Need water cooling advice please

[AMDfreak]

OK guys, I'm getting ready to move and my computer will be in my bedroom in the new place. This could be bad since with 12 fans it sounds like a freaking wind tunnel! I've been reading up a little on water cooling and would like some input on some good kits or combination of items to piece a kit together. Not gonna mess with a peltier just yet on the CPU, but possibly as a chiller on the water circuit. If anyone has detailed directions on bulding a chiller I'd be interested. Trying to keep it around $150 or less cost wise. I've heard some good things about the Leufken Socket A kit. Whatdya think?

 

[Muerto]

A good place to start would be AquaStealth. They make some very good water cooling kits. If you want more info talk to our resident water cooling expert, WarCon. He knows his sh!t when it comes to water cooling.

 

[WarCon]

<< A good place to start would be AquaStealth. They make some very good water cooling kits. If you want more info talk to our resident water cooling expert, WarCon. He knows his sh!t when it comes to water cooling. >>

.......

Hardly an expert......

For a kit price, I would recommend the Aquastealth II with AquaCoil upgrade(20 passes of copper with tons of fin's and a 120mm H1A Panaflo). Get the lexan holddown too, Don't use your lugs for they are simply not meant for a big metal block with pipes hanging off of it. This kit will handle a peltier when and if you even want to add it or voltage mods.

The leufken kit is decent, but not really for high performance cooling. It's radiator doesn't provide enough surface area for water contact or air contact. So it simply will not cool as well as the block style radiator's like the aquacoil. There are a few of the block style coolers out there though and I imagine they all perform well, but all cost a pretty penny and are hard to get in cases. I managed to get one in my 7237 with some serious mods to the 3.5&quot; drive holder and the front metal. I also drilled extra holes and enlarged them all in my front bezel to allow good air flow.

If you want recommends on isolated parts, I would consider the DangerDen waterblock the Maze 2. Any of the block style radiators are going to perform well. And I would get a good pump that will last, because if it fails your chip will die. I have heard good things about Eheim pumps and Eugene Danner Mag Drive pumps. If you run your cooler in sealed mode then you won't need a reservior, but you will need fill valve's.

I also recommend water wetter (can be found in most large auto parts stores) for $8 at 50-1 ratio. One bottle will last you a very long time. This is the tested and tried ratio that gives the best performance.

I think thats enough to chew on for a bit.......

 

[AMDfreak]

Thanks for the info! WarCon, got another thought for you. I've got an unused 85W peltier rigged up to an Alpha heatsink/Delta fan. Of course that won't do me a bit of good trying to directly cool an overclocked 1G AXIA, but what if I got an extra waterblock and used it as a chiller right before the cpu?

 

[The Reaper]

Is that Rio 180 pump any good? WarCon what kind of temps are you getting?

 

[Bry]

Should you mount the radiator on the floor of the front of the case, with the intake fans blowing towards the radiator? Or in rear top of the case, using exhaust fans? Also, are there any hard performance numbers for the radiators? The expensive-as-hell Black Ice radiator seems to have really good performance, possibly worth paying for..

Also, what is the physical size of the higher quality eheim or danner pumps? I'm thinking about getting a reservoir such as the AquaCube (from aquastealth/becooling), and using a better pump instead.. just want to make sure it fits.. e.g. any issues with the fittings?

 

[AMDfreak]

Well, I ordered an AquaStealthII with the AquaCoil upgrade. I think I'm gonna get the DangerDen Maze waterblock to use on the CPU and use the waterblock from the kit to try out my chiller idea. I'll let you know how it goes when I get it. Keep the tips coming though if anyone thinks of anything else I should know!

 

[WarCon]

The Rio 180 pump works ok, but I am going to upgrade it soon to a better pump with more gallons per hour and a lower failure rate. I hear that the Rio pump has a pretty high failure rate.

My temps are only relative to my board, but for an example.

My AVHA 1ghz processor would only do 1233 with an Alpha PAL / delta fan combo. I had it ducted and had decent airflow (not great but decent). The temps were around 48C full load. System temp was around 28C. With the watercooler the system temp is the same (should be since I am dumping the same exact amount of heat back into it with the radiator instead of the hsf) but my CPU temps are around 38C. All of this is on a KT7A with the thermistor bent up to touch the processor. Oh and I forgot that the second numbers the processor would reach 1.33ghz stable.

And I have my radiators fan drawing air from the outside and blowing into the case. Not the best of solutions (especially for system temps, but the CPU temp is more important and this way provides for the lowest of those) but its the best I could do and keep it fully enclosed.

 

[WarCon]

Sorry I didn't notice the question about size of the pump til now. I don't think the Aquacube is going to be able to house either one. I believe with only minor modifications either one can go without a reservoir. I think I will make a steel(iron) housing for it anyway though as to limit noise from the pump motor.

This is the Eheim pump I was looking at....Eheim pump

And this is the Mag danner I was looking at......Mag Drive pump from Eugene Danner or same pumps but cheaper (maybe) herePet Expo

 

[Nelmster]

WarCon that Eheim pump is a HORSE! Are you modding it to go inline or keeping it submerged?

 

[WarCon]

Inline only, can you imagine the reservoir I would need for that thing...........

But I thought about making a little metal box (steel or iron) that mounts down to the case to cover it for EMF. So the pumps &quot;noise&quot; never interferes with anything.

I was actually thinking about the Eugene Danner pumps, because they look smaller to me, but I would sure like to see one in perspective to like the Rio Pumps. I have seen the Eheim mounted in a system and inline it looks big but I think it will be ok. If not I will freak out and do my fishtank evaporative cooler idea and the pump will fit just fine in it..........

 

[Nelmster]

Warcon = obsessed

 

[sad]

Best deal for pumps right now is at petsmart.com They have 10Bucks off any purchase over $30. They are selling the Danner Mag Drive model 2@33.99 and the model 3@42.99 I went for the model 3--very sweet deal. Shipping rates are quite reasonable as well.

The system I'm working on will consist of:

dangerden maze2 1/2in fittings - 42.00+6shipping=48.00
Danner Mag Drive 3 - including tax shipping=41.62
heater core(big mama lookalike) from autozone= ~25
pack of barbs@mcmaster=~10
6ft of 1/2in silicon tubing@mcmaster=~15
120mm Adda fan@phamcomputer=~15
================================
Grand total ~160. Cheaper than dangerden's kit and will definitely cool better...i hope

 

[Bry]

Sounds like a pretty good setup you're putting together! How can I also buy that &quot;heater core(big mama lookalike) from autozone&quot;, and why do you need to buy extra fittings? Also, anybody know of a reservoir that can hold a Danner Mag Drive 3?

 

[sad]

Just go to autozone and search for any 80's chevy chevette. 17bucks. It's kinda big >6&quot;X6&quot;X2&quot;. Well, the pump, waterblock, and heater core has all different size in/outlets that's why adapters are needed. I'm going for a closed loop system as well, so i have no clue what kinda reservoir you'll need. I have the pump right here it's about 5in long, 4in wide, and about 4 1/2 tall... er..maybe tupperware?

 

[Bry]

What's the difference between &quot;NPT&quot; and &quot;ID&quot; outlets on pumps? What do I need to get it so all the tubing is 1/2&quot;? I found the specs on the danner magdrive pumps:

http://www.mops.on.ca/products/WPSU-02512.htm

I noticed these list outlet sizes as &quot;NPT&quot;. From the looks of it, it's meant to have something screwed in it. And the Eheim 1048 is 1/2&quot; ID, 1/2&quot; ID while the 1250 is 3/4&quot; ID, 1/2&quot; ID.. What do I need to buy? Thanks...

 

[Bry]

anyone? I know its a newbie question but I'd like to know the answer..

 

[Def]

Just wondering, is pump noise that noticable? What about a Rio180 pump? A Mag Danner? Whole point of watercooling IMO is awesome performance with low noise.

I'm also thinking of going watercooling, and the AquastealthII kit with the AquaCoil upgrade looks like a pretty good bet to start me off. I'm sure I'll start itching to upgrade stuff on it after a few months.

Only thing I'm worried about is losing that expensive aluminum resivoir when going to a larger pump. I could probably make a res. with a bit of time and effort for half the price they charge for that. Could make it larger dimensions too.

Hrmmm.. decisions decisions. I'm sure I can get one of my friends to delve into WC after I've been the guinea pig, so I can always pawn off my old stuff on them.

 

[WarCon]

Only major pain is the shipping if you piece it together........:frown:

 

[Bry]

What do you guys think of the 500 gph res-pump setup here:

OCW res-pump 500 gph

I'm leaning towards getting this, cuz a reservoir will save me a lot of hassle and this seems like a good setup (1/2&quot; and all).. not sure about the actual pump tho, it's from Attwood Marine, called a Bilge (??) pump?