Water cooling shopping list.

Hey guys, I'm new to water cooling and just would like some experienced folks to look and give some opinions as far as not missing anything. I've spent a few weeks reading other forums, watching videos, and build logs, so I think I know everything I need to know to begin, and Im pretty close to ordering the parts.

CPU Block: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...upremacy_-_Acetal_Nickel.html?tl=g57c603s1908
GPU Block x2, with backplates: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...ckel_EK-FC780_GTX_Ti_DCII_-_AcetalNickel.html
SLI Terminal Block: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2..._Acetal_EK-FC_Terminal_DUAL_Serial.html#blank
Pump: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6...ed_Control_and_38_Conversion_Kit_317_GPH.html
Reservoir: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...-_Liquid_Cooling_Reservoir_6_Total_Ports.html
Radiators x2: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...K-CoolStream_PE_480_Quad.html?tl=g57c597s1902
Fans x8, or x16 if push pull is worth while: http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1..._Static_Pressure_120mm_Fan_CO-9050007-WW.html

I've left out fittings and tubing since its personal preference and I haven't quite decided what to use other than I know I'm going with black compression fittings. I also realize that 2 480mm Radiators may be overkill, the case is just too damn big I need to fill it with stuff, and I like the symmetry of 2 of the same size.

This is a rough idea how i picture the loop.



My only remaining questions really are:
1. I've read about flow and such with pumps, but I want to make sure that pump is powerful enough by itself to run this loop, at this point in planning I'm thinking of having 5 90 degree fittings, and using either 3/8" or 1/2" tubing?

2. Will a 400mm tall reservoir fit in the case and still have enough room to access the top for filling and such in this case ( corsair 900d )? I've seen alot of water cooled builds in this case but nobody really specifies what size reservoir is in it.

3. Does Push/Pull make a large enough difference in temps to warrant an extra 150 dollars on fans? I prefer the clean look of seeing just radiators, but would do push/pull if the end result was going to be very noticeable. Im also going with 50mm thick radiators just in case, that way there will be room for a 25mm thick fan on either side of the radiator without interfering with the ram I have.

4. I was wondering if it's worthwhile to add the ASUS XChill to the loop. I've read mixed things about mixing the aluminum with the other metals in the EK blocks. I'm really just adding it to add more to the loop, just want to make sure it wont be detrimental in the long run. If not the loop would go from the GPU's straight to the CPU and the top Radiator would be turned around with the fittings in the front of the case so it would go from CPU to the top rad then back to Reservoir.

5.Fittings, I'm looking at bitspower black compression fittings, however I just came across monsoon free center fittings, I really like the look of them better, but never heard of them, anyone know if they're good quality, as far as leaking is concerned?

6. I think this is the last one at least for now, For the Drain plug I was thinking about building I was going to use:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/6...ozzle_Body_no_nozzles_-_SPL-XUFY5B.html#blank
and,
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...14_Mini_Valve_-_Carbon_Black_BP-MVV-CBBK.html

On the main tube from the pump I was going to install the universal brass fitting long ways, plugging both holes on the side with 2, and using a fitting and tube to connect the mini shutoff valve, then when the time comes to drain it use a fitting with longer tube attached to that to drain it, but if someone else has a better suggestion I'm open to advice.

Sorry this got so long but hopefully some helpful people will have some advice.

Those fans are noisy.

I went with primochill hardline, and fittings. Makes a very clean loop, and the fittings are a dream compared to fighting traditional comp fittings.



Your pump is fine, I prefer the DDC in that loop, its close to mine. And with the restrictive cpu block your using you will want the higher pressure of the DDC.

push/pull. With a 38mm rad you can get away with push or pull. If you were running say q single rad 120 X 3 then you would want push and pull, with your rads you will be fine.

Im running 120 X 5 and have just pull and with a EK CPU block and two 780TI blocks it does just fine when gaming.

Push/Pull can yield extra 30% performance.. However, when using "thin" rads like a 45mm Alpahcool ans hiSP fans like ths SP120's there is littel to be gained by going push/pull. The benefit would come from running the fans much slower & cutting back on the noise.
If you would use crappy case fans, which are not high-SP, then push/pull would/might be on the table again. However... since push/pull is not really needed,you could with GOOD radiator fans which are less noisy as the SP120's.
I would recommend Noiseblocker eLoops B12 PWM + a swiftech PWM hub.
This allows for the fans to run virually silent, yet ramp up automatically when needed.

Thanks for the advice so far guys, I'll definitely look at the other fans when I get home from work, quiet is the biggest reason I'm looking at water cooling. The 2 Asus dcII coolers sound like jets taking off after a few minutes of gaming. I chose the thinner rads since I'm going with 2 480mm I figured they would be fine and with them being thinner I was going to use fans pulling air through them for the look of just radiators when you look in the case.

I made the mistake of getting some scythe 10db fans rated at 40cfm. Lies.

Even push pull they were worthless.

I went with coolmatser sickleflows and run them at 60% which is still more then the scythe and the cool great and are fairly quiet.

They did get noisy after a week of running, and there are beter fan choices.

My point is it is better to get stronger fans you can quiet down, then buy weak fans from the get go doing half the job.

Its nice to crank teh fans up for benching as well.

Yah I thought looking at those fans the pressure behind them seemed really good and I see them in a ton of builds, they're really easy to spot with the red rings, but just reading a decibel number in a description I can't tell how loud they will be, I'm gonna look up the noise blocker ones recommended in the above post. I do want pwm fans so I can slow them down greatly when I don't need them. That's my thinking with the obscene amount of radiator space is fans can be really slow with 960mm of rads.

i've got 18 high speed yate loons running at 5v about 4 feet from my head, i can barely hear them. i guess i'm just a cheap *** but paying $20 for a fan is super scary to me. i could buy a 4th mcr320 and 6 yate looks and still come in cheaper then buying 6 of them fans. then again, i've got lots of space so if that was a factor it would change things.

at 12v they are fairly loud though lol.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...Fan_-_Open_Chassis_D12SH-12.html?tl=g36c15s60

Those are some sick fans.

I was lucky to be able to plug all 5 fans into my MB and turn them down in bios.

Spawn-Inc said:

i've got 18 high speed yate loons running

Click to expand...

Thats the noisy brand in my rig.

Had it almost dead silent, then when I start gaming the 140cfm yate loon stats up in my PSU and there goes the neighborhood.

i wish i bought more now looking at how much i paid from jabtech... $3.30 each

Welcome to OCFs OP!

Material: Copper fins
90% copper tubing (H90)
Brass chambers
Aluminum housing
Dimensions: 520 x 130 x 38mm (L x W x H)
Weight: 1.26kg
Liquid Capacity: ~235mL
FPI: 38
Port threads: 2x G1/4
Fan compatibility: any standard size 120x120x25mm fan; UNC 6-32 thread tapping
Pressure tested: 1bar(g)
Included: EK-CoolStream PE series radiator /w pre-installed G1/4 extenders
flat-head UNC 6-32 screws (l=30mm)
flat-head UNC 6-32 screws (l=5mm)

Click to expand...

If you're looking for a quiet rig, I would scrap the idea of grabing those rads. Remember, the lower the FPI on a rad the lower RPM/static pressure is needed, in return keeps the noise level down. Obviously the higher FPI the higher RPM/Static Pressure the fans need to be in return, airplanes taking off.

There are many radiators out there that can fill that void. Here's a list of my top rads in order.

Black Ice SR-1 480mm

Alphacool NexXxoS Monsta Quad 120mm Radiator - 80mm Thick!!

Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper Quad 120mm Radiator

XSPC AX480 Quad 120mm Radiator

You can push and pull with any of those rads in the 900D but I would take the extra precaution and make sure if you choose to go with the thickest rad in the market, Monsta 80mm thick, that you have the room for another 50mm for push and pull since each fan is 25mm.

As for the fans as suggested before, I would recommend these. Best fans in the market atm, imo. I would consider just going push with these.

Since its a big case and a complex loop with some angled fittings, I would recommend looking into the MCP-35X2. Dual DDC pumps which have great head pressure and have redundancy should one pump go out the other one will keep it going. Plus you'll be able to keep the pump speed at a lower PWM setting since its 2 working as one in serial versus one working at a higher noisier rate.

For the reservoir, well that's up to you. Not sure how big that cylinder is but it sure isn't small. You'll need to take out the measure tape and blue-print it all out.

Tubing and fittings I recommend Primochill Advanced LRT 1/2" x 3/4", color of your choice along with Matte Black Bitspower 1/2" x 3/4" Compression Fittings or Carbon Black Bitspower 1/2" x 3/4" Compression Fittings.

Distilled water and silver kill coil is all you'll need for this setup imo. Maybe a few drops of dead water in the reservoir as well but this is all you'll need. If you need color/bling in the loop, get LEDs and colored tubing.

I almost forgot to add, when using a radiator bigger than 360 up top, you will lose 1 out of your 4 bays which would only leave you with 3 left. I've used all mine with LED controller, Flow Temp and a dual bay reservoir housing my MCP-35x2 pumps. Have a look at my build log that uses some of the items posted in a 900D as well.

Hope this all helps and thanks for doing your research and making a list for us so we know where you stand in your water cooling process. Makes it easier for us to assist you.

Hey thanks for the input GTX, I was already looking at radiators with 11fpi instead of the 38 for the lower fan noise. I've also added those fans to my list, Not to keen on the white blades since im going all read and black, but your not the first whose recommended them, and the specs look perfect. I was thinking about the loss of the bay up top, but I only have 1 DVD Drive leaving 3, I was thinking a dual slot fan controller for some extra accents on the front and that would be about it. As far as the Reservoir goes I decided on the 250mm instead of 400, I got a response from an EK customer service guy on toms hardware said he didnt even use it in his caselabs case, and I might have problems filling it if I did push/pull. The primochill tubing and the Fittings are the ones I picked out too so far. I also don't think I'm going to include the Asus crosschill in the loop, I wasn't keen on using an aluminum waterblock, even if it is anodized, and for the EK block its an extra 100 bucks, I was just adding it in the loop for extra stuff, but now it will just be the 2 780ti's, and CPU. I'm Jealous of the EVGA SLI Bridge, I wish ASUS would make a RoG LED Bridge.

I like the pic on your build log of your old case, I took the same pic after putting my hardware in the 900d.

Not sure why one would need a fan controller, but hey, each to its own.
However, if you go for a fan controller, you can "trade in" the Black&White Noiseblocker eLoops PWM, for VOLTAGE controlled Phobya eLoops.. these are Red & Black
http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata..._info&cPath=36_1130_49_1159&products_id=37004

Also availabe in Black on Black http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata..._info&cPath=36_1130_49_1159&products_id=39919

2 reasons I was looking towards a fan controller was, 1. I wanted something in the 5.25" bays and didn't really want a bay res since I want a tube res between mobo and drive cages, and 2. I'm not really sure how many fans I can hook up to each mobo header, I'll have at least 11 fans if I just use push. I was also looking at at an 8 way PWM splitter from swiftech, if I didn't get a controller.

Yeah, be careful since there really aren't any PWM controllers out there other than the Aquaero 6.

I would take a look at the fans Rollie recommendation and go with a voltage controlled fan controller in the case of you still wanting a fan controller. I am not sure how well those fans perform but if you stick with the PWM fans listed in my last post, I'd look at getting a few Swiftech PWM splitters as you said.

Yah I should of clarified that, if I get a controller I'm getting 3 pin fans, if I go with the splitter obviously PWM fans.

AdamW0611 said:

Yah I should of clarified that, if I get a controller I'm getting 3 pin fans, if I go with the splitter obviously PWM fans.

Click to expand...

OR you could go with the masterful Aquaero 6 XT and add some water temps sensors, flow sensor, LED etc. But that's only if you have a deep purse and like to go overboard.

Going overboard seems to be my speciality. I started this venture looking around 800 dollars and have blown that out of the water so far... didn't realize some fittings could be nearly 20 dollars a piece when I started. I do like watching temps use my second monitor pretty much exclusively for real temp and gpu-z so that may Definitely be an option. Guess I'll start researching water temp sensors and such since I really didn't even know that existed till now.

BTW there are some alternatives:
Phanteks fan hub: Takes a PWM input to control/steer voltage fans, works very well in the Enthoo cases. http://www.phanteks.com/PH-PWHUB.html

Aquaero 5 LT ... the old/cheap one.. doesn't have the LCD display, but the control/monitoring software should satisfy most OCD

.