Watercooling questions

[TheStu]

So, I have been toying with the ida of putting together a watercooling setup for a while, mostly just for the giggles of it.

I was wanting to get away from the traditional big clear tubes strewn all over the place, and was wondering if there was any major detriment to using rigid tubing, like PVC or copper to handle the fluid.

 

[smackababy]

I've seen a few mostly copper set ups. I think the big downside is, literally, no flexibility.

 

[Meghan54]

Like smackababy said, no flexibility, so when you change anything, you have to replumb your entire system.

And if you're doing it for the giggles of it, doing it in rigid tubing won't give you one giggle at all....it'll be darned hard work.

 

[alfa147x]

also wouldn't the sharper turns slow the water down?

 

[TheStu]

Well, I have done copper and PVC plumbing before, and I think that the rigid look would be nicer than the usual tube mess. It would only be a CPU, and maybe northbridge loop, GPU coolers look crazy expensive, and unless I am mistaken, generally not compatible with multiple cards.

Next question, what size reservoir is needed? Is it just needed to help remove air from the system (in which case a smaller one would suffice) or does it serve a larger purpose that I am missing?

 

[TheStu]

also wouldn't the sharper turns slow the water down?

I might have to investigate that. I can do 45 degree turns mostly, not many 90s would be needed. I think that the larger concern would be that all the runs will generally be longer in distance, and attaching the copper or pvc to the blocks would be troublesome.

 

[smackababy]

Doing it will be an overly pain in the ass. Unless you have a lot of plumbing and water cooling experience, it doesn't seem like it is going to be a very fun job. It may look cool, but a lot of work will go into it.

 

[TheStu]

Doing it will be an overly pain in the ass. Unless you have a lot of plumbing and water cooling experience, it doesn't seem like it is going to be a very fun job. It may look cool, but a lot of work will go into it.

Well, maybe i will rig it up traditionally at first, and then work on the rigid stuff on the side.

Where is a good place to get the parts? I looked at FrozenCPU, but don't know if their prices are representative. For example, $80-90 for a pump, $40+ for a res, $50+ for a dual 140 rad. The $50 or so for the CPU block doesn't bother me so much, since that is roughly the same cost as a good air cooler.

 

[smackababy]

Water cooling a PC is not a Sunday afternoon project (well for some it is, but they have a lot of experience). It is costly and takes a good deal of time. I think sidewindercomputers.com has the best prices, followed by maybe performance-pcs.com. I've heard stories about performance, but the one order I'd placed there was fine. It took a little longer than I'd hoped, but no real problems. I believe FrozenCPU is the most expensive.

I'd recommend getting experience using traditional hose before upping it to something more rigid. And even then, unless you're making a show piece and never upgrading, it will be a huge PITA anytime you change parts.

 

[smackababy]

Water cooling a PC is not a Sunday afternoon project (well for some it is, but they have a lot of experience). It is costly and takes a good deal of time. I think sidewindercomputers.com has the best prices, followed by maybe performance-pcs.com. I've heard stories about performance, but the one order I'd placed there was fine. It took a little longer than I'd hoped, but no real problems. I believe FrozenCPU is the most expensive.

I'd recommend getting experience using traditional hose before upping it to something more rigid. And even then, unless you're making a show piece and never upgrading, it will be a huge PITA anytime you change parts.

 

[TheStu]

Water cooling a PC is not a Sunday afternoon project (well for some it is, but they have a lot of experience). It is costly and takes a good deal of time. I think sidewindercomputers.com has the best prices, followed by maybe performance-pcs.com. I've heard stories about performance, but the one order I'd placed there was fine. It took a little longer than I'd hoped, but no real problems. I believe FrozenCPU is the most expensive.

I'd recommend getting experience using traditional hose before upping it to something more rigid. And even then, unless you're making a show piece and never upgrading, it will be a huge PITA anytime you change parts.

Well, I really don't upgrade parts all that often, but that is good advice. I should get my feet wet (pardon the pun) with traditional tubing first. Shame I don't have a spare system to test on. Closest thing is a Slot 1 Pentium 3 system, and that case would require heavy modification before I could water cool it.

Maybe I will wait until I have the funds for my new system then. Then I will relegate my existing system to strictly OS X, and it won't really need any modification after that.