votum

Alright, after searching around quite a bit here is what Ive come up with. My GPUs arent really problems with temp, 2x7600GT, and they even run crysis well enough, so I wont be upgrading for awhile, and so I decided to start off my WC shenanigans with just a CPU loop. Here is what I have narrowed down to my choices for my parts, between 1 and two only the rad/res changes. I am building this setup with sound in mind, I want it to be as quiet as possible. I have a P180b and my case fans are probably going to be upgraded, I was looking at 5 of these or these. I don't exactly understand how fan control works, but if I buy 5 of those yate loon fans, which are 1300rpm and 20dba, can I use a controller to drop it lower since it is a 1 speed fan? And the Scythes fan, if I buy the highest rpm, 1900, will I be able to have the full range of the 5 models they offer just by using a controller, that is, can I have a 1900rpm stock fan and use a fan controller to lower the rpm to 500(the lowest model of that scythe is 500rpm, with 7.5dba) I am going for quiet, but when I am in a frag session I use headphones so turning it up to get a performance boost isn't an issue, but is that how fan controllers work? As for that I was thinking of simply getting this zalman or this vantec off newegg. One guy said that he has 2 fans on one knob, is that a simple splicing job, if not, how do I go about that, and is it stupid to put more than one fan on a knob? Final question, as you will see below, I am a cheap-o. Would it be better for me to simply buy a Zalman 9500 which is quiet and high quality or is it a better decision to move over to WC? Sorry for all the questions, but I am rather new to this and have the urge to start to OC but do not want to spend money. With the air cooler Id save 100 bucks, but is the performance of the below WC loops going to be worth 100 more dollars invested?
Option 1 and 2 are both only the base items, no hosing, connectors, etc. Item 3 and 4 are all-inclusive.
-Option 1-
Rad - 24.99
CPU Block - 41.99
Pump - 44.99
Res - 19.95
Total shipped - 150.66

-Option 2-
Rad - 41.50
CPU Block - 41.99
Pump - 44.99
Total Shipped - 146.94

-Option 3-
http://www.petrastechshop.com/pecoli.html
Shipped Total - 155.51

-Option 4-
Buy a zalman reserator off ebay for around 120.00

radodrill

To slow the fans down, you are basically decreasing the voltage to them with the fan controller; often you can tie 2-3 fans to one channel, they even sell pre-made splitters just for that purpose. One thing to point out is that the range of controllable speed is not dependent on the speed models the manufacturer sells.

On to the watercooling:
I would not get the Zalman system for several reasons, 1) they use both copper and aluminum which leads to corrosion, 2) reserator design isn't very effective at dissipating heat, 3) poor performance in general.

For mild overclocks you might be better off going with a Thermalright Ultra 120 heatpipe cooler; these are the best air coolers on the market and are less expensive than entry level watercooling.

If you opt for going the watercooling route, the Petra's Tech kits are a great choice for beginners since they include everything you need to get going (except the distilled water).
I personally am not a big fan of the AquaXtreme blocks and the D-Tek pump is on the small side; their lite kit is primarily geared towards CPU only loops with maybe mild overclocking. I'd strongly recommend going with their Basic kit, it has much better components and also additional capacity for upgrades (including GPU cooling)

p.s. The companies I consider to produce the best watercooling components are DangerDen, Swiftech, EK-Waterblocks, D-Tek, Thermochill, Hardware Labs, and LIANG.

__________________
Project RAD GT

SR-1/2 radobases for Crazy Carl's Antec 900 mod

Modding/electronics/hardware supply thread

votum

OK so if I buy those yate loons and put them on a controller I will be able to drop below the factory rpm? I looked at the basic kit but I have a P180 and am trying to stay inside the case, not sure if I have room for a 220 rad and I have heard bad things about the apogee block (corrosion) I am planning on using my tax return for a pair of 8800s and a new cpu, and a WC system if there is room, I have a NZXT apollo case sitting in a closet that I may scrap out to make a custom box for a WC rig and will most likely cool the 8800s as well. Want to wait for a cpu upgrade and see how phenoms perform once they release the second set. AMD whooped ass with the athlon line, lagged behind when c2d came out, and I think they have it again with the native quad core. I am looking to put a small window in my P180b, anyone know where a good thread is, or where to purchase some good window kits?

radodrill

The Apogee and Apogee GT are very good blocks; the one that's prone to corrosion it the Apogee GTX, since the stock top is aluminum, at the prompting from enthusiasts they also sell a replacement copper top for the block to alleviate the corrosion issues.

Since you're planning to WC the CPU and a pair of 8800s you'd certainly want at least a 240mm rad preferrably a 360mm (or 240mm + 120mm).

I also prefer to keep everything inside the case. What I'd do is just cut some additional fan holes in the top of the case to accommodate the radiator (would block 1 or 2 of the 5 1/4" bays, but you could still use the blocked ones for fan controllers). Alternatively you can use a Swiftech RADbox to hang the radiator on the back of the case (from the existing fan mounts).

__________________
Project RAD GT

SR-1/2 radobases for Crazy Carl's Antec 900 mod

Modding/electronics/hardware supply thread