Fanless Water Cooling?

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Hi.

As the title suggests, would it be possible to have a watercooling system that is fanless?

I know the Zalman Resorator is like that, but it is a bit on the expensive side.

I am not talking about OCing, just quiet operation. Also, I was thinking just the CPU, and nothing else.

Big enough radiator and enough flow do it?

Thanks.
 
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you'd probably get away with a Prolimatech Megahalems as long as you aren't overclocking and the CPU is not a high end quad core. Obviously chassis airflow will become more important though ;)
 
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Sorry, should have mentioned that it was to cool a Quad Q8200.

Case wise, due to lack of space, I couldn't get away with anything other than a midi tower, so a normal heatsink without a fan might struggle.

Also, I want something with enough overhead that I wouldn't have to worry about high room temps, etc...
 
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Thanks.

Never think to check B grade :)

Is the Reserator a good system? Or would be it be possible to make a better setup for between £100-150?
 
Soldato
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A second hand res1 will cost you half that - but new is nice.
I started with a Res2 - been building passive waterloops ever since.
the stock blocks are the weakest point - but are still more that ok is not oc'ing
block upgrades (MUST be high flow blocks due to weak inc pump) and using 3/8 tube improve performance

If you have the room a thick 240 or 360 (RX, PA, SR1) in the roof (must be roof) of your case it's a better option that a Res1.
Teamed with a high flow block and DB-1 pump its a perfect near silent passive mini loop.
I running a PA120.3 without fans in system now - E8200,P45,MosFet,8500gt all in the loop.
Only a single 120mm fan in the whole system (psu is also passive)

If you have a small case - an external cooling tower is always a better option.

Heatpipe cooled cases - mcubed/zalman TNN are also options (but expensive)
 
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Thanks.

Never think to check B grade :)

Is the Reserator a good system? Or would be it be possible to make a better setup for between £100-150?

i use 1 in my current cpu loop but i have added a Laing D4 pump and a 120.1 Black ice Alpha extreme rad to it. i do not use the pump within the reserator at all that more as a res than anything else.
i also changed the cpu block that came with it for a D-tek fusion
but im running my cpu (amd phenom ii 940) at 100% load 24/7 and the reserator could not keep it cool enough through that punnishment as my cpu has a maximum temp of 62c i dont like it any higher than 55c.

If you are after complete silence from your system then a reserator could be part of your cooling soloution.
Looking at your current cpu its a q8200 @ 2.33Ghz and a max temp of 71c
A look at the reserator currently availeable from the clearance section of the shop it comes with the newer cpu block that is much better than the one i got with mines.
As your not overclocking your cpu and it runs a less Mhz than mines at stock and has a higher thermal desgin you would most likley be fine with the reserator without any additions.
If you dont mind a little noise from fans then you may want to look at this instead Complete Setup all would have to add would be some fluid and i would recommend distilled Water and some PT-Nuke to prevent algae within the loop.
 
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Thanks for the info.

So, it seems that because my CPU isn't being pushed very hard, as long as I have a reasonable sized radiator, any decent WC setup shouldn't have a problem without a fan?

Obviously, in ideal conditions, my graphics card (GTX 260) should also be included, but I am just not confident enough to remove the standard cooler on it :(

Other than that, I think the only fan in my case would be at the front cooling the hard drives down. But since they need hardly any air flow over them, I would think that I could slow the fan down via a fan controller until it was almost inaudible.

Those three put together should make for a quiet system. :)
 
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Soldato
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My current setup is ThermoChill PA120.2, XSPC Single 200 Bay Pump/Reservoir, EK-Supreme LT, 1/2" Barbs, 7/16" Tubing, i do use fans on the rad now and again (generally about 600rpm), but sometimes have them turned off like at the moment, and my E8400 clocked at 3.6ghz is idling at 30c (overal cpu temp, not cores). Primed it earlier with the fans off, never went above 45c (again overall cpu temp, as i have stuck core sensors below 38c lol).

All that cost me like £90, was cheap due to the radiator being sold for £35 instead of the usual £50ish, got a nice bargin then when overclockers had them on offer lol.

So id deffinatly say try the do it urself way instead of the reserator (especially a new one).
 
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Excellent, that is exactly the info I like to hear :)

If, like you say, you have no probs with your CPU overclocked like that, than I shouldn't have any problems.

Thanks for the info.
 
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No probs, but shadowscotland is the one to listen to really about this he really knows his stuff, but u can get half decent setups for £100-£150 just takes shoping around really.

And if u did'nt overclock the cpu, or gfx, don't see why u could'nt cool both, ok the temps may not be anything to write home about, but they would be silent.
 
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Don't get me wrong, I read and appreciate every post in this thread.

I particularly like Shadowscotland's Bungee hard drive mod. :)

One of the things I was looking at in the quest for quietness was to reduce hd noise. For the time being, all I have got is some rubber mounts to put between them and the case.
 
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A few pointers, and thanks bifday2k for above.
I did some testing on my 120.3 and I actually think a 120.2 is optimum for just a cpu (inc quads)

The block is a good choice - high flow rate, low cost, decent performance.
A second hand D-tek fuzion (rev1) is just as good ~15inc
The Rad is desiged for high rmp fans - NOT no/slow fans - PA/RX/SR1 are the three to get
Pump + res - no personal experance - I know the 450 XSPC pump/res is good but the 750 is noisey
D5 with a EK xtop is the best (but expensive new)
D-tek Db-1 (there is a EK, DD and phobia version) is second best for a small loop.
Barbs/tube are fine - but have a personal preferance for high flow or fat boys.
Perfect seals are a pig to fit imho but once on are water tight

linky - pumps
linky - rads
 
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