Guide To WaterCooling and Leak Testing - ALL New WaterCooler's Read Before Posting!

[thunderstruck!]

Thanks for answering thunderstruck.

Maze4 GPU blocks have "warranty void if opened" stickers on them.

So should I replace the plastic barbs that come with the Storm with the more durable nickel plated barbs, or is it not necessary to take that part of the block apart for yearly maintenance?

Looks like I'm going to have fun taking my loop apart and do a proper pre-install.

Well, your CPU warranty is void if OCed, but did that stop you? Well, the sticker on the maze4 shouldn't either.

As for barbs on the storm, it's not necessary, but it offers some benefits.
-more durable. the plastic barbs may crack or warp after time.
-looks much better
-EK barbs provide less turbulence due to slightly bigger OD

Also, from Mr.VirtualRain:

Material: Plastic vs. Metal

Plastic fittings can be nylon, poly(something), or acetal. Most Swiftech stuff comes with plastic barb fittings. The main consideration in using these kind of fittings is that if you are using the widely recommended 7/16" tubing over 1/2" barbs that are plastic, you will not be able to easily remove the tubing once it is on. In fact, you will probably have to heat up the tubing to get it soft enough to put it on and then you will likely have to cut it off.

Metal fittings are typically nickel plated brass. They look good and have the benefit of allowing 7/16" tubing to slide onto 1/2" barbs forming a good leak-proof seal (even without clamps) yet the tubing can still be pulled of with some force without damaging the fitting or tubing.

Also, you won't believe how dirty your blocks are if you've never cleaned them....

[JoeBar]

Especially if u use any additive...

[xenolith]

Well, your CPU warranty is void if OCed, but did that stop you? Well, the sticker on the maze4 shouldn't either.

Good point. I guess I just need to get off my lazy butt and clean these buggers.

Thanks again.

[septim]

Originally Posted by xenolith
Thanks for answering thunderstruck.

Maze4 GPU blocks have "warranty void if opened" stickers on them.

i emailed danger den regarding same issue with my RBX, told em how am i suppose to clean copper base and change mid nozzles without voiding warranty, they replied that said sticker was only there to signify that they have tested said block to be leak proof at the seams and that i could change said mid nozzles without voiding said warranty.

hope this helps

[bruce+]

Nice results! Still I'm curious why the tubing would stain and cloud with plain distilled water... technically, that seems really weird to me.

The white stuff is plastic additives, that is a Chemist told me. Apparently it is known issue to him .

There have lots of additives for plastic to make it more soft, more flexible. The plastic additives could dissolve into water.

[septim]

which plastic are you telling us?
1. the plastic tubing we all use?
2. or the plastic bottle that some distilled water comes in?

[Radical_53]

Well... that'll give us a problem then. Those softeners do get into the water if the container (or plastic somewhere else) is being warmed up or hit by sunlight (warms it up too).
We can't do anything against warming up, and we can't do much against the sunlight.
One option "might" be flushing the tubing with really warm water before use and using distilled water that comes in glass bottles. Still, there's some other plastic on the loop then, like Delrin and so on Oh my...

[bruce+]

My guess is Both, some high grade containers are better.

Sunlight also cause the cloudy/turbid appearance of an transparent plastic (UV).

http://ift.confex.com/ift/2003/techp...aper_18817.htm
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1209-10.htm

Just some ideas.

[septim]

bah, so long as performance wise and efficiency is not affected, except the bling factor, i gues we'd have no choice about cloudy tubing, if its just a matter of time before cloudy tubing begins...

[Radical_53]

Yes... *if* it's only the bling factor. But even that is something that I'd like to keep. This stuff is way too expensive to accept that it looks ugly, don't you think so?

[skaktuss]

~5-6 of my storm jets were obturated with that white crap
so it's not only bling factor!

[septim]

sounds hard to do that, if you don't keep changing tubing every 3/few months.
(provided you have reserved tubing in the sides)

[Radical_53]

Well, it shouldn't be that hard. We'd have to get to a position where changing the fluid is only necessary once or twice a year for security reasons, not because it's dirty.
Funny to say that, but I still have two old loops running here with tiny tubing and they don't cloud... but they're also much lower flow Used the same fluid for those as on my machines that do cloud very fast. Tubing, flow, light, plastic softeners... it's somewhere in those I'd say

[bengkiam]

How bout Asetek Antarctica KT03A-12VX kit?

[Solarfall]

how can i get rid of bobles inside my loop, my wc system has been running for a day now. is it something to get worried about or is this totally normal ?, the bobles are really tiny.

[Philly_Boy]

~5-6 of my storm jets were obturated with that white crap
so it's not only bling factor!

This is one of the reasons that maxxxracer tells us in the leak testing guide to use a particulate filter for a week or so to catch this stuff that would gunk up the jets in the Storm block. The inline filter he recommends is filters anything over 5 microns. That's the same filter used in medical applications like dialysis machines. If the darn thing wasn't so freakin big I'd keep it in the loop 24/7. The filter I use is rated for up to 2 gpm flow. I guess if it was smaller it'd be a flow killer....

[IanY]

After you have filtered the water, how do you remove the filter? Don't you have to drain the filtered water into some other container anyway? Don't you have to either remove/insert a new piece of tubing for the final setup?

[Philly_Boy]

After you have filtered the water, how do you remove the filter? Don't you have to drain the filtered water into some other container anyway? Don't you have to either remove/insert a new piece of tubing for the final setup?

Funny I am doing this as we speak. The water is reusable (correct me if I am wrong, maxxx). I drained the water into a clean glass gallon container (dishwasher on potscrubber wash with sani dry option then flush with distilled water). I am resizing a few pieces of the tubing in the loop, but if I didn't need to do that I'd end up with only one extra piece of tube. I would connect the tube that was running from the rad to the filter and connect it directly to the Storm. I'd set aside the extra tube that ran from the output of the filter to the Storm when I was leak testing/filtering. Hope this helps.

[IanY]

PhillyBoy,

Thanks to you (and no thanks too lol j/k), I now must "master the possibilities" lol McMaster here I come!

Errr... one gallon glass containers... my wife only has two 32 fl. oz. Pyrex measuring cups... where do I find a glass container that holds one gallon --> flower vase?

"Get those dishes and cups out of the dishwasher!!" LOL

[Philly_Boy]

PhillyBoy,

Thanks to you (and no thanks too lol j/k), I now must "master the possibilities" lol McMaster here I come!

Errr... one gallon glass containers... my wife only has two 32 fl. oz. Pyrex measuring cups... where do I find a glass container that holds one gallon --> flower vase?

"Get those dishes and cups out of the dishwasher!!" LOL

AN old fashioned glass milk container. We have a "micro dairy" close by that sells their products in those time honored glass containers.
Another idea might be a red wine decanter like this one you can buy at Target:

[IanY]

Wine Decanter!! I have one of those lol I knew it would be useful at some point or another

[Philly_Boy]

Wine Decanter!! I have one of those lol I knew it would be useful at some point or another

It's amazing what we have just lying about that aids us in our quest. . .

[IanY]

It's amazing what we have just lying about that aids us in our quest. . .

I can see my brother coming over: "say... while you were out, I helped myself to this delicious blue wine you have here... it made me a little high and I even saw a couple of angels"

[Philly_Boy]

I can see my brother coming over: "say... while you were out, I helped myself to this delicious blue wine you have here... it made me a little high and I even saw a couple of angels"

Yeah, pentosin G11 will do that to you every time. . .LMAO!!

[BigMike66]

[QUOTE=MaxxxRacer]Water Cooling Guide: The basics
An Introduction to Watercooling your Computer

10. North Bridge Waterblock
This is an item that, for the most part should have never been created. If you are a performance user, you will want to stay away from these. The NB (north bridge) waterblocks are generally overly restrictive and do not do much of anything for your overclocking capabilities. There are some exceptions to this, but for the most part your NB will be cooled more than adequately by the stock cooling, for by an inexpensive air cooling option.

The legitimacy of the NB block is a little bit greater for those users searching for the almighty silence. If you want to get rid of the noisy fan that plagues your NB this is a viable option. But I stress to try a zalman fanless air cooling unit first before you try a NB block, because it will hurt the overall performance of your watercooling loop. I should note though that there are some exceptions where the NB block can actually help flow, but these are very rare and I only know of one such situation. [QUOTE=MaxxxRacer]

Does this statement still hold true with the introduction of the 680i chipset?
The NB for this chipset will get hot under normal conditions, let alone overclocking.

Is the restriction factor from even the newest/greatest NB blocks great enough to force 680i users to search for the best in active air cooling?

Mike