Watercooling what do i need apart from water :P

Grim.

so im thinking about going with a water cooling setup to combat fan noise and heat. so what do i need i only know the basics when it comes to water cooling so i need you help to choose the components i need

machine atm is
Coolermaster stacker 831
VelociRaptor
Intel Core i7 920
Corsair TX 750W
Noctua NH-U12P
x2 EVGA GeForce GTX 280 1024MB SC Edition in SLI
Gigabyte EX58-UD4P Intel X58
G.Skill 6GB DDR3 NQ PC3-12800C9 1600MHz

cpu fan atm is pretty good but i don't mind replacing it its the gfx cards that are the problem at 100% fan speed at load there like hairdryers and hitting 85c each with sli enabled, good for heating the room though

so like i said what do i need in terms of Rad/fittings/pump and blocks what diameter tubing should i use (would prefer larger diameter) budget is about €500/€600 any help is welcome

DanGerMus

Ok firstly it's a balls to do but your case is a nice size for it. It's not necassarily going to be quiet especially considering your components. Look for thermochill pa120.3 or pa120.2 rads. You might need to consider seperate loops for your gfx and cpu those gtxs put out a lotta heat. Laing ddc pumps. Look at EK blocks or swifttech both do full ranges of everything you need. look at www.performance-pcs.com they have a great selection of gear here you don't have to buy from them but it's a good place to get a look at a lot of gear thats available. also www.petrastechshop.com.

It's good fun to do and it looks really cool . I like mine.

It's worth considering some kind of air cooling first though try www.thermalright.com could save a lot of money and effort.

Grim.

thanks for the advice m8

well just ordered a silverstone tj07 there to start it off was a case i always wanted plus it seems alot better than the older version stacker i have (would take a awful lot of modding to get a 120.3 in there with res and pump) still looking for blocks for the gfx cards from a European supplier rad is also proving to be a pain thermochill doesn't seem to be in stock anywhere also most 1366 blocks seem to be out of stock so ill just have to keep hunting

Mac daddy

Doing a similiar build at the moment.

Have my Tj07 chopped for cable routing and bucket load of parts.
But your right I was trying to get my hands on 120.3 for weeks untill I found pain in the arse to find one at the moment.

Aquatuning.de they have them in stock at the moment.
Decided for my need to go with a Feser Quad Rad :-)

If this is your first time venturing into watercooling consider looking at the swiftech kits really nice little kits with everything you need in it.

My watercooling build is
C&C north and southbridge block
Mosfet block
Switech apogee GTZ I7 bracket.
EK spinner res ( should have this on monday )
EK 260 55nm waterblock
Feser Quad Rad
Swiftech double rad ( spare rad left over )
1/2 Tygon tubing
Bitspower fittings ( cost a poxy arm and a leg got them from sidewinder in the US )
Laing 18v Ultra with a xpsc top
Ek 150 Res

but be prepared to spend a fair bit of cash on custom watercooling thats why i'm advising a swiftech kit your first WC setup never last long trust me you will want to improve it constantly!
Decent custom loop will set you back around 600 easily I have spent close to 300Euro's on fittings alone never mind rads/blocks/tubing and pumps and reservoirs.
my advice stay away from the cheap ass thermaltake **** horribe watercooling components, and don't mix metals!!!

Grim.

i spent 300 quid on blocks alone (they were shiped today) :P am looking into getting the inside of the tj07 powder coated or sprayed anyone recommend a good durable spray paint for me that can survive braided wires being rubbed against it etc

but so far im looking forward to setting it up kinda regretting the expensive gfx blocks but feck it got them from aqua computer http://aquacomputer.de/aquagrafx-280.html the cpu block m happy with though http://shop.aquacomputer.de/product_info.php?products_id=2070 going with feser 360 rad but them and thermochill are a pain in the sack to get gona go with ek barbs or dd fat boys if i can find them so still away to go yet

Edit: will the quad fit in the bottom chamber of the 07? thats what stopped me ordering in the first place have got an order in for the 360 from chilled pc atm

Mac daddy

Grim. wrote: »

Edit: will the quad fit in the bottom chamber of the 07? thats what stopped me ordering in the first place have got an order in for the 360 from chilled pc atm

It sure will :-)

I have mine sitting on a couple of hammond boxes that I picked up from Maplins on sunday all fans attached and soldered up as one.

Grim.

well here it is only cooling one gfx card atm (going to use evga step up program one the other and go to 295 for less hassle) cables arnt as tidy as id like but itll do for now want to get a good hard drive cage for it or mod one of the ones that came with the case using the one out of the stacker atm that's why its out into the case.

just waiting for yate loons now for the rad liking the aqua computer blocks alot the look sweet and perform well
pretty happy with it though for my first attempt at water cooling could be better but its a start

Mac daddy

Have to say that turned out very nice grim well done

For your hard drive issue maplins sell rubber 5.25 conversion mounts they work brilliant, my hdd cage in the bottom has been removed and a 480 is sitting in there now.

Here you go a lil peek at my one, poxy motherboard died on me two weeks ago still waiting on my replacement from scan.co.uk to arrive

Not to worried gives me time to sort out the rest of cutting and final paint job next weekend.

Anti

Both looking awesome, good job guys

Grim.

looking well mac hope you get your board back soon

cheers anti

few more pics just cleaned up the wiring abit and added new fans also done abit of a ghetto mod to stock hdd cage nice and tidy now

Anti

Very clean, great job with the cable management

RoyalMarine

daym thats a nice rig dude. congrats and love the cable management!

Grim.

rite have the pa120.2 and second pump and res now just waiting on a couple of connectors then ill get going at it going to build a drainage system etc into it this time gfx card to run on the 120.3 and the proc on the 120.2

watch this space

Mac daddy

Good Man looking forward to seeing it

Mine is in bits at the moment again, throwing in some feser black tubing another Ek 140 Res, Swifty Double rad, new shiny pump, nickelplated gfx block.

Mac daddy

Couple of shots double pump / double rad single loop still playing around with it.

Grim.

gorgeous man well done

still planing on the layout of rads pumps etc while im waiting on supplies

thinking of pumps+xspc res tops in the bottom with the 120.3 and the 120.2 mounted outside on the back to try keep visible tubing inside the case to a minimum

Grim.

quick update got everything i need now for dual loop made a bracket to mount the rad on the back



will mod rear panal on my main case (this is my old one now a mock up) to allow both tubes through

and what im hoping will be a good color combo

Anti

You cant go wrong with feser

requiem1

Anti wrote: »

You cant go wrong with feser

Unless you drink it

Mac daddy

Would you not have put the rad in the bottom behind your other one?

More pics man we know you want to, then again when it comes to watercooling its a never ending story I'm constantly at mine


need to do up another pic tubing on the cpu is the wrong way around on that pic.

I have my 480 downstairs and my double swiftech and a coolermaster 1000w modular psu with enough space for the cables to run around.
Thing is though you will need a couple of 90s on the rads otherwise you won't have enough room.
I might still have a couple of spares knocking around if you need one or two just drop me a pm if your stuck