water saftey

[crazichild]

I'm currently building a new system and I was wounder how safe water cooling is? My big concern is leaks. They say nothing runs system faster than overheating well I say water does.
Anyways my second idea was getting that subzero system from thermaltake then modifying the fan and heatsink.
It will bases on AMD64 3500 and hope to overclock to 3800.

[Darthtanion]

First off, water is only as dangerous as the user installing it. If you take proper care when getting everything set up, you'll have no problems at all. I have recently made the switch to water and am running a wonderfully silent system now.

Regarding the SubZero unit, JUST SAY NO!
The SubZero is great on paper but sucks in real-world usage. The main reason behind this is due to the underpowered [eltier used in the unit. It is only rated at 73 watts and the review I did a while back shows how poorly it does when you cross that threshold. No amount of modifying in the world will help that heatsink since it is the peltier itself that is the weak link. It simply cannot support today's processors, especially when you begin overclocking or tweaking the system.

[Cataclysm]

What your pick of water coolers then Darth?

And r the "all-together-systems" eg, the Thermaltake Aquarius III, as weak as they sound?

[KoolDrew]

crazichild while watercooling is dangerous because there is always a change there may be a leak you shoudl be fine if you put it together correctly and leak test the tubes by putting a cloth around them for an huors or so and move the tubes around every once ina while. If the cloth is dry then you will have no problems. So when putting together watercooling make sure to take your time, be patient and make sure to follwo the intructions very closely and you shoudl be fine.

[Darthtanion]

Yes, the "all-together-systems" tend to be weak. This is mainly due to the small units with very little circulating liquid and a small and inadequate submersible pump. If you're looking for a kit, check out some of the kits that come with all normal components of a water cooling setup. A couple that spring to the front of the mind are from Swiftech and Danger Den. There are others, but these KITS are actually a set of components that include all necessary items to create the water cooling system in its entirety.

Oh, and to make sure we're clear on one point, the SubZero unit referred to above is a small peltier kit that is also inadequate as it doesn't have a thermal unit capable of dissipating nearly enough heat.

[crazichild]

Thanks for all the advice, as I research seems my best option is to stay away from kits and buy each compent by it self. For quality reason.

[Darthtanion]

Not necessarily. The two I mentioned above are called kits, but they are quality components that give you everything you need to install the water cooling setup. I'm using the H2O-8600 from Swiftech right now and it works great. This is because while it is sold as a kit, it is really a set of components that allowed me to simply install it and have a decent water cooling setup in place.

If you're interested, I did a review on the kit here. It will also show you exactly what I mean by providing components instead of an all-in-one unit that will leave you disappointed at the end of the installation process.

[crazichild]

Like the review, quick question though. Is good for moveablity let me clarify, I just started going to LAN parties and plan going to more. Might be trying to host some my self, point being is this unit or any water cooling system safe to move around? If not this unit do you have recommendation? I don't worry about weight more about leaking. Hey thanks for all the advice.

[Darthtanion]

It is a closed system and I use hose clamps on all fittings instead of those quick-connect things. I find them easier to use and I have a bit more confidence in them. Considering that point, it would take a lot of very rough handling to create leaks. So yes, it would be possible for it to leak, but odds are good you'd be breaking your system anyway if you handled it that roughly.

[crazichild]

Man you reply faster than speeding bullet . Which only brings up the question how does a bullet speed?