Swiftech H20-220 or Custom

[dave8624]

I am a complete noob when it comes to WC and I am wondering the best approach to it. I have been reasearch it and read THG's March '07 "A Beginner's Guide to WC" and have decided that a kit is probably the easiest road to go. Since I have an Antec 1200, I know I am probably going to have to mount the radiator on the back, unless I make a few mods. If I go the kit approach, I am thinking of either the H20-220 Apex or H20-220 Compact, unless someone has a better idea. Or go the custom job, when I go to the LC page at Frozen CPU, there are some many parts, I just get overwhelmed and am afraid I might f**k something up, somehow lol, but I gave it a shop. Since you guys have been so helpful b4 I am hoping some1 will be able to help me decide which route is right. Thanks.

A couple quick questions on the parts I picked, if its better to go custom.


If I go custom, here are some parts I have been looking at, please let me know if they are ok, and if I am missing something.

Danger Den Black Ice Xtreme II Dual 120mm Radiator (Black) w/ Customizable Fittings http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2147/ex-rad-12/Danger_Den_Black_Ice_Xtreme_II_Dual_120mm_Radiator_Black_w_Customizable_Fittings.html?tl=g30c95s160

Danger Den DD-CPX1 12V 3-Pin Powered Pump http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6073/ex-pmp-53/Danger_Den_DD-CPX1_12V_3-Pin_Powered_Pump_-_DD-CPX1.html?tl=g30c107s155 - I assume I will have to buy 3/8" barbs to replace the 1/4"??

Thermaltake AquaBay M1 2U 5.25" Dual Reservoir / Flow Meter http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2225/ex-res-79/Thermaltake_AquaBay_M1_2U_525_Dual_Reservoir_Flow_Meter_CL-W0032.html?tl=g30c97s168

Tygon 3/8" Tubing http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2290/ex-tub-29/Tygon_38_ID_12_OD_Tubing.html?tl=g30c99s171 - I have read the Tygon is the best for WC, is that true? Also, how much do i need?

Swiftech GTZ Apogee Waterblock http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7929/ex-blc-518/Swiftech_Apogee_GTZ_Universal_CPU_Waterblock.html?tl=g30c325s839

Is it worth getting waterblock for the ram? I have the dominator fan on them now.

What sort of clamps, barbs, fittings etc should I buy and how many do I need. Thanks for everything.

Here are my specs:

Antec 1200
Core i7 920
GTX 260 (Upgrading to GTX 295 tho)
Corsair HX1000
6GB 1600 Dominator Ram
Asus P6T Deluxe

 

[Conumdrum]

Your looking pretty good< appreciate your hard work. Take it farther to real places that have WC parts in their PC. Pick where you are in my noob cut n paste post, do what ya can. READ. Move to real forums. I'm Conundrum on the ones I list for forums. Read, looking good for a start. Cancel RAM. No good solution on WC ram, a fan is plenty, your good.

Welcome to a nice place. We will help you to the 'T' but we hopefully expect you will take the time and learn all the issues involved with water-cooling a PC. We'll need some info.

Your budget, what you want to cool on the PC, your case you plan to use, and your tolerance for noise.

What I suggest you do is PLEASE read all the stickies here and at the sites I list later in this post. I also suggest you read the last 30 threads at each of these sites each and every post, no matter if it has 150 posts. There is really a lot to learn.

If your a PC hobby person and have built a few PCs, put on aftermarket air cooling on the CPU and GPU etc etc. You'll do fine. Meaning you understand the difference between idle and load temps, use temp monitoring software like Realtemp and Orthos and Furmark to load up your CPU/GPU. Have experienced the different ways to place fans in the case and realize the need for good case wire management.

If that's you, man this should be easy. If most of that just flew by, we'll still help, but it will be harder on both of us (you and the members here).

There is no 'brand'. There are great parts made by quality manufacturers we recognize as leaders. Then it is your budget. Then it is the amount of wattage you need to dissipate depending on your CPU and whatever else you want to cool. Then it's do you mind loud fans or want a more quiet system. Then your case and it you mind a 2' radiator hanging outside of your case.

And lots more. It's not that hard, many come and ask after 2-3 months of learning even before they ask. They have a parts list kinda made, we guide them and blam, 3 weeks later they post happy pics and smiles and thanks. Some.... well it doesn't go so well. They buy crap and need to start all over again. Or they have massive issues like a bad $300 broken GPU due to a leak and then need help, they didn't follow, for example, a simple rule we all adhere to in water-cooling because we read and learned.

It's not really that hard, and the results if done right are easy, quiet, and spectacular. Worth the $$ if you have the $$. Otherwise, there are great air solutions for under half the price. Temps WILL be lower on good water, it just costs more.

I'll steer you to some more technical links, please spend a few days (DAYS) reading posts, searching, learning. Don't forget to look for your case with WC. Google your case and the word water-cool or some combination of that. WC stuff is larger than you think, I know from experience. WC setups done right are awesome and almost silent.

Great place, not wayyy over the top with uber WC guys.
http://www.ocforums.com/index.php
Uber place, owned by one of the worlds winning OC guys in the world. Not a place to post or ask questions by noobs, but an awesome place to learn.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/
Another good place to learn
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/
The best link to explain what parts you’ll need
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/t282232.html

Great places to buy WC stuff
http://www.dangerden.com/index.php [...] e&Itemid=1
http://www.petrastechshop.com/
http://www.jab-tech.com/

 

[dave8624]

Conumdrum: Thanks for the info. I have seen your posts before and know how helpful you have been. I have a budget of ~300, but am flexible on that amount if need be. I am going to look at all the links you have posted, and will be posting my questions periodicallyAnd I am a PC Hobby person, so hopefully this will make it easier on everyone. Thanks again for all the info.

I have just finished reading the Water Cooling Parts Guide. Wow, that like explains a bunch of stuff, thanks. I am going to read the other links now, but just have a few questions, from what I read already.

1) I read if I use 7/16 tubing over 1/2 barbs, then I don’t need clamps, is this true? A couple of the guides seem to differ on this opinion.

2) Should I use Antikink Coils or elbows?

3) I was looking at the section about the Top Waterblocks and it kept mentioning the restrictions of the Swiftech GTZ and the EK Supreme (med/high restriction) what does that mean.

My friend has a HAF 932 but does not WC, so were probably gonna trade cases. So I think that should help a lot with the mounting of the rad and res.

Thanks again. I will post more ?'s tonight or tomorrow.

 

[rubix_1011]

Looks like Conumdrum gotcha some good info. I will try to answer you recent questions:

1) Usually, yes, this does work well, but many people still use clamps anyway. I like the small worm-gear ones (like mini car radiator clamps), but if using this tubing/fitting combo, you can probably even resort to zip ties...but if you can, use tubing clamps just in case.

2) Metal is usually better...but plastic are fine in most cases. If you go metal, you might look into the larger bore fittings for 1/2" (Big Boy?) Not sure exactly what they are called. They simply have a larger opening than normal 1/2" fittings.

3) Coils are fine, elbows are OK as long as you don't use a ton of them. If anything, get some good tubing like Feser or Tygon. Both flex much better than the generic tubing at the hardware store...by a landslide.

4) Restrictions? Typically, it means about how much water flow is hindered as opposed to other blocks. While a block might have low restriction, it might not be a very good block...it just depends. Those CPU blocks are both highly regarded.

As for that pump, yes, you would need different barbs, but I would also recommend checking out Petra's Tech shop. http://petrastechshop.com/ I know they have some better prices than FrozenCPU, although I have used Frozen for seveal years as well. Good luck, and let us know if you have more questions.