Advice on WC parts

[Zertz]

I'm planning to move to Intel as soon as I find a buyer for my current rig and I will also move to watercooling when that happens.

Things to be cooled:
CPU (overclocked Intel, E6X50 or Q6600 and maybe GPU

The parts:
Swiftech APOGEE GTX
Swiftech MCP655
Swiftech MCRES-MICRO
HW Labs Black Ice Xtreme II

I did look at the Thermochill PA120.2, but it costs quite a bit more and I'm not convinced I would even notice a difference between them.

Are those parts enough, overkill, just about right?
What tubing should I go for that is available at NCIX?
Any other accessories I should look for?

[vbironchef]

Have you looked at this? GIGABYTE 3D Mercury GZ-FW1CA-AJB Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case . I saw this case at newegg.com. It comes with watercooling!

[dicecca112]

vbiron, that gigabyte kit is the equivalent of the Intel Stock Cooler of watercooling. Zertz, your selections look good. You either want clearflex or Tygon 1/2 in tubing.

[Bio-Hazard]

The black Ice radiators are some of the most restrictive (air and water flow) on the market. And the Exteme are even worse due to their extra thickness and extemely tight fin spacing. To get them to work at any sort of performance level they require a fairly highspeed fan.
For a top system with lowspeed silent fans (1200 RPM and under) Thermochill radiators are the best out on the market, but they also cost the most and are sometimes hard to come-by. If you're on a tighter budget (as most of us are), the Swiftech QP series of radiators has been proven time and time again to be the best bang for your buck. These radiators have less air flow restriction the the HW rads and they also have less pressure drop (water flow restriction). So just get a Swifty rad.............

As for noticing the differance between a BIX and a PA120.2, you can bet your butt you would, more so and lower fan speeds (sillent). I've owned and still own all 3 of the major brands (Swiftech, BI and Thermochill) and the Thermochill is by far the best of the 3 in build quality and performance.

[dicecca112]

Black Ice does have rads that work well with low speed fans. See my sticky on watercooling. I used Yate Loons, and they did just perfect. yeah higher speed fans would do better, but there is always something better

[Bio-Hazard]

I've read your guide, it's not a bad basic quide, but it's severly lacking on all the current components out on the market. There is so much more to water cooling than sticking some parts together in a case and calling it good. There's flow rates, pressure drops, tubing size (which isn't a huge factor anymore these days). All these need to be taken into concideration when setting up a high-end water cooling loop.

Like I said, the BI series are restrictive, to restrictive IMO and most if not all the pros that have tested all the different brands (Cather, Marci, Bill Adams and many others). If the OP wants a loud system then BI are fine, but the best performance for your hard earned dollar will come from Swiftech, plain and simple and tested and proven. These guys along with myself have built and tested countless number of systems over the years using just about every known water cooling component known, and don't just pull this info from their butts.

Read through the thread and qain a world of info from those in the know. If you feel froggy, feel free to ask questions, these guys are the best around in terms of water cooling and have been at it from day one. They will not steer you in the wrong direction.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/sho ... hp?t=75873

Here's a link on some extensive radiator testing, backed up with numbers on how each of the popular radiators perform. From that thread you can draw your own conclusion on which one best fits your needs. (Tests run again by Cather [designer of the Swiftech Storm water block] and Marci).

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/sho ... hp?t=77260

3. Thermochill PA120.X (120.1, 120.2, 120.3) - 80 to 120 USD - Described as the new king of cool, I highly reccomend these rads. They are pretty much the perfect radiator.. High cooling capacity while optimized for low noise fans.. Not much more you can ask for in a radiator. I should note that as of writing this there has not been any test data presented, but from calculations provided by Cathar, these radiators should not fail to live up to their name.

4. Swiftech MCR220-QP and MCR320-QP - 45 and 55USD - The creation of Bill Adams, formely of Swiftech, the MCR220-QP is an excelent low CFM optimized radiator. the MCR220 is positioned between the Black Ice Pro2 and PA120.2 with regards to performance. But the nice thing is that its very economically priced. At the time of writting, they are priced at 41.99 at CrazyPC. While a bit more expensive, than the BIP2, if you have the extra 10 dollars, it would be 10 dollars well spent. The MCR220-QP comes in two colors, black and blue. Currently, the MCR320-QP is the best bang of the buck when going for maximum cooling performance in a low noise setup.

Here's a thread by Cather on the current thoughts about tubing sizes needed to properly cool todays modern components, it's a very interesting read for those that haven't seen it before.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/sho ... p?t=147767

[dicecca112]

I guess you missed my disclaimer that says this is just a basic guide and don't tell me there are better parts.

[Zertz]

Thanks Bio, I would go for the Thermochill... but it's so damn expensive. I will probably go with Swiftech radiator then, I can get the MCR320 for $47, which is just a couple more dollars than the BI and you have a triple instead of a dual fan.

That tubing would work, right? And I'll mesure it roughly when I decide on a case, but about how long do you need usually for a CPU/GPU loop?

I was planning to get those fans. Should I go for the ball bearing or sleeve bearing version?

One last thing, I've read that sometimes a T-line is better than a reservoir but that it can also be a PITA to bleed, do you think it's worth the effort? Also it saves alot of space to use a T-line.

I'll look into the links you posted this weekend, thanks

[dicecca112]

Yates are going to be quiet no matter what version you get.

[Bio-Hazard]

Thanks Bio, I would go for the Thermochill... but it's so damn expensive. I will probably go with Swiftech radiator then, I can get the MCR320 for $47, which is just a couple more dollars than the BI and you have a triple instead of a dual fan.

That tubing would work, right? And I'll mesure it roughly when I decide on a case, but about how long do you need usually for a CPU/GPU loop?

I was planning to get those fans. Should I go for the ball bearing or sleeve bearing version?

One last thing, I've read that sometimes a T-line is better than a reservoir but that it can also be a PITA to bleed, do you think it's worth the effort? Also it saves alot of space to use a T-line.

I'll look into the links you posted this weekend, thanks

Yates are a great fan........ but I don't use them, I use higher speed fans connected to a fan controler so I can control the noise and performance level depending on what I'm doing.
As for "T" line or rez, if you have the room, use a rez, tons easier to bleed as you said. I use both in my current setup, a "T" line on the CPU loop and a rez on the GPU loop (mainly due to the 3/8" tubing I used on the loop).

[vbironchef]

Thank you dicecca112 you saved me from buying that case. I didn't know that it was not worth the money.

[MakubeX]

Thanks Bio, I would go for the Thermochill... but it's so damn expensive. I will probably go with Swiftech radiator then, I can get the MCR320 for $47, which is just a couple more dollars than the BI and you have a triple instead of a dual fan.

That tubing would work, right? And I'll mesure it roughly when I decide on a case, but about how long do you need usually for a CPU/GPU loop?

I was planning to get those fans. Should I go for the ball bearing or sleeve bearing version?

One last thing, I've read that sometimes a T-line is better than a reservoir but that it can also be a PITA to bleed, do you think it's worth the effort? Also it saves alot of space to use a T-line.

I'll look into the links you posted this weekend, thanks

Like Bio-Hazard said, if you have the space go with a res. I too have two loops, one with a t-line (GPU and NB loop) and one with a res (CPU loop). The performance difference between a t-line and a res is insignificant, but the convenience for filling, bleeding, etc. is not.

[stev]

Should I go for the ball bearing or sleeve bearing version?

Go with two ball bearing for the fans for low noise and longer life.

Some of the hydro bearings by some of the name brand makers are doing better than two ball bearing fans.

What ever you do, DO NOT get any sleeved fans. Those are the standard run of the mill throw aways. They only last a season of time, make noise and then just die. Remember that sleeved bearing = cheap.

[stev]

Just one last note dealing with systems with two cooling loops and ONE reservoir.

It's easy to plum in a Y-connector from the two loops into the reservoir and a Y-connector back out to the two loops. In the best interest, the two Y's should be the standard tubing size around the cooling loop while the fitting sizes from the Y's to the reservoir should be bigger. This way, there the two loops can share a reservoir without having any major flow restrictions in either loop. The nice thing is, you only need to top off one reservior for two loops.