Newbie could use some Kandalf advice.

[Vormulac]

Hi guys,

My first post here. I did use the search to try to find this out, but couldn't find anything specific (just a lot of people saying how rubbish the Kandalf is), so I thought I'd ask directly.

I set up my first LC rig last year using the basic kit that came with the Kandalf, but to be honest haven't really used it much due to some (I suspect motherboard) wierdness. I knew after I had built it that I had made some stupid errors, but I was just so relieved that it hadn't sprayed my cpu with fluid that I decided to leave it and just be glad it worked. I used far too much hose, for example, I wasn't sure if I was going to be chopping and changing, so I left the lengths long and the innards of the pc looks like the offal bucket in an abatoir. I put the cpu waterblock on the wrong way up too, so the in pipe is at the top not the bottom - stupid stupid mistakes.

Anyway, I had another look at it recently and having not turned it on for a couple of months I fired it up and there was a worrying noise, one glance inside told me that there was not enough fluid, so I topped up the reservoir and that reminded me that I needed some help from those more experienced than I. I would very much like to know:

Can I mix coolant? I used the ThermalTake 'Bigwater' that came with the kit, do I need to use the same stuff?

I believe from the product description that the hoses are 3/8" in size, where is the best place to get more hose and connecters and stuff like that?

What is the best way to break down a LC system, do you drain all the old fluid out when you do a rebuild?

The motherboard I am using is a Gigabyte EX58-Extreme and it looks like there are barbs on the Northbridge heatsink for plumbing it into a LC system, has anyone done this? Can you just run the fluid 'in' pipe to the cpu and then from there to the Northbridge, or are you better off somehow trying to split the 'in' to two separate loops, one for each?

I'm sure there will be plenty of eye-rolling and muttering of 'stupid noob' from many of you more experienced LC folks, but I ask for your indulgence! :D

Thanks guys!

V.

[Aedubber]

DUDEEEEEEEEEE WHERE IS MY SEARCH BUTTON !!!! LOL before you get some crazy posts in here !

[Huww]

Sounds almost exactly how my first water loop went.

Now on to your questions...

I've never had to "mix" coolants before so I'm not sure if that's okay to do or not. If your going to re-do your loop you might as well drain it, clean, and start over; in which case you wouldn't have to worry about mixing coolants because all the old stuff would get washed out.

As for the best place to order new parts, there are different shops worldwide that people use depending on where they live. So it's a bit hard to recommend you to a place until we know where about in the world you are.

There are some people that can take apart their loop to add parts etc without having to drain the whole system, but I personally just drain and rebuild the loop. I don't change things to often, so when I do my system is usually ready for a good cleaning anyways.

Your motherboard does look like you can just add your tubing right onto the provided block. You'll have to get someone else to give you their opinion on that because I'm not sure all how effective those blocks are. I think EK and a few other companies make some nice blocks for that board if you're interested though.

[SoulsCollective]

Can I mix coolant? I used the ThermalTake 'Bigwater' that came with the kit, do I need to use the same stuff?No, but you'd be much better off throwing away the rest of that bottle of coolant, and just using distilled water

I believe from the product description that the hoses are 3/8" in size, where is the best place to get more hose and connecters and stuff like that?This is going to depend entirely on where in the world you are :) Sidewinder Computers has always been great for me, good prices and great customer service, plus they do international shipping.

What is the best way to break down a LC system, do you drain all the old fluid out when you do a rebuild?Remove the hardware from the case, detach the blocks from the board, find a convenient looking hose and pull. Let fluid drain out, detach the rest of the hoses, break everything down and flush with tap water first, then hot (but not boiling) water, then distilled.

The motherboard I am using is a Gigabyte EX58-Extreme and it looks like there are barbs on the Northbridge heatsink for plumbing it into a LC system, has anyone done this? Can you just run the fluid 'in' pipe to the cpu and then from there to the Northbridge, or are you better off somehow trying to split the 'in' to two separate loops, one for each?Yes you can, and no, for that sort of loop serial is much better (ie. CPU -> NB).

You didn't ask the question, but the CPU block in the Kandalf kit and the rad used are quite poor. Save up and replace the front condenser-style rad with something decent, like a Swiffy MCR320, and the CPU block with something decent but cheap, like a D-Tek FuZion which you could probably pick secondhand for very cheap and will be worlds better than that Tt piece of crap.

[Vormulac]

Thanks guys, that's a really useful starting point. I did mean to say where I was, clearly slipped my mind (it was still early here), I'm in London in England.

Is the Swiftech MCR320 the same as the MCR320-QP? I'm seeing that advertised for really not a lot of money compared to similar triple rads that appear to be two or three times the price. That D-Tek Fuzion V2 waterblock is cheaper than I was expecting too! :)

[SoulsCollective]

MCR320 and the MCR320-QP are basically the same rad. I used to own a Kandalf, and the MCR320 is one of the few triple 120mm radiators that will actually fit in the front section - thicker rads like the Thermochill PA series, XSPC, TFC etc etc won't fit in the brackets. Swiftech rads are excellent in terms of price/performance, and being thinner than most other rads are much easier to mod into cases. Be aware that replacing the front rad is of course also going to mean running your own tubing into the case, as obviously the black norprene tubing that's attached to the stock rad won't fit on any replacement you might use.

If you're in the UK (you might want to update your profile via User CP) then I've heard good things about ChilledPC (http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/shop/) - but I can't attest to that myself, being in the colonies :p:

[Vormulac]

Thanks so much for the help, I think it'll be a while before I can afford to change the case, so I think you're right and replacing that rad and the waterblock would be a sensible interim solution.

I'm sure I'll be back with more questions at some point, it's rather compelling, this LC lark, isn't it? :)

Thanks again.

[MagisD]

Damm , I started the exact same way . Just a word of advice replace that CPU Block ASAP. Mine and quite a few others I heard about cracked.

If you replace the rad Don't mount it the same way Mount it upside down saves you a LOT of trouble with Tubing.

As above distilled is the best. If you use original tubing distilled in it still looks a nice pale green.

I replaced the entire system bit by bit. and if i had it to do all over again I'd do this.

Replace the entire LC system in one shot. For you it'd be easy just get the new Swiftech H20-320-EDGE (http://www.swiftnets.com/products/H20-X20-Edge.asp) or the 220, either would work better then what you got now and mount it off the back if you Didn't want to mess with installing it in the front,

http://www.swiftnets.com/assets/images/products/H20-X20%20EDGE%20SERIES%20COOLING%20KITS/MCR320-RADBOX-3-8IN-(2)-LC-VGAx600.png


Which if i remember correctly would work.. The 320 kits Should mount right into the space the rad is now and have the Tubes head in through the panel at the bottom. Only thing not sure of is if the curve of the Front panel with interfere with the pump space wise.