Noob Water Cooling Questions
 

Hello to everyone here,

I've heard about the watercooled systems out there and see all the pics and so on but i still think that water and electricity dont really mix that well.
What are the chances of a leak in a cooling system?

Pricey

About as good a chance as getting electrocuted.

Nah, its not too bad.
Ive been watercooling now for about a 2 -1/2 yrs.. And Ive only had one leak and it was my fault(bad seal on a barb)

If you take your time and use common sense, youll have no problems. Once you go water..youll forget all about air cooling!

I dont have any knowledge in the water cooling field.
What is a barb?

More importantly How much would a water cooling kit cost, if there is any available?

Pricey

Its a barbed hose fitting..


A decent watercooling kit will run anywhere from $180-300(mileage may vary)
But I would peice a kit together, rather than buy everything from one retailer.....mix and match.....

the best of this.....the best of that, ect.

A barb

Could you recommend some brands or specific parts?

You need to first give some information on what it is you want to do. I'll give you a couple examples of what I mean.

A) this man wants a very quiet running computer, he's tired of hearing the loud whir of high speed fans. He doesn't care about overclocking his system, just must have quiet.

B) this man whats the highest O/C he can get, and noise doesn't bother him. He's used to the loud whoosh of air cooling of O/Ced systems and for him it's not a problem. He wants to water cool just to be able to get a higher O/C.

Now the right kit for these to differant goals is going to be a good deal differant.

What are your goals? Budget?

BE

In my limited experience the probability of leaks is 1, as in "true".
I discovered the first leak while filling the system, so there where no mix of water and electricity, the computer was shut off. It was a quite major leak, so I discovered it from a groving waterstain on the floor.
That problem was a replacement barb to the pump, witch I dumped immediateley. That one solved.
Then I had a minor leak in a barb.
This is no problem, since You will go completely paranoid, spending more time with Your head inside the computer than with You bottoms in Your chair, looking for leaks, listening for new sounds etc. If there is a leak, You will find it.
The barb leak was fixed pretty quick as well.
Since then, no problems, just a cool rig.
regards
Mikael S.

BTW:
Grungrefjaert sent me this tip on noisy pumps:

http://translate.google.com/translat...language_tools

My Eheim rattled a bit too much for my liking.
It first seemed quite radical to me, but it was so darned easy it barely qualified as a breeze, and it made a heluva difference (I´m really not swearing if I don´t spell it correctly, right?).
Just make sure You mod Your pump before You assemble the whole thing. It will make it even easier.
regards
Mikael S.