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New loop, need your opinion.

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Itachiii

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Joined
Nov 17, 2014
Hey guys, I'm about to start ordering my WC parts for my new rig. So the case is a Prodigy and I'll be cooling a 4690k and a gtx 970. To start of with the components:

XSPC Raystorm CPU block
XSPC Razor 970 GPU block
2x 120.2 XSPC EX series rads
XSPC photon 170 res
Laing DDC-1T Plus pump (was considering 1T-pro, it's a bit cheaper, would that work too?)
Primochill Advanced LRT tubing Red (was thinking something like 3/8 inner - 1/2 outter for better flow, what do u think?)
A bunch of compression fittings and barbs
silver coil and distilled water.

Was working on the route of the loop and I think the best way would be res-> pump -> CPU -> rad -> GPU -> rad
Would really like a feedback since I'm not really experienced with custom loops.
 
Water block for CPU and GPU are good, i think the reservoir is a bit too big for that tiny case, you may want to downgrade to a 150ml res.
You could but you don't need 2 240mm radiator, with that tiny case and all those component inside, you do not need to make thing more cramp than it already is, a single 240mm rad up top with 2 good fan and one 140mm intake fan is all you need to cool a CPU and a single GPU and keep the other component cool.
Barb fitting look cheap, don't use it.
Tubing is ok but i would use something a little smaller, 3/8" id - 5/8" od for aesthetic look and smaller tubing is somewhat more flexible than larger tubing= easier to bend in tight space.

This's optional, you don't have to do it but if you do, it good get some paper and different color pencils and start draw out the routing of the tubing, make sure they're not criss cross each other and not bundle up in one spot, make the build look nice and worthy to show off to your friend and at LAN event.
 
Thx for the reply. What about the pump? 600lph seem kinda overkill for this loop doesn't it? If im not mistaken there is no photon 150 or is there? Already changed the tubing to 3/8 5/8 :)
 
I always use the most powerful pump i can get my hand on.
There're other companies out there that make 150ml reservoir such at XSPC, EK, Koolance, Bitspower....
 
A 4690K + GTX 970 on a 240 rad ..... If all you can put in the case is a single 240 comfortably I would be concentrating on just a CPU ONLY loop or look for a more suitable case.

There have been a couple builds with the Prodigy case ....... take a serious look at them and figure out what can be put in to them. While I don't agree with ASUS about the amount of rad you need the rest of the advise I can agree with. Slim down some of your choices if you can't get enough rad in with everything else the GTX 970's run pretty cool drop it from your loop and concentrate on cooling your CPU only.

Just my thoughts.
 
Using low power cards like the 970 you can quite easily get away with a single 240 rad. In tight builds like these a second rad can serve to create a lot more overall airflow resistance so some of their benefit is lost.
I have run a 780 on a 240 rad with 1200RPM fans and it worked just fine

Any of the DDC pumps will work just fine. It really comes down to if you want voltage control or PWM as to which would suit you best. A 10W model would likely be best in a small loop like this because the 18W models can get quite hot.

As the guys have said a Photon res would be stretching the friendship for room. They are not small items at all.
 
Last edited:
I had taken measurements and 2 240 EX series rads could fit in there.. I was thinking about 2 rads coz i'll be squizing cpu and gpu as far as they can get. What do you recommend for res? Was thinking about a bay res but I will be getting a fan controller so it would't fit in
 
Itachiii said:
I had taken measurements and 2 240 EX series rads could fit in there.. I was thinking about 2 rads coz i'll be squizing cpu and gpu as far as they can get. What do you recommend for res? Was thinking about a bay res but I will be getting a fan controller so it would't fit in
Click to expand...

I would expect that the room available will really determine what res will work best. I would maybe look at combined res/pump combos because they can save some space.
Maybe like the EK DDC X-RES http://www.ekwb.com/shop/reservoirs-and-acc/res-pump-combo/ek-ddc/ek-xres-100-ddc-acetal.html They are small but still work better than most bay res.

Two rads certainly can't hurt, so why not if you can fit it and look good.
 
Jakusonfire said:
I would expect that the room available will really determine what res will work best. I would maybe look at combined res/pump combos because they can save some space.
Maybe like the EK DDC X-RES http://www.ekwb.com/shop/reservoirs-and-acc/res-pump-combo/ek-ddc/ek-xres-100-ddc-acetal.html They are small but still work better than most bay res.

Two rads certainly can't hurt, so why not if you can fit it and look good.
Click to expand...

That looks good. There won't be a problem since it can take much less liquid than a photon, will it?
 
Itachiii said:
That looks good. There won't be a problem since it can take much less liquid than a photon, will it?
Click to expand...

Well no, less liquid in the res and loop as a whole is no major effect. Small tube res can be a real pain to bleed if the flow rate isn't just right, not too high, not to slow, but the EK is one of the best designs available in that regard.

Aquacomputer makes something similar but I don't think it works quite as well as far as separating air from water in that small space.
http://shop.aquacomputer.de/product_info.php?products_id=3143

Just to illustrate what I was talking about earlier, using a 240 rad. For anyone interested, this chart is a gtx 780 at 1100Mhz and 3570K at 4.6Ghz cooled by a single EK PE 240 rad with only 3 fans on it. The interuptions to the smooth temp changes are just stage loading breaks. This is an hour of gaming
240 Front Rad only 3 fans gaming load.png
With fans maxing at 1400 RPM (EK Vardars and an Eloop)

The room is warm but the delta stays around 15C max. The Normal Delta with 240 + 360 rads is around 9C.
So the end result difference is around 6 or so degrees temps on CPU and GPU.
 
Last edited:
Now that's interesting.. I'll be looking into that EK top then and I'll be getting a DDC-1at plus. It states it can reach up to 60C. Since the rads will be slim line I' ll be getting 4 noctua ippc 2000 hooked on a Sentry 3. They can move quite some air through the case apart from cooling the rads
 
You will need some solid airflow with only 240mm worth of rad and well over 200w to cool. Temps will be fine, but part of the reason one goes water is quiet and superior performance. You will get one of those with that much rad as was illustrated already.

Less liquid only means that temps will normalize/saturate sooner. :)
 
Loud while gaming doesn't really bother me. When I want to do basic stuff I will just turn everything low from the fan controller. 4x iPPC 2000 on 2x240mm EXs can cool that heat, can't they?
 
The point isn't to fill it then empty it. The point is to keep liquid in it, enough to feed the pump and allow for evaporation, which it can easily do.

You will fill it through that res I assume and just keep adding to it until it tops off.
 
Something like this ......

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...S_100_DDC_32_PWM_incl_pump.html?tl=g30c97s152

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...S_140_DDC_32_PWM_incl_pump.html?tl=g30c97s152

However ..... Frozen CPU is not currently taking orders, no one is sure if they ever will open again though there is some rumors he may open up once new staff is trained. Who knows right now.

I do have to ask ....... have you spent any time in the stickies above ...... there is allot of good info there about what it takes to build a loop and maintain it.
 
Yes I have! It's just I'm double asking to make sure I don't destroy a pump or something :p I guess I'll be ordering from perfomance pcs or from EK directly
 
Sorry to ruint your day but did you know that FrozenCPU is out of business?


Very sad right?, i was a loyal customer of frozenCPU for a long time, even when Performance-pcs have the same product at a cheaper price, i still shop at FrozenCPU.
 
Bassnut mentioned it already, the op also said he would not order from there. Its covered. ;)

We have a big thread here about it too. :)
 
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