Is water cooling worth it?

[soul23]

hi guys.im planning to get a water cooling kit for my rig.ive got Zalman CNPS9700-NT at the moment and want to get Thermaltake Big Water 760i .will this kit drop temperatures or is it not worth of money?

 

[Conumdrum]

Anything from TT is absolute crap.

I wouldn't think of going water unless you have close to $200, $300 if you plan to cool your GPU too.

Here are a few links. Th first one will set you straight about TT right away.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=209245

I'll steer you to some more technical links, please spend a few days (DAYS) reading posts, searching, learning. Don't forget to look for your case with WC. Google your case and the word watercool or some combination of that. WC stuff is larger than you think, I know from experience. WC setups done right are awesome and almost silent.

Great place, not wayyy over the top with uber WC guys.
http://www.ocforums.com/index.php
Uber place, owned by one of the worlds winning OC guys in the world. Not a place to post or ask questions by noobs, but an awesome place to learn.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/
Another good place to learn
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/
http://www.martinsliquidlab.com/ PLEASE READ A LOT HERE, will be closed in 30 days or so.

Great places to buy WC stuff
http://www.dangerden.com/index.php [...] e&Itemid=1
http://www.petrastechshop.com/
http://www.jab-tech.com/

 

[soul23]

thank you.ill read all this info first .
btw my case is zalman gt1000.

 

[Conumdrum]

First means days. It took me 3 months to learn and decide what to buy. Please don't rush, you need to learn about different rad charecteristics, fan properties, flow rates, pump head preaasure, proper liquid use, leak testing, maintenance etc etc.

And your case is your case, that's up to you. I don't bother helping with cases, each one is different, some have more modding skills than others.

 

[soul23]

ive mentioned case coz it only has 3 case fans and there is no more room for extra fans.so i was considering geting full watercooling kit like thermaltake big water760.but after reading all the post about it ,ive changed my mind. would zalman rezerator v1 help to cool my cpu and gpu?

 

[bert ho]

Zalman is a passive radiator with a thermal rating of around 130W so it will struggle to cope with a powerful setup - what are ur GPU and CPU and do you plan to overclock?

In my experience, although quiet the rezerator is no better than a good fan cooler like the Artic 7 freezer

 

[bert ho]

Zalman is a passive radiator with a thermal rating of around 130W so it will struggle to cope with a powerful setup - what are ur GPU and CPU and do you plan to overclock?

In my experience, although quiet the rezerator is no better than a good fan cooler like the Artic 7 freezer or your current CPU cooler

 

[soul23]

my cpu is q6600 @3.2Ghz
gpu is HIS 3870@820clock/1200 Mhz.
do u think Arctic 7 freezer would be better then Zalman 9700-nt ?

 

[bert ho]

It will be much of a muchness - for real improved performance I would suggest watercooling, but it is an expensive solution. Some people post reasonable results with kits, but it is much better to do some research and buy exactly what you need and install it yourself. (as most kits will do no more than a good air cooler)

If you are determined to get a kit go for something along the lines of the Swiftech H20-220

 

[soul23]

ty.ive had a look at Swiftech H20-220 cooling kit,but my problem is my case(zalman gt1000),ive got no where to fit radiator.

 

[bert ho]

Can you not mount a radiator on the back over the exhaust fan? You may have to drill a few holes...

 

[Conumdrum]

soul23. If you take the time and use all the places I gave you info, read the build logs, learn to use search fuctions etc you'll find plenty of examples on how to mount the WC gear.

You can't do it in a week if you know nothing about WC. Take your time. Learn.

 

[soul23]

thanks for advice Conumdrum.but ive been looking at upgrading my rig to WC for quit time now.and ive been reading all sorts of reviews and stuff like that.its just now ive started properly looking in to it.like you said ,ill be patient and learn how to do it proper and what is best WC setup for my rigs components.

 

[soul23]

ok.ive been looking around and put together some bits.the links are below.can u tell me plz if all that is good for start.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Swiftech-Apogee-GTZ-CPU-Block-LGA-775-3-8-and-1-2-Barbs-Inc
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/XSPC-750-Clear-Bay-Reservoir-and-Pump-Blue-LED-fits-into-x2-525-Bays
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/XSPC-RS240-Radiator-Black-(G1-4-Threaded-Ports)

 

[Conumdrum]

Good CPU block, one of the best. Weak pump. Okay rad.

MCP 355 with xspc res top is #1, MCP 655 is a great one too. You need to read reviews on it. More research!!! Kinda funny there are no solid user reviews on the one you selected... gives you a clue eh???

Rad, your lucky your UK. Thermochill makes the best, efficeint, quiet rads in the world. Very expensive in the US. Thermochill PA series.

Edit, not on your website you showed me. But they have the TFC Feser series, equal to PA, I have one on my closet ready for a new build.

 

[soul23]

cheers m8.ill have alook for pump you selected.reason ive choosen that pump that is space saving ,together with reservoir.here is the link for thermoshill RAD
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-009-FO&groupid=701&catid=193&subcat=1041&name=TFC%20Xchanger%20-%20Double%20Radiator%20240

 

[Conumdrum]

The MPC 355 is the manufactures name, made by Laing. They are rebadged by many companies.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/EK-EK-V2DDCTOP18W-Laing-DDC-Pump-12V-Ultra(18w)-Inc-Plexy-V2-X-Top

At your site. Very good flow rate and pressures.

Making it fit is secondary to quality parts. the most popular small res is the Swiftech Micro res V2, or EK makes some very nice ones.

You can find at least a few build logs on sites I gave ya with your case I'm sure. Won't be easy but you can.

 

[soul23]

ok .what you think about this kit?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-014-SW&groupid=701&catid=193&subcat=1038&name=Swiftech%20H2O-220%20Apex%20Ultra%20Watercooling%20Kit%20(Socket%20462/478/LGA775/754/939/940)

 

[bert ho]

Hi Soul - GTZ great CPU cooler (I have one), would get Laing Pump as above but with an OC labs or EK reservoir fitted and if you are just coolng GPU and CPU a PA120.2 would be perfect. EK also do good full card blocks for the GPU.

Tubing wise if you go for 3/8 Inner Diameter (ID) go with Tygon like this

http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?products_id=462

It's very good quality and doesn't kink on tight turns.

Barbs or compression fittings? Compression looks neater but is 'clunkier' and is also significantly more expensive.

NB for the PA120.2 rad you will need reducers G3/8 to G1/4 (thread size of fittings) as most threads now are G1/4

The posted kit is good, but fitting your own will be more satisfying and the components will be better and you should be able to achieve better OCing results

 

[soul23]

nice one Bert Ho.considering what you guys said im going to stick with my own WC setup.ill take my time thou,will do some more researching.if everything ok at work, im going to get all parts about february 2009.

 

[Conumdrum]

ok .what you think about this kit?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-014-SW&groupid=701&catid=193&subcat=1038&name=Swiftech%20H2O-220%20Apex%20Ultra%20Watercooling%20Kit%20(Socket%20462/478/LGA775/754/939/940)

Good basic beginning kit, bit outdated. That said, the pump is okay, the CPU block is an older one and won't work very well on a highly overclocked Quad. The rad is enough for a CPU, but no more, and probably not for an i7 CPU.

It's quality stuff, and a great foray into basic watercooling.

 

[soul23]

cheers Conumdrum.ive found even better and cheaper kit.check this out
http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=105&products_id=400
regards

 

[Conumdrum]

Now thats the ticket! Great everything but hose, clamps, liquid. I'd get it, the hose and clamps are good enough. Super rad, block, pump.

 

[soul23]

ty 4 fast reponce m8.will that be ok to cool CPU and 1 GPU?what hose and liquid would u recomend?

 

[Conumdrum]

That Q6600 and any GPU card except the 4870x2, and then still would be okay, CPU temps would suffer a bit, but not much. I run an E6600, NB, and GTX 280 on my PA 120.3, temps are very fine, even in summer.

1/2" ID 3/4 OD R3603 hose by Tygon is the standard. Kinks less. The XSPC tubing is pretty nice too, not been out a long time. Buy standard worm/screw/hoseclip clamps instead of those plastic ones, they are kinda cheap and not as good as worm clamps. Lined ones are neat, a bit more but okay.

Check to see all the barbs in that kit are metal. TC rads ship with crappy plastic ones, you would want G3/8 thread, 1/2 OD fittings. Only TC rads use G3/8, all the rest of the stuff is G1/4 threads.
http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/index.php?cPath=64_73

Liquid, best is distilled water, if your UK you can ask on a UK WC forums where to get it. In the US Walgreens has it on the shelf at $1 a gallon. Petras PT or PN Nuke, it's on that site. Cheap, effective, the small bottle will last through tons of redos etc, only need 1-2 drops each fill of the loop.

Look for Ian's silver killcoils too, it's a EU product, should find it somewhere. It's a piece of raw silver you put in the loop, the silver ions kill growth, like the copper ions in Petras stuff. But you only need PT Nuke OR the coils, not both.

You need no more than distilled water and a biocide. All the rest of the stuff is for poorly made loops and retail marketing hype. And stay away from dyes/additives etc. UV or colored tubing if you want color/UV glow.

Good thread: Awesome forums, wayy hardcore, great info here.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=211300