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Advise a watercooling noob :-)

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thinkpol

Registered
Joined
Jun 29, 2010
:shock:

system specs are in signature, except I have a TJ07 with inverted mobo tray on stand-by.
did some preliminary research today and put together a quick 'n dirty cart at frozencpu.com:

CPU Block: Swiftech Apogee XT
GPU Block: EK-FC5870 Nickel V2
Rad: XSPC RX480 (want to use 1400rpm fans or lower)
Tubes: Tygon R-3603 3/8" ID (8 foot)
Pump: Swiftech MCP355™ 12v Water Pump (Native 3/8")
Res: EK-MultiOption RES X2 - 250 Basic
Total: $476

My budget is around $500. Still need fittings of course so I'll probably be over a bit.
Pretty sure I want to go with Bitspower compression fittings, just not sure which and how many I need yet.

Any better choices than what I have here? Should I get a more powerful pump? I plan to start with just the GPU and CPU blocks but may add some motherboard cooling later.
Should I use 4x SanAce and just undervolt them (I have 2 already)? Or should I just get some Noctuas or Nexus Real Silent?
 
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With the i7 and the 5870 you will need more rad to run 1400rpm fans. I would want each to be on its own triple for decent temps. If you can fit a 120.2 in to your build then you should be ok. And mobo cooling is pointless, if you just want to do it, to do it fine, thats why I did it. However if there is any kind of budget involved i would put the money elsewhere.
 
:shock:

system specs are in signature, except I have a TJ07 with inverted mobo tray on stand-by.
did some preliminary research today and put together a quick 'n dirty cart at frozencpu.com:

CPU Block: Swiftech Apogee XT
GPU Block: EK-FC5870 Nickel V2
Rad: XSPC RX480 (want to use 1400rpm fans or lower)
Tubes: Tygon R-3603 3/8" ID (8 foot)
Pump: Swiftech MCP355™ 12v Water Pump (Native 3/8")
Res: EK-MultiOption RES X2 - 250 Basic
Total: $476

My budget is around $500. Still need fittings of course so I'll probably be over a bit.
Pretty sure I want to go with Bitspower compression fittings, just not sure which and how many I need yet.

Any better choices than what I have here? Should I get a more powerful pump? I plan to start with just the GPU and CPU blocks but may add some motherboard cooling later.
Should I use 4x SanAce and just undervolt them (I have 2 already)? Or should I just get some Noctuas or Nexus Real Silent?

apogee xt has been outperformed for a while, check out the ek hf, its the current top performer (in my mind) for single loops...maybe a koolance 360, but you have enough pumping power for the hf since you've got a lower restriction gpu block. The ddc (aka mcp355) is a great pump, you should be fine with it. If you've got $50 kicking around for the extra san aces, I would go with those, they undervolt like champs and can move some serious air when you need it. Rad looks good though, so if you wanted to go with something quieter ala gentle typhoons, that would be :thup:. The thing to consider with that is that you'll probably be spending about $65 for the gt's, so while they are the best low noise fans, if you're satisfied with just turning down your san aces right now, you should be fine to just turn down all of them and have the performance headroom should you need it and be able to get it cheaper...just my .02
 
With the i7 and the 5870 you will need more rad to run 1400rpm fans. I would want each to be on its own triple for decent temps. If you can fit a 120.2 in to your build then you should be ok. And mobo cooling is pointless, if you just want to do it, to do it fine, thats why I did it. However if there is any kind of budget involved i would put the money elsewhere.



Yeah, I've seen other TJ07 builds that used 120x4 and 120x2 rads.
You think I should use more powerful fans undervolted or get fans that are specifically for silent builds? It'd be nice to be able to crank up the airflow if I needed/wanted to but I'm not sure how a SanAce's dB level compares to a Nexus/Noctua when running at lower rpms.
 
apogee xt has been outperformed for a while, check out the ek hf, its the current top performer (in my mind) for single loops...maybe a koolance 360, but you have enough pumping power for the hf since you've got a lower restriction gpu block. The ddc (aka mcp355) is a great pump, you should be fine with it. If you've got $50 kicking around for the extra san aces, I would go with those, they undervolt like champs and can move some serious air when you need it. Rad looks good though, so if you wanted to go with something quieter ala gentle typhoons, that would be :thup:. The thing to consider with that is that you'll probably be spending about $65 for the gt's, so while they are the best low noise fans, if you're satisfied with just turning down your san aces right now, you should be fine to just turn down all of them and have the performance headroom should you need it and be able to get it cheaper...just my .02

Thanks! Exactly what I was looking for. One of the downfalls of doing research by reading reviews and posts is that a lot of it is outdated. I read a few posts and reviews that were saying the Apogee XT was the cat's pajamas - before that I was reading about the Heatkiller 3.0. I have the SanAce's plugged straight into the mobo (no controller) right now and they are brutal. I'm pretty sure they're just running at max rpm (2200+ according to Everest).
 
A good low speed fan will almost always be quiet than a high speed undervolted. That said, I can't make a recommendation. To me, it makes sense to have the headroom just in case I need it. You have a bunch of rad, so you really need to make the decision whether you want the option to drop your dt's to high performance levels or if you're happy sitting at what would be considered a good dT when you're at load...I don't feel like I'm explaining it well...
 
A good low speed fan will almost always be quiet than a high speed undervolted. That said, I can't make a recommendation. To me, it makes sense to have the headroom just in case I need it. You have a bunch of rad, so you really need to make the decision whether you want the option to drop your dt's to high performance levels or if you're happy sitting at what would be considered a good dT when you're at load...I don't feel like I'm explaining it well...

What I'm most concerned about is this:
when I'm gaming, how loud my PC is isn't very important because I wear a headset. however, my PC is in the middle of my living room and I watch movies/tv/etc and the fans become annoying. I want it to be super silent (without having to turn it off, I'm always seeding for ratio) when I don't need the performance but like I said, when I'm gaming I won't be able to hear it anyway.

So, I'm thinking of just using SanAce fans and using a fan controller to slow them down when not needed. Is there a way to set this to do it automatically as well (if GPU/CPU reaches a certain temp, fans increase RPM progressively to keep temp under a certain point). Is there any way I can set it up to control fans through software rather than some ugly/space consuming thing in my case?
 
Look at the system in my sig. Assuming you overclock yours to around the same level at similar voltages you'll be a running 20W higher heatload than mine (although I have overclocked my GFX card a bit). If you highlight the last line of my sig you'll see the temps with the CPU at load and the GPU at idle.

The extra 240 slimline Rad I have gives, at best 2ºC lower temps. I'm currently running GT1850's which again give roughly 1-2ºC lower temps than the GT1450's. Running the fans at lower speeds still give good(ish) cooling and are quiet.

I would think about a Swiftech 655 for the quietness and lack of vibration.

EDIT: This system is in my living room as well so I wanted it quiet.
 
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Full copper (second one) should perform better, but I haven't seen any comparisons. I think jab-tech might carry the hf.

For the fans, check out this link. Listen to the gentle typhoon at full and the san ace at 5v (most controllers don't go under this). Should help you make your decision with the rest of the info in there. As for automatic control, a friend of mine and I have a basic plan drawn up for a pwm fan controller that uses dual thermistor/manual control with thermal override, I'm sure we could sit down and get something designed that could replace a channel in a fan controller. That said, you'd have to buy parts and all for it...probably run you about $10-20, including about $5 shipping, but you could do 2 channels for $15-30. If you'd like me to get on that, just say...though it'd probably be worth its own thread.
 
Full copper (second one) should perform better, but I haven't seen any comparisons. I think jab-tech might carry the hf.

For the fans, check out this link. Listen to the gentle typhoon at full and the san ace at 5v (most controllers don't go under this). Should help you make your decision with the rest of the info in there. As for automatic control, a friend of mine and I have a basic plan drawn up for a pwm fan controller that uses dual thermistor/manual control with thermal override, I'm sure we could sit down and get something designed that could replace a channel in a fan controller. That said, you'd have to buy parts and all for it...probably run you about $10-20, including about $5 shipping, but you could do 2 channels for $15-30. If you'd like me to get on that, just say...though it'd probably be worth its own thread.

That's a great link! I came across that one time while at work and couldnt listen to it, so thanks for reminding me :)

I was very impressed with how quiet the GTs were, I'll compare them a bit more later. As of right now I'm leaning towards the GTs for sure.
 
Look at the system in my sig. Assuming you overclock yours to around the same level at similar voltages you'll be a running 20W higher heatload than mine (although I have overclocked my GFX card a bit). If you highlight the last line of my sig you'll see the temps with the CPU at load and the GPU at idle.

The extra 240 slimline Rad I have gives, at best 2ºC lower temps. I'm currently running GT1850's which again give roughly 1-2ºC lower temps than the GT1450's. Running the fans at lower speeds still give good(ish) cooling and are quiet.

I would think about a Swiftech 655 for the quietness and lack of vibration.

EDIT: This system is in my living room as well so I wanted it quiet.

So is the MPC655 quieter than the MCP355? I read somewhere that it introduces more heat into the loop than the 355.
 
Fan choice is going to depend on what you want to do, I always go with the low speed fans. But I know I have enough rad for what I want to do, now and in the future. If you have some question about how you want to run your system, like going after benchmark scores everyonce in a while and you want to be able to up your normal OC then having higher speed fans and undervolting is a good option. It also normally gives you room to add more blocks to your loop in the future. However adding a second 480 with the 120.4 and 120.2 and keeping the load temp in range would require fans that sound like the stock 480gtx cooler.
 
i'm pretty sure the 355 is quieter, specs should be listed on performance-pcs
 
Look at the system in my sig. Assuming you overclock yours to around the same level at similar voltages you'll be a running 20W higher heatload than mine (although I have overclocked my GFX card a bit). If you highlight the last line of my sig you'll see the temps with the CPU at load and the GPU at idle.

The extra 240 slimline Rad I have gives, at best 2ºC lower temps. I'm currently running GT1850's which again give roughly 1-2ºC lower temps than the GT1450's. Running the fans at lower speeds still give good(ish) cooling and are quiet.

I would think about a Swiftech 655 for the quietness and lack of vibration.

EDIT: This system is in my living room as well so I wanted it quiet.



Are you saying the extra 2x120 rad isn't worth it?
 
i'm pretty sure the 355 is quieter, specs should be listed on performance-pcs


quoted from performance-pcs.com:

"A Note of Caution! the MCP355 generates higher audible noise than the MCP350 and MCP655 pumps. This product is not recommended for users seeking silent operations."

so maybe I should go with the 655 =)
 
hk 3.0 is a solid block, there's a guy here who was lookin to sell one, its the cu, so its colored a little different. I can put you two in touch if you feel so compelled.

Ah, well then you may wanna go 655, i'm not the person to ask for noise...I got to metal concerts so god knows what my hearing is like, see if you can find a comparison of noise, performance wise the 355 will perform better than the 655 in most scenarios.
 
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This is what I posted shortly after fitting the 655 '...the low noise levels are impressive, particularly the lack of vibration. I have made a stand for it and isolated it with rubber washers and foam. I can hear a slight whine at 5 but just under 4 and below it's very quiet. Below 3 and it's so quiet it seems silent. Even at setting 5 I doubt I'd hear it over the hard disks.' I've not changed my opinion since then, even at setting 3 it gives me enough flow rate. I haven't used a 355 but I was noting the noise warning similar to the one you posted and advice from here when I decided to get the 655.

Unless you're squeezing every last degree out of your system then in my opinion adding a Black Ice Stealth 240 isn't necessary. I only put it in as I already had it and now that it's in I prefer the tubing routing with it fitted. If you add another 5870 you could always put a full size dual rad in the base or hang one off the rear of the case using a 92/120mm fan adapter.

I must admit I like the look of the Heatkiller as well and have a couple for my systems.

EDIT: If you like the look of the Heatkiller then the Aquacomputer Kryos might interest you http://skinneelabs.com/ac-kryos-xt.html Note that you'd need the HF version if you wanted to fit 3/8 ID, 1/2 OD compressions http://shop.aquacomputer.de/index.php?cPath=7_11_12_544&XTCsid=aj5sj0b919c2ju285957npsb4domd1nu although you can get compression fittings of that size that will fit http://shop.aquacomputer.de/product_info.php?products_id=2322 They're metric sizes they won't screw down fully on imperial sized tubing.
 
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