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Have never water cooled before!

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cctaylor88

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Alright I have been creeping on many build logs for quite some time now and am completely wanting and willing to dive into water cooling my computer. I have never done this before so obviously I am completely new to it and ask for your patience which has never been a problem in the past. To be honest I have never even seen a water cooled computer up close and personal. Anyways, my current plan is to switch into either an nzxt phantom 01 or 630 or the switch 810. As of right now I am super close to pulling the trigger on the switch 810 case as I have heard these are very friendly to those looking forward to water cooling. Now, I have been reading quite a few threads on WCing but as you can imagine it is all very foreign and reading the terminology can only do so much for me.

I would like to keep it simple for now and limit my "loop" to just the cpu but am completely overwhelmed when it comes to selecting components as there is a dizzying array of choices. From my very limited understanding I need a pump, reservoir, radiator, and cpu water block...is this correct? Also, how many rads do I need? It seems like a lot of people refer to two rads when they talk about their loops but as I am only needing to cool the cpu I'm not sure? For reference I have an AMD cpu and 600w psu. I know this is very vague and limited but that's pretty much where I am as of right now...
Oh and this is a bit off topic but what's the deal with the WC bundles like the Raystorm 750 RS240 kits..they are only $150ish are these worth it...or do you recommend making my own loop from custom parts?

Anything that will help me get started and make a purchase is greatly appreciated and I can't wait! Thanks in advance.
 
Get yourself a pump , res, rad and cpu waterblock with 2 barbs/fittings per component and then get the right size tubing to go with your barbs/fittings and your good to go. If you are only looking to cool cpu for now 1 rad will do the job (And depending on size 1 rad may cool the lot). Some of those WC bundles are ok but there is nothing like building your own loop with the bits that you want.

Edit: With each part google is your friend. Do your research until you are happy with each one.
 
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Alright guys so I really want to break into WC and have decided it would be best for me to start with an all in one kit. I have been doing research and used some previous suggestions from you guys and have really narrowed it down to the Raystorm RX240 although I would really like the new Swiftech H220 but they haven't even dropped yet and there is no confirmed date. The only thing I will be cooling for the moment is my CPU but maybe sometime down the road my GPU as well... although I am not concerned with the GPU right now. Does the RX240 allow me to expand my WC operation down the road or am I stuck because it doesn't have the d5 pump? I am not willing to drop the extra $100+ for the d5 pump variant to be honest. What do you guys think about the rx240 overall? Or would I be better off purchasing something else?
I plan on putting it into the NZXT Switch 810 case, also I'm not sure whether or not the rad will be pushing or pulling? I would like to mount the rad on the top of the case, so I assume the fans will be pointing down towards the case obviously right? How do I configure them...to push or to pull? Also, this kit comes with everything I need besides the liquid correct? I will just be using plain old distilled water...?

Also, I would like to go from the stock clear tubing to a different solid color (most likely white), this is possible right? But what type/diameter hose would I be purchasing?
Do you recommend I get "better" fans for the radiator? Also would I have room to do a push/pull configuration at the top of the case and is it possible with this rad?

Thanks guys!
 
-While I dont personally like the looks of the Phantom series (because they are all plastic) they are indeed very wc-friendly.
-I didnt have a look now but... doesnt this case fit 360mm radiators? if so, you'd better go for a larger rad. Each rad you add also adds to the overall pressure resistance of your components which affects your pump choice. If you go for 1 cpu, 1 gpu, 2 rads and mobo/ram cooling a Laing D5 pump or MCP35x will do great and still be silent.
-I dont like XSPC because many people have complained about badly formed heatsink contacts and dodgy quality, but dont worry if you have something like that you just have to return the item asap and get a new one.
-If you choose to buy the kit you mention, yes you can buy tubing according to the specification of the fittings that go with the kit. I recommend Tygon R3600 series or even R6100 (neoprene) if you can find them but I dont think they come in white (try masterkleer or primochill??).
-Have in mind that 5.25" bay reservoirs that have an integrated or attached pump are more prone to noise due to vibration of the pump transmitting to the chassis.
-When you buy radiators, you need fans that are good enough with pushing/pulling air through obstacles. I recommend corsair SP120 quiet series or coolermaster Air penetrator series, but there are alot of options in general.
-The radiator of the RX series is far from being the best, but it is largely sufficient for a cpu. Moreover you are saving ALOT of money by buying this kit (usual case with kits). Adding another radiator later on for your GPU cooling is possible with this kit and the pump/res combo will handle it just fine.

There is a lot more to be said but its too much to just write everything in 1 post while you can simply spend the whole weekend looking at watercooling guides online. Start by watching on youtube Dazmode watercooling guide (very enlightening) and then maybe Singularity Computers to get an idea of cool wc looks.

PS: aaah and very important!: think about your "fillport" and "drain port". The fillport on the top of the reservoir so when its a bay reservoir you gota pull it out of the case slightly to access it - plan ahead when cutting your tube when you install everything!. Your drain port should be the lowest component of the loop. Dont forget that or ur gona have a bad time emptying the water when you will want to do so!
 
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when i built mine i got almost all used parts off here and ebay. my complete setup was about 150 if it were all new it would have been more like 200-250. Just something to think about if the budget is a little tight. It doesn't let you get exactly what you want but you save a few bucks.

As kaynar said you probably will have to get some better fans to push through the radiator. That was one thing I found out when I built mine.
 
If Silence is you main goal, the MCP35X is not a good start. I have it myself after getting it recommended here, only problem is that is extremely loud. (at full speed its 3500 rpm, and just as noisy as a bad fan at 3500 rpm), it can be brought down to 1000 rpm with PWM control (or just ground the PWM wire) but it is still the nosiest component in my computer.

As for tubing, get more that you think that you need. Because you are gone make some bad cuts the first time. And if there is something left you have it for fixing little details afterwards.

REMEMBER TO DO A LEAKTEST, that is, get the pump running without starting the computer. check for water on ALL the connections an let it run a bit (nice way to get the bobbles out of the system)
 
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