Building water cooling kit, fill in my blanks

[Stephen C]

First time step into water cooling, can't find an entire kit that caters for all my needs.

I'm looking for..

Pump -
Reservoir - Thermotube 6"
CPU Block (S478) -
VGA Block (6800 Ultra) -
Radiator (Not sure if I need a double or single) -
Fittings etc -

Preferably fittings for 1/2" tubing.

Anyone able to help me fill in the blanks? Idealy I'd like to spend under £175

[aidanjt]

Take your pick. Ready made kits are good in most cases, especially with water newbies.

[Stephen C]

Can you find a ready made kit that comprises of 1/2" tube fittings, seperate pump, reservoir, s478 cpu block and a vga block with fittings for a 6800.. as I can't anywhere :\

[Clunk]

pump - swiftech/dangerden/laing d5
cpu block - not sure on the 478 fittings, but unless you are taking the IHS off your cpu, theres not going to be too much difference between all the main contenders (DD, storm, Aquaxtreme etc)
gpu block - danger den maze 4 + zalman ramsinks
rad - have a look at the thermochill PA series, great with low rpm fans.
res - avoid the thermotube, they slosh around and get quite annoying (and iirc they are made of aluminium). i would dump the res and use a t-line.

[Stephen C]

Is it possible to get a kit with 1/2" push fittings?


If there's anyone that knows a massive load about w/c cooling could they please pm me so we can chat, really stuck here

Cheers

[fat jez]

Can anybody recommend a good supplier of pumps with prefitted barbs? I ordered an Eheim 1250 from Coolercases, which arrived with a cracked cover over the power supply, a broken impellor shaft and leaked badly. I've requested an RMA, but I'm not holding my breath.

Since the OP was asking about pumps, I thought this would be a good place to pose my question. I notice the OP didn't specify whether he wanted 0.5" ID or OD. In my case, I'm after 0.5" OD.

So where do you guys buy your pumps from?

Cheers,
Stephen

[Dark Horse]

www.over-clock.co.uk/ were pretty good for me, as were www.overclock.co.uk

Names are very similar, both are far better than www.overclockers.co.uk

[fat jez]

www.over-clock.co.uk/ were pretty good for me, as were www.overclock.co.uk

Thanks! I've used overclock.co.uk before, but they don't have much in stock. I was trying to remember the name of the other one

Cheers,
Stephen

[Veles]

Idealy you would want a 2x120mm radiator for good cooling if you can fit it.

Also, asetek waterchill things are great for begginners but are a bit lacking in performance.

Try checking out www.kustompcs.co.uk 's watercooling section, they got alot of aquacomputer stuff, it's not cheap buts it's really cool.

[fat jez]

Try checking out www.kustompcs.co.uk 's watercooling section, they got alot of aquacomputer stuff, it's not cheap buts it's really cool.

The only thing about the Aquacomputer stuff is that the OD is only 8mm, so the flow rate is low. If it weren't for that, I would happily be using it.

Cheers,
Stephen

[johnny02004976]

www.componentsuk.co.uk is a good site for watercooling stuff

[Bourne]

Does anyone have links to a site with a comprehensive guide to "Start Watercooling" ......

[aidanjt]

I still don't know why they mostly use inch(es) while measuring tubing, it has no abiturey precission worth speaking of.. don't be worried about which size push fittings the kits use, kits with 10mm tubing allows for ample coolant flow rate. You buy the push fittings to fit the kit, not the other way around

[Butcher]

Since the OP was asking about pumps, I thought this would be a good place to pose my question. I notice the OP didn't specify whether he wanted 0.5" ID or OD. In my case, I'm after 0.5" OD.

What ID are you after?
OD is not a good measurement since you can have different wall thickness of tubing. The ID defines the flow and what fittings you need so it's the more useful measurement.

Personally I use 7/16" ID, 5/8" Od tubing, which is lovely stuff. Similar performance to 1/2" when used with 1/2" gear, but easier to route and less bulky.

[Butcher]

I still don't know why they mostly use inch(es) while measuring tubing, it has no abiturey precission worth speaking of..

Inches are no better or worse than mm for precision.

[fat jez]

What ID are you after?

3/8"

I might try and stick with my Eheim pump, since coolercases are not responding to emails. I reckon I might be able to glue the impellor shaft (it's broken in two, but I reckon it should be glueable, since the forces are rotational, and not putting strain on the glued joint) and that the leaks are down to me not using PTFE on the screw in barbs, which I will try tonight.

Cheers,
Stephen