Looking to get into watercooling, any thoughts?
RatBurger08
Corpus Christi, TX
My PC specs are as below, and here's the thing.
My fans are very large, the side fan is 250mm, and the front is 120mm, and there are also 2 80mm in the rear. But here's my predicament. They cool well, but the CPU fan is not really up to par with the AM2 processor (made for skt754) and is very loud. And as much as I'd like to just buy a new cpu fan, I'd really like to also get into watercooling, as monstrously hot as this system would get if the fans were turned down even 100rpm's.
Based on the system in my sig, what would be a good waterocooling system for the money.
Corey
My fans are very large, the side fan is 250mm, and the front is 120mm, and there are also 2 80mm in the rear. But here's my predicament. They cool well, but the CPU fan is not really up to par with the AM2 processor (made for skt754) and is very loud. And as much as I'd like to just buy a new cpu fan, I'd really like to also get into watercooling, as monstrously hot as this system would get if the fans were turned down even 100rpm's.
Based on the system in my sig, what would be a good waterocooling system for the money.
Corey
0
Comments
One of the prime components in either a prebuilt or a system you put together yourself will be the waterpump you use. With a prebuilt you will be stuck with what the kit comes with unless you want to start modding right away. You definitely don't want to go the cheap route with the pump because if it leaks or fails you stand a good chance of frying many expensive parts. I personally like pumps from either Eheim or Iwaki but they are 120v pumps so you need to either rig a switch to manually turn them on or rig up a 12v relay to switch them on when you boot. I believe that csimon uses one of the 12v pumps in his system, but I have no idea how well the pump is holding up for him. The Eheim 1250 in my watercooled system has been up and running since 2002 with no problems and no leaks and I recently bought an Iwaki off someone on the OC Forums classifieds that is going to be a real kick-ass pump for watercooling due to it's high head pressure delivery.
I'm mainly interested in building one from selected components. (rather than get all at once and probably have to replace them anyway)
What i need to know is
A) what brand supports both socket AM2 and an evga 8800GTS
B) best quality for the price
C) cooling fluid reccommended and any additives reccommended
Thanks!
corey
Swiftech Apogee GT with AM2 support - CPU waterblock
Swiftech Stealth VGA block for 8800 GTS, GTX and Ultra - Looks like it cools both GPU and ram chips on vid card. If that one is too rich for your blood, they also have the Swiftech MCW60-R Retail VGA Waterblock with Nvidia 8800 G80 Adapter Kit - This one doesn't cover the ram, so you will need some sinks for the ram chips.
Eheim 1250 waterpump. I have no experience with the 12v pumps so I will let someone recommend you which way to go with that route if you want to go 12v, but the Eheim 1250 is dead reliable and puts out decent (but not great, around 2.8 psi) pressure. It should be enough to power your system, IMO. They also make a 1260 pump, which puts out more flow rate and pressure if you want overkill.
For cooling the water down, you will need at least a double 120 mm fan radiator or even a triple 120 rad, since you will be cooling both processor and gpu. The Thermochill radiators are probably about the best around, but expensive. A PA 120.2 or PA 120.3 would do you nicely, if you can find them (DangerDen is out of stock). If you don't mind a little rigging up yourself, you can buy a heatercore that will take 2-120 mm fans that has 1/2" fittings on it for much cheaper and you can make you a fan shroud with a little ingenuity. Hardware Labs (Black Ice) also makes some good radiators too if you want to go with a bolt-in radiator too. Be aware that you will have to do some modding on your case if you are mounting the radiator/waterpump/reservoir internally or externally on the case
Corey