Watercooling Setup... *HELP NEEDED* PLZ

[B@rNeY]

i am looking at upgrading to watercool as where i am staying the ambient temp is easily around 30+ and to quite my system. I came to you guys to see with your advice and your advice was worth its weight in gold so i thank you all. I need help finding waterblocks for my system and a mate at res. Advice or wat to get and advice on the setup of the system. Thanks once again guys for ur help.

my system:
cpu: i5 750
ram: 2x2gig ddr3 1600 corsair dominator
mobo: asus p55 evo
gfx: hd5850 shappire game edition
psu: coolermaster extreme power 650w
case: coolermaster stack 690 (old model)
hdds: 2x 1tb seagate 1x 1tb wd
7 x 120mm fan 80mm slim on backplate mobo 2x60mm on fan card blowing onto gfx

my mates system is a i7 950 (i think) with slit gtx260...

thanks again for your help and advice guys. I have been looking at the coolermaster aquagate max system and place the radiator where the top 2x120 mm fans are currently.

[DAE_JA_VOO]

I've been in the watercooling scene for about 6 years now, and I'll tell you this: Stay away from pre-built junk. Systems like the stuff from Zalman, Coolermaster, Thermaltake, etc etc etc, it's all garbage. The only pre-built system that's worth a shot is the H50, and I say this because other people seem to like it. I, personally, still wouldn't buy it.

The best thing you could do for yourself if you were to get into the watercooling side of things would be to drop a few grand and import a really good system. You're looking at spending at least 3K or so. So if you're still keen, I'm happy to give you some recommendations.

[ryanrich]

+1 on what DAE said. Still loving my custom built system. It cost quite a bit, but if you're gonna go water cooling it's worth every cent to do it properly. I'd rather use high end air cooling than cheap all-in-one water cooling solutions...

[B@rNeY]

I've been in the watercooling scene for about 6 years now, and I'll tell you this: Stay away from pre-built junk. Systems like the stuff from Zalman, Coolermaster, Thermaltake, etc etc etc, it's all garbage. The only pre-built system that's worth a shot is the H50, and I say this because other people seem to like it. I, personally, still wouldn't buy it.

The best thing you could do for yourself if you were to get into the watercooling side of things would be to drop a few grand and import a really good system. You're looking at spending at least 3K or so. So if you're still keen, I'm happy to give you some recommendations.

cool shot... thats my issue i know whats good on the air cooling stuff but water cooling is another lvl and i dont know where to look and hw it is with importing watercooling systems so every piece of advice will be greatly received. My mate and myself are lookin at spending around R 3.5 k each but if its a lil over i maybe able to hussle the cash..... i was just saying that aquagate due to everything is there and it looks awesome. If you could direct me to some sites ad places to look that u recommend and what items i should look at will be awesome...

hopefully getting my new CM 690 adv. II this week ordered it last tue and he said they would have it by thur but no luck

[B@rNeY]

sorry for late reply forgot ihad it sent notifications to home e-mail as i am in res in PTA

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Cool, if you guys are willing to spend that much, you'll be fine

Check out performance-pcs.com and see if you like anything there. What all do you want to cool? CPU only? Or CPU and GPU? etc etc

[B@rNeY]

ja we wanna do fulll system water so cpu gpu.... dnt know abt mobo... my mate needs to do it casue he cant get his 2x gtx260s to run sli casue of the monster collers on them. Me well water cooling looks awesome and we want to sort it out for rAge this year

[B@rNeY]

btw dig ur modding work.... could u also maybe tell me wat items and stuff and hw much of it i will need to complete the system and wat brands to look our for and which to avoid....sorry i am a complete noob abt this

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Haahah, thanks dude I'll actually be running a modding setup at rAge this year, and I'll be modding the whole weekend there, so if you want any help with your case there, come say hi

There's actually a lot to a decent cooling system. The system in your sig - is that the system you want to cool?

[B@rNeY]

Sweet deff will drop by and say hello... Ja I am just crap scared installin the stuff wen I get it as I know ntn of it and of the WATER element....

That is the system I wanna cool... I will hopefully be gettin the cm690 II advanced tomo or this week so will b movins tuff across... I am very happy with this case its just I can't fit a 240 x 120mm radiator in it... Sorry for being such a pain rather nag and ask then get crap like wat one my mates did at res and I am forever laughin at him.... I just went my rig to look clean and porno.... Mayb at later stage I will add another 5850 to it but that will prob be in a few years.... So any ideads of wat I should get cause I went to that shop u suggested and fell off my chair at the amount stuff they had.... So I kinda dnt know where to start
Thanks again

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Look man, there's really no need to be scared of this I can understand why you are (I was petrified with my first system), but you needn't be. But if you're really scared, you could come over one day and we could do the installation together. Then you could be doing it, but I'll walk you through everything and make sure your system is perfect when we're done Let me know if you're keen

Okay, as for components, here's what I suggest:

For your CPU, the EK Supreme HF blocks are great. Click click There are many different styles, so check them all out.

You said your case can't fit a 2x120mm raddy? Nowhere? I'm sure you can fit a raddy in there somewhere. Have a look again

You could use one of these for your GPU (or a similar style)

Any res you want

As for the pump, I've always loved these. You could get one of the ones that have the plexi tops if you're into that kind of thing.

And then just get tubing and barbs/fittings in your size of choice

[B@rNeY]

hahah its prob just the first leap that i am scared to take.... i am really scared casue this system is my baby .... that offer of yours mayb taken up and payment of a few drinks will b in order...

just had a quick look a tthe stuff you suggested awesome and nw i feel like a kid in a candy store and just want to get it all nw... the radiator issue came about wen i was looking through the coolermaster website and saw that people had asked and they said its not possible. I am sure it is with some adjustments.
with reagrd to the res the only reason i wanted to get the aquagate in the first place was casue of the driver bay res and bottom it had... but was size res and piping do you suggest?? will it be okay with you if i make a list of the stuff i am looking at ordering and then send you this list to go over...

Nw i see y you got the award of the most helpful member.... shot yet again

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Yeah, sure thing. Send me the list when you're done, or post it up here, and I'll have a look.

The reservoir is really a preference thing. If you want a bay-res, buy one

Nw i see y you got the award of the most helpful member.... shot yet again

Hahahah, thanks man

[ryanrich]

My system was around R4K for GPU and CPU (including import duties), with pretty high end blocks, so you can build a decent system in that range.

[B@rNeY]

sweet thanks..... umm for the radiators and res i kinda just pick a few and asked if u could see wat a found and mayb see wat u think as for tubing and barbing. I have no clue on hw much i need so dnt kow wat to look at and hw much to add... Hw much will import duties and shipping be??

This is wat i found:
total cost bar tubing and such is $345.75 or ( R2523.975 at curretn rate)
Cpu, gpu block and pump stay as u said DAE_JA_VOO
RES: i dont know wether to choose bay res or tube res, but went with bay in the cost
Rad. could not tell the diff btwn the 2 so went wit more expsensive

could not do the cool hyperlinkin you did so sorry for the links
Res:
tube: http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... s_id=24986
bay: http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... s_id=27518

radiators:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... ts_id=4537
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... ts_id=3985

o and got my new case today. WOW it is awesome. will post some pics of it here just nw

thanks once again... i think i will owe u a few cases after all this

[B@rNeY]

here the photos

[B@rNeY]

ummmm.....soooo wat abt the stuff i picked out...yes n maybe??....sorry if i am being a pest but i wanna try get the stuff ordered asap

[ryanrich]

Which res you go for is personal preference really. I like the bay res simply because it's easier to install, but if you're into modding then awesome stuff can be done with the tube reservoirs. Have a look at DAE's project from a few years ago called Epiphany...

My latest install has Tygon tubing and I can't recommend that stuff enough. Really good!

I use a Black Ice radiator and they're just awesome. Which one you go for once again depends on how and where you're going to mount it. Based on the ones you posted it seems you're going for a dual raddy, so I'd recommend the Black Ice Xtreme II, unless it's too thick for what you have in mind, in which case the Stealth one might be better.

[DAE_JA_VOO]

Whoops! Sorry dude.

Go with the GT Stealth for your raddy. As Ryan said, a reservoir is really your choice. Just DON'T go with a tube res that has holes IN the plexi. Those are recipes for disaster. I used them in the project I did a few years ago that Ryan mentioned, and they broke, both of them. If you want a tube res, go with something that has barbs on the ends, like this.

My latest install has Tygon tubing and I can't recommend that stuff enough. Really good!

Yep, Tygon is great. It's really, REALLY soft. Sometimes too soft, to be honest. I love Tygon, but it kinks REALLY easily in tight spaces. I'm actually going with some of the Feser tubing for my current build

I use a Black Ice radiator and they're just awesome. Which one you go for once again depends on how and where you're going to mount it. Based on the ones you posted it seems you're going for a dual raddy, so I'd recommend the Black Ice Xtreme II, unless it's too thick for what you have in mind, in which case the Stealth one might be better.

Sound advice. I only suggested the Stealth because I fear you may have some space restrictions.

[B@rNeY]

DAE... i have bumped into one ur mates here at res he runs by the nick Sinkwa and holds u highly for your work.....
And congrates are in orders for the new job you got i hear that you started this week. Hope all goes well

With regards to the res i know it is possible for me to place 25mm fans above the case but below the mesh but i am not sure how it will connect... as with regards to tubing how much and wat coolant do you recommend? Will i have to get anything other parts from the blocks, res, pump, rad and tubing??

This is wat i am tempted to order and lookin at:

CPU block: EK-Supreme HF High Flow - Highest Performance CPU Water Block - Nickel/Plexi $77.95
Gpu block: EK FC-5850 Radeon HD 5850 ATI Reference PCB Design - Nickel $107.95
Res: XSPC Bay Reservoir 5.25" - Aluminum Front -Black/Silver $39.95 + $5 for barbs
Rad: Black Ice® GT Stealth 240 Highest Performance Radiator $49.95
Pump: Swiftech MCP355™ 12 VDC Pump $69.95
Tubing: Tygon 3603 1/4" ID (3/8" OD) Clear Tubing $5 (don’t know how much to get)
Coolant: Feser One F1 Cooling Fluid - UV Acid Green - 1 Liter $19.95
all come with 3/8" fittings

Total: $347.75 (R2538.58) + import R2929.52

i am also a man of gadgets and likes to see wat the temp is and flow is in the loop.. any suggestions on monitoring stuff i could add??

Plz feel free to crit on wat i have chosen and make any other suggestions.... i am open to anything

Another quick quest how do you do payment to them can you do a eft or do you have to pay by card

and while i am at it do you want me to order anything for you guys so that it all comes across in one shipment??

the payment due to you 2 guys is going up
looks like 1 case to all and 2 to DAE

[ryanrich]

I'm using Feser One coolant as well and it seems good so far. Tubing depends on the size of your install, but rather get too much than too little as you can always use it later. I think I got around 7 feet IIRC. Between 7 and 10 is probably a good bet. My radiator is mounted outside my case (and it's a pretty huge case) so I end up using a bit more...

Otherwise your stuff all looks good. Just remember to make sure you have barbs and clamps for every connection you'll need, which is basically two barbs and clamps for every component in the system...

Regarding payment, I haven't ordered from Performance PC's before, but I had to pay with a card from DD.

There are a number of flow meters that you can hook up to your loop, but I've never used a temp monitor, so not sure about that one.

I'm still recovering from my last splurge, so I won't be adding anything to this order...

[DAE_JA_VOO]

DAE... i have bumped into one ur mates here at res he runs by the nick Sinkwa and holds u highly for your work.....
And congrates are in orders for the new job you got i hear that you started this week. Hope all goes well

Hmmm, I have no idea who that is. Hahahah. Thanks though!

With regards to the res i know it is possible for me to place 25mm fans above the case but below the mesh but i am not sure how it will connect...

Yeah, just buy the fans. You can worry about how you'll connect them later, that's really the least of your worries

as with regards to tubing how much and wat coolant do you recommend?

1 Bottle of coolant is usually sufficient, unless you've got a huge loop. You should be good with one bottle. Ryan, how much did you use of your bottle?

Will i have to get anything other parts from the blocks, res, pump, rad and tubing??

Yeah, fittings/barbs. As Ryan said, each block needs fittings/barbs, so you need to order two fittings per block. I'll explain all the fitting sizes next. Something else you don't have listed is fans. You need fans on your radiator (unless these are the fans you mentioned earlier.)

all come with 3/8" fittings

Now this is where there's a problem. You're ordering everything with 3/8" fittings, but you're ordering:

Tubing: Tygon 3603 1/4" ID (3/8" OD) Clear Tubing $5 (don’t know how much to get)

The ID is the important number. So if your fittings are all 3/8" ID, your tubing needs to be 3/8" ID. ID stands for "Inside Diameter". So you either need to order larger tubing, or smaller fittings.

i am also a man of gadgets and likes to see wat the temp is and flow is in the loop.. any suggestions on monitoring stuff i could add??

Oooh, this is where things get pricey. Aquacomputer, a cooling company in Germany, makes some great flow control/monitoring gear, like this bad boy:



They're really expensive though, all well over 100 Euros.

Another quick quest how do you do payment to them can you do a eft or do you have to pay by card

You can only do it via credit card (or money order, but I wouldn't recommend that).

and while i am at it do you want me to order anything for you guys so that it all comes across in one shipment??

Aaah, thanks dude! I think I'm all set for that though

the payment due to you 2 guys is going up
looks like 1 case to all and 2 to DAE

Hahahah, I don't drink beer. You can send me a case of coke though

One last thing: import duties on your stuff is going to be 15.4%, so take that into consideration as well

[B@rNeY]

his name is Brad.....

with regards to the fans i got some new coolermaster sickleflow whihc are aweomse fans compared to the vizo whihc are the others i am using. i am currently running 11 fans within my case

i dont think my rents will be too happy with me using their credit cards for buying this stuff, so may have to find a friend to pay for me and i transfer the money across....

will i need fittings and clamps for each item?? and which brand do you recommend or item?

i now have a problem as i have found my stuff is all different sizes

pump : 3/8" fittings
rad: 1/2" 3/8" OD
res: 1/2" 3/8" 1/4" ID
cpu: 3/8" 1/2" ID
gpu: 3/8" 1/2" ID

so nw i am a lil stuck so need your guys help....

so now total cost is $523.25 inc shipping $104.7 (US Postal) thus in Rands plus imprt is R4438.78 wow the fittings tubing and coolant really increase the price wow..... so i may have to save up an extra month and work hard this month. i found an awesome lil temp sensor for $20 but can only find it wit 1/4" : Phobya Temperature Sensor Outer Thread G1/4 with Display - Blue (toughts)

DAE case of coke it is