Watercooling - Suggestions?

[sandiegoislandboy]

i want to get into the water cooling scene... here is my system specs and what i was thinking about purchasing for water cooling hard ware.

my computer:
amd 64 3400+ socket 754
msi k8n neo platinum (the cpu and ram orientation is not standard, the cpu is in the middle of the board while the ram sits above that)
2 x 512mb ddr400 (going to upgrade to 2 x 1gb)
ati x850 or x800 (dont remember) pro 256mb
2 sata150 hard drives
dvdrw
dvd

i have an antec soho case, older. has two rear 80mm fans, an 80mm intake on the font/bottom and another 80mm intake in the hard drive cage).

watercooling hardware, here are the parts i was thinking about buying:
radiator - black ice micro II
cpu block - copper tdx
gpu - maze5
pump - dd12v-d5 fixed speed
reservoir - fillport reservoir with delrin fillport
misc - delrin fillport (to drain)
misc - fill syringe
tubing - tygon 3603 1/2"ID tubing

my questions are:

how should i position everything? ive seen setups with the radiator at the bottom of the case, some on the back and even some on top. what are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

how is the noise from the radiator and pump?

i know 80mm fans can produce a bit of sound, would a single or dual 120mm radiator be better (assuming i can bottom or top mount it)?

i want to keep all the tubing dimensions the same, all 1/2" or 3/8", would i be able to do that given the parts ive chosen.

any info is appreciated.

i will post pictures of my current case with hardware later on tonight/this weekend.

thanks for any insight.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: sandiegoislandboy

watercooling hardware, here are the parts i was thinking about buying:
radiator - black ice micro II
cpu block - copper tdx
gpu - maze5
pump - dd12v-d5 fixed speed
reservoir - fillport reservoir with delrin fillport
misc - delrin fillport (to drain)
misc - fill syringe
tubing - tygon 3603 1/2"ID tubing

my questions are:

how should i position everything? ive seen setups with the radiator at the bottom of the case, some on the back and even some on top. what are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

how is the noise from the radiator and pump?

Oh gowd... i dont know where to start on your list.

Your kit your looking at is straight from a DD setup which isnt great. The micro radiator is absolute crap. Your better off with a larger radiator. 120x2 or a 120x3 if you can fit it.

Also, your case isnt the most ideal case for h2o cooling. My honest 2 cents... Get high end air. Unless you want to setup something externally, i dont think a migration would fit your needs. You'll be hard pressed to mount a larger radiator in that small case.

DD blocks dont perform very well compared to the newer swiftech stuff. The D-tek Fusion might be a better block since your looking at gpu cooling.

Swiftech MCW60 >> DD Maze4

 

[jkresh]

aigomorla is correct, 80mm rads (even 2*80mm) are not worth the trouble, you need 120 to get an improvement over air (and most single 120 wont be that much better then top air you would need a 2 or 3*120 to really get a major boost). Also good watercooling is expensive (if you arent using a heatercore, expect to spend $200 + for a good kit (more if you want gpu blocks...) You would probably be better off with a good air cooler and a processor upgrade rather then going water.

 

[Throckmorton]

WHat's the point of watercooling now that heatsinks are already the size of radiators?

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Throckmorton
WHat's the point of watercooling now that heatsinks are already the size of radiators?

because if done correctly, and properly, they will destory any high end air product you throw up against it.

Of course theres a price tag behind it. Also Water is scalable, meaning you can always addon to your existing eq for greater performance if you desire it. While as, air, your basically stuck at one lvl until something great and redesigned come outs.