Well, I finally registered on this site after being a long time reader. First of all, thanks in advance to all of you who post such wonderfully useful information. I have found this forum to be an incredible resource.
Now, I would like some confirmation that what I'm about to build will actually work. I feel fairly comfortable with it but would love some input from the pros.
Here is what I'm going to be running / cooling.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
Mobo: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard (will be water cooling northbridge on this)
Video card: EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX
For cooling, I am planning on going with the Swiftech H20-220-APEX-GT kit and for the case, I want to go with the Antec P182.
Based on that information, I have some questions:
- Will that cooler handle the CPU, GPU, and chipset?
- Will I be able to get that water system inside of the Antec P182 case keeping in mind the massive size of the 8800GTX?
- What waterblocks would you recommend for the chipset and GPU?
- Is there anything else I should consider in my attempts to build a quiet, high power system?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts/suggestions.
First Water Cooled Build - How does this look?
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Re: First Water Cooled Build - How does this look?
1) the swiftech set comes with a generic 120x2 rad and the apogee gt, which are both pretty good, but if you'll want a better rad+cpu block. The Swiftech MCP650 pump that comes with the set is a great pump though. The D-Tek FuZion cools multicores better than an apogee GT. Then for Radiator, if you want the absolute best, get a thermochill PA120.2.DeGrey wrote: Based on that information, I have some questions:
- Will that cooler handle the CPU, GPU, and chipset?
- Will I be able to get that water system inside of the Antec P182 case keeping in mind the massive size of the 8800GTX?
- What waterblocks would you recommend for the chipset and GPU?
- Is there anything else I should consider in my attempts to build a quiet, high power system?
2) The P182 can fit all that only under 2 conditions: you don't use any HD's in that upper HD cage (the 8800GTX is too long for this), and the radiator will have to be external, unless you do some modding to the front/top...
3)you probably won't need a block for the Northbridge, but if you want, the swiftech one isn't bad. For GPU block, it matters if you want a full body block, or just CPU. The swiftech MCW60 is a great one for just CPU, but it uses passive ramsinks, so that will require some airflow still. I'm not sure on full body blocks, but EK are good price/performance ones - the DangerDen ones are too much $$$ for their performance in my opinion...
4)Um, if you really are fanatic about silence, you can soft mount your fans, HDs w/ silicone fan pins and rubber cushioned screws. Make sure to use Yate Loons for any fans (my personal favorite), as they have decent CFMs and quiet sound.
My opinion: Thermochill PA120.2, Swiftech MCP650 pump, D-Tek FuZion cpu block, Swiftech MCW30 NB cooler, Swiftech MicroRes, and clearflex or tygon tubing. I'm not that intellectual on a good GPU block, so can't help you there...
Thank you!
Thanks for the tips. After doing a little more research I think I will go with this now:
Case: Thermaltake Armor Series full tower (so I can keep everything internal)
Radiator: Danger Den Double Heater Core with acrylic shroud
Pump: Danger Den D5 variable speed pump
CPU Block: DD Copper TDX block for Intel 775
Chipset Block: DD 680i chipset block (or may just air cool these with some Evercool Fans)
GPU Block: EK full body block? Not sure on the GPU quite yet as the video card may kill my budget. Might have to go with lower end card to start with.
I'm planning to do this as a closed loop system using all 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD Tygon tubing.
New questions:
- Would the D-Tek CPU block be a better choice over the Danger Den TDX block on this quad core?
- From what I have been reading, the heater core radiator will work just as well as a high dollar one such as the Thermochill PA120.2. Is there any disadvantage here?
- You mentioned using the Swiftech MicroRes... is there a significant advantage in using this? I was just going to use a T in my loop with a filling valve at the top of the case.
Thanks for the advice on fans and the soft mounting. I will certainly do that as I want to have this thing as quiet as possible.
Case: Thermaltake Armor Series full tower (so I can keep everything internal)
Radiator: Danger Den Double Heater Core with acrylic shroud
Pump: Danger Den D5 variable speed pump
CPU Block: DD Copper TDX block for Intel 775
Chipset Block: DD 680i chipset block (or may just air cool these with some Evercool Fans)
GPU Block: EK full body block? Not sure on the GPU quite yet as the video card may kill my budget. Might have to go with lower end card to start with.
I'm planning to do this as a closed loop system using all 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD Tygon tubing.
New questions:
- Would the D-Tek CPU block be a better choice over the Danger Den TDX block on this quad core?
- From what I have been reading, the heater core radiator will work just as well as a high dollar one such as the Thermochill PA120.2. Is there any disadvantage here?
- You mentioned using the Swiftech MicroRes... is there a significant advantage in using this? I was just going to use a T in my loop with a filling valve at the top of the case.
Thanks for the advice on fans and the soft mounting. I will certainly do that as I want to have this thing as quiet as possible.
Re: Thank you!
A T-Line performs pretty much the same function as a reservoir, just bleeding the system of air is easier with a reservoir than w/ a T-Line. A T-Line is more convienent to fill and takes less space. Either way, both are okDeGrey wrote: You mentioned using the Swiftech MicroRes... is there a significant advantage in using this? I was just going to use a T in my loop with a filling valve at the top of the case.
How are you planning to mount the radiator? It seems impossible to cleanly mount a 2x120mm rad on a P182.
I was thinking about this for my own water cooled P182 project, and although expensive a dual radiator option might be cleaner. Have one 1x120mm on the top fan vent and one on the back. With right angle connections the tubing would not be too horrible.
Either that or have one at the back and one at the front. The advantage of that would be you could possibly squeeze both inside the case. I think some modding is required to fit a rad to the front of a P182 where the HDD bay normally goes. I suppose you could just mount it in the 5.25" bays, behind a Sythe Kama or something, assuming you only wanted one optical drive.
I was thinking about this for my own water cooled P182 project, and although expensive a dual radiator option might be cleaner. Have one 1x120mm on the top fan vent and one on the back. With right angle connections the tubing would not be too horrible.
Either that or have one at the back and one at the front. The advantage of that would be you could possibly squeeze both inside the case. I think some modding is required to fit a rad to the front of a P182 where the HDD bay normally goes. I suppose you could just mount it in the 5.25" bays, behind a Sythe Kama or something, assuming you only wanted one optical drive.
MoJo
I was going to originally mount the radiator in the P182 case in the front and move the HDDs to the lower compartment. However, upon further thinking, I believe I will now go with a different case. I'm going to pick up a Thermaltake Armor Series full tower so there will be plenty of room for the water cooling.
I still really like the looks of the P182 but I'm going to have to go with function over form on this one. Since it is my first water cooled build, I want to make sure I have plenty of room to work with.
Oh, and I have decided to switch the CPU block in my build to the D-TEK FuZion waterblock. I'll probably leave the chipset out of the water loop and just air cool that for now. That leaves more flow for the CPU and GPU.
Only thing I'm still not 100% sure on is the rad. I'm trying to find a build where someone else paired the Danger Den Double Heater Core with the Thermaltake Armor case to get an idea on how it fits.
I was going to originally mount the radiator in the P182 case in the front and move the HDDs to the lower compartment. However, upon further thinking, I believe I will now go with a different case. I'm going to pick up a Thermaltake Armor Series full tower so there will be plenty of room for the water cooling.
I still really like the looks of the P182 but I'm going to have to go with function over form on this one. Since it is my first water cooled build, I want to make sure I have plenty of room to work with.
Oh, and I have decided to switch the CPU block in my build to the D-TEK FuZion waterblock. I'll probably leave the chipset out of the water loop and just air cool that for now. That leaves more flow for the CPU and GPU.
Only thing I'm still not 100% sure on is the rad. I'm trying to find a build where someone else paired the Danger Den Double Heater Core with the Thermaltake Armor case to get an idea on how it fits.