Need help with cooling system design/parts

[wolfgheist]

Hi there,

This is my first time not using a liquid cooling 'kit', and I am hoping to get some feedback and assistance on what I will need in regards to connectors and any other parts I am not thinking of.

New System I am building which I plan to overclock everything I can, as much as I can.

Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition
Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe
Intel i5-3570K
Asus GTX670-DC2-2GD5 GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) CMZ16GX3M4A2133C11B
Kingwin Lazer LZ-850 850W Modular 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC W/ 3-Way LED Switch and Universal Modular Connector Power Supply
Corsair Force Series SSD 120GB (2 for Raid 0 OS and Applications/Games)
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM (Storage)
Asus Xonar Phoebus ROG Gaming Soundcard
LG BH14 Super Multi Blue 3D Blu-ray Disc Rewriter
Cyborg RAT 9
MS Ergonomic 7000 keyboard (I just hate non ergonomic keyboards)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Water Cooling
Swiftech MCP655 Special Edition 12 VDC Pump With Speed Controller
Bitspower D5 / MCP655 Mod Kit - Blue Finish
Bitspower CPU Block Summit EF (Intel) ICE Blue Acrylic Top Version
PrimoFlex Pro LRT UV Blue Tubing -1/2in. ID X 3/4in. OD
FrozenQ Liquid Fusion V Series 250 ml Reservoir w/ Side Ports - UV Blue
EK-CoolStream RAD XTX (240)

Have not decided on fans, or connectors, which is where I could use some assistance.

 

[musicfan]

Hi there,

This is my first time not using a liquid cooling 'kit', and I am hoping to get some feedback and assistance on what I will need in regards to connectors and any other parts I am not thinking of.

New System I am building which I plan to overclock everything I can, as much as I can.

Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow Edition
Asus P8Z77-V Deluxe
Intel i5-3570K
Asus GTX670-DC2-2GD5 GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) CMZ16GX3M4A2133C11B
Kingwin Lazer LZ-850 850W Modular 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC W/ 3-Way LED Switch and Universal Modular Connector Power Supply
Corsair Force Series SSD 120GB (2 for Raid 0 OS and Applications/Games)
Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM (Storage)
Asus Xonar Phoebus ROG Gaming Soundcard
LG BH14 Super Multi Blue 3D Blu-ray Disc Rewriter
Cyborg RAT 9
MS Ergonomic 7000 keyboard (I just hate non ergonomic keyboards)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Water Cooling
Swiftech MCP655 Special Edition 12 VDC Pump With Speed Controller
Bitspower D5 / MCP655 Mod Kit - Blue Finish
Bitspower CPU Block Summit EF (Intel) ICE Blue Acrylic Top Version
PrimoFlex Pro LRT UV Blue Tubing -1/2in. ID X 3/4in. OD
FrozenQ Liquid Fusion V Series 250 ml Reservoir w/ Side Ports - UV Blue
EK-CoolStream RAD XTX (240)

Have not decided on fans, or connectors, which is where I could use some assistance.

Hi wolfgeist. Is this your overclocking and gaming rig? Or are you doing any folding or 24/7 full load work? The stickies are excellent and I suggest you enjoy them all nicely collected for us. Here is my $.02.

We are not sure yet about your noise tolerance. Do you wear a gaming headset?

The thermal design power/point is the load at stock. Your tdp for the CPU is 77W according to Intel and for the VGA card is 170W. That means at most you are cooling around 250W at stock with much heat lost to air. Overclocking will change that and you can use a PSU calculator to get a better idea.

Have you purchased your water-cooling gear?

It all seems like it will work well inside your case. If it was me, I would put another 120.1 in the bottom so you would have 120.3 total if you can. Try some Gentle Typhoon AP-15 fans in push. With only these 3 rad fans, you could run them through your motherboard and get almost PWM function with Fan Xpert2 software.

Fans are tested extensively at http://martinsliquidlab.org/. Another good source for parts testing is http://skinneelabs.com/

Here is a video on fittings. I use barbs and compressions. With your size tubing, you can choose from many vendors. Either barbs or compressions work. You choose what you like knowing that compressions are more expensive.

Welcome to OCF. Please ask questions. Please read the stickies. Good luck.

 

[wolfgheist]

Yes, this will be my new overclocking/gaming rig. I watch movies, game, minor photoshop stuff, usually have a dozen or so, windows/apps open at any given time.

I have tried reading throught several stickies, and also Martin's page, but sometimes there is just information overload and hard to mine through it for what I am actually looking for.

I was looking for blue LED or UV Blue fans to fit with my theme in the case. Here are the fans I was currently trying to decide between

Aerocool V12XT Blackline Edition 120mm
AeroCool Shark 120mm Blue Edition
XIGMATEK Cooling System XLF XLF-F1256 120mm LED Blue
GELID Solutions FN-FW12-15-B 120mm Gamer Fan WING 12 Blue
Nexus LED D12SL-12BL 120mm Blue LED Case Fan
AeroCool TURBINE 3000 120mm Case Fan

I also forgot I will likely be adding a cooler for the 670 into the loop. Also, down the road I was thinking about adding a Bay reservoir just for aesthetics. Will the pump I am considering handle all of that?

I have not bought any of the liquid cooling items yet. Just making my list. Everything else is here or on the way.

 

[Conumdrum]

Not a bad list, that's a good start.

Yes the pump is fine for adding a GPU. You'll need more radiator, like 120x2 more though when you do.

You got fittings, liquid and a biocide picked?

 

[wolfgheist]

Not a bad list, that's a good start.

Yes the pump is fine for adding a GPU. You'll need more radiator, like 120x2 more though when you do.

You got fittings, liquid and a biocide picked?

So I will need two radiators that are 120x2 in order to add the GPU?

I have not picked out any of those. Was hoping to get some tips on some nice fittings. There are a bazillion to choose from. From what I have read, most folks say get colored tubing and use regular distilled water as dyes etc 'gunk' the works. Mixed opinions on Mayhem's dye. I do like the look of the clear tubing with colored fluid inside though.

Any recommendations on the fans I have listed?

 

[musicfan]

Your radiator cooling would have better air-flow per noise if you use the Gentle Typhoons and added blue LED lighting. Then you have more quality and more control over fans and lighting. Any possibility you might consider that?

Regarding the full-cover for the gtx670, read the review at skinnee labs on the gtx480 and the testing by Bundymania on the gtx580 and see what you like.

You may want to hold off purchasing water-cooling until you have had a chance to read and see what is shaking with this new dual bay reservoir by Swiftech - it is at their website. It could change your pump order as you could get that res with one mcp 35x pump. I own the 655 but in 2012 would get the 35x.

Take your time so it stays fun. You can always set up your system on air at stock and get the drivers squared away while you are shopping for water-cooling parts.

 

[Conumdrum]

So I will need two radiators that are 120x2 in order to add the GPU?

I have not picked out any of those. Was hoping to get some tips on some nice fittings. There are a bazillion to choose from. From what I have read, most folks say get colored tubing and use regular distilled water as dyes etc 'gunk' the works. Mixed opinions on Mayhem's dye. I do like the look of the clear tubing with colored fluid inside though.

Any recommendations on the fans I have listed?

Colored tubing, distilled water, and Killcoil aka .999 silver. Up to you though.

Bitspower fittings are good.

You can learn about your heatload calculations in the stickies. You need to dissipate xx amount of heat, if you don't have enough rad your CPU will be too hot.

120x3 is good for about 300 watts of heat at a good Dt. You'll have more than 300 watts, and the more rad the quieter you can make the fans.

I'll recommend the GT-15 fans and only them. There is blingy lighty stuff and then there is performance. Choose.

 

[wolfgheist]

Your radiator cooling would have better air-flow per noise if you use the Gentle Typhoons and added blue LED lighting. Then you have more quality and more control over fans and lighting. Any possibility you might consider that?

Regarding the full-cover for the gtx670, read the review at skinnee labs on the gtx480 and the testing by Bundymania on the gtx580 and see what you like.

You may want to hold off purchasing water-cooling until you have had a chance to read and see what is shaking with this new dual bay reservoir by Swiftech - it is at their website. It could change your pump order as you could get that res with one mcp 35x pump. I own the 655 but in 2012 would get the 35x.

Take your time so it stays fun. You can always set up your system on air at stock and get the drivers squared away while you are shopping for water-cooling parts.

Not in a hurry to put it all together, still looking at the liquid cooling pieces.

I would definitely consider adding led lighting to the typhoon's if it is simple to install them and have them look clean.

I was really interested in the Koolance Dual Bay res, until I read lots and lots of negative feedback about bay reservoirs with pumps in them in regards to vibration in the front of the case, Blu-Ray player etc... so decided to get the 655 pump with a mod kit instead and was looking at non pump versions of a Bay reservoir now.

Also, I rarely use headphones so I prefer the system to be as quiet as possible.

 

[wolfgheist]

Colored tubing, distilled water, and Killcoil aka .999 silver. Up to you though.

Bitspower fittings are good.

You can learn about your heatload calculations in the stickies. You need to dissipate xx amount of heat, if you don't have enough rad your CPU will be too hot.

120x3 is good for about 300 watts of heat at a good Dt. You'll have more than 300 watts, and the more rad the quieter you can make the fans.

I'll recommend the GT-15 fans and only them. There is blingy lighty stuff and then there is performance. Choose.

Wow, those are some ugly fans. Wish they had the all black fans in the less than 3000 rpm fans.

 

[Conumdrum]

Ahh well, you can paint them, we have posts where people have done that. tricky though. Surprised you missed those fans after reading our stickies and lots of posts. Seen this link yet?

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6489396&postcount=3

In the stickies............

 

[bburrill2012]

Why do you recommend colored tubing?

 

[manu2b]

^To avoid dye clogging the loop.

EDIT: and transparent tubing gets cloudy over time (unless you use expensive one without plasticizer).

 

[bburrill2012]

What if u arent running any dye?

 

[manu2b]

EDIT: and transparent tubing gets cloudy over time (unless you use expensive one without plasticizer).

 

[bburrill2012]

Oh, gotchya!

 

[laxin213]

I would avoid the Primoflex Pro LRT tubing right now. I have it in my rig and I am worried. Seems there are a TON of issues with "plasticizer" gunking up the blocks and tubes. See this thread

I really like the Monsoon Danger Den Pump housing / Res combo. It would save the cost of buying the BP pump dress up kit. The Monsoon was great to work with, came with nice instructions, very customizable, and looks killer. It has all kinds of well thought out things like top vent holes for when you are filling. Only thing I don't like is having the pump up so high. If your liquid levels dropped, the pump could suck air, which would suck. That is one advantage of the pump in the bottom of the loop. Overall though, its a great product.

 

[xander89]

^To avoid dye clogging the loop.

EDIT: and transparent tubing gets cloudy over time (unless you use expensive one without plasticizer).

there are only a couple of them and i dont think they are specifically sold as WC hosing, as you said as well expensive as hell.

 

[wolfgheist]

Ahh well, you can paint them, we have posts where people have done that. tricky though. Surprised you missed those fans after reading our stickies and lots of posts. Seen this link yet?

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6489396&postcount=3

In the stickies............

Yes, I had seen references to them, but discounted them since I was looking for LED or UV. I could go with all black and add my own LED's, but not the gray versions. The DB of these are higher than the others I listed. Just marketing lies by the others?

 

[Conumdrum]

For the CFM, static pressure and great great noise levels they are great. The noise they make is actually a much better sound quality. Thus they can even be hard to get, they used to sell out in a minute. Yes they are that good. Ohh AP-15s is what I'm talking about.

Head over to martinsliquidlab.org and read about all the fans he has tested.

 

[musicfan]

Not in a hurry to put it all together, still looking at the liquid cooling pieces.

I would definitely consider adding led lighting to the typhoon's if it is simple to install them and have them look clean.

I was really interested in the Koolance Dual Bay res, until I read lots and lots of negative feedback about bay reservoirs with pumps in them in regards to vibration in the front of the case, Blu-Ray player etc... so decided to get the 655 pump with a mod kit instead and was looking at non pump versions of a Bay reservoir now.

Also, I rarely use headphones so I prefer the system to be as quiet as possible.

Here is a very good OCF thread on fans by bluezero5: http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=709786&highlight=Coolermaster. AP15's are not attractive to some and bluezero5 mentions alternatives if you are looking. My fans are so old they are no longer made but they work OK for me.

Your Frozen Q res has many admirers so there is no need to change. Because you mentioned it, I had a non-pump version of a bay res > 2 years ago and removed it because it didn't fill the pump well (D5 on the base of the case) and didn't bleed air bubbles well, even with a fill tube. I went back to my mcres. Not sure if they make better ones now. And I asked Gabe, CEO of Swiftech on a thread at XS whether the new Swiftech Maelstrom dual bay pump+res had filling or bleeding issues and he said it is a "non-issue". But as you say after the Koolance iterations it makes one wonder if it may take time to sort out?

Quiet is ear-friendly. I like it. But it can mean more rad to allow quieter/slower fans. Hang in there.