Kit vs. Custom

The alternative to direct air cooling

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DraGoNsLaYeR
Posts: 72
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 1:41 pm

Kit vs. Custom

Post by DraGoNsLaYeR » Fri Nov 11, 2005 8:25 am

I was wondering how watercooling kits perform compared to custom ones (such as those from Dangerden). Would something like the Reserator 1 Plus be the solution or will something custom built likely perform better and remain quieter? I would like to cool both my P4 3.2ghz and Geforce 6800.

Also, is there a store of choice that has large selection of parts for watercooling?

zds
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Re: Kit vs. Custom

Post by zds » Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:45 am

DraGoNsLaYeR wrote:I was wondering how watercooling kits perform compared to custom ones (such as those from Dangerden). Would something like the Reserator 1 Plus be the solution or will something custom built likely perform better and remain quieter? I would like to cool both my P4 3.2ghz and Geforce 6800.
I'd expect you to be able to cool it with Reserator, if you provide adequate airflow inside the case (to cool the memories).

The question between kits and customs boils down to amount of homework you are willing to do. As with many other things, custom can be cheaper, better or look nicer but having these properties means you need to spend considerable amount of time into studying what parts to select and how to combine.

You can buy bunch of perfectly good parts and still get a bad system out of them just because they weren't optimal to each other.

So as a rule of thumb, I'd seriously consider buying a kit for your first watercooled solution. All of their parts might not be optimal value for money, but somebody else has taken the effort to select parts that fit together. After you can played around with a kit for a while and educated yourself about the watercooling in general you are in much better position to do it yourself.
DraGoNsLaYeR wrote:Also, is there a store of choice that has large selection of parts for watercooling?
I think you would get more answers to this if you told where you live :-]. Exchange rates, shipping restrictions, taxes and shipping costs affect the total price, so yes, there are plenty of good choices, but the definition of good relates to where you are located.

DraGoNsLaYeR
Posts: 72
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 1:41 pm

Post by DraGoNsLaYeR » Sat Nov 12, 2005 11:22 am

I assembled my friend's water cooling kit a few months ago. Is that enough experience? I've been reading a lot of information from various sites and forums too. If I posted a possible watercooling setup here could I get some assistance?
I live in New York by the way. I usually use newegg to buy my things but they don't carry many watercooling supplies.

DraGoNsLaYeR
Posts: 72
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 1:41 pm

Post by DraGoNsLaYeR » Sun Nov 13, 2005 12:03 pm

I've been looking around and I think I might be interested in the custom approach. I've been looking at the heatercores with space for 2x120mm fans sold in various places, and I was wondering if they could be placed outside the case, I definately have no room at all for something like that. Is it effective to have them running without the use of fans.

cotdt
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Post by cotdt » Sun Nov 13, 2005 1:34 pm

Custom allows you to fit the watercooling set into the case, which looks much nicer and is much more portable. I'd say that if you have the experience, go custom.

DraGoNsLaYeR
Posts: 72
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 1:41 pm

Post by DraGoNsLaYeR » Sun Nov 13, 2005 2:05 pm

Fitting everything inside the case isn't really needed for me. As I said I think it would be impossible to fit the heatercore within the case. Also, portability isn't needed for me either.

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