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Help with first liquid cooling build

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T

Taisae

New Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2014
Hey all,

I've been reading about liquid cooling for some time and stumbled upon this forum.

Recently, another user made a post about his hardware and some questions and i semi-started to hijack his thread. Another user mentioned it might be best to start my own so here we are!

So here's my hardware info:

Fractal R4 enthusiast case
Intel i7-4770K
MSI Z87-G45 Gaming mobo
2x MSI lightning GTX770 SLI setup
G-Skill 16gb pc17000 ram
850W power supply

I've started to compile some products to build my first setup. Here's my cart items so far (I'm missing the radiator and video card blocks atm):

*EDIT* I'm no longer getting the coolant as I've come across many threads stating distilled water and a biocide is better (and cheaper)

https://imgur.com/hGT0q6s

*EDIT* Here's a link to the GPU blocks and top mounted radiator i'm considering for this as well:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...K-FC770_GTX_GW_-_Nickel.html?tl=c311s2023b133

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...adiator_-_80mm_Thick.html?tl=g30c95s160#blank

Another user mentioned it might be best to have 2 radiators for SLI. I was going to use a 240mm radiator - would you think it best for me to throw another 120 or 140mm in there?

Here's the layout I was going to use and what i was thinking of doing after reading this:
(quick 2 second MSpaint diagram)

https://imgur.com/N8BZAdN

Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 
Last edited:
Nice post haha I don't have an answer but I'm responding so I get an e-mail when someone does! (Nice parts btw :p)
 
Don't bother with that PVC tubing. Primochill LRT Advanced is what you want. It's not cheap, but you'll kick yourself when you get something else and it clouds and leaches plasticizers into your loop after 6 months.

You'll need more than 120x2 worth of radiator for that much kit. Another 120x2 in front would do nicely. Consider switching the D5 for a CPU pump-top with micro-res or a compact pump-res combo. Space in that case for water cooling parts will be at a premium. You'd be surprised how quickly you run out of room. Angle fittings will likely be required, so be sure to budget for them.
 
At stock clocks you're looking at:
230w per gpu at 100%
84W Cpu @ 100%
So 544w of heat to remove at stock clock speeds and at 100% on all three, have a look through this sticky to figure out what temps you're going to want and through martains liquid lab to look at the radiator reviews to see how much radiator and fannage you're going to need.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the additional information guys. I will do some more homework and post back afterwards (raiding tonight so I won't be able to read tonight but my schedule is clear at work tomorrow so I'll be reading throughout the day).
 
JeremyCT said:
Don't bother with that PVC tubing. Primochill LRT Advanced is what you want. It's not cheap, but you'll kick yourself when you get something else and it clouds and leaches plasticizers into your loop after 6 months.

You'll need more than 120x2 worth of radiator for that much kit. Another 120x2 in front would do nicely. Consider switching the D5 for a CPU pump-top with micro-res or a compact pump-res combo. Space in that case for water cooling parts will be at a premium. You'd be surprised how quickly you run out of room. Angle fittings will likely be required, so be sure to budget for them.
Click to expand...

Do you have any suggestions for the pump-top / pump-top micro res i could reference by chance for an i7?

I can budget for the angle fittings no problem, not sure where i would require them (other than maybe the reservoir depending on how its going in. I'm going to measure and start figuring that out tonight to make 100% sure since we're done raiding early).

Thanks for the suggestion on the Tubing. I'll definitely change that out.
 
Last edited:
Apogeee Drive 2 I think is the only option for integrated block/pump. It's an MCP35x, so it's a great pump with PWM control. You just need to make sure you put a res of some kind in the line before the CPU/pump inlet on that. Micro-res products are very small so you can mount them almost anywhere.

http://www.swiftech.com/apogeedrive2.aspx

There are several res-tops for the 35x if you'd prefer to go that route instead. I think anything that fits an MCP355 works with the 35x, but hopefully someone can confirm. I have an XSPC top on my 355 and have been very happy with it.

www.frozencpu.com is a good spot to look over water cooling gear by category. They don't have everything necessarily, but at least it's organized well. You should be able to find some options there.

There are lots of ways to make all the pieces fit together.
 
Welcome to OCFs!

Thanks for doing some homework on this and listing the needed information to better understand your situation.

Looking at the amount of heatload the CPU and 2 GPUs will generate, its a safe bet you will need 120.4 or 120.5 of heat surface. You can get away with 120.3 if you have high FPI with high RPM fans. If you're looking for a nice quiet operation than I would look at the 120.4 and 120.5 low FPI rads with nice fans. Here's a list of good radiator fans. (List one, List two) AP-15s are the king but are not made anymore so not sure if you still want to go with them. I'd look at the affordable Helix120s or pricier Noiseblockers.

As for the radiators, I did a quick google search to see with the idea of 120.4 of heat surface and came up with these build logs. (Build log one, Build log two) I would take these build logs into consideration and try to create something along the lines of these examples. Note that you do not need to water cool your ram so you can take that out of the equation. Also, I am not sure if you will be able to add a 120.1 in the rear since I think it might conflict with the spacing up top since there would be a 120.2 with its fans.

Hope this helps.
 
Wow so much info thanks for your time!

I've actually been looking into some of the posts and it looks like it might be a better idea for me to have 2 loops. One for my CPU and one for my GPU's.

To do this I need more room and thus I must part with my case (luckily my GF is in need of a new case so it won't go to waste). I've decided to go with the Corsair 900D case to achieve this.
 
Last edited:
You won't need 2 loops for this. You will spend more for a few degrees? Those 2 loop days are over as most of us do a one loop only, even in quad SLI/Xfire setups + CPU.

You don't have too but if you really want to get rid of the case that is up to you as you won't have a problem with the 900D. There's just too much room to play with. :p
 
It is a pretty sweet case. I know originally I was looking at it but decided to go with the Fractal Design R4 because it had the features I want and was a third of the price. Truth be told it is an amazing case, but fitting 2 rads in it will be tough.

I appreciate your feedback on the 1 loop vs 2. I'm getting confused now lol - some say 2 is better some say 1.

what if I did a 1 loop system with a that went something like pump, reservoir, cpu, radiator, gpu's, radiator, repeat?
 
Taisae said:
what if I did a 1 loop system with a that went something like pump, reservoir, cpu, radiator, gpu's, radiator, repeat?
Click to expand...

Please take your time and read our watercooling stickies as well as taking a look at some build logs, primarily with the case you'll be using.

Once you get the gist of things, make a blue print of the things you're thinking of getting and how you want the loop to go. Than we'll go from there. ;)
 
Taisae said:
Hey all,

I've been reading about liquid cooling for some time and stumbled upon this forum.

Recently, another user made a post about his hardware and some questions and i semi-started to hijack his thread. Another user mentioned it might be best to start my own so here we are!

So here's my hardware info:

Fractal R4 enthusiast case
Intel i7-4770K
MSI Z87-G45 Gaming mobo
2x MSI lightning GTX770 SLI setup
G-Skill 16gb pc17000 ram
850W power supply

I've started to compile some products to build my first setup. Here's my cart items so far (I'm missing the radiator and video card blocks atm):

*EDIT* I'm no longer getting the coolant as I've come across many threads stating distilled water and a biocide is better (and cheaper)

https://imgur.com/hGT0q6s

*EDIT* Here's a link to the GPU blocks and top mounted radiator i'm considering for this as well:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2...K-FC770_GTX_GW_-_Nickel.html?tl=c311s2023b133

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...adiator_-_80mm_Thick.html?tl=g30c95s160#blank

Another user mentioned it might be best to have 2 radiators for SLI. I was going to use a 240mm radiator - would you think it best for me to throw another 120 or 140mm in there?

Here's the layout I was going to use and what i was thinking of doing after reading this:
(quick 2 second MSpaint diagram)

https://imgur.com/N8BZAdN

Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

Are you sure monsta fits in the top? (as in inside and top)? ill double check if I were you
 
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