[Fordy]

Not doing it just yet, but I'd like to in future, but a couple of things I wanted clearing up..

1) If I bought a PrimoChill black coolant, and then also an Orange DyeBomb, would be able to add it in the orange to create a swirly affect, or would it just mix in and be a very dark orange?

2) How much should I fill up? Like completely fill the reservoir (250ml) and then a filled loop as well, or just fill the reservoir or what?

I guess if it wasn't all completely full there would be air bubbles wouldn't there?

3) What's the best order for me? I'll have Pump, Reservoir, Radiator, CPU, Chipset and MOSFET to start with.. but what order should they be connected in optimally?

[thingie2]

Well I haven't personally does water cooling myself, but I was also thinking about it a while ago so did a lot of research on the subject (decided not to due to cost though) so I'll answer what I can:

1) Unless the viscosity is very different they would mix almost instantly, but even if they are very different the pump would end up mixing them both together before long.

2) It doesn't really matter, as long as there is a full loop of water, with enough in the reservoir to always cover the outlet. Some people don't even bother with a reservoir, but just use a T junction with a end stop on on the end, so they can fill the loop, then seal it off. Like you said, if you don't fill it enough, you will have air bubbles, which are very bad as they don't conduct heat properly.

3) There are arguments for several different methods, but personally I would probably do this:
Reservoir>Pump>CPU>small radiator>Chipset>Mosfet>Large Radiator>Reservoir
This is because the CPU will produce the most heat, so you want to cool that with the coolest water, but then if you cool the water after the CPU a little, it will cool the Chipset and Mosfets more efficiently, then a radiator at the end allows for the cooling of the water from all three. It is almost always best to put the pump directly after the reservoir, that way, you ensure the pump always has water feeding into it.

[Fordy]

Cheers for that thingie, cleans up pretty much all my doubts.

I was gonna go for a 240mm rad, so I guess I'll just get a 120 as well for after the CPU.

Do you reckon the 18W pump I picked out would be sufficient for this loop?

Thanks.

[thingie2]

it depends on what pump it is, the one I remember being considered one of the best is this one but like I said, it was a while ago, so it's very possible for another pump to have come into the market that is superior. Just look at the rated water flow, and the maximum pump height, which is just a measure of how strong the pump is, as if you have a long 5mm ID loop with a lot of junctions and water blocks, it would take a lot more force to move the same amount of water than a short 15mm ID loop with no junctions, and only a couple of water blocks.

Also make sure you read some reviews on the pump before you buy, because any company can put together an "ubber" pump that pumps 10 time the amount of any other, but if it makes loads of noise you won't want it, and user reviews are the only way to find this out, as even if there is a noise level in the spec. the manufacturers usually measure it in a way that it reduces from what it actually is.

[Fordy]

It's not a nasty unbranded one though, it's Laing, as most are

Laing DDC1+ Ultra 18W

1 Product review, guy seems reasonably pleased, says it's louder than his old one (But he was comparing it to a completely silent pump..)

EDIT:
Slightly unrelated but its not worth a new thread - Thinking of WCing my 360 before I do my casemod, to get a bit of lighter experience. Found a 360 WC block that covers GPU and CPU, and well rated, so that would work good.

However my problem I suddenly realised would be supplying power to the pump?
Would it be safe to source 12V from say by the DVD drive? Or would I have to get a seperate PSU in there..

[thingie2]

I've heard good stuff about that pump too, however it does provide a flow rate of half that of the one I linked (600 LPH rather than 1200) but it is quite a bit cheaper and should still do well I think with 4 water blocks. If you were going to cool a triple or quad gfx card set up, I would seriously recommend the 24W version (one I linked) but the 18W one should be enough I think.

As for the powering of it, I think it's been designed to work from the standard PC PSU, it might even come with a molex connector, but even if it doesn't you can bodge something up. I made myself a power connector for my A2 electronics project this year with an old molex>floppy adaptor, I just cut the floppy connector off and striped the wires down and soldered them on. Just remember the red wire is 5V, yellow is 12V and black is 0V, and if you do use this method, make sure you wrap it up in insulating tape to prevent any short circuiting. Also, make sure your not at your PSU limits in terms of current, although the 24W pump says it only used 2A, so the 18W one would use 1.5A.