HAF 932 Water Cooling

[mrblahman]

This would be my first water cooling build. Would be cooling

intel i7
ati 4870 x2
poss. chipset

Any pics of HAF 932 water cooling or kits would be helpful

 

[LOUISSSSS]

search for my thread titled "flirting with idea of water cooling" for pics

 

[PCTC2]

You came to the right place. Both LOUISSSS and I have watercooling in our HAF932s.

56K BEWARE!

http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/1285/sl730662.jpg
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/338/sl730660.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2557/sl730651.jpg
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/4171/sl730659.jpg
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/2318/sl730656.jpg
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/4835/sl730654.jpg
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/9662/sl730653.jpg

You can fit a 120x3 radiator on the top (if you remove the top 220mm fan, there are 3x 120mm fan mounts), and the rest is easy.

For the parts, I would recommend:
Swiftech ApogeeGTZ 1366
Swiftech MCP355 w/ XSPC top
TFC Fesser Xchanger 360
Swiftech Caldera 4870X2

BTW, What's your budget?

EDIT: LOUISSSS beat me. Don't be lazy LOUISSSS.

 

[mrblahman]

I guess in the under $400 range. I def know i'll be doing the CPU, but still uncertain about the video card and the chipset.

work proxy is blocking your images. I'll have to wait till i'm home ;-(

 

[dajeepster]

i got two HAF932 with watercooling

 

[mrblahman]

No specs and pics = BOO!

 

[aigomorla]

wait wait wait...

what board are you even running? watercooling a X58 board is a PITA because of the SB blocking your cards almost 99% of the time.

That haf looks like the CM Stacker almost internally...

Do you already have the case?

 

[TidusZ]

I have a HAF as well, does the third radiator fan manage to get decent airflow given that it's partially blocked off? If I try water cooling, I think my priority would be the videocard with the processor and chipset being secondary. It's the hottest and loudest part, and the processor does just fine on air.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: mrblahman
This would be my first water cooling build. Would be cooling

intel i7
ati 4870 x2
poss. chipset

Any pics of HAF 932 water cooling or kits would be helpful

poss. chipset?

your best bet would be two good "bang for the buck" loops in the HAF932.

one to cool the cpu/chipset and one to cool the 2 4870 GPUs

how about this:

2x MCP355 (pumps)
2x XSPC Restop (reservoirs)
2x MCR320 (radiators) (or one of them 320 if you can afford it)
1 x Swiftech GTZ (CPU Block)
1 x EX FC4870 X2 CF-AC (gpu block) http://www.performance-pcs.com...=240&products_id=24311
1 x mb chipset block of your choise that fits your motherboard since you didn't specify

2 x barbs for each part your system (radiator, pump/reservoir) the cpu/gpu blocks shouild come with barbs already

15ft tubing

10 steel worm clamps

 

[PCTC2]

Originally posted by: TidusZ
I have a HAF as well, does the third radiator fan manage to get decent airflow given that it's partially blocked off? If I try water cooling, I think my priority would be the videocard with the processor and chipset being secondary. It's the hottest and loudest part, and the processor does just fine on air.

It's not blocked off. It's a direction vent underneath the rubber mat. Gets pushed out the back of the top case.

EDIT:

You can get the stackable MCR320's to LOUISSS's post and still use two pumps and save some space.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

to make things easier.. how about you only cool the cpu for now for about $350 and add in your video card later. forget about the PITA X58 chipset

GTZ + MCR320 + MCP355 + XSPC ResTop + 4 barbs + 15 feet of tubing + 8 clamps

you might want to consider a drain line also, it'll make draining your system much easier.

 

[TidusZ]

I really don't get why most people want to put their processor under water more than the videocard. With decent air cooling you can overclock as high as you want and have decent temps, and its not that loud (1 or 2 1600rpm fans). Videocards on the other hand, your options are either the stock hsf which is louder than a jet engine, or water. There are a few exceptions that can use an accelero or equivalent, but the dual gpu cards, no. It makes a lot more sense to me from a noise and cooling performance point of view to put priority on water cooling the videocard. I don't even notice the noise of my pc until the videocard decides to try and fly out of the pci slot.

 

[jkresh]

TidusZ, processors tend to get higher overclocks and better temps with water (yes gpu difference is bigger, but it's easier to damage the gpu, if you go full cover the blocks don't work for more then 1 generation and most don't overclock gpu's as much as cpu's).

mrblahman, x58 does not run that hot so don't bother with nb cooling, but if you really want to do it and have a board that works with it, bitspower makes some really nice full cover chipset blocks (expensive though).

as for cpu block
from recent testing I have seen either go with the heatkiller 1366 rev3 or the lt version, or koolances kl-350
both have better performance then the apogee gtz (thought the apogee is only a few C off and much easier to install)

 

[TidusZ]

Originally posted by: jkresh
TidusZ, processors tend to get higher overclocks and better temps with water (yes gpu difference is bigger, but it's easier to damage the gpu, if you go full cover the blocks don't work for more then 1 generation and most don't overclock gpu's as much as cpu's).

mrblahman, x58 does not run that hot so don't bother with nb cooling, but if you really want to do it and have a board that works with it, bitspower makes some really nice full cover chipset blocks (expensive though).

as for cpu block
from recent testing I have seen either go with the heatkiller 1366 rev3 or the lt version, or koolances kl-350
both have better performance then the apogee gtz (thought the apogee is only a few C off and much easier to install)

I agree the price/performance of water cooling gpu's isn't great with having to buy an expensive block with each new videocard, like once a year or two years... but water cooling in general isn't really a great price/performance investment in the first place. Doing the processor instead might be cheaper but I'm still not convinced it should take precedence over gpu water cooling - if you can afford it.

I'll very likely be entering into water cooling for myself in the next few months. I'm not too keen on paying $200 for a gpu block, but the silence and extra o/c headroom will be very nice.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

tidusz, most people don't overclock their GPU, and hence temps on the GPU don't really matter. Nor does overclocking a gpu. You may gain a mere 2-5 fps by overclocking the hell out of your 8800gt.

but overclocking a cpu is more of a hobby, there are more tweaks and more skill involved than just moving a slider for a gpu.

GPU's can handle temps over 100C, intel's cpu's are "limited" by intel up to 72C. cooling a gpu is of secondary concern to me since my load temps don't neat 100C (more like 75c). but my loaded temps on CPU near the 72C limit.

quietness for a GPU can be had even easier than a CPU. you brought up the example of 2 x 1600rpm fans for "quiet+oc" operation.
cooling the most popular GPUs today can be done with the accelero s1 rev 2 with a low RPM fan such as a yate loon 1350rpm fan for great temps that are very far from the gpu's "limit" of 100c-ish

 

[TidusZ]

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
tidusz, most people don't overclock their GPU, and hence temps on the GPU don't really matter. Nor does overclocking a gpu. You may gain a mere 2-5 fps by overclocking the hell out of your 8800gt.

but overclocking a cpu is more of a hobby, there are more tweaks and more skill involved than just moving a slider for a gpu.

GPU's can handle temps over 100C, intel's cpu's are "limited" by intel up to 72C. cooling a gpu is of secondary concern to me since my load temps don't neat 100C (more like 75c). but my loaded temps on CPU near the 72C limit.

quietness for a GPU can be had even easier than a CPU. you brought up the example of 2 x 1600rpm fans for "quiet+oc" operation.
cooling the most popular GPUs today can be done with the accelero s1 rev 2 with a low RPM fan such as a yate loon 1350rpm fan for great temps that are very far from the gpu's "limit" of 100c-ish

You cant quietly cool a dual gpu card like my 295 w/o going water, and the stock cooling is crazy loud. I'd venture to say its about 5 times louder than my push/pull setup on my very overclocked but still reasonably cool running q9550. In my case lower cpu temps aren't going to do much for me for performance or noise, while on the gpu it will cut noise drastically and possibly open up a bit more o/c headroom on the core.

I run everything at max settings, 1920x1200, moderate amounts of aa. In crysis I average 45-55 fps and dip down to 35 at times, so theres already room for improvement there and the card is still pretty new. I see your using a o/c'd q6600 and an 8800gt though, a processor that pumps out a lot of heat and a videocard that is easily cooled with a $20 passive heatsink. In your case I imagine it makes sense to put that cpu under water (over the videocard), just not in mine. Also, if you play games, I'd suggest you at least give o/c'ing your video card a try, I noticed pretty big gains in playability of crysis on my 2nd pc after overclocking my 8800gt (which is cooled by an accelero s1 + turbo addon).

 

[LOUISSSSS]

Originally posted by: TidusZ

Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
tidusz, most people don't overclock their GPU, and hence temps on the GPU don't really matter. Nor does overclocking a gpu. You may gain a mere 2-5 fps by overclocking the hell out of your 8800gt.

but overclocking a cpu is more of a hobby, there are more tweaks and more skill involved than just moving a slider for a gpu.

GPU's can handle temps over 100C, intel's cpu's are "limited" by intel up to 72C. cooling a gpu is of secondary concern to me since my load temps don't neat 100C (more like 75c). but my loaded temps on CPU near the 72C limit.

quietness for a GPU can be had even easier than a CPU. you brought up the example of 2 x 1600rpm fans for "quiet+oc" operation.
cooling the most popular GPUs today can be done with the accelero s1 rev 2 with a low RPM fan such as a yate loon 1350rpm fan for great temps that are very far from the gpu's "limit" of 100c-ish

You cant quietly cool a dual gpu card like my 295 w/o going water, and the stock cooling is crazy loud. I'd venture to say its about 5 times louder than my push/pull setup on my very overclocked but still reasonably cool running q9550. In my case lower cpu temps aren't going to do much for me for performance or noise, while on the gpu it will cut noise drastically and possibly open up a bit more o/c headroom on the core.

I run everything at max settings, 1920x1200, moderate amounts of aa. In crysis I average 45-55 fps and dip down to 35 at times, so theres already room for improvement there and the card is still pretty new. I see your using a o/c'd q6600 and an 8800gt though, a processor that pumps out a lot of heat and a videocard that is easily cooled with a $20 passive heatsink. In your case I imagine it makes sense to put that cpu under water (over the videocard), just not in mine. Also, if you play games, I'd suggest you at least give o/c'ing your video card a try, I noticed pretty big gains in playability of crysis on my 2nd pc after overclocking my 8800gt (which is cooled by an accelero s1 + turbo addon).

well you're saying that you're CPU isn't temperature limited, you're overclock limited. so there is no point in further cooling your CPU except to lower noise (which you don't really care about since you're happy with the noise of 2 x1600rpm)

with your GPU (a very high niche card which not many people own) there may be a reason to water cool. you say you're not willing to spend the money on water cooling because of a bad price/performance, but you bought a gtx295 which barely gets better frames than the cheaper 4870x2 or crossfire 4870 both of which are cheaper. confused =

again, personally i don't find overclocking my gpu fun at all, nor has it ever yielded me any noticeable improvements in gaming. if a game isn't playable with a certain video card, it most likely won't be much better (real-world) with it overclocked. with my CPu overclocked to 3.6ghz i'm getting a good 50% overclock from 2.4ghz (you can't get a 50% overclock from gpu) and there are noticeable (but negligible) improvements in cpu-intensive tasks. but more importantly, overclocking a cpu is more fun than a gpu.

with that said... i'm going to have my GPU Full cover block by EK by friday =)