1 loop or 2.

I've decided to go watercooling for my new rig and am trying to plan things out before purchase. Trying NOT to be overwhelmed with all the info from which products to buy, I am stuck on if I should run 1 loop or 2.

I will 'only' be cooling my CPU and GPU, i7-920 and a single 5870. My case is the Corsair 800D and will be throwing in a few extra [undecided how many] 120mm's on top of the 2 140s it comes with.

I 'might' crossfire down the road and then, I know I would most likely need 2 loops to separate the cpu/gpu, but for now, I don't see a need for 2 5870s. With that in mind, what would some people suggest as far as a setup.

My budget is around $400 and possibly could push to $500 if needed. I originally thought is a pretty decent budget for cooling until I started to see how much waterblocks and all the connections can add up to.

Please advise!

Thanks.

G

If you go with a 120x4 or a 140x3 or two 120x2's you'll be okay on temps. Not the best , but plenty good for some basic CPU onverclocking. If you plan to voltmod your GPU, then you might think about going two loops. Pretty hard to do on $450 though.

Swiftech XT or heatkiller 3.0 CPU block XT is better.
DDC3.2 pump and a XSPC restop.
TWO 120x2 SR-1 or XSPC RX rads. Finding the right 140x3 rad right now is hard, few choices I like.
Full cover block for the GPU. I use Danger Den blocks, EK and XSPC are your other choices.

Fans, hose, fittings etc too.

It really depends on what kind of temps you are looking for. Do you plan to overclock your cpu and/or gpu? Would you be okay with an external rad, or do you want to keep it all on the inside?

According to measurements, you can fit a 120.4 rad up top and probably a 120.1 on the rear exhaust. In my opinion, if you want the best temps for your cpu and don't particularly care about gpu temps, split the loops up and use a 120.1 for the gpu and a larger rad for the cpu. If you want to save money on another pump, throw it all into one loop.

The reason I mention the 120.4 is that jab-tech has the RX480 for $90, which is a pretty good deal.

Thanks Con for the info...my next big Q was going to be what brands out there are the 'quality' ones. I'll look into it a bit more and follow this thread (which I should have done from the start).

I'll be weighing the cost vs. effectiveness along with a sprinkle of future plannings [possible crossfire] over the next few days. If things are creeping too high in cost to cover the GPU right now, I'll just get my feet 'wet' (nyuk nyuk) with just one loop on the CPU and add a second down the road when I get a second GPU.

So many, too many! (is that possible) options for water cooling.

Thats a good thread. Seen this one? Something I wrote a while back. Just general info and many great links to teach ya as you plod to buy something. Your smart if you take it slow and catious. I did that and it's been trouble free since day one.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=604016
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=312743

Welcome to OCForums!

i would say something, but what i was thinking of has been said.

So many, too many! (is that possible) options for water cooling.

Click to expand...

no, there isn't enough options, well good ones that are affordable

Please give me some feedback about what I have come up with so far.

I have expanded my budget to around $550 give or take 50. as I see my initial $400 was WAY too low. Goal is to run 2 loops and I have come up with 2 scenarios. One is 2 separate loops while the second scenario is using the typhoon 3. Ill list the parts, then some concerns and questions after. Initially I want to run 1 loop on the CPU, one on a single GPU but will crossfire in about a year.

Setup #1

Loop 1 : CPU - i7-920
Apogee xt CPU block
MCR 320 w/ 3 Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1450
MCP 655
Bitspower multi-250ml res

Loop 2 : GPU - Sapphire 5870 (1)
Danger Den Summit GPU block
Bitspower multi-250ml res
MCR 220 2 w/ 2 Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1450
MCP 655
Bitspower multi-250ml res

Setup 2 :

Basically the same Rads and Blocks but using the Typhoon 3 with d5 pump.


So my quetions and concens...

The Typhoon 3 + d5 seems to be a decent job from some reviews but I am concerned how it will perform when I crossfire another 5870 into the second loop down the road. What are some thoughts on this? Easier to go the more conventional route?

Reservoir size. Is 250ml needed for the loop setups or can I get away with 150? I've seen a few swiftech micro reses in some setups and they seem to hold less?

Fittings. Compression seem to appeal to me the most. Like all other parts, can someone point me into the direction of some good quality ones? I see some offered in 'packages' that cost the same as 2-3 fittings.

VGA blocks. There is a $20-30 difference between the DD Summit and some other blocks like the EK Full body. Is there a major difference between these two? The DD doesn't seem "full body" and I am wondering if that is really necessary?

Any places I can get more "bang for the buck" I'd appreciate it being pointed out. Or if I am way off in my thought process, please offer advice.
Thank you.

G

loops look good, but i will make a few susgegstions.

(note that i'm under the impression your getting 2 t3's and 2 655's)
instead of taking up 4 5 1/2" bays you can get this combo and take up only 2.


XSPC Acrylic Dual 5.25” Reservoir + 2x Swiftech MCP355


but either option you choose they will handle the loops your thinking of and then some.

you can go with any size res you want, don't forget some people use T lines which is even less water.

i like bits power fittings, though i only have 2 compressions and 2 90's.

Actually in the second setup, it would have been 1 Typhoon 3 as I read it does pretty well, when coupled with a d5 pump, in a 2 loop setup. Is this more marketing than reality? In any event, I think I will go with the straight, conventional 2 loop setup so I dont have to worry about temps in future expansions.

As far as taking up bay space, I was going to go with the bitspower tubes for aesthetics and avoiding taking up front bay space. Maybe these aren't what I am thinking they are [reservoirs]?? If I used them, I wouldn't need to take up any bay space, right? Note : I don't mind using bay space since I have more than enough in the 800d.


On a somewhat side note. Can someone suggest an accurate and powerful fan/temp controller that can handle the 3 fans on the mcr320 and 2 on the mcr220? Thanks.

ok, i was thinking you were going with T3's in those loops for some reason.

and yes the tubes are plenty fine.

Ah, the only real reason that the T3 caught my eye is it's [supposed] ability to run two loops off itself and one pump [hence saving a few bucks depending on what pump/res one would go with in a 2 loop setup].

As for the Bitspower reservoir tubes.....what would be the advantage of 250ml over 150ml? Would it be signifigant in terms of overall cooling capacity of the system? or is it mainly just for footprint savings in the case?

you can go with any size res you want, don't forget some people use T lines which is even less water.

Click to expand...

Are you talking about a simple T fitting in place of a res?

Gotts said:

Ah, the only real reason that the T3 caught my eye is it's [supposed] ability to run two loops off itself and one pump [hence saving a few bucks depending on what pump/res one would go with in a 2 loop setup].

As for the Bitspower reservoir tubes.....what would be the advantage of 250ml over 150ml? Would it be signifigant in terms of overall cooling capacity of the system? or is it mainly just for footprint savings in the case?



Are you talking about a simple T fitting in place of a res?

Click to expand...

the t3 can run 2 loops but they share the same water.


as for the bigger res it basically only offers a larger epeen. once the water has heated (15-20 minutes for your average loop) the res size has no impact.

i was trying to make the point that it doesn't matter how much liquid you have in your loop is all. but yes a T can be used in place of a res.

Yate loons are $3.60 over at jab-tech and I am wondering if there is a catch. I've seen nothing but good things about these fans and just wondering if this price is too good to be true or if they are some shoddy model..

D12SM-12

Gotts said:

Yate loons are $3.60 over at jab-tech and I am wondering if there is a catch. I've seen nothing but good things about these fans and just wondering if this price is too good to be true or if they are some shoddy model..

D12SM-12

Click to expand...

I actually like the Yate Loon's. I have a total of 7 of them, but only 2 are running right now. The only catch is that you need to make sure that you get closed corners. Sometimes Jab will offer them with open or closed corners, and some people have posted about issues with the open corner Yates. They also seem to run better if they are mounted in a vertical orientation, instead of horizontal. They really are great fans for the price though. Most places charge anywhere around $5-7 plus shipping for them.

I see these are 25mm though. Isn't 38mm best for radiator fans? If so, would a shroud make up the difference?

38mm fans are higher pressure and great for rads that have a high FPI. On the low FPI rads a 25mm fan is just fine.

Depends on your rad choice.

the only catch is that jabtech gets lower quality yates vs petra's tech. at least for the low and medium speeds. i've only ordered high speed one from them and all 18 were high quality ones.

Spawn, I guess that's why Petra is sold out on all their Yate's. I'll keep an eye on their stock....it'll be a while before I get things up and running.

Wow, having a helluva time finding places that have the items I want in stock. Gives me time to think more, which isn't always a good thing.

I have a few items on order, a few others I have laying in wait and one question before I pull the trigger on those items.

I've seen a few posts stating they don't suggest "bay" style reservoirs...and I was just wondering what are the disadvantages of them. Is it because they aren't as easy to inspect?

I would like to get a reservoir / pump combo for a cleaner look and the XSPC res tops are sold out everywhere and only other option I have seen is the one Conumdrum suggested : the XSPC dual bay dual res. However, I'd like to know what some downsides of the product would be before purchase.

Thanks.

From what I've heard, many type of bay style reservoir were prone to leaking at the seams. It is likely due to type af additives used that reacted with glue that held the plexi together, allowing the fluid to leak out.

I do want to get Primo0chill Typhoon III and mount my pump on the back. The description claims that with Swiftech 655 or D5 pump (both are the same), you can maintain very high flow rate and have 2 separate loops with one pump and reservoir. But it seems to be OOS everywhere and has been for a few months. There's also a few reviews of leaking problem at the seam that connects the front and back half together but it could be due to the user's stupidity and used additive that reacted with the glue.

There are 8 ports no pump version of Typhoon III but it's not what I wanted (and oddly, it's available at many places)

EK bay spin is also nice but from the video I've seen, there seems to be a lot of churning water, and that may mean lots of air bubbles. If the water bay is not the highest point of the loop, air could build up elsewhere and cause problem. Maybe those people didn't fill the bay right and shouyld have topped the entire WC off with no air left? EK water bay is a little cheaper than Typhoon III and you get a choice of different colored impellers

Fron what I can see, EK bay spin won't work well in my case as it's too short and my case's drive mounting screw on the right side is only on the far end.

For now I'm going with an external XSPC passive reservoir that I got off eBay for about $20 (scratch and dent special ) Leak tested, it is fine and will do for now.