Need help getting started

[Gahawn]

My computer runs fine but I get too hot sitting next to it. With the summer heat I'm running the case with the side cover removed to keep the components cooler. It's time for me to water cool but I have NO IDEA where to begin. I have a Lian-Li TI-60Plus case (120mm intake fan front bottom just in front of the hard drives, 120mm exhaust fan just below power supply, and an 80mm top exhaust fan). Initially I'd like to cool the CPU and graphics card since they produce the most heat. I have an AMD Athlon X2 AM2 socket CPU and an eVGA GeForce 8800GTX graphics card. I have a couple of quick questions:

1. I have no idea where to begin. Am I best buying a kit or individual components? Either way, what components will I need?
2. When connecting the components, should I run the water to the CPU block first and then to the graphics card or the other way around?

Other considerations:

1. I'd like to keep the cost down as much as possible.
2. I'd prefer a fully internal solution (except perhaps for a radiator hanging off the back if necessary).
3. I have a single 5.25" drive bay free for a reservoir if necessary.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I've built countless PC's before but never water cooled one and I want to do it right the first time.

[ben333]

My text is in green.


1. I have no idea where to begin. Am I best buying a kit or individual components? Either way, what components will I need?

Well Swiftech makes great kits pretty cheap so I'd look into them unless you really want to overclock a lot. www.swiftnets.com

2. When connecting the components, should I run the water to the CPU block first and then to the graphics card or the other way around?

I think most people run it from the pump outlet into the CPU and from the CPU into the GPU and from the GPU into the radiator then from the radiator into the res or T line then back into the pump. Lots of people also have the pump push the water into the rad and then from the rad into the blocks, etc but it doesn't really matter, in a good watercooling system there won't be more than 1C of difference from one spot in the loop and another.

Other considerations:

1. I'd like to keep the cost down as much as possible.

Hows about $200? It will be about that much for a good solid new watercooling system. Used could be anywhere depending how much performance you want to sacrifice. Heres an example - the first rig I really water cooled was a 2.9 GHz pentium 4 presscott. I water cooled it to overclock it and get the noise level down and I did it with a $37 pump, a $30 used waterblock, $10 in hose maybe and a free heater core I found. (Total of $77) It worked great even with a quiet fan so I never invested on better cooling for that rig. Had I gotten all new and bought parts that were built for computer cooling it would have been about $50 (at least) for the pump, $40 for the block, $10 in hose and about $50 for a radiator. ($150 total)

2. I'd prefer a fully internal solution (except perhaps for a radiator hanging off the back if necessary).

Unless you want to cut holes in your case you'll probably need to mount the radiator on standoffs on top of the case or off the back.

3. I have a single 5.25" drive bay free for a reservoir if necessary.

Reservoir make filling the system easy but in my opinion all they do is restrict flow and make another place that a leak could happen. I use a T line but I guess they aren't for everyone.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I've built countless PC's before but never water cooled one and I want to do it right the first time.

Then you've come to the right place, welcome to ProCooling

[Gahawn]

Thanks for the advice! I've heard kits are not a good choice. I did a bit of pre-shopping on DangerDen and ended up with about $400 worth of equipment. OUCH! SwiftTech has come recommended more than once so maybe I'll look at that.

A couple more questions if you please.

1. The BlackIce GTX120 looks like it can be mounted internally in my case since I have a 120mm fan exhaust port on the back. Is that going to be enough to cool the CPU and the GPU? I know the GPU produces a lot of heat. I'd be OK with drilling a couple of holes in the back of the case if I had to in order to mount an external radiator as long as it's relatively invisible from the front.

2. The dual fan systems I've seen that are mounted externally appear to cover the PCI slots at the back. How am I supposed to plug in my monitor, sound, etc?

3. Is a water cooling solution going to successfully reduce the amount of heat my PC puts out or am I barking up the wrong tree? The system I have now keeps all the components well within the system's heat tolerances and it's pretty quiet. It's just out of my personal heat tolerances while sitting next to it.

4. Is water cooling too unreliable for me to really do this? What about monitoring? My air cooling system has monitoring to tell me when fans stop working etc. I'd feel better if there was some kind of monitoring and/or alarm system I could attach to the system.

[ben333]

1. The BlackIce GTX120 looks like it can be mounted internally in my case since I have a 120mm fan exhaust port on the back. Is that going to be enough to cool the CPU and the GPU? I know the GPU produces a lot of heat. I'd be OK with drilling a couple of holes in the back of the case if I had to in order to mount an external radiator as long as it's relatively invisible from the front.

Well for a 120mm radiator its a really good radiator. Not sure if it is better or worse than a cheaper 2x 120mm but I myself would prefer a 2x120 mm

2. The dual fan systems I've seen that are mounted externally appear to cover the PCI slots at the back. How am I supposed to plug in my monitor, sound, etc?

You keep the radiator as far off the back as you need it with spacers. If you use two monitors, the radiator would have to be about 3 inches off the back of the case.

3. Is a water cooling solution going to successfully reduce the amount of heat my PC puts out or am I barking up the wrong tree? The system I have now keeps all the components well within the system's heat tolerances and it's pretty quiet. It's just out of my personal heat tolerances while sitting next to it.

Water cooling will not reduce the amount of heat your system produces, water cooling is just a better way to remove heat from your components. You'll probobly feel just as hot sitting next to your computer as you did before you water cooled it unless you put the radiator away from you like in a window or under your desk.

4. Is water cooling too unreliable for me to really do this? What about monitoring? My air cooling system has monitoring to tell me when fans stop working etc. I'd feel better if there was some kind of monitoring and/or alarm system I could attach to the system.

In my opinion watercooling is a safe and effective way to remove heat, I even water cool my server at home. There is the same monitoring for good pumps as there is for fans, in fact my mcp655 pump even has a fan header to give my system RPM readings. If the pump slips under a certain RPM then the computer shuts off and your system is safe. But you don't really need to worry much about monitoring as long as you use a good pump and have a modern system. In my BIOS I can set a temperature at which the system shuts off so even if someone comes and pulls off my waterblock my computer SHOULD just turn it self off at the max temp I set (mine is 70C) But there are still horror stories of people who's pump died and their water block's acrylic top melted, etc so its probobly best to use a good quality pump. I'd recommend Eheim or Iwaki for a top of the line pump and then swiftech as a mid range.

Somewhere I have a picture of my setup when I had a radiator in my window next to the PC. It worked very well in October - the lines were cool to the touch at night and the computer was silent and wasn't heating my room.


EDIT: Found those pics... It looks kind of ghetto there but it wouldn't look bad with a case and shorter hoses.