BEST Water System for $100-150?

[Doctor]

Hey,

I am looking into watercooling , which i really dont know much about , and i was wondering whats a good complete water system for around $100-150 u.s. dollars?I use amd xp CPU's by the way!


Thanks


p.s. NEEDS to be good for OCING-:D

[Blimpo555]

Well, you can't really find a super watercooling system for under $200 that would have super low temps. I would suggest that you do some more research on watercooling parts and save up your money to get a good WC setup. My setup from dangerden was around $300 but I get temps at about 29ºC with no TEC's.

[Doctor]

O

whats tec?

thanks

[Doctor]

What about this:Thermaltake Aquarius II Liquid Cooling Kit, for Intel P4 & AMD K7, K8 CPU, Retail box(http://www.directron.com/a1604.htm)?Only $148 bucks!


Thanksl

[Gigamoller]

you should take a look at http://www.xtwerkz.com

[Craig]

Doctor,

I'm afraid I have to agree with the fact that you arn't going to get great cooling for $150 or less. But at D-tek you can set up a system that will allow you to O/C very well at around $200.00.

Pump = Eheim 1250 @ $66.50

Radiator + shroud = $48 - 55.00 depending on if you'd like them to paint it & how.

Waterblock = TC-4 @ $50 with poly top, good looking and will perform as well or better than others at this cost level.

Tubing = Clearflex 1/2" length of 5ft. @$7.50

120mm fan @ $15-17.00 depending on your choice. 120mm fan choice is pretty good, Aluminum, clear with LED's, and Delta with CFM of 105 as their highest air flow.

www.dtekcustoms.safeshopper.com

$187 - $196 before shipping + a few clamps and fittings best purchased at your local hardware for lower cost. For about 200 dollars you'll have a really good high performing system. This should keep your system below 40C even with a pretty strong O/C.

To reduce the cost below $150 cuts in quality in almost every area above would be needed. And those cuts would leave you with a system that would not be much, if any, impovement vs. high end air coolers. Such a system would be fine for quiet but not so good for O/Cing beyond what high end air would give. And this system will allow expansion to Gfx & NB blocks later if you want.

Better more powerfull systems with water cooling are without question possible, but then the costs really go up. A top system can cost double or more compared to this one, for a gain of at most, 6-7C. Some really high end kits can be seen here.

www.jpiperformance.com

The vanquisher kit seen at JPI with the White Water waterblock would beat the system outlined above by about 5-6C, and if a stronger pump was used like a Iwaki MD-15rt then about 7C might be possible. But at a cost of over $400.00.

TEC = thermo electric cooling. A TEC module fits between the water block and the chip of the CPU or GFX. As electrical currant flows through the TEC one side becomes quiet cold, but the other side becomes very hot. TEC's also require a separate power supply as they draw a lot of amps. The system I outlined above could also handle TEC cooling, and of course so could the one at JPI.

Boy, I do ramble on once started. I hope somethng above will be of help. All the best.

[DR. YT]

well its on back order and dose not include a block but you could get this and then get the block when you got the cash heres a linky

http://www.crazypc.com/products/cooling/watercooling.htm

[Doctor]

K

Thanks guys , so you are basically saying that these 2 kits arent that good:BACKORDER H2O-8500A Water Cooling Kit for AMD Socket(http://www.crazypc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=120199&Product_Code=9371) OR Thermaltake AquariusII Water Cooling Kit (http://www.crazypc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=120199&Product_Code=9380). If you guys still say these kits arent that good - what would be the temp difference between these 2 kits against the custom water cooling system CRAIG made?


Thanks guys for all of your help


p.s. J/w which kit would be better the Thermaltake or the Swiftech?


:D

[Craig]

If you look at the kits vs a custom set up this way Doctor it may help you decide.

1) the kit rads are 1/2 or less the size and surface area of the D-tek rad.

2) The kit fans are smaller and offer about 1/2 the CFM of the least of the 120mm fans carried at D-tek. And the kits come with no fan shrouds so part of what air the fans produce is lost to the sides instead of being directed through the rad.

3) the Kit pumps don't even offer full performance specs on the pumps in them (no pressure rate to be found on the Swiftech & no specs at all on the Thermaltake.) Eheim's site on the other hand posts full specs on all pumps they offer. Why don't the kit ones?

4) The Swiftech kit comes with no waterblock. Cost of a good block added to the kit price will put the kit at around $200.00

The Thermaltake blocks own manufacturer claims only modest performance levels for this block.

Performance of the kits and the custom set up will be affected by how it's set up, how high your O/C is, other conditions in your case. A temps comparison would/will be only a "guesstimate". I plead temporary insanity for making mention of such a guesstimate in my first post. But properly set up the differance in performance of the kits vs the custom set up will be notable at stock idle speed/load & ever greater the higher your O/C & load becomes as the much larger rad & stronger pump of the custom will be more able to handle increaseing temp loads while mimimizing the rise in the coolant & CPU temps.

[KnightElite]

Ideally, when moving to better cooling, you want to get increased surface area. If you're going to be using an 80mm radiator, it will most likely have a similar surface area to an 80mm heatsink, so you'd be better off just using a big heatsink.

Go with some sort of radiator that lets you get more surface area than a heatsink, if you want to see improved performance.
Out of the two kits you mentionned, the swiftech one is better, but neither are particularly awe inspiring ;).

[Craig]

KnightElite,

A better answer than mine, shorter and offering a alternative point of referance.

[Doctor]

K

Thanks guys

I think ill just save up and get the kit craig said up above - in a couple of months!:D

[NyCUndaGrounD]

Yea Cheap water-cooling kits= Garbage
Expensive kits= good stuff.

You should do yur homework and research all the reviews on anything related to water-cooling. It seems better to buy individual parts to setup as a water-cooling setup then to buy a kit.

[wymjym]

oh I don't know about the garbage thing,
check this out
http://www.variablepc.com/water.htm

wj
http://www.variablepc.com/water/tcwater/tcfrontsm.jpg

[zippyc]

If you can get a Techcool external heat exchanger for $150.00, go for it!

I have a Techcool and it performs very well. Chose a highflow block to match to it though...