Water cooling setup feedback

[beau206]

Hello,

Any feedback regarding my tentitave water cooling setup (see below) would be greatly appreciated. Note that this will be my first WC'd gaming rig. Reliability is essential - this computer will be on 24/7/365.

Radiator:
Black ice extreme 360

Pump
Swifttech MCP655

CPU water block
EK supreme LT

GPU water block
EK-FC295

Reservoir
XSPC dual bay

Water lines
Tygon 3/8"

The system described above will be used with my proposed configuration:

Processor
Intel Core i7 920

Motherboard
ASUS Rampage II Extreme

Video Card
EVGA GTX 295 Superclocked Edition

RAM
Corsair Dominator 6GB DDR3 1600

Hard Drives
Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB

Power Supply
Corsair 1000HX

Case
Cooler Master Cosmos S

Thank you!!!

[hokiealumnus]

Good morning Beau; welcome to OCF! Before taking the plunge, I'd recommend taking some time to learn water cooling basics and get some knowledge under your belt. You'll be much better off for it, that I guarantee. First, I'll point you to this Water Cooling Guide for Beginners (http://gilgameshreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=75%3Ahokiealumnus&catid=40%3Aoverclocking-and-cooling&Itemid=86). Here is a post by Conumdrum (http://www.ocforums.com/showpost.php?p=6221512&postcount=5) with some more excellent information.

That said, the only problem I see with your loop is that you are using 3/8" tubing and your pump has 1/2" barbs built in. You'd be stopped before you got started unfortunately.

So...go read, then process, then read some more. Knowledge is your friend when you go putting water inside your PC. Once you've had a look, feel free to come ask any questions you need!

[ascl]

Two things spring to mind here. First is that the Black ice extreme 360 is a relatively high density (Fins Per Inch) rad, and hence doesn't perform at its best with low speed fans. If you are after some kind of quiet fans ( < 1500 rpm) its far from the ideal rad. Swiftech rads are hard to beat for price/performance, and perform very well at around 1500 rpm. If you really want the best low speed ( < 1000 rpm) rads, check out the XSPC or Thermochill rads.

Secondly, a single 120x3 rad will not give great temps with a heavily OC'd i7 + a 295. It should give acceptable temps, but probably depends on your OC.

Also, what hoki said :)

[beau206]

Thanks for the friendly welcoming and feedback :D . I'm still just gathering information and diligently performing research.

I was considering the black ice extreme 360 radiator because I read that it was essentially an ideal fit for the cosmos s case. Nevertheless, I'm interested in building a relatively quiet setup, thus I'll check out the XSPC and Thermochill units.

What are people's thoughts with regarding reservoir types - tube, bay, etc.? I find the bay reservoirs (e.g. XSPC dual, EK spin, primochill typhoon 3) aesthetically appealing, however, function (including reliability, low-maintenance, etc.) is most important to me.

Thanks guys!!!

[Spawn-Inc]

+ 1 to the posts above,

i'd be concerned with cooling all that heat with a 120.3 rad.

it doesn't matter what type of res you have, so choose which one suites your needs.

[ascl]

I am pretty sure that most of the common (ie 15mm fan spacing) rads these days will fit fine in the Cosmos S. XSPC will definitely fit.

Regarding res... Check out the Typhoon III, its a bay res that will fit a 655 pump in the back of it. Good way to kill 2 birds with one stone :)

[Conumdrum]

2009/2010 Heat thoughts:
With the advent of the HOT i7 and bigger dual chip GPU's, it has changed. A 220 size MIN rad for an i7, you want big over clocks, better go 320 sized rad.
Expect an i7 at 4.1 to be putting out close to 250 watts. Using the radiator testing charts, a PA 120.3 with medium fans on high you’ll get a Delta T of 5C, very good. Some have suggested a GTX295 puts out about 250 watts of heat, possibly more like 280 under load. You try and put both of those on a 120x3 radiator the CPU will not over clock at all, it will be very very unhappy. You want to learn more about heat load and the all important measurement, Delta T, read up in the stickies I provided.

[beau206]

Thank you all for the replies! My updated setup is as follows:

Radiator
XSPC RS360

Pump
Swifttech MCP655

CPU water block
EK supreme LT

GPU water block
EK-FC295

Reservoir
Primochill Typhoon 3

Will this be an effective configuration given mild i7 920 OC'ing (~3.2Ghz) + GTX 295? Again, reliability and low-maintenance is priority. Thanks!!!

[ascl]

Ah, sorry I didn't make myself terribly clear. The XSPC RX series is low FPI, the RS is still pretty high. If possible get the RX, failing that, the swiftech should still be better than the RS series with medium to slow speed fans.

[Daddyjaxx]

The RX is comparable to the Thermochill and Feser rads, but about 30-50.00 cheaper.

[Conumdrum]

The XSPC RS is a old model, not nearly as nice as the XSPC RX models.

Your CPU temps will suffer if you have both of those in the loop. Think about TWO 120x2 sixed rads or a 120x4 please.

2009/2010 Heat thoughts:
With the advent of the HOT i7 and bigger dual chip GPU's, it has changed. A 220 size MIN rad for an i7, you want big over clocks, better go 320 sized rad.
Expect an i7 at 4.1 to be putting out close to 250 watts. Using the radiator testing charts, a PA 120.3 with medium fans on high you’ll get a Delta T of 5C, very good. Some have suggested a GTX295 puts out about 250 watts of heat, possibly more like 280 under load. You try and put both of those on a 120x3 radiator the CPU will not over clock at all, it will be very very unhappy. You want to learn more about heat load and the all important measurement, Delta T, read up.
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Us guys have done the WC thing, there are basics you gotta know. Maybe this long rewritten and modified thing will help.
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CPU HS $65
GPU HS and air HS for Vram and Mosfets $95, full cover block, $100-$200
Radiator $60 min, up to $130
Pump $65 +
Reservoir $25
Hose, some barbs and clamps etc (min $25, more like $35)
Fans $15-30

I went top notch and spent close to $600 to cool my CPU and GPU. You can do it for less, but a CPU only loop is $250 or so, add a GPU, add $100. If your looking at an i7 and a BIG GPU, start thinking about a big rad, possibly two rads, or even TWO loops.
First you gotta learn about WC. It's not like walking into Best Buy.
Spend a while reading this info, get a feel for what your getting into and learn.
It’s not 'Roket Science', but you need to know the basics and the lingo as a beginner.
You should spend a few hours on the listed sites reading threads, guides and more. It's how YOU learn. I can recommend the best stuff, but there are things only reading and participating on forums will ya learn anything. You don’t have to join all the forums. But reading ALL the WC stickies and many threads that interest you is important. A thread might be 50 replies long, and 15 of those replies might be what you needed to ‘PASS THE TEST’. Remember, once the $500 of goodies show up on your doorstep you’re on your own.
For your benefit please spend a few days reading a LOT. It took me a while; I was big into Air over clocking and started to read about water-cooling. I made my decision to water-cool. THREE months later I made my first purchase of parts. Yes it took me that long and I have built a few systems and always just fine.

Don't expect miracles or SUPER DOOPER over clocks. Your temps with a good WC rig will be better than you could of got on air, guaranteed. What you will get is a quiet system that can handle OC to the max of your hardware IF you buy quality and buy smart. And minor maintenance too, a bonus for the water cooler.

Also while there please read on case mods etc. The radiators do NOT fit in many cases. Reading up on pumps and hose routing, wire management and other things are important. Google your planned case and the word water-cooled in one line. You might get lucky. Look here too…. http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=223835
...........................
2009/2010 Heat thoughts:
With the advent of the HOT i7 and bigger dual chip GPU's, it has changed. A 220 size MIN rad for an i7, you want big over clocks, better go 320 sized rad.
Expect an i7 at 4.1 to be putting out close to 250 watts. Using the radiator testing charts, a PA 120.3 with medium fans on high you’ll get a Delta T of 5C, very good. Some have suggested a GTX295 puts out about 250 watts of heat, possibly more like 280 under load. You try and put both of those on a 120x3 radiator the CPU will not over clock at all, it will be very very unhappy. You want to learn more about heat load and the all important measurement, Delta T, read up in the stickies I provided.
2007/2008 Old stuff heat thoughts:
For a setup using the old Q6600 CPUs and the old 4870 and GTX280 cards this is for you.
IF you just cool your CPU and you’re NB if you want, you can get by with a 120.2 sized radiator (RAD). And MAYBE fit in inside depending on your mod skillz. You want to cool your GPU too, you'll need a 120.3 sized rad, and it probably won't fit inside. The rear external rad really works great. No matter what your adding 10lbs to your PC.
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Just general info what you should do once a year to keep your WC at 100%:
Cleaning a loop, not a new loop: I do this once a year, I drain and refill at 6 months, the next time I do this……
Wash hands very well, getting rid of hand oils.
For pumps and blocks, fittings, clamps, acrylic res/block parts.... not hose, tear it to smallest pieces, put in a bowl, heat water up not to boiling add 10% vinegar, when hot, pour over parts. Let sit for 10 minutes or so, then rinse well, put on a towel to dry.
The blocks will probably have some black oxidation. Take the copper parts out of the pile of parts you took out of the water. Dry well and pour ketchup on them, and set aside. Only the copper parts need this.
Rad cleaning: fill with very almost boiling hot water. Let sit 10 minutes, drain half out and shake for 5 min. Repeat till liquid is clean. You can pour it in a clean bowl and inspect the water if you like.
All the pump, block, fittings, and clamps, inspect, get in the tiniest corners with a tooth brush. Kind of meditative, time consuming, you learn a lot about o-ring size, how it all feels. It’s very relaxing with some mellow jazz in the background. Run a rag using a coat hanger and dish soap through the tubing, rinse well. I always consider replacing my hose every year. Plasticizers leach out, the tubing isn’t as flexible. Consider it a ‘Hobby Cost’.
Rinse all the parts and hose with distilled, dry then really dry with an air compressor (nice extra step to get rid of water spots). Don’t need to dry the inside of the hose.
Now on to the copper parts, they should have been soaking an hour or two. A toothbrush and ketchup should clean much of the oxidation. It probably won’t be like new, but pretty darn good. Rinse, dry, and blow the parts.
That’s it.
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Benching software and such is very varied. I use these for each purpose:
These are pretty standard and used by many.
Monitoring the PC temps overall: HW monitor aka hardware monitor
CPUZ for CPU info
GPUZ for GPU info
CPU only: Real Temp
GPU only: ATI Tool, I have a Nivida GTX280, so it works on Nvidia

Loading/benching tools:
CPU loaders: Prime95 and OCCT
GPU Loaders: ATI Tool and the best one is Furmark, nothing pushes the GPU harder right now.
Benching for overall graphics/gaming performance is 3DMark06
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Guides
Pretty up to date info and buying guide Has EU, AU, NZ stores at the bottom
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.co...d.php?t=282232
A great up to date guide
http://gilgameshreviews.com/index.ph...ling&Itemid=86
What to do once all the stuff is in the door
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.co...d.php?t=312743
Many build logs on MANY cases, great learning tool.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=233842
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=223835

My latest rig:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=604016

Forums
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/index.php? Not a noob site, but great stickies
http://www.ocforums.com/ My fav, good peeps, know their stuff, less hardcore
http://www.over-clock.com/ A GREAT Europe site
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/ Decent site
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=3837299 Why we use distilled water. Or de-ionized in the UK because distilled ain’t available unless your rich.

Tests on equipment, not reviews, truly scientific tests
http://translate.google.com/transl [...] n&ie=UTF-8 Info on rad testing
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=220593 More rad testing
http://skinneelabs.com/ Host for Martins lab and some newer tests
http://www.skinneelabs.com/MartinsLiquidLab/ Test results, very technical


Stores (US)
http://www.dangerden.com
http://www.petrastechshop.com/
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/
http://www.jab-tech.com/
http://www.performance-pcs.com
http://www.frozencpu.com/
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[Conumdrum]

As far as reses go, the one on a DDC3.2 with and XSPC restop is proven to be a flow and pressure top performer. The Typhoon res for mounting a MCP 355 is nice if you want a bay res.

But using a DDC3.2 means you SHOULD get an XSPC top for that pump no matter what. The MCP 355 with a seperate res is just fine, it doesn't need a add on top.

The two most popular seperate reses is the sweet small Swiftech Microres or the XSPC tube reses, starting at 150mm long. The 100mm is too short.