Water cooling kit

[Boxa]

I was looking at upgrading my cpu cooler, but after chatting with a fellow gamer, was advised it would be better to simply take the plunge and do water cooling instead, this will be first time and I dont know where to start, but I will read up using google,

so in the mean time, I have 2 questions...

1. What is the best watercooling kit for under £100, doesnt matter if its in $ from egg etc, Looking to start off with just CPU for now, if all works well I'll experiment more and maybe go with RAM and graphics...

2. If its cheaper to just buy parts myself, and make my own kit, what would I need for just a CPU water cooling?

If you have some link that I could read up on this, would be great, looking to buy maybe end of March...

 

[todd5854]

Now I cant convert your currency from ours to yours, but if you want to cool JUST the cpu, you'll need a CPU water block, a reservoir, a pump, and a radiator

Water block- Attaches to CPU instead of using heat sink

Reservoir- Where the coolant is kept when system is turned off, and excess coolant goes there

Pump- Pumps the coolant through the tubes, to circulate the coolant around the case

Radiator- that heat has to go somewhere, so it's dissipated in the radiator, best mounted on the back blowing out.

What kind of processor do you have?

 

[Boxa]

Thanks for the speedy reply.

Currently have:
Amdx2 5k+ be
Asus m3a32
Som ocz 4gb ram
Akasa eclipse case (startin to regret)
Pc 750 xfire psu

Looking to test on this cpu befo gettin p2. Sorry 2 more questions;

1. Considerin water can damage, what is the best solution?

2. How often would i need to change the water/coolent?

Thanks

 

[todd5854]

Honest opinion (of course i could be wrong) but I don't think the 5000+ needs liquid cooling.

But if it's for the Phenom II, then that will work great.

To prevent water damage, get a good quality kit and make sure ALL the pipes are secured before powering it up. I would actually put the coolant in the reservoir and leave the entire setup just sitting on a paper towel, that way you can clearly see if something is leaking.

You'd need to change the coolant depending on the evaporation due to heat. Which means if you somehow overclocked a PII to 6ghz, the coolant would get hot and eventually evaporate into air. On a standard PII you should be fine for a good amount of time. On most reservoirs there is a line marked "high" and line marked "low." If it gets too low, it won't pump correctly and since there's no heat dissipation on the water block, it'll burn up. I'd imagine most coolants are universal, some better than others, but they cost around US $20.

Let me know if you have any more questions, comments, concerns, etc.

 

[vinman]

I was looking at upgrading my cpu cooler, but after chatting with a fellow gamer, was advised it would be better to simply take the plunge and do water cooling instead, this will be first time and I dont know where to start, but I will read up using google,

so in the mean time, I have 2 questions...

1. What is the best watercooling kit for under £100, doesnt matter if its in $ from egg etc, Looking to start off with just CPU for now, if all works well I'll experiment more and maybe go with RAM and graphics...

2. If its cheaper to just buy parts myself, and make my own kit, what would I need for just a CPU water cooling?

If you have some link that I could read up on this, would be great, looking to buy maybe end of March...

I highly recommend the domino A.L.C. I have it with an e8400@4.0ghz and it idles at 22c and loads at maybe 50, usually lower. Check it out a www.coolitsystems.com and there is a review of it at www.guru3d.com. Not bad for $80 shipped and it is all inclusive, meaning no coolant to ad or setup, just put on the block and screw the fan to the case and plug it in.

 

[Shadow703793]

@OP: Read:

My standard sticky post, lots and lots to learn and read about. Your close on $450 for a good CPU/GPU loop, it can be done. Cya in a few days once you see what's involved.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/index.php? Not a noob site, but great stickies
http://www.ocforums.com/ My fav, good peeps, know their stuff, less hardcore
http://www.skinneelabs.com/MartinsLiquidLab/
http://www.over-clock.com/ivb/index.php?showtopic=20277 A GREAT Europe site
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.effizienzgurus.de%2Fmain%2Findex.php%3Fcontent%3Darticle%26action%3Dview_spec_article%26article_id%3D222&langpair=de%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 Info on rad testing
http://skinneelabs.com/
http://www.dangerden.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
http://www.petrastechshop.com/
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/

My recommendations:
Swiftech GTZ + D5 pump + res (decent/good quality) + Black Ice Pro (High CFM) or Thermochill PA120.X (low CFM) or any other good 120.x or better.

Word of advice: NEVER go for pre-built kits. They are 98% of the time low quality than a custom WC loop and will leak on you (ie Thermakltake Bigwater). Water + electronics = Bad.

@OP: Mind you, do you really need WC? You should be fine to get by with a good HSF like a XIGMATEK S1283 or a TRUE 120.

 

[Boxa]

Thanks for the info guys, bookmarked this topic....

1. yes I dont need water etc for this 5000BE, but its in and so makes a great test subject ;] befo using it on P2

2. no i cant use TRUE, or any like that HS, as it covers 2.5 ram slots...
check my motherboard - Asus M3A32 MVP wifi deluxe... then notice that fittings are verticle, not horizontal... which basically means the HS/HSF will we sideways, going left to right, not up/down

 

[Shadow703793]

^In that case I recommend:
1. Switch out motherboard
2. Save up for a quality WC setup.
3. Look for a good HSF that will fit.

 

[wdmso]

I was looking at upgrading my cpu cooler, but after chatting with a fellow gamer, was advised it would be better to simply take the plunge and do water cooling instead, this will be first time and I dont know where to start, but I will read up using google,

so in the mean time, I have 2 questions...

1. What is the best watercooling kit for under £100, doesnt matter if its in $ from egg etc, Looking to start off with just CPU for now, if all works well I'll experiment more and maybe go with RAM and graphics...

2. If its cheaper to just buy parts myself, and make my own kit, what would I need for just a CPU water cooling?

If you have some link that I could read up on this, would be great, looking to buy maybe end of March...

I would go with the cool it http://www.fadfusion.com/selection.php?product_item_number=10021000502
water for under 75.00 bucks on cools the cpu but a solid option

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

The Swiftech H20-H220 is the only watercooling kit that is worth it.

 

[Shadow703793]

^True that. It still doesn't come to performance of a custom tough.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

No but it doesn't come to the price either.

 

[Shadow703793]

^ lol. That's true too. Imo, WC is all about performance and not so much performance vs price. There is performance vs quality.

 

[vortexprog]

Just an FYI, the coolant is non-conductive (you should not use water because it cools worse and can freeze), so it should not ruin your computer; although it could. The biggest issue is the coolant leaking and then you have to keep refilling it and wasting money, so make sure everything fits tight!

 

[mamw93]

If you do BE SURE to get non corrosive non conductive coolant. If you don't YOU LEAK YOU DIE!!!!

 

[Silverion77]

1) +1 to Shadow...listen to him. Dont buy a kit and if ur actually serious about it save up for a real setup and do lots of RESEARCH. read read read read read
Ive read for basically 2 yrs and now feel sort of confident to make a proper cpu loop

"(you should not use water because it cools worse and can freeze)"
Yes, cause water is definitely freezing while cooling a 50C+ Cpu.... :lol:
2) Coolant wise. U want to buy DISTILLED WATER. Much to peoples disbelieve, distilled water is very non conductive and is all ppl use in H2O setups. Actual Coolant is just a good way to waste money

 

[Shadow703793]

Guys, the OP has been gone for a few weeks (almost a month). It was a dead thread.

 

[Silverion77]

Omg...lol ?!

Are u freaking kidding me?! Whats with all these age old bumps