Need recommendation for Watercooling Upgrade

[pakman]

Nice site you guys have here.

After running a very basic CPU watercooling kit for about six months, I am now looking to upgrade my watercooling to also cover my Geforce 4ti and MB chipset. I am only doing some "mild" oc'ing (CPU & GPU) and will not be looking to add a TEC in the future. Here's my current setup

Athlon XP +2000 unlocked and oc'ed to +2200
Epox 8K9AI (KT400) w/ 512MB 2700DDR
Leadtek Winfast A250 LE TD (geforce4 ti 4200 64mb)
Enermax 350W Whisper PSU
LG 48x CD-RW & Samsung DVD-rom
2x40G HD's soon to be replaced by a 120G 7200rpm Maxtor or WD
WS-5 Mission Watercooling Set (bought in Korea www.crossoverclub.com for a whopping US$70 equivalent!!)
All stuffed into a windowed Lian Li PC-7 mid case (12cm blowhole on top for radiator/fan)

see attached for a photo of my rig

The above setup has been rock stable and CPU temp reading peak at 42deg C while playing bf1492 for hours nonstop... I'm not sure what the rated gph of my current 7w pump is, but guessing by its whimpy size, it can't be more than 100gph. That'll definitely need to be upgraded. So here are my questions to you knowledgeable folks on this board...


Pump - Any good reviews/recommendations for the Hydor L30 or Via Aqua. note: I'm looking for a QUIET solution that will be sufficient to pump a CPU/GPU/Chipset/Radiator/Reservoir (3/8 tubing). I'd go for the eheim given their reputation, but would prefer a smaller size pump as my case is pretty cramp...

Geforce4 GPU and chipset waterblocks - While I am leaning towards the dangerden line up, anyone have experience using these gemini blocks sold on case-mod.com?

Reservoir - like that case-mod.com CD bay-reservoir!!! must buy...

Finally a couple questions on radiator placement and water flow.
What is the correct/ optimal order when setting up a CPU/GPU/Chipset/ Reservoir/Radiator/Pump setup?? I always get differing comments on this question. I currently have my radiator/12cmfan installed inside a topblow hole. Would it provide better cooling if I put the radiator facing the intake case fans upfront so that they get cooler air from outside vs warmed-up air inside the case...

[ralf_c]

for your pump i think the hydor l30 is a good choice for you, its the eheim 1250 equivalent and its smaller but some folk say its not as good as the eheims but pretty respectable none the less.

the danger den blocks are great blocks but you also might want to look in to swiftech, the swiftech blocks have a good reputation too.

[tripodal]

Putting the radiator in front to get the cooler air is a good idea, except you still wouldnt want to exaust all your cpu's heat into your case. I could see it working really well if you ducted the air out again.

[tripodal]

Putting the radiator in front to get the cooler air is a good idea, except you still wouldnt want to exaust all your cpu's heat into your case. I could see it working really well if you ducted the air out again.

Also, part of the reason you want a big H20 pump is that when the water flows fast eneough, there will be only tiny differences of temperature making the effective order not important

[bigg]

is it 3/8" ID or OD??? if its 3/8" OD then its either 5/16" ID or 1/4" ID. a lot of quick connet systems are measured in od, but everything else is measured in ID.

[bigg]

both the air and waterflow doesn't matter orderwise, because if the case has decent airflow, and the wcing says has decent waterflow, then there should be very liitle temp diff anywhere. a swifty mcp-300 may fit between the side and the pci cards.

[tripodal]

Dar, you are probably right, but keeping that much air flow through the whole case will be a feat. Balancing airflow will be important. And quite noisey

[pakman]

Bigg - I just spent a whole afternoon looking for appropriate connects and adapter on the McMaster-Carr plumbing website!!! Yes my current system is 3/8" OD 1/4"ID and I am aware that most products are advertised in ID. So along with a newer pump, i will be upgrading the tubing to 3/8" ID 1/2"OD which will include having to get new fittings on my CPU waterblock.

Ralf - Swiftech's look nice, but hose connects will interefere with my vid card memory heatsinks. The Dangerden one might be a problem as well, as I plan on modifiying the existing monster heatsink on my Leadtek A250 so that I can keep the parts covering the memory on bothsides. So far, looks like the Gemini Cool GF4 GPU block is my best bet as it has elbow connects which should clear my heatsink (got plenty of PCi slot space!).

I've decided to skip the Northbridge water block as I find the KT400 doesnt heat up that much even under mild oc'ing. i might just put in a larger passive sink on it and save my money for a nice Black Ice Xtreme in the future...

[bigg]

well, i'd recomend a swifttech mcw-50T, which is made to run with 3/8" tubing. it clears tweakmonster ramsinks with the stock fittings. the swifty mcp-300 is a good pump that is cheap and compact, and has the same 3/8" fittings. they are 3/8" ID, 1/2" OD, and can be adapted to 1/2" ID. the DD block also brears the tweakmonster ramsinks, but in a diffrernt way. see pix on their websites for details. either way, you should consider getting tweakmonster ramsinks, as they are top perfroming, and fit with a lot of WBs.

[ralf_c]

i think the swifteac mcw 50t might be a good choice for because it just might clear you vid card's ram sinks, the danger den might clear tthe ram sinks too but you might want investigate how much hight that block can clear

[bigg]

well, bith will fit with tweakmonster ramsinks.

[pakman]

Thanks guys for the input. Just put an order in for a MCW50 and should be here in a few days. FYI, not going with the T version, dont plan on using a TEC... Not too keen on the price of tweakmonster's RAMsinks at over $25 for a full Geforce4 Ti set... I'm sure they perform well, but I'd rather spend that money on other WC goodies... My plan is to take a hacksaw to my existing leadtek heatsink so that I can reuse the portions covering the memory chips (see photo below).

Question on the pumps. Do you think the eheim 1048 (the 158gph model) is enough pump for system with CPU and VGA waterblocks. This would be in a system with 3/8" ID tubing. I may get a mobo waterblock in the future if i start doing some more oc'ing... The eheim 1250 is huge. I took out my floppy drive on the 3 1/2"bay of my Lian Li case and this area would be a great place to hide a water pump.

[bigg]

forget the eheim their the highest quality, but they're too fraking huge. the swifty mcp-300 (like the eheim 1250 but aa heck of a lot smaller), may fit between the pci and side of case. it could also go in the floppy drive bay. it also has 1/2" OD, 3/8" ID quick connect fittings, with option for elbows, barbs, and smaller qucik connects.