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Water Cooling and cool case recommendation
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 1:37 pm
by ReadyMan
A friend of mine just bought a pc from someone on the net which came with water cooling. It looks good, but is water cooling of much value to someone who isnt going to overclock? (side note: he has a 3.4 p4 chip on this mb:
Asus P5GD2 Premium(Intel915P,SATA,DDR2,PCIe,DUALAN)
this cooler:
Thermaltake 12cm BigWater Liquid Cooling System w/LED
and this video card:
256MB nVidia GeForce 6600 PCI
He knows NOTHING about computers, and I seriously doubt he'll ever OC this rig (tho it should OC nicely, shouldnt it?)
2nd question:
anyone have any recommendations for good looking cases?
I've got to upgrade my p4 2.2 (on a non OC'able intel mb) (512mb Rambus), and nvidia 5900 pretty soon, so I'm wondering what to include...I WOULD overclock the cpu (I'm sticking with an intel chip), but for $200 or so for a water cooling unit...I dunno if it's worth it.
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 2:33 pm
by BAAL
Watercooling is a viable option to those who want a quiet pc, not just those intending to overclock. In addition, the reduced temperatures should help in the longevity of your components.
As far as cases go, that's tough to say what looks nice as each person has their own opinion of nice.
Good quality case brands i would buy would be Lian-Li, Cooler Master, Thermaltake(some are ugly tho) and of course antecs.
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 3:31 pm
by ReadyMan
I like some of the thermaltake cases, but I dont want to have to see the drive bays in the side window....
here's a link for anyone who may be looking for cases. This site has most of the cases I've seen online:
http://www.xoxide.com/pccases.html
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 4:34 pm
by suicide eddie
if its going to be a internal rad before buying double check to make sure the components actually fit. saves a lot of probs further on in the build.
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 4:48 pm
by Vindicator
A watercooled system with a PCI video card? o_O
I used watercooling for a while because of the reduced noise and it was fun, but I was able to achieve lower noise with only slightly higher temps with a monster Swiftech heatsink and low-speed 92mm fan. I doubt that Prescott would be able to get away with that, though.
Since he knows nothing about computers, it'd likely be a bigger hassle down the road when it comes time to flush the system like you're supposed to do every year.
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 5:27 pm
by Matrix
Vindicator wrote:A watercooled system with a PCI video card? o_O
It's PCIe, he forgot the e the 2nd time he said it
Though the fact that itâ??s a 6600 should of been a give away that it wasn't PCI, since they don't make them in PCI
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 6:39 pm
by Vindicator
Heh, okay.
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 9:12 pm
by ReadyMan
He was thinking "water cooled means no heat issues", but I dont think he knows he'll have to maintain the water cooling
heh!
I just read an article that stated you should check the water lvls once a month...
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 7:38 am
by WarAdvocat
Matrix wrote:Vindicator wrote:A watercooled system with a PCI video card? o_O
It's PCIe, he forgot the e the 2nd time he said it
Though the fact that itâ??s a 6600 should of been a give away that it wasn't PCI, since they don't make them in PCI
PCIe
IS PCI...with an e.
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 9:11 am
by Iceman
ReadyMan wrote:He was thinking "water cooled means no heat issues", but I dont think he knows he'll have to maintain the water cooling
heh!
I just read an article that stated you should check the water lvls once a month...
I have been running my Koolance rig for two years without any maintenance at all. It just keeps chugging away ... It doesn't make sense to have to check the levels anyhow, it is all a closed system; e.g. liquid cannot evaporate.
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 7:15 pm
by ReadyMan
iceman, do you have a temp warning on your case so if your pump goes out, you have a few minutes warning to shut it down?
--and you never check the water levels?
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 9:14 pm
by Grendel
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 12:27 am
by Pun
The Koolance system I run has a protection circuit built in. If anything goes wrong, the computer shuts off.
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 8:34 am
by Iceman
ReadyMan wrote:iceman, do you have a temp warning on your case so if your pump goes out, you have a few minutes warning to shut it down?
--and you never check the water levels?
Yes ... same as Pun ...
No, I have never checked the levels. Why would I? It is a closed system and if some reason it leaked it would be obvious. This is so doubtful I am willing to not check.
Posted: Wed Mar 09, 2005 2:01 pm
by Grendel
Hehe -- the Koolance system has a pressure equalizing valve. You'll loose a little bit moisture w/ each change from high to low pressure. IIRC Koolance suggests to check the coolant level every three months..
