Lanbox water cooling project need help plz.

0111101001101001

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May 12, 2007
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Hello I am a new user to the forums and first wanted to introduce myself so hi :)

Now onto my project.

My intention is to have a small portable yet powerful computer on a short budjet.

Ok first off let me post the details of the rig.

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 FX-57
MOTHERBOARD: eVGA 131-K8-NF44-AX Micro ATX AMD nForce4 SLI
VIDEOCARD: EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB
CASE:Thermaltake LANBOX - VF1000BWS
RAM: Soon to be upgraded... currently 2x512 dual channel pc3200

http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/Thermaltake_LANBOX__VF1000BWS/

I picked this case becuase all the other micro atx cases I fould were not able to fit the 8800gtx video card without needing the use of a dremel (also has a optional 7in drive bay to mount a lcd screen).

ok so everything so far fits in this case np. One major factor I am concerned about is overheating. I do tend to do some overclocking in the future, but with how hot its running atm there is no way.This video card gets HOT currently with the help of a outside fan blowing into the case 65c.

Ok so the thought of water cooling comes in mind. I do however have a pump/res kit (Koolance RP-1000BK 1kW Series 5.25in Drive Bay System - Black)http://www.xoxide.com/koolance-rp-1000bk.html.
Getting the water blocks is np at all, but this case only has 3x60mm fan slots and a 90,92mm? front fan slot. I have found 2 92mm radiators that would probably fit but one of them will not deliver to the us..uk only, and the other site there out of stock becuase they our of rad shrouds apparently. So this is the biggest problem I am having. The 92mm rad probably wont have a huge effect on temps though im afraid.

So is there maybe some other way I could keep the water flowing in my system cool w/o a rad? I could go external but that would defeat the purpose of having a portable rig. One idea i had was to take a peltier and reverse the plate on it with the cold side up on a water block but then getting the hot side to stay cold would cuase a issue. that might sound dumb idk im still new at this.




any suggestions? [/img]
 

gow87

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Mar 22, 2007
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nice idea mate, but unless you have the exact same flow resistance in each block the water is gonna try and flow the easiest way, like electricity, its lazy and will always take the easiest route
 

Houndsteeth

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Jul 14, 2006
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In all honesty, you are going to want to set this up in serial rather than parallel in your distribution. As gow87 said, the water will follow the path of least resistance, which might not be the path which needs the most cooling.

Have you given any thought to externalizing the radiator? With the devices you have in your cooling loop, you are going to need a double 120mm rad as it is. With a little bit of craft tooling, you can turn the radiator into a combo handle on top of your case, operating four 120mm fans at very low speeds in a push/pull configuration.

As for the cooling loop, set it up with your CPU first, then your GPU and finally your chipset on the loop, then your pump and finally through the radiator and start again at the CPU. This will put the coolest water on the CPU and the warmest on the chipset, and puts your pump at the end of the loop before the radiator.

Avoid Koolance if you can. What you will find is that the best air cooling products out there will actually perform better than Koolance products, and they will do it for a lot cheaper than what you pay for Koolance products. Take a look at Danger Den or Swiftech. If you can, use 1/2" fittings and 7/16" inner diameter tubing (Tygon 3603 is best, but it ain't cheap). For tight bends in your tubing, if you can find an office supply store that has 1/2" plastic coil binding (like what you see on spiral notebooks), then you can use this to reinforce the outside of your tubing to prevent kinking. Otherwise, you can purchase the coolsleeve product that Swiftech markets (though it is inferior IMHO).

For the pump, I recommend the Liang D5 (and its variants marketted by both Swiftech and Danger Den).