[THaNaToS_J2]

Hi all!
I'm going to build a pc to hold me over for the next 8-12 months until I get some cash for a monster gaming rig.
The box I'm getting now will be used to game on and will eventually be moved over to the role of a multi-purpose server. i.e. multi-media work, rendering, file sharing, web-hosting, etc. At that time I will run it, as my current box is, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Any recommendations on a reliable cooling solution that will get the job done if never turned off? It'll be cooling a q6600 and single 8800gtx. (Both of which I wouldn't mind getting a little extra speed out of, but nothing excessive. ~10% OC on each.) The case I'm planning on getting will be a full tower (or super tower as I've seen some labeled) with more then adequate airflow.
Now, I've overclocked cpu's and gpu's and built my fair share of boxes, but I've never stepped into the realm of watercooling. Then again, I'm not afraid to jump right in and get my feet wet. (pun intended.)
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Oh, and assume I don't mind shelling out the cash for a decent cooling system providing I don't have to sell my first born to afford it.

Thanks in advance.

- J.J.

 

[DuckieHo]

What case do you plan on getting?

 

[Dezixn]

Hmmm a water cooled server...

Me thinks simple after market air cooling would be more suited for a server. Water cooling requires more maintenance and i'm sure you don't want to be messing with that server.

My suggestion, water cool this PC, then take the water cooling off of it and put it in your monster rig when it is ready. Then cool the server with a nice after market cooler.

Just my thoughts

 

[ChielScape]

here's some parts. when Ira-K comes by he should have some interesting stuff to read.

http://www.petrastechshop.com/hwlablicegtx.html
http://www.petrastechshop.com/dfuuncpubl1.html
http://www.petrastechshop.com/ekgtxfucowaf.html (currently out of stock)
http://www.petrastechshop.com/laddcwpeddto.html
http://www.petrastechshop.com/7id5odmagepu.html
http://www.petrastechshop.com/swmchire.html

instead of full coverage 8800 block this is also possible
http://www.petrastechshop.com/dgfxcof88gt.html

id get the 480 rad since you're going to cool both GFX and a Qcore, but the Thermochill PA120.3 should be able to handle it too. (out of stock now though)

 

[odie]

Do air cooling, and get a small AC unit for the room. That way when you upgrade to a new computer the ac unit will still work for the new computer. I could not imagine adding liquid to a server while it is running

 

[Voidsplit]

if your planning to only oc them 10% then i'd say ditch the water and grab some air cooling, the GTX's cooling is more then sufficent and for the Quad i'd grab a Tuniq, its a little overkill for such a small OC, but it will definantly keep those temps down and support any overclocking you feel like doing.

Dont put your money into WC for a server, especially if your not going to be overclocking it very much

 

[ChielScape]

Quote:

Originally Posted by odie Do air cooling, and get a small AC unit for the room. That way when you upgrade to a new computer the ac unit will still work for the new computer. I could not imagine adding liquid to a server while it is running

its often used for 1U servers that produce more heat than simple 1U sinks can handle.

 

[odie]

Most server rooms I have gone to, have massive AC units, and excelent filters to keep dust from building up in the server.

 

[ChielScape]

ive been wondering about it myself, but the equipment exists, so surely it gets used somewhere.

 

[ira-k]

Here is some good stuff for a new WC'er to read...

...Water Cooling in English

...Assembling your Custom Watercooling Setup

...Bleeding my WC setup...

...D-Tek Fuzion install tip! (Or Why You Should Clean New Blocks)

...Part 1-Temp's With and With-Out Shrouds

...How To: Build A Performance Shroud

...Cooling - An In-Depth Look

...PC Water Coolant Chemistry - Part I

 

[AKAeric]

Quote:

Originally Posted by odie Most server rooms I have gone to, have massive AC units, and excelent filters to keep dust from building up in the server.

They also sound like a 747 at takeoff

 

[odie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKAeric They also sound like a 747 at takeoff

Actually my best friend is a data base admin at Brightwood, and when I visit him, he is usually in the server room, which is quite small. The AC unit is not that loud.

 

[THaNaToS_J2]

Good stuff! Thanks for the quick replies. I'll read up on those links and now that I'm thinking about it, I'll probably just get the best fan for the money I can and not push the CPU further then I'm comfy with.
By the way, any of you have experience with those thermal-electric fans? I've heard they're not as good as water-cooling, but still perform extremely well for a fan-cooler. Do you think this would be a good alternative? $120+ for a single fan is a bit much, but if it actually works the way they claim I won't mind shelling out the cash for it.

Thanks again.

 

[Sreenath]

If you are going to spend 120 on a Air TEC cooler, you might as well either:

spend 65 for an air cooler+fan which cools better

spend 185 on watercooling which cools WAY better

Air TEC doesn't work right. As temps increase, the TEC is less effective and air cannot disapate enough heat for optimal temps. as the TEC becomes less and less effective then it just creates a perpetual heat up to a high load temp

 

[THaNaToS_J2]

Interesting... I think I'm going to have to avoid water as this box will eventually be on 24/7 when replacing my current server box. This is for personal use so the idea of keeping an AC on all the time as well is a bit more expensive of a solution then I care for.

I just don't trust the chance of a leak or the pump failing and losing cooling to both my cpu and gpu. (gpu being a slightly oc'd 8800gtx; those suckers get HOT.)

I'll check the fan cooling forums for q6600 cooling solutions. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[trueg50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by THaNaToS_J2 I just don't trust the chance of a leak or the pump failing and losing cooling to both my cpu and gpu. (gpu being a slightly oc'd 8800gtx; those suckers get HOT.) I'll check the fan cooling forums for q6600 cooling solutions. Thanks for the suggestions.

lol, everyone when they step into watercooling says that. It is a common misconception, the water is non-conductive, and there is a very low chance of the pump failing, probably about the same as the fan on your heatsink failing..

If pumps failed and water leaks as much as you think it does, why are so many of us on watercooling? Take the plunge and go for it, buy a swiftech kit or assemble it yourself (better idea of the two) with parts that ChielScape suggested and read what Ira-K posted.

 

[Burn]

24/7 watercooling is great- I have done it for the past 2 years and have loved it. Silence and a lot of headroom for overclocking made the deal for me. With a TEC, it's not so much quiet anymore but heck, I guess that's the tradeoff for supercooling. Going back to standard watercooling, I can enjoy once again the benefits of super-silent cooling at a semi-overclock (3.2Ghz)

 

[archangelabove]

It's okay. You're words weren't wasted. I've been seriously considering WC for awhile now, and I just read basically everything Ira-K posted. Good reading.

I think for now tho, I just want a cpu block. I'm not o/cing my 8800 GTS, cuz i really don't see the need right now. No need for the chipset block, and hd blocks seem useless unless you're really working a raptor drive or something.

On newegg and a few other places, ALL I see about almost every Swiftech product is awesome things. So I may go with some random Swiftech stuff.

Any ideas?

PS: Sorry if I'm hijacking, but I consider it more like the pilot jumped out of the airplane, and I'm the passenger that thinks they can still land the plane :-D

EDIT: Start New Thread?

 

[odie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trueg50 lol, everyone when they step into watercooling says that. It is a common misconception, the water is non-conductive, and there is a very low chance of the pump failing, probably about the same as the fan on your heatsink failing.. If pumps failed and water leaks as much as you think it does, why are so many of us on watercooling? Take the plunge and go for it, buy a swiftech kit or assemble it yourself (better idea of the two) with parts that ChielScape suggested and read what Ira-K posted.

I must be the low chance, 2 danger den pumps in 10 months. Pulled W/C and am now on air. I will prob go back to w/c, now that whe have a shop in town that has w/c parts. B4 the shop opened in my town, I had to wait 1 week to use my computer again or strip it, install stock cooling bracket, re-assemble it. Then when the new pump came in start over again. Just make sure you can get parts locally b4 you start WCing.

 

[Burn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trueg50 lol, everyone when they step into watercooling says that. It is a common misconception, the water is non-conductive, and there is a very low chance of the pump failing, probably about the same as the fan on your heatsink failing.. If pumps failed and water leaks as much as you think it does, why are so many of us on watercooling? Take the plunge and go for it, buy a swiftech kit or assemble it yourself (better idea of the two) with parts that ChielScape suggested and read what Ira-K posted.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Nice one. I fried my X850GTO by spilling water on it. Nice try though. Water is always conductive once it is exposed to air.