Want to get into watercooling

[crazynuts16]

Ok I am really annoyed now, spent the past week trying to get temps down and nothing seems to be helping.

My build:

CPU - i7-2600k
Motherboard - Asus Z68 pro
Ram - Gskill Sniper 1866 8gb
HSF - Hyper 212 evo with push/pull using the same fans, believe they max at 82cfm
HDD - Spinpoint 1tb HDD Hd103sj x2
SSD - Crucial M4 128gb
PSU - XFX PRO750W XXX
GPU - Gigabyte 6850
Case - Cooler Master Storm Scout with an upgraded top exhaust fan from xigmatech and added a front fan in the drive bay rated at 60cfm


I had a hyper 212 evo with push/pull, and i was getting 36-40 idle and touched 65 load at stock speed

- touch 75 in 5 mins at OC at 4.3,vcore@1.25 and go over 80 in 15 mins at which point i turned it off.

After trying reseating etc, gave up, returned it and bought a corsair h80 instead to just eliminate if the cooler was the problem or something else.

H80 dropped my idles to 30-33, 57 load @ stock 3.8ghz
70max at 4.5ghz with 1.32 vcore using offset

I would be satisfied with these temps but i feel like watercooling has a lot more potential

So what are your recommendations for a 100-150 budget, want to cool only the cpu, don't really need gpu cooling but will take it if i get it.

Another thing i don't like about the h80 is the noise level

Thanks!

 

[rubix_1011]

You are really only putting yourself in line for a Rasa RS240 kit with that budget. However, you shouldn't see a significant difference between the Evo, H80 and the Rasa...the 2 coolers you've used will give you adequate cooling on a 2600k...a Rasa kit (or even most custom loops) might get you a few degrees cooler, but CPUs do a lot better these days on staying cool. Depending on your clock speeds, this might be a bit better with watercooling at load, but it kind of depends if you are running over 4.5ghz.

Watercooling and air cooling can never allow you to cool lower than the ambient room temperature. It's impossible.

 

[crazynuts16]

do you know a good install guide for the rs240?

Should i stick with the h80 or consider upgrading to h100 at least?

is the antec 920 better?

I have space for a 120/140 fan, there are no fan slots next to each other except the side glass window, so if i go a bigger rad then i would have to modify which i can do but let me know if its worth it.

thanks

 

[rubix_1011]

You can find a ton of install videos on YouTube.

With your first steps into watercooling also come your first steps into modding.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

What voltage is your RAM running at? You do know that the memory controller is on the CPU with Sandy Bridge chips and you should not go over 1.5v right? Going over 1.5v and technically going over 1333 will void the CPUs warranty. Running at higher speed is basically overclocking the memory controller and might cause heat.

 

[crazynuts16]

manually set voltage to 1.5, should i back off to 1600?

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231460

using that one

 

[Deleted member 217926]

I would think you are OK at 1.5v BUT you should at least be aware of this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=31&post=333313&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

 

[crazynuts16]

Thanks for that. good to know. wish it was more known.

 

[crazynuts16]

OK so should I pick the rasa rx240 or the rs240?. is there a good difference between them? Will probably only cool the cpu for now, want lesser sound definitely.

The h80 on balanced mode is too loud for me.

Couple questions about the rasa kit,

1. whats the maintenance like? 6months or 12 months?
2. I read some posts about replacing the tubing in that kit and using something else, what tubes should i use, can i use colored tubing?
3. Distilled water is best? anything better than that?
4. push/pull or push only? included fans good enough or should i upgrade?

Thank you.

 

[rubix_1011]

RX is better than RS, but because the radiator is much thicker, compare images between the kits.

Please read the watercooling sticky- the questions you are asking are covered in there. It is linked below in my sig.

 

[e56imfg]

I would just go for a NH-D14 because it's whisper quiet with ample cooling for your CPU. WC kits are just not worth it unless you have a dedicated case or modding skills. IMO $200 is where you want to start for a WC rig.

 

[crazynuts16]

RX is better than RS, but because the radiator is much thicker, compare images between the kits.

Please read the watercooling sticky- the questions you are asking are covered in there. It is linked below in my sig.

I actually read the sticky but need to confirm a few things before i make my purchase,

1. RX240 KIT from jabtech

2. 7 feet of PrimoFlex Pro LRT UV Red Tubing - 7/16in. ID X 5/8in. OD

3. Fans : I can't understand which ones to pick, Push/pull with shroud is the best setup right? And from what i understand yate loons are the ones to get, so if i get 4 of those. Which yate loons should i get?

My understanding is that lower rpm fans are better with the rx240. And do i want closed or open corner fan?

Fan RPM CFM DBA
YATE LOON 120mm Case Fan - D12SL-12 1350 47 28
YATE LOON 120mm Case Fan - D12SM-12 - Medium Speed 1650 70.5 33
YATE LOON 120mm Case Fan - D12SL-12C Low Speed 1300 44.5 20.8
YATE LOON 120mm Case Fan - D12SH-12 - High Speed 2200 88 40
YATE LOON 120mm Case Fan - D12SM-12C Medium Speed 1800 62 28.5


Which of these should i pick or are there some others i should be considering? Do you recommend any specific shrouds?

4. Did not find any kill coil or liquids on jabtech to prevent algae growth etc., recommendations?

In the end, I guess I am stretching my budget to almost 200 with all the fans and tubing.

 

[rubix_1011]

The Rasa kits come with fans...you want to buy extras? Why?

Tubing is fine, I am assuming you don't want to use the tubing in the kit? I'm not sure what kind it is, so this is your call.

Liquid- distilled water.

kill coil on Jab-tech- http://jab-tech.com/Antimicrobial-Silver-Strip-pr-4530.html They aren't always called killcoils.

 

[steadywaters]

- Out of curiosity, what's your plan for mounting the radiator? Doesn't seem like there is any space to put the RX240 internally. Drill two holes and mount it externally?

- I've got the blue PrimoFlex tubing (distilled water + kill coil) and I find that the tubing looks great even without a UV cathode (assuming you have a source of light inside the case).

- I use CM R4s which are specced to run at 2000 RPM. But I use a fan controller to manage them at 1500 RPM and under. At 1700-1800 RPM, the fans are rather loud. At 1500 RPM and under they're very quiet.

If you cannot control the fan speed, I'd suggest 1650 RPM fans. (Your H80 on "balanced" runs the fan at 2000 RPM - no wonder you wouldn't stand the noise.)

 

[crazynuts16]

- Out of curiosity, what's your plan for mounting the radiator? Doesn't seem like there is any space to put the RX240 internally. Drill two holes and mount it externally?

- I've got the blue PrimoFlex tubing (distilled water + kill coil) and I find that the tubing looks great even without a UV cathode (assuming you have a source of light inside the case).

- I use CM R4s which are specced to run at 2000 RPM. But I use a fan controller to manage them at 1500 RPM and under. At 1700-1800 RPM, the fans are rather loud. At 1500 RPM and under they're very quiet.

If you cannot control the fan speed, I'd suggest 1650 RPM fans. (Your H80 on "balanced" runs the fan at 2000 RPM - no wonder you wouldn't stand the noise.)

I am planning to cut open the front where the hdd's are mounted and place the rx240 there, by my calculations i will want atleast 5 inches of space,

25mm fan - 58mm radiator - 25 mm fan , about 4.3 inches. 5 inches to be safe.

i have more than enough space to do that setup and still be able to place the hdd's behind the radiator or possibly take up 1 or 2 5.25 bay.

ofcourse this is all theory, we'll see when i start cutting this weekend. Worst case, yeah i'll just mount it out the back, i never move my case and its barely visible under my desk.


Thanks for the fan recommendation, those are the ones i ordered. i just hope 33db isnt too much otherwise i'll probably just invest in some fan controller

 

[crazynuts16]

Best answer selected by crazynuts16.