Frequently Asked Questions

[shazza]

Have been thinking about doing an updated guide to water cooling, but not much time to devote to it. It was previously mentioned that we should have a F.A.Q. thread - most of us said it wasn't worth the effort, since people don't read the INFO sticky that Ashraf put together for us.

Re-thinking this, and thought it might be worth a try. Maybe it will help a few people. Off the top of my head, I came up with the following questions:

1) What is the best water block for the CPU ?

2) What is the best water block for the GPU(s) ?

3) How much radiator do I need?

4) What is the best radiator?

5) Which fans should I use?

4) Does loop order matter?

5) What pump should I use?

6) What reservoir is best?

7) Should I use compression fittings?

8) Which coolant should I use?

11) What tubing should I use?

12) Do I need a drain?

13) How do I leak test?

14) What is a good case for internal water cooling components?

15) Is it necessary to speak like a Pirate to build an awesome water cooled rig?


Oops ... answering all of these questions will be about as much fun as writing a new guide. Obviously, this will be intended for the person new to water cooling, and there won't be absolute answers to all of the questions.

Any thoughts? Additional FAQs you can think of?

[eKirts]

was thinking.... an additional thing to add to the coolant question...... is whether or not it will stain (or has the potential to)... maybe in conjunction with a question on coloured additives/dyes

I'm a fan of question 15 ... haha :P

for the best cpu/gpu block.... I'm assuming you will list by socket type/GPU?

for non-english speakers.... add a link at the top that sends you to Google translate :P so they can choose the language... or have a bunch of presets...

good on ya for bringing this up.... I definitely think that a FAQ will help alleviate a lot of the repetitive questions... and as you've heard me say... I'm sure people will read the stickies if there is readily available information that pertains to some of their most basic questions...

[Hondacity]

watercooling shops and their locations ? just to name a few

Northwest....
Koolance - Auburn, WA
Heatsinkfactory - Hayden, ID
Tilatech- somewhere in WA
Dangerden- Astoria, OR

Rest of world
Petras- somewhere in south cali
Sidewindercomputers - Franklyn, In
Koolertech - Brady, Texas
Jab-tech - Harrison township, MI
FrozenCPU - East Rochester NY
Performance-Pcs -
Swiftech - Lakewood, Ca

[INFRNL]

I think its a great idea, but form personal experience these stickies never get updated enough which is a big reason why people keep asking the same questions.

I say this because I am usually the one researching rather than helping. I don't know how many times I have gone into a stick and its too old of info, so i then proceed to find threads that are similar to my needs.

I think if someone was willing to update and keep it current, then its worthwhile, but then again an overall thread for all of watercooling is hard to keep up with, there are just too many variables.

As far as shops go: isnt tilatech out of business now? I thought I tried to go to their site and the domain was sold/for sale.

Back to this topic. It all boils down to preference as well, everyone has their own opinions. Also it depends on ones specific setup which parts would be best. this goes for the entire loop as well. you need a certain block, or need to build everything else off of the block you pick so to speak. different rads perform differently for different environments, but I guess a lot of this can be answered through skinnee's reviews or other reviews. But for some of us newbs, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, or we still do not quite understand.

k thats my current 2 cents, will add more later if need be

[pingpong1455]

Maybe list some Goo# logs with lots of pictures and just tell them to read for a week. Or two then they can ask there questions

I've learned a sh** load from reading the liquid section

Thank you all I guess then

[Hondacity]

I think its a great idea, but form personal experience these stickies never get updated enough which is a big reason why people keep asking the same questions.

I say this because I am usually the one researching rather than helping. I don't know how many times I have gone into a stick and its too old of info, so i then proceed to find threads that are similar to my needs.

I think if someone was willing to update and keep it current, then its worthwhile, but then again an overall thread for all of watercooling is hard to keep up with, there are just too many variables.

As far as shops go: isnt tilatech out of business now? I thought I tried to go to their site and the domain was sold/for sale.

Back to this topic. It all boils down to preference as well, everyone has their own opinions. Also it depends on ones specific setup which parts would be best. this goes for the entire loop as well. you need a certain block, or need to build everything else off of the block you pick so to speak. different rads perform differently for different environments, but I guess a lot of this can be answered through skinnee's reviews or other reviews. But for some of us newbs, there are still a lot of unanswered questions, or we still do not quite understand.

k thats my current 2 cents, will add more later if need be

i think shazza hit most of those variables. the answers i hope will be long though.

[pingpong1455]

And speaking of skinnees reviews and reviews in general why doesant somebody consolidate liquid reviews together

[CptDreadFlint]

...
15) Is it necessary to speak like a Pirate to build an awesome water cooled rig?...

LMAO!!!



I now own the proverbial keyboard soaked with coffee.

[shazza]

Thanks guys ... good point on current shops, Honda.

You're right, INFRNL, about the need for continuous updating. I figure it's worth a shot since I review most of the posts on a daily basis, so I might be able to keep it up to date for at least some time to come (I'm rather ancient, though ... so we'll have to take that into consideration).

As per all the different products and setups. I think it will have to state up front that there are no perfect answers. And, agree there is no one best solution for most things ... what I was thinking was to cover the current popular choices, with links to reviews or good discussion threads wherever possible. For example, there is a huge amount of good info in MaxxxRacer's guides, but people probably don't use it as much as they should because some of the products are out of date.

There will also have to be a balance between lengthy explanations and something people will actually read.

And, I would not be doing this by myself - I would be getting input from all of you.


@CptDreadFlint - just checkin' to make sure you were paying attention

[shazza]

And speaking of skinnees reviews and reviews in general why doesant somebody consolidate liquid reviews together

HERE you go. Maybe it's not 100%, but there is a wealth of information in there.


And this, I think, is our fundamental issue - pingpong is a steady visitor to this section, and may not have realized there were reviews in the INFO Sticky at the top. (not taking a shot at you, pingpong - because I think it's the case for most of us).

Don't know how to solve this issue, other than pointing people to the Info Sticky whenever possible.

[Alexandr0s]

I'd recommend trying to divide the questions in two parts: Pure performance, and budget performance .

And to answer 15: Although not neccessary, it can really help and improve your build (as capt. Flint has already prooved :P).

[Elpy]

Well I for one have checked the info thread a lot of times but most of the time it comes out not having enough information. So all in all at the moment I think it could need a lot more useful info and especially a bit more fresh stuff that some of the links there are. There is a lot of stuff around the forums that are useful and cant be found from there (not saying that everything should be there. It's impossible, but updating it more frequently would help it gather more info)

And just one idea for it, under each "sub-title" like Fans or Radiators, there could be a small DIY title. Some example I could think about is that under fans there could be the thread that shows how to take Gentle typhoon fans apart and paint. It's extremely useful small guide but hard to find unless you have it bookmarked. And then under tubing there could be that one guide about using hot water to bend tubing without kinking. Another great info that's a bit hard to find unless you have it bookmarked (with hard I mean that you gotta start searching the forum with correct keywords)

edit: actually forget what I just said. Perhaps make it so that you have each category separately, like fans, rads, cpu blocks and so on. Basicly like they are now except have separate "Information & Guides" and "Reviews & Tests" under them. So first you would for example see the title "Fans", then under that a list of reviews and then under those a list of guides and other information.

As for the problem that ppl dont read the thread... I dunno, make a huge picture saying "Read the ing info thread" and spam it everytime its needed?

[OldChap]

The reason that BIG subject stickies get out of date is likely to be because even if re-vamped every 6/12 months it is a big job.

If the Sticky were to have sub sections where individuals can write a piece for consideration of inclusion or as part of a re-vamp then the original might get to stay current from the work of many rather than a huge effort by one

So a kinda similar thought to some above huh?

Argh, Jim lad...that's my $0.02

[Obelisk79]

I just skimmed the thread but what about an XS wiki?

[pingpong1455]

HERE you go. Maybe it's not 100%, but there is a wealth of information in there.


And this, I think, is our fundamental issue - pingpong is a steady visitor to this section, and may not have realized there were reviews in the INFO Sticky at the top. (not taking a shot at you, pingpong - because I think it's the case for most of us).

Don't know how to solve this issue, other than pointing people to the Info Sticky whenever possible.

*chuckles and scratches head*

heh heh woops i was on my eris

off topic

and might i say that i now love comedy central 2 good movies in a row space-balls then balls of fury

end off topic

[HazChem]

I agree with Old Chap. If the works can get spread around different experts, then it would be easier to keep up to date!

[Elpy]

I just skimmed the thread but what about an XS wiki?

Seconded! That would be a lot easier to keep up-to-date than a forum thread.

[INFRNL]

I agree with OC as well and that is partly what I was trying to say. There are so many vairables and changes for H20 that it makes it near impossible to keep things up to date and make it answer everyones questions...ie the reason why there are still a bunch of the same questions over and over, but I also think that people should research a little harder to find threads that are close to their situation to help avoid so many of the same thing.

Even if you list current best it would have to be broken down into so many subcategories.

I guess the main thing as already mentioned would be to have the typical best performing blocks, rads, fans, etc. Ideally though this is all affected from the pumps used, rads, and blocks which could result in disaster if not properly chosem. This is where noobs like myself would get into trouble. I myself would have to start with a simple loop for CPU only to learn how this all works and how differently things effect eachother, but then as experience comes it gets a lot more involved which brings more variables to the table.

Overall, I think we have it covered for the most part, but people will also continue to ask questions about older hardware compared to newer if buying used, or maybe items that are not listed that may not be as popular.
I think categorize current top blocks, midrange, etc. same with rads, etc. The current reviews will show proof.
I myself usually trust the experts then make my final decision from there. I myself have a difficult time trying to make the right choice sometimes.


I think you have a great gameplan and we can hope for the best out of it. I probably will not be able to help as well as the others because of lack of experience, but I am more than willing to make an effort to help where I can

[pingpong1455]

another thing that maybe should be added is where to get hard to find things for certain things in other countries such as the aquero (couldant find a u.s. place) or other parts

[shazza]

Good feedback, everyone. I think the best thing to do is set it up as an experiment ... the updating issue is why I've never done it before. But, realized I am reading almost every post in this section anyway, so perhaps can add some value - maybe, maybe not.

[Waterlogged]

An FAQ will help a very small percentage of ppl. Unfortunately, we will still be bombarded by the same group of questions. . .always will. I touched on the reason in another topic, laziness and impatience. Besides, the stickies we have now, despite appearing out dated, are still mostly relevant, there are a few things that could be revised but the basic principals and explanations are still solid.

Sorry to be the wet dish rag here folks but I just see this as reinventing the wheel, so to speak.

[Kibbler]

An FAQ will help a very small percentage of ppl. Unfortunately, we will still be bombarded by the same group of questions. . .always will. I touched on the reason in another topic, laziness and impatience. Besides, the stickies we have now, despite appearing out dated, are still mostly relevant, there are a few things that could be revised but the basic principals and explanations are still solid.

Sorry to be the wet dish rag here folks but I just see this as reinventing the wheel, so to speak.

I know what you mean and I that's why think a FAQ is an excellent idea, albeit an ad-hoc one. It gives newcomers a CHANCE to promptly + succinctly answer their own questions without diving too deeply into the background knowledge: IMHO the existing stickies might be too dense/intimidating to a complete newcomer. Laziness, impatience, yeah maybe. Youth, inexperience, incompatible mother tongue, also maybe.

Whether or not they stick with the WC hobby (or lifestyle choice) and whether or not they wish to learn the background knowledge is their choice make: After all they're spending their own money on components to make or break.

The choice we as existing members need to make is 1) do we shrug off their "noob" questions and curtly point them to the stickies? or 2) do we put in the effort to anticipate and accommodate their "noob" questions, who may one day 10 years down the road be the next WC gurus? There will always be new topics with #1 - #14 (maybe #15 I dunno) in the subject, asking the same old questions again + again. And yeah it's irritating. But I can live with that if it means being more receptive of new members of all levels of xtreme-ness and helping the community to grow, rather than risk sounding like a small bunch of old-hat elitists.

***

#16 Can I use my USB beer (STELLA!) cooler to cool my CPU?

#17 When will charles start another worklog? My mouth is full of saliva and I need to drool some out.

***

YARR

There. My build and photography skill leveled up by 10pts each.

[OldChap]

Just an afterthought...for the truly impatient...maybe a list of some System Kits of Parts that work well together ie x pump, y rad, z block, these fans, those fittings etc. In the same way that manufacturers offer starter kits but at a higher performance level.

Maybe works maybe not I'll look again once I had my morning coffee

[shazza]

I agree with both Waterlogged and Kibbler - even though it might seem they are presenting opposite sides of the spectrum. A FAQ may help very few people ... but the only thing that is lost by doing one is the time it takes to do it. Also agree it should be simple ... sections can be expanded as we go. There is a lot of good info in the stickies already - and we do attempt to keep it current when new reviews come out, but there will always be people who never bother to look at it. This will be no different.

A guide is generally designed to give someone enough knowledge to do something - as in design and build an entire water cooling setup. The objective of the FAQ will be to answer some of the questions we see often, and to point people in the right direction to get more information. The objective will not be to answer everything, or to stop all new threads where people ask for help.

And OldChap's idea is a good one, my only concern being the need to be fair to all the vendors. I also like the idea of linking to some sample work logs ... but of course that's fraught with danger - how do you pick the ones to be included without offending anyone?

I'll work on a draft this week and we can go from there.

[loukaspookas]

watercooling shops and their locations ? just to name a few

Northwest....
Koolance - Auburn, WA
Heatsinkfactory - Hayden, ID
Tilatech- somewhere in WA
Dangerden- Astoria, OR

Rest of world
Petras- somewhere in south cali
Sidewindercomputers - Franklyn, In
Koolertech - Brady, Texas
Jab-tech - Harrison township, MI
FrozenCPU - East Rochester NY
Performance-Pcs -
Swiftech - Lakewood, Ca

Add

Pccasegear - Melbourne, VIC, AUS
GAMMODS - Sydney, NSW, AUS