1st time watercooling. Suggestions/advice needed.

[Charbel]

Hey guys,

A long time lurker, first time poster, from Australia.

I am interested in water cooling both my GPU's and my CPU. I will be overclocking them to the best possible levels. It will be my first time water cooling, and I would be grateful for any suggestions and advice.

My components are as follows:

MOBO: Asus P8Z68V PRO (GEN3)
CPU: i5 2500k (currently overclocked to 4.8ghz)
CPU Cooler: Coolermaster hyper 212 Evo (push pull)
GPU: 2 GTX 680's in SLI (Both reference cards- one MSI, one EVGA)
RAM: Gskill Ripjaws 8GB 1600mhz
PSU: Antec High Current Gamer 900W
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB
SDD: Samsung 840 Pro 256GB
120mm FANS that I could possibly use: Coolermaster 120mm silent Red LED Fan x2 and a BitFenix Spectre 120mm Red LED
I also have an IHAS324 Optical Drive and a Lamptron FC5 V2 Fan Controller (which I was thinking of using?)

Also, I have already purchased two Heatkiller GTX 680 "Hole Edition" Reference Design Water Block- Nickel/Black.

Currently, my case is a HAF 922, however for water cooling, I am considering purchasing either the NZXT Switch 810 or the Corsair 750D. Are these cases good options or should I consider different ones? Which is the better of the two?

The water cooling components I had in mind to purchase, from PCCG, after doing some research, are as follows:

XSPC RayStorm D5 Photon AX360 Water Cooling Kit
Alphacool NexXxoS Monsta 240mm Rad
XSPC G1/4 Black Chrome 7/16 Compression Fitting (x8)
PrimoChill PrimoFlex Advanced LRT Tubing Red 7/16ID 5/8OD 3m
PrimoChill Liquid Utopia Clear Additive 15ml
Koolance Dual VID Connector Adjustable 2-3 Slot Spacing
XSPC Twin 5mm LED Kit Red
XSPC Twin 3mm LED Kit Red
Bitspower G1/4 Matte Black Low-Profile Stop Fitting
NZXT Sleeved LED Cable 200cm Red
Corsair Air Series SP120 Quiet Edition Case Fan (x4)
--

I think that the above list covers everything; however, I am not 100% sure and would like to know if I am missing anything.

Also, I would really like to know whether these water cooling components are the right choice and are compatible.

Regarding the fan setup, should I use the 3 XSPC fans that come with the kit and the three that I already have (listed above), OR should I purchase 10 of the Corsair Fans for push/pull setup?

Is push/pull necessary for both Rads?

My budget is around $1,000, including the case.

Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated.

In summary, I would like to know whether the watercooling components I listed above are sufficient and all I need or whether I am missing anything.

Thank you in advance.

 

[JeremyCT]

With 5x120 rad space, push/pull probably won't be necessary. I'd recommend investing in a good fan controller. I'm personally a big fan of the Aquaero due to the fact that it can control lots of fans and supports temperature probe inputs for air and water temps, so you can program fan ramps based off things like dT and really get a good idea of how well your loop is performing. The Lamptron will do the job if you don't want that much control or information though.

 

[Shadow300]

Everything actually looks pretty good! The Obsidian series from Corsair and the Switch 810 are both notorious for liquid cooling setups so nothing wrong there. The main thing to consider which I can't currently give advice on this since I don't know what your loop will look like is to make sure you have enough fittings and tubing for the loop. It has to be the most annoying thing when you have everything ready and you have to wait a few days for one fitting to come in haha. Anyways, good high flow CPU block and you can't go wrong with a variable speed D5 pump. As far as the push pull, you will see slight performance gains with that configuration over push or pull. I would pull the trigger to get the extra fans since you have the space. Looks good!