New at water cooling, advice needed

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Ahh..., I ain't tryin' to highjack this thread in anyway, shape or form . I'd just like to say "Thanks Chiel " for the above profound information (I've read it elsewhere also) While my homemade external WC'ers are not exactly going to win any "most acetic pleasing awards" . The truth is that, more important to me than how they looked (within reason), was if they they were efficient and did the job of easily setting them in my window sill. (and it was, plus I ain't takin' either boxen on any extended trips )

I looked at them kinda' like a race car, nobody gives a flying rat turd what it looks like (within reason) , as long as it's the fastest car in the race.

ATM I'm adding another container and some "bling bling" so anyone lookin' at them won't turn into stone I've read where the QD's (of any freakin' size) can cause massive restrictions, with that profound info, I'm gonna' ditch my Koolance QD's for compression type fittings and a dummy plug (and maybe a life preserver)

DCing for the CURE

haha, you're welcome

An easy way to watercool on a budget is to watch the for sale section. There are nearly complete setups for sale there for about 30% less than brand new. I'm personally selling a 4870 block, and I know their is another guy selling one too Just keep a sharp eye out.

So far, since it is my first time and upon a lot of consideration I think I am going to go with a kit for my first time. My thoughts are I can always take the parts of the kit and upgrade them to suit my needs, such as the radiator.

I am currently looking at the kits from Swiftech, Thermaltake, and Zalman. I may actually look into the Thermaltake and upgrade the radiator to a 240 MM unit right off the bat, as I heard they are decent at a price and you can always upgrade things if needed. I am pretty sure I will go with my own tubing and liquid though.

I already have a 1366 socket water block for my CPU, and good idea Tofunater about looking for deals on water cooling kits, something I was basically overlooking.

I thank both you and ChielScape for the help, and Jws2346 for hijacking my thread (lol just kidding )

ricsim, you can try out an Apogee GTZ for waterblock, Swiftech MCRES as your resevoir, GTX360 as your radiator, D5 Vario Pump as your pump, and 6x of these Yate Loon Fans (3 for push, 3 for pull on your rad). Total is: approximately $331.20.

This is a very good watercooling system. The GTZ waterblock is one of the best on the market and the GTX360 rad is one of the best. I have a GTX480 and it's absolutely amazing. The only reason why I didn't recommend you the GTX480 is it probably won't fit inside your case and/or it's too big, because trust me, it's huge.

For coolant, you can use regular coolant, or make your own, using distilled water and PT nuke
and some dye if you want. I personally wouldn't use it because it might build up on your waterblock.

Tubing I would recommend are some Primochills, which you can get form DangerDen, or some Tygon tubing. Additionally, there is another bracket that you will need for your Apogee GTZ in order for it to work with your Core i7, but I can't seem to find it. It might be on frozenCPU.com somewhere.

Another thing: NEVER use kits. You can get much better deals and better temperatures by using your own liquid cooling system using different parts.

start with these and upgrade as you go.

d-tek fusion v2.
feser 360 rad
swifttech res v2
7/16 id - 1/2 od
zip tie
6 yates loon fan for rad
anti kink coils for tight turns.
D5 laing/mcp655 pump.
coolant = red for ati/green fo nvidia

Attachment 100959

Thank you all, looking at the various options.

Illusion of Progress I sent him a PM lets see what happens. I appreciate that as well, you people are awesome

I changed my mind for now, I want to just cool my Core i7 better as my case takes good care of the rest, and my video cards are not running that hot. I was even looking into things like the Coolit Domino but think it would be a waste as I am sure my TRUE with push-pull and lapped base would rival it.

I appreciate all the great help and advice, I would probably not get a pre made kit because you can get your own stuff for about the same price and sure it would work better.

Well, here is what I have coming to my house so far

• Swiftech H20 220 Compact purchased from Mothow (reservoir, pump, radiator, external mount, additional radiator, fans)
  
• 5 feet of 3/8" tubing (Primochill Pro LRT Tubing)
  
• Danger Den Core i7/1366 Waterblock with 3/8" barbs
  
• Clamps
  
• Feser Blue UV Reactive Liquid

What I am going to try is with the Swiftech unit I purchased the pump and CPU block are one unit, but it only works with the LGA 775 and not Core i7.

Next week when I have more money I will be upgrading the kit with a Thermaltake Aqua Bay M5 http://www.frozencpu.com/products/55...tl=g30c321s823 and with that I should be in even better shape.

I plan to set it up:

1. the output of the reservoir will be fed into the input of the pump
2. the output of the pump will be fed into the input of the CPU water block
3. the output of the CPU water block will be fed into the input of the radiator
4. the output of the radiator will be fed into the input of the reservoir

I cannot see why I cannot use the Swiftech cpu/pump combo as a pump only though. Just have to figure out a good way for it to be mounted temporarily. At least until I can add that Thermaltake kit to it. I will be adding my Chipset and both 4870 video cards to the loop later. By then I am hoping to have been able to piece together my whole kit, or at least use the Thermaltake as the foundation.

The total cost of everything: $150.00

So My adventure into water cooling has begun. Thank you again for all the advice and will keep everyone posted on how it turns out, also I will post some pics.

Any advice on how I can work the air out of the system first before use?

The pictures I promised of my new water cooling system installed in my Antec 1200.

Thermaltake P500 Pump (for now)
Swiftech MCR-220 240 MM Radiator with Rad Box
XSPC Delta V3 CPU Water Block with Core i7 Plate
1/8" Primochill Tubing
2 Scythe Ultra Kaze Low speeds for pull
Worm Drive clamps