DIY Water cooling, Anybody tried it?

2009-03-08 15:01:47

#1

-Whiteroom-: Pineapplewhat; +572|6934|BC, Canada

So I've been thinking about adding some water cooling to my PC, and thought it would be fun to find a cheap way to do it, while being able to customise it to my liking. Also it would be fun to make. I read this article:

http://www.spodesabode.com/archive/cont … atercool/1

My question is, Has anyone here tried anything like this, and do you have any helpful suggestions?

EDIT: So far the plan in my head is (using my Thermaltake Armor case):

-Mount the radiators (car heater cores, I want to use 2, each with 2 120mm fans) on the right hand side (outside) of the case

-depending on the pump I find, mount the pump on the outside too, or maybe inside under the drive bays.

-send the flow: pump - primary radiator - T-line / Reservoir - Secondary radiator - Cpu block - pump

-later ( once I upgrade gpu and get cooling blocks for it ) I would like to set it up like this

- Pump - Primary radiator - Cpu - Chipset - T-line / Reservoir - Secondary radiator - Gpu/ Gpu's- Pump

any suggestions on that order? I'm putting the T-line between the radiators because I want to mount them inlet/outlet up, and it recommends you put this up top for filling/ bleeding purposes.

Last edited by Nic (2009-03-08 17:07:44)

2009-03-08 15:02:30

#2

AussieReaper: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°); +5,761|6428|what

Nic wrote:
do you have any helpful suggestions?

Get a professional to install it.

2009-03-08 15:04:28

#3

.Sup: be nice; +2,646|6728|The Twilight Zone

AussieReaper wrote:
Nic wrote:
do you have any helpful suggestions?
Get a professional to install it.

Its not hard tbh

https://www.shrani.si/f/3H/7h/45GTw71U/untitled-1.png

2009-03-08 15:05:52

#4

GC_PaNzerFIN: Work and study @ Technical Uni; +528|6689|Finland

Buy stuff from swiftech, ek, danger den or some otehr high quality manufacturer, do the install yourself = win

Last edited by GC_PaNzerFIN (2009-03-08 15:06:26)

3930K | H100i | RIVF | 16GB DDR3 | GTX 480 | AX750 | 800D | 512GB SSD | 3TB HDD | Xonar DX | W8

2009-03-08 15:28:31

#5

Jenspm: penis; +1,716|7007|St. Andrews / Oslo

talk to max.

https://static.bf2s.com/files/user/26774/flickricon.png

2009-03-08 15:45:58

#6

link52787: Member; +29|6797

I use water cooling on my current rig.

It doesn't take long to build a loop.

You need patience and common sense really.

I suggest you test for leaks before you put it in your rig. Testing should take at least 24 hours.

Make sure the barbs are screwed on snug, not too tight though.

I use a reservoir but some people use T-lines.

2009-03-08 15:55:10

#7

-Whiteroom-: Pineapplewhat; +572|6934|BC, Canada

AussieReaper wrote:
Nic wrote:
do you have any helpful suggestions?
Get a professional to install it.

your no fun at all...

2009-03-08 16:01:09

#8

-Whiteroom-: Pineapplewhat; +572|6934|BC, Canada

GC_PaNzerFIN wrote:
Buy stuff from swiftech, ek, danger den or some otehr high quality manufacturer, do the install yourself = win

See... I dont want to by all that stuff at premiums from manufacturers, dont really feel like justifying the expense right now, however I do have a large workshop with all the tools you could need to make this at my disposal... So I want to try to make it myself, according to that article, the only thing I should really need to buy from a computer company is the water blocks. So I could make a very good kit for much cheaper, and it would be a fun project, rather then just buying pre built stuff. If I wanted that theres plenty of them on ebay and craigslist.

2009-03-08 16:17:27

#9

GC_PaNzerFIN: Work and study @ Technical Uni; +528|6689|Finland

I said do the install yourself.... buy blocks, pump, radiator, reservoir, tubes etc. seperately and assemble the kit.

Last edited by GC_PaNzerFIN (2009-03-08 16:22:13)

3930K | H100i | RIVF | 16GB DDR3 | GTX 480 | AX750 | 800D | 512GB SSD | 3TB HDD | Xonar DX | W8

2009-03-08 16:57:31

#10

-Whiteroom-: Pineapplewhat; +572|6934|BC, Canada

jamiet757 wrote:
AussieReaper wrote:
Nic wrote:
do you have any helpful suggestions?
Get a professional to install it.
Nonsense, I have rebuilt my watercooling system about 3 times. It is easy. Just be careful and make sure everything is tight before you add water and turn it on.

Also, it is not really worth it trying to make your own parts, it will take you forever to get a block that is perfectly flat and polished for optimal heat transfer, otherwise you might as well just use a stock intel heatsink. Just buy one, they are not that expensive.

Yeah... I'm gonna buy all the blocks from quality manufactures, but the rest I would like to do myself, for example the article suggests car heater cores for radiators( i think I can find a couple for free), and I might be able to order a pump from work for cheap, or maybe get lucky and find one there.

2009-03-08 18:41:10

#11

-Whiteroom-: Pineapplewhat; +572|6934|BC, Canada

jamiet757 wrote:
Nic wrote:
jamiet757 wrote:

Nonsense, I have rebuilt my watercooling system about 3 times. It is easy. Just be careful and make sure everything is tight before you add water and turn it on.

Also, it is not really worth it trying to make your own parts, it will take you forever to get a block that is perfectly flat and polished for optimal heat transfer, otherwise you might as well just use a stock intel heatsink. Just buy one, they are not that expensive.
Yeah... I'm gonna buy all the blocks from quality manufactures, but the rest I would like to do myself, for example the article suggests car heater cores for radiators( i think I can find a couple for free), and I might be able to order a pump from work for cheap, or maybe get lucky and find one there.
Yeah I have heard heater cores work well, just make sure they are clean. And any 12v pump would work so if you can find one that is a good value, go for it.

that what I was thinking... the article suggests one with at leas 150 gallons per hour flow, and a head of 1.5 metres. I was thinking of mounting it with a couple pieces of rubber to cut down on vibration/noise.

2009-03-09 11:23:01