Newbie's Guide To WaterCooling

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: HardWarrior
Very nice morla. A pleasure to read and very informative.

OMG YOUR BACK!?!?!?! havent seen or heard from you in a while HW.

 

[robl756]

If you INSIST on Replies, I will accept the challenge. I take "MINOR"exception with your "choice" of water used in the final stages of cleaning. You stipulate "Di-ionized". THAT is NOT Demineralized. De- ionized, is just that, stripped of ions. An Ion does not have to be a molecule of a mineral. An tion is "An atom or group of atoms that carries a positive or negative charge as a result of having lost or gained one or more electrons". De-Ionized water, would negate the above. Still leaving the water full of minerals. POSSIBLY. SOMETIMES people use the term "De-ionized", and "Destilled", as a synonym for De-mieralized. Water that is not Demin. should be avoided if at all possible. Dissimilar metals, Galvanic corrosion, all of that. Dissimialr metal, you are not going ot be able to help, not matter what some of the Cooling equip. manufacturers tell you. Each metal has a different charge, hence, galvanic corroison. Oh, what the H***, slap a ZINC on to it ;-)
Do NOT mean to argue with you, it was a VERY compreshensive review of water cooling from start to end. Htting ALL the big parts. CLeaning, cleaning cleaning, and, I think you shold have put a small section in there about avoiding Algae Blooms. It can be done without copper. And, the ills of putting that DYE in your system, OR Green Additive in your system, hides algae blooms. TO an extent.
Oh, one more thing, The Best pump made, The Iwaki RD-30. I have one in every computer, and 2 new ones in reserve. They are Great. I have one, ON THE FLOOR, pumping up to tte TOP of my rack, to a system that is approx. 2.2 meters off of the ground, I think thats 8.5 feet or so. AND, I'm still getting around 4 gpMINUTE thorugh 4 blocks, and a radiator. Built WELL, no JUNK. No 1/4" tubing,
I would like toi commend you on the great job you did, and the obvious time you spent doing something that will help many people, and help you in no way what so ever, except to HOPEFULLY, give you a feeling of accomplishment for having helped those who cannot help themselves, and are too shy to ask for it.

Robert M. Lundien Jr., PhD
P.S. sorrry for the spelling, I'm blind, and, NO SPELL CHECKER HERE!

 

[HardWarrior]

Originally posted by: aigomorla

Originally posted by: HardWarrior
Very nice morla. A pleasure to read and very informative.

OMG YOUR BACK!?!?!?! havent seen or heard from you in a while HW.

Been busy dragging my ass back and forth from the sweat shop, uh..., job. It's good to see you're still carrying the banner for old and new water-coolers everywhere! :thumbsup:

 

[HardWarrior]

Originally posted by: WoodButcher
Thanks again, Yep, Thermochill is a few bux more but that is not my biggest concern. The thermo pa vs the Danger Den Black Ice GTX Xtreme as to which is the better rad for lower rpm fans. As to exactly how the loop will be run I'll be experimenting with a number of different configs. The only thing I can say for sure is multi-pump, multi-rad, multi-block. Oh yeah, and it won't be cheap.

A single large rad is going to give better performance than two rads, regardless of their construction, like morla said. One large rad, say a 120.3, is going to function better with the highest possible delta-t at intake. Another rad in the loop is going to deprive it of this. If you have your heart set on two rads then okay, just try to go into the configuration with a decent understanding of the likely outcome. And yeah, TC rads are worth every penny. :thumbsup:

 

[Mrpilot007]

While we're talking about liquid cooling what about just going with this Vegetable oil solution.

 

[KB24]

thank you for this very informative post.

 

[KB24]

Pm instead

 

[WoodButcher]

Originally posted by: HardWarrior

Originally posted by: WoodButcher
Thanks again, Yep, Thermochill is a few bux more but that is not my biggest concern. The thermo pa vs the Danger Den Black Ice GTX Xtreme as to which is the better rad for lower rpm fans. As to exactly how the loop will be run I'll be experimenting with a number of different configs. The only thing I can say for sure is multi-pump, multi-rad, multi-block. Oh yeah, and it won't be cheap.

A single large rad is going to give better performance than two rads, regardless of their construction, like morla said. One large rad, say a 120.3, is going to function better with the highest possible delta-t at intake. Another rad in the loop is going to deprive it of this. If you have your heart set on two rads then okay, just try to go into the configuration with a decent understanding of the likely outcome. And yeah, TC rads are worth every penny. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the input, I went with thermochill 120x3

 

[aigomorla]

lol... what a lot of members fail to note tho, is that a Thermochill is also a lot thicker.

hence why they get awesome performance. Make sure you mark your demensions.

 

[Isaac MM]

is 28ºC ambient temp bad?

 

[Nathelion]

First, let me apologize if someone has already asked this question, I admit that I was lazy and didn't read all the preceeding pages. But being a non-native english speaker, I have to ask: What on earth is a barb??

 

[ColdFusion718]

Originally posted by: Nathelion
First, let me apologize if someone has already asked this question, I admit that I was lazy and didn't read all the preceeding pages. But being a non-native english speaker, I have to ask: What on earth is a barb??

Barb

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Isaac MM
is 28ºC ambient temp bad?

bad is a relative term.

to me 28C = 82.4F

Its not bad. I personally favor 70-75F idealy. ~ 21.1111C

Now if your room is 70F and your ambient temps INSIDE your case is 28C or 82F

then YES thats very very bad.

 

[FireChicken]

very nice guide. I have a request for us nOObs though. It would be nice to have some flow diagrams. I have seen the pictures of your loop but I dont really know which end is up. Maybe start at the out nozzle of the pump and from here, im assuming it goes to cpu first. then from here to gpu. and then what if you have a chipset cooler. Can you have NB and SB? And where does the reservoir fall in this loop? Its difficult for me to get the flow from just the picture. Thnsk again for all your help

Edit: It looks like you have 2 pumps in your set up. Diagrams with optional parts would also be great. In this case for example if you wanted to add an extra pump you should put it here between here and here etc.

EDIT: recomendations are also nice. this cpu block is better than this block etc. This block is good but not really worth the money kind of thing. or this is the best block out there. Or rate each piece of the set up in a rank order.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: FireChicken
very nice guide. I have a request for us nOObs though. It would be nice to have some flow diagrams. I have seen the pictures of your loop but I dont really know which end is up. Maybe start at the out nozzle of the pump and from here, im assuming it goes to cpu first. then from here to gpu. and then what if you have a chipset cooler. Can you have NB and SB? And where does the reservoir fall in this loop? Its difficult for me to get the flow from just the picture. Thnsk again for all your help

Edit: It looks like you have 2 pumps in your set up. Diagrams with optional parts would also be great. In this case for example if you wanted to add an extra pump you should put it here between here and here etc.

EDIT: recomendations are also nice. this cpu block is better than this block etc. This block is good but not really worth the money kind of thing. or this is the best block out there. Or rate each piece of the set up in a rank order.

hi well i tried to list out flow diagrams but i really cant. Because it depends on what your primary cooling objective is. If its CPU, or GPU.

Also, i can recomend parts, but i dont want to put them on the main page. Reason is, if you look at all the other watercooling guides that lists parts, all of them are basically obsolete. Infact all the blocks minus the SWiftech MCW-6002 will give you extremely poor performance on a C2D or a Quad.

I listed the typical diagram of how thigns get, and i also stated not to repeat my loop unless you consult me, or you know what your doing. Dual pumps, dual radiators are a serious pain to setup correctly. And tubing nightmare is just the beginning.

 

[FireChicken]

Infact all the blocks minus the SWiftech MCW-6002 will give you extremely poor performance on a C2D or a Quad.

Does that mean I should stick to air for C2D? I couldnt even find the MCW-6002 on swiftechs site. is that the apogee GTX? Also does that this mean that the petra techs elite kit will not cool better than a good air system? Sry for all the questions...like I said Im a WC n00b

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: FireChicken

Infact all the blocks minus the SWiftech MCW-6002 will give you extremely poor performance on a C2D or a Quad.

Does that mean I should stick to air for C2D? I couldnt even find the MCW-6002 on swiftechs site. is that the apogee GTX? Also does that this mean that the petra techs elite kit will not cool better than a good air system? Sry for all the questions...like I said Im a WC n00b

no im listing out old parts that wouldnt work.

Currently: AS OF 5/10/2007 - BEST LISTING OF PARTS

Pump:
#1: IWAKI RD-30. However this pump isnt something for newbies.
#2: DDC-2 or DDC+ SWiftech 355 /w Radical top, or Petratechshop DDC-T01
#3: Laing D5, Swiftech 655, DangerDen D5

CPU Blocks:
Possibly #1 in the future: D-tek Fusion with Nozzle accelerators
Current #1: ApogeeGTX - BOWED. If you dont know how to bow, dont try it.
#2: D-Tek Fusion / ApogeeGT Bowed

U shouldnt look at anything besides those 3. If your on a tight budget the ApogeeGT is most definitely the cheapest by 20 dollars. And performance wont be too shot. However it requires a stronger pump then the D-tek Fusion.

Radiators:
#1 by a land slide : Thermochill PA120.3
#2 Swiftech MCR 320

 

[FireChicken]

thanks for the advice. This is gonna be fun putting this all this together. Would be nice to put something together that cools better thna my air system now. I will put together a list and maybe you can tell me what you think

 

[FireChicken]

EDIT: I work in a scientific lab so i have access to some nice equiptment.

Would milli Q Reverse Osmosis water be good as well?

Also i hve acess to 200 proof EToH. Would that be good for cleaning?

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: FireChicken
EDIT: I work in a scientific lab so i have access to some nice equiptment.

Would milli Q Reverse Osmosis water be good as well?

Also i hve acess to 200 proof EToH. Would that be good for cleaning?

Incase anyone is wondering on this answer, It will work. Just remember you need to FLUSH! not soak.

But i dont think the ETOH will do anything to the brass and copper. Thats the internal composits of a radiator.

The waterblock is a different story. If your block uses plastic or derlin, if you leave the ETOH too long, i heard it can discolor it, or worse, make it rough. At worst case scenario it will yamyam on your plastic and cause restriction.

So if your going to use ETOH on your blocks, which i dont see the point because you can just remove the top part with an allen wrench, and use a soft toothbrush to scrub it. Just use the ETOH to rince your blocks.


ETOH = rubbing alcohol or drinking alcohol, incase some of you guys dont know.



Also i ask if you guys have general questions please PM ME! I dont monitor this specific thread unless i have some edits i need to make to the guide. Im about to add a Parts list soon so everyone knows what the current best ranking parts are.

But if the question you have needs an imediate answer, PLEASE PM ME. I am also on Xtremesystems.org under NAEKUH.

So please feel free to pm me either here, or there.

 

[kagy600]

*Note*

EtOH = Ethanol (the alcohol you drink)

Rubbing Alcohol = isopropyl (drink it you become BLIND or even DEAD)


*just incase*

 

[Jen]

well written guide , thank you

i have always used this for a loop

pump / radiator / cpu and so on till it returns back to pump to cycle again

reason for that has always been to cool the water before it goes to cpu .

hugs

Jen

 

[drakore]

May i be the first to say that this guide sucks!!!

Everyone in the watercooling industry knows Thermaltake watercooling kits are the best... Thermochill rads suck! They can't even cool an e4300 undervolted!!!

Thermaltake all the way!!! haha

 

[HardWarrior]

Wow, TT kits have been low-brow crap for a long time. Has something changed? TC rads suck, huh? Okay!

 

[TVisitor]

I've been thinking about a WC solution for my new PC. I am thinking about overclocking, but more for the quiet factor. I have a window next to me, and I can take the radiator & fans and put them between the screen and the window. What kind of restrictions do I have on length of the tubing that I can use (though I guess it's really overall circuit length of the tubing - from pump input to output - and the pump itself) ? My case is less than a foot from the window. I realize this doesn't make my PC portable - or even easily movable - but I don't care. The only time my PC ever moved was to take it outside to blow the dust out of the fans and heatsinks. I'm asking in this guide section because it might be a useful thing to put in.

BTW - thanks so much for the guide, I was wondering where I can find a good guide to WC, as a lot of WC review and guides I find seem to be very old as well.