thermaltake bigwater 760i

[solidsteve]

hello all

i'll make this quick

i've been looking at the thermaltake bigwater 760i for a few days but i can't seem to find how it plugs in to get power, i've been about the net and seen a few photos of a wire (coming from the product) in to a wall

dose not show a plug just the wire into the wall, there is also a few stating its a 4 pin connector on to the mobo

which one is it:confused:

second is how easy is it to maintain

[Mul.]

As far as I'm aware the pump is powered by the PC's PSU itself via a 4pin Molex, not direct to wall.

Any chance I could persuade you to not by this watercooling unit though? It's a drive mounted watercooling unit, with all the components of the loop crammed inside that space. The waterblock used for the CPU is hardly brilliant and the tubing is quite narrow. The pump is said to be noisy and unlike a custom loop cannot be modified or upgraded all that easily. I just don't see how it could possibly be any better than today's air coolers.

I stand by my opinion that watercooling is only worthwhile if done properly and that tends to require either £120 worth of components for the loop bought separately or around £160 for a quality made bundle.

Edit- Found a review
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/thermaltake-bigwater-760i_9.html

The above review clearly shows that it cannot keep up with the Thermaltake Big Typhoon CPU Cooler, which in itself is not as good as a number of other CPU coolers on the market today. To top it off, the Big Water 760i is £82. I'd think very wisely as to whether you really want this unit.

I hope I'm not coming across as blunt or anything, I just don't want to see anyone dropping £80 on something that a £25-35 cooler could do better. :)

Mul

[PeterStoba]

I've known 2peoples to fail / leak, useless

[Lynx]

I have got a custom watercooling setup, all preinstalled by aria, need a few bits before i can move my pc to it.

[solidsteve]

ok thanks guys

and that wasn't to blunt that's the thing i needed, i've got to look around at a custom loop (like i was till i seen this) and decide where to go from there

any chance you know of any places the specialise in water cooling for the uk

[Mul.]

I don't believe we're allowed to state competitors on the forum.

Though we could probably help you pick the right watercooling components. What are your system specs and what components do you want the loop to cool?

[cleggypdc]

indeed you cannot state competitors on the forum, but if we don't sell that product then are they really competitors :P

[mac124]

Theres a fine line there cleggy, its not that they maynot stock the components in question is whether they stock OTHER components Aria do.

[cleggypdc]

i suppose, i never thought of it like that lol

[solidsteve]

ok :| i see the point

what parts would you guys suggest

my parts are going to be as follows, buying everything from aria, i love liveing just down the road from your place

Mobo - Gigabyte GA-P35_DS3R
CPU - Q6600 (might get either retail or oem depending if i get money for stuf)
GPU - 8800 GTX
HDD - 2x westerd digital 500gb
RAM - 4gb of OCZ platinum 4-4-4-15 timeings
Case - nexus caterpillar silenced atx

the case has not got a lot of space (hence picking this)

[Mul.]

If you're planning on fitting any reasonable watercooling loop in there, I'd sincerely suggest a bigger case. One that would allow you to mount a 120.2 radiator would be ideal.

[solidsteve]

If you're planning on fitting any reasonable watercooling loop in there, I'd sincerely suggest a bigger case. One that would allow you to mount a 120.2 radiator would be ideal.


right is there any sort of external one thats good for the job

i havent even got the parts for this yet so i will not be changeing for a bit

[Mul.]

Actually, from what I can see the case you've bought uses an inverted ATX layout which may mean you could roofmount the radiator. Though you'll need to jigsaw some holes at the top of the case for fan vents. Alternatively, if you're only cooling the CPU you could go for a 120.1 radiator and mount it at the rear 120mm fan exhaust.

I'm starting to think a high end heatpipe air cooler will be a more practical option rather than water, in this situation

[solidsteve]

yeah a good air cooler might do it good (just because i dont want to cut out bits of the case)

this case is not one of the biggest (got it for the the quiet aspect) so i think the TRUE is out

i'm kind of looking at pushing the Q6600 to 3ghz so i dont need a huge one because i hear you can do it on stock so what do you think would be the better to get

[Mul.]

If it's a smaller cooler you're after, my vote goes to the Thermalright Ultima 90. Tuniq Tower 120 performance without size concerns. Note, it does not come with a fan. You'll need to buy a 120mm fan to go with it.

[solidsteve]

If it's a smaller cooler you're after, my vote goes to the Thermalright Ultima 90. Tuniq Tower 120 performance without size concerns. Note, it does not come with a fan. You'll need to buy a 120mm fan to go with it.

thanks, i'll be getting one of them 2 with a nice big 120mm fan

[Mul.]

Just to clarify, I wasn't stating that you should get the Tuniq Tower 120, just saying the Ultima 90 performs as well as it without being as bit. Though if you do buy the Tuniq Tower 120 and you're completely sure that it fits, it actually comes with a 120mm fan.

[solidsteve]

i've been looking at air cooling for quite a bit so i know:P

its just i've started looking at water cooling these past few days and been going around places asking questions about it (hence topic)

i've seen that a good water cooling loop can cool the Q6600 clocked at 3.6 to nearly the same temp's on stock air at 2.4, this is why i am looking at water cooling because i want to clock my pc faster then pre-built

i've got a system at the min that i've had for about 6 years now that nearly out did a friends pre-built he got christmas, the only differences where he had a dual core and 512mb of ram (and of course better chipsets and stuff)

[Mul.]

Fair play. Just bare in mind that for the kind of watercooling loops that you're describing you really do need a spacious case that'll let you internally mount a 120.2 style loop with a quality waterblock, pump and res. Those low temperatures come at a very high price and it's up to you to work out whether it's actually worthwhile considering you'll squeeze a few hundred MHz more out of the CPU over high end air at best.

[Sl4x0r]

I was quite impressed by the Gigabyte Galaxy water cooling setup - it's effectively a cheap setup that can be upgraded when you have the funds.

First thing to go for would be a better radiator - something with 3x120mm fans - then change the block - then when you have the funds, give it a decent pump & res - then you have the entire kit left over that you can sell on eBay! The radiator also has a mounting bracket that lets you have it outside the case, mouted to the PSU screws - which means you only have to find space for the pump in your case.

That's how I started off anyway...

[solidsteve]

ok thanks guys

the plan is i need to get a bigger power supply to support the parts so i'm going to get a 1000W+ (a bit over the top but well)

i'm then going to get a better quad (Q9450 when comes out) with a 8800 GTX, i'm then going to spend a bit on some good air cooling whilst i look at water cooling

then i'm going to start a water cooling loop off for all the major parts with a internal pump with the rest in a custom external case most likely made of wood so i can refill it externally

thanks for the help people

[Mul.]

Sounds like a plan :)

I'd probably look at a 620-700W PSU max as realistically you won't even get anywhere near that kind of usage let alone 1kW. But fair play.

The Q9450 should be a pretty nice chip to overclock. Good idea sticking with air at first. See how far you can push it on air then work out if you want water. Considering how the 45nm Wolfdales have been affected by high voltages (> 1.55V) I'd be tempted to say air is about all you'll need but lets see how much heat these things put out first :D

Let us know how you're getting on with your build

Mul

[solidsteve]

Let us know how you're getting on with your build

Mul

i will going to take me a while but well yeah

[GM8]

i have same mobo as you and the tuniq tower will fit , but id recommend the thermalright 120 , you can get it cheaper and it does perfrom slightly better .

As for WC i used to have a great setup on my old rig , i can help with any questions you may have

[solidsteve]

i have same mobo as you and the tuniq tower will fit , but id recommend the thermalright 120 , you can get it cheaper and it does perfrom slightly better .

As for WC i used to have a great setup on my old rig , i can help with any questions you may have

ok thanks, i found the thermalright 120 can't fit in to my case from the chip to the panel is 160mm but the case has foam on it to dull down fan noise so i think i can push it to 155mm most

and i do have a few questions about water cooling

would i ge able to put my cpu, gpu and 2 hdd's into a loop and get some good cooling on all of them or is it better to put 2 separate loops in, if i have to put 2 loops in how would it work

and any information on pumps, water blocks, radiators and reservoirs would be much appreciated seen i know nearly nothing on water cooling, all i know is it cools it better then air

[Mul.]

All of that under one loop is quite possible (although you needn't bother with the HDD's really) but like I said before, you're looking at a bigger case for a reasonable loop like that.

As for watercooling components, the DTek Fuzion CPU block has been rated pretty highly with LGA775 chips. That along with a Thermochill PA120.2 radiator and you'll be set. IIRC, Eheim do some good pumps. I'm not really of any use with reservoirs.

[wonderlust]

If the TR ultra 120 will not fit, perhaps an ultra 90 will?

[Sl4x0r]

IIRC, Eheim do some good pumps. I'm not really of any use with reservoirs.

Eheim make pond pumps that are then modified to work inside your PC - the flow rate is good, but the the head (the amount of pressure it produces) tends to be rubbish so if you want to use an impingement block (and believe me - you do) then the flow rate will go through the floor... Which is bad.

I use an Alphacool AP1510 which can push over 1500 litres per hour - by default it runs on 12V and has an external PSU to increase the voltage in 3V steps up to 24V - at 24V it will push 1510LPH with a head of 6M - which is alot.

Before you just pick a massive flow rate pump, remember that for waterblock - high flow rate is good - but for a radiator, low flow rate is good.

Also remember that the amount of resistance the loop puts on the pump will significantly affect the flow rate - this is where the high head comes into play - the greater the pressure, the less reduction in flow rate you'll get when there's resistance...

It all gets fun and confusing - but as long as there's no leaks, you can't go wrong - big radiator good - reservoir just hold water, so pick one that you like the look of and that fits in your case - and for the love of God - spend as much as you can - cheap components WILL corrode, leak and fail...

[solidsteve]

thanks guys, like i said a few posts up it will not fit a great deal of stuf

if i get a pump in there i'll be lucky so it will be more of a external thing with the major parts outside the case (pump, radiator and reservoir.) with the tubes going though either a pci slot on the back or the 5.25 bay on the front

i'm going to look at all these now and see about getting it part-by-part and going from there