Tried my hand at watercooling

[Apollo686]

I did it for a different reason than some, but it turned out well. Like anything else though, the first time can be a bit rocky and the experience from the first build will definately aid my decisions down the road.

First of all, my intents were silence rather than extreme cooling. I have my computer in my bedroom and if I can quiet it substantially, temperatures are a secondary benefit. I am also going to add a cooler to my 1900xtx but there was a monetary prevention to implementation of it in this round of the settup (I know, I quieted everything but the loudest fan in my machine).

Here's what I used.

DangerDen TDX Water Block
Laing DDC-2 DangerDen Water Pump
Black Ice Pro Radiator (120mm)
Tygon Tubing

Not much to it, but it's a start.



Anyway, here are my tidbits I leared this time around.

1. One 120mm radiator doesn't have THAT much cooling power
2. Pentosin is impossible to find, and if you look at an autoparts store they will ask you what your using it for.
3. Telling an auto parts employee your cooling your computer with a water pump is embarassing.
4. Zip ties are more effective on barbs than the $2 a piece hose clamps in my opinion.
5. Water wetter may not help with cooling over distilled water, but the lack of surface tension definately aids in removing bubbles from the system.
6. My radiator may have been odd, but it came not tapped for screws so I had to buy a tapp.
7. Using the Laing DDC-2 with 1/2in hose is a pita without the 1/2in top from petra.

Anyway, I'm happy with my results, but looking foreward to adding a block for the graphics card and a new top for the pump (petra's).


A few questions I have.

First of all I noticed a buildup in my lines after using only destilled water after a few days. I found out this may be due to not cleaning my reservoir before installing it. I took apart the system, replaced all the lines, and cleaned the radiator out with destilled, vinegar, and more distilled.

I also noticed my TDX block turned colors inside the block (in the water chamber). I cleaned it with vinegar and it seemed to go back, but I'm wondering if this is a buildup, or something normal with the copper block. I know materials like titanium will change color with heat but I don't know about copper or what is normal with a cooling loop like this.

At any rate, now I'm just looking for a spot to put another radiator in the future. The layout of my Lian-Li is cramped, but I'm thinking I might be able to do something in the HD bay area. I think the top of the case is prohibitive due to space restrictions if I go to SLI in the future.

Without further ado, the fun stuff; pictures:

I know the quality is bad, it's taken with a razr.


Also last question, does anyone know the performance/other differences between the maze 4 and 5? Also wondering if the low profile one is going to offer lower performance.

Any advice would be apreciated.

 

[danks]

I would highly recommend against using water wetter in your loop... A few searches around forums will show exactly what i'm talking about. I've seen it do a number to a lot of blocks but it almost sounds like you got some biological growth, hard to tell without pictures. Personally i would just use a 9:1 distilled water/antifreeze mix and a few drops of iodine or use petra's pt-nuke.

Regarding another rad it would be better to just go with a larger one... the less restriction the better especially if you plan on adding more blocks down the road. ive seen people mount a triple rad up top on the lian-li's although it was kind of tight. a double should be no prob on the top or where the hd cages are.

 

[Apollo686]

The only problem with mounting a rad up top is I wouldn't be able to go SLI on the 680i board due to the location of the second x16 slot. I don't think there is enough clearance for a rad + fans.

What problems have people had with Water Wetter?

 

[joecop120]

water wetter can dye almost everything in your system, usually the stuff is red.

you have a nice fillport, why is it inside the PC?

Clamps are cheap at sidewindercomputers too.

looks good though!

 

[ziddey]

looks good. pic is good for a razr too. you must have had sufficient lighting (really required for cmos style cameras).

As for the bip, what screws did you use? The stock holes are a little small, but if you use self tappign #6-32, it should go right into the holes without issue.

As for the buildup, it's pretty normal for the first time around or so. Some recommend vinegar to wash out the system, but buildup doesn't look too bad. Mine is the same, even with some ethylene glycol and the corrosion inhibitors it came with and a little iodine.

 

[bail_w]

So, whats your temperature so far with what voltages? idle/load?

 

[Apollo686]

For the radiator I used 6-32 screws and I tapped the radiator myself with a tapp I bought.


So far temps are about 44c CPU and 35c System. It's a little warm, but it's a P4 3.8ghz I'm cooling and I think these things run hot. Hope to have the money for a C2D before too long.


The fillport is inside because I didn't want to hack a hole in my Lian-Li. Still does its job very well. Next things to do are a new top for the pump and a water block for the 1900XTX.