succumbed to water cooling

[saltynay]

Although I understand water cooling in theory I have no true knowledge of good parts or brands.

The plan is to internally mount the radiator by modding my current top panel and copying this;

That will then be cooled by my aluminium fan plan for the top panel setup like this;

Instead of the filter the radiator will be along the length under the meshx. There will be no fan guards so fingers beware! I may add grills at a later date when I order my planned Q9450 and 55nm gtx260. I have 2 fans spare after I do this so may put them onto the rad underneath but not close enough to block the other 5.25" bays

Parts
Pump:http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/cata...roducts_id=387
cpu block: http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/cata...oducts_id=1126
Radiator: http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/cata...roducts_id=932 <-- I need it to fit within the top 2 5.25 bays including space for the 25m thickness fans so limitted to 90mm
Reservoir:http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/cata...roducts_id=347
Tubing??
coolant: Distilled water with some biocide
Fan controller: Scythe Kaze Master Ace 5.25inch Fan Controller - Silver Mainly for other case fans not the watercooling loop
Meshx: http://www1.acryan.com/_meshx/meshxpanel.shtml

Works out to approx &#163;300
p.s. This won't just be to cool the cpu it will eventually include cooling a 55nm 260, Q9450 and possibly a dedicated 8800gts 640mb as physx. Not worth selling my 8800gts pair second hand money would be to low.

[saltynay]

Hello, watercooling gurus care to post a little

[Webby]

Okay nothing wrong with your selections I would probably go for this instead,

CPU - Swiftech GTZ, Dtek Fuzion V2, EK supreme, XSPC Delta V3 or Aquacomputer Cuplex HD
Pump - DDC3.2 with XSPC Res top
Radiator - Thermochill PA120.3, Feser Xchanger 360 or a Swiftech MCR320 (if you need it to be thinner)
Tubing - 7/16" tubing
Barbs - 1/2" Highflow barbs

I would check out ChilledPC (links included above) and Specialtech they tend to be where I get my stuff from.

Oh and for your rad put the mesh attached to the case then the fans followed by the rad or the rad and fans can be reversed if you prefer (pushing or pulling air through your rads will vary the performance a bit depending on the fans. The will be no point in putting the mesh between the fans and the rad.

With radiator choice, Thermochill and Feser for low speed quiet fans, Swiftech for any fan and only consider the Blackice GTX if you are going to use high speed fans (its what they are designed for).

Tubing as I say above if your going for barbs then 1/2" barbs with 7/16" tubing is a nice snug fit making leaks less likely and is easier to route as its a bit thinner outer diameter than half inch tubing. If you are going to use compression fittings then you will need the appropriate size tubing either 3/8" ID 1/2" OD or 1/2" ID 3/4" OD. Compression fittings are great if you are prepared to spend the extra.

CPU block wise all the ones I have listed are good performers the GTZ has a brilliant fixing mechanism so gets my vote (I have a Fuzion V2 which I'm very happy with).

Hope that helps any more questions ask away

[moogle]

Pretty much what Webby said

The Swiftech CPU block has the best mounting mechanism so I say stay with that. If you're getting a Thermochill get 3/8" to 1/4" BSP converters to fit your standard barbs on. Unless you want to use PFTE tape and those Thermochill barbs (long ones, hate em ). The thermochill is only 59mm thick so it'll fit.

[saltynay]

I want the res to be visible so think I will stick with the bay res.

I am very aesthetically orientated and will actually prioritise that over performance hence the fan/mesh combo (also why I am using aluminium fans when there cfm to db aren't great) to make it look shmexy, and hide the rad as its an ugly bugger.

Cost is no matter I am prepared to burn money over this, as I want it to last me a number of years and upgrades hence why its a tad excessive for just a gpu and cpu loop even though those components churn out a ton of heat. Wouldn't wider diameter fittings that compression fittings allow give less restriction on the flow giving a better loop?

I think I will find a different rad then I went with the blackice gtx as it has some raving reviews and sounded like a true performer the fans I am using only have 80cfm would that be sufficient to cool it? I may actually put some high cfm fans internally so one side will be the aluminium fans and the bottom as its hidden will be high cfm need to do some thunking

I shall stick with the gtz It looks great and performs great can't complain I think I am going to have to devote a cupboard for the boxes for the watercooling gear lol so I get decent second hand values.

The thermochill 120.3 was my original choice of rad but I didn't really want to use converters for the risk of leaks want a minimum amount of connections only if it gives a noticeable performance difference will I allow an extra connectors in.

I have posted this question on 5 forums and the answers don't even correlate I suppose thats the flaws with forums at the end of the day I have to make some decisions lol

[moogle]

If you don't want to get the Thermochill then get the Feser X-Changer then. Better at heat dissipation but the price is higher. It uses standard threads though, and I think the Thermochill is better looking.

[Webby]

The GTX is only a better performing rad with a high pressure high speed fan. By high pressure read 38mm thick (examples include Scythe Ultra Kaze) and by high speed 2000rpm and up.

See this review of the Feser exchanger 480 by Martin of martinsliquidlab (hosted by Skinnee now as Martin has stopped his testing and site will go down shortly) http://martin.skinneelabs.com/The-Fe...80-Review.html first thing to look at is the comparison in pressure drop as compared to the GTX 480 it is a big difference lower pressure drop means higher flowrates for the rest of the loop. The next graph of particular interest is where it compares the two rads and there dissipation against fan speed notice how the GTX only takes the lead when the 38mm 2000rpm fan is used.

Since you have said you are using 25mm fans and 80cfm I will assume they are probably less than 2000rpm you would be much better off performance wise with the Feser or Thermochill rads.

Talking of Thermochill rads you can get G3/8" bar fittings from EK which require no adapters (what I use on my PA160's) but if I was you I would get the Feser and some compression fittings.

As to your question about flow from fittings the compression fittings are basically a barb with a collar so they have the same (or at least similar, as each barb will be different) as standard barbs. My suggestion to use 7/16" tubing if you used normal barbs is because of the smaller outer diameter (5/8" rather than 3/4" for 1/2" ID) it is easier to route around the case and has practically no impact on performance. If you go for compression fittings then you can pick either 3/8" ID or 1/2" ID tubing both will be fine but for maximum performance the 1/2" will be better.

As for the bay res I'm personally not a fan they are shallow and so need to be topped up regularly to keep air from being pulled into the system. To get round this problem a duel bay res is better as it is deeper or you could consider an aquatube from Aquacomputer again duel bay but looks very cool. If you do get one though make sure it is the new delrin model rather than the old aluminium ones after all we don't want to be mixing metals!

[saltynay]

Ok I shall go with a feser or thermochill me thunks.
Can't go dual bay res as I have 2 optical drives and with the top 2 bays filled with rad and a fan contoller only have 3 left. Surely the loop is sealed and bled of air so how does air get in? What about having 2 reservoirs one on the pump and one in 5.25" drive bay. I am quite admant as although I want the rad and majority of the watercooling hidden, I do still want to show it off a bit. I really wanted an aqutube but was limited by my dual optical decision

[moogle]

Surely the loop is sealed and bled of air so how does air get in?

If you fill the res to the top, air might be trapped inside the loop and free itself as you run the pump. Then you'll get the pocket of air in the res. When the pump is pumping as fast as it is it creates a suction around the outlet hole of the res and when the res is not deep enough (I think what Webby was meaning to say or explain) the air bubble gets pushed near that outlet and sometimes bits of it get sucked back into the loop.

[Webby]

Moogle has it as well as that water evaporates through the tubing (it is slightly porous) so over time you lose some liquid in a loop with a vertical res like that on the xspc pump top this is not as issue as you can lose a lot of water before it becomes as issue with a bay res it can be a bit more of a problem.

I only really mentioned it so you were aware of the potential issues. Personally I wouldn't go for a bay res (well apart from maybe an aquatube but thats not really a bay res more a res which fits in a bay) but if the aestetics are more pleasing for you then go for it

As to having two reservoirs, yes you can but it would serve no point as you would still have the potential for the issues with a bay res.

Not sure what case you are using for exact dimensions but will the aquatube not fit at the end of the rad? Have the 2 optical drives at the bottom, then the aquatube with the fan controller at the top. It may fit you will have to have a good measure and see.

[saltynay]

Soz been away a while
I am using a lian li A71A
http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product...25&ss_index=61
Tbh I can't be arsed to open up the case with a tape measure way too much effort even though I had ought to clean the air filters (have to clean them twice a week as I live in such an old house dust appears instantly. The main dimensions are on the lian li site that I linked to and all should fit me thunks however I am unsure whether I will need to get the dremel out for the top optical bay casing.