P4 Cooling -- is H20 the answer?
 

:shrug: I'm pretty happy with the good old fashioned method of cooling that i'm using now (air).. but the noise of the multiple fans is starting to get to me. add in the fact that i'd like to be able to push my little P4 just a bit more. is water the way to go?

the only thing stopping me from switching this very moment is well money number one -- setting up a water system the right way costs a pretty penny. secondly -- how loud are pumps? i had a fish tank as a kid once and that little air pump was loud as hell..

any suggestions and/or comments are greatly appreciated

yeah, read una's buying guide if you want to know how to setup a cheap watercooling setup.

Pumps are mostly really silent, i can't hear any of mine above psu fans

I have my p4 watercooled, I love it! I ghetto'd a maze2 on it and it idles around 77F and full loads around 87-89. My 1.6a would nto go past 2.133 on air but I am now at 2.4ghz (50%oc) and my system is silent.

--Matt

Ok... so water might be the answer but.... if I wanted to throw a peltier in the mix -- how many watts should i be looking at? 156watt enough/too much?

i'd rather not bring down the temp soo soo much where i have to start worrying about serious condensation --

and if i throw a peltier in, think my enermax 465watt PSU could handle it or would i have to use a seperate PSU?

it could handle a low-medium wattage TEC, but you should always insulate to prevent condensation. most pumps are very quiet; just a low-pitched 'hum'.

I'd probably shoot for at least 172w pelt. I also recommend and external PSU for the pelt. however, I urge you to not get pelt(s) since they are not a practical thing for everyday use. they draw a lot of power and there's always the risk of something going wrong even if you do insulate well. I've done 2 pelt projects and neither of them lasted more than a month of usage. these things get expensive.

--Matt

what about a small pelt and a HSF? i'm trying to think of what might be cheap and still work.. pelts scare me though


damn my broke ass :cry:

The aquarium air-pump is a totally different beast compared to an aquarium water-pump, I can not hear my pump when my computer is on, only when I turn everything off in my room can I hear it, and it's only a very low pitched hum that is easily masked by room ventilation.

If I were you I'd forget the pelt to start with but I would get a heater core for use as a radiator with a 120 mm fan with a shroud for the core (dtekcustoms.com has these cheap). Some silicon hosing, an Eheim 1048 pump like mine and a decent CPU block and you're set. Shouldn't get too expensive..

I'd try increasing the Vcore as the only means of overclocking before going the extreme cooling route.

just go straight to normal water, don't bother with pelts yet

besides, if u got an older willamette core p4 like i do... id go with water anyway, clock it to the max, and let it be there

one more question.. could my 465enermax PSU handle powering an Eheim for example? well maybe its not a problem because from what i've read it might be better to just leave it running 24/7... -- but ah my real question is --->> the P4's have the "speed control" safety net to prevent the CPU from burning up (HSF falls off or pump isnt on) -- but if you mess with the Vcore, does it still work? logic would say yes but then again the whole "overclocking voids your warranty" etc... funny people

ha, ok one last question

what is the best block for 478 P4?

i only knwo about one 478 block, and thats a swiftech one. but if you awnt a good one, cross drill it yourself.!

Some block tips for Socket 478:

DangerDen Maze-3
http://www.dangerden.com/mall/maze3.asp

DangerDen MazeP4
http://www.dangerden.com/mall/mazep4_478.asp

DangerDen also has hold downs which make it possible to use your Maze-2 (for AMD) and Maze-1C on Socket 478. You find it in the last link above.

(I only know DangerDen's stuff so If someone has other alternatives, please step forward)

I ghetto'd a maze2 onto my p4 with some zipties and erector set pieces.

--Matt

you can kinda see it in this low quality pic

--Matt

Ok, so it looks like I'm going to build myself a water setup

Eheim 1250 + DD Maze3 + BI Pro Radiator

Now I got two questions.. One, airtrap? whats the deal with that

and two.. is it worth it to add in one of those small hobby gas tanks as a resevoir?

DIvided, that's really the same question.

airtrap = reservoir

At least that's my humble opionion. Check my sig for my "airtrap/reservoir". It's really worth it as you will have a good filling point and also a place to check your levels, and it's also very effective in getting the bubbles out of your system. You should place it just before the pump (at the suction end) so you can fill the line to the pump and cycle the pump on/off to fill the system, ok so I didn't place mine just before the pump but I will re-route my hoses some day and then I'll do that.