Koolance PC2-901 Full Server

[Mutt]

What do you guys think about this case. Is it worth the price or Is it better to just buy the case and add my own water cooling setup. I want something that is easy as this will be my first water cooling setup. Also is it worth it to add the hard drive coolers and the video chipset cooler. If I go the build my own set up what do you recommend. What size power supply will I need. I will be running 1 cd burner 1 dvd rom 1 cd rom 3 cold cathodes 1800 amd processer 4 40 g hardrive in a raid 0 setup plus some times external drives . I dont plan on over clocking any thing.

[PaperPlate]

From what I've read around on the boards and such (I'm new to water cooling my self), Koolance isn't that great. Now, I have no personal experience with it so...maybe these guys can help you out, they know a lot more than I.

[gmat]

Originally posted by Mutt
What do you guys think about this case. Is it worth the price or Is it better to just buy the case and add my own water cooling setup. I want something that is easy as this will be my first water cooling setup.

Well for one you should state clearly a full set of goals.
What do you want exactly:
- Maximum overclocking ?
- Maximum silence ?
- do you like building things up and tweaking, or do you just want a "closed box" and not to have to look at its innards ?

Building a WC system is *easy* enough. But beware it's *long* and requires work and dedication.

Also is it worth it to add the hard drive coolers and the video chipset cooler.

Depends. What vid card do you plan to put in ? What are your goals concerning noise ? Are your HDDs burning hot ? Are they old 10000rpm units ?

If I go the build my own set up what do you recommend.

A full set at a good WC gear supplier. DangerDen, Dtek, Aquacomputer, Innovatek all make complete kits which are all very good.
Koolance products are not *bad* in themselves. The fact is, they're not targeted at the tweaker / geek.

What size power supply will I need. I will be running 1 cd burner 1 dvd rom 1 cd rom 3 cold cathodes 1800 amd processer 4 40 g hardrive in a raid 0 setup plus some times external drives . I dont plan on over clocking any thing.

350W will be enough. Try 400W for the cathodes and you're through.

[airspirit]

Since you can get an outstanding full tower/server case at Newegg for 63 shipped (Chieftec DA-01) and you can get a BIXr2 for $60, a good 1/2" waterblock for $30-40 and a MUCH better pump for $50, plus you can arrange it any which way you want, you be the judge. I'd personally go with a higher quality (and I'm talking HUGE quality gap) system than one with mediocre/cheeseball cooling equipment in a pretty case for MUCH MORE money. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone here that'll tell you otherwise. The only reason you should get a preassembled kit is if the following ALL apply:

1) You don't plan on overclocking much (if I remember, most koolance kits run 1/4" hose, and I've never seen one with over 3/8" ... combine that with a weak pump and you won't get very good cooling). You can possibly, depending on your situation, do better with air-cooling.

2) You have no experience messing with computers and don't want to learn OR you have no mechanical skills (i.e., you're likely to poke your eye out if you are in the same room as a screwdriver). It doesn't take a genius to learn how to hook these things up in an effective matter, and for many basic case mods, a trained chimp can dremel out a blowhole (I did it, if that tells you anything, and it was my first time picking up a dremel).

3) You have money to burn and all you want to watercool for is for bragging rights and a pretty PC.

4) You don't mind people getting rich off of you while providing you with a piece of crap prebuilt watercooling kit that cost them will under half of the selling cost.

5) Your father was a hamster.

As I suspect from the fact that you are here that these don't all apply, I'd build one yourself. Read the forum to get a bearing on what equipment does best for people and start finding recommended suppliers to purchase from. Before assembly, read the theory topics to get an idea of what order to place your components in, lapping qualities, and other recommended practices (though most of these are debated fiercely). When you feel that you can assemble this in your sleep, go for it and remember that the assembly is most of the fun. If watercooling is a source of geek bragging rights, being able to assemble your own kit brings the prestige to a whole new level (what a bunch of bull, huh?).

I would recommend you move cautiously and avoid kits like the plague. Take your time researching and building your system and you'll be much happier with it.

edit: I can't spell.

[Puzzdre]

5) Your father was a hamster.

LOL!!!

If you quoted a scene from Monty Python and Holy Grail, the original I think was "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberry"...

He who approaches the bridge of Death, must answer me this questions three...

if I misunderstood, sorry, just looked too familiar...

[gmat]

Originally posted by airspirit

I would recommend you move cautiously and avoid kits like the plague.

I think you meant pre-built cases ala Koolance et al.
If , for example, i take the kit from D-Tek , everything is top-of-the-line (Eheim, TC-4, heatercore, 1/2"...) and comes into a Chieftec (=Antec SX1030) case...

[Mutt]

Ok thanks for the help I guess the Koolance case is out. I want a setup that is quiet and can be reused as I am always upgrading parts. It will not be used for over clocking.


The hard drives are Maxtor 7200 ide's and the current video card is a geforce 3.


Thanks again