Making the Jump to H20 - Help Me Pick My Parts

UTmtnbiker

Diamond Member
Nov 17, 2000
4,129
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I'm going to be making the jump to water cooling in the near future. Most likely in about 1 month or so. The reason is I'm using a SVC GC68 HSF right now, which isn't the best cooler on the market. For me to go up to a Thermalright or a good, decent HSF is going to around $50 anyways. Figure I'd throw that $50 towards a water system which will be just as good, if not better than any air cooled system out there, will be quieter to boot, and also just overall, much neater! :)

In any case, I'm trying to part a system together, but there doesn't seem to be too many discussions on what's the best components if putting together your own system. Here's what I'm looking at so far. Any suggestions, pro or con about what I pick would be greatly appreciated.

CPU water block: Either the Swiftech MCW5000-A or the Danger Den Maze4
Radiator: Danger Den Black Ice Pro
Resevoir: Any resevoir will do as long as it'll fit in a 5 1/4" drive bay
Pump: Eheim 1250 Pump (I think this one is a no brainer)

Also...I've been looking at SVC.com as the place to buy all these components. Usually, I'm a loyal Newegg fan, but I don't see them selling any watercooling parts. Any other suggestions on a good online store for parts?

TIA.
 

s2kpacifist

Member
Jan 21, 2003
108
0
0
Sorry if my ideas are a bit jumbled up:

Looks like a pretty nice setup to me. Also make sure you pick the right tubes. I got myself some asetek waterchill parts and used their tubes, but I ended up buying new tubes so can put everything at right angles. Unfortunately, the tygon tubes i bot are flimsy as hell and actually don't create a watertight seal on the joints.

You can also add in a few little things like a soft pad for the pump to rest on to reduce vibrations in the case, making it quieter.

I'm thinking of getting a Black Ice Pro myself to replace this generic radiator I got. If you find the one with push-on fittings, tell me!

Another choice for your CPU water block could be the asetek waterblock: I love it...plus I think they have that DYO-parts, which are a lot cheaper than the regular Waterchill stuff, and might be cheaper than the DDM4 or MCW.

Sunon 120mm fans are pretty good for the radiator too. If you want one that's really quiet, silenx is amazing.

As for online stores, here's 2: xoxide.com, frozencpu.com

Sorry I couldn't help more...I'm pretty new to this myself.