Bunch o' Q's

[n00btard]

Going to Japan, working for gramps, upgrading to Conroe with money earned, blah blah blah.... so anyways:

1) Does a TDX offer enough performance gain over an MCW6000 to justify the extra $10 I'd have to pay?

2) How loud is a D5 at max settings, and at what setting does the D5 rival the DDC's claimed 24~26dB sound rating? Should I bother buying a D5 and dialing it down if the performance is similar to the DDC once it's as quiet as a DDC?

3) Where in Canada can I buy antiquated Swiftech hardware?

4) How much heat does a MCW55/RAMsink combo dump into its surroundings? Overheating problems if there's little or no airflow there?

5) Single MCR120 sufficient for 7800GT, MOSFET, NB, SB, and an E6600? Any OC headroom with a single, or should I get a second rad?

 

[Spazilton]

I can answer some of the questions.

1. The TDX does offer a good performance boost over the 6000 as long as you have higher flow rates at slower rates they will perform at around the same. The pumps you were looking at are considered higher flow so I would go with the TDX or even the Swiftech Storm. Storm does perform better thatn the TDX however it is a much more restrictive block and will require high flow rates, and with the DD deals going on is more expensive.


2. At max settings once all the air bubbles are out of the loop, the D5 is Silent.

3. Not sure.

4 You have to have some air flow in the case to get ambient heat out even if you water cool everything in the case.

5. Absoultly NOT. You will overwhelm a single 120. It will not be able to remove all the heat you are goign to be dumping in your loop. You are also going to have massive flow problems running 5 blocks on 1 loop. For the amount of stuff you are trying to cool you are going to need a 3x120mm rad. or a 2x120 and a single.

 

[Erasmus354]

Go for the MCW6000 if you can find it. The MCW6000 is a great performing block contrary to what many think. Its main advantage is low flow restriction, and the fact that it is relatively flow agnostic in its cooling (performs the same at low and high flows).

Then because you went with the MCW6000 you can get yourself the DDC and save some space and have marginally lower noise output. I would not call the D5 silent, but you do have to listen to hear it. My 7V Yate Loons are noticeably louder than the D5.

www.bigfootcomputers.com seems to have a selection of older swiftech components.

You probably wont have overheating problems even with no airflow, however you never know sometimes these things can be finnicky. Considering the fact that most graphics memory runs and overclocks fine with no ramsinks at all....you should be ok.

You are probably pushing the envelope a bit with that loop. You can reasonably expect a single 120mm radiator to be able to dissipate 150W at a medium noise level and up to about 200W at high noise while maintaining decent component temperatures. I would say with all those components you are looking at closer to 250 maybe 300W of heat depending upon how high you overclock. A second or larger radiator would definitely help.

 

[n00btard]

I've got the loop and case design spec'd out on a whiteboard, and I'll post a pic of it if you want.

Here's a link to the rad: http://www.ntcw.com/Merchant2/merch...uct_Code=HF-STMCR120FB&Category_Code=STH2ORED

(Yes, the shit there is expensive but there's shipping costs to be calculated, and I can get a loop up and running ASAP.)

If I jack up the height of the case by about 0.5", I *might* be able to fit a second rad if both fittings are on the "side" of the rad, but I'm not sure until I get dimensions.

EDIT: pics