water cooling questions

[lancec2c30]

I have been doing a lot more reading on watercooling at xs, and now I have a few questions.

1. you can use a/c pumps in a w/c loop, but can a pump used for a pond or similar application be used? DO they generally come with 1/2 in i/d fittings? Do they have decent head around 12-14ft?

2. A heater core is used a lot in more extreme w/c systems. But if you have better than average shop skills is it really that hard to mount some new fittings on it and make fan shrouds? I see it as being very cost effective at around 20 bucks.

3. Now correct me if I am wrong but doesn't the water actually come in contact with the cpu or gpu in the block? When I look at pictures of them there is a rubber seal that I would assume seals to the cpu and then the water flows through? Or is there a barrier between the block and cpu that transfers the heat like any other air cooling block?

Thanks,
Lance

 

[aspire]

youve basically got a miniture heatsink that sits on top of the cpu and has water passing through its fins.

Water never comes into contact with the cpu ihs

pond or aquarium pumps can be used, however They were not designed for water cooling and thus are not the best solution.

heatercores are also similar, they are made for high pressure air to be pushed through to perform best, a la a car at 60mph...

anywho thats all ive got for now

-aspire

 

[lancec2c30]

Ok, because they do suggest fans in excess of 110cfm to be used with heater cores. And it is considered a high noise radiator.

 

[aspire]

It has to deal with the closer spacing of the fins in the core. Whereas most designed for water cooling at more spaced out, offering better performance at lower cfm;s and also less noise as a result of turbulent air.

 

[waytoosmall]

Iwaki pumps are really for fish tanks, and they are considered the best by most at XS. And to answer your question, I had to get a reducer and a 1/2" hose barb at Lowes to take the fittings on my pump down to the 1/2". When aspire sais they are not the best solution, it really is too general a statement. He is right in the sense that many fish pumps dump too much heat into the water because they were not designed with watercooling in mind. But, the good folks over at XS have researched and tested these things and several fish pumps dump very little heat and work fantastic for watercooling. Enter the Iwaki! How powerful a pump you need will depend on what kind of loop you have, how restrictive your blocks are, and how much performance you want. For some people the D5 is plenty. In fact for most situations it is plenty. It really just depends on preference, budget, and the things I mentioned before. I went Iwaki because they are considered the best by everyone over at XS and they know far more than I do. They are expensive but highly reliable and can accomodate any loop I may choose to put together. Also, if you want high head the A/C options are more abundant.

 

[aspire]

also cost like 3x as much and are more than twice as big...

anyways.... if you could do some testing with your pump with the 1/2 inch converters attached it would be interesting to see how much water it pushes...

and btw, im still getting a better oc with my e6600

3.72 ghz

 

[waytoosmall]

My actual OC is 3.72 as well. I just didn't include the hundreths place. And are you running through 2 GPU blocks cooling 2 hot 8800 gpu's? That is quite a bit of added heat.... You are correct on the cost though. They are quite a bit more. Especially for the Japanese motor version.

BTW aspire, what voltage did you have to set to get yours to 3.7? And have you had any success getting higher? And what week is your E6600?

 

[lancec2c30]

ya, another variable that has to be added into the equation of the pump is noise. I would assume that most fish tank pumps are a little loud. My computer is in my room and is usually left on at night. so I need something that is a little on the quite side.

Another question I have is; If I decide to get a high noise radiator and some 7v high cfm fans can I use a fan speed controller to turn them down at night? or does the system require high air flow at all times?

 

[aspire]

just grab a swiftech quiet power mcr-220 and a couple yate loon med speed fans and youll be set. Little to no noise.

-aspire

and waytosmall, out of curiosity, do you run 3.72 24/7?
Day to day, best ive been able to get is 3.6 with some success.

I think i took my cpu up to about 1.375V running 416fsb with 1:1 ratio
Im going to try tinkering around with chipset voltages.

Didnt get around to seeing what week my chip is, maybe ill sneak a peak tonight and let you all know.

 

[lancec2c30]

http://www.petrastechshop.com/swapexpeunwa.html

now is that a good waterblock? I have heard good things about it on xs.