Windows 7: Home-made Liquid Cooling

Awesome. I haven't had a catastrophic system failure, which while saying a few kind words about my building skills, is still not very entertaining. Though cheaper XD

Also, pending finding a heatsink I don't care about, this project is a tenative go.

Do it, and don't be afraid to be creative.

Got a drill press or access to one? Make one. You would get the best heat transfer from copper and allow you to solder copper tubes to it (no leaks). A chunk of aluminum, while not as good, would work but it's harder to attach tubing. For that matter with all the trouble of raw materials and fabrication, just buy one. You can get a heat sink for about $25 or the whole water cooler kit for about $70.

Here's some examples:
ThermalTake Aquarius VGA Water Block at TigerDirect.com

Corsair CWCH50-1 Hydro H50 CPU Liquid Cooler - 120mm Fan, Copper Cold Plate, Aluminum Radiator, LGA775, LGA1366, LGA1156, AM2/AM3 at TigerDirect.com

I was thinking that, while as bulky as systems are now, a heatsink with fins would work better, as it would have a sort of reverse radiator effect. While a radiator puts out heat collected from water inside of it to disperse in air, this metal collects heat from [air] to be dispersed in water. I think that I will pick up a tower cooler, create a conical fiberglass shell with a 1/4" thick plastic plate near the end to be drilled and tapped for fittings, attach one on both sides, and see if I can get water to pump through it.

So just as an update for this, after many hours (literally 8-9 total) of searching and combing, I've found a suitable heatsink that can be used to form a liquid cooling base. It's cheap, and has a solid base, which makes things easier. This project is now underway.

Just for clarification, I'm trying to meet or exceed popular water cooling kits' performance, with the same amount or less money, and parts from home depot and newegg.

Question: are the liquid cooling threads and couplers a standard size, or is it all over the board?

They are standard, from 3/8", 1/2", and 5/8" I believe.

Also, you should post the heatsink, I am curious.

~Lordbob

Newegg.com - EVERCOOL EC-NK804A-925EP 92mm Ever Lubricate CPU Cooler for AM2 and AM3 Series

It's a cheap one with bad reviews, most about the fan. But the bottom is solid, which makes me think that it will be easier. Then I am forgoing fiberglass for a milled ABS plastic that has been drilled and tapped for lines, and silicone sealant on the ends. I will put up a sketch tomorrow, as I will finally have some time to myself. I also took the liberty of purchasing matching sata cables at a steal for $1.99 each

How exactly are you planning to use that as a waterblock?

Generally, water blocks are small and enclosed, with lots of surface area inside where the water flows.

~Lordbob

I have some ABS sheeting that I am going to mill to the proper size, after which I will take one side and mill out a space on the bottom side to allow for water flow into and out of the heatsink (from the photos on newegg, it appears that all the fins will be flush with the abs). This will be attached via the stock fan screw holes, and drilled (possibly tapped, depending on coupler type) for a 90 degree elbow coupler. The negative space on each side of the ABS block will allow water to flow through the entire heatsink, and be pulled out the other side.