Watercooling Help

a_zidane

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Dec 3, 2008
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Hi. I am 100% new to water cooling and I read the Introduction To Water Cooling in the forum, but there are still a few things I do not understand. When I was looking around for parts, I came across a few terms that I didn't know:

-Barbs
-Nozzles
-Fittings
-Fillports

Also, when I look at the sizes for some things, I get confused. For example:

Swiftech APOGEE GTZ LGA775 CPU Water Block G1/4 Chrome HI-FLOW 1/2IN Barb Fittings

What is G 1/4 (I see it pretty often)? What I know so far is that I should get:

-pump
-reservoir
-radiator
-cpu waterblock
-gpu waterblock
-tubing

Now I just need to know how the barbs/nozzles/fittings/fillports are related to everything else, and I can finally buy everything I need. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 
g1/4 is the thread type, this means that if you buy a g1/4 barb then it will fit into any g1/4 hole eg waterblock rad etc. then you have to decide upon the tubeing size id always buy 1/2"internal diamater then yo also buy g1/4 1/2" barbs for all the things that connect to the tubes.
 
1) Every piece of the water gear requires barbs, make certain they are all the same. (G1/4 is a standard/usual fitting) So you need barbs for Res, Rad, Cpu and GPU blocks… pumps already have one built in.

2) ID -means inside diameter, go with 7/16 or ½ inch ID tubing…

3) OD -means Outside diameter.. So you will want barbs with 7/16 or ½ inch OD to match the tubing.

4) Keep all the metals the same!!! If you have copper blocks, get everything copper!!

5) You don’t have to use a Reservoir; you can use a T line in its place. The Reservoir is easier for filling the system.

6) A Fillport would be the place you fill the system, so @ the top of a “T” line, a Reservoir would not need a fillport… but you could if you wanted to get fancy.

7) DO MEGA READING…. But the time you complete the system, you will know Mega about water-cooling.

8) Don’t be cheap… Get quality parts, especially the water blocks, Radiator and Pump.

9) Use fesser one cooling liquid… it’s just easier then adding bio and color, its just ready to go.


***edit***
Made a correction.
 
LOL Feser One, you gotta be kidding. Marketings guys love you, real watercoolers do it for $1.25 for liquid, not $25+.

Not all pumps have barbs built in. Be careful on choices. G1/4 is the thread pattern to screw into the part, not the actual hose fitting side. G1/4 is the WC standard now, except on Thermochill rads (G3/8), a great rad if you got $$.

All quality parts are copper, nickle, chrome, or brass. No worries, not any mixing of metals. Nice if they mentioned that aluminum parts is what you ned to stay away from, but no worries if you stick to quality stuff.

You want 1/2 ID or 7/16 ID and a thick outside wall otherwise kinking can be a problem.

Here is a mismash of info. Many good sites to learn. Back to school, but worth it.

Take your time, took me a few months before I went water.
.......................................
CPU HS $65
GPU HS and air HS for vram and mosfets $95
Full cover GPU block $120+
Radiator $60 min, up to $130
Pump $60-$100
Resiviour $25 and up (fill port/tline is cheaper, less cool)
Hose, some barbs and clamps etc (min $25, more like $35) on the cheap side, quality tubing alone is $25+.

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 this site 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.

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 inside he case 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 15lbs 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.

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.skinneelabs.com/MartinsLiquidLab/
http://www.over-clock.com/ivb/inde [...] opic=20277 A GREAT Europe site
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/
http://translate.google.com/transl [...] n&ie=UTF-8 Info on rad testing
http://skinneelabs.com/
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=282232 MUST MUST MUST READ!!!!!!!!
Stores
http://www.dangerden.com/index.php [...] e&Itemid=1
http://www.petrastechshop.com/
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/
http://www.jab-tech.com/
 
So are barbs and nozzles the same thing? And is it ok to mix metals (have different metals in different waterblocks)? Thanks.
 
Barbs are nozzles I guess. We call them barbs. Barbs you screw into something. Nozzles are something special you stick into a CPU block for diif flow patterns, kinda almost old school (don't worry about these for a few weeks till you read a LOT). Barbs is what you connect the tubing to.

NO don't mix aluminum with copper.

Once you learn about what I mean no mixing. Copper/brass are very close on the periodic table. No worry about ion differeneces. Nickle/brass/chrome/copper are just fine. Stay away from any alum in any loop.

Read the links. CYA in a few weeks.
 
Conumdrum I understand distilled water and some Bio works just fine…

Fesser one is just easy… it comes colored and includes the required BIO… just keep the unit filled. I will never use distilled water again, it’s just more hassle.
 
I understand. But give them options, teach them.

Distilled is a hassle? Fill the loop, add two drops of biocide into the res. Easier than putting five lego blocks together correctly 9 out of 10 times.
 
Nozzles generally suggest an insert to a block (like CPU) that direct the water jets to specific places over the block to aid in cooling. They would sit inside or underneath where the barbs would connect to direct water flow.
 

I do agree, I should have informed that Distilled water, Bio and a coloring agent works as well as any other fluid. I don’t like the distilled water method, personal preference I guess.

On day 1 when you fill the unit I certainly believe it be easy to determine how much bio to add… What about 3 months later when you add 3OZ of water? Then you need to determine the bio ratio. I know this is not rocket science; it is basic math, a monkey could do with a calculator in 10 seconds.

I guess I am a monkey; I prefer to use Fesser One as it is already colored, glows under black lights and contains the required Bio. When you need to fill the system you just poor it in…Personal Preference only.
 
Ok, so I have read a lot of forums on water cooling, but no one really explains barbs/nozzles very well. Ok so I understand barbs get screwed into the water blocks, and that the tubes go on the barbs... but then what is the point of nozzles? I've done a bit of online "window" shopping, and have an idea of all the parts I would like to buy... the only thing I need to figure out is if I need nozzles, and which ones. Thanks again for all of your help everyone 😀
 

this is a good answer to your Nozzle question a_zidane.

You don’t need Nozzles; you might lose 1 degree... They are an accessory. Remember the water itself doesn’t cool anything, the Radiator does the cooling, and the water transports the heat to the RAD.
 
We can just give you a list of goodies and then you/we can debate it...

What is your budget and your computer components?
Where do you plan to buy the components from? canada,USA,Internet,Local?

 
A nozzle is a tiny piece you stick into the internals of a CPU block. You have to drain your loop, be careful to not get water on anything. Physically unscrew the top of the block taking great care not to damage the main o-ring. You insert the recommended nozzle. You refill the loop and hours later after the loop is filled and bled you run a test. If your not happy your try another more/less restrictive nozzle in the CPU block and repeat till you have the best temps your rig can deliver in artificial load conditions (which matter somewhat, really).

Thats the diff between a nozzle and a barb, which screws into the exterior on the WC part. BTW, Fatboys/Bitspower are one of the top makers now for barbs.
 
I tried the dual/quad nozzle for my D-tek and then without...it made no difference in temps on my Q6600. If anything, it looks to decrease your flow rate as the nozzles are really pretty small compared to the nozzles that are installed with the block from factory. I opted for higher flow rate and same temps.
 



Hi, budget isn't too strict I guess, but I would like to get the best bang for the buck. I am planning on buying my components in Canada, simply because of excessive brokerage fees. I was thinking of buying the following parts so far:

- Swiftech MCR320 Quiet Power Triple 120MM Water Cooling Radiator Black G1/4 Threaded
- Swiftech MCP355 High Performance 12V Industrial Water Cooling Pump 3/8IN Barbs
- XSPC Laing DDC Reservoir Top for DDC or MCP350 or MCP355 Water Cooling Pump G1/4
- Swiftech APOGEE GTZ LGA775 CPU Water Block G1/4 Chrome HI-FLOW 1/2IN Barb Fittings
- Koolance VID-487x2 (x2 for crossfire setup) with EK brass plugs

Thanks!
 


Thanks for the explanation, it makes sense to me now :) I was under the impression a nozzle was something that also screwed into the exterior :S