Water Cooling Newbie

smooth

Junior Member

Saturday, June 21st 2008, 5:45pm

1

Hi all

Ive been wanting to water cool my pc for ages and i think im going to make the plunge soon. I just wanted to get some answers about it.

My case is a powermac g5 case so space is limited. I want two loops, and was wondering if i could make the loops "share" an aquatube?

Also what happens if you sleep a watercooled pc? Do the fans and pump stop or do they run and defeat the object of sleep modes?

Do water cooled pc's have to be used regularly? Or does the water have to by cycled?

What maintence has to be carried out?

Many thanks for any help, i have "googled" for information but i have read conflicting information and i want to make sure.

pharao

Moderator

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Saturday, June 21st 2008, 6:04pm

2

Hi and welcome to the forum

Quoted from "smooth"

My case is a powermac g5 case so space is limited. I want two loops, and was wondering if i could make the loops "share" an aquatube?

No, you can't. If you want two loops (e.g. one for the "hot components" like CPU and Graphics and one for the "cooler compnents" like HDD or Northbridge) you'll have to keep them separate

Quoted

Also what happens if you sleep a watercooled pc? Do the fans and pump stop or do they run and defeat the object of sleep modes?

depends on your setup

usually the fans stop (since they are powered by your PSU. If you use a 12V pump it will stop working, too.

Quoted

Do water cooled pc's have to be used regularly? Or does the water have to by cycled?

No, you can switch it off for several weeks, no harm

Quoted

What maintence has to be carried out?

Depending on your hoses, you will lose some water (it'll evaporate) and you'll have to refill a little (every few months)

Gute work-live-balance ist, wenn man von seinem Privatleben erschöpfter ist als von der Arbeit.

smooth

Junior Member

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Saturday, June 21st 2008, 6:13pm

3

Hi, thanks for the quick reply and for clearing up that for me!!!!

The reason i asked about the aquatube is because of this http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=98614, hope im not breaking any rules there. I'm sure that is being shared by the two loops?

Thanks again

smooth

Junior Member

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Saturday, June 21st 2008, 6:17pm

4

EDIT this shows the aquatube and the loop set up better http://forums.bit-tech.net/showpost.php?…45&postcount=66

pharao

Moderator

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Saturday, June 21st 2008, 7:23pm

5

yet you'll have the same temperature all over your systems. and during summer the water might heat up so your HDDs won't be cooled any longer.
if you plan to install two loops, separate them into a "hot" and a "cold" one

Gute work-live-balance ist, wenn man von seinem Privatleben erschöpfter ist als von der Arbeit.

MUFFDIVER

Full Member

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Saturday, June 21st 2008, 8:04pm

6

Hmm i have to agree 2 flow is ultimatley better.

I was umming and arrring about the same thing but as i already have 2 flow kits so my decision was made for me in that respect.

But would using 2 pumps on a 1 flow make any temp improvment? Just curious to see if anyone has tested this..

smooth

Junior Member

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Saturday, June 21st 2008, 8:06pm

7

is it better to have 2 rads in one loop or 1 rad each in 2 loops? Sorry for all the questions. The restrictive factor for my second loop is that i dont have the space for a second aquatube or aquainlet, i doubt i would even be able to fit a 2nd pump.

pharao

Moderator

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Sunday, June 22nd 2008, 1:37am

8

then you should consider not cooling those parts of your pc that don't produce much heat (e.g. HDDs) and just use one loop

Gute work-live-balance ist, wenn man von seinem Privatleben erschöpfter ist als von der Arbeit.

MUFFDIVER

Full Member

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Sunday, June 22nd 2008, 9:39am

9

Maybe you should look at a new case?

As you can see from mine here :-

http://forum.aqua-computer.de/index.php?…d&threadID=1191

I need to upgrade to a larger case... Not by much but to allow for a 2nd pump/res and 240 Rad i will need a few more inches in height.

Failing that i would suggest that you only cool neccesary parts like CPU/NB/SB & VPR and maybe your ram on a 240 loop or 2 x 120 loop.

smooth

Junior Member

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Sunday, June 22nd 2008, 7:54pm

10

Well the reason i was going to use a twin loop was because of me getting a pair of 280gtx's which run very hot apparently. So could i go pump -> rad 1 -> cpu -> chipset -> rad 2 -> gpu 1 -> gpu 2 -> res. I can get two 240 rads in my case with some good space management! Thanks for all the help guys.... much appreciated

pharao

Moderator

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Sunday, June 22nd 2008, 8:58pm

11

the sequence in which you connect your components doesn't matter - the only advise ist to put the reservoir before the pump. Just connect it the way it fits you best.

Gute work-live-balance ist, wenn man von seinem Privatleben erschöpfter ist als von der Arbeit.

smooth

Junior Member

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Monday, June 23rd 2008, 12:50am

12

Thank you for all your help

In your experience would a combination of a evo 240 and an evo 120 be enough to cool stock gtx280s and an overclocked q6600? I would like to use 2 evo 240s but it would save me some headaches if i just used a 120.

Sorry for all the questions

MUFFDIVER

Full Member

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Monday, June 23rd 2008, 9:03am

13

Well i run a 240 and a 120 cooling :-

Cpu > Ram > NB > Sb > VPR > VPR

And without cooling my GFX cards 2 x 8800 GTX Ultra's i still have a CPU when loaded temp @ 48 - 52 C but it is summer atm.

Remember each card is going to raise your temps hense why im going to include a 240 into my loop then add the cooling for my cards.

So i would say if your going to cool all Mobo components and GFX Cards i would get a 2 x 240 but if you lacking space then ofcourse go with a 120 and i guess you can test and if you dont like it then you can just add a 240 to the loop at a later date.

Hope that helps.

smooth

Junior Member

Re: Water Cooling Newbie

Tuesday, June 24th 2008, 1:42am

14

well i think i have found a way to fit two 240's in my case.... leaves some custom wireing for my psu and a very strange location for it but at least the components will be cool! im gonna purchase just one rad at first and mount it in both positions to be sure i can fit two, if no i will just have to have a 120 or perhaps 2x 160s?

Thanks for all the help and answers you have been most helpful!!!!!