Feedback on First Planned Water Cooled Build

[apache1027]

As the title implies, I am building my first water cooled PC. I have built a few air cooled PC's over the years, but this will be my second personal build, and the PC that I have been saving for/planning for a few years. I have done a lot of research, but as I get closer to actually purchasing parts, I'd like some feedback from experienced builders like yourselves. Here's the parts list with almost everything I will need.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pjgrnH

A few questions I have right off the bat:

I need some advice on fittings, I have an idea of how I want the loop to go, but I don't know what fittings I need (trying to avoid buying unnecessary parts). Do I need fittings for the inlets/outlets? I've never even seen a rad or water block in person so forgive my ignorance.

What is the best way to control 6 fans? Fan hub? Splitters?

How should the airflow through the rads be set up? I am planning to have the rads on the top and bottom of the lian li case, I was thinking intake on top and exhaust on the bottom? Or should airflow through rads always be intake?

Thank you guys for the help.

 

[Scu84St3v3420]

I'm certainly no water cooling expert, actually just started buying components for my first custom loop. But based on your post there are a few things I can say...

One, your list is missing tubing, weather it be hard line or soft tubing.

Two, fittings will depend more on you than just necessity... Such as will you want to avoid 90 degree bends in tubing (hardline only), you will need fittings for each in/out on each block. You will want a ball valve fitting for draining your loop most likely for maintenance. You will probably want a fill port fitting for your res, for ease of setting up.

Three, this is also something that I am looking into and finding it will depend on weather or not your motherboard selection is geared towards a custom loop or not, which after a quick look at your MB selection I can't tell personally... But if it had inputs for flow and in/out temp settings then you shouldn't really need a controller. But there are companies that sell accessory boards for controlling watercooling loops specifically. And those will work best.

Four, heat rises... So don't try to fight it, bottom for intake and top for exhaust. You can use rads in any configuration you feel fit, there is no particular wrong in weather or not you have them set to intake or exhaust. That will depend more on placement of those rads.

 

[Zerileous]

I just see one slim rad. where are you planning to mount? I'm no expert either but I am working on a build in the same case. There is room for a 60mm rad with fans in push/pull configuration (on both sides of the rad) on top. On my build I'm going to use a 60mm rad up top with fans on one side (probably push exhaust, but its not a significant difference).

Do you have some kind of modification or just a normal vertical mount GPU in mind? Not sure what you're doing with the cooler master and thermaltake parts. Lian Li makes an adaptor, so you should use that unless you're planning something custom. I'm guessing you're aware of this because of the vertical GPU parts, but this case has a GPU height clearance of 159mm. Check here for water block compatibility: http://www.lian-li.com/air-gpu-guidance-list/

For fittings and tubing, pick your tubing first, then get fittings to match. ID = inner diameter, OD = outer diameter. Bitspower are regarded as the best brand of fittings.

Regarding the Drain/fill, double check with bitspower, but I think I saw somewhere that your reservoir will have a drain valve built in.

 

[apache1027]

Yeah the tubing and fittings are the last things I need to add (hopefully), I think I will take your advice and physically get most of the other parts first so I know for sure what fittings to get. There is a pump header on the motherboard for sure, so I will at least know if the pump fails. Can't everything else just be controlled based on the temp of the components? Would you suggest an in line flow sensor?

And that makes perfect sense on the air flow, thanks!

- - - Auto-Merged Double Post - - -

I just see one slim rad. where are you planning to mount? I'm no expert either but I am working on a build in the same case. There is room for a 60mm rad with fans in push/pull configuration (on both sides of the rad) on top. On my build I'm going to use a 60mm rad up top with fans on one side (probably push exhaust, but its not a significant difference).

Do you have some kind of modification or just a normal vertical mount GPU in mind? Not sure what you're doing with the cooler master and thermaltake parts. Lian Li makes an adaptor, so you should use that unless you're planning something custom. I'm guessing you're aware of this because of the vertical GPU parts, but this case has a GPU height clearance of 159mm. Check here for water block compatibility: http://www.lian-li.com/air-gpu-guidance-list/

For fittings and tubing, pick your tubing first, then get fittings to match. ID = inner diameter, OD = outer diameter. Bitspower are regarded as the best brand of fittings.

Regarding the Drain/fill, double check with bitspower, but I think I saw somewhere that your reservoir will have a drain valve built in.

It's actually two slim 360 rads, I forgot to put the "x2" in the title. So the plan is for a rad on the top and bottom of the case, both of them in either push or pull, and that kind of ties in to the vertical gpu mount. With the cooler master mount I have room for the rad and fans on the bottom of the case. The thermaltake cable is just because I don't want to risk a loss of performance. I'll link another build that has a layout very similar to what im planning, and uses the same vertical gpu mount and rads in the same layout that I have listed.

Yup! The res does have a vent and drain valve included. There will be a res lower than it, but I think itll be fine. Thanks for the advice on the tubes and fittings.

https://imgur.com/a/NUotM

^similar layout

 

[maxfly]

love your case, res/pump choice, they look killer together! i would go with hardline in that case and especially with that res. itll look sweet. if your getting sticker shock from the bitspower fittings check out barrow fittings. they are really high quality and alot cheaper than bitspower.
for rads i would look at the ek coolstream se over the gts. the ek se are among the very best thin rads you can get. the gts are decent but not on the same level as the ek se. ek rads are all well rounded performers. the reason the gtr are so cheap at ppcs is they just arent very good(they dont sell). if you favor the HWLabs rads go with either the gtx or sr2 for low to mid speed fans and the gtr for high speed fans(benching, max ocing). all of those HWLabs rads are thick rads.
for that case and res set up. i would go top out, bottom in for fans. you can still have both sets of fans pushing thru the rads. it isnt going to make or break your loop if you decide you want to have them pulling tho. at most a degree or two difference. ie pushing thru the top rad and pulling thru the bottom.
great choice of fans as well.

edit- you can save $100 by going with the samsung 860 evo ssd at amazon. or the m.2 at newegg (backordered).
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76E1T0B-AM/dp/B078DPCY3T/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1542753463&sr=1-3&keywords=Samsung+860+EVO+1TB

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite

 

[apache1027]

love your case, res/pump choice, they look killer together! i would go with hardline in that case and especially with that res. itll look sweet. if your getting sticker shock from the bitspower fittings check out barrow fittings. they are really high quality and alot cheaper than bitspower.
for rads i would look at the ek coolstream se over the gts. the ek se are among the very best thin rads you can get. the gts are decent but not on the same level as the ek se. ek rads are all well rounded performers. the reason the gtr are so cheap at ppcs is they just arent very good(they dont sell). if you favor the HWLabs rads go with either the gtx or sr2 for low to mid speed fans and the gtr for high speed fans(benching, max ocing). all of those HWLabs rads are thick rads.
for that case and res set up. i would go top out, bottom in for fans. you can still have both sets of fans pushing thru the rads. it isnt going to make or break your loop if you decide you want to have them pulling tho. at most a degree or two difference. ie pushing thru the top rad and pulling thru the bottom.
great choice of fans as well.

edit- you can save $100 by going with the samsung 860 evo ssd at amazon. or the m.2 at newegg (backordered).
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76E1T0B-AM/dp/B078DPCY3T/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1542753463&sr=1-3&keywords=Samsung+860+EVO+1TB

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...-na-_-na&AID=10440897&PID=3891137&SID=rewrite

Thanks man, yeah I looked at barrow for awhile but I really didn't want to risk my first system with parts from a manufacturer I don't know. They also make a distro plate for this case too.

The reviews I saw on the black ice rads were very good, where did you hear that they were bad? They were comprable in price to the EK and thermal performance in the review I read was on par with them too. I need to stick to the slim rads so I can vertically mount the gpu, and I dont like the look of thick rads in the case. I also changed out the fans for EK vardar 120mmER. Those seemed to have a little bit better performance on a rad than the silent wings.

Here's the review I used: https://www.xtremerigs.net/2015/02/11/hardwarelabs-nemesis-360-gts-radiator-review/2/

Thanks for all the input!

 

[Scu84St3v3420]

Yeah the tubing and fittings are the last things I need to add (hopefully), I think I will take your advice and physically get most of the other parts first so I know for sure what fittings to get. There is a pump header on the motherboard for sure, so I will at least know if the pump fails. Can't everything else just be controlled based on the temp of the components? Would you suggest an in line flow sensor?

And that makes perfect sense on the air flow, thanks!

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It's actually two slim 360 rads, I forgot to put the "x2" in the title. So the plan is for a rad on the top and bottom of the case, both of them in either push or pull, and that kind of ties in to the vertical gpu mount. With the cooler master mount I have room for the rad and fans on the bottom of the case. The thermaltake cable is just because I don't want to risk a loss of performance. I'll link another build that has a layout very similar to what im planning, and uses the same vertical gpu mount and rads in the same layout that I have listed.

Yup! The res does have a vent and drain valve included. There will be a res lower than it, but I think itll be fine. Thanks for the advice on the tubes and fittings.

https://imgur.com/a/NUotM

^similar layout

There are a multitude of ways to control a liquid cooling loop, but external feedback of information such as flowrate and temps will help you dial in the system and get the most performance out of it for any situation you wish weather it be silent operation or hardcore benching. Relying purely on your motherboard without temp and flow sensors/headers will force your system to rely on the information provided via you're motherboard for temps and it will ramp up and down randomly and often unnecessarily. And without an in-line flow sensor your system will often just run your pump at full blast 24/7 or at a dictated setting or curve that you set without information other than onboard temps. For example that is how my AIO operated using just my motherboard header for an AIO pump, fans ramp up/down at increases and decreases in temp, though some of that is mitigated via a custom fan curve, but as soon as I load a game they ramp up to mid range instantly and my pump is full blast 24/7.

 

[Zerileous]

Yeah it comes down to the specific motherboard. Even some asus boards that have things like temperature sensors inputs and dedicated pump headers don't necessarily mean you can set it to change fan/pump speed based on the temp probe you set. At least not easily. It depends on the specific motherboard so that's something to look into pretty carefully. You can always try it with the motherboard and pick up an aquacomputer aquaero. They have a "lite" model without the 5.25" bay screen that is controlled by their program in windows. Might be the best way from the start tbh.

The dual radiator setup sounds like it should work out just fine. The bitspower panel is awesome, but at the end of the day I decided I cared more about silence than appearance (DDC with no PWM). I'm also not sure that I want to seal off that area for intake airflow, as the bottom is somewhat restrictive (at least with a horizontal GPU).

Sounds like a nice setup, cool that you figured out how to combine a bottom rad with a vertical GPU!

 

[maxfly]

Thanks man, yeah I looked at barrow for awhile but I really didn't want to risk my first system with parts from a manufacturer I don't know. They also make a distro plate for this case too.

The reviews I saw on the black ice rads were very good, where did you hear that they were bad? They were comprable in price to the EK and thermal performance in the review I read was on par with them too. I need to stick to the slim rads so I can vertically mount the gpu, and I dont like the look of thick rads in the case. I also changed out the fans for EK vardar 120mmER. Those seemed to have a little bit better performance on a rad than the silent wings.

Here's the review I used: https://www.xtremerigs.net/2015/02/11/hardwarelabs-nemesis-360-gts-radiator-review/2/

Thanks for all the input!

im sorry i misspoke. i was thinking of the ce? i dont know which one i had on the brain... ive never used the se. the last one i used was a ce that was great considering what it was cooling. anyhow the reason i said that about the gts rads is because i used a couple of gts rads a year or so ago. a 240 and 120mm and had really bad temps with them. temps at idle almost doubled with them replacing a really old xspc 240. i expected worse temps initially but not what i saw, 50-55c temps at idle(roughly 20c higher than the old rad). tried remounting, changed fans and still couldnt get temps to drop with the gts. i returned them and went with a ek pe 240 on top and a sr2 120 in front. temps have been solid since.
im really surprised to see the gts rad so well reviewed. i must have gotten a couple rotten ones. maybe there has been a revision. shrug, either way i wont buy them again.
those are solid fans but if your looking for every last bit of performance have a look at noctuas nf-f12 or a12 fans. they are about as good as it gets for performance and still being quiet.

 

[apache1027]

Okay, since I'm buying my parts in waves I'll definitely look into ways to control the loop with sensors and software other than relying on the motherboard. I'm sure i"ll be learning a lot along the way, hopefully I just don't end up regretting specific purchases.

Zerileous, I hate that I have to block off the side vent for the block too. Ive seen a few people who have distro blocks in place of their front glass panel. I think I'm going to hold off on getting the bitspower block just to see if I can find one for the front instead so I can still get some decent airflow in the case.

Well, once I get the build done I'll let you know how the rads perform. I won't be able to compare directly to other rads unless I decide to switch them out, but I'll look at some other benchmarks.

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I just found this....

133.06US $ 15% OFF|Barrow LLO11Q SDB V1, Front Waterway Boards For Lian Li PC O11 Dynamic Case, For Intel CPU Water Block & Single GPU Building|Fans & Cooling| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Might need to re think my loop now

 

[Scu84St3v3420]

Okay, since I'm buying my parts in waves I'll definitely look into ways to control the loop with sensors and software other than relying on the motherboard. I'm sure i"ll be learning a lot along the way, hopefully I just don't end up regretting specific purchases.

Zerileous, I hate that I have to block off the side vent for the block too. Ive seen a few people who have distro blocks in place of their front glass panel. I think I'm going to hold off on getting the bitspower block just to see if I can find one for the front instead so I can still get some decent airflow in the case.

Well, once I get the build done I'll let you know how the rads perform. I won't be able to compare directly to other rads unless I decide to switch them out, but I'll look at some other benchmarks.

- - - Auto-Merged Double Post - - -

I just found this....

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Bar...1-Dynamic-Case-For-Intel-CPU/32912698934.html

Might need to re think my loop now

This is one for the front panel of the case.

https://www.amazon.com/Barrow-Acryl...42830750&sr=8-3&keywords=barrow+waterway&th=1

 

[Zerileous]

Maybe contact the person you linked to before and see how his temps are. I'm not sure you'll have much to worry about with a vertical GPU. My main concern is because I'm planning to keep my GPU horizontal. The bitpspwer piece sure is a showstopper . I'm also considering the barrow distro panel, but I'm so picky. I wish it was clear. I'm debating buying it to see if I can polish it up myself. I'm sure the quality you get with the bitspower is much better. If you do wind up going with a different reservoir setup, the D5 Next is supposed to be a good option for control.

Please let me know what you decide or if you find any good information. GamersNexus has a video, but they're limited to only 3 fans and air cooling. Their video tells us that if you have only 3 fans and a horizontal GPU, and you're air cooled, then the front is the place to put them. I don't think that means much for a watercooled system with 6 fans and a vertical GPU.

 

[Zerileous]

I ended up going with a panel reservoir from Radikult in that front fan/rad position. Not sure how long it will take me to get things together, but if I do before you buy everything I'll let you know.

 

[apache1027]

Which one did you get? I ended up ordering a good amount of the stuff on the list but not the gpu or res/pump. I want to get the fans and rads in there first before I decide. Definitely let me know how the radikult res is.

 

[Zerileous]

360 with the pump mount. For the same cost as the bitspower you loose the pump and the distribution panel aspect, but I really wanted to use a different pump.

 

[apache1027]

I dont think I could use the triple rads with the front mount distro panel, so if I don't get the bitspower then I'll probably go with radikult as well. When you get it i would really appreciate pics and the pump you use.

I'm probably going to cannabalize my air cpu cooler and GPU from my build now and throw it on all the parts that arrive monday until I get the res and water block for the GPU. Ill test fit the rads and vertical bracket first though. Just cant wait to try out the new motherboard and 9700k that came today!

 

[apache1027]

If anyone is still interested, I got the build done except for the tubing. I ended up with the new res from radikult that he made specifically for the o-11. I also had to mount the fans on the bottom of the case in order to fit in the vertical gpu. Ill put up some pictures later so show the rads and res with the vertical gpu. The cooler master vertical riser kit works pretty well, but I will definitely need to find a way to add some support at the end.

 

[apache1027]

Alright, here is a link to the pictures

https://imgur.com/a/uHitNWP

As you can see I need to find a way to mount feet on the bottom since I had to put the fans on the outside of the case. The radikult res looks really nice in there, and the new o-11 res will be much easier to create a loop since there is more than one input and output. Two things I could use some help with though...
1) The screwdriver under the GPU is preventing sag, and there isn't even any water in it yet. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to support the right side of the gpu that doesn't stand out too much?
2) I plan to connect the top rad to the top two holes on the res. You can see in the picture I have 90 fittings and extenders attached to the rad. The height is probably a quarter of an inch off from lining up with the res input/output. Am I going to need to make a really shallow bend in that tight space< or is there some kind of fitting that might make that run easier? Refer to pic 2 and 4.

Thanks for any feedback, and feel free to ask about any fitment of the setup in the case.

 

[EarthDog]

Pretty...........

Host the images here so they don't go away...!!!

 

[apache1027]

I haven't uploaded pictures before, hopefully this turns out alright.