Cost for entry level setup

[Rise]

Hi,

I recently put together my new quad-core rig which is only air-cooled at the moment. Running at stock speeds Q9450 @ 2.66ghz on my P5Q Deluxe I have seen temps as high as 70C :eek:

I'd like to bring that down as much as possible with some sort of liquid cooling system. I'm familiar with how they work and I'm a hands-on mechanical engineer for a living so I don't expect much trouble putting it together (read: don't want a kit). What I don't really know are what components are the best for the money and how much a fairly basic but effective setup will cost. If you guys could recommend a setup from top to bottom that would be awesome, but just a cost estimate and where to go is a good starting point for me.

Also, where can I buy this stuff being located in the US? A lot of sites I've found are based in the UK or Europe somewhere.

Thanks!

[IanY]

www.petrastechshop.com
www.performance-pcs.com <- South Florida
www.jab-tech.com
www.sidewindercomputers.com
www.frozencpu.com <- Western NY State
www.ncixus.com

The rest are either west coast or in the south/mid-west. I see that you live in taxachusetts.

[WoZZeR999]

For a basic setup, you'll need
Rad -> $50-75 (I recommend a MCR320)
Pump -> $50-100 (I use D5's, the 3.2's with a top work well from what I've heard)
CPU Block -> ~$60 (Fuzion, EK Supreme, there is a new Swiftech block, no work on performance yet)
Tubing -> ~$10, as low as $.99 a foot/ up to $4 or $5/foot.
Res -> Optional $20-$40 (Use a t-line if you don't want a res)
Fittings -> $2-3 per, you'll need 6-10 depending on setup
Clamps -> ~$1 per, you'll need one for each fitting
Fans -> $5-20 per fan. You'll want to research fans before purchasing

For Fans, I use Yate Loons, they are cheap and very effective. Scythe Ultra Kaze's are $10, Sanyo's 109R1212H1011 are $20-30 per fan, If you can find them.

After shipping and everything, you'll be spending $200-300 for a good setup. Cheaping out on parts usually ends up costing more because you'll want to replace the crap part pretty quickly.

[hotdun]

My $.02

Rads - MCR320
Fans - I like the Zalman ZM-F3's but check out Vapor's review....
Pump - D5 Vario/MCP655 (not MCP655-b)
CPU Block -Fuzion V2 or Apogee GTZ
Tubing - Masterkleer 7/16"
Res -T-line with fillport or I like the XSPC's or DD 5.25"
VGA Block - MCW60 or new Bitspower when it's released

If you need fittings, go with the fatboys....

[Rise]

man, quick responses on here. Thanks guys, 200-300 sounds reasonable to me. with such a setup, what sort of temp drops would you expect from 70C under load (42-45C idle) having only the CPU on the cooling loop? If I were to expand to include a GPU block down the line, would I need to upgrade the pumps?

[WoZZeR999]

Temps are a touchy subject that cannot really be stated. There are too many factors for each person,setup and the actual processor. So I'm going to not mention temps, other than unless you had a very high end air cooler, your temps will be much better.

Adding blocks will depend on what CPU block you end up using. If you use a more free flowing block, then you can add a GPU/NB/whatever block (one) without the need to upgrade the pump as long as it's another free flowing block. If you went with a D5(MCP655) then you would have plenty of head room to add 'more restrictive' blocks, but you'll want to keep tubing to a minimum.

With a MCR320 (or any other 320/480) you should have spare wattage room on the radiator to add a GPU block without hurting the temps too much. Unfortunately in watercooling there are not many straight forward yes/no questions. There are just far too many factors to take into account.

[Rise]

gotcha. well I can hope that it will yield better temperatures than my current $50 tuniq tower monstrosity of a heat sink.

[hotdun]

gotcha. well I can hope that it will yield better temperatures than my current $50 tuniq tower monstrosity of a heat sink.

There's no doubt you will especially under load or OC'd...