Help for an ambitious triple cooling project! Double GPU + CPU water cooling

I just bought the sleek minimalist nzxt s340 mid tower case and I plan to use 2 GTX 980 Ti in it along with an i7 processor and All-In-One water cool all three units. I wanted to use the NZXT Kraken X61 280mm for the i7 processor on the motherboard taking up the air flow from the front of the case, and use two NZXT Kraken X31 for the fan opening on the upper back on the case and the fan opening on the rear-part of the top of the case.

First several questions,

1.) from the pictures of the Kraken X31s the length of the tubes seem kinda short - if I install these from the top and rear fans will they be able to reach the GTX 980s installed near the bottom back of the case?
2.) Air flow of the case. I'm going to be using every single fan opening meaning there will be no fans at all circulating air into the case (I assume the closed loop system sucks in all the air into their tubes and leave none just passing by their fans) is this going to be ok? All the fan openings will be taken and replace with fan taking air IN to fuel the water cooling. Will the other components such as the RAM or VRAM overheat due to stale air?
3.) The NZXT S340 top fan opening - I know this is an awkward opening to install a water cooling intake fan in as most people do it from the front air intake or the rear fan as the top opening is usually meant to push hot air out - will there be any issues with replacing the top fan opening? Is there be enough space to fit both X31s without bumping into each other or the motherboard?

Thank you for your help!

I am assuming you are thinking of using something like the Kraken G10 GPU bracket, not just somehow sticking the waterblock onto the gpu...?
case dimensions are 200mm x 445mm x 432mm, so 7.87 x 17.51 x 17.00 inches.
X31 is advertised as having 16" tubing.

you can install the radiators so that you have as many as you like being intake, and then the exhaust, there will be some air circulation due to the case not being an air tight seal, and turbulence caused by airflow hitting off structures, you can also install spot fans if you want to cause more circulation.

Yeah I have to use the G10 bracket of course for the GPUs.

So all of this could work? Maybe adding in a memory fan like the Consair dominator will help air flow inside the case. The Fan on the G10 brackets should help a little too. But this doesn't solve the problem all the fan openings are going to be taken up by the closed loop systems so the airflow will only be from tiny cracks.

Wait for some of the others to chime in, specially those with green/blue names.
They are the real experts lol, im just a small fry xD

Anyone?

Wait for some of the others to chime in, specially those with green/blue names.

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Green/blue really means nothing...particularly the greens. Go by knowledge, not by post count/status.

To answer the OP's questions...

1. Not sure. I don't have the case nor the cooler. Measure it and see (you can find tubing length on their website).
2. It wont? Air passes through the radiator, no? Front/sides = intake, Top/rear = exhaust.
3. No issues as far as location goes. As far as fitment, again, look up the dimensions of the radiators and see. Though chances are it wont work because the radiators are larger than the 120mm holes.

I thought the radiators for the closed loop systems suck it all up into the tubes they use to cool the processor.

*drops truck on ED*
you know what I meant

DorianManhattan said:

I thought the radiators for the closed loop systems suck it all up into the tubes they use to cool the processor.

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Suck what all up in the tubes? It doesn't work any different in an AIO versus custom. The air goes through the radiator.

NZKshatriya said:

*drops truck on ED*
you know what I meant

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I know what was posted... move on with the commentary in every thread, LOL!

Is there any reason that you are not building a custom loop?
You are already in for about 300 bucks on the cooling.
It would not be much more to go custom loop.

I just don't see this working well with the 3 all in ones.

I thought the radiators for the closed loop systems suck it all up into the tubes they use to cool the processor.

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This statement troubles me. I think you should ask lots of questions before attempting this build.

We are here to help.

Soulcatcher668 said:

Is there any reason that you are not building a custom loop?
You are already in for about 300 bucks on the cooling.
It would not be much more to go custom loop.

I just don't see this working well with the 3 all in ones.



This statement troubles me. I think you should ask lots of questions before attempting this build.

We are here to help.

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I second this. It would be much easier and cleaner to just do a custom loop. 3 AIO's is going to be a mess with all those tubes and radiators run to different places, and i can see radiator clearance being an issue if you're mounting multiple small radiators side by side. I don't really understand what you're asking, or your logic behind your 2nd question, but I think you need to do some research and read the stickies before you start ordering parts. We are happy to help and answer your questions, but having a general understanding of airflow and how watercooling works is essential, especially when you're dealing with a build this pricey.

DorianManhattan said:

Yeah I have to use the G10 bracket of course for the GPUs.

So all of this could work? Maybe adding in a memory fan like the Consair dominator will help air flow inside the case. The Fan on the G10 brackets should help a little too. But this doesn't solve the problem all the fan openings are going to be taken up by the closed loop systems so the airflow will only be from tiny cracks.

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I can tell you from experience the 2 G-10's can be done but its a pain, the hoses are really pretty short making placement of the rads not so easy, Also its tight between them. Its tough to keep the hoses from binding or pushing the GPU as well My case is large so was even tougher for me where I think on a smaller case it would be somewhat easier for routing but on the other hand I can imagine will be challenging in other ways because of being tighter. I have to say I do love the temps, never break 60c now on any of the games I play.
That being said next time I'd go full custom loop for sure, so much easier to put things where you need them and not be limited to the aio's hose length and pre- configured structure.

Custom Loop can destroy my 2 GTX 980 ti s plus everything else which is over $2,000 worth of hardware. I've read too many horror stories of custom loop water cooling wrecking everything. Plus it requires a lot of maintenance.

I've only done air cooling before this so I didn't know air passed through the radiator. Oh well.

I think I'll try go through with this.

DorianManhattan said:

Custom Loop can destroy my 2 GTX 980 ti s plus everything else which is over $2,000 worth of hardware. I've read too many horror stories of custom loop water cooling wrecking everything. Plus it requires a lot of maintenance.

I've only done air cooling before this so I didn't know air passed through the radiator. Oh well.

I think I'll try go through with this.

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Even All in one coolers can leak, I just had my H55 on the CPU leak and it came from the fitting in the pump.Lasted about a year and a half. I'd actually trust a loop I build more than one I didnt as your relying on their quality control and not your own.
I'd really second and third what was recommended to you above and doing your homework bigtime. read as much as you can and know what your getting into. You can ruin your GPU just as easy adding an AIO as adding a full block, and there again I'd have to say that mounting a full block was not near as hard as trying to get everything lined up so I could fasten the g-10's properly. It was a PITA.

And maintenance? why would you not want to maintain it? you would maintain a cars cooling system why not a pc.
And there again thats the big downside to an AIO as they will have issues as well and you cant clean them without modding them.

AIOS can leak too.

As far as maintenance, if a custom loops is done right (distilled and killcoil/biocide), about once /year is all you should need to do.

I don't see 3x AIOS as a good idea either.

Edit: one other thing is that I'm not sure you are going to be pleased with the results of the x31 trying to cool 250W+...it will work, but temps will be closer to air and the fans would have to be blowing a fair amount of air through those rads.

As the old line says. Anything worth doing, is worth doing correctly. If three AIOs really just equate to more costly air cooling efficiency, there is no point to 3x AIOs.

Also, If you have two grand in equipment. Yes, a custom loop can be a little daunting if you have not done one. But with anything and everything, it comes down to knowing what you want to get out of something, and planning/executing accordingly. There are lots of people here with expert advice on the subject of custom loops.

The issue with most of the horror stories of cooling loops, can likely be traced to certain causes: improper/rushed installation, poor maintenance, use of additives in the coolant that lead to corrosion of seals, etc.

I am just going with some common sense thought here, am no expert on the subject, so ask those who are for real help.

DorianManhattan said:

Custom Loop can destroy my 2 GTX 980 ti s plus everything else which is over $2,000 worth of hardware. I've read too many horror stories of custom loop water cooling wrecking everything. Plus it requires a lot of maintenance.

I've only done air cooling before this so I didn't know air passed through the radiator. Oh well.

I think I'll try go through with this.

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Okay, good luck. Post pictures please.

I thought I was the leading edge.......

DorianManhattan said:

Custom Loop can destroy my 2 GTX 980 ti s plus everything else which is over $2,000 worth of hardware. I've read too many horror stories of custom loop water cooling wrecking everything. Plus it requires a lot of maintenance.

I've only done air cooling before this so I didn't know air passed through the radiator. Oh well.

I think I'll try go through with this.

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I know that this is looking like a dog pile DorianManhattan but it really is not.

We have your best interests in mind here.

There is quite a bit of water cooling knowledge replying to you in this thread.

At this point I would suggest that you put an X61 on the CPU and leave the 980ti's stock air cooling. You lose nothing going that route and it allows you to do your build.

The beauty of water cooling is you can do it at any time. Do some research and learn the basics. The horror stories mostly come from the people that did not do the research.

When I built my rig I ran the WC loop for 2 days fully installed on a separate power supply just to make sure it did not leak.

You are on the right track. You are here and asking questions. We are just trying to stop you from going down a bad path.

Remember..... this is supposed to be fun.


On a side note....



That is some dedication Oldiron. Shoehorning in those AIO's and modding the corsair AIO. Nice work.

Soulcatcher668 said:

That is some dedication Oldiron. Shoehorning in those AIO's and modding the corsair AIO. Nice work.

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Thanks
The point I was trying to get across is that I was DorianManhattan , went down the same path, and with alot of swearing it can be done, but looking back(hindsight rule) it wasnt worth it. Temps are ok but could be better with a full coverage block, which at the time nobody made for my 280x's.
I was trying to pass along the mistakes I think I made so someone else can benefit as well.
This is what I learned as I'm still a noob and still learning.
Can it be done -Yes
Can it be done easily-No
It was much easier setting up my sons full coverage block and loop on his gtx 980 than was fitting the G-10s, way easier.
it was way easier planning and executing the loop as I could put things wherever I needed and not limited by the hose connected.
And- after all the hard work(a few weeks of leaking) my H80i which had been in that system for a year and a half set up just like it is in the photo leaked.
It leaked out of the fitting for the pump, not from any of my mods, but from moving it to install the GPU coolers I'm sure.
So leaked from pump.....ran down off bottom of cpu fan hold down bracket, ran str8 down the board and knocked my #3 pci-e slot.
So after all the work, my lower card is no longer usable as that pci-e is non functional now.
DorianManhattan - This is what I learned, Listen to what these guys say, they will help and guide you so you dont have the headaches and issues I did, I wouldnt wish that on any fellow enthusiast.
My sons loop, with distilled water and killcoil,has never leaked and is really pretty easy to maintain for him as when we set it up we placed a drain valve to make it easy to service the loop.

Edit-DorianManhattan - dont give up, Listen, ask and learn all you can, and as Soul said its supposed to be fun.