New water cooling system

$550-$600 total. I saved money with the Swiftech Apogee Drive II and by using barbs with clamps from Ace hardware.

I'm a little bit confused by what you mean.

it should be an i5 3570k CPU , and I think if you mean for it to cool your single cpu and your dual gpu's?

I guess thats what you mean though

if its only a cpu loop, you'll get a nice loop for $200

cooling gpu's tend to get expensive pretty fast
Edited by Peopie - 10/28/12 at 11:54pm

While it is true that initial start up costs of water cooling are a little high, it would be foolish in the long run to go cheap. You want to have a good quality, expandable loop that you can easily add to. For example, I regret buying the PA120.2 instead of the 120.3. For a few bucks more, I may have avoided the need to buy another rad.

I dont think you need to go that high.

Pump(s) + res - ~100$
Radiator(s) - ~100$
CPU block ~70$
GPU Core blocks ~50$ a piece
Tubing / fittings - highly variable, you can spend a ton on these but if you go for budget then you can get away with approx 30 - 40 $

So - about 400 $ altogether for a loop which can handle CPU + 2x GPU's. I would prefer GPU core blocks as these can be reused unlike the full cover blocks that fit only the specific model and when you upgrade you have 100$ paperweight per card and need to spend again.

For Example:
CPU - http://www.aquatuning.us/product_info.php/info/p13551_EK-Water-Blocks-EK-Supremacy---Acetal--1156-1155-1oe-2011-AM2-AM3-939-XEON-.html
GPU - http://www.aquatuning.us/product_info.php/info/p14121_EK-Water-Blocks-EK-VGA-Supremacy---Acetal.html
radiator - http://www.aquatuning.us/product_info.php/info/p2050_Xtreme-NOVA-1080-Radiator.html
pumps/res - http://www.aquatuning.us/product_info.php/info/p13016_Alphacool-DC-LT-Ceramic---12V-DC-Pro-AGB.html and http://www.aquatuning.us/product_info.php/info/p13015_Alphacool-DC-LT-Ceramic---12V-DC-Pro.html (its a bit weak for pushing 3 blocks so 2 pumps, need res only on the first one)
tubing - http://www.aquatuning.us/product_info.php/info/p745_tubing-PUR-10-8mm--5-16-ID--clear.html (couple of meters will be enough)
fittings - http://www.aquatuning.us/product_info.php/info/p4836_10-8mm--8x1mm--compression-fitting--G1-4---black-nickel.html and http://www.aquatuning.us/product_info.php/info/p4837_10-8mm--8x1mm--compression-fitting--G1-4-90--revolvable---black-nickel.html and http://www.aquatuning.us/product_info.php/info/p5485_10-8mm--8x1mm--compression-fitting--G1-4-45--revolvable---black-nickel.html - need altogehter 12 fittings, 2 for each blocks and 2 per pump and 2 per rad. If its straight, 45 or 90 degree depends on how you plan to put stuff. If you mount the rad externally then you can either route tubing straight to the rad through the holes in the back or, if you prefer use bulkheads, in which case add 4 fittings + 2 bulkheads.

Or, you can start with a kit and add GPU blocks - http://www.aquatuning.us/product_info.php/info/p13670_Alphacool-NexXxoS-Cool-Answer-360-LT-ST---kit.html - note that I personally dont like that res they have in that kit so I would dump that and order instead the separate plexi tops for the pumps and either the integrated small res or separate round tube res.

Edit: I kinda like that particular radiator, as its pretty damn good price per surface area and its substantial overkill size wise so I would expect the radiator would be adequate for whatever system and thermal load you throw at it. It is also relatively easy to mount externally - just bolt it to the sidepanel behind motherboard tray - thats what I did:

build log for that system can be found at: http://www.overclock.net/t/1262095/soliton-dispenser-an-atx-portable-watercooled-case-with-external-9x120mm-rad
Edited by Carniflex - 10/29/12 at 1:10am

For pump, it's depend what pump you using mate, see the diffrent like D5 or DDC, or even iwaki one. choose wise what you need

The DC-LT is probably a bit on the the weak side for a loop containing CPU + 2x GPU's and a radiator or two. I quite like these little pumps, however, thats why I suggested these in my example build.

Anyway - assuming you would want to just combine a loop for a CPU and then expand it later thats, roughly, what I would do (if you dont want to use the Nova 1080 radiator I suggested earlier, which was quite large)
CPU block - http://www.aquatuning.de/product_info.php/info/p14731_EK-Water-Blocks-EK-Supreme-LTX---Acetal-CSQ--Sockel-775-1oe-1155-56-2011-.html - 35 eur
Pump + top + res - http://www.aquatuning.de/product_info.php/info/p13016_Alphacool-DC-LT-Ceramic---12V-DC-Pro-AGB.html - 45 eur
radiator - http://www.aquatuning.de/product_info.php/info/p12344_Alphacool-NexXxoS-ST30-Full-Copper-360mm.html - 48 eur
tubing - http://www.aquatuning.de/product_info.php/info/p198_tubing-PVC-10-8mm--5-16-ID--UV-active-red.html - couple of meters for ~2 euro
copression fittings - http://www.aquatuning.de/product_info.php/info/p4845_10-8mm--8x1mm--compression-fitting--G1-4-revolvable---black-nickel.html - 6 of these for 6 euros

Altogehter 136 euros + transport for an CPU only entry level loop with quite good expandability down the road. If you add GPU you should be still get away with just a GPU core block and couple of fittings, however, when adding a second GPU it would be good to throw in another 240 mm rad and another of these small pumps (second pump would not need a res, just a plexi top and pump).