Ok guys, as you know I'm in the process of building 'h20vers1'
thing is I haven't really got a clue about watercooling on the tech side of it!

My needs....
Although this will begin as a dualcore setup I will eventually upgrade to a quadcore, so really the system needs to be good for a quadcore setup, not a dualcore!

The case it has to fit in is a DangerDen WaterBox so it's pretty cramped.

I already know the Rad I'll be using is a Black Ice GTX240. (still need advice on which fans... ) which is dual 120mm.

Here's a list of my so far known hardware for the sytem....

Danger Den WaterBox Plus
Intel Q6600 Core2duo Quad ( hopefully next few weeks ) if not an e2180 will be got first b4 the upgrade to quad.
Asus P5N-E SLi Nforce650i sct 775
OCZ Reaper Enhanced Bandwidth Edition Dual Channel DDR2 4.0Gb
hdd unverified......
Samsung pata dvd writer
graphics unverified...
Hiper Type-M 630watt psu
Thermalright Northbridge cooler
2x Antec blue led TRICool 80mm 3 speed fans
Fan controller unverified...

It'll probably be running Vista ultimate or the new 64bit vers of Ubuntu 7.10
and also consider that graphics wise I'm not decided on SLi or not yet, so for now I'm just looking for the cpu block and maybe the southbridge block.
However I want the loop to be easily upgraded to more blocks etc...

I was maybe thinking Zalman blocks but you guys can tell me if thats a yay or nono.
Other stuff I don't have a clue about...
Tubing/size/material/brand???
Additives?
colourant?/dye??
Barbs? ( do I need to buy these seperate? if so which are the best ones?? )
Res/size?
Pump/power/again - size??/brand?
will I need a fill port? if so which is the best one?
How do I keep tabs on the actual water temps/pressure?

I will be getting all of this nearer the summer as I want to get my soprano partly done first. Budget won't be to bad as I'll be getting it all gradually ie...
rad/pump 1 month, next month I would get the Res/tubing etc...

I hope this post makes sense to you ( it doesn't to me lol!! ) ?
Thanks, Paul

Okay, here is my 2 cents......

Tubing: Size doesn't matter. Really. The performance is all a function of the total setup. The size of the tubing impacts the flow rate and pressure, so as long as you match up with what works best for your blocks you are good. That said, I prefer 3/8ID tubing for a few reasons. First off, it isn't too big, so you can make some decent tight turns. It can be stretched to fit over 1/2" barbs, and the actual opening in a 1/2" bard is 3/8", so there is no impact (or minimal) on the flow rate if you use 1/2" barbs with 3/8ID tubing. Of course, since you are on the other side of the pond the 6mm, 8mm, and 10mm parts are very common, with the 10mm being about the same size as 3/8.

As for the tubing material, you will get many, many, different opinions on that. I personally like Clearflex-60 and Primoflex. Some people swear by Tygon. The difference between them is that the ClearFlex and Tygon are stiff and clear. Tygon costs usually 2x as much per foot as the ClearFlex. PrimoFlex is soft and comes in a variety of colors. Any of those three would be fine.

Pump: Laing. Whether it be from DangerDen, Swiftech, Alphacool, etc. Get a Laing 12v pump. There are 2 common models (at the moment I can only recall the Swiftech names for them) the MCP-350 and MCP-650. The 350 is the size of an 80mm fan and only has 3/8 inlet/outlets. The 650 is the bigger one with 1/2" openings. Both are excellent pumps.

Additives: I like the PrimoChill fluid. It is non-conductive and works great. Others like a mix of 95% distilled water and 5% anti-freeze. I think you will find almost as many opinions on this as you will people who will answer this question. Same thing for Dyes.

Reservoir: Not required, but makes fill/bleed easier. As for size, that is all aesthetics and what you can fit in the case. Same goes for the FillPort. If you have a reservoir, no need for a fill port unless you want one or put the res someplace where it will be difficult to fill.

Monitoring: This is the tough one. There are several products out there that you can put in the loop to monitor flow rate and temps. The problem I have found is that they are geared towards the European market and are therefore smaller sizes, such as 4mm and 6mm. If you put one of those in a 3/8ID loop, it will restrict the flow to much. So if this is important to you, then you need to take that into consideration when picking your tubing size. As for who makes the stuff, Alphacool makes some really nice stuff with an LCD to monitor and control everything. It is very slick, but expensive.

I hope that helps!

Thankyou Rich! Thats nicely layed out and concise.
Very helpfull and easy to understand.
I shall look back on it often

I reckon you should post it as a guide