Cooling questions...

[Jaret]

New to water cooling, but im sick and tired of my machine sitting next to me sounding like its going to take off, so I want to get into the whole watercooling setup to drop the sound levels a bit.

My setup is as follows...

- evga 680i sli
- Intel q6600 GO oc'd 3015mhz
- 4gb mushkin pc2-6400
- 2x sli'd bfg 8800gts 640mb
- creative sound blaster xtreme gamer fatality ed
- corsair 620hx ps
- segate 500gb hd x2
- antec p180b
- thermalright ultra 120 cpu heatsink with a s-flex fan
- four 120mm case fans ( 2 antec tricool, 2 zalman's)

I would like to put the cpu, northbridge and the two vid cards on water in order to get rid of the noisy northbridge fan, and as many of the 120mm fans as I can.

Questions lol

1. can I get away with one rad, and if so what would people recomend?
2. anyone have any idea if the southbridge fan that I will have to use when removing the stock heat pipe assembly is noisy or not? And if there is a water cooling block made for the south bridge?
3. maybe people could recomend some components

My main goal is to get the pc as quiet as possible while still maintaining reasonable temps with my current oc.

Any guidence would be much appreciated.
Thanks

[enaberif]

If you replaced the fans you'd be surprised at how quiet the case could be

[Cptn Vortex]

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...html#post29333

You are going to want 2 RADs, or one huge one. My southbridge fan is a Startech Blue ORB fan. Very quiet, keeps it cool. I mounted it with Arctic Silver Thermal Adhesive.

StarTech.com Round Orb - Chipset cooler - copper FANCSORB at FrontierPC.com Canada

[Jaret]

I was thinking that route too, but my loudest fan right now is my northbridge fan that came with the board. And if i turn my antec fans (both exhaust) down to the low setting, my temps rise upwards of 55 idle, and 75 load, along with raising my gpu temps, so I figured that if I changed the fans to lower db and cfm that my temps would be to high? Or am I out to lunch? lol

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by Jaret

I was thinking that route too, but my loudest fan right now is my northbridge fan that came with the board. And if i turn my antec fans (both exhaust) down to the low setting, my temps rise upwards of 55 idle, and 75 load, along with raising my gpu temps, so I figured that if I changed the fans to lower db and cfm that my temps would be to high? Or am I out to lunch? lol

Antec fans are garbage, your gonna wanna go with Scythe fans for maximum efficiency and cooling.

You also haven't said what case you use?

[Squeetard]

I bought the Swiftech apex ultra+ kit. Very happy with it. Cpu, gpu and northbridge and everything in one kit. 2*120 rad keeps my q6600@3780/1.45v and 8800 gts@700/1000 cool and quiet. both core temps never top 50c even after 6+ hours of gaming. Very quiet, even though my rad is external I use a fan controller and run them at about 1100 rpm. barely audible.

However, I'd have prefered a full coverage gpu block to the gpu block + ramsinks of the kit. You're best bet would be to piece together a kit with a 3*120mm rad and 2 full coverage gpu blocks, cpu block, northbridge, reservoir, pump, tubing (make your kit 1/2" everything) and coolant.

[Jaret]

Originally Posted by enaberif

Antec fans are garbage, your gonna wanna go with Scythe fans for maximum efficiency and cooling.

You also haven't said what case you use?

Originally Posted by Jaret

- evga 680i sli
- Intel q6600 GO oc'd 3015mhz
- 4gb mushkin pc2-6400
- 2x sli'd bfg 8800gts 640mb
- creative sound blaster xtreme gamer fatality ed
- corsair 620hx ps
- segate 500gb hd x2
- antec p180b
- thermalright ultra 120 cpu heatsink with a s-flex fan
- four 120mm case fans ( 2 antec tricool, 2 zalman's)

And will the scythe fans move enough air? Which scythe fans should I use?

Originally Posted by Squeetard

I bought the Swiftech apex ultra+ kit. Very happy with it. Cpu, gpu and northbridge and everything in one kit. 2*120 rad keeps my q6600@3780/1.45v and 8800 gts@700/1000 cool and quiet. both core temps never top 50c even after 6+ hours of gaming. Very quiet, even though my rad is external I use a fan controller and run them at about 1100 rpm. barely audible.

However, I'd have prefered a full coverage gpu block to the gpu block + ramsinks of the kit. You're best bet would be to piece together a kit with a 3*120mm rad and 2 full coverage gpu blocks, cpu block, northbridge, reservoir, pump, tubing (make your kit 1/2" everything) and coolant.

Will the one rad be enough to keep everything decently cool?

[enaberif]

OOps sorry! Hehehe.

How do you have your case setup? And yes the Scythe fans will move MUCH more air and be MUCH more quieter :) The SFF120E or F are great fans, but let me know how you have your case laid out.

Hard drive bay installed in the upper part or no?

[Wankerfx]

1. can I get away with one rad, and if so what would people recomend?
2. anyone have any idea if the southbridge fan that I will have to use when removing the stock heat pipe assembly is noisy or not? And if there is a water cooling block made for the south bridge?
3. maybe people could recomend some components

How much are you willing to spend?

For a budget setup, I'd get (Some parts can be bought used):

-MCR320 radiator ($40.00)
-3x Yate Loon fans ($15.00)
-Apogee GT ($35.00 used)
-Hydor Seltz A/C pump ($30.00)
-1/2" Tygon tubing (R-6063?) ($20.00 shipped for 10 feet @www.sidewindercomputers.com)
-I don't know about water blocks for the GPU's and NB's, so I guess I can rsearch them after work for you.
-Orange juice container for a res ($3.00)
-Distilled water ($3.00)

(Total without the GPU and NB Blocks = $146.00)

If you're going big, you should upgrade to:

-PA120.3 (Add $100.00)
-D-Tek Fuzion (Add $20.00)
-Swiftech Microres (Add $17.00)
-MCP655 pump (Add ~$60.00)

This will make your grand total to about $343.00 without the GPU/NB blocks!

Sorry if there are any spelling mistakes, my damn laptop has a weird keyboard.

Hopefully this will help you out on your quest to water cool!

[Squeetard]

Originally Posted by Jaret

Will the one rad be enough to keep everything decently cool?

yes, i guarantee it. I'm running a smaller rad and am having no problems, even with lowered fan speeds.