Considering a Move to Water

[Visaoni]

Cliffs are at the bottom. For those lacking the time, or patience, scroll down.

I won't be starting on this project until finals are over (which is still a few months away), but I would like to get all of the parts figured out well beforehand so I can put the month between semesters to good use.

Currently my rig looks like this:
e8400 @ 3.3ghz (slight overclock, want to do more in the future)
8800gtx (stock, for now)
Nvidia nForce 780i (yeah, I know - multi-gpu never happened)
2x2gb OCZ Blade DDR2 1066 Ram low-voltage (again, stock for now, or extremely close to)
WD Raptor 150gb
WD RE3 750gb 32mb cache
and it's all stuffed in a CM Stacker 830

As you can probably tell, I put this together a few years ago (with the exception of the ram). The idea was to last me as long as possible, and, well, that's still the goal. I really don't have a need for much power beyond what I currently have, or at least have the potential for. I'm a gamer, but the 8800gtx is certainly holding up better than I'd hoped with the newer games. Getting a little more out of it though would be nice.

So far I'm thinking of going liquid for the cpu, gpu, and nb. I'd like to keep it all in one loop, and from what I've been reading I think that should be possible without sacrificing too many degrees. For the 8800, I would be inclined to stay with blocks designed for multiple gpus. Figuring out what I'm going to do with that (get a new card, find another 8800gtx and sli, or whatever) is probably going to be my project for next semester.

For budget, I'm hoping to keep it as low as possible. If I get out of this with only a $300 or so hole in my pocket, I'll be incredibly grateful. I can throw an extra hundred or two at it though.

When it comes to parts, I'm a tad lost. It will probably be a similar process to how it was with my computer. A friend helped me out with it, and while I avoided buying incompatible parts I certainly didn't build the system I would've built if I knew what I knew now. It just didn't totally click until I actually had my hands on it for awhile. Once I actually had the experience reading reviews, guides, etc. became a lot more meaningful. If anybody can help point me in the right direction that would be great. I'd love to have a better idea of what my options actually are, and how those choices will affect the end result.

**Cliffs**
$300 budget preferred, but could go up to $500.
Looking to LC e8400, 8800gtx, and nForce 780i nb.
Thoughts?

 

[Mattdoommaster]

If you're doing this off of some sort cost savings, don't. You'll get way more performance by sinking your $300 dollars into a new Radeon 5850.

If you want to go for it just as a project though, I'd start with this water cooling guide : http://www.tomshardware.com/re...ling-your-pc,1573.html

And then just google for information. A lot of it will have been written several years back, but water cooling, unlike most PC components, as remained almost exactly the same over the years. You need water blocks, you need a pump(s), you need a good radiator, and that isn't going to ever change.

There's also a beginners guide to water-cooling sticky at the top of the forum, so...maybe check there

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: Mattdoommaster
If you're doing this off of some sort cost savings, don't. You'll get way more performance by sinking your $300 dollars into a new Radeon 5850.

so true

 

[RockinZ28]

http://forums.extremeoverclock...howthread.php?t=282232

Some good info in there. I'm just about to order my parts for my first WC setup. I'm at about $250 without the blocks, but I'm not planning on keeping it too cheap, want it fairly high quality for expandability without having to redo everything. Just going to get a cheap LGA775 block and cool the cpu for some experience until I build my new rig in the next few months, then be adding NB + GPU as well.

Using the Swiftech MCP655 and MCR320 radiator. All the tubing and fittings are pretty optional, but they add up. I'm going with a reservoir as well, but if you are looking to keep costs down you can do without one.

 

[Visaoni]

Originally posted by: Mattdoommaster
If you're doing this off of some sort cost savings, don't. You'll get way more performance by sinking your $300 dollars into a new Radeon 5850.

If you want to go for it just as a project though, I'd start with this water cooling guide : http://www.tomshardware.com/re...ling-your-pc,1573.html

It's some of both. I realize with the money I'm willing to sink into this I could upgrade my computer in a more significant manner. It's a project I've been thinking about on an off for awhile, and I really don't feel I need something as powerful as a 5850 yet. I figure setting up a somewhat general loop will let me stay with it for awhile, and it will continue to benefit me even once I do end up grabbing a 5850, or whatever is king at the time.

And then just google for information. A lot of it will have been written several years back, but water cooling, unlike most PC components, as remained almost exactly the same over the years. You need water blocks, you need a pump(s), you need a good radiator, and that isn't going to ever change.

There's also a beginners guide to water-cooling sticky at the top of the forum, so...maybe check there

Yeah I have been to both google and the sticky. The dates on the articles and whatnot have been throwing me. I kept on thinking all the information I was gathering must be somewhat out of date.

Well, I knew the basics hadn't changed, but I figured in the years that have passed surely better products and possibly methods had emerged.

I suppose I should have been a little clearer in my post. I've done a good bit of reading. But I still feel like I don't have a great grasp on it, mainly because, well, I've never done it before. I'm confident I know enough to go out and put together a decent loop that will do it's job well. However, I really don't want to look back in several months, once I've had some hands on experience, and wish I'd done things differently.

 

[thilanliyan]

Whatever CPU block you pick up should last you a while as the mountings just change...from what I've read the Koolance CPU-350 (?) is near the top but I'm guessing it's restrictive (aigomorla can answer that better). As for a GPU block you could go with a Swiftech MCW60-r2 which should transfer over to whatever card you get next but you will need VRM/ram heatsinks (I believe there's one made specifically for the 8800GTX for use when watercooling). A dual loop might be good if you do plan to upgrade your CPU also in the near future. As for rads and pumps, PM aigomorla as he has lots of experience.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: Mattdoommaster
If you're doing this off of some sort cost savings, don't. You'll get way more performance by sinking your $300 dollars into a new Radeon 5850.

so true

^ i also agree with this..

i think you'd honestly have more fun with a 5850.

and 300 is very difficult to get cpu gpu nb.

Id say for all.... double it your budget. .

 

[Visaoni]

Oh, I absolutely know going for a 5850 would give me an incredibly larger performance increase. In almost all games my 8800 is still able to run at least high settings, many games I can max out. I suppose with a 5850 I could have it draw things way out in the distance, and kick things up to an insane amount of AA, but I'm still more attracted to going liquid. I suppose I'm craving a project more than performance, and this just happens to be a project that will let me get a little more performance as well.

For some reason I find the idea of laying out 600 for a loop more attractive than 300 for a 5850. But hell, if aigo is half warning me off liquid... maybe I should look at restricting myself to attacking my cables with zip ties and mounts.

Thanks for the input guys, and the links.

 

[aigomorla]

my advice..

get your gear first.. then watercool.

dont do it the other way around until u know what your doing.

Trust me...

You end up buying new parts the other way, and you'll hate the expense.

And you always end up buying new parts.

Water is very addictive.. so get your main stuff out of the way b4 u go on a budget breaker.