Watercooling and Me? The great debate.

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Wed May 31, 2006 1:03 pm

Do you care about noise? If no, then a single dual 800mm rad would do........but if you get the second (smaller) rad, you can run without noise!

With your math, allowing for ~20% variance, your going to have to run 2x high speed fans and even then you have ~15W spare! The Nforce 4 chipset gives out more than that........Think about in the future when dust builds up and it gets hotter in the summer........your temps should be fine, but who said "fine" was good enough? ;)

The pump adds heat to the loop too, although the DCC pump your getting doesn't add too much heat.........stev or Bio might know more.....

Skippman · Post by **Skippman** » Wed May 31, 2006 2:02 pm

Why on earth would I want to buy an nForce based board when I just bought a X1900XTX? I don't care about the chipset. I don't plan on overclocking, I just want to cool the GPU more than anything. 92c is hot in anyones book.

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Wed May 31, 2006 2:45 pm

i wasn't suggesting to watercool the chipset........my point was, that 15W isn't that much.....
I hear you on the cards temps.....I'm still using the stock cooler!
You can just get the dual rad to start and buy the second rad later. if required.

Skippman · Post by **Skippman** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 9:53 am

Ordered my Black Ice today. Finally gonna get this project started.

Next on the list is the Swiftech pump/res assembly.

Is the Danger Den Maze a good waterblock or should I get the Appoge instead?

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 10:20 am

Skippman wrote:Ordered my Black Ice today. Finally gonna get this project started.

Next on the list is the Swiftech pump/res assembly.

Is the Danger Den Maze a good waterblock or should I get the Appoge instead?

Swiftech is better.....DD is designed for high flow rates...and even then they are not as good.......the maze design has been around for years...

my order of preference for a block

1. Swiftech storm G4 (silver plated, hard to get and very expensive)
2. Swiftech storm - prolly the best - has plastic moulding instead of silver ~1C difference - Bio Hazard uses one
3. Alphacool NexXxoS XP - only uses 3/8" tubing and might be hard to find in the US - currently cools my opty to 32C with 800MHz OC and 1.6v
4. Swiftech Appoge - ~2C difference

There are others like D-tech or DD blocks, but they are old news IMO

The swiftech pump/res combo uses a Delphi Laing DCC pump. They have alot of power for their size....but not a very high flow rate. Don't let the lower flow rate put you off.....because of it's power (head) it can push a heck of alot of water through your (restrictive) loop.

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 10:21 am

Both are good blocks and companies to deal with, I use Swiftech myself, but it's just my personal choice because I don't care for Lucite tops, they crack over time .................

Temps betweent the 2 should be pretty close together.

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 10:30 am

You'll get better temps in a multi block setup using the APOGEE over the Storm due to the highly restrictive nature of the Storm, even the version 2 of the Storm is very restrictive compaired to the APOGEE. The Storm is about the best when all you intend to cool is your CPU..........

Skippman · Post by **Skippman** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:36 am

Right now that will be all I'm cooling. I plan to eventually ad a cooler for my GPU. I'll post picks of what I'm working with tonight when I get off work.
Right now, the loop will be a nearly horizontal setup. I've been doing alot of reading and I feel confident in the selection I've made for my pump/res. I wish it came in annodized black but I might be able to find someone in town who can do that for me.

Pengwin · Post by **Pengwin** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 2:22 pm

Skippman wrote:Why on earth would I want to buy an nForce based board when I just bought a X1900XTX? I don't care about the chipset. I don't plan on overclocking, I just want to cool the GPU more than anything. 92c is hot in anyones book.

HOLY HELL!!!!

my X1900Xt doesnt go over 50*C (Zalman VF-900), i havent tried OCing it yet.

Skippman · Post by **Skippman** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:02 am

I'm doing the stupid thing here and basing that temp of the notes from Toms Hardware. My card hasn't come in yet. Had a problem with my local vendor. Going to have to order from NewEgg or something now I guess.

Pengwin · Post by **Pengwin** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 10:03 am

NEWEGG PWNS!!

u cna grab an X1900XT for 370 buck si think

Skippman · Post by **Skippman** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 9:31 am

It occurs to me that I'll likely need a in line flow indicator and temperature sensor. I like the ThermalTake unit but it has no real mounting bracket for the case front. Velco is so tacky. Can anyone suggest something similar to this?

http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Ligu ... -w0033.asp

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 11:55 am

Skippman wrote:It occurs to me that I'll likely need a in line flow indicator and temperature sensor. I like the ThermalTake unit but it has no real mounting bracket for the case front. Velco is so tacky. Can anyone suggest something similar to this?

http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Ligu ... -w0033.asp

All they do is add more restriction to the loop........with the pump your getting you don't have to worry about it failing! it's rated for 50,000hrs!

Coolant temp is pointless too...imo! If your CPU/GFX are cool then who cares what temp the water is?

my 2 cent

Skippman · Post by **Skippman** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 12:06 pm

Actually what I'm most concerned with is making sure there is flow.

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 1:18 pm

I've never used anything like that before, never seen the need. If for some reason the pump fails, you'll know about it soon enough..................

Just enable the over temp shutdown in your system bios and you'll be good to go.

Pengwin · Post by **Pengwin** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 4:23 pm

Bio-Hazard wrote:I've never used anything like that before, never seen the need. If for some reason the pump fails, you'll know about it soon enough.................. Just enable the over temp shutdown in your system bios and you'll be good to go.

Actually.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... ode=371261

its a good CPU cooler, if ur pump goes bad it should keep the CPU alove for a bit as long as u have air flow. u can also add fans to the cooler to increase cooling, so its like a CPU block + radiator.

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 4:50 pm

I don't know what you been smoken, but you better start sharing..............

That thing is total junk and extreme restrickive for any sort of high performance water cooling loop.

Skippman · Post by **Skippman** » Wed Jun 28, 2006 6:09 pm

Think I'll pass on that beast.

Skippman · Post by **Skippman** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 7:51 pm

What coolent should I be running in this system? I was told I could use regular old anti-freeze just fine. I'm hoping to get a blue color out of it with some UV reactivity.

Pengwin · Post by **Pengwin** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 8:11 pm

Skippman wrote:What coolent should I be running in this system? I was told I could use regular old anti-freeze just fine. I'm hoping to get a blue color out of it with some UV reactivity.

Most ppl use the stuff u can buy from newegg i would think.

1. Distilled water (100% - no additives)
Strengths:

* Excellent thermal properties
Weaknesses:

* No corrosion inhibition
* Various microorganisms may flourish

2. Distilled water and super coolant additive of your choice*
Strengths:

* Good/Excellent thermal properties
* Good corrosion resistance (depending on the effectiveness of
additive)
Weaknesses:

* May not provide any protection against microorganism growth

3. Distilled water, super coolant*, and biocide of your choice
Strengths:

* Good/Excellent thermal properties
* Good corrosion resistance (depending on the effectiveness of additive)
* Good protection against microorganism growth (depending on the additive)
Weaknesses:

* Added complexity and cost

4. Distilled water, 15% automotive antifreeze, super coolant*, and biocide of your choice
Strengths:

* Fair/Good thermal properties
* Good corrosion resistance (depending on the effectiveness of additive)
* Good protection against microorganism growth (depending on the additive)
* Sense of security - some people just feel better using this mix
Weaknesses:

* Added complexity and cost
* Higher viscosity - potentially lower flow rate
* Toxic to pets and humans

5. Distilled water, 30% Methanol, super coolant of your choice*
Strengths:

* Good thermal properties
* Good corrosion resistance (depending on the effectiveness of additive
* Good protection against microorganism growth
* Offers freeze protection down to -30ºC
Weaknesses:

* Added complexity and cost
* Toxic to pets and humans
* Flammable .

Just so you know