Got a cascade yesterday... what pump and what about future upgradeability with A64?
 

Hi people,

My friend on Extreme Overclocking Forums was having a big sale of his stuff, and I managed to grab a cascade block from him (YES!) but what i'm wondering is two things.

a) What pump should I use with it? I have an Eheim 1260 and a Swiftech MCP600 Rev 2 on order and i'm wondering if the MCP600 will be enough for the cascade, or if it will prefer the 600gph high flow of the Eheim 1260?

b)I'm adding a Maze 3 GPU block to my 9800PRO and a Z-chip (debateable) to my NB. Would it possible better to run 2 seperate loops, with the Eheim 1260 powering the cascade and the MCP600 powering the GPU/NB, or will it be OK to use just one of the pumps? I've ordered a Thermochill 120.3 so it should be able to handle the load without too much trouble, right?

c) I'm obviously going to be buying an AMD64 at some point in the not too distant future, has cathar designed an AMD64 mounting plate for the cascade, or are there any I can adapt without too much trouble, such as the PolarFLO AMD 64 mounting kit or something? Seems a shame that a block as awesome as the cascade would be useless on AMD64 rigs. :cry:

I'm new to these forums and relatively new to watercooling so forgive any slightly noobish questions I have... we all had to start somewhere right?:D

Thanks in advance,

Richard.

a) MCP600 will be a good choice of pump. The pump heat of the Eheim 1260 will likely overwhelm any benefit you would see due to the increased flow rates. Stick with the MCP600

b) The MCP600 has an attractive PQ (flow vs pressure) curve that makes it well suited for multiple block setups. The 120.3 will outperform (given the same fan type) almost any other radiator on the market.

c) Yes, there are A64 plate/kits already available for the Cascade.

Ooh, a reply from the man himself. Lucky :)

Customer service, it's the mainstay of any good computer accessory business :D.

Now to voice my jealousy, I want a Cascade! When are you going to start selling again Cathar, if you don't mind me asking? ;)

Thanks for the reply Cathar, I appreciate it. So if the A64 mounting plates are available... where can I get the bloody things from! I plan on making this cascade block last me a long time since I heard that waterblock designs sort of hit a peak with the cascade, and any future improvements will only yield marginal benefits.:D

Also, I understand you've delayed making the Hydra for a while, but any way to get on the waiting list... or is it already longer than you're average round-the-world-trip? I sent an email to your site but I dont know if you read them, I imagine you get the same questions day after day. If anyone else can answer i'm all ears.:)

Gary at http://www.sidewindercomputers.com said he's run out of MCP600 Rev 2's which is a bit of a bugger, and seeing as PCLINCS crew seem to have dissappeared from the face of the earth (anyone know why?) I may be stuck for a UK supplier, damn!:(

But I can't wait to get it all set-up when I eventually get hold of it all, WOOT!

EDIT - Thinking about getting a Danner MAG 3 imported too... think that would perform better than the Swifty?

richdog, over-clock now stock the mcp600 (sl.cheaper than PCLincs (now defunct as of 29/1/04) were..)
http://store.over-clock.com/Pumps___Accessories.html

danner is a 110V/60hz pump, so no use over here :(

Damn I thought the Danner would be compatible. Oh well, bought the MCP600 from http://www.sidewindercomputers.com already so it's no worry. I saw the article about PClincs changing, shame really it was a good store. But so is ver-Clock.co.uk so it should work out OK.

God how my costs have spiralled, I added a Global WIN Sapphire 520 to the list of goods, and now i'm looking at about £400 altogether! ARRGGHH!

Oh well, quality costs money... (gulp):D

Yeah, pity PCLincs went down, but good move by Over-Clock. They seem a good bunch of guys and have done a good job.

I got an SAF520 too. Awesome init! :D

I spent £1000 last summer upgrading the main bits of the computer last Summer, then my dad got me the SAF520 for Christmas at £130 and now my water cooling rig (inc case) is about £470. That's a LOTTA money :)

Heh i'll have payed out about that by the time I've finished. I was looking at the SAF520 in UK and couldn't believe the price... so I got it at http://www.sidewindercomputers.com for £90.;) I can't stress how nice the bloke, Gary, is who works there. I advise any UK chap wanting parts to go there, you save an absolute FORTUNE even when shipping prices are included. I'm about to send him $490 and I bought sh|tloads of stuff for the money.

My cascade was delivered today but I wasnt in, DOH! Should deliver it tommorrow hopefully.

But you're right mate, that PSU is seriously badass, most powerful i've seen, and the most well featured by far.

Set to receive an A64 mounting plate for cascade soon from Cathar so i'm covered for the future.

Damn though I feel a bit of a geek for saying it, i'm glad I started on watercooling, it's well exciting, not to mention a great exscuse to upgrade.:D

Too right! If I'd known about SideWinderComputers when I bought this bad boy I would've got it from there. Gary's great, isn't he! All the bigger companies could really learn a thing or two off him, especially Overclockers.co.uk - the useless buggers they are!

Meethos is your up and running now mate?

Nah, still waiting for my blasted case. They said it'll be here by the 6th and if I haven't got an E-mail by the 5th saying it's posted then to let them know. In actual fact I'll cancel the order for the case and get it from Overclockers, but I'll keep the order for the window cause Overclockers don't have it. Should hopefully be up and running by Valentine's.

Is there any chance A64 mounting instructions for the Cascade could be posted somewhere? I also bought a used Cascade with the A64 adapter for use with my XP-M 2400 and I'd like to see how difficult an A64 mounting would be with the adapter plate. It's probably very easy, but I've never seen an A64 mount or motherboard first hand.

At Stew's site, see Cascade CPU block - Ordering and pricing.

CD :)

we should start up a uk cascade owners club.

i run a p4 top cascade with maze4 gpu, thermochill 120.2 and hydor l30.

performs very well even with the fans on low.

Not a bad idea... :D

BTW, my CPU temps dropped about 5°C with the Cascade compared to my Maze3. :drool:

CD :)