Water Cooling Question.

[Apoc1]

In you expert opinion,
1) What way would u recommend to get into Watercooling?

2) Would you buy a Watercooled case or pick a case u like and add the watercooling to it.

3) Whats the cheaper option?

4) Also, what companies are the most reputable, are thier some that excel in Cases and others in External Kits?

 

[dampeal]

Personally I got into WC head first.... bought al my parts from DD and made my own setup, actually it was a direct die cooling setup using non-conductive fluid..
--but that's just me, and not recommended...

for someone new I can highly recommend a good kit... it's safer and give you a nice idea of how it all works, it's also usually the cheaper choice..

no I would not buy a watercooled case...

cheaper option, it depends what you want and what you want to cool

Cases: antec, lian-li, silverstone
External Kits: get the Corsair Nautilus 500, it's great for beginners, but also it performs on par with more expensive setups...

 

[Apoc1]

Thanks for the input Dampeal. looking up the Corsair now, did not know they were into Cooling, im already getting a PSU and RAM from them so this might be a nice fit

 

[dampeal]

I got a Nautilus before they came out.. hehe.. I love it..

It's a great little setup.. otheres here will agree with me that it's probably the best "beginner" setup out there..

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: dampeal
Personally I got into WC head first.... bought al my parts from DD and made my own setup, actually it was a direct die cooling setup using non-conductive fluid..
--but that's just me, and not recommended...

for someone new I can highly recommend a good kit... it's safer and give you a nice idea of how it all works, it's also usually the cheaper choice..

no I would not buy a watercooled case...

cheaper option, it depends what you want and what you want to cool

Cases: antec, lian-li, silverstone
External Kits: get the Corsair Nautilus 500, it's great for beginners, but also it performs on par with more expensive setups...

dampeal is correct in these statements. However, it will perform only on par with the more expensive Euro kits. The thing wont come close to an APEX kit, or even a custom Petra/DD kit. But hands down the CN500 will toast all three i listed in ease of setting up, and maintaining.

My first kit was a custom my friend helped piece. He was migrating to TEC, so i basically took his non upgraded parts for free. This was a complete nightmare because i had no concept on flow, and i didnt know anything about accelerators and low flow blocks.

Anyhow, i lived off the Premium, and then APEX220 kit until i got confortable in building one from ground up. These are fairly easy kits to work with and give really nice performance. Look for the APOGEE GT revisions if your concidering these two. The old Apogee cant perform nearly as well as the GT, or the
D-Tek Fuzion for that manner.

Consult Xtremesystems.org forums under liquid cooling for lots of stickys and noobie facts. It helps.

If your still lost and confused, just get the CN500, and play with it for a few months. When your ready for an upgrade, Strip the pump off the system and incorporate it in your new loop. MAke sure u pair same pumps if your going to dual pump layout it.

The CN500 uses a Swiftech 350 not the 355, or Liang DDC not the DDC+ or rev.2 models, or Delphi. its a 60-70 dollar pump you save when upgrading.


I should just warn you, WCing is highly addictive, and your loop will get this confusing later on when you decide you want more cooling.

My Loop on Opty

But this loops gives me these temps at 60F Ambient
30 Min burnin On Orthos and RTHDRIBL

28C core temp with 30C Videocard temps on a 2.75ghz comp isnt bad


And if your wondering why i upgraded to a slower clocked opty.
My X2 couldnt do this even on water.


Pics of my QX to come when she's completed. but her piping is a lot more hetic right now because she's on a 3 pump design while the opty is on a 2 pump design.