I'm going watercooling.

ThraxThrax 🐌Austin, TX Icrontian
edited September 2003 in Hardware
For christmas! ;D

And for the love of God...FINALLY. I'm finally decently nestled into an upgrade lull where I don't need anything around christmas time, so it's perfect for WCing.

Might as well plan ahead!

Swiftech MCX-5000 CPU Waterblock
Swiftech MCW50 GPU Waterblock
Ten feet of Tygon R-3603
VIA Aqua 1300 Pump
Black Ice Xtreme2 Radiator

Is what I have so far!

I need options for a:

Northbridge block, and a reservoir.

I don't feel like using a radiator from a car or whatnot, as I'll simply have the money to buy a retail radiator. I'll need a dual-120mm rad for the highest performance.

Additionally, if anyone can point out improvements in what I've selected: Do it!

Thanks mates. :)
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Comments

  • NixxerNixxer Nottingham, UK
    edited August 2003
    My parents have finally run out of stuff to buy me for Christmas too, so I think I'm just getting cash this year. And I don't mean "just" as its inadequate.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    You mean "Just" as in "There's nothing left for them to give, so this is the default."
  • NixxerNixxer Nottingham, UK
    edited August 2003
    Yes.
  • t1rhinot1rhino Toronto
    edited August 2003
    You could buy a watercooling kit to simplify everything.

    The Swiftech H20-8500AV is supposed to be pretty good.
  • JonseyJonsey Microsoft Corporation
    edited August 2003
    Let's see. You're thinking Tygon tubing. You'll also want to consider a cascade/white-water water block. They've shown large increases in cooling ability. They shoot cold water over the center of the block, and drain it out of two pipes, which are then rejoined on the way back to the Rad.

    I'll be going up myself sometime soon... Hopefully a job @ FrozenCPU will help. : )
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Yep, Tygon is what I was looking for.

    Unfortunately the only comparison of waterblocks I've seen is from early 2003, and I know there have been recent innovations (Similar to direct-die cooling). So the knowledge I have might be outmoded.

    I'm looking to skip kits. Whilst swiftech makes great blocks, their pump and rad isn't so hot.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Thrax,

    There are several Tygon tubings around but the one to get is Tygon R-3603. Another very good hose is Eheim original which i am recieving very soon.

    As for the radiator i would have suggested the one i use but that´s not available in the youessofej.

    Black ice extreme 2 with one 120 mm on each side? No need for a reservoir, that just slows the flowrate down.

    Dtek does nice blocks as well.
  • DanGDanG I AM CANADIAN Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    I've got the swiftech kit pictured above, AMD cpu and gpu cooler, with the hardware for both Nvidia and ATI based cards. In the near future I'm planning on going to a bigger rad with a couple of 120mm fans for more cooling. I've been doing some research and the black ice rads look great, and so do the dtek For the black ice rads, they have 2 different models that take 120mm fans, one that takes one on each side, and one that takes 2 on the front, and I think you can put 2 on the back, that one dissapates 61xx btu's of heat, while the single 120mm fan model gets rid of ~31xx btu's iirc.

    Either way, it's looking like a sweet setup so far.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    I didn't know people had moved away from using reservoirs.

    Neat.

    I'm going to be modding all of this into my chieftec case, so if that changes ideas on the radiator used, lemme know of course. ;)

    Another question I have is where to put the rad, and where to put the pump? And in what order should I connect things together, and should I pay any special considerations to setting it up so I don't pass CPU-heated water over the GPU?

    //EDIT:

    Does anyone know if the swiftech GPU block will function on the northbridge, or do I have to get another block for that? I'm assuming I do.

    In that case, I need a radiator able to manage a 1700 at 2.5GHz or so at 1.775 or 1.825v, a nforce2 northbridge at 220MHz at 1.7v, and a Radeon 9700 Pro GPU at 342MHz.

    That's a lot of heat, to clarify, I'm looking for a 240mm+ tall radiator, to accomodate 2 120s stacked like

    [¯]
    [¯]

    on top of one another to blow into the rad. And two more stacked like that on the opposite side to suck that air in and blow it outside.

    Black ice radiators seem to be generally agreed upon as being good, so I'll add it to my list. and do some measuring.

    //EDIT 2:

    Black Ice X2 rad, anyone have some comparison shopping on it? ~Pokes around pricegrabber and whatnot~
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Are you on the full tower or the medium one?

    I have the full tower and i have moved all my disks to the 5 1/4 slots to make room for a standing 245mm radiator in the front that will either blowing in air from the outside or sucking in from the inside. This means that all the rails will be drilled out as well but they are very easy to put back with a nut/bolt if i want anyway. I suggest that you make an inch of shroud to make the fans quieter and to have more flow.

    I have never tried that pump but i cab REALLY recommend Eheim pumps. Quiet and powerful. Lots of spare parts are available for it as well if you need it. Here´s my rad and the one you want are the same size.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    That radiator is going in the front where the harddrive rail is now.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    I have the Chieftec DX-01-BLD, which is the mid.

    That said, the removable drive bays would both have to go and according to measurements (The rad is 273mm tall), I should just BARELY clear the bottom 5 1/4" bay (Which is 280mm off the bottom of the case).

    I would think I'd have to mod my case to make room for all that bloody air flow, atleast to get some decent pathing outwards and not have the door blocking it. There's a ton of metal and plastic in the way restricting the flow of air.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    My thoughts into a pretty picture.

    Now what do I do with the mass of metal of the chassis, and mass of plastic of the case's bezel which would just reflect a billion CFM back into the case? My thought is to chop the metal, somehow roll the edges for stability (I have an idea on this) and then...uh..Deal with plastic.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Thats what i meant, yes.

    I will somehow cut holes in the plastic bezel as well but use some kind of good looking fangrill or something. I recommend a couple of filters on the radiator fans though. Or you could actually have the radiator that acts as the front and remove the plastic bezel. The metal in the front have to be cutted as well yes. A steel cutter will do the job nicely.

    Shouldn´t look too bad i think.
  • DanGDanG I AM CANADIAN Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    depending on how much heat you're producing, you may want to consider making a duct to get the heat out of the case from the 120's, maybe something with a 90° bend in it and right out the door. Or if it's not making it that much hotter, then just use that for regular air flow.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    The only thing that needs to be altered then is the buttons but you can always make/buy your own and put them in the floppy place with a little bezel. Power and reset is the only cords i have plugged in anyway. Not to interested in the sirens if the pc dont post, i know whats wrong anyway.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    The plastic bezel is angled oddly in so many different ways, I can't conceive how to actually cut it and make it appear a quality job. But I do like the concept of making it the actual face of the PC.

    For example:

    The drive bays are actually offset to the left (Viewing head on) of the arched plastic grill that runs down vertically under the door. Which means that if you were to cut that grill out, or even partially, you'd have the radiator both behind the door (You'd have to chop the door up, eek) and not lining up with the plastic grill.

    I suck at explaining, so here's another picture with the rad's dimensions roughly superimposed on top of the bezel. There's bad ugliness all over da place!
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    My front bezel are even worse. Looks like Grand Canyon. I must try to cut a big hole in it though. Dremel on low speed should help.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    I wish I had a case without a door, to be honest. ;D

    //EDIT:

    Build a shroud that ducts it down into the little 80mm fan hole. ;D
  • DanGDanG I AM CANADIAN Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    How about getting a 120mm hole saw and making two openings instead of one big one?
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    DanG said
    How about getting a 120mm hole saw and making two openings instead of one big one?

    Costs $100 here for just the saw.
  • a2jfreaka2jfreak Houston, TX Member
    edited August 2003
    Thrax:

    If you don't like the case door, just remove it . . . if you cannot pulldown/liftup the part that is hinged, then take a dremel and use the cutting disk to get inbetween the door and the case. I have two Antec cases that are just like your Chieftec (by the pictures) and that's all I'd need to do.

    As for the radiator looking ugly in the front of the case, just get some 120mm black fan filters and use that to help cover the ugliness. It might block some airflow, but I doubt it would block enough to make a difference on cooling.

    Are you planning on watercooling your videocard?

    If you do use a resevoir you could make a door to it to keep contaminants out, but allow you to drop some ice in there from time to time to help keep things extra cool. :D
  • a2jfreaka2jfreak Houston, TX Member
    edited August 2003
    If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, he could just scribe a circle with a compass and use a dremel to cut it out. As long as Thrax is careful, he can freehand it without it looking too bad.
    DanG said
    How about getting a 120mm hole saw and making two openings instead of one big one?

    Mackanz said


    Costs $100 here for just the saw.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    No, I like the case door. It hides my ugly beige drives.

    At the same time it's counterproductive to mounting a front rad. Almost makes me wish I could get it mounted on the roof of the case.
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Would a 92mm rad at the back over the psu do? You can use one on each side.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited August 2003
    Mack- the midtower chieftecs don't have a 92mm fan above the PSU. It's only us spoiled people with the SX1240 that get that :D

    Here's an idea (altho since I know very little about water cooling, I don't know how feasible it is). How about mounting a radiator where the 2 80mm exhaust fans are and using 2 92mm fans (they'd just barely fit) to cool it?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    The radiator would be too tall for that space on the chieftec mid. Dunno about the full tower though.
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited August 2003
    You might have to spring for a larger case....

    IMHO Having a radiator makes it easier to fill the system and to flush out air bubbles.

    Overclockers.com: Water-cooling Reservoir Theory and Construction Guide

    Overclockers.com: A Thought About Water Cooling

    This might be relevant

    internal.jpg
  • a2jfreaka2jfreak Houston, TX Member
    edited August 2003
    I've spray-painted a CD-ROM drive red before. I've also used a Sharpie® to color a DVD-ROM drive black. :D
    Thrax said
    No, I like the case door. It hides my ugly beige drives.

    At the same time it's counterproductive to mounting a front rad. Almost makes me wish I could get it mounted on the roof of the case.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2003
    Springing for another case is out of the question entirely.

    Anyone got links to Black Ice X2 rads for less than $98?

    I'm hesitant to use a 1 x 120mm radiator because the tweaker in me is screaming that it's just not the best I could be doing. I couldn't settle for a 1 x 120mm knowing I could afford a 2 x 120mm. It would keep me awake at night. ;D

    //EDIT:

    Thanks for the first link, Omega. Some great links inside that article for purchasing WC equipment.
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