WC Question

[faster3200]

That side panel should work fine, looks like a lot of air flow.

120 + a 120x2 would be very minimal, especially for 2 water cooled video cards. It is usually recommend for good performance that you have a 120x3 rad for your CPU alone. If you are going to go for a minimum WCing build you might as well go for high end air. It seems silly to spend so much money on a nice WCing system only to have it not work great because you skimped on the rads.

 

[Katamarino]

Hmm, a fair point. My problem is finding anywhere to put the damn rads 😀

Edit: Ohoho! This would fit rather nicely mounted on the side of a case, don't we think? It has apparently received great reviews. My one concern is that it says it's aluminium; would this cause trouble?

http://www.thecoolingshop.com/product_info.php/cPath/33_55/products_id/1779

 

[faster3200]

Alu = instant no go.

Your case is pretty big so I don't think you will have an issue fittings the rads. I have a 120x3 and a 120x2 rad in my case with plenty of space and my case isn't much bigger than yours. It just requires a bit of creativity .

You can always look at a rad box if you want. This will let you mount a rad to a 120mm fan on the outside of your case. I know Swiftech makes a popular one.

EDIT: Oh, I forgot to post this last time. Here is a flow rate estimator.

 

[Katamarino]

Is using a good quality coolant fluid with anticorrosive additives not sufficient to prevent the galvanic corrosion? There are an awful lot of watercooling parts using Alu...!

A bit of reading informs me that galvanic corrosion will not occur aslong as your coolant stays around pH 7.0 - 7.5. Thus, occasional pH checks and fluid changes mean that you can happily mix metals...

However, personal experience from other users to the contrary means more, if anyone has any!

 

[phreejak]

Galvanic corrosion isn't a near term issue but one that does develop over time. Remember that rig I mentioned where I cooled the mosfets? Well in that loop I had mosfet waterblocks that were aluminum and a NB waterblock that was copper. They've had been running together for almost 2 years and were fine.

In my TEC rig I had a 226watt TEC waterblock on my CPU (the newer Swiftech one) and a 226watt TEC waterblock on my CPU. They put out a tremendous amount of heat - much more than most any watercooled o'clocked CPU or GPU. For them I had a dedicated dual 120mm rad for each block and that performed fine for me.

How are you about mounting rads on the exterior of your computer? Do you prefer to keep them internally?

 

[Katamarino]

I'd be happy to mount one at the back (although space is limited it seems to me), or even one of those big passive ones on the side!

Hey, how about a lump of Zinc in the reservoir as a sacrificial anode? 😀

Oh, and the radiator in question is anodized; hence no galvanic corrosion. Thanks google!

A very helpful article was found HERE

 

[faster3200]

You can risk the alu if you want but I know there are quite a few people who have had issues with corrosion, even with anodized stuff since not everything is completely anodized (screws for example). Some people don't have any issues but they are more lucky than anything.

I disagree with what phreejak is talking about with the rads but I may be a bit more on the overkill side. My OCed CPU 100% load temps aren't even 20C above ambient.

 

[phreejak]

Hey, I don't mind anyone disagreeing with me it's all good. It is, after all, about personal experience and differing cooling philosophies. Besides, it gives someone different perspectives and that can only help.

Here's a picture of my rads now. Both are external (as you can see) in a "push-pull" configuration. One is dedicated to the CPU and the other to my GPU. The case is a Coolermaster Stacker 810-RC Silver that I have modded the &*#$#$ out of