Okay guys now I'm ready to purchase a hard-core liquid cooling kit. I'm done with my entry-level water cooling kit, the cheap low-end kit. This time I would be cooling the cpu only. But I can't seem to finalized on what cpu water block to choose for my socket 775 cpu.
My choices are Swiftech Storm ($85) and Danger Den RBX ($50). I'm getting the MCP655 water pump and CoolingWorks CoolRad-32T Triple 120mm Radiator. I want a silent running otherwise at low setting operation set up. "Silence is golden".
I know the Storm is pricey, and makes me think right away that it is a high-performance cpu water block. One thing concerns me though is the water jet nozzles. It's 35 tiny nozzles and no doubt cause restriction and can be clogged.
The RBX on the other hand is simple and clean. It's about $30 lower than the Storm. Has 3 ports and possibly have better flow rate compare to the Storm. Downside is that I could only fit to socket 775, so it's not as flexible as the Storm which can be compatible to several cpu socket types.
The MCP655 ($90) pump is a very good water pump as I have read several reviews on it. Very quite and produces high pressure output.
The CoolRad ($65) however I don't much about. I don't know if it has very high cooling capacity and high flow rate. I don't know. So guys if you could suggest a triple rad for me that is better than this and considering the price as well, that would be great too.
So now my question is which one is the best for me?
Also with this set up, is it better compare to other complete cooling kit like the Swiftech H20-APEX "ULTRA" ($250) and or Asetek WaterChill CPU Cooling Power Kit ($240).
Is this set up overkill for my cpu? I'm planning to oc the 840 to 3.840Ghz @ 1.3v Vcore.
Cool. So with the MCP655 pump I should have no problem with the Storm. So does it only works best at high pressure? What if I want to run the pump at low settings? Well, I don't know if the pump is noisy at high settings.
The Silver version is got to be expensive! 8O Too much for me.
You don't have to wrry about the nozzles being clogged in the storm waterblock - as long as you have the proper coolant in your loop that has anti algae properties. You shouldn't have any other possible foreign substances in your coolant that could have this affect.
The performace of the CoolRad-32T as compared to the Black Ice Xtreme III is pretty much identical so you couldn't go wrong either way.
The MCP655 is an absolutely awesome pump. I use it myself. At 317gph it is one of the most powerful 12v pumps made. It has a feature where you can adjust the power settings if you ever needed to. When it is operational you can even put your ear near it and can't tell it is running. In fact, the only way you could is by the water turbulence in the reservoir.
Well I guess I can now justify on spending $85 for cpu water block. Man! that thing alone cost almost as much as my first low end water cooling kit. I hope it will do well. I'll post some pics of the final set up. I'm getting it shipped in a hurry to get it this Friday and hopefully post some pics and results at Friday night. Thanks.
I'm not using any conventional reservoir. I'm just gonna use a T-splitter and have another 1/2ID tube as the reservoir that way it has less restriction.
Hey, I've never heard of the Laing DDC+ model but, I'm really interested in it. All I could find was a Laing DDC+1 at the Alphacool site. Does anyone have a link to the product of an etailer site or a manufacturer site?
Even if the alphacool pump does run at a higher head pressure, the MCP655 is still more than sufficient to run the Storm. I have both the storm and the apogee with the MCP655 and the Storm outperforms by 4C at idle and 6C at load.
Okay cool, cuz I have ordered it already. But I'll try it on and see if the MCP655 is good enough for the Storm. If not I could return it and get that DDC+. Anyways if I happened to change my mind and want that DDC+ where would be the best place to order it?
Anyways, I got my set up shipped this Friday hopefully. I got the MCP655 pump, Storm cpu block and CoolingWorks CoolRad 32T triple 120mm radiator. I can't wait to have this setup in my system.
Right now I have remove my low end water cooling already and it's running on BigTyphoon. Yeah, I'm cooling just the cpu this time and hopefully overclocked it to 3.840Ghz at low temps. Very nice but eventhough I'm $300 broke it's okay, I'm just going get some overtime to make it back.
I'll show some pics and performance hopefully by Friday night. Thanks for all your help.
The MCP655 will be plenty strong enough to handle the Storm.
Ok, I've done some mondo research on this Laing pump. Here's the specs of it compared to the MCP655:
MCP355/DDC-12V REV2 "PLUS"/Laing DDC+
Nominal voltage: 12V DC
Nominal power: 18 W
Nominal head: 20.2 ft (6.1 m)
Nominal discharge: 120 GPH (454 LPH)
Connection size: 3/8" barbs (10mm)
Maximum pressure: 22 PSI (1.5 BAR)
Electrical connecto:r Molex 4 pin
Weight: 7.3 oz (207 gr.)
Noise: 30 - 32 dBA
MCP655
Nominal voltage: 12V DC
Nominal power: 8 - 24 W
Nominal head: 10 ft (3.1 m)
Nominal discharge: 317 GPH (1200 LPH)
Connection size: 1/2" barbs (13mm)
Maximum pressure: 50 PSI (3.5 BAR)
Electrical connecto:r Molex 4 pin
Weight: 1.4 lbs (650 gr.)
Noise: no discernible sound
So there it is. I spoke to an engineer over at Swiftech, Gabe, who I call from time to time about watercooling concerns and he said that the MCP355 (Laing DDC+) was strictly designed for 3/8 tubing and the MCP655 for 1/2. Also, to quote him "The 355 is loud as hell. I couldn't stand to be next to it"
Nice. That's what coming this Friday, the MCP655. It will be running on 1/2" ID tubing and my main concern is the quiteness. So I see the MCP655 is quite at highest setting, so I'm sold. Just wasn't sure if it would be good enough to run the Storm water block. Well that said thanks for some good info and to the rest as well.
I have the Thermaltake Kandalf case and all I need to do is drill two 3/4" holes right above the expansion slots for the 1/2"ID 5/8"OD tubings. I would be using 3 FM121 120mm fan fro Silverstone. So I'm pretty positive that this setup will give me a lot of cooling performance. Hopefully at the 25c idle and 30c full load at oc 3.840Ghz @ 1.35Vcore.
Well, since it is quite at highest settings then I'll just do that. Like I said I have to test it for myself and hopefully I get some good desirable results and if not then I'll look for something else.
So this will be my setup.
1/2"ID tubing.
MCP655 Pump to the Storm Rev.2 cpu block to triple 120mm radiator to reservior (T-split reservoir) to pump. I don't think the pump would need much head to push that system, does it?
What about the Swiftech Apogee? I remember reading somewhere that the Storm was better suited to IHS-less die applications, ie taking off your integrated heat spreader. The Apogee was supposedly better for cooling if you had an IHS left on the cpu die, because it cools over a greater area whereas the pressurizing nozzles in the storm are mainly focused over a smaller area that doesn't cover the entire die.
I'll leave it up to the pros to comment on that, just throwing the idea out there for a different kind of block from the same manufacturer.
But I'll try it on and see if the MCP655 is good enough for the Storm. If not I could return it and get that DDC+. Anyways if I happened to change my mind and want that DDC+ where would be the best place to order it?
Very nice but eventhough I'm $300 broke 