Another first time WC'er needing help/advice

[Jinz]

(warning long post)

Hello to all.

As the title suggests, i have decided to take the "plunge" into WC and would appreciate all the help and suggestions humanly possible.

I am rather new to building computers this being only my third, but do enjoy the whole aspect of it even the researching and reading of info. I like taking my time and making sure i do a good clean job.

I have read alot of the info over at skinneelabs and been through the stickies here aswell as reading forums from various outlets i'm looking to buy from, taking in as much as i can understand.

I have a certain theme in mind for my build that contains alot of "bling" however if certain parts will affect performance then i am more than happy to look at alternatives. Below is a list of what i currently have and the performance i am getting, also a list of what i think would work best for me for this build.

Case = Haf X - 4x 200mm CM Megaflows - 2x 140mm Aerocool Shark (1 rear exhaust/1 drive bay intake)

CPU/Cooling = i7920 @ 4ghz HT off - 1.27v (1.29 full load) H50 push/pull with CM sickleflow 120mm (push) Bitspower 120>140 adpater that seems to be acting as a small shroud as a bonus and the 140mm Aerocool (pull) rear mounted. 2hours+ Prime95 small fft = 68-71C hottest core depeding on Ambient. (Edit just did a quick hour on OCCT linpak, hottest core topped at 71C then bounced back and forth from 68-69)

GPU's = GTX 580 Hydrocopper2 in SLI (not installed yet obviously but what i'm looking to cool)

I have no plans to cool any of the mobo/chipset but will list it and other compnents that you good folks might deem necessary.

Mobo = Asus Rampage 2 Extreme
Sound = Onboard
Ram = Corsair Dominator GT - ddr3 1600 tiple channel 6gb (Cooler OCZ XTC rev2)
Drives = MDT 750gb - WD Raptor 160gb (both carried over from my previous builds 3-4 years ago)
PSU = Corsair AX1200

I'm not looking to do any heavy modding of the case and would prefer a set up that is fairly straight forward (yeah right ) for a first timer. With that in mind a single loop would be ideal for me and if multiple rads are required i can mange an extra 2x 140.1, 1 rear exhaust and 1 front bottom intake. A 120.2 is too big to fit without heavy modding? Another note is that i only have an 80mm clearance gap between the top mounting bars for the rad to the edge of the mobo. Fan noise is not too big of an issue for me as long as it's reasonable... 2k rpm, 30db max if poss.

Components that i'm looking to buy to the best of my knowledge for a 10C DeltaT.

Rad = BI GTX360 or Swiftech MCR320QP

CPU Block = Swifttech Apogee XT

Tim: Indigo Xtreme

Res/Pump = XSPC X2O 750 L/ph 12V Pump Rev2 (Prefer a drive bay combo mount to keep things simple)

Fans = CM Sickleflow 120mm or Enermax Apollish Vegas (I know i should probably go with GT 1850's but Theme/Bling factor is swaying my vote here and on paper the CM has better CFM and same S/P and Enermax also have better CFM but slightly worse S/P but not by much and far lower db rating according to retailers ) Will i see a performance hit if i painted the blades of a GT 1850 with a thin coat of UV Blue paint?

Tubing = XSPC 7/16" ID - 5/8" OD (11-16mm) High Flex Tubing : Clear / UV Blue

Fluids: Mayhems Ultra Pure H20 5l, Anticorrosive AntiCorro-Fluid 50ml, Silver Coil x2


I think i have covered everything and please accept my apologies for the abhorrently long post.

All help/feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks inadvance

Jinz

 

[m0r7if3r]

(warning long post)

me too

As the title suggests, i have decided to take the "plunge" into WC and would appreciate all the help and suggestions humanly possible.

i am still entertained by thateven though i've heard it 1000000 times lol...anways, down to business

I have read alot of the info over at skinneelabs and been through the stickies here aswell as reading forums from various outlets i'm looking to buy from, taking in as much as i can understand.

GPU's = GTX 580 Hydrocopper2 in SLI (not installed yet obviously but what i'm looking to cool)

wonderful, you're prepared!!! I'm not saying they're bad (they're not, I'm just making sure you've done your reading) but why did you pick these over gtx580 blocks?

I'm not looking to do any heavy modding of the case and would prefer a set up that is fairly straight forward (yeah right ) for a first timer. With that in mind a single loop would be ideal for me and if multiple rads are required i can mange an extra 2x 140.1, 1 rear exhaust and 1 front bottom intake. A 120.2 is too big to fit without heavy modding? Another note is that i only have an 80mm clearance gap between the top mounting bars for the rad to the edge of the mobo. Fan noise is not too big of an issue for me as long as it's reasonable... 2k rpm, 30db max if poss.

have you calculated your heatload yet? You're lookin at around 700w or so (just off the top of my head...don't stone me if i'm wrong), so you'll need at least 120.5 for a single loop (at your specified noise at least, san aces on a BIX will getcha there at full speed)

Rad = BI GTX360 or Swiftech MCR320QP

CPU Block = Swifttech Apogee XT

Tim: Indigo Xtreme

Res/Pump = XSPC X2O 750 L/ph 12V Pump Rev2 (Prefer a drive bay combo mount to keep things simple)

well...you were doin ok to here lol. For a BIX you need higher cfm fans...that's just what it's optimized for. Blocks' a good one, but might be a bit low flow for what you're looking at with 3 blocks and a couple rads in a loop with that pump...which brings me to your pump. Get a DDC or a D5 and put it in a bay res (XSPC makes em, trust me). It's a bit priceyer but performs way better. Also, be aware of the hassle that bayreses are. TIM is good, but be careful mounting it, it's tricky (I used it on a friend's build and liked it, but I did managed to botch one install, it was air though, so I can't help you too much other than to tell you once stuff gets hot you need to tighten it some more to help the reflow.

Fans = CM Sickleflow 120mm or Enermax Apollish Vegas (I know i should probably go with GT 1850's but Theme/Bling factor is swaying my vote here and on paper the CM has better CFM and same S/P and Enermax also have better CFM but slightly worse S/P but not by much and far lower db rating according to retailers ) Will i see a performance hit if i painted the blades of a GT 1850 with a thin coat of UV Blue paint?

I've seen em painted before, the trick to it is having an even coat, because if you don't you'll knock them off balance...oh and be careful on the tips, the clearance with the sides of the fan is minimal. Give these a read for REAL numbers on fans.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=223391
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=261778

Tubing = XSPC 7/16" ID - 5/8" OD (11-16mm) High Flex Tubing : Clear / UV Blue

there's better tubing, see this link.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=157370

I've heard of the thin walled stuff getting sucked shut by the suction of the pump.

Fluids: Mayhems Ultra Pure H20 5l, Anticorrosive AntiCorro-Fluid 50ml, Silver Coil x2

distilled will do just fine, don't go for the expensive stuff unless you can't get distilled/deionized water where you are.

I think i have covered everything and please accept my apologies for the abhorrently long post.

it's not awful, better thorough than sorry!

 

[Conumdrum]

Mor covered most of it. I'd second a relook at your choice of radiator, fans, and size of radiator.

700 watts is a lot of heat, so please use the DT link in the stickies up top to determine the raddage you really need..

And yea, the IX TIM is the best, but it's not something you want to use on your first WC rig. You can't reflow it with the GPU's in the loop, you' burn them up. Stick with some good MX-2 or something else for now, don't need to add to more possible failures on your first WC rig.

 

[Jinz]

Thanks for the response guy's.

Feel like i have tried to run before i could walk! It's so frustrating reading up and not fully understanding what is required, but hey it's all part of the learning process.

Going to try and keep this short, does it have to be a 240 for the second rad? Can 2 really good 120.1/140.1 like the XSPC RX or any other that you would recommend work instead of a single 240?

I have given this alot of thought and considering my experience with building PC's and i mainly use my rig for gaming and browsing that the CPU is fine as it is. So to help me get some hands on experience with WC and to keep this set up small and simple, to cool the GPU's only with a 120.3?

I'm guessing my CPU temps will go up due to the heat of the gpu's dumping into the case instead of venting out the back?

I would appreciate if anyone could recommend what parts i should get. Fans i would like to be Blue led if possible, i know this limits the choice greatly and sacrifices alot of funcionality but will settle with what works best. Tubing colour i'm looking for is the Clear UV Blue type.

Thanks in Advance

 

[m0r7if3r]

Yate loons are good, cheap, and can have blue led's. You could run the graphics on 120.3 of rad pretty easily and you would see great temps. 2 140.1's would be just fine to add, keep in mind that the advantage to larger rads is less restriction for the same surface area (120.3 has less restriction than 3x120.1).

 

[Jinz]

Quick update for my GPU only cooling,

Rad - MCR320
Pump - MCP655
Res - ? (drivebay single or double)
Tubing- ? (UV Blue colour 7/16 or 1/2 ID)

Need some recommendations for res and tubing please.

Thanks.

 

[Conumdrum]

Primochill LRT tubing

And this res, which holds your pump.

http://www.dangerden.com/New-Products/ces-2011-reservoir-video.html

 

[m0r7if3r]

^^^what he said. Primochill 1/2"id 3/4"od, it's big but it's PURDDYYY

 

[Jinz]

As much as i would love to have one of those Monsoon's, they are all sold out in the colour choices i would like and there are no retailers in the UK that have these.

I have picked out these if i could get some feedback on which one to pick.

http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php?productid=11111&cat=1249&page=1 (Pump at the bottom of the case)

http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php?productid=9506&cat=1249&page=1 (Is this any good?)

http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop/customer/product.php?productid=11671&cat=1249&page=1 (How hard is it to install the the pump?)

Last piece i need, thanks again for all the help.

 

[m0r7if3r]

Whatever you do, don't get the typhoon 3, they have severe cracking issues.