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**Completed** First Venture into Water Cooling

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3.2K views 32 replies 15 participants last post by  jws2346  
#1 ·
Hey guys...

So a few months ago I built my Sig Rig... I love it to death, but the air cooling isn't cutting it. Summer is approaching and the NB and Nirvana fans are loud and displacing quite a bit of heat into my room. I can't sleep at night with the 80 degree heat in my room. So I'm looking to water cooling for a heat & noise fix, as well as maybe a higher OC...

I know the 775 socket and 750i FTW aren't worth dropping that much money into anymore, but I'd like to make a nice WC attempt before going to i7. I also understand that the Antec 1200 isn't the greatest water cooling case, but I love it and I'm willing to work with it. So here is what I've come up with after reading a few OCN water cooling threads.

Heatkiller CPU Rev3.0 775
EK-NB 780i Northbridge Water Block
EK-SB VGA 790i Southbridge Water Block
Swiftech MCP355 12v DC Pump
HW Labs Black Ice GTX240/GTX360

I've read how great the Heatkiller is, so I chose that over the Apogee GTZ. Those EK blocks are compatible with the 750i FTW. Now what I need from the veterans is some advice on the rest of the system and maybe some better equipment options.

How important is the inner diameter of the fittings/tubing?
Which fittings are the best performance/look? (This may be a personal preference.. either way I'd love your input and maybe your pictures.)
How important are hose clamps throughout the loop?
Is there any effect in the height placement of components? (Pump at the low point/radiator at the highest point?)
How important is the size of the radiator? (In my case, for a single loop CPU -> NB -> SB)

Thanks so much for your help ahead of time, and I'm open to all feedback and revisions you guys might have.
 
#4 ·
So after more research and recommendations I've arrived at this shopping list:

Heatkiller 775
EK-NB 780i Northbridge Water Block
EK-SB VGA 790i Southbridge Water Block
Swiftech MCP655
XSPC RX480
4x Yate Loon 120mmx25mm medium speed
2x Swiftech RadBoxes (Going to mount the radiator on the back of the 1200 with the two boxes I figure it should support it fine)
15" of Tygon 1/2"ID 5/8"OD Tube
10x Bitspower Compression Fittings 1/2ID 5/8OD
PT Nuke

I'm not sure how many compression fittings I need... 2x for each water block, 2 for radiator, and I don't think the fittings on the pump can be replaced. So that's 8, and I think i'd need 3 more for a T connection. So does 11 sound correct?

So my last requests before purchasing is for a little help with the last components...
Fluid
Filler Cap
What are your experiences with a T connection with a filler cap over a res?

Assuming I go with a T connection for filler cap, which of the loops would result in optimal temperatures for CPU?
CPU -> NB -> SB -> Radiator -> Pump -> CPU
CPU -> NB -> SB -> Pump -> Radiator -> CPU

Without any previous water cooling experience, I'd say the sooner the water can get to the radiator the quicker it can be cooled. But on the other hand the later the water can reach the radiator before immediately going to the CPU may give cooler temps. Any suggestions?

Sorry for all the questions, but I really appreciate all the help this forum has provided.
 
#5 ·
you dont need tygon tubing save your self some money

Masterkleer Tubing 7/16" ID 5/8" OD this will fit 1/2 inch barbs
http://jab-tech.com/Masterkleer-c-320.html
.59 a foot
this is how the loop should go
res-pump-rad-cpu-nb-sb-res
I prefer to have a reservoir
 
#6 ·
Hey guys, so I got my parts in. I opened everything up, all the parts look great.

But I have a question. With the RX480 would it be unwise to mount it on the back of the 1200 vertically with the inlet/outlet at the bottom? (Since its so tall...)

One more question. I didn't get my order from Petra's yet. I contained my PT Nuke and a Danger Den T fitting that I was going to use at my filler/drainer port. Should I hold off on doing this loop until I get my T fitting or is there a way to fill my loop and close the compression fittings until the T fitting gets in?
 
#9 ·
Ok, well you guys took too long to respond. I went ahead with the operation, learned quite a bit lol. Anyway I have my loop hooked up without a res or T port, fail, major fail. It's ok it's performing quite well. High 20's on Core 1, 2, 3; Low 30's on Core 0 at 3.6 ghz Idle, mid/high 40s on Prime 95.

I ordered a few more fittings to fit this diagram below, and some anti-kink springs (should of ordered some originally.)

It follows the recommended loop:
CPU -> NB -> SB -> T Filler -> Pump -> T Drain -> Radiator -> CPU
Image


Last question that didn't really get answered. I originally mounted my radiator vertically, with the inlet/outlet on the top. It's a 480 so it's really tall. Is it ok if I mount it with the inlet/outlet at the bottom? Will the pump be able to push the liquid all the way through radiator without issues? At the moment I have the radiator mounted horizontally and it seems to be doing fine, but it's really awkward having a 480mm object sticking out sideways behind the case. Thanks again.
 
#11 ·
Multiplier 8
FSB 450

Core voltage at 1.3825
FSB volts are at 1.4 (should be one notch into the red)
NB volts are at 1.5 (two notches into red I believe)
Memory at 2.1
Nforce 200 at 1.3 or 1.35.

But my VID is 1.275, significantly lower than your's, unfortunately for you.

I haven't been able to boot at anything higher than 3.6 though, not really sure what I need to do, I've tried 3.8 with the 8x multi and 1.5 core volts and I get nothing.
 
#12 ·
Well after jumping the gun, I came back with my new T blocks, more compression fittings, more Tygon tubing, Koolance Anti-kink springs, PT Nuke, another Radbox, some worm drives, and a little more knowledge.

Here's the nearly final set-up of my Antec build. I need to finish drilling through the metal layer at the top for the filler cap to fit in. The temperature sensors for the Kaze Master are not attached to anything, those are essentially ambient. The fan speeds are optimal performance for the RX480 and silent.

Note: 2 drops of Palmolive Dish Washing detergent works wonders in removing bubbles.

Anyway, here's what you wanna see:

Image

Image

Image


Beautiful Heatkiller and EK blocks...

Image

Image

Image


Massive XSPC RX480
Image


With the cards in...
Image

Image


Complete:
Image
 
#16 ·
nice i really like the look of that setup it looks awesome only thing is if you could move the rad down so it wasn't sticking up so far it would look even better but i like what you have done and i can see that if you move the rad down some of the fans wouldn't get very good airflow and the case original water cooling ports wouldn't line up
 
#18 ·
Thought about doing that in the beginning. The radiator arrived and I placed it next to the 1200. It's as tall as the Antec, meaning I couldn't run any cages, any drives, completely empty; even then I don't know if it would of cleared the height.
 
#20 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by Slightly skewed
View Post

That's a terrible idea. Not only would you not have room for the optical drive, but only one HD as well.

why dont you let people decide for themselves whether or not its a terrible idea?

I for example dont even use optical drives, and hardrives can easily be stashed somewhere else. all of my 12 drive bays are occupied by my 480 GTX and i couldnt be happier.
 
T
#21 ·
i think that radbox is gonna snap off!

that would really suck
 
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#22 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by ChielScape
View Post

why dont you let people decide for themselves whether or not its a terrible idea?

I for example dont even use optical drives, and hardrives can easily be stashed somewhere else. all of my 12 drive bays are occupied by my 480 GTX and i couldnt be happier.

Think about it. Were is he going to "stash" those HD's and optical drive in THAT case which I HAVE? Messy is what it is. I gave MY opinion. So back off dude.
 
#23 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Slightly skewed View Post
Think about it. Were is he going to "stash" those HD's and optical drive in THAT case which I HAVE? Messy is what it is. I gave MY opinion. So back off dude.
you try to force your opinion on people, think you're always right, that your truth is the only truth. I wont back off for anyone, let alone types like you.
 
S
#24 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by ChielScape View Post
you try to force your opinion on people, think you're always right, that your truth is the only truth. I wont back off for anyone, let alone types like you.
I may come off that way to some, but when my actual, real life experince dictates as such, I try and save people from mistakes that I already made, or that they may not see. How can a person force their opinion on someone on a friggen forum? I think that you may need to take a look at my past posts for this case and well, rethink that post. I'm blunt, but the truth is just that sometimes. If I can save someone from a huge headache, why wouldn't i? Oh that's right, I need to be timid and ever so politely express my opinion. You don't get out much do you. You need to comment on the post, not your opinion of the poster.
 
#26 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by Slightly skewed View Post
I may come off that way to some, but when my actual, real life experince dictates as such, I try and save people from mistakes that I already made, or that they may not see. How can a person force their opinion on someone on a friggen forum? I think that you may need to take a look at my past posts for this case and well, rethink that post. I'm blunt, but the truth is just that sometimes. If I can save someone from a huge headache, why wouldn't i? Oh that's right, I need to be timid and ever so politely express my opinion. You don't get out much do you. You need to comment on the post, not your opinion of the poster.
still, what you put off as a horrible idea is the best thing ive done to my PC since ages.
 
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