External Water Cooling?

[Jie]

Greetings all,

Can any reccomend or direct me to some good reviews on external water cooling kits? I'm in the process of putting together a new rig and don't want to have to modify the case at all. The case is going to be a Lian Li V2000b Plus II.

Thansk for the help!

 

[Doughbuy]

You might want to try www.systemcooling.com for some of their reviews.

But basically with watercooling, I'll say that the Koolance Exos is the best out there right now, although it costs a good $300.

The Nautilus 500 is a decent little watercooling solution, although its barely better than the best HSF combo's out there.

Thermaltake also has some silent external watercooling kits for HTPC and silent computers with passive radiators if thats what you want.

There are many external kits out there, see what's best for you. BUT I highly recommend getting a regular kit and installing it yourself. Usually offers better cooling performance, and I would say it looks better too.

I would recommend the Swiftech H20-220 Apex Ultra for internal kit.

 

[chuckshissle]

There's couple of water cooling components and kits in www.newegg.com and some wide selection in www.frozencpu.com.

 

[majoravatar]

I'm sorry you chose the b version. Silver is so much nicer!

The Koolance Exos 2 is the way to go. The radiator, pump, and reservoir are all in one box, so setup is a breeze. All you have to do is attach the necessary block(s) and run the lines (which you would have to do with any system). The price is a bit steep, but if you're serious, this is the way to go. There is a mod available where a case mod is necessary, but you don't have to go that route. Also, the fans run quiet and the kit comes with everything you need except the blocks.

Hope it helps...

 

[Doughbuy]

You might also want to get a case with pre-drilled holes, like the TT shark or the Gigabyte Aurora. Looks a lot nicer when your not running cables through open PCI brackets. But if you already have that case or have your heart set on it, then you can run tubes through PCI brackets...

 

[Jie]

I have yet to purchase the Black Lian Li V2000. I just thought the black looked kinda sexy lol. I have a Silver v1000 currently...wanted to change things up a bit.

I guess another question I can ask is this:

Wow!! I've just stumbled upon a Koolance Exos 2 combined with a Lian Li V2000B case. Found it on Perfomance-Pcs.com.
Koolance PC4-1025BK (Lian Li V-1000B) - can anyone reccomend this? Looks stunning and easy! I noticed it takes up a PCI slot. Not sure what mobo I will pick yet, but I would like to squeeze a sound card in if possible.

Are there any other case/water cooling prebuilut systems out there besides the Koolance that anyone can reccomend?

Thanks again for the replies. These forumz rock!!!

 

[majoravatar]

I think you're a little confused. The Koolance PC4-1035BK is a Lian Li V1000, not V2000. Also, while the Exos 2 dissipates 700W of heat, this little monster dissipates 1000W of heat. According to the stuff I've read about both, the 1000W PC4 version is somewhat louder (if that's a concern of yours). I wouldn't bother with this system unless you have lots of components to cool (multiple hard drives, multiple GPUs, a very hot CPU, etc.). The PC3 is the equivalent of the EXOS 2, and can be found modded into some Lian Li cases as well. This is what I own, and it is really quite remarkable. It doesn't eat up any PCI slots because it's modded into the top of the case and the tubes run straight down. Here's where I got mine:

http://store.pcpowerzone.com/

The exact model is the Koolance PC3-736BK (if you still want black). This site is nice because you can easily see what water blocks to get for your particular setup. If you were mistaken and want a V1000, then they have those at this site as well.

Hope it helps...

 

[Jie]

I think you're a little confused. The Koolance PC4-1035BK is a Lian Li V1000, not V2000. Also, while the Exos 2 dissipates 700W of heat, this little monster dissipates 1000W of heat. According to the stuff I've read about both, the 1000W PC4 version is somewhat louder (if that's a concern of yours). I wouldn't bother with this system unless you have lots of components to cool (multiple hard drives, multiple GPUs, a very hot CPU, etc.). The PC3 is the equivalent of the EXOS 2, and can be found modded into some Lian Li cases as well. This is what I own, and it is really quite remarkable. It doesn't eat up any PCI slots because it's modded into the top of the case and the tubes run straight down. Here's where I got mine:

http://store.pcpowerzone.com/

The exact model is the Koolance PC3-736BK (if you still want black). This site is nice because you can easily see what water blocks to get for your particular setup. If you were mistaken and want a V1000, then they have those at this site as well.

Hope it helps...

This most certainly helps! Thank you very much. I'm leaning a bit towards the PC3-726BK (the extended Lian Li case). The server case is a bit excessive for my needs. Thanks also for pointing out that I most likely do not need the PC4. I will only be cooling =, hopefully, a Core Duo 2 extreme and 2 SLI configured video cards. I dont think cooling the Hard Drives and Chipset will be needed. Do 10,000 RPM HDs get really hot? Will a 120mm fan blowing directly on 2 in a Raid ) config keep them cool enough?

Thanks again 😉.

 

[majoravatar]

Considering the case, I doubt you would need water cooling on your HDs (Raptor's I suppose?). They do generate more heat than 7200 RPM HDs in general. You should read Tom's Hard Drive roundup for more info. My general recommendation would be to get whatever cooling solution you choose first, then determine whether you think you need HD coolers.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/09/27/round/page35.html

Also, I assume Raid ) means Raid 0? 😀 Two Raptors in Raid 0 will be faster than a single raptor, but not much. If you really need the space, I would get a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (which is still extremely fast) for storage, and put your speed intensive data (OS, games, etc.) on your Raptor.

 

[Jie]

Once again thank you. Yes ")" did mean 0 lol. Stupid caps.

I had not yet read THGs review of the WD Raptor. I'm sold. 1 is perfect for me and after researching my liquid cooling options, the cost of my system is slowly dropping.

If the Pc3-736BK does'nt take up a PCI slot, I'm assuming the PC3-726BK does not as well? The dimension in that area of the case looks exactly the same.

 

[majoravatar]

Concerning your last question:

I don't think that that case (or any case in this series) uses a PCI slot, but I'm not absolutely sure. If it's a deal-breaker, you may want to contact whoever you order from. There is a picture on PCPowerZone that seems to show the tubing coming from the top of the case.

 

[waylander]

For that V1000, www.frozencpu.com has them premodded with the watercooling.

http://www.frozencpu.com/cas-313.html