Slowly picking out parts and starting to plan

[Lyian]

Ok. So this will be months down the road, but im trying to plan ahead.

The system in my sig is what this will be for (more or less). Although before i do this I plan to get an i7 Ivybridge and 2 newer ATi cards in xfire. The cpu and the gpus are what im going to setup the WC for. The rest of the hardware shouldnt change though.


So far, the parts ive picked out are..
Phobya Xtreme 400mm Radiator
Black Ice GT Xtreme 140 Radiator (if needed)
Aquacomputer Aquastream XT USB 12V Pump - Ultra Version
EK Dual Bay SPIN Reservoir w/ Flow Meter - Acetal Black CSQ
Enzotech G1/4" Barb Stop Fitting w/ Cap (for draining off a T)
Koolance CPU-380I Intel Liquid Cooling CPU Block

I haven't decided on blocks yet. I mainly plan to start getting this stuff in pieces so its not such a huge 'all at once' hit. Id likely start by getting the Res and Rads first so i can clean them and leak test them. The video card blocks will have to wait, as im not sure what id be getting (maybe i could find card that have waterblocks on them already, who knows).

If nothing else i can at least get the loop going on my i5, then when i upgrade it, expand it to the cards. But im mainly looking for critiques on the parts/brands ive picked. Primary with the pump. Ive seen alot of chatter on here about the x35 pump, but ive also seen some bad reviews on it. So some opinions on that and the pump ive picked out would be nice. The XT Ultra seems like a decent, feature pump, but there isnt alot of info about it and most of what i do find is in German (youtube vids). But is seems like a fairly quiet pump.

 

[Conumdrum]

Your pump choice is different. You have read Martins review?

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2011/10/13/aquacomputer-aquastream-xt-ultra/5/

Kinda low pressure but meh okay as long as you don't get over restrictive.

You can always find bad posts on forums on any pump. Since you prolly don't speak German and this is mostly a EU use pump, don't know how many bad posts you will find.

Is your res with the flow meter compatible with the freq input of your pump?

Overall, not bad. Different, but seems okay.

 

[Lyian]

Your pump choice is different. You have read Martins review?

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2011/10/13/aquacomputer-aquastream-xt-ultra/5/

Kinda low pressure but meh okay as long as you don't get over restrictive.

You can always find bad posts on forums on any pump. Since you prolly don't speak German and this is mostly a EU use pump, don't know how many bad posts you will find.

Is your res with the flow meter compatible with the freq input of your pump?

Overall, not bad. Different, but seems okay.

I did actually see that review. I saw that the pressure wasnt as good as the 35x everyone seems to like. The things that drew me to the German pump was the design in that it doesnt transfer its heat into the water, its feature set, and weirdly enough, the fact that it has a power connector instead of a perma attached cable. (allowing me to get a nice sleeved molex power connector so it doesn't stand out as much) Its also been praised as being quiet.

But as i said, nothing is set in stone yet.

Is your res with the flow meter compatible with the freq input of your pump?

Freq input of the pump? Im not sure what your asking here.

 

[Conumdrum]

Ohh never mind, I thought your res had a real electronic output flow meter that could be connected to an input on that pump. You got the one with the kids spin toy in it.

 

[Lyian]

Ohh never mind, I thought your res had a real electronic output flow meter that could be connected to an input on that pump. You got the one with the kids spin toy in it.

Don't hate I don't wanna grow up lol. Seriously tho i figured that would be all i needed to make sure things were flowing properly. Plus its a neat effect.

The only thing that bothers me about that Res is the pictures on that site show the front with those rings on it and not very transparent. I hope thats just like a protective sticker or something cause other pics and vids ive seen shown it to be clear.

 

[dtrunk]

take some advice from a WC'r who has a haf-x or google the crap out of haf-x MC builds. A 200x2 does NOT fit up top unless you both make new holes and cut out a LOT of the top of the case. ((Here is an idea, take the top panel off and look at the fan holes and open space that you have to work with, you'll find a 120x3 or 140x3 is all you really have room for; and the 140x3 will require modifications.))

easy bolt up on the top is 120x3. i would suggest the alphacool XT45 series, this will allow you to choose a decent fan with decent cfm/static pressure; and not have to worry about being too thick... if you step up to 60+mm radiators, you start having space issues with the ram. you can keep the 200mm fan up top for a little added pull; but overall they suck and you should consider either 3 more 120mm fans to pull air out OR upgrading the 200mm fans to bitfenix spectre pro series.

on the back exhaust, you can mount a 140x1. if the radiator up top has the barbs towards the back of the case, this will cause an issue with mounting the 140x1. nifty connectors and nicer radiators with multiple ports can help here.

up front/down low; you can mount a 200mm upright but the bards stick into the upper drive bay and you have to remove the lower drive bay; you can mount a 120x2 laying down but you have to remove the front fan/lower drive bay and make a second inlet for air; you can also mount a 120x1 over the fan hole provided; you can fit a 140x2 laying down, but you have to remove the front fan/drive bay and it is very tight at the PSU side; you can fit a 180.1/140.1/120.1 up right in place of the lower drive bay, i'd either go big with the 180 in push pull (but tight on room) or go with a THICK 140 (alphacool monsta 140) and push/pull for max performance.

I removed the lower drive bay and setup 2 140x1 in a staggered pattern; not the bet but replacing the front fan with a bitfenix spectre pro 230mm provides a lot of extra air to help the stagfered setup. not done mounting/coiling, so i haven't taken pictures of the setup.

 

[Lyian]

take some advice from a WC'r who has a haf-x or google the crap out of haf-x MC builds. A 200x2 does NOT fit up top unless you both make new holes and cut out a LOT of the top of the case. ((Here is an idea, take the top panel off and look at the fan holes and open space that you have to work with, you'll find a 120x3 or 140x3 is all you really have room for; and the 140x3 will require modifications.))

easy bolt up on the top is 120x3. i would suggest the alphacool XT45 series, this will allow you to choose a decent fan with decent cfm/static pressure; and not have to worry about being too thick... if you step up to 60+mm radiators, you start having space issues with the ram. you can keep the 200mm fan up top for a little added pull; but overall they suck and you should consider either 3 more 120mm fans to pull air out OR upgrading the 200mm fans to bitfenix spectre pro series.

on the back exhaust, you can mount a 140x1. if the radiator up top has the barbs towards the back of the case, this will cause an issue with mounting the 140x1. nifty connectors and nicer radiators with multiple ports can help here.

up front/down low; you can mount a 200mm upright but the bards stick into the upper drive bay and you have to remove the lower drive bay; you can mount a 120x2 laying down but you have to remove the front fan/lower drive bay and make a second inlet for air; you can also mount a 120x1 over the fan hole provided; you can fit a 140x2 laying down, but you have to remove the front fan/drive bay and it is very tight at the PSU side; you can fit a 180.1/140.1/120.1 up right in place of the lower drive bay, i'd either go big with the 180 in push pull (but tight on room) or go with a THICK 140 (alphacool monsta 140) and push/pull for max performance.

I removed the lower drive bay and setup 2 140x1 in a staggered pattern; not the bet but replacing the front fan with a bitfenix specter pro 230mm provides a lot of extra air to help the staggered setup. not done mounting/coiling, so i haven't taken pictures of the setup.

Sadly you are right. If i were to mount it, ive read that the mounting holes do not line up correctly, and if i mounted it under, i would have to cut out the top of the 5.25 bay. Oh well. Guess ill have to get a smaller one then as i dont feel like chopping up my case.

 

[dtrunk]

the lower drive bay removes VERY easily; it's like 8 rivets that need to be drilled out. great place to mount either a thick 140x1 upright (push/pull) or 120x2 laying down (but the 120x2 might require removing the front fan.)

 

[Lyian]

the lower drive bay removes VERY easily; it's like 8 rivets that need to be drilled out. great place to mount either a thick 140x1 upright (push/pull) or 120x2 laying down (but the 120x2 might require removing the front fan.)

Na, id like to keep everything intact, plus im using the lower drive bay atm and dont really want to move the drives around. I may just settle for a 120.3 up top and the 140 in back. Not 100% sure yet. If something larger can fit up top without modding id go with that too.

 

[Lyian]

alphacool XT45

Nice looking Rad. variable options for connector placement and seems to come with the necessary screws.

Also, posts here have given me pause over my pump choice. Does the x35 hold up pretty well? Will it work better than my current choice?

 

[boucher91]

i wanna know who says the rads either have to be in the box or hangin' off the back....
the rig in sig has the rads hangin' off the side (solid panel other side has 4 intake fans for case ventilation...
i used the swifty rad mounting brackets (1 for each rad) just drilled 4 holes through the side panel to mount the radbox....
looks pretty cool to me...

 

[Lyian]

i wanna know who says the rads either have to be in the box or hangin' off the back....
the rig in sig has the rads hangin' off the side (solid panel other side has 4 intake fans for case ventilation...
i used the swifty rad mounting brackets (1 for each rad) just drilled 4 holes through the side panel to mount the radbox....
looks pretty cool to me...

Not sure anyone said that specifically, it just happens to be the most common say to mount them. I personally want it inside to keep them out of sight and keep the bulk down. I don't mind the tubes and the res being visible, but id rather keep the rads and pump hidden as much as possible cause i personally feel it takes away from the overall look.