Vidar
05-26-2008, 01:25 PM
Hello all my first post and my first attempt at building a water cooling system. Let me say it’s been a great experience although with some degree of frustration, but hey if it wasn’t a little challenging it wouldn’t be fun! First I would like to thank all those people that have contributed to this forum. It has been an extremely big help to me with all the aspects of the build.
Now let’s get to the parts, I choose these parts based on a few requirements I had.
1) Entire loop built within the case
2) Somewhat quiet operation - Adjustable
3) Good water flow
4) Quality parts that don’t fail or have a history of such
D-TEK Fusion CPU Block
Black Ice GT Stealth 240
Swiftech MCP655
Danger Den Fillport
Danger Den Fillport reservoir
Polypropylene T Line
Master Kleer PVC tubing 7/16
Yate Loon D12SL-12
Silverstone FP33-S Fan Controller
Primochill PC ICE
Logisys 12” Duel UV Cold Cathode kit
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound
http://members.shaw.ca/liquid/wcpics/IMG_3022_800x600.JPG
Parts Likes and Dislikes
D-TEK Fusion CPU Block
Pros
-One of the best blocks out at the moment
-Great Hi-flow characteristics
-Not as susceptible to temp drop due to reduced flow
-Looks Sweet!
-Great build quality except as stated below
Cons
-Extra material in the seal can enter the loop and clog the cooling fins if not removed.
Black Ice GT Stealth 240
Pros
-Great looking RAD
-Nice and small form factor
-Performs very well for single block loop.
Cons
-With the high density of fins you really need a high CFM high pressure fan to get the best results. I’d suggest something more powerful that the YL’s that I chose if you want better performance than a comparable RAD like the Swiftech MCR220. Not to say that my temps are bad they are actually quite good.
-More restrictive that comparable RADs
* Although the GTS240 is more restrictive than most the water block I chose is not as susceptible to major temp drops due to reduced flow. With a higher CFM/Pressure fans I should be able to drop my temps below that what’s attainable with the MCR220.
Swiftech MCP655 / Liang D5 Vario
Pros
-Great pump with excellent power
-Reliable
Cons
-Large size compared to the Laing DDC 2/3.*
* I read so many review and posts about the DDC’s and it took some time to figure out all the subtle differences. In the end I found that there were alot of posts pertaining to reliability issues and that’s why I decided to go with the D5.
Danger Den Fillport
Not much to say here, does what I expected and is constructed well.
Danger Den Fillport reservoir
Pros
-Looks cool
-Easier to fill the loop
Cons
-The threads that you screw the fill port and barb into were poorly tapped. I had to cut chunks of material with an exacto from the threads to properly screw in the aforementioned fillport and barb.
-The ½” barb that came with the reservoir looked poorly machined but it does its job and you don’t really see it once installed.
Polypropylene T Line
Works as expected
MasterKleer PVC tubing 7/16
Pros
-Works very well and is cheep
Cons
-None that I could find
Yate Loon D12SL-12
Pros
-Great fan for the price
Cons
-MTBF is not as good as some others, but hey you get what you pay for.
Silverstone FP33-S Fan Controller
-Not much to say other that it works well and is compact
* I actually removed this as these Yate Loon fans on full power are sooooo quite there was no need for it. I will reinstall it once I have some high CFM/Pressure fans.
Primochill PC ICE
Pros
-Works very well as a low maintenance cooling fluid
Cons
-The UV reactive dye bomb is a POS! It really doesn’t do much of anything, I would not buy again.
* As stated the dye is crap i put the UV light right on the tubing and nothing more noticable than an ever so faint hue but I wouldn't call it a glow.
Logisys 12” Duel UV Cold Cathode kit
Pros
-Decent light output.
Cons
-Could be brighter but for $5 I can’t complain.
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound
-All the recent reviews put this ahead of AS5 so I had to give it a try.
The case all this stuff is going into is the Lian Li PC-65W. I’ve had this case for quite a few years now and it has served me well. I’ll probably get a new case in the next 6-9 months but it was fun to mod the PC-65. Plus I didn’t want to spend more money at this time like the 260+ for TJ09 which just happens to make me tingly...you know... down there.
Now let’s get to the parts, I choose these parts based on a few requirements I had.
1) Entire loop built within the case
2) Somewhat quiet operation - Adjustable
3) Good water flow
4) Quality parts that don’t fail or have a history of such
D-TEK Fusion CPU Block
Black Ice GT Stealth 240
Swiftech MCP655
Danger Den Fillport
Danger Den Fillport reservoir
Polypropylene T Line
Master Kleer PVC tubing 7/16
Yate Loon D12SL-12
Silverstone FP33-S Fan Controller
Primochill PC ICE
Logisys 12” Duel UV Cold Cathode kit
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound
http://members.shaw.ca/liquid/wcpics/IMG_3022_800x600.JPG
Parts Likes and Dislikes
D-TEK Fusion CPU Block
Pros
-One of the best blocks out at the moment
-Great Hi-flow characteristics
-Not as susceptible to temp drop due to reduced flow
-Looks Sweet!
-Great build quality except as stated below
Cons
-Extra material in the seal can enter the loop and clog the cooling fins if not removed.
Black Ice GT Stealth 240
Pros
-Great looking RAD
-Nice and small form factor
-Performs very well for single block loop.
Cons
-With the high density of fins you really need a high CFM high pressure fan to get the best results. I’d suggest something more powerful that the YL’s that I chose if you want better performance than a comparable RAD like the Swiftech MCR220. Not to say that my temps are bad they are actually quite good.
-More restrictive that comparable RADs
* Although the GTS240 is more restrictive than most the water block I chose is not as susceptible to major temp drops due to reduced flow. With a higher CFM/Pressure fans I should be able to drop my temps below that what’s attainable with the MCR220.
Swiftech MCP655 / Liang D5 Vario
Pros
-Great pump with excellent power
-Reliable
Cons
-Large size compared to the Laing DDC 2/3.*
* I read so many review and posts about the DDC’s and it took some time to figure out all the subtle differences. In the end I found that there were alot of posts pertaining to reliability issues and that’s why I decided to go with the D5.
Danger Den Fillport
Not much to say here, does what I expected and is constructed well.
Danger Den Fillport reservoir
Pros
-Looks cool
-Easier to fill the loop
Cons
-The threads that you screw the fill port and barb into were poorly tapped. I had to cut chunks of material with an exacto from the threads to properly screw in the aforementioned fillport and barb.
-The ½” barb that came with the reservoir looked poorly machined but it does its job and you don’t really see it once installed.
Polypropylene T Line
Works as expected
MasterKleer PVC tubing 7/16
Pros
-Works very well and is cheep
Cons
-None that I could find
Yate Loon D12SL-12
Pros
-Great fan for the price
Cons
-MTBF is not as good as some others, but hey you get what you pay for.
Silverstone FP33-S Fan Controller
-Not much to say other that it works well and is compact
* I actually removed this as these Yate Loon fans on full power are sooooo quite there was no need for it. I will reinstall it once I have some high CFM/Pressure fans.
Primochill PC ICE
Pros
-Works very well as a low maintenance cooling fluid
Cons
-The UV reactive dye bomb is a POS! It really doesn’t do much of anything, I would not buy again.
* As stated the dye is crap i put the UV light right on the tubing and nothing more noticable than an ever so faint hue but I wouldn't call it a glow.
Logisys 12” Duel UV Cold Cathode kit
Pros
-Decent light output.
Cons
-Could be brighter but for $5 I can’t complain.
Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound
-All the recent reviews put this ahead of AS5 so I had to give it a try.
The case all this stuff is going into is the Lian Li PC-65W. I’ve had this case for quite a few years now and it has served me well. I’ll probably get a new case in the next 6-9 months but it was fun to mod the PC-65. Plus I didn’t want to spend more money at this time like the 260+ for TJ09 which just happens to make me tingly...you know... down there.