# My new water cooling setup (w/Photos!)



## Geoff

Before you all get excited, I actually don't have the kit built yet, I am just starting the thread now to tell you what I bought and what to expect from the build here, as this is going to be an ongoing project, and when I finish I will also post a DIY-style guide.

All the components are schedules to arrive this afternoon via FedEx, unfortunately I am working until 11PM tonight, so it won't get built until tomorrow morning, so in the mean time here is a list of components that I will be using:






I will continue to edit this page as I get further along in the project, I expect that either by late tonight or tomorrow morning, I will have the water cooling setup built, although not installed (for leak testing).


EDIT:  I needed a few extra barbs and connectors, so those parts should be here sometime next week.  When they arrive I will post a detailed description along with photos on the install process.

*EDIT 2: I got the rest of my parts in the mail today (really surprised since I ordered it on Friday afternoon).

I have everything configured and installed, and is in the process of leak testing it.  It's been running strong for an hour so far and it doesn't appear to have any leaks yet.  I'm also surprised at how quiet the pump is, and I can't wait to get it installed.  Everything should be installed in my PC within the next few days.*

*EDIT3:  Everything is done!  Click here for all the photos!  http://www.computerforum.com/880039-post54.html*


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## Geoff

Yay, my parts came!!


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## JLV2k5

Looks cool. I need to do some research on water cooling because I know its sick. Will you use any case fans with the system that is water cooled??


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## taylormsj

Love the tubing, where is your coolant and anti corrosion ?


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## WhiteFireDragon

everything was bought at one place? where was that? i'm also building a water cooling system but i'm going all out from the very beginning instead of upgrading the parts after a year or two. costs about $420 and i'm buying everything at once also. but for now, i'm saving up money until i hit that 420 mark


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## Kornowski

Looks good Geoff! Put it in, Put it in!


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## MatrixEVO

Geoff, I wanna put the kit in with you. Your doing it tomorrow morning? I've always had the water-cooling idea in the back of my head, but it always seems dangerous and tedious to install and maintain.


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## Geoff

JLV2k5 said:


> Looks cool. I need to do some research on water cooling because I know its sick. Will you use any case fans with the system that is water cooled??


Yes, I am using the stock fans that came with my Antec 900, although I will set them to low/medium speed instead of high like it is now.



taylormsj said:


> Love the tubing, where is your coolant and anti corrosion ?


Thanks, so do I.  I am using distilled water (after performing a few flushes to make sure all the minerals are out).  My plan is to see how distilled water alone performs, I do not want to add anti-corrosion additives as it will make the liquid conductive.



WhiteFireDragon said:


> everything was bought at one place? where was that? i'm also building a water cooling system but i'm going all out from the very beginning instead of upgrading the parts after a year or two. costs about $420 and i'm buying everything at once also. but for now, i'm saving up money until i hit that 420 mark


Yes I did, I bought everything from www.jab-tech.com, they are a great site with great prices, and they ship quick too!



Kornowski said:


> Looks good Geoff! Put it in, Put it in!





MatrixEVO said:


> Geoff, I wanna put the kit in with you. Your doing it tomorrow morning? I've always had the water-cooling idea in the back of my head, but it always seems dangerous and tedious to install and maintain.


I ended up with a kink in my plan, after I started getting everything setup I realized that the waterpump didn't come with the 1/2" to 3/8" conversion kit which I thought it did, so I had to buy two adapters and some 1/2" ID tubing.  I also need another pair of 3/8" barbs for the reservoir, so the setup isn't ready for even testing yet.

I ordered the parts from jab-tech this afternoon via USPS Priority, so hopefully it will be here around next Wednesday.


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## MatrixEVO

[-0MEGA-];874174 said:
			
		

> I ended up with a kink in my plan, after I started getting everything setup I realized that the waterpump didn't come with the 1/2" to 3/8" conversion kit which I thought it did, so I had to buy two adapters and some 1/2" ID tubing.  I also need another pair of 3/8" barbs for the reservoir, so the setup isn't ready for even testing yet.
> 
> I ordered the parts from jab-tech this afternoon via USPS Priority, so hopefully it will be here around next Wednesday.



Oh, that's a bummer. I look forward to seeing it working.


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## Geoff

MatrixEVO said:


> Oh, that's a bummer. I look forward to seeing it working.


I know, so I'm thinking of getting the radiator and the tubing cut to size now, so I'll be ready when the new parts come.

Definitely by next Saturday though before all the others come over.


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## dznutz

thanks for making the list for those of us who are new to water cooling.
looking forward for the finished product.


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## WhiteFireDragon

[-0MEGA-];874174 said:
			
		

> I ended up with a kink in my plan, after I started getting everything setup I realized that the waterpump didn't come with the 1/2" to 3/8" conversion kit which I thought it did, so I had to buy two adapters and some 1/2" ID tubing.  I also need another pair of 3/8" barbs for the reservoir, so the setup isn't ready for even testing yet.



wait so you're going to have two different sized tubings in your loop? wouldn't that have some flow restrictions at the 3/8" tubings?


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## taylormsj

[-0MEGA-];874174 said:
			
		

> Thanks, so do I.  I am using distilled water (after performing a few flushes to make sure all the minerals are out).  My plan is to see how distilled water alone performs, I do not want to add anti-corrosion additives as it will make the liquid conductive.



Thats the same as me, but your water block may corrode after a while, because the top is aluminium. 



> wait so you're going to have two different sized tubings in your loop? wouldn't that have some flow restrictions at the 3/8" tubings?



Its not going to make any noticeable difference in flow rate or temperatures IMO


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## Geoff

WhiteFireDragon said:


> wait so you're going to have two different sized tubings in your loop? wouldn't that have some flow restrictions at the 3/8" tubings?


The water pump itself has 1/2" inlets and outlets, so it needs a conversion kit for 3/8".



taylormsj said:


> Thats the same as me, but your water block may corrode after a while, because the top is aluminium.


Hopefully not for a while, I'm hoping that it at least lasts until Intel releases a new socket type.  Although IMO, I'd rather have to replace the CPU block then to have the system leak with conductive coolant, and then damage more components.


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## The_Beast

Nice build but I would have got the D-tek Fusion instead of the GTX


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## Geoff

The_Beast said:


> Nice build but I would have got the D-tek Fusion instead of the GTX


They are both good blocks, I just went with the GTX because I heard it got such good reviews compared to the majority of other blocks, performance wise.


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## MixedLogik

Wow, I was always to scared to do a water-cooled system because I thought it would ruin my parts. Props to you Omega.


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## ducis

why did you go with 3/8" tubing? 
1/2" provides better performance with your pump.


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## Geoff

ComputerGuru64x2 said:


> Wow, I was always to scared to do a water-cooled system because I thought it would ruin my parts. Props to you Omega.


Thanks, I know not many people talk about water cooling, and this is a little project i've been planning for a while.  I can't wait for the new parts to come in so I can get the thing installed.



firsttimebuilder said:


> why did you go with 3/8" tubing?
> 1/2" provides better performance with your pump.


Well honestly the difference is very minor, in fact you can stretch 3/8" tubing around 1/2" barbs, although theres really no point.  I went with 3/8" ID (5/8"OD), because I heard that having the 5/8" OD is a bit better when it comes to kinks at the end of a barb or when you bend the tubing.  But to be quite honest the main reason was because the store at the time didn't have any 1/2" barbs in stock, so I would have had to wait a while or order from another source, so I just went with the 3/8".

I'll probably switch to 1/2" tubing and barbs when I need to replace my CPU waterblock, or if I decide to watercool my video card.


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## JLV2k5

be sure to upload pics once you are finished construction


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## taylormsj

firsttimebuilder said:


> why did you go with 3/8" tubing?
> 1/2" provides better performance with your pump.



Its not going to be a noticeable difference, and if i get round to building another water loop later on in life, i would probably go with 3/8" tubing, because it will be easier to work with in a smaller case, with no significant loss.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=147767



> 6.35mm quick fit = 34.21C
> 8mm barbed = 34.08C
> 8mm quick fit = 33.91C
> 9.6mm barbed = 33.89C
> 9.6mm quick fit = 33.80C
> 11.1mm barbed = 33.79C
> 12.7mm barbed = 33.77C



Temperature wise, its not going to make a noticable difference

And flow wise, its also wont make a noticeable difference ( unless you use the extremely small tubing)



> 6.35mm quick fit = 4.45LPM flow, 0.0795 block c/w, 0.0374 rad c/w
> 8mm barbed = 4.75LPM, 0.0783 block c/w, 0.0373 rad c/w
> 8mm quick fit = 5.6LPM, 0.0770 block c/w, 0.0369 rad c/w
> 9.6mm barbed = 5.7LPM, 0.0768 block c/w, 0.0369 rad c/w
> 9.6mm quick fit = 6.2LPM, 0.0762 block c/w, 0.0367 rad c/w
> 11.1mm barbed = 6.3LPM, 0.0761 block c/w, 0.0367 rad c/w
> 12.7mm barbed = 6.35LPM, 0.0760 block c/w, 0.0366 rad c/w


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## Geoff

JLV2k5 said:


> be sure to upload pics once you are finished construction


Will do, as I said I'm going to have to wait until the rest of the parts arrive, but I will post some detailed pictures of the install as well to help some of you guys out.


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## The_Beast

[-0MEGA-];874608 said:
			
		

> They are both good blocks, I just went with the GTX because I heard it got such good reviews compared to the majority of other blocks, performance wise.


 
Yeah they are both good blocks but the Fusion is a little bit better performance wise


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## taylormsj

The_Beast said:


> Yeah they are both good blocks but the Fusion is a little bit better performance wise



yeh, plus even more performance with the nozzles if you wanted (and the pump can handle them)


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## Geoff

I got the rest of my parts in the mail today (really surprised since I ordered it on Friday afternoon).

I have everything configured and installed, and is in the process of leak testing it.  It's been running strong for an hour so far and it doesn't appear to have any leaks yet.  I'm also surprised at how quiet the pump is, and I can't wait to get it installed.  Everything should be installed in my PC within the next few days.


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## taylormsj

Pictures :d


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## Geoff

taylormsj said:


> Pictures :d


Here you go 































Yes it's a mess, but I'm only testing it.


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## MatrixEVO

Are those bubbles in the water reservoir?


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## taylormsj

Yeh, they will go once the loop has had time to bleed.


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## Geoff

MatrixEVO said:


> Are those bubbles in the water reservoir?


Yes those are small bubbles.  When I first started the pump up there was lots of air in the system, and it just kinda stuck to the sides of the reservoir.  I will need to drain everything out anyways before I install it in my case, so i'm not really worried about it.

And it's been running for about 3 hours without any leaks.


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## mep916

Looks awesome, Omega. Can't wait to build my first WC setup.


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## MatrixEVO

[-0MEGA-];877660 said:
			
		

> Yes those are small bubbles.  When I first started the pump up there was lots of air in the system, and it just kinda stuck to the sides of the reservoir.  I will need to drain everything out anyways before I install it in my case, so i'm not really worried about it.
> 
> And it's been running for about 3 hours without any leaks.



You can't have any air running through the block, it bad news. Has some of the air bled out over time?


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## Geoff

mep916 said:


> Looks awesome, Omega. Can't wait to build my first WC setup.


Thanks!



MatrixEVO said:


> You can't have any air running through the block, it bad news. Has some of the air bled out over time?


Obviously, but it's actually the pump which can be damaged if there are are bubbles in the system.  The air was only in the block and radiator for a few seconds until the waterpump pumped water into the system and back into the radiator.  I also primed the pump first as well since it shouldn't be run without water.

Off topic, I got my siren today


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## xxxalpinexxx80

get back to me on how hard you can push the q6600 and your temps, i have a swiftech to but smaller radiator and 3/8 tubing as well, and if u have go or b3


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## JLV2k5

Pics look great. Gunna show some after everything is put together?


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## mep916

xxxalpinexxx80 said:


> get back to me on how hard you can push the q6600 and your temps, i have a swiftech to but smaller radiator and 3/8 tubing as well, and if u have go or b3



He has the G0. I'm guessing 3.8 GHz. Stable.


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## Geoff

xxxalpinexxx80 said:


> get back to me on how hard you can push the q6600 and your temps, i have a swiftech to but smaller radiator and 3/8 tubing as well, and if u have go or b3


I will, I'm waiting until I get this WC installed before I push my CPU anymore, although I did get up to 3.6GHz stable.  And I do have the G0 stepping.



JLV2k5 said:


> Pics look great. Gunna show some after everything is put together?


Yup, my plan is still to take photos of the entire install.  Although after looking inside my case I may have to mount the pump outside the case.



mep916 said:


> He has the G0. I'm guessing 3.8 GHz. Stable.


I should, I could hit 3.7GHz on air although it wasn't stable because the temps were so high.


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## ThatGuy16

Looking good, can't wait to see the results.


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## WhiteFireDragon

i always thought that the PSU has to be connected to the mobo for it to turn on, until i saw your little paper clip trick. can you take another pic showing or just tell me which pin you connected the two ends of the paper clip to connect the circuit?


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## taylormsj

connect one end to a green wire, and the other end to any of the black ones


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## Geoff

WhiteFireDragon said:


> i always thought that the PSU has to be connected to the mobo for it to turn on, until i saw your little paper clip trick. can you take another pic showing or just tell me which pin you connected the two ends of the paper clip to connect the circuit?








I will probably have this installed on Thursday, so I will post some more pics then.


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## Geoff

I finally got the water cooling system installed!  It's not as neat as I was hoping, but it's the performance I get definitely off sets that.

I'm already late for work so I don't have time to upload all the photos and the steps I took, but heres a teaser photo and a screenshot of the temps*.











*The speedfan readings aren't correct, as it's about 65F in my room (SpeedFan shows 45F for the cores).  Although SpeedFan reported ~20C for the cores, and around 28-35C for the CPU temps, so it's a huge drop in temperature already!  Now when I get home i'll do some overclocking and hope that the temps stay much lower then on air (I was hitting 73C at 3.6GHz )


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## taylormsj

Looks interesting, any water in a 900 is an achievement 

I think your temps will be a lot nicer to you on load now, the jump from idle to load is much lower on water than air 

More pics


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## WhiteFireDragon

only the CPU in the loop? are you going to add the GPU or NB later?


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## ghost

Nice one 0MEGA, welcome to the liquid club XD

Congrats looks mint!


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## Kornowski

That looks good! Cramped though! 

Where's the rad?


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## WhiteFireDragon

Kornowski said:


> Where's the rad?



outside, on top of the case of course. where else would that outer wire lead to? i'm also assuming you're res is out there on top?


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## taylormsj

WhiteFireDragon said:


> only the CPU in the loop? are you going to add the GPU or NB later?



IMO, P35 don't need water cooling, just dumps more heat into the loop and restricts more flow.

Think the rad is on top by the 200 fan danny.


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## Kornowski

WhiteFireDragon said:


> outside, on top of the case of course. where else would that outer wire lead to?



... But there's a huage 200mm on top


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## WhiteFireDragon

i guess just wait until he gets back from work to take a pic of the WHOLE setup...


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## Kornowski

taylormsj said:


> Think the rad is on top by the 200 fan danny.



Hmmm, I supose...


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## Geoff

taylormsj said:


> Looks interesting, any water in a 900 is an achievement
> 
> I think your temps will be a lot nicer to you on load now, the jump from idle to load is much lower on water than air
> 
> More pics


The 900 is very cramped when it comes to trying to install a water cooling system, finding a place for the pump was the hardest.  And I agree, I'm sure load temps will be even better since water can transfer heat much quicker/more efficiently then air.



WhiteFireDragon said:


> only the CPU in the loop? are you going to add the GPU or NB later?


Yes, I thought about cooling the video card but in all honesty, the card runs cool enough.  It never gets close to overheating, and unless I was volt modding it theres really no need to liquid cool it.  Besides, if I did then the water going to the CPU would be warmer and less effective.  As for the NB, it runs at about 25C, and the current heatsink and heatpipes are more then enough to deal with that.



ghost said:


> Nice one 0MEGA, welcome to the liquid club XD
> 
> Congrats looks mint!


Thanks!



Kornowski said:


> That looks good! Cramped though!
> 
> Where's the rad?





WhiteFireDragon said:


> outside, on top of the case of course. where else would that outer wire lead to? i'm also assuming you're res is out there on top?


Yes the radiator is on top, and the reservoir is on the side.  Pics will follow in my next post (uploading now).


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## Ramodkk

Congratz OMEGA, it looks awesome! 

When are you going to start OC'ing the Q6600??


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## Geoff

And as I said before, SpeedFan doesn't have the right temps, although it used to show about 20C for the cores so it's great right now!  BTW, the temp in my room is only 54F since I had my windows open while I was at work, haha.

I'm going to start overclocking now.


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## Geoff

Stable at 3.6GHz so far


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## MatrixEVO

[-0MEGA-];880052 said:
			
		

> Stable at 3.6GHz so far



Cmon, hit 4GHz! If the temps are good and the voltage isn't insanely high at 4GHz, then I say go for it. Are you going to test for stability with something other than 1M super PI?


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## Geoff

MatrixEVO said:


> Cmon, hit 4GHz! If the temps are good and the voltage isn't insanely high at 4GHz, then I say go for it. Are you going to test for stability with something other than 1M super PI?


I'm at 3.8GHz right now.  I'm mainly just testing using SuperPi to see if I can hit speeds and get a simple benchmark to run.  I'm going to run a real stress test once I find a nice stable speed.


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## Geoff

I tried running it at 4.05GHz (450MHz FSB), but it won't boot completely into Windows, it crashes right before the logon screen.  I tried bumping the voltage up to almost 1.6v, but I don't want to go higher (at least for now).

I'm at 3.85GHz now which seems to be stable so far.


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## xxxalpinexxx80

that looks like 1/2 tubing is it? or is it 3/5 or somthin near that,  with all my fans on high i just  poped it to 3.6ghz in 1 minuite i think i could get to 3.8 or even 4.0 but this weekend when i get the time i will try, i have b3 stepping i doubt it is a huge amount of temp differnce, and i wish i had the same case as you, boy  my motherboard just makes fits perfectly. and the case isnt that big, how much do those antecs cost, i want to get 1 : )


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## Cameron

What temperatures are you getting in your NB with the FSB OCed that much?

Also, what are threshold temperatures for the NB? WHen is at danger of being damaged?


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## Geoff

xxxalpinexxx80 said:


> that looks like 1/2 tubing is it? or is it 3/5 or somthin near that,  with all my fans on high i just  poped it to 3.6ghz in 1 minuite i think i could get to 3.8 or even 4.0 but this weekend when i get the time i will try, i have b3 stepping i doubt it is a huge amount of temp differnce, and i wish i had the same case as you, boy  my motherboard just makes fits perfectly. and the case isnt that big, how much do those antecs cost, i want to get 1 : )


It's 3/8" ID tubing with a 5/8" OD.  3.85Ghz is perfectly stable so far, but I just can't reach 4.0GHz, unless I raise the voltage to 1.65V or more, which isn't worth it.



Cameron said:


> What temperatures are you getting in your NB with the FSB OCed that much?
> 
> Also, what are threshold temperatures for the NB? WHen is at danger of being damaged?


The NB idles at around 20-25C.  I actually had my E6300 running at a 500MHz FSB (6x multiplier), and it was still stable.  From my findings the P35 can handle high bus speeds easily.


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## xxxalpinexxx80

my mcp gets as hot as my processor : (


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## xxxalpinexxx80

im ocing my processor trying to get to the complete highest clock staying max 1.6, but i dont know what to put the voltage for motherboard and ram, can this be put on auto and work? what did u set them under for your processor?


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## Vipernitrox

looks great . Not to much into watercooling myself. Air cooled temps are great. And my case is still deadsilent . Running at 3.4ghz now and testing for stability. Temp is maxing out at 41c.


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## Archangel

cant wait till I'm finnished with my study, then I finally have the time to build my own case with watercooling too!    looking good, jsut wondering tough, but does watercooling require a lot of maintenance? (aka, how often does the water need changing etc?  )


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## Geoff

Archangel said:


> cant wait till I'm finnished with my study, then I finally have the time to build my own case with watercooling too!    looking good, jsut wondering tough, but does watercooling require a lot of maintenance? (aka, how often does the water need changing etc?  )


I'll soon find out, although it's really not that hard to do.  I just remove the tube which goes from the radiator to the reservoir, and put that in a gallon jug, then feed the other line into a gallon jug of new distilled water.  That way it pretty much flushes the entire system out.  Although very little water actually evaporates, so you shouldn't have to fill it up often at all.


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## xxxalpinexxx80

my water cooling was$150 so i have slower pump and 1x 120mm rad


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