Thermaltake Aquarius III

[KaoS]

Hey guys, you probably don't remember me, I used to post over in the AMD and Air cooling sections a long time ago...

Anyways... So for my birthday my dad ordered me the Thermaltake Aquarius III water cooling thinger and I was just wondering how good it is.. I'm currently running an AMD 2500+ @ 2260Mhz.. with an idle temp (right now) of 50 - 53C on a hot day. My cpu cooler is currently a Thermaltake volcano 11+... so I was just wondering about the water cooling setup im getting, how good it is, and what sort of temp drops i will get... THANKS!

[NoAffinity]

Hi KaoS. Well, the general consensus is that "kits" don't offer much better cooling than good air cooling. I believe there is a CPU block offered by Thermaltake, which is considered an upgrade to the standard kit, that does offer a little better performance. I think in general, the heat dissipation capabilities of the included components isn't too efficient, tho.

That's not to say that you won't have fun setting it up, tho, and get a feel for WC. You might see a couple degrees drop in temps, but I don't think it will be too dramatic.

[KaoS]

Well it least it won't sound like i have a jet engine hidden somewhere in my room

[AngryAlpaca]

It uses an 80mm radiator, so it just might... Yeah, just see how it goes, if you're unhappy, you can first off upgrade the block to an MCW6000, and then work from there.

[KaoS]

Also would there be any way to get the liquid running through my system colder than just have it running through the radiator? Anything I could add to it?

[NoAffinity]

External water chilling. See vapor phase change section.

[ForceOfN4ture]

Don't you think that it's a little early to be thinking about water-chilling when you're running a stock watercooling KIT?
Read through the FAQ's and forum posts and start thinking about custom cooling, before you think about anything more advanced.

-BC

[AngryAlpaca]

He might simply be talking about adding another radiator. I imagine that you could modify it enough to fit a heater core in there as well.

[Cynic120]

Originally Posted by AngryAlpaca

He might simply be talking about adding another radiator. I imagine that you could modify it enough to fit a heater core in there as well.

Well, I hate to admit it, but I guess I have to sooner or later. As a generally uninformed WC n00b, I went out and bought one of these systems, and here is the info I found shortly after I installed it about making improvements to it.

http://www.a1-electronics.net/Heatsi...ModJan04.shtml
http://www.a1-electronics.net/Heatsi...III_Mod2.shtml
http://www.a1-electronics.net/Heatsi...III_Mod3.shtml
http://www.a1-electronics.net/Heatsi...III_Mod4.shtml
http://www.a1-electronics.net/Heatsi...III_Mod5.shtml

My experience has been that it is generally a quiet alternative to a good air-cooling setup; but on the other hand, I've been slowly working my way through some of the above mods (or sometimes just getting ideas from them), and seeing some improvements. As for numbers, with my Northwood 3.0 OC'd to 3.6Ghz (960Mhz FSB, DRAM 1:1), the system idles around 35-37C, and averages about 46C under full load.

I figure, if nothing else, that I can take this as a learning experience

[NoAffinity]

THat's actually pretty decent, Cynic. You could defintely do better with DIY, but my 2.8C on air ran at ~55C under load...so that's not bad at all.

[KaoS]

Well at least I got something I can learn the ropes on eh?

[Cynic120]

Originally Posted by NoAffinity

THat's actually pretty decent, Cynic. You could defintely do better with DIY, but my 2.8C on air ran at ~55C under load...so that's not bad at all.

Well, it's very nice to hear someone say, "That's not bad"

Here I was, feeling like a real idiot Now I don't feel quite as bad, hehe

[b21wayne]

Originally Posted by Cynic120

Well, it's very nice to hear someone say, "That's not bad"

Here I was, feeling like a real idiot Now I don't feel quite as bad, hehe

I've had the Aquarius III on an FX53 for about 4 weeks now, and averaging about 30-32 at idle and around 40C at load, of course that is with the room temp. at 62F. Pleased with it so far, i have another system with a 3.4ee and a thermaltake sub-zero unit and that idles about 29C and 38C at load in the same room. Oh for a vapochill, but a few bucks off yet.

[Cynic120]

Originally Posted by b21wayne

I've had the Aquarius III on an FX53 for about 4 weeks now, and averaging about 30-32 at idle and around 40C at load, of course that is with the room temp. at 62F. Pleased with it so far, i have another system with a 3.4ee and a thermaltake sub-zero unit and that idles about 29C and 38C at load in the same room. Oh for a vapochill, but a few bucks off yet.

b21wayne, is that chip running at stock? I'm kinda wondering how your temps compare to mine, but I need a frame of reference. Just curious

[jmk4476]

i dont get it? my p4 2.4b is at like 3.1-3.4 all the time and my idel is about 30 and 36-40 c under load....with a sp-94...

[AngryAlpaca]

Well, let's put it this way. Your temperatures may actually be anything between -35C and 105C (probably high end) based upon accuracy testing that has been done...