Help with new cooling Setup.

[musicfan]

Just a small question, if i had a drain pipe and close it with a plug, how exactly am u supposed to re-fill using the drain pipe? If i am running the system and want to add more liquid wont the coolant start flowing out of the drain pipe while i am trying to add more?

HKR, you are quicker than I am, lol. Most of the time we only use the drain to drain and place it low in the loop. The drain pipe is plugged during operation so nothing drains there until you unscrew the plug. You add the coolant into the reservoir or a fill-tube leading to the reservoir. Rarely some will use a T-tube as both a drain and fill tube completely skipping the reservoir but I don't think that's what you were asking. Did I understand your question?

Also, about the radiators, and the push/pull config, should we just use the top case fans to do the pull and the RAD fans doing the push or vice-versa? That way we get a little more room to get a slightly fatter RAD if needed since we have about 70-80mm are to play with including the RAD fans.

After reading all the nuances of the top of the HAF X, I think we should plan on keeping the top fans in pull and place the AP-15's under the rad in push. The push at 1850 rpm will ventilate better than pull. See Martin's lab for references. You may need that extra room under the fans for your tubing, your 8 pin CPU extension, your mobo hsf, and things we haven't thought of.

I was also thinking of switching over the Bitfenix Spectra with NZXT FS-200 or something similar as these are much cheaper and almost same CFM what do you think? I plan to do this since i am going a little over budget here...

About the RAD should i go with the MCR-320 QP and we could under-volt the Typhoons or i could get the ST-30 for better looks and screw protectors near the fins to avoid puncturing rad fins?

This fan? http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...Silent_LED_Fans_-_Red_LED_895CFM_2016dBA.html

Well at first I was worried about the 30 mm but maybe a 200 x 200 x 30 mm will fit since there are many who claim the Coolermaster MegaFlows fit here and here. But with NZXT, this person had to use zip-ties on 3 of the screw holes for the FS-200.

In this video, a guy installs Bitfenix Spectra Pro 200's up top and says, "what the big deal?", ha-ha.

You can order the 200FS but there is still a risk of fit. About the only way to avoid that it seems is to order 2 or 3 Megaflows from Cooler Master.

Can you get three red CoolerMaster MegaFlows from CoolerMaster-Asia at a later date? Here are the MegaFlows at CoolerMaster-India. That way you can just keep the stock fans for now. The Gentle Typhoons probably won't care what 200's you have up top.

There may be more ways to lower costs by cutting back on the lighting such as the UV light. One CCFL may do it.

So post-up your check-out at Frozen and figure out how much we need to trim and we will work on it.

 

[HKR]

HKR, you are quicker than I am, lol. Most of the time we only use the drain to drain and place it low in the loop. The drain pipe is plugged during operation so nothing drains there until you unscrew the plug. You add the coolant into the reservoir or a fill-tube leading to the reservoir. Rarely some will use a T-tube as both a drain and fill tube completely skipping the reservoir but I don't think that's what you were asking. Did I understand your question?

lol its all the excitment building up which keep my quick

About the fill tube, both my past LCS setups had a RES outside the case and had a knob on top to open and re-fill and it could be used to drain too by just tilting it downside. However since i would be placing this RES inside the case and screwed to the case how would i add more coolant if needed? The current RES (from what i can see) does not have any such opening?

After reading all the nuances of the top of the HAF X, I think we should plan on keeping the top fans in pull and place the AP-15's under the rad in push. The push at 1850 rpm will ventilate better than pull. See Martin's lab for references. You may need that extra room under the fans for your tubing, your 8 pin CPU extension, your mobo hsf, and things we haven't thought of.

Sounds good to me.

In this video, a guy installs Bitfenix Spectra Pro 200's up top and says, "what the big deal?", ha-ha.

Haha yea i saw that video a few hours ago too while looking for build logs on youtube!

You can order the 200FS but there is still a risk of fit. About the only way to avoid that it seems is to order 2 or 3 Megaflows from Cooler Master.

Can you get three red CoolerMaster MegaFlows from CoolerMaster-Asia at a later date? Here are the MegaFlows at CoolerMaster-India. That way you can just keep the stock fans for now. The Gentle Typhoons probably won't care what 200's you have up top.

There may be more ways to lower costs by cutting back on the lighting such as the UV light. One CCFL may do it.

So post-up your check-out at Frozen and figure out how much we need to trim and we will work on it.

Well at first i did think off removing the ccfl's and prolly getting cheap ones off ebay or locally, but thing is i really want my PC to look neat & tidy so i decided to get most of the items sleeved. ( I know i can get a kit and do it but its just too much hassle)

Which reminds me, since i already said i want a red look for lighting, tubes etc, should i get my products sleeved in UV red itself or a mixture of various colors would look good too under UV light? My SMPS cables are pre-sleeved black though.

Can you please comment on the pump part too, what i asked you earlier.

 

[musicfan]

Here is a of my updated shopping cart.

Please tell me if i am missing something or you think i can remove that and save some money there.

A few more questions:

1) Please comment on the VRM heatsinks if they are good enough or i need some others?

2) I find a lot of Thermal compounds on frozencpu, can you link me to the best one pls so i can add that.

3) I was thinking of mounting the RES either next to the motherboard if there is enough room or else next to the back fan near the window or else lastly at the bottom on the chasis, what are your views? (Couldn't find much material on this RES install either). Either ways will i need some additional fitting to install and connect the RES to the tubing?

4) Should i switch the pump for the one you mentioned a while ago or this is fine? Will i not need any additional fittings?

5) My RES seems to have 3 ports on one side and 1 on the other, i dont understand why, you got any clue?

1) Heatsinks are fine. You may need to trim them with a rotary tool or similar to get them to fit perfectly.

2) MX-2 is here

4) Yes, switch the pump back to this one so you know you have G 1/4 ports. Maybe the FrozenCPU guy meant to say they have one but if you read your link, there are only the converters mentioned.

3 & 5) this is what I have been spending time on. Looks like this is "the red" reservoir and there is none made by Phobya. I am not sure how well the BP anti-cyclone or anti-vortex devices work. But they offer some options to try. Find pictures to see how it is used like this on OCF. I did a search on OCF and got this but not many photos. The unboxing video is interesting. Here is another photo and it still looks big. So that makes me think the Z-Multi 80 would be a better choice and is a few dollars cheaper. I cannot find reviews.

As far as I can tell, the res can have the 3 hole as top or bottom. The long tube and also a short tube with a device to break up the flow is to prevent vortex or cyclone effect where air is sucked into the pump intake. It is like the mod you saw at Martins with the 35x. I am optimistic you can make this work (if you can fit it so get the smaller one). But you may need to mod it with a credit card or some tubing and a fitting. If you can mount the res high and pump low, you may be OK with bleeding air.

 

[HKR]

2) MX-2 is here

Thanks, added this item to cart now.

4) Yes, switch the pump back to this one so you know you have G 1/4 ports. Maybe the FrozenCPU guy meant to say they have one but if you read your link, there are only the converters mentioned.

Switched the pump to the model you linked.

3 & 5) this is what I have been spending time on. Looks like this is "the red" reservoir and there is none made by Phobya. I am not sure how well the BP anti-cyclone or anti-vortex devices work. But they offer some options to try. Find pictures to see how it is used like this on OCF. I did a search on OCF and got this but not many photos. The unboxing video is interesting. Here is another photo and it still looks big. So that makes me think the Z-Multi 80 would be a better choice and is a few dollars cheaper. I cannot find reviews.

As far as I can tell, the res can have the 3 hole as top or bottom. The long tube and also a short tube with a device to break up the flow is to prevent vortex or cyclone effect where air is sucked into the pump intake. It is like the mod you saw at Martins with the 35x. I am optimistic you can make this work (if you can fit it so get the smaller one). But you may need to mod it with a credit card or some tubing and a fitting. If you can mount the res high and pump low, you may be OK with bleeding air.

Seems like the Bitspower Z-Multi 150 is actually 17+cm long, which is quite big, i never realised this!

Should i ditch this product and get a 2Bay RES? It would give the cool factor too since liquid level is displayed in the front of the case!


EDIT:

Should i just get this it will same me quite some money as it is a RES+Pump and also the model we exactly wanted to buy!

 

[Conumdrum]

A two bay res needs a top hole open to fill it. So you'll have to make allowances for 5" extra tubing for the res to come out the front so you can fill it. IF the top of the case is not filled with ports etc, you could cut a hole and add a Danger Den fillport and tubing and hopefully find the thread size for the fill port cover.

Front reses look okay, but once filled, a week later they just take space because your water will drop down maybe a mm every week. Meaning the view to check levels does nothing for your watercooling.

If your going to do a front bay res, Then Boxgods, Swiftech, Koolance and others have nice bay reses and you mount the pump to the res. Nice setup. So more homework to do if your want the best that that a bay res can give you.

 

[musicfan]

Seems like the Bitspower Z-Multi 150 is actually 17+cm long, which is quite big, i never realised this!

Should i ditch this product and get a 2Bay RES? It would give the cool factor too since liquid level is displayed in the front of the case!

EDIT:

Should i just get this it will same me quite some money as it is a RES+Pump and also the model we exactly wanted to buy!

Yeah, eek! is correct, ha-ha. Now you know why I was wondering about fit. The smallest one has no anti-vortex attachments so if you go with the BP red acrylic tube res, size 80 looks best so far.

I think your link is only the res for $85 so you need to buy the pump for $90. That's $175. That would certainly be an option. This is also fairly new. It appears unattractive if you ever wished to hook a second pump up in serial but for one pump may be fine. Here is an interesting thread with videos about the Alphacool res/pump.

If you wanted a 2 bay res with pump, also consider the Swiftech Maelstrom since it has the mcp 35x with PWM already built-in. Bay reservoirs have their own problems with bleeding air and filling but the Swiftech is the newest and is only $5 more for PWM control of the pump. The PWM control will keep you from having to reach inside an manually adjust the rpm of the larger D5 vario/Swiftech 655/Alphacool 655 model.

Either res/pump should work fine. Otherwise, you will need to mount your pump. I have my 655's bolted to the floor of my case. Take your time, keep reading and asking questions.

 

[HKR]

I did some more looking around and it seems the 15cm Bitspower Tank might just easily fit next to the mobo in vertical position, else there is even enough room to put it next to the HDD cage horizontally.

I guess i'll just stick to it? Really like the look of that product too ?

I have also attached a pic of how i am planning to setup the things.



However this changes a lot if i put the res down before the pump, that way some of the piping is reduced too...

 

[musicfan]

The smaller Bitspower Reservoir should be fine as long as you found a home for it inside the case. Your picture looks fine. Res > Pump >Rad > CPU > GPU > Res is a fine order for the loop.

This picture may change a bit when you get the components. You will need to find a place to screw in your clamps for the BP reservoir or get good with zip-ties. It will need to go over or under the VGA card, which is where I had my issues with my reservoir.

Bolting the pump to the floor of the case should be easy but you will want either a gel pad or a sponge under the D5 vario to lessen vibration and at least a 100 pack of rubber washers from the local hardware store. Buy them slightly larger than the typcial 6-32 or M4 computer screw and use them on everything that vibrates. AC computers make a sponge-like device to lessen vibration, we might look for it.

And the radiator ports are on the same side so you will decide whether you want the radiator ports up front or toward the back. I did both and now have them at the back. So there will still be plenty of details to work out after the parts arrive.

Can we see one more parts order list? I think you are close but we need to keep you under budget.

 

[HKR]

Actually my parts order list hasn't changed much, only problem one of the angled bitspower fitting is out of stock (one i needed for GPU) so i might have to get a similar one if its not available till i finalize my order.

If i go with the exact same setup as in above picture would it be advisable to go with this setup instead: RES>>PUMP>> GPU>>CPU>> RAD>> RES ? This way it would further reduce piping used inside the case.

 

[musicfan]

Yes that is a fine order for the loop. That is how I do mine - going from pump to VGA card.

You may want to either make or purchase a way to decouple the pump vibration from the case. I use a gel pad from Petra's. Some use the AC Shoggy Sandwich but I didn't find that at FrozenCPU. Instead I found Pump mounting Velcro if you didn't want to drill your case. And there is a pump mount by Phobya that looks like the AC Shoggy.

 

[HKR]

I think the case would have holes at the bottom to screw the pump on it? anyways i have added the Velcro for now.

About the pump, should i go for the BP Tank and the Pump selected? Or you still suggest the Bay Res?

 

[musicfan]

Both have their pros & cons.

The bay res by Swiftech is very attractive because I like the mcp35x pump, which is what I would buy in 2012. But I have used a pump-less bay-res. They did not make the 35x when I set up my water-cooling.

Pros of a bay res (I will miss some)...but

1) Convenient - out of the way reservoir and pump for only 2 drive bays...
2) Sometimes some extra features such as seeing res levels, temps, etc.
3) Can look nice.

Cons:

1) Might not always fit perfectly requiring a trim of the case or res
2) Sometime more difficult to fill because you have to pull the res out of the bay slot, fill it the loop, then re-insert. I am not sure how well that Alphacool fill slot will work but it is a good idea. It just may be a site for a leak
3) Pumps are closer to the front of the case - usually more audible - making motherboard control of rpm (via PWM) more attractive than the manual D5, which may be hard to adjust once you have it tucked away.
4) Can present trouble bleeding air bubbles if the reservoir is not constructed to facilitate this.

So I would either get the Swiftech Maelstrom with one 35x for $180 or buy the modded D5 vario with G 1/4" ports and the red Z-Tank 80 ($165 together).

add: If it was me, I would go for the 35x with or without the bay res.

add: The haf 932 has the 120 mm fan vent in the bottom - would have to look at the HAF X - but those are not reliable screw holes. A Dremel or even battery-powered drill will do the job. The steel is thin down there.

 

[HKR]

You put out quiet good points with regards to the Cons of having a Bay res, i just spoke to a friend of mine and it seems he has a BP tank (dont know which one) lying around somewhere at his place which he said i can take it if needed and if it fits, so i was thinking why not just get the Koolance/Swiftech Bay RES with the fill-port, (reviews say its a good product) and if i get the BP tank in working condition from my mate i'll just use it as a 2nd RES?

I know the 2nd RES wont help apart from adding to the looks but i dont see any harm in using it right?

The BP ex-tub-743 is out of stock, so should i just get 2pc of this its a similar product i think?

 

[musicfan]

1. Do you mean the Koolance or the Swiftech Bay res? Perhaps you could link to it?

2. Great that your friend has a BP tank. I would try to find out which one because if it is the right size, it will change your pump order and save you about $45.

3. No don't get the male to male connector. You want the G 1/4" male to G 1/4" female, like the ex-tub743 - not male to male. You can get two more ex-tub-753 (total 4) and 2 less regular compressions as replacements.

4. You really don't want 2 reservoirs. You have to make a decision regarding the pump.

See if you can find out what your friend has and if it has all the parts (including clamps and screws). If so, ask him to measure it and tell you the manufacturer. You can probably find it and see if you want it.

 

[HKR]

1. Do you mean the Koolance or the Swiftech Bay res? Perhaps you could link to it?

I meant Swiftech Maelstorm here and then we dont get a seprate pump (saving space in the case floor too).

OR

Aplhacool RES here and keep the existing pumpas it is and mount it on the RES.

2. Great that your friend has a BP tank. I would try to find out which one because if it is the right size, it will change your pump order and save you about $45.

I was thinking of having the 2 RES just for the 'cool factor' since i dint see any harm in doing so, i can have my loop like so:

Bay RES>> pump>> BP RES>> GPU >> CPU>> RAD>> Bay Res

3. No don't get the male to male connector. You want the G 1/4" male to G 1/4" female, like the ex-tub743 - not male to male. You can get two more ex-tub-753 (total 4) and 2 less regular compressions as replacements.

Cart Updated.

 

[musicfan]

If you want a Bay Res, I would go with the Maelstrom you linked to which has one 35x pump. That will be all the pump you should ever need and you can quiet it down or cool it down via your motherboard BIOS PWM. Swiftech email support has been great for me for pumps, reservoirs, and yesterday the universal GPU block.

The reason I don't suggest the extra res is it introduces a potential low pressure leak cylinder. In other words, it's just one more place to leak and you have to fill it like you would a tube/hose to keep up the loop pressure from the pump. More connections are more potential for leaks so less is usually better. (You can try it for fun after you get your regular system going well and see what happens but wait a bit is my suggestion).

Don't want you to think my opinion is the last word. I am guiding you toward a custom-red system that has good performance and should fit. And we are trying to make budget. When you complete you cart, you can always start a new thread with the shopping cart. A shopping cart is a bit of a magnet so you might rapidly get other opinions.

 

[HKR]

If you want a Bay Res, I would go with the Maelstrom you linked to which has one 35x pump. That will be all the pump you should ever need and you can quiet it down or cool it down via your motherboard BIOS PWM. Swiftech email support has been great for me for pumps, reservoirs, and yesterday the universal GPU block.

The reason I don't suggest the extra res is it introduces a potential low pressure leak cylinder. In other words, it's just one more place to leak and you have to fill it like you would a tube/hose to keep up the loop pressure from the pump. More connections are more potential for leaks so less is usually better.

Don't want you to think my opinion is the last word. I am guiding you toward a custom-red system that has good performance and should fit. And we are trying to make budget. When you complete you cart, you can always start a new thread with the shopping cart. A shopping cart is a bit of a magnet so you might rapidly get other opinions.

Well, see we don't need to get the BP tank anymore, as i said if i get it in working order (friend is in other city) i will use it, if not i will just use the Bay RES we ordered.

You have been more then helpful mate, and offcourse i am going to take your advice on things

1)About a few cables i wanted to order, do you think going for a different color UV reactant sleeve would look good along with pre-sleeved black power cables? Or should i just stick with black sleeving all along the case?

2)Can you find any guids on how to dis-mount the GTX 260 heatsink? Because google practically came up with just 1 for me and its not very clear.

3) Should i get one of those thermal paste cleaner thingy's ? Or just use Alcohol Swabs?

4) Added this to my cart and removed the Swiftech 655 from cart, below is latest pic of my cart.



5) I haven't added any Barb fittings to my cart, are you certain i would not need any to attach to my pump or maybe the RES? I dont think the BP came with any fittings?

 

[musicfan]

Your cart:

1) good
2) good but make sure you have the proper hold-down plate. Go to the Swiftech website.. [ADD: Please see the compatibility chart about 1/3 of the way down the page.] To me, it looked like they are now shipping hold-downs for the gtx400-500 and the gtx200 may be need to purchased separately. Have you read the installation manual from the Swiftech website? That may help.
3) as you said, don't think we need this since you are going with the Bay Res + Pump
4), 5), 6) good
7) think we are down to 4 necessary standard compressions, then add whatever you wish -say another 2 to 4 in case some get damaged.
8) these fittings are marvelous for all the things they can do but since you added the 90° rotaries, you probably only need 2 now
9) reactive O-ring, never hurts to have extra O-rings although for the future, you can often get regular black ones cheap at auto supply or hardware stores
10) FC-5V2, good
11), 12), really have not kept up with lighting, sorry
13) heatsinks will work but may have to cut to fit - that goes for any of them
14) fans - we discussed that one a lot ...but where are the Gentle Typhoons AP15 x3? They are your powerhouse for cooling. Please add those back.
15) good rad and with extra protection for the water tubes
16) - 21) cabling. Most of this should come with the case and motherboard and fan controller. So only buy what you need
22) 140 mm red fan x 1 - is that to replace the 140 stock exhaust?
23) 120 mm red fan x 1 - is that for the 120 mm space on the bottom?
24) Maelstrom with one mcp35x included. Look at the Swiftech site for much better pictures.
25) 90° rotary x 2. I have a couple of these and like them very much. They should work great on your universal GPU. Just point one up and the other down and you should be set there.

Comments: Please don't forget three Gentle Typhoons to ventilate your radiator and check out the compatibility for your GPU universal.

Your questions:

1) I think it is inside and will be hard to see. I would use stock black cabling and spend any extra to get my fans sleeved because it protects the wires.
2) I will look for something. I took apart a gtx 280. The main thing is to have good screw drivers and pay careful attention to what they cool. The parts that have extra cooling are the parts you want your heat sinks on. Always cool the VRM but some don't cool RAM unless they OC. Will be interesting to see your bare card.
3) You can clean up TIM with alcohol and a lint-free soft cloth. I use a coffee filter.
4) Everyone loves the 35x pump. Wish I had one or two. And the Maelstrom is the newest Bay Res contestant.
5) I don't think you will need any barbs with your compressions. All the G 1/4" holes and parts of the fittings should be the same. On one Swiftech res, the molded plastic liked the Swiftech brand barb better. You could get two of these and two would under $5.

You have some work to do but are making great progress. Will check in later today.

 

[HKR]

Your cart:

2) good but make sure you have the proper hold-down plate. Go to the Swiftech website.. [ADD: Please see the compatibility chart about 1/3 of the way down the page.] To me, it looked like they are now shipping hold-downs for the gtx400-500 and the gtx200 may be need to purchased separately. Have you read the installation manual from the Swiftech website? That may help.

E-Mailed Swiftech about the bracket issue, waiting for their reply.

7) think we are down to 4 necessary standard compressions, then add whatever you wish -say another 2 to 4 in case some get damaged.

Reduced a few Quantity of those.

14) fans - we discussed that one a lot ...but where are the Gentle Typhoons AP15 x3? They are your powerhouse for cooling. Please add those back.

i totally forgot about those Typhoonsss.... lol Added them now.

22) 140 mm red fan x 1 - is that to replace the 140 stock exhaust?
23) 120 mm red fan x 1 - is that for the 120 mm space on the bottom?

140mm to replace the Back fan & 120mm actually wont be needed, i had added it earlier to use it as a VGA fan (case has the slot for it) but i am removing it now as i dont think i will need it.

5) I don't think you will need any barbs with your compressions. All the G 1/4" holes and parts of the fittings should be the same. On one Swiftech res, the molded plastic liked the Swiftech brand barb better. You could get two of these and two would under $5.

Don't you think i'll need clamps to tighten the tube once its on the GPU waterblock? It does not have any threads to install compression fittings?

 

[musicfan]

Don't you think i'll need clamps to tighten the tube once its on the GPU waterblock? It does not have any threads to install compression fittings?

No. See post #34 for the picture of Gabe using the rotary 90° (although he used a dual rotary). Your G 1/4" sides ends of your fitting will go into the MCW82 G 1/4" thread instead of the barbs you see in the photos at the Swiftech site.

You will have one rotary point down at your pump to receive your water from the pump. Then the water will flow around the GPU block to cool the GPU. Then it will exit by the 90° rotary you have pointed up toward your CPU block.

Your 90° rotary fittings (ex-tub-676) have the compression built in.

add: oops, we may need to get you to draw a new diagram from post #47 if you get the Maelstrom. So both of your compression ends may be pointing up...or angled - but that is why a rotary is nice.

add, add: photo