Pre purchase advice on a new water cooling setup..

[teamnoodle]

Hi.

I need some expert advice on my future build. Im looking to refresh my computer and I'm thinking of watercooling again. I used to own a thermaltake triple rad kit and really enjoyed it, but now watercooling has come a long way and the options are massive....

My main purpose of the kit is to provide stable temps when overclocking my i7920. I'm using an asus P6T SE board, 6 gb of Corsair dominator Ram, GTX560ti 448 GPU and a Thermaltake 750W PSU. I would also like the option to add my GPU to the loop in future and/or possibly add another GPU for SLi.



I've ordered an Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo Pro PWM Graphics Card Cooler for the time being as the stock fan is noisy and I may replace it with a waterblock in future, money permitting...


So My main choice is custom build or Factory build? I'm leaning more towards the custom option, as it gives me options to add my GPU waterblock in the future, however on reading reviews on the Corsair H100 kit, I'm thinking the custom build will be a lot more in cost. The Corsair kit is around £80 but even the bits I've shortlisted for a custom build is around £140. This figure is based on parts I added with little or no research, so I'm going to assume that after I get some recommendations, it will go up...

The Case I'm looking to buy is the Xigmatek Midgard 2 with window.
http://www.xigmatek.com/product.php?productid=155
My friend can't fault the midgard 1 he recently bought and because it has a dual rad slot on the top, I can either fit the corsair H100 or a different dual rad.

Other Parts that I have looked at include...

Watercool Heatkiller LC Rev3 CPU Waterblock
http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php?productid=9047

Hardware Labs Black Ice® GT Stealth 240mm Dual Radiator : GTS240
http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop...lth-240mm-Dual-Radiator--GTS240-pid-3978.html

1/4" Thread Compression Fitting for 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD Tubing : Black Nickel
http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php?productid=11206&cat=1220&page=

XSPC 200L/ph 5.25" Drive Bay Pump & Reservoir Combo : X20 200
http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php?productid=13834

Fractal Design 120mm Silent Series Cooling Fan : FD-FAN-120
I'll have five of these, 2 drawing in, 2 on the rad and 1 back exhaust.

I'm liking the 1/2" Tubing look, so will probably go with that.

So as you can see I just plucked a lot of these parts off a retail site and I would love to hear your thoughts, either on the CorsairH100 or anything on my shopping list..

I'm going to assume a lot of you would recommend a different pump and radiator. I chose that one because of the space it will save me, but on hindsight, I could remove one of the 3.5"drive bays to accomodate the pump and reservoir.....

I was also toying with the idea of including a single radiator on the back. Not sure whether it would help, as it will be on the back connected to my back exhaust fan....

So please give me some input as what to think about with regards the above products........ Cost is a factor over performance increase, but I'm not wanting to skimp on anything if I can help it.

Thanks

 

[mokrunka]

to the forums!

First, going custom is going to do two things: 1) allow you to run faster, if you do it right, 2) cost much more than the H100 or H80 (or a similar solution).

For the block, I would go with EK waterblocks. They make top notch stuff, and it performs very well on the 1366 socket. Not to say the one you picked will not, but I can speak first hand about the EK block.

Assuming you are only going to be running the CPU in the loop for now, keep in mind that the 920s run HOT! My signature has my X79 build parts, but before I upgraded, I used the same cooling apparatus on an i7-920, with 2x GTX470s. All of this was run in a single loop, with 3x120.3 rads. My GPU temps were great (around 40C) under max load, but the CPU ran a bit warmer, usually in the 45-50 range while gaming, and up to 58-60C while stress testing Linkpack or IBT.

I would say that 120.3 is a bare minimum for you in the radiator department. That's the beauty of WC'ing with a custom set; you don't have to settle for the performance of a H100 type setup, you can adjust the level of your cooling to the amount of OCing you anticipate.

On the Pump, the MCP-655 series pumps are all I've used, and they have a great track record (at least from what I've read). You may have to use that type of pump due to your case though. Just to point out, the MCP655 pump has a flowrate of 6 times the one you picked above.

On the fans/rad, just make sure that you are buying fans that will perform best for the radiator (different fin designs prefer faster, or slower fan speeds). You can check out www.skinneelabs.com, and they may have done a review of that radiator.

In short, do a bit more reading around on what other people have done, and read up on the products you selected. Ultimately, it's your decision!

 

[teamnoodle]

Hi and thanks for the advice. Just a little confused in what you mean by 120.3 rads. Are you saying to have a triple radiator ie 3x 120mm?

 

[mokrunka]

yes, sorry. 120.3 means a single part, with 3 120 radiator sections. You've picked out a 120.2, same idea, just extended one more.

 

[Conumdrum]

Yep! I have to ask. When did you start your journey into watercooling and how much research have you done?

I could toss a basket of questions to see if you got all the facts, not half truths and dangerous misconceptions.

First thing that catches my eye is you wanting the very very old, outdated rad. Even back in 2007 it was being bettered by much better rads.

Secondly, the choice of pumps. That one is very weak and you should spend more on your pumpage.

Spend more than a few days in our stickies, understand it, not just read it. You haven't mentioned liquid or your boicide method.

And more reading. Please don't just read, take your time. Once the stuff is at your door, it's your problem. Over the years we have seen major faiulures, ruined GPUs, Mobos, wrong parts, and just not having fun.

Once you read and DIG into our stickies, read this gatch, make bookmarks, read MANY posts here that interest you (going back 2 years is NOT a bad idea).

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

Once that is done, THEN build a parts list...............

 

[teamnoodle]

Ok, So I thought I'd better update this post with some finished work.
After deciding on my parts, with consideration from the advice given, I settled with this.



I settled for a Alphacool VPP655 / Laing D5 with D5 High Flow Acetal Top, Watercool Heatkiller LC Rev3 CPU Waterblock,5 1/4 Reservoir in the drive bay, Koolance CU720VS 240mm Dual Radiator, with 1/2" tubing and various compression fittings. I was ok with the initial set up, but didn't like the bunching of the tubes up in the corner as my radiator and reservoir were so close together.



So I decided on getting an internal reservoir to sit on the pump. I also decided on adding a single 120 radiator as in future i'll be adding a gpu waterblock.

So far looking ok, but would love some feedback.

I toyed with a few different combinations.





But settled with this...





You may notice, I also lost a graphics card and upgraded my PSU. I sold my GTX560 ti to fund a purchase of a GTX670 in the very near future, also upgraded my PSU for the 4 PCIE connections i'll need if I SLI..
I've stuck in a HD5450 to keep me going till I get a better card.


I'm running an i7 920 overclocked to 3.4, nothing major, the temps are around 32 degrees idle and 52 on load. Didn't notice too much of a difference adding the single radiator, but I'll see what happens when I get more overclocking done.

So my only real issue so far, I fitted a pair of Yate Loon D-12 Fans on the radiator, 2200 rpm and another D-12 on my second radiator, this one a 1350 rpm, However my X-Vision fan controller allows me up to 1800 on the 2 yate loons rated at 2200 rpm and only 1100 at the 1350 rated fan.

Minor bug, but it's annoying as sometimes i get 1900 but not on the same type of fans....

Anyway, any comments appreciated........

 

[Conumdrum]

That's looking good! Better pumpage too!

Nice job! And with little guidance, we like that, you's got a good noggin up there chap!

Ack, running dyed water? Hopefully no issues as I'm sure you have read, but if you colored water, you gotta swim with the chances I guess.

 

[mokrunka]

Holy leaning video cards, Batman!!! lol

Very nice build though my friend. Post temps after stress testing