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Radiator Planning Complications

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Awakening

New Member
Joined
May 7, 2016
I'm going to be cooling an overclocked 6700K and two 980 Ti GPUs, both of which will also be overclocked. My case is a Fractal Design R2 Mini which natively supports a 320/280, 240, and two 120 radiators. I'm completely set on the 320 and 240 for the top and front which I know are enough, however there are complications with the two 120 options which if added would allow me to set my fans at a silent <1000 RPM at all times (hopefully). I doubt just the 320 and 240 will be enough for that while under load. One of the 120 slots are on the bottom and will be blocked if I choose a PSU over 170 mm long while the other 120 slot is the exhaust in the back and I both don't want to mount it there for aesthetic reasons as well as not knowing whether it'll even fit with the top radiator there too.

What I've been thinking about trying to do is not getting any extra 120 radiators due to the reasons listed above and instead just sticking with the 320 and 240. With that said, I do want to figure out a way to get another 240 securely in my case so that I can run my fans silently or at the very least much more quietly while allowing me to have a proper airflow fan and a PSU choice not limited by length.

Here's a couple solutions I came up with:
#1: (240 mounted standing on floor of case parallel to motherboard)
#2: (240 mounted between 2nd and 3rd 340 fan with support from mobo. tray)
Fans I'll be using: HP12-PWM

I have absolutely no idea how I'd actually do #2, however #1 seems like it might be pretty reasonable and seems to have readily available points on the case to be able to securely mount it with support from both the bottom of the case and motherboard tray, creating a nice 90 degree support for minimal wiggle or flex. I only fear that there will not be enough air behind the motherboard tray and the fans pulling from there will choke and not provide ample flow though the radiator; I don't know.

Could I please get some help with #1? Should it work in theory? What would the best mounting equipment be for it that will allow me to somewhat easily remove the radiator and reinstall it (screws, clips--no glue or stickies)? I don't mind if the mounts remain on the case, however the radiator itself needs to be removable. I also tried my best to create natural flow and positive pressure with the fan directions and if you have any suggestions there, please do, although I think I did a pretty good job there.

TL;DR
Read last paragraph.
 
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Not sure if you'll have enough space for the 2 980ti's with waterblocks. Here's a vid with just video card, can't make out which one, with a the 360 on top and a 240 in the front. It will give you an idea how cramped it will be. It can be done, however airflow will be restrictive and your temps will suffer greatly.

 
Not sure if you'll have enough space for the 2 980ti's with waterblocks. Here's a vid with just video card, can't make out which one, with a the 360 on top and a 240 in the front. It will give you an idea how cramped it will be. It can be done, however airflow will be restrictive and your temps will suffer greatly.


I'll be using the MSI variant which has quite a bit of the PCB chopped off.

Also, while that may not be the greatest example with monster rads being used (at least larger than 35 mm), I can definitely see that there probably isn't enough space for #1 to be realistic without seriously choking the fans close to the side panel. Damn. Would it be worth just using another 240 just for passively cooling the water and not using any fans on it (as they probably won't fit)? I'm not sure how well radiators handle passive, but I'm sure at least the radiator should fit there.

LTT did a video too about restricted flow from a cluttered case and the conclusion was that you literally had to stuff T-shirts in there so you couldn't see anything for the temps to be affected, surprisingly enough. I'm not worried about that.
 
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:welcome: to OCFs btw. Let me start by asking a few questions to get a better idea where you stand.

Why did you pick this case if you don't mind me asking and have you purchased everything already except the water cooling?

Also, give us a full PC list of your components.
 
LTT did a video too about restricted flow from a cluttered case and the conclusion was that you literally had to stuff T-shirts in there so you couldn't see anything for the temps to be affected, surprisingly enough. I'm not worried about that.

That's not true. I have not seen the video, but my guess is that he used a low powered system with integrated video. A system like that doesn't need a lot of airflow, because it doesn't get very hot in the first place. Like I said, though, I haven't seen the video.

I've seen first hand with my own systems how airflow effects temps, and how lax cable management and components that take up a lot of space relative to the case (and produce their own heat, like a GPU) affect airflow negatively. I saw an 8 degree temp drop at load on my 960T by simply routing my cables better. Nothing else changed. All of my fans were maxed during both tests, and ambient was within a degree.
 
:welcome: to OCFs btw. Let me start by asking a few questions to get a better idea where you stand.

Why did you pick this case if you don't mind me asking and have you purchased everything already except the water cooling?

Also, give us a full PC list of your components.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/cckd8d

Only the case and some very discounted fittings have been bought so far. Check custom part link at bottom for water-cooling parts. I still need to save up a bit of money and I'm most likely going to wait for the 1000 series Ti cards before going all in as they'll be a lot more power efficient and hopefully maintain a similar cost:performance.

I chose the case because I wanted something smaller that a mid-tower that looked nice and the R2 Mini fit that for me.

That's not true. I have not seen the video, but my guess is that he used a low powered system with integrated video. A system like that doesn't need a lot of airflow, because it doesn't get very hot in the first place. Like I said, though, I haven't seen the video.

I've seen first hand with my own systems how airflow effects temps, and how lax cable management and components that take up a lot of space relative to the case (and produce their own heat, like a GPU) affect airflow negatively. I saw an 8 degree temp drop at load on my 960T by simply routing my cables better. Nothing else changed. All of my fans were maxed during both tests, and ambient was within a degree.

 
I'm not sure if the Ti's will be out this year (Fall/winter) or 2017 since the 1080s are coming out in the next few weeks. Up to you if you want to wait that long but should give you more then enough time to research more and build a nice custom H20 rig. I'm also waiting for the "Ti's" as well for my next upgrade.

One thing I did see is that you could save some funds by going with a nice 850w Platinum PSU. Should be more then enough for a SLI / H20 rig.

You're better off posting the list of the PC components and H20 parts then having us to go through a maze of links on there as there's way too many links to go through just to see what you've picked. It will go along way. :salute: Hope you understand as that's usually the standard here.
 
Okay, let us know, you probably will save 20% in wattage, still that's a lot of rad. When it comes to BIG GPU and CPU power, all other things size to that. If it's big, you need big underwear. Kapish?

Physics don't cut corners unless you don't mind 3000 RPM demon fans ruining your sanity.
 
I'm not sure if the Ti's will be out this year (Fall/winter) or 2017 since the 1080s are coming out in the next few weeks. Up to you if you want to wait that long but should give you more then enough time to research more and build a nice custom H20 rig. I'm also waiting for the "Ti's" as well for my next upgrade.

One thing I did see is that you could save some funds by going with a nice 850w Platinum PSU. Should be more then enough for a SLI / H20 rig.

You're better off posting the list of the PC components and H20 parts then having us to go through a maze of links on there as there's way too many links to go through just to see what you've picked. It will go along way. :salute: Hope you understand as that's usually the standard here.

I'm not sure what else you could want from that PCPP list. It literally shows everything super neatly organized into categories and even gives you a link to purchase pages of the product if you click on it.


I just don't see how it could be any better than that.

Also, 850W Platinum PSUs seem to be just as expensive as 1000W Gold and I think the extra voltage will go A LOT further than an extra couple % efficiency. The more total wattage, typically the more wattage available for fanless mode and silence is what I'm after.
 
Wattage you mean. If the PC won't use 850 watts, the anything over 850 watts will never ever be utilized. PSU fans typically are the quietest fans on the PC. Silence will come from lots of radiator and good fans at lower RPMs.
 
Wattage you mean. If the PC won't use 850 watts, the anything over 850 watts will never ever be utilized. PSU fans typically are the quietest fans on the PC. Silence will come from lots of radiator and good fans at lower RPMs.

LOL. They're all pressure optimized (not quiet at higher RPM) and at full speed (at least 20 dBA) when the PSU is near full load. I don't care if the PSU never uses all of its wattage because I'm not a business looking for the most efficient usage, I'm an enthusiast looking to have a very quiet PSU and not using the last 30% of its total wattage seems to be the only way to do that without voiding the warranty and replacing the fan.

A UPS is something that doesn't need the extra wattage.
 
I think you're overthinking this PSU thing. Have you ever asked yourself if the rig's H20 level be? Did you ask yourself how loud these PSU's go and if they'll be drowned out by other PC noises like the loop's fans and or pumps? Regardless the PSU size, you're looking under the wrong rock. Need to focus more on your loop's audibles if you want a quiet build.
 
I think you're overthinking this PSU thing. Have you ever asked yourself if the rig's H20 level be? Did you ask yourself how loud these PSU's go and if they'll be drowned out by other PC noises like the loop's fans and or pumps? Regardless the PSU size, you're looking under the wrong rock. Need to focus more on your loop's audibles if you want a quiet build.

Which is why I'm asking all of you wonderful people how I can fit another 240 in my system. I'm going to be getting a 1070/80 Ti which are better-performing and most importantly only use 1/3 the wattage so hopefully if a 360/240 is all I can fit those GPUs will help out A LOT compared to a 980 Ti. Just those GPUs alone should be able to allow me to drop my RPM significantly. I'd still prefer another 240 though so even at load I don't need to exceed 1000 RPM on my fans. I guess I can use an RX240 instead of an EX240 for more surface area if worse comes to worse.

Also, about the PSU thing, every component matters. The noise will still add to the total even if something is louder than it. My pump is going to end up being the loudest component by the end of it. I'm going to try my best to rig up some kind of anti-vibration and sound dampening chamber for it since there aren't really any "quiet" pumps out there.
 
If your key initiative is to have silence and good delta temps, look for premium rads with low FPI with premium rad fans like the Gentletyphoons as well as D5 pumps since D5s are quieter then DDCs. Fit the most radiator (120mm) in the case with the exception of the rear and go from there for starters. Depending if you go Push/Pull, try fitting the thickest rad possible but still leaving decent room for cable management and good internal case airflow.

As for GPUs, the "Ti's" aren't going to be out till this fall/winter or 2017 but of course this is going by speculation and from their past plans. If you were to go with the soon to be released 1080s/1070s, that would work as they seem to be very efficient.
 
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