Maybe I'm missing a basic idea of watercooling here... but I would have thought that you'd take the cool input water into the CPU block first, then graphics/nb. Basically reversing the order that you have the waterblocks set in Scenario 1 and 2.. The temperature of the water varies less than 1 degr...

This post was appartently erronious and is therefore deleted.

Applying a thin layer of thermal grease is normally the goal, but doesn't work for 9700 pros with the die below the shim layer. Goop it on good and thick.

I think it's normal. I have the 9700 pro Hercules and the back heatsink is pretty warm with the computer idling. Mine is clocked at 325/310. Your's is clocked at 380/340 so it'll be hotter. Update: I just ran a test on mine by setting the clocks to 380/340. Yep, the back heatsink got really warm qui...

The Vantec aeroflow was a bad example for this board. Final example: Thermalright SLK-900A with a large, quiet fan. Research what happens to a water rig if the pump fails. What will your motherboard do about it? Don't just start to read the threads referenced, finish the process. It'll be worth it.

how does mark II improve on the original? also, why does it use a 3-pin fan connector rather than 4-pin 12v PSU molex? The power used by the pump is low enough to be safely supplied by a motherboard fan header. One of the Mk2 improvements was to add motor rpm sensing (just like a fan) that culd be ...

You did good. No disappointments here. Actually, the temps are better than I expected, but you're right, it's going to be the delta temps that are important between setups. I don't understand the need for 6 hours for temperatures to stabilize. I'd guess 30-45 minutes would be enough especially if th...

Go read the threads in this link http://www.ocforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=127 After you do that, you'll know the answer to the questions you've asked. You don't understand the basics and buying a cheap kit is NOT a good way to learn the basics. Reading, studying, then asking questions is the way. ...

The new generation of video cards has shifted power draw away from the 5V and 3.3V lines toward 12V. Total power draw hasn't changed that much under load, but the 12V line is going to be providing most of the power for the GPU and CPU on most modern motherboards. Generic 300W, 400W, etc. PSU power l...

For pictures of a tranny cooler, look in the deals and classifieds section. I have a Swiftech Watercooling Kit listed for sale. The radiator for that kit is a Hayden tranny cooler rebranded by Swiftech as the model 676 radiator.

Honestly, I think you'll get similar temps compared to air cooling, maybe a few C better. The reason is the surface area of an SP-97 heatsink and the stock video cooling are probably similar to the surface area of the radiator. The big performance advantage to watercooling is being able to efficient...

Your setup will not be a complete failure. Your system is a good start except airflow through the radiator. For every degree you can lower your air temperature to the rad, that is a degree cooler for your CPU and everything else watercooled. If you can save 5 degrees on air temp, that is an easy 5C ...

Your frustration (especially with radiator size, selection, and placement) is an example of why watercooling isn't and won't be mainstream for awhile. It isn't as easy as air cooling even if you do assemble your own computer. The first setup is always the hardest though. You are also placing importa...

The deleted part was: EDIT: Btw the design is extremely similar, but Tsunami is aluminum, not steal, so mounting a heavy heatercore->shroud->fan combo there would be less stable than on the steel SLK3700. EDIT2: That is, if I turn the two sets of holes into four diagonal slats; it would hurt the int...

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I see the existing shroud; it's much better than no shroud at all. The challenge seems to be the radbox because it is limiting good options. To secure the radiator, dump the radbox completely and use several zip ties through the bottom of the radiator fin area around to the lower drive cage mount. S...

I know your case is not an slk3700, but if you look at the pictures closely, it is very similar. Similar enough to say they are based on the same basic chassis including the rear fan mounting. When I drilled the back of my case, yes the holes became diagonal slots. As far as support, I don't know th...

The solution for the 120mm rear fan mount is to drill 4 holes. Isn't that standard practice on SPCR? especially for slk3700 cases. For bleeding purposes, the limiting factor for the rear mounted rad is the tubes in the slot cover. You have to get the entire rad and tubing below the pass-thru for eff...

Please don't shoot the messenger! After looking at the heat load you envision, I think you will need more radiator capacity. A heatercore tall enough for twin 120's would be a good start, but I don't think it'll fit in the lower intake part of the case even with all bays but the 5 1/4 removed. The o...

I missed the fan against the rad. That isn't good for 2 reasons. The first is you get more air turbulence hence noise. The second is not using the dead spot in the center of the fan and the area not covered by the fan. Having the fan an inch or so away from the rad surface solves both problems. Peop...

Your setup looks much cleaner and should perform better. Nice! I've used 1/2ID 3/4OD clearflex tubing for the 2 water setups I've done previously and it's a royal pain for bends. I'm changing my setup around and switching to 3/8ID 1/2OD tubing soon. I was planing to order the coolsleeve material. Di...

perhaps intel and amd and ati and nvidia should offer industry standard water cooling guideline/brackts/mounts, perhaps modifying atx rather than going with btx. There is no problem with industry standards, they are well known and published. Water cooling blocks are made for every family of cpu and...

Somedays you have to think inside the box.

Internal fitting of the Pro 120 inside a Tsunami Dream is beyond impossible. I disagree. Having the rad inside is very practical and should result in cooler air being pulled through the rad. You have plenty of room in the lower front of your case. All you have to do is remove the drive bay mounted ...

Read the Sticky at the top of this forum that says ....................." VGA card power dissipation" The bottom link (also from the sticky) has more accurate info because the data at the beginning of the thread measures power into the computer rather than at the card itself. The link below doesn't ...

The challenge with your system is there is no good place for air to collect other than the radiator. A T-line or reservoir has some space for air bubbles to collect. The fill-n-bleed setup has nowhere and only works well if you can easily purge it of air while filling it because that is the only tim...

In a semi-decent watercooling system, would you expect the Zalman VGA waterblock to cool noticably better than the stock HSF on a 9700 pro? Assume a normal mid-tower case with decent airflow and sometimes heavy 3D gaming. I know it is an aluminum tube with no fins, pins, grooves, etc., but the 9700 ...

Think of it this way. For performance, high end air cooling is equivelent to middle-range watercooling and low-end watercooling is middle-range air cooling. There is a performance overlap where higher end air can cost less but cool better than low end water. Don't confuse performance with cost. The ...

You probably don't have the adapter inserted far enough into the quick connect. It takes some pressure and twisting to fit them in all of the way. The pressure comes from the fact that you are pushing it through an O-ring (down in the quick connect) to seal the adapter. Use a bit of water and wet th...

Considering that you're set on using a single BIX, go ahead and use the 1048 pump. The temp difference won't justify the challenges of using the 1250 (currently used in my rig#1). Your setup will be rad limited. If the resulting temps/performance isn't good enough, find a way to put another radiator...

is there any PSU that simply has a SET RPM speed, which is very quiet? There is a reason that fan speeds (and noise) increase especially under heavier load or higher temps. the power supply components require more cooling so they aren't being stressed beyond the PSU design limits. If you are going ...