Water cooling setup. Best components!

[Alexontherocks]

Hi. I am posting in this section after possibly hitting a wall with my thermalright ultra 120 extreme and my volt-hungry e6600.

My current rig:

Psu: 600W Enermax
Cpu: e6600 @ 1.55v 3.6ghz
Mb: Asus P5N-E sli
Ram: value PC6400 ram 2x1gb
Vga: Sapphire x1950 pro PCI-E 512mb (overclocked @ 655/1688)
Hdd: Seagate 400gb

Cooling setup: all air coolers.

CPU: ultra 120 extreme + 90cfm ixtrema pro fan
NB: thermalright HR-05 sli
Ram: Hr-07 series 1 (x2) (I am hoping to upgrade my memory soon)
Vga: Hr-03 revA (with 92mm ixtrema pro fan)+ Hr-11
Sb: Zalman yellow passive heatsink
Hdd: 2x 80mm ixtrema fans

For the sole purpose of overclocking I was thinking of assembling a system as follows:

pump: Iwaki RD30
cpu block: Dtek Fuzion
radiator: Black ice xtreme 480 (4x120mm 90cfm fans)
tubing: Tygon + hose clamps
tank/T junction: ?
I have helped a friend ones build his own system but this would be my first actual liquid cooling home built system. I was thinking of a single loop to cool the processor (the nb is cooled perfectly by the Hr-05 sli).

the configuration would be as follows:

tank----pump----radiator---cpu block---tank

This would enable me to dissipate the heat from the pump leaking into the water before reaching the cpu block. Is there any downside to this?

I am currently looking for the best watercooling components. I am unsure about what tank to fit in the system, however, I am quite open to any suggestion regarding any other component I have chosen.

Could I improve any of the components? or the system configuration?

Any suggestions for a good internal tank?

Thank you for your help..:up:

[AllAgainstPaul]

If you plan on cooling just a CPU a BI 480 is overkill, however if you plan on incorporating a GPU Block in the future it would be okay. One problem many people have with the 480 is the size of the beast. Only a handful of full-tower ATX cases can take a PA 360 without much modification so if you plan on purchasing a 480 make sure you have room for it.

[Waterlogged]

If you can handle the price/space in your case hit of a Meanwell PSU, then by all means use the Iwaki RD-30. If not, you may want to look at Laing DDC3.2/Swiftech MCP355 w/Petra's top or the Laing D5/Swiftech MCP655 Vario.

Fan wise, DON'T use SilenX fans on rads, they simply lack the proper static pressure. Yate Loon have much better bang/buck performance than almost any other fan out there, otherwise, maybe go with some Panaflo's or Scyth's.

A better choice for rad would be Swiftech MCR 320. Less fan muscle is needed as it's a good bit thinner, which also helps keep the noise down.

Which formulation of Tygon did you have in mind? there's been kind of a shift from 3603 to other formulations that are less likely to leech plasticizer an cloud up the tubing. Many others just opt for cheaper tubing (7/16" Mastekleer) that performs just as well and has some added benefits (like no clamps needed on 1/2" barbs).

[Alexontherocks]

thanks for your reply. I am looking for the best possibile cooling for my e6600. In the future I will probably purchase a good/excellent vga and will probably want to cool it using water.

I was thinking of mounting the 480 externally. What size tubing should I go for considering the pump characteristics?

[Alexontherocks]

to waterlogged:

great thanks for the imput. I am unsure about tubing. I really have no experience first hand so I would have to rely on more expert users.

Another question was infact related to the RD-30. How should I power this beast? Should I change PSU or can I wait some time and still have a working and performing setup?

edit: I have reaserched and there is no way I can avoid powering the RD-30 without an external switching PSU.

[Waterlogged]

The RD-30 requires a separate PSU, something like this (http://www.jab-tech.com/Meanwell-210w-Auxiliary-Power-supply-S-210-24-pr-3963.html) , to power it. It has variable voltage and would need to be tuned for proper performance as the rated 24 volts would dump a lot of unnecessary heat into the loop.

[Alexontherocks]

I would also have to create a switch to synchronize the auxiliary power supply and the pc power on switch correct?

ANyway I have read some interesting posts on the RD-30 and there is consensus that 18v is a good compromise between performance and heat production.

Regarding the radiator I am still uncertain because it would seem, to a watercooling noob that is that given adequate pressure and flow, not taking into conisderation noise from the fans, a larger radiator would provide better performance. was pure performance a criteria when you suggested the swiftech?

[Alexontherocks]

One more thing but I guess it was fairly obvious. I am one of those users who believe in the philosophy: the more you spend (with reason) the less you spend. I don't really have a budget on this project. I am looking for the very best to assemble and tune myself...

So feel free to post any suggestions concerning components, given my target, regardless of the price...

[septim]

switch our your radiator for a thermochill PA120.3 or 2 of em, couple with a few San Ace 1011 (120x38)

tube routing:
go for shortest run after (T-Line/Res tank) - (pump), be it blocks first or rad, it won't make too much temp diff.
just dont place anything in the middle of (T-Line/Res tank) - (pump), your pump should always be fed....

[Alexontherocks]

thanks for the imput. The san ace are difficult to have here in italy, how do they compare with yate loons?

And regarding the radiator. A couple of Thermochill 120.3 would require 6 fans to operate. Apart from noise and power draw how should the water flow be directed? "Y" connections in intake and outake (parallel)?

For a single block loop will two 120.3s actually increase performance?

thanks

[Alexontherocks]

Just surfed the internet and found these: scythe kaze ultra. How does the 2000 rpm model look for water cooling?

http://www.pccasegear.com/prod6020.htm

[NaeKuh]

thats a nice pump, but you need a PSU for it.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/aigomorla/IMG_0663.jpg


The RD-30 requires a separate PSU, something like this (http://www.jab-tech.com/Meanwell-210w-Auxiliary-Power-supply-S-210-24-pr-3963.html) , to power it. It has variable voltage and would need to be tuned for proper performance as the rated 24 volts would dump a lot of unnecessary heat into the loop.


ack you beat me to it.




Fans use yate loons. I am running a 700+ dollar h2o setup. And i use yates on them. That should tell you enough. :D

[Alexontherocks]

any model in particular? I may not actually find them in Italy. I am also looking at online sellers which ship to Europe (Italy) but so many ship only to the united states. I hope they understand that they are loosing thousands of potential customers.....

does anyone know of a good online shop which ships to Europe? The D'tek fuzion is another item which is hard to find in Europe...

[NaeKuh]

any model in particular? I may not actually find them in Italy. I am also looking at online sellers which ship to Europe (Italy) but so many ship only to the united states. I hope they understand that they are loosing thousands of potential customers.....

does anyone know of a good online shop which ships to Europe? The D'tek fuzion is another item which is hard to find in Europe...

Shoppts.com aka petrastechshop.com Owner: Our very own ALEX.

Jab-Tech.com Owner: John

performance-pcs.com Owner: Hank??


You may also try AquaPC. There located in EU.

All 3 ship out of country. Make sure you call them first.

[Red Evil]

Im from EU country and made my order from http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/index.php.
Great service.

[fornowagain]

The D'tek fuzion is another item which is hard to find in Europe...
Did you look in the UK?

http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/product_info.php?cPath=34_38&products_id=131
http://www.coolercases.co.uk/acatalog/D-Tek_CPU_Blocks.html
http://www.over-clock.co.uk/acatalog/dtek_blocks.html
http://www.candccentral.co.uk/acatalog/D-Tek.html

http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php?productid=3433&cat=666&page=1
http://www.tekheads.co.uk/s/product?product=607109
http://www.aqua-pcs.co.uk/d-tek-fuzion-cpu-block-763-p.asp
http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=27_28&products_id=603
http://www.watercoolingshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=26_70&products_id=623

[itznfb]

if you're just cooling a CPU possibly GPU in the future, i can't see why you would go with anything more than MCP655 pump, fuzion block, PA120.3 RAD.

add a gpu block later maybe think about adding another pump inline. whats the use in anything else? 24v pumps are a waste of resources.

just my opinion don't flame me :D

[Alexontherocks]

Well thanks for the links but I probably should have stated that I could not find shops which processed orders within the euro zone. Even though the price of products is actually the same given the correct exchange rate, additional taxes, residual expenses and shipping are costs are usually higher in countries with a strong currency. I was hoping not to deal with the uk pound but I will probably have to......

@ [XC] itznfb I won't flame you! :) but to follow such a suggestion would imply that I believed no real benefit could be drawn from using a performing pump (iwaki) and good radiator. If you have proof that the iwaki pump will not benefit the system I'll gladly consider going for a MCP655 pump (costs less:) ) Also, if I upgrade my vga I will go for something really good and overclock it with volt mods if any so I would rather have room to spare even after a vga upgrade.

[itznfb]

@ [XC] itznfb I won't flame you! :) but to follow such a suggestion would imply that I believed no real benefit could be drawn from using a performing pump (iwaki) and good radiator. If you have proof that the iwaki pump will not benefit the system I'll gladly consider going for a MCP655 pump (costs less:) ) Also, if I upgrade my vga I will go for something really good and overclock it with volt mods if any so I would rather have room to spare even after a vga upgrade.

i just wouldn't think that cpu would really benefit from iwaki. i can't see it dropping your temps any more than a degree or two. which really won't yield much of an advantage. for the cost and added wiring you would have to do i can't see it being worth it.... someone is more than welcome to tell me i'm wrong :shrug:

[Alexontherocks]

Since I am still in the designing phase I googled for alternatives and found two models. One is actually described by Cathar as being an equivalent to the iwaki in terms of performance. It should be the DDC2 (DDC1+). One other pump is the Laing D5. Opinions on both of these pumps?

[NaeKuh]

itznfb;2657316']i just wouldn't think that cpu would really benefit from iwaki. i can't see it dropping your temps any more than a degree or two. which really won't yield much of an advantage. for the cost and added wiring you would have to do i can't see it being worth it.... someone is more than welcome to tell me i'm wrong :shrug:

You making fun of my RD-30??


Well if you look at the new EK Supreme, you can see it kills your flow. Having a pump with strong head output helps improve the temps on this block.

Also, the RD-30 i bling factor. Not to mention, its probably the last thing in your computer to die on you.

[Alexontherocks]

But what about the d'tek fuzion? Woul a RD-30 lower the temperature? Even though I'd rather stick with my original idea of buying the RD-30 I must admit that having to downvolt it at 18v would actually make it a very close call between the iwaki and a laing D5 or a DDC2.

[Alexontherocks]

and what about the ek supreme? does it actually beat a nozzled fuzion?

[Red Evil]

Cant be too much different. Pick one which looks better.

[nikhsub1]

thanks for your reply. I am looking for the best possibile cooling for my e6600.
The get phase cooling, why bother with water?

[Alexontherocks]

I thought about phase change but I would have to buy a kit system not having the material, workspace and time to plan and construct my own build. A vapochill would be good probably but that leaves the problem of providing good cooling to other components such as graphic cards (or even two of them in crossfire or sli).

[itznfb]

You making fun of my RD-30??


Well if you look at the new EK Supreme, you can see it kills your flow. Having a pump with strong head output helps improve the temps on this block.

Also, the RD-30 i bling factor. Not to mention, its probably the last thing in your computer to die on you.

lol, definitely not making fun. it is certainly a powerhouse of a pump and makes great use in high heat, or long loops. but with just a E6600? and possibly a graphics card later, on a fuzion i can't see it lowering temps more than a degree, maybe two? and at that, i don't see the cost/work difference paying off. as i said, i certainly haven't tested this theory, and i could be dead wrong. just hate to see overkill and wasted money that could go to something more useful.

[Alexontherocks]

I agree that "overkilling" for the sake of it is useless and downright stupid if the amount of money becomes ludicrous but if I decided to go for an ek supreme for example, two thermochill PA 120.3 and a vga waterblock would a laing D5 or DDC2 be sufficient. Given this hypothetical setup how much would the RD increase overall performance?

[itznfb]

that i don't know. i have no experience with a setup like that. but.... you can't be any cooler than ambient without chilled water (or other forms of cooling obviously). once you start getting with in a few degrees of ambient, anything beyond that is wasted.

i have an E4300 rig that runs with a $100 Thermaltake 760 unit. yea its a piece of crap, but it only hits about 4 degree above ambient at full load. if i spend another $400 on that system i might get it to 2 degree above ambient, with no additional OC. wasted.

[nikhsub1]

2 DDC's 18w with custom top > RD-30

[Alexontherocks]

exactly what I was about to ask nikhsub1......how should I go about installing 2 ddc2 pumps in a system with:

ek supreme (or a restricted d'tek fuzion with a 4mm nozzle)
2 thermochill PA 120.3
1/2 tubing
T line (x2 ?)

I would have to install them in series correct?

[hartigan]

:off: - sorry

nikhsub1, is there a thread around here describing how to run two pumps in series like you are?

I've been doing a couple searches and haven't been able to hit on the exact search terms needed.

TIA!!

EDIT: NM Alexontherocks beat me to the question.

[nikhsub1]

:off: - sorry

nikhsub1, is there a thread around here describing how to run two pumps in series like you are?

I've been doing a couple searches and haven't been able to hit on the exact search terms needed.

TIA!!

EDIT: NM Alexontherocks beat me to the question.
I just run mine one right after the other... pump out to pump in.

[NaeKuh]

2 DDC's 18w with custom top > RD-30

2 DDC-2 /w custom top > RD-30 <---- still would like to see numbers for this
DDC-2 = Extinct.... *Very Sad at this*

2 DDC-3.2 /W custom Top = RD-30 @ 21V i believe martin thinks its about here.

RD-30 @ 25V = :shocked: Never used it on that setting...


On the Fusion, i havent used the nozzles yet. But theres a plateu in flow and performance without it. You dont see any benifit from temps by increasing the head output after a certain level.

The EK, is wierd. Im seeing a lot of jumps in temps based on pressure. Sometimes it goes up, sometimes it goes down. Im thinkn my loop might be messed up somewhere... But i get nice temps, so im not going to spend another 5 hours taking it apart to figure out why im getting wierd results, when my results look good.

[Alexontherocks]

NAekuh, what setup do you have? From Martin's excel program two DDC 3.2 with top produce a result which is comparable to a iwaki 30 @ 21 more or less.....that would still be great because the perfect ratio for a iwaki 30 in terms of thermal output does not need more than 19 volts.

Anyway I am curious as to the setup of two pumps...

Let us assume I have two PA 102.3, 2 laind DDC 3.2 and en ek supreme (which by the way look like it hinders flow like a fuzion with a 4.4mm nozzle
would this be the correct setup?

tline1---pump1---radiator1----cpu waterblock----tline2---pump2...radiator2 ?

or

tline----pump1----pump2---cpu waterblock---radiator1--radiator2?

or (to dissipate thermal output from 2 pumps in series)

tline----pump1---pump2----radiator1---cpuwaterblock...radiator2?

In essence is it better for two pumps to work in a "push pull" configuration "around" the cpu waterblock or would better perfomance be obtained if they simply worked in series with a simple conncting piece of tubing?

[septim]

option 2 and 3 is the usual way of making series 2 pumps...

either is correct, temps would probably be the same...

well unless your measuring water temps before and after the rad and blocks, then you'd notice some temp diff of course...


has someone tried connecting 2 ddc tops via male to male g1/4 fitting like danger den's or bitspower?

[Alexontherocks]

thanks....the best I presume would be

tline---pump1---pump2 ---radiator1---radiator2---cpu block

this way the water is double cooled before reaching the cpu block, but what about flow and pressure? Would either be significantly affected by going through 2 radiators before reaching the cpu block (for example a highly restricted EK supreme) ?

[nikhsub1]

The order matters very little... However, 2 PA 120.3's for just a CPU block is pointless. In this case 2 rads will not be better than one as the temp difference in having one vs two will be zero. If you plan to add more to the system then sure, multi rads can be fun.

[Alexontherocks]

I was planning on upgrading to a liquid cooled high end graphics card and overclock it/over volt the thing if possible.

Regarding the pumps and fans I would like to understand how I should distribute the load on the two independent molex rails I have coming out of my 600w PSU. On each of the two cables I ave two molex adapters and on each cable only one molex plug is currently being used. One is for the dvd reader writer and the other powers 1 uv led, 2 uv cathodes on one inverter and 1 fan. With 2 18w pumps (DDC) and 6 yate loon medium fans how should I set the whole thing? one pump and three fans per rail? Would my PSU be able to deliver enough watts and amperes? Sorry for the stupid question but I have no experience with powering pumps.

One more thing: what pump is this ?

http://ekwaterblocks.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=163

isn't the DDC1+ the DDC-2 pump? And if so....from martin's spreadsheet and flow simulator, DDC-2 pumps outperform DDC 3.2 models....can somebody help me out here? :)

thanks

[Alexontherocks]

anyone? :) I really can't seem to learn the names of the various DDCs. I found DDC-1T DDC 1+ (plus) DDC 3.1 and DDC 3.2. What is the difference between a DDC-1T and a DDC 1+? The DDC 1+ is supposed to be the DDC -2 right?

http://ekwaterblocks.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=163

if this is the famous DDC-2 (which people sya it is out of stock) should I get a couple of them or should I look for the 3.2 version?