I've finally decided to go with water cooling

[Judaeus Apella]

You guys and everyone else I know has been nagging me for years go water. Fine! I give in! So, can someone take my hand and lead me into the world of water cooling?


Before I get into this, as of 2013 what are the most reliable and quiet 3/8 pumps? I found some guides that suggest pumps but they're all ancient. I'll just be cooling an LGA 1150 CPU and a 770 GTX, and I'll of course be overclocking but nothing hardcore. So no huge tubes and chilled water or anything. 3/8" seems like a good size for my first water cooling project.

I don't want something hammering away next to me while I'm trying to work or watch TV, so yeah I need something quiet, but reliability is obviously very important. Also, do any of these pumps come with a warranty that covers damage as a direct result if the pump fails? I don't want to set a price right now because I don't know what prices to expect. Just keep in mind I don't want something extreme. I'm a water cooling virgin so I wanna take it easy the first time. Next time if I have more money to spend, I'll probably do something bigger.


My first water cooling build will be in a Silverstone PS06, I know its a little cramped but I'm kinda stuck with it... for the time being. And really, its a pretty decent case. I like a lot of its features. Good use of space and lots of places for controlling wire clutter.

I should probably post links to the tower so you all know what I'm working with. This is the official page, so there's lots of information and specs, plus the manual:
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=298&area=

This review has some awesome pictures of the case in high res with great detail. Exactly what I was looking for:
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/417...ew/index5.html


Concerns:

1. While I don't want clutter around my PC, I also don't want warm system exhaust venting into the radiators or warm radiator exhaust venting into the system. So what are some solutions for this?
2. I was thinking I might be able to fit a reservoir and the pump right next to the motherboard on the right. It looks Silverstone probably had something like that in mind, because there's lots of unused screw holes there. Someone posted a setup like that HERE at overclock.net. Do you guys think this tower has enough room to do that?
3. What is involved in terms of cleaning or keeping the water cooling clean? Do the tubes, blocks, reservoir, and pump get slimy? Or is there a way to prevent that with an additive or do I use some kind of chemically treated water?
4. Compression fitting are too expensive. I've never done this so I have no experience with barbed fittings, like how dependable they are or how to make them as safe as possible. Like how to get the best fits or if I should find a clip or clamp of some kind? I learn better by talking to people and asking questions in forums so that's why I'm asking instead of searching. Its just how I prefer to learn.

A few things worth mentioning:

1. The back of the tower has two 6/8" diameter punch out holes at the top for water cooling.
2. If I have to, the tower has a window that is very easy to toolessly pop out and replace with my own plexiglass, which I can cut fan holes in. I have a nice sharp 120mm drill hole saw waiting to see some action. I'm hoping it gets some. So that is definitely an option to consider.
3. The drive cage and all its related parts, including the base it sits on, are all completely removable (nice touch Silverstone). So if I really need some space I can make a bunch more room by doing that as a last resort. But if I do that I can't use any of the 5.25" bays because I'll need those for my hard drives. I'd like to try and find a way to do this without resorting to that.... if possible.
4. There's a strange vent at the rear of the tower to the right of the PCI slots, with what looks like some kind of mounting screw and clip holes.... but I have no idea what its for. I'm really hoping I can do something with it? Anyone know or have any ideas? Here's a picture of it from that review: http://imagescdn.tweaktown.com/conte...eview_full.jpg

If I've asked a dumb questions.... have patience with me, I know very little about water cooling and have no experience with it at all. I did read some about it before making this thread, and looked around at different setups though. Unfortunately all I guides I found are ancient and refer to really old products. Looking for some modern guides and products.


Hope that all wasn't too much to read!