First WC build

Hello guys. I'm new to this forum and new to WC loops so I could use your help and experience on making my very first WC loop. The components I will be cooling are on my signature and the case is a Bitfenix Prodigy. So far I've reading for quite some time and I've seen a lot of videos before I come down to build a WC my own. Here's the list of components I will be ordering in the end of this month, main purpose for this loop is overclocking and experimenting as I will be making a new loop next year, most porbably with PETG and coloured coolant.

CPU Block: EK Supremacy EVO nickel
GPU Block: EK GTX 1080 FTW Nickel
Pump/Res: EK-XRES 100 DDC 3.2 PWM Elite w/ EK-UNI Pump Bracket (140mm)
Rads: Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper X-Flow 240mm + Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper X-Flow 140mm
Tubing: Primochill Advanced LRT 1/2" - 3/4" UV Green
Fans: 2x Noiseblockers NB-eLoop B12-P + 1x Noiseblockers NB-eLoop B14-PS
Misc: IC Diamond 7 Karat or Gelid GC-Extreme TIM

What's your thoughts? Is it true that Noiseblockers on PULL conf. are a bad choise? I will be controlling these fans through the BIOS and they come cheaper than GTs where I live. Tell me if I should look after something or generally what do you think about this loop.

to OCFs.

Looks good to me. My only questions are, what kind of fluids will you be using and have you done a configured blueprint of your loop in said case to make sure things will fit properly?

GTXJackBauer said:

to OCFs.

Looks good to me. My only questions are, what kind of fluids will you be using and have you done a configured blueprint of your loop in said case to make sure things will fit properly?

Click to expand...

Hello, thx for the welcome! I forgot to mention, I'm going for distilled water + Primochill liquid Utopia since PHN Nuke is not available in my region. I did a blueprint and everything seems to fit in nicely.. I had some issues with the pump placement but it got solved with the EK pump bracket. What about the fans in PULL? Do they have any problem?

Push or pull, you should be fine regardless.

As for the liquid, I would venture into premixed fluids for a few extra bucks and just drain and refill annually or what is recommended by the mfger. I use Aquacomputer's premix fluids since coming from distilled and silver killcoil. I always had a oxidization issue because of it and got tired dealing with it. Most reputed custom water cooling companies also warn with the combination I had used.

I've been using Swiftech Hydrx for sometime combined with a silver coil and see no problem with algae. My only complaint is I don't like the green color. Funny thing is when I drain it I find it has given a purple tint to the vinyl tubing.

trents said:

I've been using Swiftech Hydrx for sometime combined with a silver coil and see no problem with algae. My only complaint is I don't like the green color. Funny thing is when I drain it I find it has given a purple tint to the vinyl tubing.

Click to expand...

Technically speaking, you don't need a silver kill in there since it already has a algae inhibitor.

Thx for the input guys So, should I go for a premixed pastel coolant in that case? They seem to have refined their formulas and they dont create sludge or filming on the blocks plus they have anti-corrosion, anti-growth and anti-algae factors in them.

I advise to steer away from colors. Add colored tubing and LEDs to the rig if you want color is my motto. If you were still for it, I'd maybe go with lighter color types and not the heavy thicker looking color fluids like pastels as I just recently read someone on hard tubing get some sludge in their blocks using colored fluids.

Regardless, look up Aquacomputer and Innovatek fluids. They are well respected in the H20 community.

Was thinking about this so far: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-ekoolant-pastel-lime-green-concentrate-250ml
On the yellow rectangular EK says that changing the fluid every 12 months is ok and it won't clog the system. I was thinking of changing it every 4-6 months since my motto is "better safe than sorry", since I'm only using my PC for about 3-4 hours per day. I like pastels because they got that non-transparent, reach colour to the them. What do you think?

Sorry for the double post, they also say that their pastels are low electrically conductive. Is that dangerous? Since distilled is theoretically non-conductive?

Even distilled becomes less conductive in time. Here is a distilled water test I did years ago. All liquids can cause problems IF you leak. That's why you run the loop for 24 hours with only the pump and a fan or two for 24 hours before powering up anything.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/651859-Water-tests-done-on-my-latest-rebuild

And Petra of Petras PT Nuke fame

Conumdrum said:

Even distilled becomes less conductive in time. Here is a distilled water test I did years ago. All liquids can cause problems IF you leak. That's why you run the loop for 24 hours with only the pump and a fan or two for 24 hours before powering up anything.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/651859-Water-tests-done-on-my-latest-rebuild

And Petra of Petras PT Nuke fame

Click to expand...

Yea I was aware of that but you know... I'm always a bit concerned that static might coz a short circuit through the fluid and, literally, destroy everything in the case But that's interesting info Conumdrum! Thx for the input! So, should I go distilled or EK Pastel?

Through the fluid? The water touches no live electrical parts..... Static?

NEVER any colored liquid, Pastel is bit of material floating in the water that will someday clog parts. The rad will never rinse clean again. The micro channels in blocks are a great place for the particulates to gather....

Conumdrum said:

Through the fluid? The water touches no live electrical parts..... Static?

NEVER any colored liquid, Pastel is bit of material floating in the water that will someday clog parts. The rad will never rinse clean again. The micro channels in blocks are a great place for the particulates to gather....

Click to expand...

Ok, so I will be going for distilled + Liquid utopia or PHN Nuke if I can find it anywhere near me. I will start ordering the WC parts in 10-12 days. I'm currently waiting to recieve my RMA PSU as it blew up yesterday.. Frankly, my warranty still applies( I custom sleeved the PSU).

To be fully honest with you though, next year I will be doing a build with pastel coolant, since I like the colour so much But I guess I will to maintain it every 2-3 months.

Yep, give pastel a go. I look at it this way. It's my main PC, I'm not bringing folks over to look at it. I have no Facepage (LOL), no blog etc. Once you walk by it 100 times and go wow, it becomes a trophy wife that has a constant every 3 months complaint. And you can't use the PC for xxx hours.

With pastel, you just don't drain and refill. You need to remove the blocks, tubing, rad etc and clean them. Opening the blocks and hoping they reseal properly. It's nice to order new o-ring sets for the blocks 30 days before the rig shuts down due to clogs. $$$ And expect your rig to be down 48 hours minimum for the cleaning and rebuild.

On a positive point, I ran distilled and PHN/silver for ohh over 18 months or was it 24 months? All I did was add distilled in tiny bits. You can read that here:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...-Hmm-I-guess-I-need-to-tell-you-a-dark-secret

Conumdrum said:

Yep, give pastel a go. I look at it this way. It's my main PC, I'm not bringing folks over to look at it. I have no Facepage (LOL), no blog etc. Once you walk by it 100 times and go wow, it becomes a trophy wife that has a constant every 3 months complaint. And you can't use the PC for xxx hours.

With pastel, you just don't drain and refill. You need to remove the blocks, tubing, rad etc and clean them. Opening the blocks and hoping they reseal properly. It's nice to order new o-ring sets for the blocks 30 days before the rig shuts down due to clogs. $$$ And expect your rig to be down 48 hours minimum for the cleaning and rebuild.

On a positive point, I ran distilled and PHN/silver for ohh over 18 months or was it 24 months? All I did was add distilled in tiny bits. You can read that here:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...-Hmm-I-guess-I-need-to-tell-you-a-dark-secret

Click to expand...

Wow.. Well, that's some usefull stuff to see. To be fully honest, I didn't expect that the o-rings would need replace every time that I would tear the loop down. If it's like so, why does EK suggest to change the pastel once every 12 months?

Well you don't have to change the wiggly thin really hard to place large o-rings on GPU blocks. That's up to you. You get a leak from one you wait. And wait. Rig is down. The rest of them on fittings/CPU blocks are good long time. Once you are up without pastel, I'm sure you'll go meh anyway once you don't look at the rig anymore with techie lust anymore.

You can learn a lot by reading the old stuff that many of us have already experienced. The good and the bad. That's called research. We have the stickies on top of this subforum.

I've read the stickies and watched numerous builds from others to get the general picture in the beginning as this build is my very first ever and they were quite helpful! As far as the build goes, I'm currently waiting for my RMA'ed PSU to arrive. What do you think about the EVGA SupnerNOVA 650P2 vs Seasonic 660W Platinum?

I will be ordering the first WC parts in the end of the month, starting with the blocks + pump/res

Either of those power supplies will serve you well

good luck on the build

Witchdoctor said:

Either of those power supplies will serve you well

good luck on the build

Click to expand...

Thanks a lot! Well, if ask you, which one is the best, no matter if the overall difference in performance is 0.0000001% better, which one would you go with?