Fractal Design Define S and water cooling an i7-4790k with a single 140mm Rad

[OneNameLess]

Hello guys,

Since I'm new to water cooling, and also these forums, please bear with me if this has been talked to death.

I've searched the forums and googled a lot and have not been able to find sufficient info on the topic.

I'm building a new system that will be used as a base for administering my server, gaming, watching movies, surfing etc. and I'm wondering what will be needed for this.

I'm going for a silent system, that can run cool 24/7 on my table, and also be able to overclock if I feel the need.

My old, soon to be a server computer, is running with a H100 for my i73930k and that is the extent of my firsthand experience with water cooling.

For the new system I thinking about taking a Fractal Design Define S case, a ASUS Maximus VII Impact with a , a i74790k and either a Titan X or a 980 Ti. The rest will be 16GB of good RAM and I have 4 or 5 SSD's lying around that will also go into the system. The system will be used with a 34" 3440x1440 monitor.

Finally I am looking at the Corsair AX860i as the PSU

Since I want a silent system I will not be using the top of the case for fans. It will be closed off.

Looking at the case I'm thinking that I will be able to run a 280 Rad with push pull for the GFX and then I will be able to squeeze a 140 Rad in that I could use to cool the CPU and also the entire motherboard with a full water cooling block.

I'm guessing that the 280 Rad should be sufficient for the GFX, but what about the 140 for the CPU? There is room for quite a thick Rad with push pull if that could help.

Also with 3 140mm fans in the front pulling in air, will a single 140mm fan at the back of the case pushing it out be enough?

Finally can I manage with 1 reservoir and 1 pump for the entire build or will I have to run two loops with a pump and reservoir for each?

Thanks for any reply's in advance.

Regards
Michael

 

[EarthDog]

Michael,

1. I wouldn't chop off the top cooling with your system. You are not exactly going easy on the wattage/heat to dissipate with your selected parts.
2. The Corsair AX860i is overkill for the system you selected. You can EASILY use a 650W PSU (as listed you wont break 400W with everything running 100%, less for gaming and even less for moving watching, etc) and it wouldn't break a sweat. I would look at the EVGA 650GS personally. This may save you a few dollars.
3. What case are you looking at?
4. I wouldn't bother cooling the motherboard with a block. They are generally restrictive and yield no performance gains.
5. I believe 2x140mm and 1x140mm rads will cool this sufficiently. If your goal is silence however, I would look into more radiator, at least 4x120/140mm. That way the fans on the rads don't have to work as hard.
6. 1 pump and res is plenty for this tiny loop. Its not until you get into multiple GPUs + CPU + ?? that one generally goes to two loops.

Hope this helps!

 

[OneNameLess]

Hey EarthDog,

Tanks for the reply.

1. Not sure I understand what you mean

2. I just like the fact that I have more wattage than what I need to have it running efficient. I might go for the AX760i instead though.

3. The Case is a Fractal Design Define S : http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/cases/define-series/define-s

4. If I were to go for the Block it would be to get rid of any small fans that are cooling the mainboard. (I have that on my Rampage IV and its annoying) But I guess the VII Impact is passively cooled anyways.

 

[EarthDog]

1. I meant that in reference to you removing the fan or whatever you are doing to the top of the case.
2. A 650W PSU will still run efficiently and quiet with the loads you will be putting on it. I am not sure why you are hung on Corsair though. The PSUs you listed are great, but the EVGA I listed is also great and cheaper than any Corsair AX series at that wattage. If you are willing to go down to 750W, look at the EVGA Supernova G2 750W. It is arguably the best bang for the buck high end PSU out there.
4. Yes, its passive... so, don't do it.

 

[OneNameLess]

Ah so you meant that I will not be able to dissipate enough heat from the case without opening the top of the case. I was fearing that was the case...

I'll look into a smaller PSU, but it is not really a problem. What is a problem is that I want it to be small factor and no longer than 160mm so I can fit a fan in front of it at the bottom of the case. Also I want it to be silent. But I can see the 650watt fits that factor. Regardless the PSU is not a problem. The other stuff is.

 

[Cnaydmancangt]

Cant vouche for EVGA life span, but I bought one of those EVGA Super nova 750's and I like it a lot, really quiet, the modular design is kinda cool but I pretty much use every one of those cords anyway except for the 2 of the 4 PCI-E cables.. My only gripes is I wish it had a 2nd 4 pin connectors for fans... Its rather anything having to stretch some of my case fan wires to the max to be able to reach the 1 cable supplied..

Hopefully it lasts as long as my Antec 650w trio did, that thing was 9 years old, I thought it was 7 was but I got it in 2006 according to newegg.. One of the best power supplies ive ever had. Like you I got the 750w one because I wanted a little more power in case.. Considering my R9 290 Tri x isn't refefrence design and uses 2x8 pins vs 1 6 and 1 8 like the 5 phase 290 and 290x's use... If I ever want to go Crossfire pretty sure the 750w psu would be better then a 650w