Critique my cooling parts

[Daniel7355608]

Hi,
I just ordered all my water cooling parts and need some advice. Right now, I have a corsair h115i and my i7-6800k is overheating. In GTA 5 my cpu hits 85c and in OCCT it can't pass a stability test as max temp is always reached, this occurs with and without overclocking (replaced thermal paste and the h115i's pump seems to be working). Currently, I have an Enthoo Luxe case and it officially supports a 420mm radiator on the top. However, I read a few posts saying the ek CE 420mm radiator has clearance issues when installed in the Enthoo luxe. Has anyone else had experience with this radiator and this case? I'm planning on just using distilled water with a silver kill coil and any input on my purchases would be appreciated.

https://imgur.com/rv4idQl

thanks!

 

[maxfly]

your cpu is going to run hot no matter what but it shouldnt run THAT hot especially with that cooler. fan speed could be a factor. are you certain that its making good contact? what did the tim pattern look like when you pulled the cpu block? i feel your pain.
thats a sweet loop youve configured! for a cpu/gpu loop its way overkill but in wcing is there such a thing? haha
i hate to say it but being that youve already ordered your gear theres really not much to contribute to your thread. so taking that into consideration, apparently that rad and case combo arent very common so its most likely that YOU will be letting US know whether they are compatible lol. i would suggest you change the title of your thread to reflect that so others can find the answer. something like "phanteks enthoo and ek ce rad" etc etc
if your blocks are nickel plated(they are) dont use silver in your loop or you will have corrosion issues. ek used to specifically state this with their nickel blocks but apparently have stopped. maybe they include a warning with the literature in the box? another question you could answer for us! just use distilled and petras pt_nuke and youll be golden. good luck and enjoy!

 

[Daniel7355608]

your cpu is going to run hot no matter what but it shouldnt run THAT hot especially with that cooler. fan speed could be a factor. are you certain that its making good contact? what did the tim pattern look like when you pulled the cpu block? i feel your pain.
thats a sweet loop youve configured! for a cpu/gpu loop its way overkill but in wcing is there such a thing? haha
i hate to say it but being that youve already ordered your gear theres really not much to contribute to your thread. so taking that into consideration, apparently that rad and case combo arent very common so its most likely that YOU will be letting US know whether they are compatible lol. i would suggest you change the title of your thread to reflect that so others can find the answer. something like "phanteks enthoo and ek ce rad" etc etc
if your blocks are nickel plated(they are) dont use silver in your loop or you will have corrosion issues. ek used to specifically state this with their nickel blocks but apparently have stopped. maybe they include a warning with the literature in the box? another question you could answer for us! just use distilled and petras pt_nuke and youll be golden. good luck and enjoy!

Actually, the res/pump I ordered and another part are out of stock temporarily so the order is stuck on 'processing' until they're resupplied which should be Jan. 9, so I think I have a chance to change some stuff on my order last minute if need be. I've never heard of no silver with EK's nickel blocks, but I already have the silver kill coil (amazon shipping wins every time) should I still get the PT nuke and just try to return/let the kill coil sit on my shelf? I think my h115i is broken, my temps didn't used to be this bad and I've tried replacing thermal paste three times with some noctua nt-h1 with no fix, TIM pattern was just covering the center at first but I did the 'credit card method' of WAY over applying and evenly spreading it. Fan speed definitely isn't the issue as I replaced the stock fans with 4x noctua nh-a14 fans and even at full speed the cpu can't pass a stress test, always exceeds 95c. pump seems to be working as one tube is much cooler than the other. I'll be sure to update you with any clearance issues I face with that big rad, hoping it will be ok though. Thanks for your detailed response!

 

[||Console||]

One tube way hotter than the other lead me to thing the pump isnt working . Water temps will equalize with in your loop .
Contact could be a issue if you didnt have a good spread pattern with the rice gain size dot in the center ( never used a AIO so dont know the mounting method does it use screws ? )

 

[Daniel7355608]

One tube way hotter than the other lead me to thing the pump isnt working . Water temps will equalize with in your loop .
Contact could be a issue if you didnt have a good spread pattern with the rice gain size dot in the center ( never used a AIO so dont know the mounting method does it use screws ? )

Yes AIO's are mounted with four screws and I tightened it as much as possible by hand, contact may have been the issue but like I said I've tried remounting/re-applying thermal paste 3 times and it only worked for a second (when it booted after re-apply, temps were 30c idle and it was able to pass a stress test for a short period of time but the next day temps went right back up to 50c idle) My pump is reporting 3000+rpm but I'm not sure if they just go to 0 when they're failing.

 

[maxfly]

Actually, the res/pump I ordered and another part are out of stock temporarily so the order is stuck on 'processing' until they're resupplied which should be Jan. 9, so I think I have a chance to change some stuff on my order last minute if need be. I've never heard of no silver with EK's nickel blocks, but I already have the silver kill coil (amazon shipping wins every time) should I still get the PT nuke and just try to return/let the kill coil sit on my shelf? I think my h115i is broken, my temps didn't used to be this bad and I've tried replacing thermal paste three times with some noctua nt-h1 with no fix, TIM pattern was just covering the center at first but I did the 'credit card method' of WAY over applying and evenly spreading it. Fan speed definitely isn't the issue as I replaced the stock fans with 4x noctua nh-a14 fans and even at full speed the cpu can't pass a stress test, always exceeds 95c. pump seems to be working as one tube is much cooler than the other. I'll be sure to update you with any clearance issues I face with that big rad, hoping it will be ok though. Thanks for your detailed response!

np thats what were here for! were all glad to help! this is a great place to ask questions. hehehe i love amazon prime. its worth every penny for me(i buy a ton of stuff from them). personally i would return the kill coil. if you bought it from amazon you wont have any issues returning it. especially if you have prime. with prime you just tell them your returning it and why and thats that. after spending all that loot on new gear i wouldnt take any chances of getting corrosion. definitely get the petras pt nuke. i usually just mix up a gallon at a time so i know its mixed correctly and ill have plenty if i need to pull my loop apart for something. this is the one.
https://www.amazon.com/Petras-Tech-Nuke-Concentrated-Biocide/dp/B008EH4STK

i know its hard but try not to touch the inside of your tubing, res, blocks, pump or fittings when you put everything together. anything that gets inside can potentially cause crud to grow. if you can find a big plastic syringe somewhere grab it. you can use it to fill your res. i wear gloves to tighten down the fittings to(the fittings will rub your fingers raw when you hand tighten them). it will make your life much easier with a syringe and gloves. something like this will be perfect.
https://www.amazon.com/HONGYETAJA-P...4&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=plastic+syringe&psc=1
these kind of gloves really help in tightening the fittings down. you can usually find really cheap ones at walmart for like 5 bucks.
https://www.amazon.com/Mechanix-Wea...d=1515194060&sr=1-3&keywords=mechanics+gloves
if you keep track while your filling the loop you can nail down exactly how much fluid it takes to fill your loop.
its good to hear you have solid fans. one less thing to buy lol!

i look forward to hearing how things work out for you!

 

[Daniel7355608]

np thats what were here for! were all glad to help! this is a great place to ask questions. hehehe i love amazon prime. its worth every penny for me(i buy a ton of stuff from them). personally i would return the kill coil. if you bought it from amazon you wont have any issues returning it. especially if you have prime. with prime you just tell them your returning it and why and thats that. after spending all that loot on new gear i wouldnt take any chances of getting corrosion. definitely get the petras pt nuke. i usually just mix up a gallon at a time so i know its mixed correctly and ill have plenty if i need to pull my loop apart for something. this is the one.
https://www.amazon.com/Petras-Tech-Nuke-Concentrated-Biocide/dp/B008EH4STK

i know its hard but try not to touch the inside of your tubing, res, blocks, pump or fittings when you put everything together. anything that gets inside can potentially cause crud to grow. if you can find a big plastic syringe somewhere grab it. you can use it to fill your res. i wear gloves to tighten down the fittings to(the fittings will rub your fingers raw when you hand tighten them). it will make your life much easier with a syringe and gloves. something like this will be perfect.
https://www.amazon.com/HONGYETAJA-P...4&sr=1-2-spons&keywords=plastic+syringe&psc=1
these kind of gloves really help in tightening the fittings down. you can usually find really cheap ones at walmart for like 5 bucks.
https://www.amazon.com/Mechanix-Wea...d=1515194060&sr=1-3&keywords=mechanics+gloves
if you keep track while your filling the loop you can nail down exactly how much fluid it takes to fill your loop.
its good to hear you have solid fans. one less thing to buy lol!

i look forward to hearing how things work out for you!

Hmmm.... I have some 20ml syringes with blunt tip fill needles (no tube but the needle is pretty thick like a small straw) I got on amazon a while back for mixing nutrients, I feel like that would take a long time to fill though.. I have an extra fitting that's supposed to go on my valve but I could close the valve, assemble everything, then use the fitting on top of the reservoir with the remainder of the tubing and find a small funnel to fit in the tubing and just poor water down that, fill it and move the fitting to the valve. Is using the syringe optimal or do you think going to the hardware store and buying a funnel to fill it that way would be better? I didn't even think about gloves that's why I'm so glad I asked for advice! will definitely get some.
It's funny you say that... I'm actually about to RMA the h115i back to corsair when I get the loop assembled and was planning on selling the one I get back as it's resale as new or refurbished (whatever corsair sends back) is probably more valuable then this.
A while ago, I bought a LED strip from phanteks and installed it in my case, plugged it into my powersupply and saw in the instructions I could plug it into my motherboard, I did and my mobo LEDs turned off and I smelt a burning smell..... My motherboard only has a j_led header and upon further inspection this required a rgb_header, which looks identical. Since then the motherboards LEDs don't work at all and I just have the LED plugged into my case's LED controller. Maybe my motherboard is fried and sending back false readings? this happened a while ago and the fried LEDs seem to have been the only damage done, but I'm no technician. I know this makes it seem like a motherboard replacement is more important then cooling but the flagship i7-8700k isn't much better then my 6800k, so I might as well wait for the next gen of chips and do a full cpu upgrade then. Another option is sending my motherbaord in to MSI and having them fix it but I'd imagine that'd take 2-3 weeks and cost about as much as a new one, as it's out of warranty.

 

[maxfly]

Hmmm.... I have some 20ml syringes with blunt tip fill needles (no tube but the needle is pretty thick like a small straw) I got on amazon a while back for mixing nutrients, I feel like that would take a long time to fill though.. I have an extra fitting that's supposed to go on my valve but I could close the valve, assemble everything, then use the fitting on top of the reservoir with the remainder of the tubing and find a small funnel to fit in the tubing and just poor water down that, fill it and move the fitting to the valve. Is using the syringe optimal or do you think going to the hardware store and buying a funnel to fill it that way would be better? I didn't even think about gloves that's why I'm so glad I asked for advice! will definitely get some.
It's funny you say that... I'm actually about to RMA the h115i back to corsair when I get the loop assembled and was planning on selling the one I get back as it's resale as new or refurbished (whatever corsair sends back) is probably more valuable then this.
A while ago, I bought a LED strip from phanteks and installed it in my case, plugged it into my powersupply and saw in the instructions I could plug it into my motherboard, I did and my mobo LEDs turned off and I smelt a burning smell..... My motherboard only has a j_led header and upon further inspection this required a rgb_header, which looks identical. Since then the motherboards LEDs don't work at all and I just have the LED plugged into my case's LED controller. Maybe my motherboard is fried and sending back false readings? this happened a while ago and the fried LEDs seem to have been the only damage done, but I'm no technician. I know this makes it seem like a motherboard replacement is more important then cooling but the flagship i7-8700k isn't much better then my 6800k, so I might as well wait for the next gen of chips and do a full cpu upgrade then. Another option is sending my motherbaord in to MSI and having them fix it but I'd imagine that'd take 2-3 weeks and cost about as much as a new one, as it's out of warranty.

ugh yeah theres a good chance your mb is borked in some way that effects the temp sensors. it would probably be a good idea to replace your mb but like you said it will likely take a while to get it back. i would just hang onto it until you upgrade and once you have your new mb/cpu rma it.

 

[Daniel7355608]

ugh yeah theres a good chance your mb is borked in some way that effects the temp sensors. it would probably be a good idea to replace your mb but like you said it will likely take a while to get it back. i would just hang onto it until you upgrade and once you have your new mb/cpu rma it.

I just assembled everything and it went pretty seeemless. The 420mm rad didn't fit with the phanteks panel on my right of case, so I took it out and it fits perfect, loosing some support in the optical bay. What should my temps be? I'm thinking I might have used the wrong screws when installing the gpu block or something because my gpu hits 55c under tests, I've heard peoples watercooled 1080 ti's stay below 48c under full stress test so I'm not sure if I did something wrong. The pump is also super loud at 100% (4800 rpm), I can hear it well over the fans when it's anywhere over 3000 rpm. Other then that I love the loop! cpu hardly touches 60c under full load.
Thanks again for the help

 

[maxfly]

I just assembled everything and it went pretty seeemless. The 420mm rad didn't fit with the phanteks panel on my right of case, so I took it out and it fits perfect, loosing some support in the optical bay. What should my temps be? I'm thinking I might have used the wrong screws when installing the gpu block or something because my gpu hits 55c under tests, I've heard peoples watercooled 1080 ti's stay below 48c under full stress test so I'm not sure if I did something wrong. The pump is also super loud at 100% (4800 rpm), I can hear it well over the fans when it's anywhere over 3000 rpm. Other then that I love the loop! cpu hardly touches 60c under full load.
Thanks again for the help

your gpu temps are pretty good. it could be that yours is oced a bit more from the factory so its a little warmer. i wouldnt worry about it but double checking your mount is never a bad idea. what pump/gpu block did you go with? sounds like a d5 from what your describing. tbh it should be really hard to hear if it is. i cant hear either of mine unless i open my case and really listen for them. ive got both running at 100% all the time right now. good to hear your cpu temps are looking good!

edit- nvm went back and looked at your first post. you really shouldnt have much pump noise with that set up. you may have air trapped in the pump/res. it should work its way out in a few days. ive got the same pump(with the x top) and i cant hear it unless i open my case and get right next to it. with the 1080ti ft3 your card is oced very nicely from evga so thats why the temps seem a bit higher. the only thing i would be concerned with is the pump noise. it shouldnt be loud at all even at 100%. can you see any air being pushed through the res, or has it pretty much purged?

 

[Daniel7355608]

your gpu temps are pretty good. it could be that yours is oced a bit more from the factory so its a little warmer. i wouldnt worry about it but double checking your mount is never a bad idea. what pump/gpu block did you go with? sounds like a d5 from what your describing. tbh it should be really hard to hear if it is. i cant hear either of mine unless i open my case and really listen for them. ive got both running at 100% all the time right now. good to hear your cpu temps are looking good!

edit- nvm went back and looked at your first post. you really shouldnt have much pump noise with that set up. you may have air trapped in the pump/res. it should work its way out in a few days. ive got the same pump(with the x top) and i cant hear it unless i open my case and get right next to it. with the 1080ti ft3 your card is oced very nicely from evga so thats why the temps seem a bit higher. the only thing i would be concerned with is the pump noise. it shouldnt be loud at all even at 100%. can you see any air being pushed through the res, or has it pretty much purged?

If it's easier I can film the pump at high rpm, kinda hard to describe a noise as I don't know what an air-filled pump sounds like... I can't recall noticing it being this loud when I jump started it with the PSU and that should have been at 100%, but right now it's very noticeable at anything above 60% or over 2000-2500 rpm. Like you mentioned it's the d5 pump combo from EK. I have it plugged into my psu and cpu_fan header. I'm pretty sure I got most the air out. The first day the reservoir, gpu block, and cpu block were filled with little air bubbles and now they've mostly dissipated, besides a few. You keep yours at 100% (4800+ rpm) and don't hear it? mines definitely noticeable. Not a terrible sound but I can definitely hear the hum over my fans, even at 3000 rpm (slower then my old corsair h115i)
Thanks for the help

https://imgur.com/a/fNcsL

 

[maxfly]

np, looks good! yeah i keep mine running at 100% due to having issues with bubbles at the outlets of my gpu blocks. ive figured that issue out but havent bothered to turn the pumps down yet. just being overly cautious lol. hopefully its just air in yours and it gets better over time.