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Any issues with run to waste water cooling?

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hi all, i recently picked up a asus p8z68 m pro gen3 with the intention of starting a new build, its my first build and will be for gaming/htpc use only, at the moment the only parts that i know i want to buy are the ivy bridge 2500k equivalent and a hd7870 when they get released so any advice on other parts that would fit nicely is much appreciated.
the case i plan on making myself from some very cool looking aluminium bio hazard containment boxes i can acquire from a friend, maybe just clad a old midi tower i have with them.
my only real requirement is low noise/max settings in games at 1920x1080 on a single display, im under the impression water is the way to go for low noise and performance so here is my real question, how cold is to cold for the water temps that enter the system? and what other pitfalls could i encounter if i used a run to waste system?
i dont plan on moving my machine or house and if for some reason i had to i was thinking i could just pick up an external cooling unit.
the only reason im considering a run to waste system is because i had a 200ft well and rain water collection system fitted and all my water other than toilets is recycled, i plan on a header tank with motorised valve for the pc, my only real concern is that the water from the well is nearly freezing all year round and that it could be to cold, i.e condensation in the tower.
any links/buying advice/build advice greatly appreciated.

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IMHO, stick with a good air cooler. Water cooling is cool and all, but to cool as good as a quality air cooler you are going to spend way more money. There are several quiet air coolers out there... I like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO for the whopping $35. No reason not to expect a solid overclock of roughly 4.5GHz with that cooler (if done properly). The EVO also accepts a second CPU fan for a push / pull setup through the heatsync for better cooling than stock. This fan is $12 putting your total CPU cooling costs at $47. You aren't going to do much better for that cost...

CPU Cooler - Hyper 212 EVO - $35
2nd CPU Cooler Fan - CM Blade Master 120mm - $12

If water cooling realy interests you, head on over to the watercooling forum. There is a lot of good recommendations over there for creating your own solution, or going with one out-of-the-box.

cheers for the info, wasnt quite sure what forum i should put this in, will head over to the watercooling forum as im desperate to rid myself of fan noise, well as much as possible anyway, thanks again.

A truly interesting approach. I prefer silent systems myself; I put My Documents on my SSD because the hard drive is the loudest thing in mine.

Running tap / tank water to waste is a perfectly good approach except for the large amount of water consumed. The lowest temperature depends on your local weather: heat and humidity. You don't want to have condensation inside the case.

I had considered this myself, but didn't want to use up the water. Please let me know if you actually do this - I'd love to see pictures. You can send me a Private Message to make sure that I see it. Have fun.

You can make an aircooled system pretty quiet, but this approach sounds like an interesting experiment, just for the heck of it. Or you could run the waste water into your hot-water tank, lightly pre-heated?
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If you are dead set on water cooling then fine, but don't dismiss air cooling simply because your existing fans are loud. The Hyper 212 is quiet as is the second optional fan.

WyomingKnott said:
A truly interesting approach. I prefer silent systems myself; I put My Documents on my SSD because the hard drive is the loudest thing in mine.

Running tap / tank water to waste is a perfectly good approach except for the large amount of water consumed. The lowest temperature depends on your local weather: heat and humidity. You don't want to have condensation inside the case.

I had considered this myself, but didn't want to use up the water. Please let me know if you actually do this - I'd love to see pictures. You can send me a Private Message to make sure that I see it. Have fun.

You can make an aircooled system pretty quiet, but this approach sounds like an interesting experiment, just for the heck of it. Or you could run the waste water into your hot-water tank, lightly pre-heated?


hi, thanks for the interest, noise is my biggest motivator but i do enjoy building things so the water cooling system would be half the fun of the build, i understand the water consumption issue on mains water and wouldnt consider it but i literally have to much water on my property so no environmental or money cost involved really, would love to make use of the heated waste but sadly it would mean considerably more work/holes in walls lol, never say never though! will definitely keep you updated if i can build it. thanks again

sadams04 said:
If you are dead set on water cooling then fine, but don't dismiss air cooling simply because your existing fans are loud. The Hyper 212 is quiet as is the second optional fan.


wow that 212 certainly is quiet but i think my heart really is set on water, might get one though to use while i get everything else up and running, cheers.

i wouldnt suggest a run to waste cooling setup. we have well water as well and i can tell you it is definitely cold and will cause condensation badly. our pipes sweat all year round.

what you could do though is have a holding tank and run this water through the case. a large resevoir will not heat up as easily. you will need a pump but this could be mounted far away depending on pump power. you should also have a radiator but if you are hiding the water tank already you could even jerry rig an old car radiator to cool the loop.

there are tons of options available.

you will still need some sort of ambient airflow through your case though. 120mm fans on low are enough for this.

if the pump is near it will make noise. a low humming normally.

there is a product called a resevator (or something similar) which is a resevoir tank with fins on it for passive cooling. you could use this in your loop. it is suggested to have a real radiator though as well.

not all water cooled systems are quiet. depending on what you are trying to cool the fans required might make even more noise than an air cooled system. if done right however, a water cooled system will do a better job than an air cooled one. however at much more $ expense.

remember the cpu isnt the only thing that needs cooling. in most cases the gpu fan is the single loudest part of a computer. that thing can spool up like a jet engine.

4ryan6 has set up a water cooling system that can cool to below ambient temps. You may want to head over to the water cooling forum and see if you can get him to respond to some questions about how he handles condensation.

Other than the condensation possibilities I see no problem running water from a well and discharging it right back into the well. It's not like he's doing the dishes with the cooler water.

HOW DO YOU PLAN TO DEAL WITH THE ALGEA and other things that will grow in the little parts of your water blocks? Do you plan on pulling them apart every month to clean them? This is why everyone uses distilled water... Well Water would be the worse idea. Local/CITY water is atleast chorinated, well is full of things that grow microbilogy critters!

I wouldnt suggest using water for liquid cooling at all... you run the risk of getting biological growth and minerals in your coolant system as well as corrosion. You can add cheicals to rid you of these issues, but you dont want to be drinking those chemicals if your well water is the same as your drinking and cooking water.
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