Where to start

D

duke

New member
With a limited budget, and a lack of experience with LCS, would I be better off buying a case with pre-installed LCS or buying the components myself?

I can imagine that the former would be more cost effective (though I wouldn't know a good component from a bad one so its a possibility I could get ripped off) although the latter could probably be more suitable for my pc build?
 
Depends how you want it done and what you have at your disposal. If you want an all-internal setup, then you may have to fork out for tools etc which can put the cost of self-build up into the regions of prebuilt.

Personally, I'd advise buying a case with it all prefitted... you'll learn the ropes when it comes to adding further blocks later down the line.

As for good component vs bad... meh. S'all down to opinion these days. Very few pay attention to the hard data.

D-Tek FuZion / Apogee GTX currently rank atop the block charts when tested empyrically.

ThermoChill followed by Swiftech followed by BlackIce followed by everyone else when it comes to radiators of equal quantity of fans.

DDC3.2Ultra wins the pump battle, followed by Laing D5 Vario, followed by DDC 3.2, followed by DDC 3.1.

Reservoir - has no impact on performance.

Tubing - as long as it's larger than 8mm ID, has little impact on performance. Just bear in mind that Tygon 1/2" ID is no better or worse than any other 1/2" ID tubing when it comes to performance, and that the difference between an 8mm setup and a 1/2" setup is around 0.4 deg C assuming all else is equal.
 
thanks, very informative

to sum up; for a newbie like me, buying a prebuilt case would be better to begin with, but as this is the more expensive option a self build may be cheaper (without taking into account the cost of tools)?
 
Im just about to start building my own watercooled setup. Something I haven't done before so same sort of boat as you :)

Buying a new case for it as my thermaltake one is getting old.

i was going to buy the Swiftech 220 kit but after looknig around it does seem you can get better for you money.
 
So what would be a good case to choose if i were to go down the route of buying the components individually? Can a LCS be fitted to pretty much any case or must it meet a certain set of criteria?

Cheers
 
you can always install the rad externally but if you want internal setup you need to look at lian-li g70 or same sort of size cases
 
Ideal cases are ones like a V2000 or a TJ-07... theres ample room in them to fit all your kit inside.

Even so, cases like the P180/P182 and Lian Li PC-7's can still be watercooled, you just might not be able to fit it all inside the case.
 
just been pricing some bits up and put together this:

1 x EK-Wave AM2

1 x Alphacool NexXxoS NBX-i Chipset Block

1 x EK-FC8800 8800GTX/Ultra

1 x XSPC RS240 UV Blue

1 x XSPC Bay Pump Reservoir - Clear

1 x 1/2" Clear/UV Blue High Flex Hose (XSPC)

1 x AC Ryan 12" Dual CCFL UV Kit

1 x Feser View 50ml Dye (UV Blue)

£156.90 on WCUK

That is... a block for the CPU, chipset and 8800, with hose, rad and reservoir.

This combined with an Antec 900 case.

Do you think this will all fit inside? I'd like to think I'm quite a handy person but how would you rate the difficulty of putting this all together? Is this setup substantial enough to be worth the extra monies over a pre-installed thermaltake LCS case?
 
I've just got the Thermaltake you noted before, the Kandalf LCS and so far I ahve absolutely no complaints. To be fair this is my first time watercooling but everything was so easy and the temperature drop could be seen right our fo the box. From an air (zalman) cooled Antec P180 to a watercooled Thermaltake Kandalf I saw an immediate drop of 10 degrees C idle across the board. Now when I'm gaming it rarely goes above 35 celcius.

Might be a
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kit but it was awesome value for money and is certainly doing its job well.
 
Forgot to mention the temperatures are being measured from the CPU, HDDs (including raptor) and mobo. So the watercooling has actually reduced the ambient temperature enough to reduce the temperatures of the other components.
 
Pump wouldn't be powerfull enough for that setup, take it out the list and stick in a DDC Pro with OC Labs Top.

You probably wanna change that radiator for a better performing one as well like the XSPC R120-T or a Thermochill PA120.2 / PA120.3.

Last thing, before buying that EK block i'd hang on a couple of days until the new EK Supreme block arrives.

:-)
 
Ok, I have to wait a few days anyway so I'll hang on for buying the LCS also.

Another thing I thought of is the chipset block, how do you go about removing the stock cooler? May be a nooby question but aren't they fixed on pretty well?

Apart from uprating the pump and rad is there anything else I need to take into account? i.e. mounting brackets etc

Where is the best place to mount the rad in the Antec? I saw the custom build on the WCUK site where the rad is underneath the 20cm exhaust fan, I take it this will be the best bet?

Oh, and does the reservoir need to be mounted at the very top of the system?

Cheers :)
 
Nah man even when it came to my installation it was easy as. They are fitted very well but usually with screws or some sort of retention mechansim, once that's off it's mobo all the way. Then you just add the insulator and screw on your waterblock :D
 
OK taken your advice, and in the next few days will be placing an order for...

1 x EK-Supreme CPU - Acetal

1 x 12V Laing DDC-1T Pro w/OCLabs XP Top Blue/UV Blue

1 x XSPC Bay Reservoir - Clear Acrylic

1 x 1/2" Blue/UV Blue High Flex Hose (XSPC)

1 x XSPC R120-D

£144.43

+ Antec 900

Total: £219.43

Is it worth going for a VGA block also? Or can this wait for a later upgrade?
 
Specialtech have some in, from what I was told previously flow meters have little to no impact on your pressure so you can choose whatever you like.
 
Flow meters can hinder flow quite significantly I really wouldn't bother with one... you'll be able to see the water moving in the drive bay reservoir anyway. They can also make bleeding a pain as well!

As for temperature sensors theres a couple of options..

1) D-Tek Temp Sensor

http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=35&products_id=633

or

2) Screw in temp sensor

http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=35&products_id=693

Hook these up to one of these little displays and your laughing

http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=45&products_id=64
 
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