need help choosing cpu/gpu blocks

[xdkimx]

iv decided to get watercooling and i need some help, for now im wondering which cpu and gpu blocks to go with

for the cpu block which would perform the best out of the maze4, swifttech apogee, swiftech storm

and for the gpu, maze4 or swiftech mcw55

or are there better? my budget is $150-200 for everything so silver blocks like the storm g5 are a bit too much

thanks in advance

[David M]

We can help you better if you give your computers specs...especially your motherboard and graphics card. There are many more options for water blocks than the ones you are trying to decide on. Dangerden and Koolance come to mind.

[xdkimx]

oops here are my specs

cpu: amd 2x +4400
cooling: xp90+92mm vantec tornado
case: antec p180
gpu: xfx 7800 oc 490/1300
psu: enermax noisetaker 600w
ram: ocz 2x1gb platnum 2-3-2-5 3200
mobo: dfi lanparty nf4 sli dr
hdd: 74gb western digital raptor
bios: 6/23

i thought of a few more questions

would the mcw55 fit with the dfi board in sli

im thinking of getting the apogee + mcw55 and if the mcw doesnt fit apogee + maze 4 low profile (and is there a difference between the low profile and standard when it comes to performance?)

also i need some help picking out a rad black ice x-flow or 2-pass? i want to use 2 single fan rads

for the pump is this the strongest pump out there http://www.dangerdenstore.com/produc...5&cat=4&page=1 or swiftechs 655? or are there better

thanks

[David M]

Generally the vendors will tell you on their website what cooling blocks will work with which motherboards. If it is not listed on the website, then you can call the vendor. I have had really good service with Dangerden and Koolance on the phone.

As far as pumps go, you can only push so much water through tubes before you start to get so much pressure that you increase the risk of blowing a tube off a cooling block nipple...or springing a leak. Therefore the greatest factor for pumps is reliability and much less so pressure. If you want more flow volume then buy larger diameter tubing. It's my opinion though that 1/2 inch tubing is overkill because you are only removing a little over 100 watts of heat at most from any one heat source and heat removal is bottlenecked by the surface area of the cooling block and not by the volume of coolant flowing through the heat block. Per amount of volume, water holds a LOT of heat therefore it does not take much water flow to remove a lot of heat. All that heat still has to flow through the heat block which are relatively small..so there is your heat bottle neck. 3/8 tubing has a shorter bend radius which makes routing the tube in tight quarters much easier.

You can buy the heat blocks with the 1/2 inch nipples and then boil the end of the 3/8 inch tubing for about a minute and quickly slip it over the 1/2 inch nipple. Practice doing this a few times though. You get the best of both worlds this way...a nipple with a 3/8 inch INSIDE diameter and tubing with 3/8 inside diameter. Dont ever expect to be able to slip the tubing off the nipple though. It has to be cut off. Buy Tygon tubing...it is more resistant to kinking than the cheap stuff sold at the home stores.

Do you have a parts list for your cooling system? If so, what do you have so far?

[xdkimx]

heres wut i have so far:

60 radiator - 2x two-pass black ice

75 pump - dd d5

24 fan - delta 120

50 cpu block - swiftech apogee

45 gpu block - maze 4 low profile

23 tubes - 10 ft tygon soft (1/2 id) (5/8 od)

20 chipset block - koolance http://www.koolance.com/shop/product...products_id=86 (still not sure if im getting this one)

30 reservoir - dual bay 5 1/4

10 clamps - 30 metal clamps

hm ic 3/8 tubing and 1/2 fitters? so wut this does is allow better flow without the nipples exploding? im planning on using 2 clamps for each nipple would this help keep pressure w/o the worries of leaks?

thanks

[David M]

You always need to be concerned about leaks. Run your cooling system for 24 hours before you install it so that you can detect any leaks. I put down paper towels under everything which makes it easier to see any drops. I am using 3/8 nipples with 3/8 tubing. I did not want to hassle with heating the tubing because I knew that eventually I would have to pull the tubing in order to change things out. I am using one clamp per connection. I don't think two clamps will make it any more secure. The pressure is not all that great. I use those circular spring clamps (can't remember the name) where you use a needle nose plier to spread them wider, slip it over the tubing, let go and it clamps down. No threads are used to tighten down the clamp. Its no fun trying to maniulate a stubby screwdriver over an expensive and vulnerable motherboard. I bought the hoseclamps at an automotve store. The threaded type of clamps are not truly circular and could cause a leak at this small a diameter and soft of a material.

I am using this chipset waterblock for my rig: http://www.dangerdenstore.com/produc...0&cat=0&page=1

You may want to look at some that will fit your board. http://www.dangerdenstore.com/search.php?mode=search

These are lapped down to 1200 grit....which means they are very flat.

Did you look at the Dangerden CPU blocks? They are pretty nice.

I am using this CPU block: http://www.koolance.com/shop/product...roducts_id=116 It has a mount for it which is nice because with one "thumbscrew" (you tighten it down by hand), the heat block comes right off and the thumbscrew has a torque device so you get just the right amount of pressure equally spread onto the CPU. With multiple screws holding down a cooling block I have always wondered if the thing is perfectly flat. With one screw pressing strait down on the middle, you know it is perfectly flat. I have my CPU overclocked to 3.1GHz from 2.8GHz and the temp right now is 39C at idle essentially. I have never seen it go over 48C even during the most demanding games. So I know its a great cooling block.

It looks like you have a good setup!