[hvc-]

I've been building and oc'ing for about 6 years now and I want to start my first wc project. I wasn't going to initially, but my 4890s are too loud (or to hot) for my liking, and I know i could push my i7 WELL over 4.0 if i went to water. I have plenty of money and time to play with, and I want to do this right. My biggest issue is that I am working with an antec 900, and I dont have enough room to get a good radiator inside or on top. This leaves me with getting an external kit, or building a wc system inside of an external enclosure. I am looking to get a 3 or 4x120 rad, cpu block, 2x blocks for my 4890s, blocks for my ram, possibly a micro res, and a good reliable pump to push it. Any suggestions on external wc kits or parts to make my own external wc sys would be greatly appreciated.

[Spawn-Inc]

welcome to the site!

since you have money, i would go for dual loops. it will help out with the cpu. you don't need to water cool your ram ever. it adds restriction to the loop with no benefit.

i would get at least a double 120mm rad for the cpu but i would spring for a triple if you want to do some big overclocks.

for the gpu's i don't know how much heat they put out but i would grab the same as the cpu, a dual or triple 120mm rad.
for the blocks i would go with core only and use ramsinks/heatsinks for the rest of the chips and get some air over them. but since it xfire you may want to go full blocks for the ease of it.

since you space limited i would get a Swiftech MCP355 with XSPC res top. this duo has the pump and res all in one unit.

for coolant if you want colour/bling then get coloured tubing for the colour. use Distilled water and some biocide, PT nuke or silver kill coils.
if thats not enough you can use dye's. i like feser View UV dye's. i use red and blue for my 2 loops.

as for mounting rads a triple can fit upfront, with the loss of your dvd/bay drives/devices.

you can mount it on the back as i have done. i built my own brackets but you can get a Swiftech Radbox as well.
here is a picture of my setup. http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/4224/img0206g.jpg


i also recommend reading up some more on water cooling. check out the last couple of pages of threads. also check out various water cooling sites that sell parts. such as jabtech, Petras tech, sidewinders computers.

[Grieg]

I'd suggest a much larger case to WC in. I think most folks would suggest you go with seperate loops (GPU loop / CPU loop) for temps, flow rates, etc. A good 2x120 rad for the processor and the same for your vid cards. Maybe 3x120s. These take up space, and a small case like the Antec 900 just can't house them.

I just built an i7 rig, and went with the Silverstone TJ07. Good case for WC'ing. My 2 rads are internal, and the system looks pretty good I think. Looking at the price of it, and examining my other options, I kind of wish I had gone with a MM UFO case. I'd have much more room, and they're practically the same price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scription=tj07
VS
http://www.mountainmods.com/u2ufo-du...top-p-390.html

Also, I wouldn't worry about WC'ing RAM.

For pumps, take a look at the Swiftech 355 w/ top. The 655 is good too, but takes up a fair bit more room, IMO.
Video card blocks: EK has one. I couldn't find any by DangerDen or XSPC.
CPU: Apogee GTZ or DTek FuzionV2 or the Heatkiller V3 seem to have good ratings. I use the GTZ. The GTZ and Fuzion will need a 1366 backplate to fit.
Rads: XSPC RX240/RX360, SwiftechMCR320, TFC 240, etc...
Res: Pick one that fits. Don't go with an aluminium res. Copper + Aluminium = people are going to yell at you around here, and we don't want that now do we.
Some DD 1/2" Fittings
1/2" or 7/16" tubing. Tygon is nice, but Masterkleer works just fine I'm told.
Some worm-drive clamps.
Oh, and fans. Yate Loons are nice. (I always forget the fans.)


Take a good look around the site. Lots of these recommendations are covered in lots of other posts.

Figured I'd throw something together for you though. I can only hope my picks meet with Spawn's and Conumdrum's approval. They really seem to be knowledgeable and very active here.

Anyway, good luck.

cya



Edit: Spawn beat me to it.

[Spawn-Inc]

lol, dam right!

yes it's a good bunch of parts listed above.

i use masterkleer and have had no issues with it. but at the same time have only been using it for 2 months tops. it's very inexpensive so replacement isn't a issue once it clouds.

[Grieg]

you know... I still need to put my system spec's in as a sig.

Oh well, I'll get around to it one of these days.

[Conumdrum]

Good post Grieg.

I really agree to doing it right. Spend the money now and be amazed I say.
Go cheap, be bummed, redo a water loop which is a pain in the hinie and more work than air for sure. And spend more money on bigger rads.

First thing is the case decision. if it never ever moves you can make a lot of stuff external. If you plan to move, do a lan party, will need to move the PC etc just buy a huge case. Here is a neat link someone BLESS THEM made of tons of different builds with many different cases.
Take your time, it's a LOT to digest.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=223835

Next, on to the rad and pump situation. Whats your room ambient temps gonna be? I know you know what a hot summer day does to CPU temps on a big overclock. Well watercooling has the same issue. So we compensate for summer by going big on rads to keep the Delta T (Ambient water temp vs air temp) to as low as possible, we shoot in a performance system for 5C or less diff between the two temps. A CPU needs low temps, a GPU loop can go with a 10C Delta T.

So, go as big as you can on the rads. Many who push an i7 realize a quality 120x2 rad is enuff, they wish they had a 120x3 though. For your GPU's I really think a 120x2 would be just enough, GPU's we try to keep cool but get rid of the freakin noise mainly.

TWO LOOPS, no other way with a i7 you plan to OC and TWO GPUs. No other way. You go with one 120x4 rad, your CPU will get warmer water by a few C and warmer water is worse at removing heat than warmer air.

Many decent rads out there, cases, pumps, and blocks. Grieg gave ya a decent list, and since your experianced at overclocking, you know it can't be done or built in a day. I gave general input, but it should help you start.

Plan on pump, 120x3 rad, res for CPU
Plan on Pump, 120x2 min, res for GPUs (I like full cover blocks but a MCW 60 setup is $40+ cheaper than a FC block). FC blocks are the bomb.

Plan your future PC with those basics and then buy the case. If you never ever move the PC, what about a tech station? My rig linky........
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=604016

[hvc-]

thanks for the advice, now ive got some research to do. Ill post what i come up with

[daleweiser]

Hello I am somewhat new to the liquid cooling,I have a asus rampage 2 extreme with a i7 920 with 6 gigs of ddr 3.I have a Thermaltake VH600LBWS Armor+ Full-Tower ATX Case with Liquid Cooling.The cpu heat is ok around 100 farenheight.the northbridge and southbridge is running about 125 and 130.is this to high or what should it be.also would the EK-FB RE2 cooler be a good choice

[hvc-]

So here's what i'm looking at right now. Im going to do 2 loops with 3x120 rads each. Ill mount one behind the case with the swiftech bracket and for the other i'm going to mod my case and integrate it into the right side panel.

Loop 1: Processor

MCP355 Pump w/XSPC Top
XSPC RX360 Radiator (3x Noctua NF-P12 Fans + Shroud and MCB-120 Rev.1)
Swiftech GTZ Apogee
1/2" Tygon Tubing w/ worm clamps

Loop 2: XFire 4890s

MCP355 Pump w/ XSPC Top
XSPC RX360 Radiator (3x Noctua NF-P12 Fans + Shroud)
2x EK Radeon 4890 FC Blocks
1/2" Tygon Tubing w/ worm clamps

2 questions. Will my Noctua fans be enough to cool the rads? I would like to use them if i can, i <3 them. Also, does anyone have experience with the XSPC Dual Bay Reservoir Pump Combo? I have 4 open drive bays to use and these would fit nicely, I just havent read much about these pumps. Any other input would be great, thanks.

[Conumdrum]

I have seen the res/pump combo used. They were not real happy with it. Bay reses are a pain to fill and that pump isn't top notch.

Those fans are okay. I don't own them and the only place I can find a good scientific review on them is xtreme systems in the watercooling section in the stickies, there is some fan testing. http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=202394

High priced for what you get for sure. Yate loon mediums or highs and a fan controller is my best bet. Look at Petras for the fans. Sunbeam 4 channel reobus controller, $13.

[hvc-]

change #1 - just did some measuring and i have room in my drive bays to do 2 mcp655s with a micro res each

[Conumdrum]

Just a thought, did you look at the MCP355 aka DDC3.2 with the XSPC restop? Really popular, I have two and I like them.

Edit. Whats nice is you can use standard G1/4 barbs, look at the bitpower 90 deg swivel fittngs if you need to.

[hvc-]

Ill give them a closer look, the only thing i have against them is noise level

[Conumdrum]

Louder? Yes. The MCP 655 by itself from 5 feet is soo close to silent. Just a tiny bit more than silent is louder yes. I have used a 655 too. It actually had a bit of a whine on #5 setting.

I have two 355's with restops 5 ft away. I can't hear the pumps. I can't hear my rad fans. The loudest thing is my PSU fan. The TV on low drowns out my PC.

Louder yes, but both are silent in my book.

And umm did you read the review on pumps tests? The 355 with the restop is actually better than the 655.
Linky.
655
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=170217
355 top test
http://martin.skinneelabs.com/DDC32PumpTopTesting.html

[hvc-]

Thanks for the input, back to more reading for me.

[Conumdrum]

Thats the key. We'll always point you in the right direction. Just sooo much info out there. Your close though and gonna have an awesome rig.

[Perseus]

Originally Posted by hvc-

thanks for the advice, now ive got some research to do. Ill post what i come up with

Since you have the money I would suggest going with a case that is large enough to take the drudgery out of incorporating whatever WC subsystem you decide upon. In my experience there's nothing like knowing that you have the space and mountings for what you want to do BEFORE you start the refit.

[Spawn-Inc]

someone on another thread used that pump/res combo from XSPC and it died within a week. i wouldn't touch it.

Originally Posted by hvc-

So here's what i'm looking at right now. Im going to do 2 loops with 3x120 rads each. Ill mount one behind the case with the swiftech bracket and for the other i'm going to mod my case and integrate it into the right side panel.

Loop 1: Processor

MCP355 Pump w/XSPC Top
XSPC RX360 Radiator (3x Noctua NF-P12 Fans + Shroud and MCB-120 Rev.1)
Swiftech GTZ Apogee
1/2" Tygon Tubing w/ worm clamps

Loop 2: XFire 4890s

MCP355 Pump w/ XSPC Top
XSPC RX360 Radiator (3x Noctua NF-P12 Fans + Shroud)
2x EK Radeon 4890 FC Blocks
1/2" Tygon Tubing w/ worm clamps

2 questions. Will my Noctua fans be enough to cool the rads? I would like to use them if i can, i <3 them. Also, does anyone have experience with the XSPC Dual Bay Reservoir Pump Combo? I have 4 open drive bays to use and these would fit nicely, I just havent read much about these pumps. Any other input would be great, thanks.

if thats your latest setup it's a great one.
the rads you choose work good with low speed fans so they should be fine, but yate loons are much cheaper and work just as good, well just about.

[Perseus]

Originally Posted by Spawn-Inc

if thats your latest setup it's a great one.
the rads you choose work good with low speed fans so they should be fine, but yate loons are much cheaper and work just as good, well just about.

Sometimes, just sometimes, the added expense for quality parts is worth it. Beyond the fact that Noc's have a massive 150K hour MTBF, they're dead quiet by design and what noise they make is "pleasant" to the ear. I have a 40mm fan on my chipset that I can hear over the 11 Noc 120's in my case, which is saying something. The 6 Noc P12's I have on my rad do the job quite well, as would be expected from 9-blade fans.

Believe it or not, I have them running at 40% on an automated ramp keyed to coolant temp, and they still kickarse.

[Spawn-Inc]

^^ to which i respond for the price of 1 notuca you can get 4-5 yate loons to outlast the one fan. only thing is shipping each time.

but either way is good.