Help with watercooling.

[CyberFlas]

Hey guys,

I am going to build a new system over the holidays, most likely a AMD Athlon64 X2 4200+ with a DFI SLI Infinity. I do plan on tweaking the system (but not like a madman, hence the Infinity board), while keeping it quiet. I decided that the best way to do this would be to water cool the system. However, this will be my first time trying out watercooling ever and I am unsure about trying it out on a brand new system.

So my idea is to take my MSI KT3 Ultra w/ Sempron 2800+ and watercool that system first, so that I can get a feel for watercooling and whatnot. Since I am buying a new system in a few weeks however, I don't want to spend much money on the watercooling rig I am going to put on my old Sempron (I know that a budget watercooling system won't give me the best performance, but I am only doing it so that I can have experience with a watercooling system). So I wanted to know if you guys can point me in the direction of some really....REALLY affordable (ok just damn cheap) water cooling materials for a socket A system.

I have been reading around, and it seems as though the ViaAqua Model 1300 Water Pump is a good choice, it delievers 370 GPH and runs for about 20 bucks (sadly that is more than I want to pay for a pump...but what can I do?). I have not had the same luck finding affordable CPU waterblocks, or for that matter chipset / vga waterblocks. If you guys could post links to places with cheap stuff or maybe if you have old crap lying around...

And just to be sure...the things I need to run a water cooling system are:
1)Water Pump (Res is optional)
2)Tubing
3)Water Blocks
4)Radiator
Is that all?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Mrvile]

Unfortunately, you'll have to expect the pump to be the most expensive item in your kit. My pump, the Dangerden D4, was nearly 80 dollars, while everything else (CPU block, GPU block, radiator, etc.) was under 50 each.

For a decent setup you'll need:

-Pump
-Res **you'll want one of these because it makes filling and draining infinately easier, without one it's almost impossible to fill or drain the system
-Water blocks
-Radiator
-Fan(s)

You won't really ever need a water block for your motherboard chipset (northbridge) and they don't really do anything but slow down the rest of your setup. Also, I suggest starting off with just a CPU block, and getting a GPU block later, after you've gained some first-hand experience with watercooling.

 

[tw33ter]

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=70

They have lots of good stickys in there, and the people are really friendly and helpful too.

 

[CyberFlas]

But do you guys know where I can pick up really cheap watercooling parts? I don't need a watercooling system for my new computer just yet...I just need one to see how the whole thing runs.

 

[Mrvile]

Um...if you're going to buy some parts might as well go with parts for the comp you'll be using it on eventually.

But as for cheap parts, you can check the FS/T forum or simply eBay for some old blocks, radiators, etc.

If you're going to seriously consider watercooling to cool an OC'd CPU these days you'll want to put aside about 150-200 dollars for the CPU cooling alone. Video card cooling is another 50 dollars or so. The setup in my rig (check my sig for pics) cost me about 260 dollars total for CPU and GPU cooling.

 

[CyberFlas]

Well thanks for the advice guys. Mrvile let me tell you that is an amazing rig. Feel free to send over your water cooling setup anytime. But do you guys think it is worth putting $300+ into a 4200 on an Infinity mobo? Also, what do you think about me running dual 6800 GS's on that setup?

 

[tw33ter]

Here's a guide to all the major online stores to buy your parts from. They have a little description about each one there too. Here's what I bought, came to a little less then $350 before shipping. Gonna use it to cool off a 3700+ san diego @ 2.6 and 7800 gtx. Im glad I made the switch from air to water, it runs a lot quiter and cooler, I only have 2 fans in my case now, one panaflo med. for the rad pulling in the cool air from the front and one of the ultra quiet ones for the exhaust at the top of my p180, and the pump blends in with what little noise there is from the fans, so that makes it barely noticable

AquaXtreme 50Z-DC12
Danger Den Single 5 1/4" Bay Reservoir
Swiftech STORM
Thermochill PA160
Tygon 3603 Tubing 1/2" ID 3/4" OD
Danger Den Acetal MAZE4 GPU
Zerex Racing Super Coolant

 

[CyberFlas]

Sweet, thanks for the link.

 

[Mrvile]

Tweeter has a good setup, but I would change it slightly. For the pump, I'd get a Dangerden D5 pump, and for the radiator, you won't need something as expensive as that Thermochill, so I'd get either a Black Ice Xtreme II radiator if you can fit it, or just a single Black Ice Xtreme if you can't. You'll need two Maze4 GPU blocks if you want to cool two video cards, and don't forget the ramsinks! I use Vantec ramsinks because they're cheap but perform very well. Remember, you'll need two sets of these as well. Finally, I wouldn't use any coolant or antifreeze solutions if you're new to this, they can get very messy and isn't worth the extra work or money, in my opinion. Just use regular distilled water, and you'll do fine. For the reservoir, you won't need that special acryllic one because it's expensive and cracks easily (which can be a problem). The regular polyethylene reservoir will work fine, and won't crack. Everything else Tweeter has listed is good. So to sum it up:

Dangerden D5 pump
Dangerden single 5 1/4" bay polyethylene reservoir
Swiftech STORM cpu block
Black Ice Xtreme (I or II) radiator
Tygon 1/2" tubing
Dangerden Acetal MAZE4 gpu block x2
Vantec ICEBERQ ramsinks x2

And you're good to go. Remember, the setup listed above will probably cost over 300 dollars, so keep that in mind. However, for a system like yours, you'll want nothing but the best. Good luck with your setup, and have fun!

 

[CyberFlas]

Great, now I know exactly what to get. Thanks for all the help and patience guys!