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Water-cooling Thread!

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  • Water-cooling Thread!

    I'm looking into various water-cooling setups for my PC but I'm not sure which one is best. This will be my first time at water-cooling and I want to try and not make it my last. I've got a few questions that haven't been directly answered by the websites I've been to, so here goes...

    Room temperature cooling, or colder?

    Peltier, or no peltier? What kind of peltier would be required for my 1000MHz Tbird @ 1100MHz (so far)? Is condensation a problem with them?

    Recommended kits?

    Are case mods a must?

    Thanks alot guys! :thumb: :thumb:

  • #2
    I'd try the room temp job 1st as with peltiers condensation is a big problem with lots of insulation and silicon required (not to mention power supply requirements) plus most ppl that use use water coolin' use room temp setups anyway. It's only the real extreme boys that combine it with peltiers and hardware tends not to last that long under those conditions. :smokin:
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    • #3
      Thanks for the info Wiggo :wave:

      Now what about brands? If I'm going to do this I don't want to go budget. Whats some quality name brand water-cooling kits out there? I hear Blizzard Z3, Z4, and Danger Den all the time...

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      • #4
        I'm not big into water cooling, but every review that I've read about the Danger Den gear is always good, so that would probably be a very good place to start. :)
        Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill
        My Toys

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        • #5
          I'm gonna install my water setup this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.

          I'm setting up my radiator outside the case as the temps are lower there. I'm not worrying about a peltier at the moment because condensation seems to be a huge problem with a lot of people. I'm using a heater core from a car as a radiator, as people have had great success with them and I only got it for $10 Aussie ($5 US) from a motor wreckers. It won't look pretty, but it will be individual ;)

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          • #6
            Just 2 things to be sure of and that's a good pump and don't get a water block with hose attachment smaller than 3/8" as alot depends on these 2 parts and flow rate plays a big part too. ;)
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            • #7
              It's Saturday night and I've assembled my tubing, the pump in it's tank and the radiator. I am testing them overnight for leaks. So far so good :D

              Probably tomorrow the fan will go on the radiator (I'll have to make up a shroud) and the water block will slip onto my CPU.

              Wish me luck ;)

              ps- I'll get my hands on my house mates digital cam and post some pics.

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              • #8
                Sounds good dejay. Make sure to let us know. :)
                Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill
                My Toys

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by dejay
                  It's Saturday night and I've assembled my tubing, the pump in it's tank and the radiator. I am testing them overnight for leaks. So far so good :D

                  Probably tomorrow the fan will go on the radiator (I'll have to make up a shroud) and the water block will slip onto my CPU.

                  Wish me luck ;)

                  ps- I'll get my hands on my house mates digital cam and post some pics.
                  Lot of luck!!!!! :thumb:

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                  • #10
                    So how did ya go with it dejay? :?:
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                    • #11
                      Since you are new to watercooling may I suggest checking out the new Koolance system by www.koolance.com. It is a watercooling case shipped ready to go. Even has waterblocks for chipset, video and hard drives.


                      I have used watercooling a few times but this system seems to be a good way to start. If you do not like that try the blizzard line of coolers. That is what I have with a Danger Den waterblock

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Wiggo
                        So how did ya go with it dejay? :?:
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                        It went very well :)

                        I don't have any pictures at the moment, but I can say that my cpu is running about 10 degrees above ambient, as stated by my mobo, as compared with 30 degrees above ambient before the fix. This has allowed me to run my athyXP 1800+ at 1737 MHz (12.5 x 139) as reported by WCPUID. This is good for me because I couldn't even push my FSB up one lousy meg above 133 before! I would like to push my fsb higher, but I think either the mobo, ram, GF3 or pci card is restricting it.

                        I have a very ugly looking car heater core sitting on top of my case, which is imbedded in a home made shroud. The shroud is constructed out of ply wood from a "ROAD WORK AHEAD" sign I 'borrowed' a few years back in a drunken wonder ;). On the back of this shroud is a 100mm 12 volt fan.

                        Into the radiator runs a tube from the pump which resides under my desk in it's resovoir (sp?) at the moment. The pump is a 240v model, which leaves my computer's power supply alone.

                        A tube leads from my radiator outlet into the back of the computer, and then into my waterblock (a cyclone 2 from Silverprop). This waterblock is quite heavy and of good constuction, although the base was in serious need of lapping when it arrived, which I did quite easily. A tube then exits the waterblock and leads to my resovior in which the pump resides.

                        I used Arctic Silver II and made sure all my hoses are clamped tightly, especially on the water block.

                        Improvements I could make:

                        Seal my shroud a bit better so that all the air goes through the radiator. A bit of silicone sealant should do the trick.

                        Place my resovior higher so that my pump isn't fighting gravity as much.

                        Paint my shroud :D

                        Get a better resovior, because a solid knock to this one will see water spill everywhere :eek:

                        Conclusion: I had a lot of fun putting this together and gained some good experience. My system runs cool and I can clock it a bit higher without worrying about heat to the cpu. My 3dmark2001 score has increased from 8059 to 8225. All in all I am quite pleased.

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                        • #13
                          That good to hear but ya realise that now you've begun the darkside will keep ya tryin' even more now, don't ya? :D
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                          • #14
                            Yeah, that may well be the case!

                            I just realised that my temps are a degree or two closer to ambient than they were yesterday. I seem to remember reading on the Arctic Silver web site that it takes a day or two to 'cure' to full effectiveness. Things keep on getting better :D

                            Now, I wonder how easy a peltier would be to install.....?

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                            • #15
                              Now that involves a lot of work, insulation and silicon that does. ;)
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