Watercooling for the first time - advice?

[jwl3]

I bought my friend's used innovatek water cooling system. From the reviews, it seems like it's a great WC set complete with

1)Eheim pump + reservoir
2) radiator
3) Fass-o-matic barrel reservoir
4) XX-flow water block


A few questions:

1) What order would you guys wire this thing in? I have it as:

Pump > Radiator > CPU > Fass-o-matic reservoir > Pump reservoir

Does it matter that the CPU outlet is below the inlet? (Should I reverse it because air bubbles go up)

2) For the waterblock and radiator, are the inlet/outlets interchangeable?



Thanks a lot guys.

 

[bf2gameplaya]

Wow, you are so screwed.

 

[jwl3]

Thanks, that's really helpful.

 

[phreejak]

Unfortunately, sometimes when you ask for help you have to deal with people who are no help at all.

You'll find that there are going to be people with varying attitudes and philosophies. Some will agree, other won't.

So you have a kit.

1) In any loop, the point where the flowrate is at its best is just after it leaves the pump. Now, some people will say that they put the rad directly after the pump. In this I do not agree. I beleive that the CPU waterblock should receive the benefit of the best flow so I advocate this order:

Reservoir - pump - cpu waterblock - rad - back to reservoir

No, it doesn't matter because of the flow

2) Yes they are. Sometimes, the orientation of waterblocks and other internal computer equipment influence the inlet/outlets of other gear.

 

[jwl3]

Great. Thanks a lot. Makes sense.

I was thinking that I'd use the pump to get water to the highest point in my setup (the radiator at the top) and then let gravity pull the water down through the CPU waterblock. Your way is probably more surefire.

 

[erocker]

I get the best results w/ pump-->Radiator-->block-->resevoir-->pump. Having the resevoir at the highest point in the loop is good for bleeding the air out.

 

[IH8U]

I usually go with RADIATOR>Pump>CPU>(GFX if in loop)>Resivior>Radiator (Granted my Rad doubles as my Res). (I also have run a Y splitter after the pump for the CPU and GPU).

 

[Zorg]

Be sure to leak test that thing, and keep an eye on it. I don't want to hear about how it all fried later.

 

[stoner133]

Pump>CPU>Splitter>GPU's on one line, Memory on second>Splitter to combine back to one>Radiator>Resevoir.

Edit: Test as Zorg suggests, I let my system run with computer powered off for a few hours to work most of the air out of the system and look for any leaks before using the computer. Then it also took a couple more days running to work all of the litttle bubbles out of the system.

 

[grieve]

A few questions:

1) What order would you guys wire this thing in? I have it as:

Pump > Radiator > CPU > Fass-o-matic reservoir > Pump reservoir

Pump, CPU Block, RAD, RES workes great.


2) For the waterblock and radiator, are the inlet/outlets interchangeable? On most rads in/out does not matter.

Also.. It is good practice to place the pump at the lowest point of the loop.

 

[grieve]

If you dont mind spending a couple bucks get a D-Tek Water Block or a Swiftech Apogee GTZ
While your @ the store snag a Thermalright Rad...

 

[jwl3]

Thanks a ton for the advice. I've been leak testing for several hours and everything seems watertight. I'm using distilled water mixed with additive. If it leaks slightly, what's the chance that it'll fry parts of the mobo and CPU? Leftover minerals and particles may have gotten into the water. Would that make it conductive?

Also, say it leaks while my computer is off. If I wait until it dries, will it kill the electronics?

 

[phreejak]

yes

It depends on if the dried additives have electrically conductive properties. I have been using PC-ICE for about 6 years now, It is pricey at $20 per 32oz but it is totally nonconductive - wet or dried up. I change my coolant about once a year so the expense isn't that bad - you can't put a price on piece of mind.

At some point, when you have the time, you might consider purchasing some teflon tape at any hardware store. You wrap it around the threads of barbs (before screwing them in) so that they seal the barbs. You can also use "plumbers goop" (tubing sealant of a rubbery consistency) as an alternative.

 

[jwl3]

Ok, as an update, I finished my build last night thanks to you guys. I now have a Q6600 water cooled.

Initial temps using Memtest 86+ are:

Stock at 2.4GHz

37C (idle)
45C (load)

Overclocked at 3.0GHz

44 (idle)
55( load)

My home's ambient temperature is around 24C (76 F). I think that's not bad and something I can live with.

It's just a huge lingering worry that I have a potential waterbomb in my computer next to expensive components!

 

[phreejak]

Well, if it really does become THAT much of a worry (and you can afford the extra $20) use an non conductive coolant like PC ICE. I've been using it for sometime now and I have had a leak or drip onto actual powered components and nothing happened. I am not certain about the other non conductive products but I know that PC ICE works as advertised. Plus, it also acts as a lubricant for the pump and has anti biological properties.

 

[jwl3]

Last night, I tried running Prime95's torture test on all 4 cores and using Everest to check the temps. The temps jumped to 100C (212F) on one of the cores! I was terrified and immediately shut down Prime95. The other cores were all approaching 80C. (I've o'clocked to 3.0GHZ from 2.4)

What could be possibly wrong? I had lapped the XX-flow water block until the shiny copper was exposed. It also is mounted with a foolproof 775 push-pin bracket that secures it in place. I put Arctic Silver 5 in a very thin spread across the entire face of the processor. (I didn't apply any on the waterblock.)

 

[rubix_1011]

Not to be a pessimist here, but if you really had that concern to begin with...why go to watercooling? I have been on water for over 5 years and never once had that concern. The worst thing I have ever had was a reservoir that had a stress crack around a fitting and leaked like a drop of coolant a day. New res, no leak. If you are really that concerned about it, maybe you should have chosen a different alternative. It isn't that watercooling isn't safe, but you don't have the right piece of mind to live with it, apparently.

 

[phreejak]

A few things you could look for when temps are unusually high after initially putting together a new build.

It could be that the block itself is sitting uneven on the CPU - perhaps one of the pins is not secure.

It might be something as simple as reseating the TIM.

Of course, it could also be trapped air in the rad. You can check that by running the loop and tilting the machine every which a way to see if any bubbles come out.

 

[Conumdrum]

TIM is applied by putting a small dot on a dual core, somewhere between the size of a grain of reice and a new pea (small one). Quads need a line put down, smaller than a grain of rice in thickness. Try looking at the Artic Silver site for proper application, works with most TIM pastes.

Also, did you install the waterbock with the Mobo installed? I learned and many others have. No matter what HS, air, water etc, you have to do it with the Mobo removed so you can closely inspect the pins, screws, things in the way.

You have to.............. Otherwise

Ohh I don't know how many saw the vid of Petras pouring 'special coolant' on a Mobo till it crashed. They compared it to OMG, distilled water at a whopping 1$ gallon. Guess what won? Guess what leaves no residue if you have a leak? Guess what most of the really experianced WC use?

Distilled water and a few drops of Biocide. Rebuild the loop every 6 months or so, always works.

 

[rubix_1011]

Hopefully those who want to go the water route aren't looking for the 'quick and easy' solution...which should then steer them away from thermaltake bigwater kits and similar. Watercooling requires a certain DIY factor for it to be functional, effective and worthwhile. If you have no intention of performing any of these at even a moderately high level, why evern do it to begin with?