Opinion on cooling a hot system

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guitto

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I plan on running 2 8800 ultras ( bfg pre waterblock installed ) and a athlon 6400+. I am thinking the pnly effecient way of cooling the system would be water cooling. I am afraid that a single radiator (single 120 mm radiators) would not suffice so i was thinking of adding a dual 120 mm radiator. So the setup would go
pump 1 > cpu > single 120 mm radiator > pump 2 > 8800 ultra 1 > 8800 ultra 2 > dual 120 mm radiator > reservoir / flow meter > (back to) pump 1

Would this work theoretically and practically? Do i need the 2 pumps or would one 415 gph pump be enough than 2 ~375 gph pumps. Thanks!
 
One 415 gph pump would be sufficent also for best performance with water cooling you must remember dont use more tubing than needed. what company are you going to buy your rad from??
 
The Single Radiator

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5...treme_120_Radiator_-_Black.html?tl=g30c95s159

Dual

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5...treme_240_Radiator_-_Black.html?tl=g30c95s160

450 GPH Pump

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2..._Water_Pump_450_GPH.html?tl=g30c107s154#blank

If you have any suggestions for this, I greatly appreciate them. I just wasnt sure if I would lose safety from slow pumping with that much equipment.

Also, would http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2..._Drive_Bay_Radiator_w_120mm_Fan_CL-W0021.html work for the single 120 mm radiator?
 
You could consider cooling your Cpu on one circuit, and you gpu's on another. That would require another pump. That is not ideal, because you would not see an extreme amount of temp loss, but it would be cooler. Just a thought.

That Drive bay radiator would not work, it takes 3/8 tubing, and the pump is 1/2. Make sure you coordinate everything to 1/2.
 
Yeah, I have 3/8" to 1/2" and 3/8" to 1/4" converters, brother made his own "xtreme water rig" a few months back and decided it was better to buy in bulk. When you said "That is not ideal" what are you talking about? Your config or mine. And the driver bay radiator, is it decent cooling or junk, ignoring compatability issues.
 
I'm saying what i suggested isn't ideal, because of the extra cost, and also space taken up. You would be paying about $100 more for maybe 1 or 2 degrees. The radiator is decent, if you really need the space, go for it. If you can manage to fit the other two radiators somewhere, that would be the better option.
 
Would a triple 120 mm GTX radiator cool the 2 gpus (8800 ultras') and the cpu (6400) ?
 
IMO, you wouldn't need watercooling at all. Switch the CPU to the 5000+ Black Edition instead, since it's a 65nm chip so it produces lesser heat, consumes lesser power, and overclocks easily because of the unlocked multiplier. Get a good cooler like the Freezer 64 Pro or the Thermalright Ultra-120 and get a case with at least 3-4 120mm fans and you'd be set. Watercooling would only be needed if you're looking to OC your components a lot.
 
Alright, also, is there a notable difference in the 30 mhz difference in clock speed between the GTX and the Ultra? Would it be more wise, if I were to go with air cooling, to get the GTX as far as heat wise? Also, I've always been very cautious of overclocking an air cooled cpu, but the 65 nm might allow it to be capable.
 
http://www.jab-tech.com/ThermoChill-PA120.2-pr-3263.html
Thermochill PA120.2 dual fan radiator instead

You really want the graphics cards to be on their own cooling circut so they don't end up heating your cpu. I'm assuming that you intend to overclock and will want the temps to be as low as possible. The PA120.2 is the most efficent radiator you can buy. You can use lower volume (lower noise) fans and still get great cooling.

http://www.jab-tech.com/ThermoChill-PA120.1-pr-3632.html
I'd also consider the Thermochill PA120.1 for the CPU.

I am pretty much of the same mind as youself. I intend to purchase a 8800GTX and cool it with water. I'm going to buy an aftermarket waterblock for it instead of buying the item with the block factory attached because It'll save me a few bucks.

How do you intend to turn your pumps on and off? How do you intend to make sure they are on when you computer is on?

http://www.petrastechshop.com/laddcwpeddto.html
These are pumps that fit inside your case and run off of your PSU. They actually pump about half the GPM of the Hydor but they have much more head pressure behind the flow (227" head compared to 80" head for the Hydor) Head pressure pushes coolant through a restrictive circut. I think you'll have fewer problems an better coolant flow with these pumps than you would with the Hydor.
 
If you are going to put the GPU's and the CPU on two different circuits, what type of case and power supply will you use? Also, do you suggest putting more than one of the pumps you listed per circuit at different checkpoints or in series? With your GTX, what waterblock will you use, and which GTX are you going to buy, I read that EVGA's 8800 GTX's screw alignment and footing are slighty different than the stock, so doable modification is required. Is there a big difference in the Ultra's heat output and the GTX's heat output? And would it be wise to buy a factory overclocked GPU, such as one running at 621 Mhz rather than the stock 575?

Reply to Rage: I looked into the OC'ing possibilities of the 5000+ Black edition and they are tremendous! Why stop at 3.0 Ghz. I was reading that one OC review was getting stable 3.3 Ghz on air cooling. Do you think I could push it up to maybe 3.4 Ghz-3.6 to match the overclocked Gpu's, all this under water cooling seperate circuits.
 
I have the original Cooler Master Stacker. To say the least it's huge, and has plenty of room for a dual 120mm rad and two single 120mm rads if I needed that much cooling equipment.

You would need two pumps for two cooling curcuts. A single pump would only allow you to create a single loop (circut). You will not need more than one pump per loop.

I'd use this waterblock for the video card.
http://www.dangerden.com/store/product.php?productid=257&cat=0&page=1

I'll probably purchase this video card.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150205

Overclocking with water doesn't make me nervous, and usually returns tremendous overclocks.

I have this waterblock for my FX-60.
http://www.petrastechshop.com/dfuuncpubl1.html

I also have the Thermochill PA120.2 to cool the block. I did get much more radiator than I actually need, but my plans have evolved over time, so the extra dough spent isn't a problem. I'll end up getting the PA120.1 for the CPU.

I have the water pump and top I linked earlier, and I'll get another one for the second loop.

The Ultra puts out more heat than the GTX. It uses about 110 watts at full power while the GTX uses about 90 watts. The last figures are a guess based upon this, and probably uses between 150-200 watts.
http://techreport.com/articles.x/12379/8

If you water cool the video card you should have no real trouble overclocking it. If you want the best performance without overclocking then get the higher clocked card.
 
Ok I pretty much changed my mind about the GTXs. Every time I mention GTX in the above posts change it to GT. I managed to find a 8800GT over the Thanksgiving day weekend, so I'll run with that for a while until I can afford or need a second one.
 
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