Liquid Cooling Questions!

[First Time Builder Nam]

Ok as my name says, this is my first build, I've been compiling my list for quite some time, read many books and customer feedbacks on products but still have questions!

This is my list as of now....

Xcilo Windtunnel Case.

Silverstone ST85F ATX12V / EPS12V 850W PSU.

ASUS A8N-Sli Premium Mobo.

AMD Toledo 2.6hz Dual Core S939 w/ Dangerden TDX Waterblock.

2Gigs of Corsair Twinx2048-3200c2.

(2x) XFX PVT71JYHE9 GeForce 7950GT GPUs.

ASUS Physx P1 w/ Geforce 4 Waterblock.

(2x) Western Digital 74GB Raptors In RAID 1 w/ Alphacool HDD3 Waterblocks.

ASUS CD-ROM Drive

ASUS DVD Burner w/ Lightscribe

I have other things on the list I wont bore you with like the pump (Swiftech MCP655) and other things like tubing, clamps, UV light and such. I know the setup isnt the best in the world but its S939 (which is the only socket I can understand/know about) and at least its equipped with "the last greatest S939 CPU" Toledo2.6GHz.

Funny thing is that last paragraph was totally unneeded. Ok time for the questions.....Will the MCP655 have the power to move coolent from 2 HDDs, a CPU and the Physx card and to the radiator? Is 1/2"OD better than 3/8"OD? Should I go with single, double or triple radiator? Is there a god? Whats Normalicy?

[NoL]

Well lets see, I hope you havent bought things yet. For the price of what your shopping about, you can easily get a higher performance c2d rig. As for watercooling, DO NOT watercool harddrives or physics cards. Theres no benefit, no reduction in noise, and most importantly no increase in performance. 1/2" ID is better then 3/8" ID. Triple radiator if your cooling SLI and a CPU, if not two duals, or two triples.

[Ares210]

I'll go with what Nol said.

But, ditch the PhysX card. Sooooooo pointless

[First Time Builder Nam]

ok, so if i was too stay with this rig I would drop the HDD and Physx blocks and stick with just the CPU since the two XFX cards are passive heat disapators?

[Ares210]

No.

I would drop the PhysX all together (card included, use the money on something more important)

Don't watercool the hard drives.

Watercool the video cards and get a triple rad.

BUT for the money your talking a c2d rig would be so much better for the same price.

[deathwish]

Get a C2D core with the money you saved on the physics card

[weihk]

first question......what is it you are after from your setup? best cooling or hush-hush uber silence?

second question, just like NoL has asked, have you bought everything that you have listed? if not, go for C2D, it'll wont take long for you to learn C2D.

and some suggestions.....

CPU block - swiftech / D-Tek

HDD block - dont bother with them, instead, buy blocks for your GFX

Rads - get a Thermochill 120.3, expensive but worth every penny, and depending on how you are going to WC you might want to have two Rads.

Pump, why D5? may i suggest DDC?

also, if you are like me, who dont like fans that make loud noise, water cool your NB and Mosfet aswell.

to give you a idea of what i mean by that, heres my setup

5.25 Bay Res > DDC > CPU > GFX > 120.1 Rad > NB > Mosfet > 120.3

with 10/8 hose and compression fittings and all 4 rad fans are linked to BigNG with inline thermosensor which control how fast my fan spin in relation to how hot my water temp gets.

hope that helps

[ai_01]

thermochill is beyond worth it but if ur on a budget a PA120.3 by HW Labs is fine. pump DDC+ with alphacool or petras top.

[markkleb]

If you havent got the video cards yet dont, get a 8800GTS/GTX instead.

If you already have the 7950s and they are the passive ones leave them passive the cooler works great and just water cool the CPU and chipset if you feel the need.

[Allsorts]

Since the S939 is being phased out I would only buy if the parts are selling at a cut down price. Apart from that, your rig looks pretty high-end so maybe think about a AM2 processor + mobo (if you want to stick with AMD) or dare I say a C2D.