different card.

 

Since you're considering adding the GPU to the cooling loop in the future, I'd recommend at leas a 240mm (2x120) or preferably a 360mm radiator to ensure that the radiator will be able to remove the heat generated by the components being cooled.

 

Pumps: the best ones available are the LIANG D5 (aka Swiftech MCP655) or the LIANG DDC with the Petra's Tech top.

 

For filling/bleeding you can do either a T-Line or a reservoir; the reservoirs can be easier to fill, but the T-Lines require a lot less space inside the case.

 

 

 

first piece of advice for you: nothing made from acrylic. <_<

 

I'll have to disagree on that. If the parts are properly made acrylic is a very viable material and can not lead to corrosion problems; however, cheap brands (e.g. Thermaltake) often use thin pieces of acrylic for their tops, which when mounted become overstressed and crack easily.

The tops on my CPU and chipset blocks are made from 3/8 in acrylic and they are very solid.

[Puck]

Watercooling the chipset has become a much more viable solution with todays high fsb Intel chips. The nb temp and voltage plays a huge part in stability, and the cooler you can keep it the better!

[technodanvan]

Ive got a Gigabyte DS3R motherboard and a GeForce 8800 gt, for now I would only like to cool the chipset and the cpu (core2duo), with a possible extension to GPU in the future.

 

Since this is your first time with watercooling I'd keep it a bit simpler first off and just do the CPU by itself. As Puck said there are certainly benefits from having a well cooled chipset. However, from my experience (albeit no experience with your board, so take this with a grain of salt) watercooling the chipset is generally unnecessary unless you're really going for max speeds. Getting a solid aftermarket air cooler and fan combo may do you just as well.

 

Granted, the costs will be roughly the same...but it also keeps things simpler for you.

 

and, btw the PSU in my case is placed on the bottom, so does that mean that there will be no place for my pump and reservoir there?

 

Well...on my old system (Lian Li V2000 case) I let the pump sit directly on top of the PSU. I suppose that really isn't recommended since a leak would be noticed awfully quickly, but it's what I did at the time since I was new and didn't care much. Never had a problem with it, but still you have to think about it. If you can't find anywhere else to put it that's what you're left with, but there's probably some place you haven't seen yet until you get the parts in.

 

 

First question I have is how serious are you about wanting to cool your graphics card in the future? It might not affect your purchase now, but you could get an oversized radiator now and save yourself a hassle later.

[psycho_terror]

I'll have to disagree on that. If the parts are properly made acrylic is a very viable material and can not lead to corrosion problems; however, cheap brands (e.g. Thermaltake) often use thin pieces of acrylic for their tops, which when mounted become overstressed and crack easily.

The tops on my CPU and chipset blocks are made from 3/8 in acrylic and they are very solid.

i've had two acrylic reservoirs crack on me so far let alone tops. of course you're not wrong in saying that quality parts are less likely to develop problems, but when a single fault can take out your whole cooling system, limiting potential problems is the name of the game, and imo acrylic is a liablity.

[freefrag]

tbh at first I considered the EK Supreme Acetal water block and I think Im gonna go with that unless its got some major problems that I shoud know about.

The Swiftech MCP655 pump looks good and I think Im going to buy it, just 1 more thing. Is it going to affect my performance if I buy one of them reservoirs that fit in the drive bays because due to limited space I think its my best option.

And yeah, what radiator should I choose to fit inside the case (antec p182)

Edited May 11, 2008 by freefrag

[jack_of_java]

50/50 on the reservoir. Some people say you need them to give the mix in your lines a chance to stay cooled down, and others will tell you it just drops the flow rate of the lines. However, if this is your first build, I'd suggest doing what was mentioned above and just putting in a T-line to fill your loop and then add the reservoir later once you feel that you system requires it.

 

BTW: I sent you a PM freefrag

[radodrill]

tbh at first I considered the EK Supreme Acetal water block and I think Im gonna go with that unless its got some major problems that I shoud know about.

The Swiftech MCP655 pump looks good and I think Im going to buy it, just 1 more thing. Is it going to affect my performance if I buy one of them reservoirs that fit in the drive bays because due to limited space I think its my best option.

And yeah, what radiator should I choose to fit inside the case (antec p182)

 

The Supreme should be a good block.

 

Based on looking at pics of the P182, it's not very well suited for an internal radiator; might be able to squeeze in a 120mm radiator, but that certainly wouldn't be enough for the cooling.

What you might want to consider is hanging a 240mm or 360mm from the back of the case with a Swiftech RAD-box; the case itself already has pass-through grommets for the tubing so this wouldn't be very hard to do.

 

One more note I forgot to mention earlier, you can also use 7/16" tubing over 1/2" barbs to give a better seal; I also don't use hose clamps, zip-ties are more than sufficient.

 

 

i've had two acrylic reservoirs crack on me so far let alone tops. of course you're not wrong in saying that quality parts are less likely to develop problems, but when a single fault can take out your whole cooling system, limiting potential problems is the name of the game, and imo acrylic is a liablity.

 

What brand were they?

I had a Swiftech micro-RES for a while and never had any issues with it; in fact, it's still in service to this day.

[psycho_terror]

What brand were they?

I had a Swiftech micro-RES for a while and never had any issues with it; in fact, it's still in service to this day.

the first was an old XSPC one, which put me off them for a while. i have to say they do make some decent kit these days. the second was that awful alphacool DDC res top, which i must say was very well machined, albeit not a great performer and a pita to bleed.

 

the issue of overly thin material and poor mounting mechanisms seems less important then say temperature variation as regards propensity to crack, but since you're doing a lot of work with it i suppose you could shed some light on the issue...

Edited May 11, 2008 by psycho_terror

[freefrag]

I dont think there is a way to mount Swiftech RAD-box on the back of my case, and it looks as if it would block my pci slots as well