Cooler Master Aquagate Max: CPU + 2 GPU's??

[dttuner]

Originally Posted by gvblake22

Are your 8800GTS video cards the G80 or G92 flavor?

You SEE!!! This is exactly what I'm talking about. I've been out of the PC building/modding game for long enough to have no idea what you're talking about. Now, at least I have a clue that there's two different iterations of the 8800GTS which I should be looking at.

My system is not in my hands yet, but I have settled on certain key components (or so I thought).
I'm finalizing my build within the next 2-3 weeks, and ordering the final parts.
All I have in my hands right now are the Case, Hard drives, DVD burner, and a whole slew of cables :)

I'm pretty set on the Asus P5e3 Deluxe, and E8500.
The Video is obviously somthing I have to research, and of course the watercooling.

Once it's built I'm looking forward to posting pics, tempratures, creating one of those nifty signatures, etc.

[Stormcrow]

CPU Block: Petra's Tech Shop

GPU Block x2: Petra's Tech Shop

Radiator: Petra's Tech Shop

Pump: Petra's Tech Shop

Reservoir: Petra's Tech Shop

Fans: These are up for debate. For good cooling at quiet noises (and a good price), most usually suggest Yate Loons. If you dont mind shelling out 20 bucks a pop, Scythe S-Flex are damned good fans with a near perfect balance of noise to airflow. Panaflo fans are a good choice as well, as are Antec Tri-Cools.

Tubing: Another debate, most usually just go with 1/2" Tygon tubing as it's some of the best around. I would order about 10 feet of it to be sure you have enough with some left over for future endeavors.

Additive: Add this to distilled water to keep algae and crap from blooming in your loop. Something like this is perfect, depending on how you want to color the water.

The problem with a custom loop with alot of blocks is the initial price. Thats a hefty chunk of change to throw down, then you also need to consider the price of Worm drives, screws, optional barbs, and other stuff you want to add in. The start up cost is killer for water cooling, but well worth it.
While thats a full loop above and a beautiful one at that, I would recommend just starting out with the Pump, Res, Radiator, and CPU block for a simple loop if you don't have the capital to plunk down. Starter kits are good for this, but usually only come with the parts required for that kit. It's hard to find a good starter kit that has a decent 320mm Rad and a high end pump that you'd just be able to toss two extra 8800GTS's on. This is why I recommend starting out with the small CPU-only loop I mentioned above if cash is an issue, as you won't need to replace anything and add to it easily over time.

Hope this helps some.

I assumed you'd be going with a G92 8800GTS like this one here: Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics

That's the way to go, the 9800GTX is nothing more then one of these babies overclocked with a bit of extra shader power so you know it's killer.

[dttuner]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

** Everything Stormcrow said **

Hope this helps some.

Wow, that's above and beyond the call for sure. Thanks so much!
Yes, to begin with I will probably just stick with the CPU block, which was my line of thinking from before. But since I'm getting unanimous feedback about the pre-fab kits being insufficient to cool more than what comes factory... I'll look more seriously into custom parts.

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

I assumed you'd be going with a G92 8800GTS like this one here: Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics

How about this MSI:
Newegg.com - MSI NX8800GTS 512M OC GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics
Save myself $20-30 each card? ($50 savings each with rebate)

[Stormcrow]

MSI is a good brand, but I gave EVGA as an example because they have awesome customer service and a full lifetime warranty that let's you overclock and change out the heatsinks to something better (like a water block) while still being covered by it. MSI doesn't have that, and overclocking/changing stock HSF will void the warranty.

[dttuner]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

MSI is a good brand, but I gave EVGA as an example because they have awesome customer service and a full lifetime warranty that let's you overclock and change out the heatsinks to something better (like a water block) while still being covered by it. MSI doesn't have that, and overclocking/changing stock HSF will void the warranty.

Wow...that is an awesome customer service policy. I'm learning more in one hour here, then in my weeks of lone research.

Dang, I just priced-out that Petra's Shop basic kit....
$300 easy.

Are there more economical options for the water pump?
I understand it's the most important part of the system... but sheesh!!

You know what... I'm starting to think that phase one of my build is going to include a Zalman fan CPU cooler.

Water cooling will come into effect in phase 2

[Stormcrow]

Hey, thats what we're here for.
If you want, you can start another thread with your new build your planning and we can give that a look over.

Originally Posted by dttuner

You know what... I'm starting to think that phase one of my build is going to include a Zalman fan CPU cooler.

Water cooling will come into effect in phase 2

The Zalman cooler I mentioned is nearly on par with lower end water cooling, about the best air cooling you can get. Also considering the E8000 don't put out much heat, it'd more then enough until you can get a good loop up and running.

[gvblake22]

I was mistaken, I thought you already had this hardware and were looking to upgrade the cooling. So this is a totally new build and you don't have a CPU and video cards yet? You've got a good start on the build parts, but I can't help but question your desire for an SLI setup. What kind of monitor will you be gaming on (what resolution)?

Could you please make a signature (as required per forum rules) and list the parts of your current system?

[azianai]

storm, i'd go with the Ultra 120 extreme personally instead of that zalman, but you'd need a push/pull setup to get maximum benefit.

[dttuner]

Originally Posted by gvblake22

I was mistaken, I thought you already had this hardware and were looking to upgrade the cooling. So this is a totally new build and you don't have a CPU and video cards yet? You've got a good start on the build parts, but I can't help but question your desire for an SLI setup. What kind of monitor will you be gaming on (what resolution)?

Could you please make a signature (as required per forum rules) and list the parts of your current system?

Sorry. I read the forum rules and would love to prepare a sig. Since my system isn't built yet, I feel I would be fabricating a "fake" signature.
For now, I'll specifiy "Future Build" in my sig, and only include items I have already purchased, or am set on purchasing.

EDIT: Signature has been created, but is not showing on my new posts... ?

[gvblake22]

If you post with no signature, then make a signature, it will only show up in new posts you make after that. Otherwise, you have to go back to the posts you made previously and check the little box to "Show Signature". With the signature now created, the box should check its self automatically from now on...

And don't worry about it, no problems here!