Watercooling virgin needs help!

OK I am researching going the water route, and there seems to be a lot of choices to make, on performance possibilities and costs!

I have done a little research, and whilst it may be easy to just get someone to "spec me" I like to know a little of "why"

pumps....
the highest performance pump I have found is the Alphacool AP1510 with 1500L/Hr and a head of 6M but I find little mention of it in other people's specs. Is there a reason for this?

Rads...
Is there a lot of performance difference between the Alphacool "Extreme" rads & the Thermochill equivalent, as most people seem to go for the Thermochil, but it is nearly twice the price!

Tubing...
8mmID or 1/2"? If I was using the above pump, would I be too worried about the improvement between them?

If I use a "T" line installation can I put a small reservoir (Dangerden) at the top of this. Is this the best option?

Apart from tidyness, what is the benefit to the rad being inside? I had planned to have the rad hung off the back of the case. Also does it make a difference which way up the rad is? i.e. if I had the inlet/outlet barbs at the bottom?

Well thats all my questions for the moment, but I am sure there will be more!

Alphacool DDC 18w with petras top.

Thermochill PA series rad - without doubt, the finest radiators available, and the reason being, you can use them with low cfm/rpm fans and still get excellent performance.

Use 1/2" tubing for the best performance with the above stuff.

You dont need a reservoir with a t-line.

No benefit to the rad being inside.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Clunk

Alphacool DDC 18w with petras top.

Thermochill PA series rad - without doubt, the finest radiators available, and the reason being, you can use them with low cfm/rpm fans and still get excellent performance.

Use 1/2" tubing for the best performance with the above stuff.

You dont need a reservoir with a t-line.

No benefit to the rad being inside.

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Thanks Clunk for the quick reply. Please dont think I am argueing with you, just interested to learn, what makes the DDC pump better? On the figgures I have seen the 1510 has better delivery figgures

Aha! I see that you have specified 18W and I note that where I have been looking for specs doesn't quote wattage! so maybe I am not comparing like for like!

Can you suggest anywhere for me to go (yes I knoew its probably tempting!) to better check specs? perhaps a more "watercooling" dedicated forum or supplier?

All I did was put together some bits that work well together.

In all honesty, the DDC 18w pump with petras top is powerful enough for pretty much any PC watercooling system, unless you start adding a silly amount of rads.

Specs of the pump I mentioned here.

No Idea about the Alphacool one, havent used it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by windog

Thanks Clunk for the quick reply. Please dont think I am argueing with you, just interested to learn, what makes the DDC pump better?

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It's dead silent operation for one! :)

T-Lines are fine as long as they are long enough to hold a good water reserve. You can add a DangerDen fillport reservoir which will hold water if you don't have the room for a long enough t-line.

I would recommend 7/16th tubing (obviously, very close to 1/2" (8/16th) as it gives the exact same performance but it creates a much better seal. I run 7/16ths and I pull my reservoir into all kinds of positions to aid bleeding and the tubing didn't move a hairs width off the barbs - that was even without clamps.

T-lines take longer to bleed though than a good reservoir. Best reservoir that exists is without a doubt the Swiftech MC-Res Micro.

ChilledPC is one of the best places to get your watercooling gear. I think you can easily max out £150.00 depending on what blocks you buy and you will get free posting. Customer service is outstanding.

I'd go with Over-clock UK myself, as I buy most of my watercooling gear from them and they never let me down.

I found customer service and prices at watercoolingshop.com really good. Take a look
Also, have a look at bay reservoirs - the XSPC one is what I recently used in my 1st W/Cing effort and it was easy as pie

Which 7/16 tubing are you using mekerz? I tried the 7/16 masterkleer both thicknesses, and they do indeed seal without clips, but if you do manage to loosen it by moving something, you have to retube it or it doesnt seal, thats why I went back to the 1/2" ID stuff.

The other reason I changed back to 1/2" was that if I bent the tubing round an edge, the tubing would start to kink quite easily, and the 1/2" tubing didnt do this, so I suppose it is horses for courses and all that :)

Next question...

I was looking at the PA120.2 rad but notice there is a PA160...based on a single 120mm module. Looking at it it is thicker but obviously shorter! any performance comparisons?

I used Masterkleer, but I suppose it depends on the barbs. DangerDen Hi Flow 1/2" ID were what I used.

I find 1/2" you have to squish the clamp down to get a good seal, and because the ID of the tubing is actually bigger than that of the ID of the barb (by quite a bit too) then bending to connect to another barb sometimes means the wall of the tubing bends over the lip of the barb.

for PA120.2, PA160.1 - Check out the Thermochill home pages for performance graphs. Roughly speaking, look at heat dissipated with each fan they test.

I personally wouldn't touch another Bay res, but my experience was with DangerDen. Their bay res's are prone to leaking, and it's impossible due to the thread section of the cap to let all air out, and they slosh like mad. If your pump is near by and you have a short piece of tubing from res->pump it will suck air back into the loop.

XSPC is different, they have a piece of acrylic to held in bleeding and they also have brassed threaded inserts. Problem is though, there are reports of the glue which holds together bay reservoirs breaking down due to different additives. One being a type of corosion inhibitor.

Edit: http://www.thermochill.com/PATesting/index.php#PA1202

The PA120.2 with a 7v fan at 1.5GPM (which roughly speaking is the flow rate you would be looking at) get rid of just under 250 watts of heat and beats the PA160.1.

Thanks, if my little brain took enough of that info in the 120.2 is far better (which is what I expected, but its nice to know !)


You beat me to it!