Hi all! Need your expert opinion on a simple WC setup

Hello All,

I've been lurking for quite a while and have decided to take the plunge (no pun intended) into WC. =)

I am looking to do 2 very simple loops (so that I'll have a smaller chance of mucking it up) in a small custom made enclosure for:

Asus P6T V2 Deluxe
i7 920 (4GHz OC)
MSI 295GTX (dual PCB) (running at 70-80degrees C with fan on full. seriously loud)

The stuff I am looking at is:

a. Swiftech MCR320-DRIVE With Pump x2 (1 for the proc and 1 for the card which I am going to OC later)

b. EK Water Blocks EK-FC295 GTX SLI - Acetal (I have been checking but haven't found out if the MSI 295 GTX is a reference board, advice anyone?)

c. Swiftech Apogee XT

I got some questions about:

1. 1/4" BSPP - 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD Compression Fitting - Thermochill
Assuming that I am running the tubes straight from radiator to block, I only need 4 right? Are they the right ones to fit on the Swiftech radiators. (1/4" NPSM threaded hubs)

2. Should I go for Tygon R-3400 1/2" ID 3/4" OD - UV Resistant black Tubing or Tygon® Silver Antimicrobial Tubing 1/2in. ID 3/4in. OD. I am not sure about this. I live in a high humidity and high ambient temp. (24-32degrees C). Do I still need PT Nuke or silver coils if I get the tubings?

3. Considering that the rad has a built in pump, should I use the 'boiling water' method to flush the rads before use?

I have all the FAQs across the WC boards but they don't cover these 2 questions. I really appreciate the help rendered. If there are any other advice that I should take, please feel free to let me know.

Best
Wesley

Welcome, glad to see you did your research and picked out some great parts.

1. the threading will work, but because compressions are large, it may be very tight, if it will fit at all. so you might want some 45's to make sure.

2. which ever, i would still opt for a silver kill coil or pt nuke if you use the tygon silver stuff. if you go with either, you make not need anything as you would not have any plexi or light getting to your water. i would still are on the side of caution and get a biocide.

3. remove the pump, then clean.

Hello Spawn,

Thanks so much. Will get the 45s and PT Nuke it regardless of either tube type.

Best regards
Wesley

Spawn-Inc said:

Welcome, glad to see you did your research and picked out some great parts.

1. the threading will work, but because compressions are large, it may be very tight, if it will fit at all. so you might want some 45's to make sure.

2. which ever, i would still opt for a silver kill coil or pt nuke if you use the tygon silver stuff. if you go with either, you make not need anything as you would not have any plexi or light getting to your water. i would still are on the side of caution and get a biocide.

3. remove the pump, then clean.

Click to expand...

lwesley said:

I have been checking but haven't found out if the MSI 295 GTX is a reference board, advice anyone?

Click to expand...

to OCForums

Looks like a nice build. Nobody every made a custom 295 except for the Asus Mars...so yes, yours is a reference design

MIAHALLEN said:

to OCForums

Looks like a nice build. Nobody every made a custom 295 except for the Asus Mars...so yes, yours is a reference design

Click to expand...

Hi!

Great info! Thanks, the EK guys couldn't confirm if the MSI 295 GTX was reference. I just got a good deal on a 2nd hand Heatkiller 295 (dual PCB). Will be going for that instead.

Best
Wesley

if you're doing an external enclosure for your water cooling, I suggest that you invest your time and money into one, good, single loop, rather than two low-end loops

dump the swiftech MCR drive radiators and get the following

- Swiftech or EK 120.2 or 120.3 radiator
- Laing DDC-2 (MCP-355) or Laing D5 (MCP-655) pump
- Heatkiller 295 GPU block that you said you got a good deal on
- Swiftech Apogee XT or EK Supreme HF or Heatkiller 3.0 for CPU block
- Swiftech MCRES-Micro rev.2 for reservoir

as far as tubing goes, go with the black tygon r-3400, the silver tubing is overpriced and totally unnecessary as far as PC watercooling goes. I'd just run a standard 90% distilled water + 10% antifreeze mix in the loop, and hang a silver KillCoil in the reservoir if you really want the "just in case" factor of a natural biocide, although antifreeze will pretty much prevent anything from growing in your loop by itself

for radiator flushing - flush them with 5% distilled white vinegar (sold at any grocery store) - run a small loop with a gallon of vinegar with your pump through the radiator for 3-6 hours, then repeat the flushing with a gallon of distilled water - this will remove any leftover flux and oxidation from the manufacturing process, and will leave you with a squeaky clean radiator that you can hook up to your loop without any problems

Hi Sneaky

Thanks for the advice. I was considering getting a good traditional loop but read good reviews of the MCR320 and the MCP350 pump. You mean the pump is not good enough? I know that the 355 and 655 are workhorses but had gathered info that the MCR320 was a good performer. If I am going via 1 loop (which was my original plan), I was thinking of just 1 radiator (120.4 or something bigger)

Best
Wesley

Sneaky said:

if you're doing an external enclosure for your water cooling, I suggest that you invest your time and money into one, good, single loop, rather than two low-end loops

dump the swiftech MCR drive radiators and get the following

- Swiftech or EK 120.2 or 120.3 radiator
- Laing DDC-2 (MCP-355) or Laing D5 (MCP-655) pump
- Heatkiller 295 GPU block that you said you got a good deal on
- Swiftech Apogee XT or EK Supreme HF or Heatkiller 3.0 for CPU block
- Swiftech MCRES-Micro rev.2 for reservoir

as far as tubing goes, go with the black tygon r-3400, the silver tubing is overpriced and totally unnecessary as far as PC watercooling goes. I'd just run a standard 90% distilled water + 10% antifreeze mix in the loop, and hang a silver KillCoil in the reservoir if you really want the "just in case" factor of a natural biocide, although antifreeze will pretty much prevent anything from growing in your loop by itself

for radiator flushing - flush them with 5% distilled white vinegar (sold at any grocery store) - run a small loop with a gallon of vinegar with your pump through the radiator for 3-6 hours, then repeat the flushing with a gallon of distilled water - this will remove any leftover flux and oxidation from the manufacturing process, and will leave you with a squeaky clean radiator that you can hook up to your loop without any problems

Click to expand...

lwesley said:

Hi Sneaky

Thanks for the advice. I was considering getting a good traditional loop but read good reviews of the MCR320 and the MCP350 pump. You mean the pump is not good enough? I know that the 355 and 655 are workhorses but had gathered info that the MCR320 was a good performer. If I am going via 1 loop (which was my original plan), I was thinking of just 1 radiator (120.4 or something bigger)

Best
Wesley

Click to expand...

the MCR320 + MCP350 is a great combination to have, but when you cram it into an all-in-one radiator/pump package, it diminishes performance a bit, as there are better pumps, and better radiators available out there if it's peak performance that you're ultimately after

if you went with a 120.4 or a 140.3 radiator in an external enclosure for a single loop with a good pump you'll be set for sure, and I assure you that you'll be happier than you would if you did two separate integrated pump setups

Sneaky said:

if you're doing an external enclosure for your water cooling, I suggest that you invest your time and money into one, good, single loop, rather than two low-end loops

dump the swiftech MCR drive radiators and get the following

- Swiftech or EK 120.2 or 120.3 radiator
- Laing DDC-2 (MCP-355) or Laing D5 (MCP-655) pump
- Heatkiller 295 GPU block that you said you got a good deal on
- Swiftech Apogee XT or EK Supreme HF or Heatkiller 3.0 for CPU block
- Swiftech MCRES-Micro rev.2 for reservoir

as far as tubing goes, go with the black tygon r-3400, the silver tubing is overpriced and totally unnecessary as far as PC watercooling goes. I'd just run a standard 90% distilled water + 10% antifreeze mix in the loop, and hang a silver KillCoil in the reservoir if you really want the "just in case" factor of a natural biocide, although antifreeze will pretty much prevent anything from growing in your loop by itself

for radiator flushing - flush them with 5% distilled white vinegar (sold at any grocery store) - run a small loop with a gallon of vinegar with your pump through the radiator for 3-6 hours, then repeat the flushing with a gallon of distilled water - this will remove any leftover flux and oxidation from the manufacturing process, and will leave you with a squeaky clean radiator that you can hook up to your loop without any problems

Click to expand...

if your talking about using straight grocery store vinegar (5% acid) in the loop for cleaning, then thats too strong a solution, and not really even needed for cleaning rads anymore. it's all water based flux. i still use vinegar, but i let it sit for 15 minutes at most when using full strength vinegar. even then the water comes out slightly green/blue. which isn't good as it's the copper being eaten.

Sneaky said:

as far as tubing goes, go with the black tygon r-3400, the silver tubing is overpriced and totally unnecessary as far as PC watercooling goes. I'd just run a standard 90% distilled water + 10% antifreeze mix in the loop, and hang a silver KillCoil in the reservoir if you really want the "just in case" factor of a natural biocide, although antifreeze will pretty much prevent anything from growing in your loop by itself

for radiator flushing - flush them with 5% distilled white vinegar (sold at any grocery store) - run a small loop with a gallon of vinegar with your pump through the radiator for 3-6 hours, then repeat the flushing with a gallon of distilled water - this will remove any leftover flux and oxidation from the manufacturing process, and will leave you with a squeaky clean radiator that you can hook up to your loop without any problems

Click to expand...

Sneaky, I really disagree with your recommendations with a strong bias. Don't know what forum you get your info from, but here and the TOP WC forum says NO!

#1. His loop has no dissimlimar metals. Why would he need antifreeze? It's a old school thing to prevent corrosion and there is NO mention of sub freezing cooling.

OP: disreguard the antifreeze.

#2. No radiators sold worldwide need ANY vinegar. It was used in the old days before the flux used by rad makers was banned/stopped being used.

OP: You do NOT need vinegar to clean the loop.

This is more than enough to help you clean/build the loop.
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=312743

Sneaky said:

the MCR320 + MCP350 is a great combination to have, but when you cram it into an all-in-one radiator/pump package, it diminishes performance a bit, as there are better pumps, and better radiators available out there if it's peak performance that you're ultimately after

if you went with a 120.4 or a 140.3 radiator in an external enclosure for a single loop with a good pump you'll be set for sure, and I assure you that you'll be happier than you would if you did two separate integrated pump setups

Click to expand...

The new MCR rad/pump setup is plenty of enough power for a CPU loop. It will be fine.

Using one for the GPU loop which is even less restriction is just fine.

There is better pumps. And slighty better rads. For your needs and your heatload you have a great setup. No need to go all max for uber costs etc.

Stick with those rad/pump setups and good blocks. Should turn out real nice.

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice. Noted on the vinegar and anti freeze.

For pricing, I have just checked out the local stores here (Singapore) the prices for a single 120.4 loop (they have stock for the whole system) and dual MCR320 Drive (need to ship rads from the US) are pretty much about the same.

Might go either way. Regardless of the setup, things will be better with water since I am getting 80c with my 295GTX on a screaming stock fan and 60c+ on my i7.

Best
Wesley

Conumdrum said:

The new MCR rad/pump setup is plenty of enough power for a CPU loop. It will be fine.

Using one for the GPU loop which is even less restriction is just fine.

There is better pumps. And slighty better rads. For your needs and your heatload you have a great setup. No need to go all max for uber costs etc.

Stick with those rad/pump setups and good blocks. Should turn out real nice.

Click to expand...

if you have stock for the entire loop at local stores in Singapore, I honestly think that that would be your best bet, rather than sourcing parts from the US

Like others here have pointed out i think you would get a solid setup with the 2 120.3 rads and if the pice id pretty much the same that's the way i would go myselve
Also like Conumdrum pointed out it's no need for antifreeze since it just kills organisms that have kidneys and the stuff that grows in our loops don't have any

jr1 said:

Like others here have pointed out i think you would get a solid setup with the 2 120.3 rads and if the pice id pretty much the same that's the way i would go myselve
Also like Conumdrum pointed out it's no need for antifreeze since it just kills organisms that have kidneys and the stuff that grows in our loops don't have any

Click to expand...

Hi!

Thanks for the affirmation.

Turns out that our local wc shop doesn't have the 480 feser rad that I want for the loop so it's back to original plan of the 120.3 DRIVE. I read that it's possible to configure a 355 pump instead of a 350, so it's good news.

best
Wes

Yep, but the 350 is enough for your needs. At least you can upgrade later if you want to. In fact I wonder if Gabe isn't going to have a upgrade on the pump right from swiftech. It's almost worth a email to Gabe at Swiftech. He's a good guy.

Ahhh I used to live in Singapore! Just go to SimLim Computer center, they should have everything you need for water-cooling and more. There were at least 4 reputable WC-only shops in that tech-center last year, when I lived there.

Hi Gwiggles,

Seems that most of them have stopped selling the major parts. =( uvinium (hardcore modder) has also stopped. The only SG online shop is edge2o.com and they have no plans to bring the Swiftech combo drive in. They also had the last piece of 120.4 sold.

Conumdrum: Thanks for the info. I am still having a tough time considering options.

Best
Wes

Gwiggles said:

Ahhh I used to live in Singapore! Just go to SimLim Computer center, they should have everything you need for water-cooling and more. There were at least 4 reputable WC-only shops in that tech-center last year, when I lived there.

Click to expand...

Hi all,

Made a decision, will be going to Conumdrum's recommendation. This is ALL the stuff that I am getting. Are the all parts correct? (esp the compression fitting) I plan to use 45-degree fittings on the HK GTX295 and CPU blocks.

Thanks again for the great advice!

Watercool HEATKILLER® CPU Rev3.0 1366 CPU Water Block Watercool HEATKILLER® CPU Rev3.0 1366 CPU Water Block
- Water Block Backplate Add HEATKILLER® Backplate 1366
- Fitting Size 1/2" Barb for 1/2" ID tube
$93.70

Swiftech MCR320-DRIVE 3 x 120mm Radiator w/ Integrated Pump Housing ( WITH PUMP) Swiftech MCR320-DRIVE 3 x 120mm Radiator w/ Integrated Pump Housing ( WITH PUMP)
$379.90

Bitspower G1/4 Black Sparkle Dual Rotary 45-Degree Compression Fitting-ID 1/2" OD 3/4" Bitspower G1/4 Black Sparkle Dual Rotary 45-Degree Compression Fitting-ID 1/2" OD 3/4"
4 pieces
$59.80

Bitspower Premium G1/4" Shiny Silver High Flow 1/2" Compression Fitting (For Tygon 1/2" ID) Bitspower Premium G1/4" Shiny Silver High Flow 1/2" Compression Fitting (For Tygon 1/2" ID)
4 pieces
$35.80

Tygon 3603 1/2" ID (3/4" OD) Clear Tubing Tygon 3603 1/2" ID (3/4" OD) Clear Tubing
15 feet
$52.35

Heatkiller GTX295 bought.
Silver Coil + PT Nuke + Tube cutter in Singapore.