Liquid Cooling Help

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2006-10-21 21:56:23

Lt.Garbo: Commander God; +41|7107|Denver, CO

So I am considering getting a liquid cooling system for my PC. I heard that the benefits to this are cooling running components (i.e. Process, Graphics Card, etc.) as well as minimal dust collection. I am not looking to do any overclocking, just looking for more efficiency with my current set up. My questions are:

1) What am I looking to spend and what is the best liquid cooling system out there for the price?

2) Are they fairly easy to install? I built my computer from scratch so I am not completely incapable.

3) Are they easy to maintain?

4) Knowing that I am NOT overclocking, is it worth it?

Here are my PC Specs:
========================================
Processor: Intel P4 3.8 GHz
Motherboard: Asus P5N32-Sli Deluxe (LGA 775) Nvidia Nforce
Graphics Cards: ATI Radeon x1800 XT 512MB GDDR3 PCIx16
Sound Card: Creative SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS 7.1 Channels
Memory: 2 GB (4 x 512MB) Corsair XMS2 240-Pin PC2-5400
Hard Drive: Western Digital 250 GB SATA 3.0Gb/s
========================================

Thanks for any info!

2006-10-21 22:00:37

Cybargs: Moderated; +2,285|7167

All I can say: one leak and your dead. If your not overclocking, don't get it, waste of money, the water has to be renewed every 6 months, very difficult.

https://cache.www.gametracker.com/server_info/203.46.105.23:21300/b_350_20_692108_381007_FFFFFF_000000.png

2006-10-21 22:05:31

=DBD=TITAN126: Member; +5|7234

Ya like ninja said it's a waste if you're not doing any serious overclocking. I also don't like the idea of having a ton of water moving around $1,000 of computer parts, hence, I don't use watercooling.

2006-10-21 22:06:35

Lt.Garbo: Commander God; +41|7107|Denver, CO

If water cooling ISN'T the way to go, is there a better, more efficient way of cooling my PC without noisy fans and all the dust? Or should I just stick to my bi-weekly dust-off sessions?

2006-10-21 22:07:58

Cybargs: Moderated; +2,285|7167

Lt.Garbo wrote:
If water cooling ISN'T the way to go, is there a better, more efficient way of cooling my PC without noisy fans and all the dust? Or should I just stick to my bi-weekly dust-off sessions?

Buy better heatsinks

2006-10-21 22:09:20

Lt.Garbo: Commander God; +41|7107|Denver, CO

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:
Lt.Garbo wrote:
If water cooling ISN'T the way to go, is there a better, more efficient way of cooling my PC without noisy fans and all the dust? Or should I just stick to my bi-weekly dust-off sessions?
Buy better heatsinks

Any suggestions? I look on Newegg.com and every heatsink says "They're better" or "ours disperses the most heat" the reviews aren't very helpful sometimes AND there is the thermal paste to consider too.. oh no, I've gone cross-eyed.

2006-10-21 22:19:19

GotMex?: $623,493,674,868,715.98 in Debt; +193|7214

I have a water-cooling kit in my computer. It's the Thermaltake Big Water SE. It cost me about $100 I believe. Considering a top-of-the-line fan is around $60, it really isn't THAT much more money.

Leaks-wise, I'm not really worried. The hardware is pretty good quality and it keeps the tubes tight and in place. The tubing is tough to so I really really doubt it'll break anytime soon. Just use the non-conductive liquid that comes in the kit and you'll be fine as well.

It's not the water that screws up the electronic components, it's the fact that water conducts electricity and short-circuits it all. Have you ever seen electronic components submerged in oil and running fine? Same deal here, non-conductive means no problem.

Leaks are really no worry. Bigger worry is if your pump stops working and chip over heats... but same problem could happen with a fan.

It's not hard to install, just a bit time consuming. I.E. takes a lot of steps, but they are all really easy. You'll know that a tube is in place cause you can pull all you want and it'll never come loose. Priming it is a bit of a pain at first since you have no idea what you're looking for, but with the reservoir method, there's no chance of getting air bubbles in there.

For maintenance, you don't really have to do anything once it's set. Just make sure the liquid level stays sufficient. There will be losses due to evaporation, but I've had my kit for 3 months up and running now and haven't had to make any changes. Soon though, I'll just have to empty it out, and add new liquid. Done it a couple times already for practice. Piece of cake.

Is it worth it? I have a Pentium 805 D chip right now overclocked to about 3.8 Ghz. I wouldn't be able to do that with a regular fan, so it's worth it in that sense. If you're not gonna overclock, it might be easier to just stick to your standard stuff, but it's nice to future-proof your equipment. Plus, it looks really cool to have tubes running inside of your computer. And, I like being able to extend the cooling capabilities to other components without having to buy new different parts. When I buy a new Video Card, I can just add the VGA cooling block to my set up and I know it will work and keep things nice and cool.

If you have the money, you have the interest, and you think it'd be cool to have a water-cooling kit in your comp, I say go for it. Otherwise, you won't be gaining THAT much more that a regular fan.

NewEgg.com - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6835106063
Thermaltake.com - http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/L … 005-01.asp

Last edited by GotMex? (2006-10-21 22:37:33)

2006-10-21 22:22:55

Cybargs: Moderated; +2,285|7167

Lt.Garbo wrote:
cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:
Lt.Garbo wrote:
If water cooling ISN'T the way to go, is there a better, more efficient way of cooling my PC without noisy fans and all the dust? Or should I just stick to my bi-weekly dust-off sessions?
Buy better heatsinks
Any suggestions? I look on Newegg.com and every heatsink says "They're better" or "ours disperses the most heat" the reviews aren't very helpful sometimes AND there is the thermal paste to consider too.. oh no, I've gone cross-eyed.

Try waturbo, it's a mini watercooler in a heatsink. Anything by zalman is pretty good.

2006-10-22 02:46:44

kylef: Gone; +1,352|6944|N. Ireland

If you aren't going to overclock watercooling is pointless. What system are you running and I'll recommend you some good fans.

2006-10-22 10:45:14

ShotYourSix: Boldly going nowhere...; +196|7170|Las Vegas

I got pissed off one time when windows was giving me headaches and punched the front of my PC. It moved backwards about 4" and snapped a nylon quick-connect fitting on the back of my Koolance Exos. I didnt realize it right away but it immediately drained its resevoir down the back of my case. When I heard a gurgling noise I looked in my case and the bottom was completely submerged. Luckily for me, no damage was done, I just had to buy a new fitting and all was well. I also had a leak at the MB water block once where some water dripped onto my GPU and down the MB itself. I shut down the rig and re-seated the hose. No damage was done.

Twice I've had water in my rig (and on components) while powered on with no consequences. I'm not saying water won't cause problems......just that people are probably more worried about it than they need to be.

Just my 2 cents.....

2006-10-22 11:55:30

Stealth42o: She looked 18 to me officer; +175|7123

It is not hard at all. I have 3k in my computer have have no worries about my wc setup because I took my time. Just make sure your seals are tight and your good to go.

Price wise for the "Best" wc setup is around 300 dollars. You will want to build your own kit for the same reasons you built your own computer, better performance / quality at a lower price.

I would recommend it, it is quieter, more efficient, and a lot of fun to do.

If wc worries you, you can go with Zalman heatsinks. They are the best I have used and are quite as well. Both of these are tremendous:

GPU Cooler: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe … ode=373501

CPU Cooler: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe … ode=373035

For WC setup read this sticky to give you a solid idea on what you want, how they work, ect:

"The Basics"
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/s … hp?t=71321

"What to, and not to buy":
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/s … p?t=176597

If you decide to go WC, best place to pick up stuff (IMO) is here:
http://www.dangerdenstore.com/home.php

Gl and have fun,

Best wishes
Chris

2006-10-22 16:33:17

Lt.Garbo: Commander God; +41|7107|Denver, CO

leetkyle wrote:
If you aren't going to overclock watercooling is pointless. What system are you running and I'll recommend you some good fans.

See my original post for PC Specs

2006-10-22 16:38:47

Lt.Garbo: Commander God; +41|7107|Denver, CO

Hey, what about these? Are they any good if I stick to fans/heatsinks?

Processor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6835186134

Graphics Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6835186002

Last edited by Lt.Garbo (2006-10-22 16:39:07)

2006-10-22 20:28:32

Stealth42o: She looked 18 to me officer; +175|7123

Lt.Garbo wrote:
Hey, what about these? Are they any good if I stick to fans/heatsinks?

Processor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6835186134

Graphics Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 6835186002

Never used em, just google "Best VGA cooler" or something a kin to that. I am sure you will find a ton of stuff.

That is how I found my old Zalman heatsink. They ran the top ten and that scored first overall.

2006-10-23 04:45:32

Dieselboy: Flicker of beans since 1986; +87|7001|Reading, Basingrad

You could always Phase change

2006-10-23 09:40:54

Agent_Dung_Bomb: Member; +302|7187|Salt Lake City

Just for the record, water does not conduct electricity. It's the impurities in the water (e.g. minerals) that cause the electricity to conduct.

With that said you can get completely non-conductive coolant for use in a water cooling system. Water is far more efficient than any air cooling system, and will do it far more quietly. However, there is more maintenance with an H2o system.

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Lt.Garbo wrote:

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:

Lt.Garbo wrote:

Lt.Garbo wrote:

cyborg_ninja-117 wrote:

Lt.Garbo wrote:

leetkyle wrote:

Lt.Garbo wrote:

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