Water Cooling Kits?

[Ansris]

Does anyone know of a site where u can peice together your own water cooling kit? I remember seeing a site a while back that let u peice together your own kit for your needs but the site escapes me. Anyone know of such a site?

 

[NINaudio]

DangerDen

 

[Ansris]

thanks

 

[Ansris]

Is it actually worth it to use a water cooling kit? I was looking into it but the thought of running a water system through a computer just seems.... well risky to me. I dont want to do something insane if i were to use one, maybe something like a
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...ails.asp?EdpNo=1367710&Tab=11&NoMapp=0
but nothing more than that as far as price goes. I guess what I'm asking is, would water cooling be worth it?

 

[Mrvile]

Well, using watercooling and not using watercooling is all up to you. Is it too dangerous? That's up to you to decide. Also, whether you use a 300 dollar watercooling setup or a 100 dollar watercooling setup, your chances of breaking something or leaking water or anything are still the same. Keep that in mind.

Back to watercooling. First, I don't recommend ordering from TigerDirect. Also, 5 1/2" bay watercoolers are usually pretty bad. If you really want to go watercooling, expect to spent around 200 bucks to cool the CPU alone, otherwise you might as well go with high end air. The only "all-in-one" kit I would recommend is the Koolance Exos series. Otherwise you should build your own kit using Dangerden's custom kit builder or just ordering the parts yourself.

Watercooling is fun, especially setting it up, and it definately cools well. But you have to remember, where there are pros, there are also cons. Out of my own experience, here are the pros and cons I've seen:

Pros:
Cools well - Of course, it's water!
Looks sweet - Can't deny that this is a pro!
Fun to set up - Some people don't like setting up watercooling because it takes a work and concentration, but the best part to building a computer, at least to me, is the building part!
Dust buildup goes way down - Since you don't have as many fans in your case as you used to, you get much less dust.

Cons:
Expensive - Definately more expensive than air.
Loud - A large misconception of watercooling is that it's quiet, but unfortunately it's not...the pump itself is usually around 35 - 40dBA, combine this with the high-powered fan for the radiator...
Maintenance - Sure, it's nice not to have to dust your comp as often, but remember to replace the water once every six months and do a full cleaning every year.
It's still water! - You absolutely have to be careful when you have water in your comp at all, no exceptions!


Watercooling is fun, but it's work. It's like building another whole computer in itself. Give it some thought, and once you've decided that you really want to use water, you can ask anyone here in the forums if you have any questions - most of us are pretty knowledgeable.

 

[mindwreck]

For about 90 used could get some good used stuff on the FS/FT and build a very good watercooling system. I built mine for about 100 cause i bought a new pump and waterblock. For the radiator i got a used heatercore off FS/FT.

 

[Mrvile]

Originally posted by: mindwreck
For about 90 used could get some good used stuff on the FS/FT and build a very good watercooling system. I built mine for about 100 cause i bought a new pump and waterblock. For the radiator i got a used heatercore off FS/FT.

Ew @ used watercooling stuff!

That's probably a good way to go for a beginner though.

 

[Ansris]

awesome, thanks Im on kinda a tight budget for this as it's a college computer but I wanna drop an A64 X2 of some sorta in it and play around with Ocing it so I dont wanna skimp out on the cooling. Ill deffiently take a look at the DD stuff and thanks for the imput~!

 

[Mrvile]

College computer, eh? I recommend highend air cooling for college kids, cheaper, easier to maintain, and easier for transportation.

 

[NINaudio]

Hey, Mrvile hit on most of the facts. He's especially spot on about the air for a college pc. If you don't have everything secured in a watercooled one it can be a mess, not to mention it can add a bit of weight.

You can however, make a watercooled pc quiet. Some pumps can make a lot of noise, but some, like the one I have are particularly quiet. I can't even hear it running at all, I have to feel it to be able to tell it's on. Less fans usually means less noise as well. Granted, some high power 120 mm fans can be loud, but I've found that a loud 120 is not as bothersome as a loud 80 mm fan.

There are also things you can use besides water. Fluid XP is an alternative and it is non-conductive, so if it leaks you won't be killing all your equipment.

When I was looking at water, I actually looked at it as an investment. Next time I change mobo's or a graphics card, I may just need to buy a new watercooling block, but I will already have everything else. $50 is about what you'd pay for a good waterblock or a good high-end air cooler. And there was nothing else out there that would get my video card to be running at 50 degrees loaded!

 

[Bona Fide]

I'm pretty sure a Zalman or Thermalright HSF will work just as well as water cooling.

 

[Mrvile]

Originally posted by: NINaudio
Hey, Mrvile hit on most of the facts. He's especially spot on about the air for a college pc. If you don't have everything secured in a watercooled one it can be a mess, not to mention it can add a bit of weight.

You can however, make a watercooled pc quiet. Some pumps can make a lot of noise, but some, like the one I have are particularly quiet. I can't even hear it running at all, I have to feel it to be able to tell it's on. Less fans usually means less noise as well. Granted, some high power 120 mm fans can be loud, but I've found that a loud 120 is not as bothersome as a loud 80 mm fan.

There are also things you can use besides water. Fluid XP is an alternative and it is non-conductive, so if it leaks you won't be killing all your equipment.

When I was looking at water, I actually looked at it as an investment. Next time I change mobo's or a graphics card, I may just need to buy a new watercooling block, but I will already have everything else. $50 is about what you'd pay for a good waterblock or a good high-end air cooler. And there was nothing else out there that would get my video card to be running at 50 degrees loaded!

Well, you use one of those smaller, Mag pumps that are definately more quiet but have about half the power as a Laing pump. For CPU cooling alone, a Mag pump is fine, but if you want to add video and/or NB cooling, you'll probably want a more powerful pump.

 

[S Random]

if your gonna invest time and money into water cooling do not buy a kit, get a better performing, and cheaper custom made kit

 

[wasserkool]

well..what is your budget?
I highly recommend german watercooling kits, they are made of very high quality and cools extremely well..

this website sells a range of H20 kooling gear from germany and they ship to USA www.alphacool.com

I bought their pump http://www.alphacool.de/perl/shop.pl?s=...2&prod_id=130&art_kz=131&art_id=15119)

waterblock http://www.alphacool.de/perl/shop.pl?s=...2&prod_id=120&art_kz=129&art_id=12913)

and Radiator http://www.watercool.de/cms/forum/threa...2&sid=1e671620ca51e3455266ece81e4006e7

 

[Elfear]

Originally posted by: Bona Fide
I'm pretty sure a Zalman or Thermalright HSF will work just as well as water cooling.

I have to disagree with that statement. I was under the same impression until I built an inexpensive H20 kit. Here's a mini-review I did to show the difference between H20 and a Thermalright XP-120.

 

[Mrvile]

Originally posted by: Elfear

Originally posted by: Bona Fide
I'm pretty sure a Zalman or Thermalright HSF will work just as well as water cooling.

I have to disagree with that statement. I was under the same impression until I built an inexpensive H20 kit. Here's a mini-review I did to show the difference between H20 and a Thermalright XP-120.

:thumbsup: H2O FOREVER

 

[NINaudio]

Originally posted by: Mrvile

Well, you use one of those smaller, Mag pumps that are definately more quiet but have about half the power as a Laing pump. For CPU cooling alone, a Mag pump is fine, but if you want to add video and/or NB cooling, you'll probably want a more powerful pump.

I have to disagree with you here. [Kindly of course] The swiftech mcp 350 and danger den ddc 12v (they're really the same pump, just rebadged) are very small, quite quiet, and have a high head pressure. That high head pressure allows them to run several blocks without losing much in the amount of water actually moved.

 

[Mrvile]

Originally posted by: NINaudio

Originally posted by: Mrvile

Well, you use one of those smaller, Mag pumps that are definately more quiet but have about half the power as a Laing pump. For CPU cooling alone, a Mag pump is fine, but if you want to add video and/or NB cooling, you'll probably want a more powerful pump.

I have to disagree with you here. [Kindly of course] The swiftech mcp 350 and danger den ddc 12v (they're really the same pump, just rebadged) are very small, quite quiet, and have a high head pressure. That high head pressure allows them to run several blocks without losing much in the amount of water actually moved.

IIRC the Mag pumps have 350GPH, while the Laing pumps have 650.

Oh well, if it works for you,

 

[Loomen]

I just finished installing my h20 setup, and have a mag pump I paid about $75 for. How much do the Laing pumps go for?

Thx

 

[uOpt]

I have a dual opteron board which just doesn't have enough space around the second CPU to mount any decent air heatsink. Even if they fit, so tight together they would warm each other,

Considering water, the only thing keeping me is that people say that the Zalman reserator often develops pump problems.

 

[NINaudio]

the laing pumps are often rebranded. The danger den ddc pumps are laing pumps as are the swiftech mcp 350 and 600.

 

[Elcs]

When I looked into watercooling a year o2 back, Eheim pumps were the best going. Dont know whether thats still true.

 

[Mrvile]

Ok.

Basically there are two AC pumps available right now. There are the 350gph pumps, the short, low profile black ones with the inlet and outlet port pointing the same direction. These are weaker but quieter, and usually go for about 75 bucks. The other ones, usually Laing pumps with 650gph, are the higher ones with the inlet pointing outwards and the outlet pointing up. These are louder but more powerful, and also go for about 75 bucks. It isn't really a choice between pricing, it's a choice between sound level and power. If you need the more powerful pump, you'll have to sacrifice some quietness, and vice versa.

 

[Ansris]

Awesome, thanks guys. Sorry I didnt get back to you all on this as i was outa town for awhile but the info has helped alot. As for the assumption im a college kid, you nailed that on the head. At the moment I still need a CPU and a Video Card (I got some low end stuff that I can use for the time but I wanna get somehting a bit more powerful) so as my budget is somewhat limited, I'm aiming to make this as good as possible to keep my system running for at least a few years in college. Thanks again for all the info, as it will deffiently help alot with my cooling inquire.