First Aqua Build--Need Input

[CYberDruid]

After some research and discussion I decided to dive in and water cool my newest rig. Having just refitted my older rig with a Sonata case for the wife, I enjoyed the benefit of a quiet PC for the first time and decided to quiet down my current rig.

Here is what I have to work with: Lian Li PC7A plus with 1 120mm intake and 1 80mm exhaust--CoolMax Taurus Silent 480 PSU with 1 140mm exhaust--Asus P4P800SE running a Prescott P4 3.0E at 3905 Mhz--2 WD 250 SATA iHDDs in RAID 0 residing in CoolDrive3 5.25 drivebay heatsinks--Asus QuieTrack DVD/CDROM--Memorex Dual layer DVD/CDRW--ATI AIW 9600 (passive HS).

The watercooling parts I have bought and paid for are: G4 block as put in produciton by SwifTech; an AquaXtreme 50Z-DC12 from CoolTechnia; and a Black Ice 80mm Micro LE (rated for 275 watts).

My objectives are to have an even quieter PC than aircooling can provide and to lower and stabilize the CPU temperature so I can push my processor past 3905 Mhz. In addition I hope to learn as much as possible doing it by experimenting with different configurations.

Am I in the right place?

The first iteration will be a simple CPU loop. I want to get familiar with what the loop will handle--and experiment with different coolants before further iterations.

I could easily modify the Lian Li case for ducted flow to an external rear-mounted radiator. I think space requirements for the pump and resevoir will be no problem; the 500 gig RAID array lives in 2 5.25 Bays above the Opticals leaving the HDD bay empty.

The case is engineered with 1 120mm front intake and 1 80mm rear exhaust with provisions for an 80 mm blowhole. I had considered a top mount or front mount radiator duct box, but without some kind of airflow interior temps would pobably get pretty high.

So I am thinking to mount the radiator over the 80mm rear fanhole (sans fan) and use a 4" PVC elbow as a duct to the side panel where I already have a hole and mount a 120mm Nexus to an acylic 120mm to 92mm adapter I already have in place to push exterior air through the radiator. Externally mounting the radiator with no exposed hoses should work out regarding space requirements. I might put a "crash bar" around the radiator to protect it.

By mounting the radiator to the exterior of the case I hope to lower internal temps somewhat. I will probably fabricate an acrylic resevoir to fit the HDD bay and mount the pump on isolators behind it. I had considered using aluminum for the resevoir as well.

I sure could use some input about this build. I have questions about coolant and loop configuration and hope to learn enough to put it together for optimal results by the time the parts arrive...

Thanks in advance--I've gotten quite a bit from reading posts in this Forum and look forward to the oncoming learning curve.

CyberDruid

[flatline]

and a Black Ice 80mm Micro LE (rated for 275 watts).

^^^^^^^^ errrrr nope not a good idea you will need a 120/160!/240 mm rad not an icle 80mm 1

:shrug:

[scooterfl]

Pulling air through the rad would be quieter. Also I suggest at least 1 120mm rad/fan like black ice pro and mount it on the back of case with a radbox or homemade attachment

[CYberDruid]

So the 80mm dualpass won't do it? I guess I figured the needs incorrectly for a single CPU loop...thank you for the replies--it's already paid for so I guess I will make do unless it is completely useless at cooling the P4 3.0E.

Would you be able to suggest the ideal coolant?

[flatline]

"Zerex Racing Coolant"

as regard to rad that 80mm rad you have it dont stand a chance of cooling your cpu maybe 2 of um? i run a dual heatercore but i want a pa160 things

gl

[CYberDruid]

That's too bad for me--but at least it gets me started--I was tinkering last night and removed the HDD drive tray and cleaned up the wire routing some to make room--the way it's layed out I could put a 120 up front with a side duct--maybe end up using 2 rads. Thanks for the input.

[maxSaleen]

Sorry you got the 8cm rad man. Tough. Don't get me wrong. It will cool your cpu, and cool it well, but it will be a major limitation in your system. I thought that I'd mention that your going to need a medium speed fan with such a thick core. Check out dangerden.com. They are having a sale on their dual pass Black Ice Pro radiators. You can get a BIP 12cm for like $30. A 12cm radiator with a shroud and a low speed fan sucking air in would be your best bet. Have two VERY low speed fans on the top/back exhaust ports. That should be a good setup.

I've been to Miami and I live in Orlando. Going to Miami is special though. The minute you get there and step outside, you think to yourself "Geee.... I should have put deoderant on my balls". And that was in the winter.

[CYberDruid]

That Plastic Seat Sweat--oh yeah--well I ended up putting a tiny hole in the little rad--and not sure how to fix it I went to plan B--NAPA universal transmission cooler--with one 120mm and a shroud I get 42C Idle and 49 C Overclocked and Folding--I think I could do better (the fan I am using only puffs out 30 CFM). What do you think of this (pic below) as a rad? Would I get better results with the BIP?

Any ideas how to fix the rad? The Chrome chroud does not come off and the core is either gloss powcder coat or eneamel--no liquids ever been in the rad--I was thinking maybe some epoxy might work...

[killernoodle]

Where is the hole in it exactly? Draw an arrow on the pic.