So , how long before a re-fill ?

dh_orac

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May 9, 2006
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Hi guys ,

I`m a real newbie to this water cooling malarky , and i`m looking to upgrade to a new pc soon.

I`m a gamer , and I was thinking about the following setup :

Thermaltake armor , Silverstone TJ07 , or similar case
AMD FX57
2 gigs of OCZ gold ddr500
2 x 512mb cards , either ATI or Nvidia. Not sure which one yet.
Only the one HD
And I figured a decent 600w power supply should suffice.

Now , i`m the kind a guy who prefers to buy the whole rig already made up. I know , I know , building a rig myself is a lot cheaper , but the whole business is a bit scary to me , especially when I look at water cooling. I`ve never built a rig before , and we`re talking some serious cash here if I make a mess of things.

I`m in a dilema about whether I should stick with fans or watercooling.

I`m looking at a few sites in the UK (where i`m from) who offer both options.

Could any of you guys tell me how often (if at all) the fluid in a water cooled system would need to be replaced. How good is Innovatek Protect Pro , and would it be fine just to put about 5 x 120mm fans in the case instead along with a copper heat sink for the CPU ?

I will probably be buying the whole thing made up , but any help regarding the heating issues would be very much appreciated.

Dave
 

BGP_Spook

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Mar 20, 2006
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I do my best to answer your WCing question.

How often do you need to refill a system is not something to be answered out right.

Firstly, some assumptions.

1. Assuming there is no mixing of metals or corrosion. All copper with a little brass is OK, but stay away from the aluminum. WATCH THE WATER BLOCKS ON THIS ONE! VERY POPULAR TO MIX METALS AMONG MANUFACTURES! Also, regardless, be sure to use some sort of corrison reducing additive.

2. Assuming you don't get any algae, fungus, or bacteria growth. A reasonable assumption if it is cleaned before assembly and is assembled correctly with a few simple precautions. Like black tubing, and a very mild biocide additive.

3. Assuming you use quality parts. Like no plastic hose clamps. The use of thick walled tubing to slow transpiration, which helps general longevity as well. A good quality pump like an Eheim.

4. Assuming that you top off whatever liquid is lost through transpiration. Usually necessary as often as every month to as infrequently as every six months, depending.

5. Assuming you don't use a jet based water block. Something like a Storm or Cascade or Whitewater clogs too easily for long term uninterrupted use. Something like a TDX or a RBX might work but would depend on which nozzle you decide to use.


Then I can say with certainty it will last years. I have seen people with WCed computers running for 3 years non-stop before they decided to clean and refill it because they were board.

If these assumptions do not hold then, depending on the exact system, it would vary widely.

About the only additive I recommend, which does everything I mentioned in my assumptions, is Zerex Racing Supercoolant. There may be other stuff that is better but this stuff is proven to be good and it actually lowers temperatures slightly.

If you are scared by all of what I have typed then you may be best off sticking with stock or after market air cooling. It is much simpler and much more reliable for less work. If you really want to WC then I can PM you some links to get you started.
 

wun911

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Apr 28, 2006
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If you are a total newbie and you want simple pi ss easy water cooling there are kits that have everythink made up for you just install (no need to add water its all sealed up no worries about leaks etc). "CoolerMaster Aquagate Mini R80" is the best example i can think of.

However the preformance of these products are not exactly great but for newbies its not bad and will most likely beat any air based cooler you have.

If you had the time and a bit more confidence and a fair bit more cash I would go for a "Swiftech H20-APEX Ultra Plus Liquid Cooling Kit". The kit has everythink you need tubes water blocks pump instructions etc etc etc.

As for the refills there are additives that you can use to ensure that your water does not become a bacterial broth so you dont have to change the water as often "Swiftech HydrX Coolant" is an example.
 

dh_orac

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May 9, 2006
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Thanks guys.

Some really helpfull info there.

Changing the water every 3 years or so not be so bad if I was carefull , but I didn`t realise that the evaporation loss could be that much. I mean , I top up the water in my car radiator every few months if I need to , but it only takes 30 seconds. With a pc , it might take me several minutes. The room the rig is stored in gets pretty warm sometimes as well , especially in summer , so I can envisage topping it up more often. At the very least , I can see myself getting paranoid about watching the levels !

I guess what i`m really after , is as much of a maintenance free rig as possible. I`m not into overclocking , I just want to keep it nice and cool and also make sure that there`s plenty of power on tap , both in watts , and everything else inside the case.

For anyone interested in what I was looking at recently........

www.vadim.co.uk

So , I think I might spend not quite as much money as I was going to , and maybe consider adding extra fans , and upgrading the existing ones in the new rig , like on the following......

http://www.vadim.co.uk/Antarctic+Cooling+%283-5+Fans+digital+controlled%2BVGA%7CHD+Cooling%29?info

Thanks again guys

Dave
 

gomerpile

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havent changed my water in a year and still looking good dont put all the junk in the water just add coolent the good stuff 50 50 mixture works good.
photo10015gn.jpg

moni5kv.png


the temps you see is cpu running bf2 and playing windows media player and taking the picture not bad for a cheap ass water pump got rid of the water chiller because of condo problems that could have distroyed the system if it werent for the dielectrict stuff.
 

gomerpile

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Just thought I'd elebrate some on your water, I'd suggest you to use dielectric jelly in the socket before you install the processor this is a safty measure for corrosion I've seen the pins pull right off the processor because of corrosion but more so with chilled water but still use dielectric goop. with a qtip thinly spread it on the socket this will not harm your system but protect it from mositure.
I use the stuff that comes with a new distributor cap but spark plug wire stuff works good too.
 

JonathanDeane

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Gomer you should get your own show "Pimp my PC" !!! sweet cooling rig man. Im kinda looking at doing something like that. Actualy those water cooling kits Intel is going to make (?) look like what I would want becouse im a very lazy person lol but I doubt they will sell them with out buying a CPU :( so I am gonna have to try and duplicate what you have :)
 

gomerpile

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I will give you a better look for your building project this cooling work very very good.
im0009753ba.jpg

Its not loud at all actually I did some vibration reduction with tubes under the board you see the fan mounted on and on the back fan 3 speed fans work best when bench marking crank on speed 3 and it cools down 10 c from speed 1. but you wont need to worry about heat at all. notice no psu in the case.
im0009736zz.jpg

jeez just notice the rolling paper there hum