Need help picking the type of cooling I should get

pking84

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I am in the middle of putting a new system together. The specs are as followed:

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core ( plan on overclocking to the most proformance I can achive ) The CPU fan I bought was COOLER MASTER Hyper N 520

MainBoard: ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58

Memory: OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

Graphics: EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition x2 ( SLI )

Hard Drives WD 74gb 10,000RPM raptors x2 (Raid 0) - WD 1TB cavier black (storage)

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower

Power Supply: CORSAIR 1000W SLI Ready 80 PLUS

Im thinking the aftermarket cpu fan I bought prob won't cut it? Should I just fork out some extra cash and get Liquid cooling and cool the cpu? should I cool anything else? Im not sure Hince why I figured id ask. Sorry for the grammer.. bad.

Also this is the liquid cooling system I plan to get if I do end up buying one.
Liquid Cooling: Thermaltake Bigwater 780e - will this handle it?

I plan to upgrade to a SSD as soon as they lower in price a bit. Anything think thats a bad idea? I herd vista 64bit has some error issues with SSD drives. Also should I even bother getting (2) SSD and raid 0'ing them? Any help with any of this will be much help and thanks in advance.




 

Conumdrum

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Please don't buy a TT watercooling system. They are basic, not able to handle a hot CPU. They are considered the devil in real watercooling forums. Crap, breaks, underperforming. Mixed metal corrosion. CPU blocks cracking and ruining a Mobo etc etc etc.

If your planning to WC the CPU and GPU (just one) your looking at +$300 easy.

Here ya go, read up.................. My standard cut n paste wander. The links towards the bottom with guides are the best bet, but read.

Us guys have done the WC thing, there are basics you gotta know. Take a look, don't take it as a diss on you or a rebuttal, look at as a friend saying "Dude, you gotta know what to say and how to communicate".
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CPU HS $65
GPU HS and air HS for vram and mosfets $95, full cover block, $100-$200
Radiator $60 min, up to $130
Pump $65 +
Resiviour $25
Hose, some barbs and clamps etc (min $25, more like $35)
Fans $15-30

I went top notch and spent close to $600 to cool my CPU and GPU.
First you gotta learn about WC. It's not like walking into Best Buy.
Spend a while (weeks is best for your sanity) at these links.
Look at the hundreds of loops close to your case and components in the stickies, read a couple 50 or so threads over the next week or so, you'll be on the ball to make the right choices and by then know how to put it together.
Not 'Roket Sience', but basic knowledge is required.
And you should spend a few hours on the listed sites reading threads. It's how we learn. Once the goodies show up on your doorstep your on your own.
For your benefit please spend a few days reading a LOT. At the busiest places for WC masters. Guys who have done it for YEARS at OC Forums and xtreme forums. It took me a while (I was OCing on air, aftermarket stuff, bios settings, best chipsets etc etc) to learn the language and the tricks to a easy install.

Don't expect miracles or SUPER DOOPER over clocks. What you will get is a quiet system that can handle OC to the max of your hardware IF you buy quality and buy smart. And minor maintenance too, a bonus for the water cooler.

Also while there please read on case mods etc. The radiators are not for small cases, pumps and hose routing, wire management and other things are important. Google your planned case and the word water-cooled in one line. You might get lucky. Look here too…. http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=223835
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Edit: The next paragraph was from 2008. With the advent of the HOT i7 and bigger GPU's, it has changed. A 220 size MIN rad for an i7, you want big overclocks, better go 320 sized rad.
................................

IF you just cool your CPU and your NB if you want, you can get by with a 120.2 sized radiator (RAD). And MAYBE fit in inside depending on your mod skillz. You want to cool your GPU too, you'll need a 120.3 sized rad, and it probably won't fit inside. The rear external rad really works great. No matter what your adding 10lbs to your PC.

Once you got an idea of what is good/bad then start getting your system for WC put together and we'll be glad to help.
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Here is the poop on solid info on air/water temps. The link is to an MCR320.
http://martin.skinneelabs.com/Swifte...20-Review.html
Scroll half way down and you can see the in/out air diff on the chart. It depends, like I said on fannage what the out air temp vs. the in temp is.

You can also see the water in/out is very close in temps. No more than 1.5 C. Amazing eh? I thought so too once I deciphered the charts.

So if you put a second rad with good airflow, you still get good results. Fannage needs to be higher to compensate for the increased air restriction. Meaning double fans on the rad setup, but it's a viable solution.

Equilibrium (tough word) means with a set heat load (idle/load) after an amount of time temps in a WC loop will stabilize. The heat load is the same, ambient air is the same, fannage is the same, pumps are the same, size of rads are the same, temps will stabilize for those conditions. Any of these parameters change, it has to stabilize.
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Cleaning a loop, not a new loop: I do this once a year, I drain and refill at 6 months, the next time I do this……
Wash hands very well, getting rid of hand oils.
For pumps and blocks, fittings, clamps, acrylic res/block parts.... not hose, tear it to smallest pieces, put in a bowl, heat water up not to boiling add 10% vinegar, when hot, pour over parts. Rinse in 10 min or so. Put aside.
The bocks will probably have some black oxidation. Take the copper parts out of the pile of parts you took out of the water. Dry well and pour ketchup on them, and set aside. Only the copper parts need this.
Rad cleaning: fill with very almost boiling hot water. Let sit 10 minutes, drain half out and shake for 5 min. Repeat till liquid is clean.
All the pump, block, fittings, and clamps, inspect, get in the tiniest corners with a tooth brush. Kind of meditative, time consuming, you learn a lot about o-ring size, how it all feels. Run a rag using a caat hanger and dish soap through the tubing, rinse well.
Rinse all the parts and hose with distilled, dry then really dry with an air compressor (nice extra step to get rid of water spots). Don’t need to dry the inside of the hose.
Now on to the copper parts, they should have been soaking an hour or two. A toothbrush and ketchup should clean much of the oxidation. It probably won’t be like new, but pretty darn good. Rinse, dry, and blow the parts.
That’s it.
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Benching software and such is very varied. I use these for each purpose:
These are pretty standard and used by many.
Monitoring the PC temps overall: HWmonitor aka hardware monitor
CPUZ for CPU info
GPUZ for GPU info
CPU only: RealTemp
GPU only: ATI Tool, I have a Nivida GTX280, so it works on Nvidia

Loading/benching tools:
CPU loaders: Prime95 and OCCT
GPU Loaders: ATI Tool and the best one is Furmark, nothing pushes the GPU harder right now.
Benching for overall graphics/gaming performance is 3DMark06
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Guides
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=282232 Pretty up to date info and buying guide
http://gilgameshreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75:hokiealumnus&catid=40:eek:verclocking-and-cooling&Itemid=86 Another good guide
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=312743 What to do once all the stuff is in the door
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=223835 Many build logs on MANY cases, great learning tool.

My latest rig:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=604016

Forums
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/index.php? Not a noob site, but great stickies
http://www.ocforums.com/ My fav, good peeps, know their stuff, less hardcore
http://www.over-clock.com/ivb/inde [...] opic=20277 A GREAT Europe site
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/ Decent site

Tests on equipment, not reviews, truly scientific tests
http://translate.google.com/transl [...] n&ie=UTF-8 Info on rad testing
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=220593 More rad testing
http://skinneelabs.com/ Host for Martins lab and some newer tests
http://www.skinneelabs.com/MartinsLiquidLab/ Test results, very technical


Stores
http://www.dangerden.com
http://www.petrastechshop.com/
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/
http://www.jab-tech.com/
http://www.performance-pcs.com

 

pking84

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Thanks thats seems to be the general responce that TT wc is a bad product. Think I can pull good proformance on just the air cooling and if so can anyone suggest a good heatsink/fan for the core i7 920 ?? thanks
 

rubix_1011

Contributing Writer
Moderator
I personally don't keep up with air coolers...I know there are a couple links floating around somewhere that have the top 5-10 air coolers. Since I only WC, that's about all I really follow ATM.

Depending on your budget, if you are wanting something for less than $200 (either WC or otherwise) you should stick to air cooling.
 

Conumdrum

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Look at this site. If you just want a great, super proven no questions asked, buy a TRUE from Thermalright. Still one of the top ones out there.

http://www.frostytech.com/
 
My recommendation for i7: A XIGMATEK S1283 (with the correct bolt in kit) and a good high CFM fan if you find the stock fan not up to the OC you plan to do.

Like said above TT is cr@p. The only kit worth buying is the Swiftech Apex. See: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8411/ex-wat-140/Swiftech_H20-220_Apex_Ultima_Liquid_Cooling_Kit_Universal_Mount_LGA_1366_Included.html
The rad and the res are lacking, but if you want a kit, that the only kit you should get. Comes with a GTZ and a very good pump. You will need to get a bigger rad (and a res) for an i7.
 

pking84

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That swiftech WC unit I have seen in countless Cooler master HAf 932's like mine, I did not know what type it was. Thanks for that link Im gonna look in to that unit for 300 or so that is not bad. From the looks of it I could mount that unit on the very top of the case. Insted of the 230mm fan it has i can replace with the rad. But you think that rad is too small for the i7? or will it do the job. BTW thanks for the link to the air coolers im gonna get one to pass the time while shopping around for a wc unit.