WaterCooling the NorthBridge and VGA only suggestions

The alternative to direct air cooling

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apocalypse80
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Post by apocalypse80 » Fri Jun 04, 2004 4:56 am

Why do you want an second independent loop?
I suggest you try adding blocks to the reserator.
Your cpu ([email protected]) is a piece of cake for watercooling , your vga is also pretty cool and the nb produces very little heat anyway.
Actually , I doubt if your cpu+vga+nb produce as much heat as my cpu alone (a bit over 120Watts).

So the reserator's radiator should be enough.
You may need to change the pump for something stronger and more noisy , but it will still be better than having 2 pumps.

chylld
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Post by chylld » Fri Jun 04, 2004 5:29 am

i agree with apocalypse80 and recommend you just add the nb and gpu to your loop.

if u want to use a separate pump + reservoir you're also going to need to manage the cooling of this loop, if you aren't going to do this with a fan then you'll need another reserator or an evaporative setup etc. all of which will cost you a lot of time and money.

just add them to your current loop and then see how things go first.

chylld
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Post by chylld » Fri Jun 04, 2004 6:38 am

zalman makes a vga block, i'd recommend that.

as for the nb block, i'd recommend the asetek one as it's nice, cheap and simple.

tubing-wise, stick to whatever you're using at the moment, and use this to determind the size of the fittings on the asetek nb block (if u decide to get that one)

shathal
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Post by shathal » Fri Jun 04, 2004 1:54 pm

Small point - why bother cooling the NB?

Just make sure you've got a passively cooled NB on your mobo of choice, and voila - one less element to worry about. You might be able to cool your GPU and the CPU with the reservator that way... :).

Rusty075
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Post by Rusty075 » Fri Jun 04, 2004 3:00 pm

Here's an idea:

Buy the new Zalman VGA waterblock. Since it comes with 2 waterblocks, use whatever one you don't need for the GPU, on the NB. I think you'll need the small block for you GPU (at least that what fits on my 9500) The blocks attach with exactly the same adjustable mounting mechanism as Zalman's other, non-WC NB coolers. Or you could always glue it on if you needed to.

Then you wouldn't need to mess with buying a NB block that accepts Zalman's unusual tubing size.


I've been toying with this idea for myself for a while.

As for the heatload: I can tell you with good authority that the Reserator will happily take 140+ watt load while still returning usable temps. Even OC'd your CPU is still in the 80watt range, you GPU is probably at most 20-30 watts.

Rusty075
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Post by Rusty075 » Fri Jun 04, 2004 3:17 pm

From a cooling POV a better solution would be to mount the parts on the wall.

Zyzzyx....you out there? :lol:

Zyzzyx
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Post by Zyzzyx » Fri Jun 04, 2004 3:33 pm

Wall mount setup can work just damn fine, if you have wall space nearby the desk. I currently have a rather ghetto setup (too lazy to make it look nice) attached to a piece of plywood hanging on the wall. I've got the PSU totally open with one fan blowing up across it. The AMD 1700 is cooled with an SLK-800 and 6v Panaflo. The ti4200 vid card is passive cooled with a Zalman CU-17 cooler (with the fins fanned out).

It might get a bit trickier to mount and hang your watercooling stuff, but I'm sure it could be done.

I think a wall mount setup is better than just flat on a desk. Looks to get better passive airflow right up the wall, but that's questionable. It is less likely to collect dust though.

Not sure what the wattage is on the ATI 9600 compared to the Nvidia ti4200, but I don't have any problems with my video card cooling. Again, its the Zalman CU-17 passive video card cooler. I then spread the fins up, the top ones on each side about 45 degrees. This worked fine on passive cooling inside my case, and even better on my wallmount. It is attached with thermal epoxy though, a bit more permanent than most solutions. Still, I don't think you'll need anything more. Looks great too.

The biggest advantage I've found with the external wallmount is that case temperature is the same as room ambient temperature.

When I get home I'll see if I can get some pictures posted of the setup I have.

Rusty075
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Post by Rusty075 » Fri Jun 04, 2004 3:36 pm

2 words: canned air

Rusty075
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Post by Rusty075 » Fri Jun 04, 2004 3:43 pm


Rusty075
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Post by Rusty075 » Fri Jun 04, 2004 3:57 pm

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article8-page1.html
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article11-page1.html

Those go waaaaay back, but Sandwiching and Suspending is still the best way to go. :lol:

Rusty075
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Post by Rusty075 » Sat Jun 05, 2004 4:08 pm

Yes, they would obviously be louder than similarly mounted drives inside a case. Sandwiched and suspended they would be fairly quiet.

toiletduckuk
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Post by toiletduckuk » Mon Jun 07, 2004 12:35 pm

make an external seethru box.

toiletduckuk
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Post by toiletduckuk » Mon Jun 07, 2004 2:59 pm

uh, get a box, and put your hdds in it :)
it wasnt a really very well thought out idea, but if you want to case your hdds, outside your pc...

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