say ive already got good waterblocks and tubing, just how low can i go on the rad, pump, and reservoir?
i know techyescity had a go at this, and his main issues were with pump and block quality. the blocks ive got are decent, but i dont have much to spend on the rest. anyone ever tried their luck with chinese radiators on ebay? what are my options when it comes to bang for buck on the pumps?
reservoir can be any plastic/glass container all you have to do is drill/cut out 2 holes in it for tubes.
pump and radiator are going to be most expensive.
http://www.xoxide.com/radiator.html
http://www.xoxide.com/wacopu.html
You should be fine with Chinese radiators, just check for leaks or something.
question is, what pump to go with? i know theres one or two pumps that everyone recommends for a solid watercooling setup, but im curious as to how bad the cheaper ones are.
biggest pain is how long the cheap one can function? How loud it is, etc.
if you care not, then you can get cheap one.
longevity and temps matter more to me than noise, but im not about to waste money on hardware that isnt worth the effort of installing it if i can avoid it.
Maybe you should look for used parts in good condition rather than cheap ones.with the parts you mentioned i wouldnt be to cheap.. A failure can cost more than you saved on buying cheaper parts.Used radiators might need more flushing than new ones . Also if something fails it will many days to replace it, leaving pc useless, unless you decide to put stock cooling back on.Refill and bleeed loop again.Not to mention performance impact. There is already enough issues with "quality" watercooling pars. I had few leaking parts, a rez and few fittings. I would be careful and woudlnt use DIY res , you can use a T or Y fitting and a piece of tube to use it to fill. But res is easier to use and makes filling/ bleeding easier and helps with pressure. with DYI res flom plastic you would have to test it a lot i mean a lot under stress etc. You cant just take plastic box and drill holes and use fittings without knowing it physical properties, it can become soft or brittle when temp gets higher.It might not be resistant to higher pressures, and most important it can react with other organic matter in the loop for example a ready mixed coolant and might stain a lot more too .Well you can you it in cool getto project with hardware worth 200 bucks.Also you dont have to buy 3 monsta rads to cool modern hardware. But if you decide to do it anyway , at least plan your loop well so its easier to drain.
fair point. whats your opinion on the cheaper pumps?
difficult to say, I use d5 pumps beecause i needed the power and I could reuse them.you would have to compare the noise hehe.Also well there is a flow and pressure.More elements in your loop more powerful pump you need..Your pump needs to do a lot of work and not overheat.If you could post the plan of your loop it might be easier to determine your needs.System spec also to determine if its hot or not :D Your goals with the build would be also a factor. Do you prefer aesthetics over performance, are you willing to sacrifice the performance for lower noise and vice versa.Do you want maximum oc and dont care about anything. .
Also you might be ok with 1 360 quality rad if you dont oc.I was running 4960x at stock and stock 980 plus chipset and vrms (mono block) on a single 360 rad with ultra low noise fans.It was on a testbed type of case so only 3 fans were used to cool it all, and the only noise I have heard was pump . but it was only nociable in one spot of the room due to a strange soundwave bouncing around the room.
i hear the general rule is 1 120mm fan/item in the loop
Hi , i get this message when trying to check the link ."Oops! That page doesn’t exist or is private."
really? i can view it just fine
Ok , I cleared browser caches and cookies and can see it now.Ok so important question is , are you going oc or not. You should be fine with a single radiator.even ddc pump shouldnt have any problems with that loop but some say that ddc dont live that long and get hot. D5 is overkill ( much better in every way plus is furureproof )but remember that it maybe a long term investment, if you buy quality stuff and maintain the loop , use distilled water (cheaper than premixed stuff plus doesnt stain,so you wont have to clean the loop as often) it .I understand that you would like to save the money but the parts you need can stay with you for many builds in the future (unlike the waterblocks) so you can save more in the long run.Wait a month , save up a lil bit and get proper pump. or try to find cheaper a pump /res combo . Dont get bay res pump combo , vibrations will drive you mad.Also another question, do you already have fittings ? know which ones you are going to use ? You could save some money on fittings for example.
fair point
ill be overclocking a 6 core sandy bridge xeon
i reckon clamp fittings are the way to go for me
If you dont mind aesthetics of barb fittings then they do the job. They should be cheaper,just remember to make a drain port, t or y fitting and a valve is easiest way.seriously it makes things so much easier and less messy.
check ebay for rads, as long as they are not leaking they are ok, you can repaint later if you dont like it. Some white vinegar (acetic acid if you decide to buy it from chemical shop,just dont use any apple vinegar nor that UK brown vinegar hehe ) will clean the green copper compounds and coolant leftovers. same gos for res..It may take a week of flushing but will remove everything from radiators , reservoir may be more difficult to clean if stained with some nasty red coolant.
Don't cheap out, is what I was told. I just custom cooled my PC about one month ago. At first I wanted to drop only 200 on a very cheap loop. But yeah... that didn't work out. My EK GPU block and XSPC CPU block took up three-fourths of the original budget. After that, my res, pump, tubes, compression fittings, 360MM rad, 240MM rad, lights and kill coil pushed me past the 400 mark, and nearly into the fives.
