On the budget water cooling

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miggtt699

miggtt699

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Aug 31, 2012
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I'm thinking of watercooling my X5650, and since I got scammed out of a H220 from swiftech, I decided that I'd stop being a scaredy cat and jump into the custom world of watercooling.

Now here's the deal, if you came here expecting EK waterblocks, triple alphacool radiators...

NOPE! Ebaybeh~

Here's the current list:

CPU Block: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CPU-Water-Cooling-Block-Copper-High-Performance-Liquid-Cooler-for-PC-Intel-W30-/281790778179?hash=item419c0a0b43

Radiator: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Computer-Radiator-Water-Cooling-Cooler-for-CPU-LED-Heatsink-240mm-Aluminum-New-/141456434412?hash=item20ef75e4ec

Pump + Reservoir: http://www.ebay.com/itm/500L-H-10W-DC-12V-Water-Cooling-DC-Pump-Tank-250ML-F-pc-CPU-CO2-Water-Cooled-/111241824048?hash=item19e6878730

Tubing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/XSPC-HighFlex-Water-Cooling-Tubing-Hose-16-11mm-ID-7-16-OD-5-8-White-/161684369941?hash=item25a523b215

Total cost: 98€

How will it fare? Do I need anything else? The hose clamps I will be getting them at like some hardware store or something, I'm not too sure as of yet.

Thinking of getting some of these and painting them black

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Yes I know the quality of these components are questionable.. What are your thoughts on these?

Please don't just yell "CHEAP CHINESE POO!!" without even taking a look, I understand that's really tempting but I needed more than just three words of advice! ^^
 
Solution
PsyKhiqZero
If you don't plan on expanding this to the GPU and perhaps the motherboard. It's a waste of time IMO. You can do just as well and get a pre-built AIO.

Personally I don't think you need those clamps. So long as the tubing and the barbs are a match a zip tie will do the job.
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"You get what you pay for" should be a concern when water and electronics are involved.

I would hookup (and run for a few days) the water rig outside of the computer to make sure that its not leaking before you apply it to your computer just to be safe, theres no knowing if those components were manufactured in a facility with any form of quality assurance. I highly doubt there is any form of warranty involved either, and if you fry your gear, you're on your own.

Other then that, best of luck!
 
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I'm thinking of applying silicone around the fittings, cpu block and pump, just a small amount for the piece of mind.

Would that help?
 
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If you don't plan on expanding this to the GPU and perhaps the motherboard. It's a waste of time IMO. You can do just as well and get a pre-built AIO.

Personally I don't think you need those clamps. So long as the tubing and the barbs are a match a zip tie will do the job.
 
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Solution
I would question whether or not those components are even engineered with an attempt to provide a good cooling delta, or if they were simply manufactured at the lowest cost to market with the words 'water cooling'. I could be wrong.

I do have a question about

and since I got scammed out of a H220 from swiftech
Click to expand...

What is the story behind this? I've done a lot of business with Swiftech over the last 14 years and have never had an issue.
 
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My first advice from looking over your list is forget it and get yourself a high quality air cooler!

Why?

The water block looks OK, like a cheap knockoff of an EK design but the base copper is thinner and it is supposedly Nickel plated, but is the Nickel plating good enough to get past all the past problems that were encountered regarding Nickel plating?

It has 3/8" fittings which do not fit the tubing you selected.

The Radiator is Aluminum and it's fittings look fused?

Not sure regarding whether the fittings are fused to the rad or not, but they do look to be Aluminum as well?

Aluminum and Nickel/Plated copper in a coolant loop do not play well together, so you'll need a coolant capable of supporting multi-metals in a loop.

You are going to waste the money because you still need cooling fans for the radiator and once it is all setup a high quality air cooler will out perform it.

 
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This is pretty concerning:

Specifications:
Block Dimension(mm): 50*50*14
Copper base dimension(mm): 50*50*3
Fitting thread: G1/4"; 4.5 mm male thread length
Supported tube: 9.5 mm(ID)*12.7 mm(OD) thin tube, or 10 mm(ID)*16 mm(OD) solid tube, or 8 mm(ID)*12 mm(OD) silicon tube
Outer Diameter of a fitting: 11 mm
Material:
Base: Copper, Nickel plated
Cover: Acrylic
Fitting: Brass
Compatibility: Intel 775, 115X, 1366, and LGA2011.

Package included:
High performance water cooling block: 1 piece
G3/8“(OD) fittings: 2 pieces
Mounting screws: 4 pieces
Click to expand...

Seems pretty contradictory.
 
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^ this

even a stout xspc raystorm is only going to allow you an extra 0.075v-ish vcore over a simple midrange dual 120mm air cooler. IRL that only amounts to a 0.2ghz higher overclock.... ofc you can push farther for sure and get into the 1.45+ vcore range, but its far less than ideal. chips that have been pushed like this wont last past the 10 year mark. obviously we dont care about 10 years later but an extra 8% performance for all that vcore, temps, stability testing, damage, etc... its just not worth it.

if you need water to make the rig look "clean" then there are much better options that will still allow a 4.5ghz overclock and be more than safe.

otherwise is all about pump reliability. the radiator can be crap but it will still wick away heat. the pump is like your power supply. if its crap and it desides to crap out on you in the worst way, poopoo crap caca goes sideways very fast.
 
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Much of the 'this vs. that' comparison arguments are based around basic/mediocre watercooling - which this loop would fit into. An actual well-planned loop can give you more head room, depending on what components are chosen.

This is one of the greatest benefits of watercooling - It looks good and if you build it correctly, it performs well. I watercool and I don't overclock - but I have in the past.

When it comes to overclocking and watercooling - one does not necessitate the need for the other.
 
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For my system I picked up a Deepcool Maelstrom 120K on sale for CDN$45, which is about 30 Euros.
Keeps my CPU under 60C while overclocked, haven't had any issues at all. All this custom stuff is overkill if you're only cooling the CPU and not video cards.
 
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1- That Deepcool closed loop cooler isn't any better than comparably priced air coolers.
2- Overkill has different meaning to different people. What is overkill to you is priority to me. It is a matter of personal opinion, so please don't try to make it seem as if there is a single point of view that encompasses all options.
 
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OP says he's on a budget, hence I shared a solution that costs less.
I also shared my personal experience with the cooler.

I'm sorry if I'm not up to your standards.
 
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It isn't about standards. There are some confusing concepts being tossed around in the thread, one of which is closed loop coolers. There is a common misunderstanding that they perform better than they actually do simply because they are liquid based. I am trying to clear up misconceptions and cost.
 
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