Would like to have some opinions

I have 2 external hard drive docks. Both Thermaltake Black X's. 1 is a single and the other is a dual drive dock. I can swap hard drives in 30 seconds and they stay out of the way. But, both are esata. I still haven't seen a USB 3.0 that's nearly as fast as esata., so that's what mine are. I also have a USB 3.0 dock mostly to use on my Wife's laptop which does not have esata, USB 3.0 only. I also back up to an internal drive. Can't have too many backups. And with esata you can have different OSs on it or run VMs from it.

essenbe said:

Then you could join the Seven Forums overclocking club, WHS. I'm sure you could find someone to build it for you. Heck, I'd do it if we lived just a little closer. But, you're in the rich part of Florida. I'm in the poor end of the state. LOL. But, picking your own parts and setting it up the way you like it, is worth the trouble. Besides, it's fun but can be very habit forming.

Thanks for the offer Steve. But if someone else did it for me, I'd miss all the fun.

Well I hope your sight gets better whs.

LB, thanks for the good wishes. But my eyes won't get better. The macula degeneration I can just keep at bay with shots into the eyes every 6 weeks. That's no fun - since nearly 4 years.

essenbe is their any brand names you recommend for water cooling? It would save me a lot of looking.

XSPC radiators and CPU blocks are good, Swiftech is good, Alphacool is pretty good. If you want looks as well as good products, Monsoon compression fittings are good as well as bittspower. I recommend compression fittings as opposed to barbs. Monsoon and bittspower are on the expensive side, but are very good and good looking too. Koolance is also good. I get my parts mostly from FrozenCPU.com | 1.877.243.8266 | World's Largest Selection of PC Modification Supplies, mostly because they seem to have the largest selection, but Computer Liquid Cooling & Premium Air Products, Parts, Kits & Accessories | Sidewinder Computers and Performance-PCs.com, ... sleeve it and they will come are good also. I've bought from all 3 and received excellent service from them all. FrozenCPU is probably the largest but the others are good too. They all 3 will normally ship the same day you order and I would have no hesitation to buy from any of them. Right now I have an XSPC 360mm radiator and an Alphacool NexXxos UT60 120mm cooler. They are both probably among the best you can get. Black Ice rads are quite popular too. If you need any more help, feel free to ask. As with most things computer wise, which is best is subjective and opinions can differ.

EDIT: with radiators pay attention to how many Fins Per Inch. It matters if noise is a concern. The fewer FPI the slower the fan speed can be, higher FPI need high RPM fans (read noisy) When buying fans, the CFM does not matter as much as static pressure. You need high static pressure to force the air through the radiator.

One of the best places to research is http://martinsliquidlab.org/. He is an expert as he does extensive tests on most products and is very well known and respected in liquid cooling circles. Overclock.net is another great place to find answers. They build some killer rigs and know as much as anyone around about liquid cooling.

The 2 best pumps on the market are the MCP 35X and MCP 655 (both made by Swiftech but used by others and rebranded, but still the same pump). They both have their advantages and disadvantages, but either one would do well for anything you or I would want. A good beginners guide is here. Water Cooling guide

XSPC Copper Raystorm AX360 Extreme Intel CPU Water Cooling Kit w/ Twin D5 w/ Free Dead-Water! - FrozenCPU.com

XSPC Copper Raystorm AX360 Extreme Intel CPU Water Cooling Kit w/ Twin D5 w/ Free Dead-Water!

This is what I found so far.

essenbe said:

I use mine, for several reasons and they give you options. Plus any time you are putting several water cooling radiators in a computer, it is necessary for it to be large and bulky. Yes, you can get by with less 5.25" bays, but I have 4 in my case right now and could use another. It just depends on how you set your case up and what you want to do with it.

That is very true Steve, as you know I have 4 too, but until recently when I added the NZXT Hue case lighting (which uses a single 5.25" slot) I had none of the 4 in use.

That's the way I started, with an XSPC Kit. It's a good way to start. My kit was the older type, and I'm not sure about the newer ones. they have an AX, RX and EX type kits and I can't tell you the difference anymore. You can just send an email to frozenCPU and ask them, they will respond with an answer, or any of the places I mentioned. For what you are going to need it for a twin pump is not really needed. It's value comes in redundancy. If one pump goes out, you still have another that will be more than enough to do the job. A D5 pump is the MCP655, which pumps a lot of water. The DDC is the MCP35x, which does not pump as much water but has higher head pressure. That means a lot. Many of the 'experts' think the 35x is better because of the head pressure. I have the D5 version. The Copper Raystorm block is the costlier version and I believe is for looks. The acetal Raystorm does not look as good but is still copper where it counts, and is what I have. I presume you are looking at the dual bay reservoir. That's what most of the XSPC kits come with. You can vhange later if you want to, which is what I'm trying to do. If you go with the dual bay reservoit be sure to leave the bay above it empty. That is how you get into it to fill it. Otherwise, you have to remove the device above it to get to the fill port or not connect it securely, like I did to slide it out and fill it. If you do that, allow for it when you measure the length of the hoses. I'm just telling you what I learned the hard way. The kits will come with everything you need to connect it. They usually come with compresion fittings, but make it easier on yourself and buy a couple of 45 degree fittings. You will need them. It helps tremendously when making the bend with the hoses not to kink the hoses. Otherwise either you will have kinks in a couple of the hoses or the bend will require you to use way too much hose, which will look bad. Stay away from 90 degree connections if at all possible. They reduce water flow a lot. I will use 2 45's before using a 90. Some people use them anyway, but that's just for looks, in my opinion.

paulpicks21 said:

essenbe said:

I use mine, for several reasons and they give you options. Plus any time you are putting several water cooling radiators in a computer, it is necessary for it to be large and bulky. Yes, you can get by with less 5.25" bays, but I have 4 in my case right now and could use another. It just depends on how you set your case up and what you want to do with it.

That is very true Steve, as you know I have 4 too, but until recently when I added the NZXT Hue case lighting (which uses a single 5.25" slot) I had none of the 4 in use.

Very true Paul, but as I said it gives you options. With your case the 360mm Rad sticks into the top bay which renders it almost useless. I managed to put a fan controller in that slot. Then with the dual bay reservoir I have uses 2 more. And with the Hue it uses the last one. That leaves no place for a DVD/Blue Ray for those of us who really need one, and I do. I know you don't but I convert a lot of DVDs and it would help greatly. I have to use an external USB one now which is painfully slow. So, for me, yes, I could easily use 5 slots. Others don't need near that many. If I had extra bays I would buy a 4 in 3 Bay hotswap hard drive kit and get rid of the internal bays for the extra room. Others don't need or want that. But, that's what I meant when I said it leaves you with options. Or as Lady Fitzgerald said, it allows her to use the card reader and other devices which are important to other people. As I always say about Microsoft, this is not a one size fits all world. Sorry, had to get that in.