Cool motherboard? Single or dual loop?

[Dieter01]

I am planning my first custom watercooled build. Most of the components are in the "to-be-decided" phase but the items below i am fairly confident about:

Case: Caselabs TH10A
Pumps: Swiftech MCP 655-PWM
Radiators: 4 x Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 480 push/pull (considered the Black Ice Nemesis GTX but the height of the UT60 matches the factory holes between the two sides of the TH10A better)
CPU: Intel 5960x
GPU: Waiting for next generation Geforce 8xx. Two or three SLI, depending on what Star Citizen requires
Triple monitors with 1920 x 1080


Questions:
Should I watercool the motherboard? I have really limited knowledge about PC's but from what I have read so far the VRM's are included in the CPU on the Haswell editions and therefore cooling the motherboard is less important. In my current build though (which is quite old...), overclocking the motherboard improved my benchmarks a lot. If there is a small chance my overclocking potential will be hampered by not cooling the motherboard I will. But if its 99% for looks and show I will keep it simple.

Single or dual loop? Two or four pumps? For gaming the CPU is probably not going to run too hot. When I am runnning CPu intesive software the GPU's will be idle. I don't see any real world application where both CPU and GPU are 100% stressed at the same time. Therefore I am inclined to use single loop. There is quite a bit of radioator surface, and to me it seems my GPU's would benefit from the extra cooling. With limited load the CPU should be able to keep fair temperature even with a slightly higher water temperature than they would have seen on a separate loop. This is not according to most recommandations I have read though so would like your comments. What do you think?

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Single loop, dual pumps for redundancy and the extra pumping power being run at a lower speed for the silence factor along with low to mid premium rad fans is my recommendation to you.

You don't need to water cool the motherboard as you'll just add restrictions to the loop. CPU and GPU(s) cooling is all you need. With that much heat surface you have more than enough cooling for this loop.

If you're still learning about water cooling, have a nice read in our water cooling stickies.

 

[Nebulous]

Unless you're going for "bling factor" or benching to the outer limits, watercooling the board is a waste of money.

I would go dual loop (2x MCP 655's) . Thus will separate the cooling for cpu only, and gpu's only. Everything else in your list is top notch

Some reading info:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/...Water-Cooling-Your-PC-***-READ-THIS-FIRST-***

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/628092-The-Ultimate-Water-Cooling-Thread

 

[Dieter01]

Thanks. And I've already been reading up on those stickies. Thats the whole reason this is getting so expensive...

I would go dual loop (2x MCP 655's) . Thus will separate the cooling for cpu only, and gpu's only.

The cost of single loop with 2x pumps and 4 x radiators vs dual loop + extra reservoir etc and 3 x radioators is not that great. The system is definitely cooled more as a whole using single loop though, plus I get redundancy on the pumps if one fails. I don't quite understand why a dual loop system is recommended in most cases. Could you elaborate?

 

[GTXJackBauer]

Dual loops were used in the old days because the tech for single loops wasn't where it is today. Single loops are efficient and cost effective nowadays than before. With dual loops, you'll just end up only knocking off a few degrees as its not worth the added cost. The loop will eventually reach its equilibrium. As long as you have more than enough heat surface you're good to go.

 

[Quest For Speed]

Dual loops were used in the old days because the tech for single loops wasn't where it is today. Single loops are efficient and cost effective nowadays than before. With dual loops, you'll just end up only knocking off a few degrees as its not worth the added cost. The loop will eventually reach its equilibrium. As long as you have more than enough heat surface you're good to go.

I agree. Back when I first got into Watercooling there was very limited parts available. We used Eheim/Iwaki pumps and aquarium tubing. Now A well thought out single loop with perform nearly equal to dual. Use as much radiator as you can fit. Better to have more than needed then not enough. Then you can run the fans slower and keep things quiet. WC the board is a waste unless your into extreme benchmarking.

 

[Techjesse]

I'm running a "Single loop" and it more then adequate to cool the CPU and Trifire (R9 280x). When I planned my loop I wanted to make sure I had a rad between the CPU and the GPU's for best results.
It worked

 

[BruceUSA]

Another single loop here with 120x10. 4930K @4.5Ghz P95 never get pass 55c and 2X R9 290X OCed 1200/1500 never get pass 51c after 40 miuntes loads.

 

[Nebulous]

I figured when the OP posted his choice number of rads along with going tri fire, 2 pumps each in on their own loop would be less stressed with just 1 pump in 1 loop.

I've run dual pumps and single pump. ATM I'm just running a single pump with 360rad cause I'm only cooling the cpu.

 

[Dieter01]

OK, single loop it is then

This is probably another stupid question but what should my airflow be then? I was sort of thinking all radiators on exhaust, 4x120mm intake on PSU side (in addition to ventilated sidepanel, and 2x140mm front intake + possibly 120mm rear intake on MB side. Most builds I've looked at so far don't seem to have too many fans in addition to the radiators though, and some claim positive pressure. I'm confused. Are they pulling in at the bottom on the MB side?

Next is the pump and controller... I've got a few fans so I am considering the Aquaero 6 Pro (the one without remote control). Apparantly the Swiftech MCP 655-PWM has some issues when combined with the Aquaro though, it uses a non-standard way of sending the PWM signal so you have to do a workaround to get things running. So now I am looking at a different D5... What about the Alphacool VPP655? I am confused though as there are several versions (one is PWM, another variable flow HF, another has RPM monitoring...). Other D5's have USB connections... Which one should I be looking at for the Aquareo?

If relevant I am looking at using it with something like the EK D5 Dual CSQ Pump Top or Bitspower G 1/4 Thread Dual D5 Mod Top

 

[GTXJackBauer]

If you're really set on the Aquaero 6, than I would recommend buying most the components for the loop from them when it comes to connecting to it. I mean by aquaero pumps, flow sensors, reservoir, LEDs etc. You can buy the other stuff anywhere you want but to best monitor your rig and be within compatibility I'd stick with that. You don't have to buy their blocks, tubing or what have you but just what the aquaero works best with which is in its own family.

As for air flow, it all depends where everything will be located. For example....

You'll want to use the front, top and bottom, while making sure they are all filtered, as intake and use the unfiltered back as exhaust.

 

[Dieter01]

If you're really set on the Aquaero 6

....
Well... I don't know. This is getting expensive real fast
I have a Corsair H100i at the moment and although the software isn't ideal I like the fact that i can set up custom fan curves based on temperature. If I don't get the Aquaero I at least need to get more power to suppert the fans. I could go with something like this, only splitting the signal more. Can I realistically split the CPU fan header signal to support 32 fans????? With the Aquaero I was thinking of including pump speed, flow rate measurements and loop temperatures etc... I could sacrifice some of that though to cut cost. But I don't want to just undervolt the fans, I would like some form of fan curce / ramping. But doing it through the MB and BIOS is OK.

You'll want to use the front, top and bottom, while making sure they are all filtered, as intake and use the unfiltered back as exhaust.

OK. That is 32 fans on intake. The PSU side of the case is ventilated though, so that should help. But on the MB side there is only one 120m fan as exhaust. I have read that its better to have a few more intakes than exhausts for a loop like this, but here its quite one-sided. Thats still how its normally done?

 

[GTXJackBauer]

....
Well... I don't know. This is getting expensive real fast
I have a Corsair H100i at the moment and although the software isn't ideal I like the fact that i can set up custom fan curves based on temperature. If I don't get the Aquaero I at least need to get more power to suppert the fans. I could go with something like this, only splitting the signal more. Can I realistically split the CPU fan header signal to support 32 fans????? With the Aquaero I was thinking of including pump speed, flow rate measurements and loop temperatures etc... I could sacrifice some of that though to cut cost. But I don't want to just undervolt the fans, I would like some form of fan curce / ramping. But doing it through the MB and BIOS is OK.

You could have gone BIOS or windows software via fan headers on your MB, but your build is another caliber to what the MB headers were designed for. With all the great premium hardware, I wouldn't cheap out on anything. Understandably you want to save some bucks here and there.

You could get a voltage fan controller for your fans if they are non-PWM aka voltage controlled. If you want software control, something like the broken Corsair Link, than Aquaero is the only one out there that is competent enough to handle all that via software. Getting a bunch of fan hubs to connect it all to one or two MB fan headers isn't going to cut it, unfortunately. You will have full control of your stuff while controlling and monitoring it all, if you do this right along with fan curve, pump curves and alerts to name a few.

OK. That is 32 fans on intake. The PSU side of the case is ventilated though, so that should help. But on the MB side there is only one 120m fan as exhaust. I have read that its better to have a few more intakes than exhausts for a loop like this, but here its quite one-sided. Thats still how its normally done?

You will generate positive pressure in the case which will force it all to head out the back, the least resistant area.

In my build, I have 11 filtered fans as intake and one fan in the back as exhaust in the unfiltered section of the case. I barely have dust build up and my temps run great in my loop.