Differences between 3/8" and 1/2 ID water setups?

[srvblues00]

I am thinking about going to a water cooled CPU setup, and I was wondering.. which size tubing shoudl I go with? what's the diferences in cooling performance between 3/8th and 1/2" ID hose? i'm not sure. i would think that the 3/8ths would have more water veloctiy through the tubing, which would remove the heat from the CPU faster. on the other hand, the 1/2" hose could carry more water volume, and if the water was cooled via a radiator, it might be quite effective. any input here?

 

[Def]

Holla fellow Seti cruncher!

I might not have enough time to completely explain this(class soonisgust, but I'll give it a go.

With impeller type pumps(the aqaurium types) used in watercooling applications, you cannot develop much pressure. So if you have a bottleneck, the pressure will not appreciably increase to allow more flow through that small radius. Basically, your smallest cross-sectional area in your entire system will dictate the flow rate for the rest of the system. This means that by going from 3/8" tubing to 1/2" ID tubing, you will effectively increase the flow in your system by about 70%(give or take based on the barbs actual ID and other small parts). You are right in thinking that water velocity plays an important part in the cooling equation. But it is actually reversed from what you said, it takes time to introduce or remove heat from water, but you want the total volume of the system circulated quickly. An easy way to do this is to use a heatercore with a large diameter flow chamber and a water block with deep channels while making sure the rest of your system is not overly restrictive.

So basically, you want to use 1/2" ID silicone tubing from Home Depot. A heatercore(or Aquastealth Aquacoil II Aquastealth) and a good copper waterblock is also a necessity.

Try my fav WCin' links for info and products.

DangerDen

Procooling

[H


Just tell me if you've got anymore questions about this stuff. I've been researching it for a while, and hopefully I'll have my WCin' gear put in my case this weekend(it's been collecting dust long enough!!!).

 

[srvblues00]

How's it going, Def!? thanks for the info.. that's very helpful. I'm hoping to rig up some kind of low cost home-made system just to play with. i don't wanna spend big bucks on this, but I think i can get it to work fairly well. what do you recommend as a waterblock? i think that is the most critical component of the system with the radiator coming in a close second. thanks!

 

[Def]

Things are going well, but it seems I don't have much time lately between school and the job to check the forums or thirst after more Seti Production.

Definitely don't skimp on the waterblock. I'm going to be using a Danger Den MAZE1 because I have a P3 FC-PGA. The new MAZE1C looks to be a cool waterblock with a very easy to use holddown. If you are using an AMD chip and you don't mind using the four screw holes around the CPU area, I'd look towards a MAZE2. It will probably give you slightly better C/W ratings than any other block out there, but it is a bit on the pricey side.

As for radiators, if you want cheap I'd go to an AutoParts store and get an old Chevette/Geo Storm heatercore. Then you have to attach some barbs on it and you're good to go. Expect to pay ~$25 bucks and about 30mins to an hour of time.

For fans I'd say a 120mm Panaflo L1A, or if you don't mind a bit more noise the M1A will give *slighty* lower temps(not more than 1C I'd say).

As for tubing and pumps, go to Home Depot and Pet stores. I'd personally recommend the Danner MagDrive 3 for your application. You can get them pretty cheap from Petsmart.com(I think there is still a $10 discount for new customers).