Need consultation on my first water cooling rig

[dams.michal]

Hi,

As the title says this is going to be my very first Water Cooling Build. So I need some build advice. My goal for water cooling is to try to make this as silent as possible in everyday usage, but under heavy load (for example gaming) I want to have better performance.

Here is my PC hardware:

Case: Corsair Obsidian 900D
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Black Edition
CPU: Intel Core i7-4820K
GPU: 2 x Asus GTX 970 Strix
RAM: 4 x 4GB Kingston DDR3
PSU: Corsair AX1200i

After some reading I came up with a list of components that I think should fit my PC configuration:

CPU block: EK-Supremacy EVO - Acetal+Nickel (Original CSQ)
2 x GPU block: EK-FC970 GTX Strix - Acetal+Nickel and EK-FC970 GTX Strix Backplate - Black
Motherboard block: EK-FB KIT ASUS R4BE - Acetal+Nickel (Original CSQ)

I was thinking about building 2 loops (first loop for CPU,motherboard and second loop for graphics cards). In the initial planning of first loop I was thinking about 1 x EK-CoolStream RAD XTX (360) radiator, and for the second loop 1 x EK-CoolStream RAD XTX (480) radiator. All radiators will be mounted with fans in push/pull configuration. For the fans i was thinking about Corsair Air Series SP120 PWM High Performance Edition High Static Pressure Fan. All fans will be PWM controlled.

After reading information about dual loops and single loops I started thinking if single loop with dual pumps will do better in my PC configuration. So there is my question: should I do dual loops or single loops with radiators combined. And the second problem will be if 1x480 and 1x360 radiator will be enough to cool my PC.

Any advice would be awesome.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

to OCFs.

Just to give you an idea, there are Swiftech and XSPC CPU water blocks that are just as great as the EKs at a lower price.

Alphacool, Swiftech and Black Ice are a few others with great radiators as well.

EK is usually the standard when it comes to GPU blocks since they have a bigger selection than their competitors.

For pumps I'd look for a DDC or a D5 from Swiftech.

Fittings is up to you but it all depends. I like Bitspower compression fittings which tend to be on the premium priced side and look great.

Tubing is going to be PrimoChill Advanced LRT.

Fans, I'd have a look at either the Noiseblocker eLoop B12s or the AP-53's (variant of the AP-15). Low sounding and great static pressure. Wondering if you did go all PWM, what will you be controlling the fans with? Really not many PWM controllers out there. Only a couple in the market place where one works but is pricey and the other has many issues.

Not sure how much knowledge you have yet for PC water cooling but if you're not sure about many things, please take your time and read our intro to water cooling stickies and what maintenance is involved. Till than I can only say this much till I know how far you've gone in.

Here's a nice video I post to new comers to get the gist of things.

 

[EarthDog]

Seeks solid, but I wouldn't do two loops, nor would I cool the motherboard (no gains).

 

[dams.michal]

to OCFs.

Just to give you an idea, there are Swiftech and XSPC CPU water blocks that are just as great as the EKs at a lower price.

Alphacool, Swiftech and Black Ice are a few others with great radiators as well.

EK is usually the standard when it comes to GPU blocks since they have a bigger selection than their competitors.

For pumps I'd look for a DDC or a D5 from Swiftech.

Fittings is up to you but it all depends. I like Bitspower compression fittings which tend to be on the premium priced side and look great.

Tubing is going to be PrimoChill Advanced LRT.

Fans, I'd have a look at either the Noiseblocker eLoop B12s or the AP-53's (variant of the AP-15). Low sounding and great static pressure. Wondering if you did go all PWM, what will you be controlling the fans with? Really not many PWM controllers out there. Only a couple in the market place where one works but is pricey and the other has many issues.

Not sure how much knowledge you have yet for PC water cooling but if you're not sure about many things, please take your time and read our intro to water cooling stickies and what maintenance is involved. Till than I can only say this much till I know how far you've gone in.

Here's a nice video I post to new comers to get the gist of things.

Unfortunately in my country most of the places sell EK water blocks and radiators, so I will stick with these (and they look nice to me ).

Regarding pumps I have to choose if I will build dual loops or single loop (with dual pumps). After choosing which configuration I will have to decide if 1 x 480 and 1 x 360 radiator will be enoght to dissipate heat from my configuration (or if I should get 2 x 480 radiators). I can also fit another 1 x 240 radiator in my PC case. These problems are my biggest obstacles right now.

Tubing will be PrimoChill Advanced LRT colored tubing with Bitspower compression fittings.

I don't have to get all PWM fans, but I do want to have control of fans speed (thus noise they produce).

About water cooling I have probably read most of stickies in this forum, but it is only theory. I don't have any experience in this topic.

 

[Conumdrum]

A 480 and a 360 will be plenty unles you are in 97f room temps. Even then, it's still going to be cool.

Remember, when you load test, you run a CPU load program AND a GPU load test at the same time.

When you game, the CPU is under much less load. I suppose it's a gaming rig, I dunno. If you were mining, I'd say you were using AMD cards.

You don't even need push-pull fans IMHO. That's a lot of raddage you plan and if the 900 RPM fannage with just pull fans is too loud you can add more. Remember 65C on the CPU and 70C on the GPUs isn't going to hurt anything at all.

I'd do one loop with one res/one pump, monitor the CPU temps for shutdown warnings. Back in the old days, some ran two loops, when the GPU pump failed he got no warning. Poof...........

No reason to WC the mobo unless you need that last silly .0001 benchmark. If anything if you push the mobo get a fan and make a bracket for the Mostfet cooling.

Nice start, nice parts, best of luck.

 

[dams.michal]

I suppose it's a gaming rig, I dunno. If you were mining, I'd say you were using AMD cards.

That's right my computer is mainly for gaming and everyday use.

I'd do one loop with one res/one pump, monitor the CPU temps for shutdown warnings. Back in the old days, some ran two loops, when the GPU pump failed he got no warning. Poof...........

In that case I think I will build single loop with dual pumps. But in this case is using 2 x DDC or 2 x D5 pump a better choice in my loop (5 water blocks, 1x480 radiator and 1x360 radiator)?

 

[EarthDog]

I wouldnt bother with dual pumps either... THings will shut down before they get damages.

 

[dams.michal]

I wouldnt bother with dual pumps either... THings will shut down before they get damages.

I would rather buy second pump than have a situation where PC has to shut down by itself in case of pump failure. But I don't know if I should buy DDC or D5 pump.

 

[EarthDog]

You really do not need to (most dont)... but either pump will be fine for your uses.

 

[GTXJackBauer]

I use two DDC (MCP-35X2) pumps in serial configuration. Works like a charm at 40% while giving me 1.1 GPM.

OP, you can get away with a Alphacool UT60 480mm at the bottom and a UT60 240mm across from it next to the PSU. Have them all with a push fan configuration and voltage control them. Don't get PWM fans unless you're going to buy a PWM fan hub and use the MB to control your fans. But than you have to ask yourself, where are you going to control your pumps than. I'd use the PWM header on the MB for your pumps and a fan controller on non PWM fans.

Have a look here at one of my older builds in my 900D which since has been updated but haven't had the chance to show what has changed. Hopefully this can give you some ideas. You have LOTS of room to play with.

 

[Jakusonfire]

A large case like the 900D is overkill for cooling twin 970's and a CPU. The space is there though so why not just fill it with two 480's and if in future you want more horsepower the cooling is there. It also means you can run very low fan speeds now and still have great water temps.
Performace edn SP120's is way more than is needed and just adds a lot of noise. The quite edn would suit the build far better. High speed fans for small builds ... low speed fans for large builds.

Dual loops would just be a waste of money unless you want to do it for aesthetics reasons. The 970's put out very little heat and the cooling space is overkill so splitting the loop up will do nothing for temps.

I have been amazed as of late at the number of people fussing over pump redundancy ... even going as far as dual loops each with dual pumps. It is just absurd overkill and not at all necassary.
A D5 pump and a single loop is all that is needed. They are exceptionally reliable pumps. They just don't stop working until the bearing wears out. The DDC pumps are a little less reliable as they occasionally suffer from electrical problems that cause things like delayed start or flat out damage to the PCB of the pump.
If the pump was to fail in a way that went unnoticed some how modern PC's have built in protection that prevents any damage being possible. I suspect quad pump systems are far more about epeen than real concern for the system.
If we had to rely on cheap pumps like the XSPC X20 for example I would be all for redundancy, but using exceptionally high quality, expensive pumps like the D5 and DDC's makes failure a very rare phenomenon. Its sort of the point of paying for the good pump in the first place.

 

[dams.michal]

I bought the 900D with the future modification in my mind (I don't want to have too little space in a case if I decided to expand my loop) and I will probably add another graphics card in the future .
For the fans I want to buy performance edition and then reduce their rpm, because I don't want to later have problems if slow fans will not have expected results in cooling radiators. I don't know if this is good approach approach.

 

[dams.michal]

I have another problem with choosing with what kind of liquid should I fill my loop. Should I buy some premix or demineralized water (cannot find distilled water in stores)?