Is water cooling worth it? Is it effective?

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Thanks Him!

So far it looks great, but I just have one remaining query.

If it's possible, I just want to be able to throw these parts together with as little customization as possible. Obivously modding parts could save you a ton, but I'm also looking for ease of installation.

One of these things would be modding the heatercore. How much would ready-to-use heatercore cost? $50 is a big savings to mod, but I don't have the tools to do this and the nearest workshop I could use is quite awhile away.

Is a heatercore the same as a radiator?

As far as installing these parts afterwards (assuming no modding for the parts is necessary), how straightforward is it? Is it as easy as building your own PC, putting the parts where they belong, connecting wires, etc.?

Are there any specific websites I can go to to read reviews on the parts you suggested? I'd like to see benchmarkings and such.
 
It so easy to do, both modding and installation. Did you check the website that has the guide for modding it? You could do it with epoxy, and it is sooo easy. You could do it while you are sitting on the toilet.

You could buy a radiator (yes, a heatercore is the same as a radiator, so to speak) but it would cost you alot moer money.

There is a certain way in which to connect everything, in which order anyway, but if you go to the sticky under the overclocking section (that Nubius has up there) about introductoy to watercooling, it will tell you.

All in all, it is really easy. The onyl way to learn, however, is to take the challenge head on and do it. We are here to help you, so you wont f*ck up. Take the hard way out, and then just ask questions.
 
I'll read up more on this "modding" idea if you can really save a lot of money. I'm not a handy man myself and the fact that I don't have a bunch of tools around won't help, but I'll consult with my cousin who is a genius when it comes to this.

With the parts that you listed above, are they compatible with the parts that are in my PC? You certainly wouldn't want a CPU water block that wouldn't fit or no place to mount it (I think those are the right words).
 
Nope, i made sure they would all fit. The CPU waterblock is for an AMD64, and the GPU waterblock is for a 6800.
 
Huh, would you look at that. Had I known that those existed, I would have prolly got one. I have the heatercore at the very bottom, the smaller one, and I got it for $20. For another $10, I could have gotten it pre modded. That seems like a $10 that is rather justifiable. Go for it.
 
So here is the list I have so far. Actually, it's basically everything you said.

$75 - AquaXtreme 50Z-DC12 Mag Drive Inline Pump
$50 - DD TDX AMD Opteron/A64 CPU Water Block
$50 - Brass Version MAZE4GPU

These parts above that you listed seem to be of high quality. After reading around, a lot of people seem to be using nearly an identical setup, except they used the D4.

For the heatercore, its either Double Heater Core with Fittings $35 or Standard Heater Core with Fittings $30. I'm leading towards the Double Heater Core for some reason. It seems to be higher quality.

Obviously a heatercore needs a fan, but these don't come with one (unless you order one). Can I use my 120mm intake fan that came installed in my case to cool my radiator? It seems logical since this heatercore is designed to use a 120mm fan.

Do you suggest getting one of these pre-modded heatercores over a cheap radiator @ the same price? Will the pre-modded heatercore perform better?

What was that fillport tee cap kit that you posted earlier? What is it for and do I need it?

Once these things can be cleared up, the only thing left is organizing a setup.
 
In a water cooling system, you need a resevoir to do line bleeding and refilling. You can totally circumvent the uasage of a resevoir (Saving you at LEAST $20) by using a fillport. It is a simple little device that you mount to the top of your computer, and use it to fill your system. You need it, but if you would rather have a resevoir, you can use that instead. You get the same performance from both.

I imagine you would get equal performacne from both radiators, but since one is cheaper, you may get slightly less performance. But I'm certain it wouldnt be enough of a drop to justify buying a radiator at full price. Get the pre modded one, it's from a car, I'm sure it has minimum resistence.

You can mount a 120mm to the heatercore, thats what I plan on doing. Except i have these two huge steel super heavy duty 120mm fans that I bought years ago to take out the smoke from soldering when I was in school. Havent used them in years, but I know exactly where they are. Nice 12V, killer fans. moved air like nobodies buisness. I would use two fans, one on either side, one sucking one blowing :)D).
 
My cousin used the "T" thing. I will probably be going that way since it is cheaper. Would that require any modding to the case itself?

Would this Black Ice Pro II Radiator for $35 perform the same as the heatercore? It's a radiator for the same price.

I guess I can just use two 120mm fans that came with the case. They are supposed to vent the wind tunnel, but there won't be much use for it anymore, eh? But would the fans that came on my actual case work? Can they be mounted on or however it's attached? Would they be powerful enough? They run at around 1400 RPM and are powered via a molex.
 
The T valve would require the cutting of a one inch hole in the top of your case, but thats it.

Yeah, I really dont see why the black ice rad wont work as good as the other one. I imagine it would prolly work better, since it is bigger (longer). But I dont know, the one that i got (from the 86 chevette) is much wider, by a few inches. Hmmm..... So to make up for the lack in width, they made the black ice longer. Looks as though they will both operate comparably to each other.

Make sure to still have some airflow in your case. There needs to be some airflow to cool the things that require minimal cooling, but still coooling nonetheless. Like the southbridge. Putting an active cooler on that is a waste, but ti still needs to be cooled somehow. The fan or whatever that came with your mobo I'm sure is more than sufficient.

As for mounting the fans, I guess you gotta figure that one out yourself. I'm still not entirely sure how I'm going to mount mine, but I suppose I am going to ghetto rig it with some wire until I figure out a better solution. Dont forget about shrouds, you can buy them, but you can make them for like $.05, make them out of cardboard if you wantef to. All it has to do is direct the flow of air. I read a guide on making one out of a tupaware container. Here is a nice little thread over at XS:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=65369
 
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