First WC build, looking for input

[Toovok]

Hello OC'ers! This is my first water cooling loop. I started putting this list together awhile ago, but life got in the way. Now I'm ready to start back up I'm looking for input to make sure I didn't make any rookie mistakes. My build is a Maximus V Formula mobo, i5-3570k, GTX 680 all in a HAF X case. I am going to cool the CPU, GTX680 and the the Thermo Fusion. I'm going to overclock the cpu and gpu also. Here is my parts list.

Radiators: Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper Triple 120mm Radiator
Xtreme 200mm Radiator

Fans: Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm x 25mm Fan - 1850 RPM (D1225C12B5AP-15) - 3 in push
Silverstone Air Penetrator AP181 180 x 180 x 32mm Fan - (SST-AP181) - 2 in p/p
Phobya 180x180x20mm Fan / Radiator Shroud - Plexi x2

Water Blocks: XSPC RayStorm High Performance Acetal CPU Liquid Cooling Block - Intel
XSPC Razor nVidia GTX 680 Full Coverage VGA Block - Black - Reference Design (new style)

Tubing: PrimoChill PrimoFlex PRO LRT Tubing 3/8"ID 1/2" OD with 1/16" Wall - UV Red

Fittings: Bitspower Matte Black G1/4" Barb Fitting - 3/8" ID
Steel Spring Hose Clamp for 1/2" OD Tubing - Black

Pump/Resivoir: Swiftech Maelstrom 5 1/4" Dual Bay Standalone Reservoir w/ MCP35X Pump (Maelstrom-35X)

Fan Controller: Lamptron FC Touch - 30W - 6 Channel Aluminum Rheobus w/ Touch Screen - Black (FCT)

The Alphacool 120.3 rad will go in the top with the Gentle Typhoon AP-15 fans in push and the 200.1 Phobya Rad in the bottom/front of the case with the Silverstone air penetrator fans with shrouds in p/p. I already pulled out the bottom hdd cage to make room for the 200mm rad. I plan on running the loop starting at the outlet of the top 120.3 rad -> CPU -> Thermo Fusion -> Res/Pump -> 200.1 rad -> GPU -> and back to the inlet of the 120.3 rad. I will be using distilled water with a dead water additive.

After looking over Skineelabs and Martinsliquidlabs test results, I believe the radiator/fan combinations should provide more than enough cooling to moderately overclock the cpu/gpu. The pump should provide enough pump head and flow rate to get at least 1 to 1.5 gpm.

I should be able to easily run 3 to 6 Gentle Typhoon AP-15's off one channel of the fan controller and the the 2 Silverstone AP-181's off of another. I plan on running the pump from the CPU-Fan header since it is PWM.

I am looking for mental backup from experienced users. The only thing I see that may be questionable is the 200mm rad setup, basically since there isn't much data on it. The Phobya 200mm rad is designed for slow spinning fans and lower airflow. Is it possible to have too much airflow with the Silverstone AP181's? In theory the 200mm rad has a larger surface area than a 120.2 rad but I couldn't find any direct comparisons of the two. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to look over this setup.

 

[dtrunk]

the included adapter plate on the xtreme 200mm radiator should allow you to mount up those 180mm air pen fans without needing to buy an additional adapter. if you're looking for an air gap to equalize pressure across the radiator, then it might help. but these 180m air pen fans provide decent cfm and static pressure, so they might not be needed. You may even be able to just use ONE 180mm fan with the shroud, and still see good performance. two 180mm in push/pull might be overkill and realistically only provide 10-20% more cooling; if that. as for the Xtreme 200mm radiator, are you sure it fits? I think in the haf-X you only have 9.25 inches if you remove the lower drive bays, and the xtreme's dimensions are 9.8 inches on it's longest side.

I have almost the same setup (gear wise), and only went with the ONE 120mm triple radiator up top. CPU Temps are 23c - 34c idle, 50c - 54c load. gpu is 21c idel and 38c load. this is at a 4.4ghz OC on the cpu and GPU @ 1251 clock and 3348 memory. I do plan to buy/install a Alphacool UT60 140mm and 140mm air pen in push to help drop those temps a little.

Beyond that, i don't see any issues. order of the loop doesn't matter too much, so dont be afraid to change this on the fly as you install all the gear. I had an idea of my flow order and drastically changed it to make tubing/setup a LOT easier for me.

 

[Toovok]

as for the Xtreme 200mm radiator, are you sure it fits? I think in the haf-X you only have 9.25 inches if you remove the lower drive bays, and the xtreme's dimensions are 9.8 inches on it's longest side.

Wow, looks like you saved me from making a big mistake. I swear, when I first looked at these several months ago, I found a build log where someone had installed the 200mm rad in the front of their HAF X case, but I can't find it now. That's where I got the idea in the first place. You are spot on with the dimensions, it would be a hair too tall.

I do plan to buy/install a Alphacool UT60 140mm and 140mm air pen in push to help drop those temps a little.

Are you mounting that 140mm in the bottom of your Haf X?

Beyond that, i don't see any issues. order of the loop doesn't matter too much, so dont be afraid to change this on the fly as you install all the gear. I had an idea of my flow order and drastically changed it to make tubing/setup a LOT easier for me.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Conumdrum]

They make a 180mm rad don't they?

Anyway, very nice start to a good rig.

Nice to see someone do thier homework, just gotta figure out the small details now.

Distilled water and a biocide right?

 

[dtrunk]

i did a LOT of reading, and still read more to this day about haf-x mods; i'm all about simple and clean. yes i can work a dremel, but i don't want to notch the crap out of my case to simply add a radiator or a larger radiator.

http://cdn.overclock.net/0/00/00872bbd_SideFanPhobya.jpeg
http://www.overclock.net/t/1222289/...m-rad-mod-with-images-and-install-information

it is possible, you just have to do some modding. this user notched the upper drive bay to install the xtreme 200mm rad, and then had to use the top ports and go through the top drive bay area.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/album.php?albumid=463&pictureid=2444

as u can see, my pump/res is right in-between the PSU and drive cage; this limits my options unless i move the pump/res... but i like them there. a 120.1 or 140.1 will fit laying down or upright; or a 120.2 can be fitted laying down but you have to remove the 230mm fan up front (which i like, as i changed all the 200+m fans to red LED fans. i plan to go with a 140.1 upright, mounted with L-brackets. it'll go where the lower drive bay is, and be spaced 10-20mm from the 230mm fan up front. this way i can simply unplug the IN line from my pump/res and mount it to the 140.1 rad and run a short line back to the pump/res inlet; quick and simple.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/album.php?albumid=463&pictureid=2573

don't forget, you're cutting it close in space between the bot of the rad/fans and the ram sticks. i'd double check how far the ram slots are located from the top of the board.. as long as it is similar to the extreme4, i don't see an issue. from the picture you see an xspc 360 (@63mm thick) with yate loon fans that are ONLY 20mm thick; which gives me several mm to spare. a 25mm thick 120mm fan would probably not fit in my case. for you, the alphacool 360 rad is only 60mm thick, so with standard 25mm thick fans you should be ok... but I'd still double check. ((I originally had an AMD setup installed and noticed about a mm difference when i swapped to the extreme4/intel setup; so the gap between ram and fans is smaller then in the picture i linked.))

PS: yes they do make a 180mm radiator. http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=59_457_912&products_id=32306

 

[Toovok]

They make a 180mm rad don't they?

I've not researched those yet. A quick look at Frozencpu showed a Magicool 180mm rad

Distilled water and a biocide right?

I didn't dare post here and say I was planning on using a dye, lol. There were too many posts about the detrimental affects of dye.

 

[Toovok]

i did a LOT of reading, and still read more to this day about haf-x mods; i'm all about simple and clean. yes i can work a dremel, but i don't want to notch the crap out of my case to simply add a radiator or a larger radiator.

I agree.

as u can see, my pump/res is right in-between the PSU and drive cage; this limits my options unless i move the pump/res... but i like them there. a 120.1 or 140.1 will fit laying down or upright; or a 120.2 can be fitted laying down but you have to remove the 230mm fan up front (which i like, as i changed all the 200+m fans to red LED fans. i plan to go with a 140.1 upright, mounted with L-brackets. it'll go where the lower drive bay is, and be spaced 10-20mm from the 230mm fan up front. this way i can simply unplug the IN line from my pump/res and mount it to the 140.1 rad and run a short line back to the pump/res inlet; quick and simple.

I've already removed the bottom hard drive cage, so there is lots of room. I am looking using the Swiftech Maelstrom which is a 5.25 bay res/pump combo. So all that space between the PSU and Front 230mm fan is wide open for a rad. You are right about a 120.2 rad, the front fan would have to come out. I was already planning on replacing the front fan with a Bitfenix Spectre Led Pro. So that leaves me with the same options, a 120.1, 140.1 or as Conumdrum said a 180.1.

don't forget, you're cutting it close in space between the bot of the rad/fans and the ram sticks. i'd double check how far the ram slots are located from the top of the board.. as long as it is similar to the extreme4, i don't see an issue. from the picture you see an xspc 360 (@63mm thick) with yate loon fans that are ONLY 20mm thick; which gives me several mm to spare. a 25mm thick 120mm fan would probably not fit in my case. for you, the alphacool 360 rad is only 60mm thick, so with standard 25mm thick fans you should be ok... but I'd still double check. ((I originally had an AMD setup installed and noticed about a mm difference when i swapped to the extreme4/intel setup; so the gap between ram and fans is smaller then in the picture i linked.))

The barb fitting for the Fusion Thermo actually sits higher that the ram but is closer to the board. If I have to try and squeeze the tubing under the fan to get to the Fusion Thermo barb, I'll just leave it out of the wc loop. The ram will have plenty of clearance.

PS: yes they do make a 180mm radiator. http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=59_457_912&products_id=32306

I just looked at that. This where it gets hard to choose. If someone like Skinneelabs or Martinsliquidlabs hasn't done a review or side by side comparison, then it's difficult to know which rads are better performers and which ones are lemons.

 

[Toovok]

Ok, it is so hard to decide on this radiator. I finally opted for the better fan options for 120.1 rads. I think the increased surface area of the Alphacool Monsta Single 120mm Radiator will hopefully let it out perform thinner 120.1 rads, please correct me if I'm wrong. I still can't really compare it to the larger 140mm and 180mm rads. Which leads to the next obvious question, fans for an 80mm thick rad. Will the goto GT AP15's have enough cfm/static pressure for this thicker rad? I was looking at these other fans too.

Corsair Air Series SP120 High Performance Edition High Static Pressure 120mm Fan
Aerocool Shark Red Edition 120mm x 25mm High Air Pressure Fan
BitFenix Spectre Pro 120mm Fan
Cooler Master Excalibur 120mm x 25mm High Performance Fan

Scythe doesn't list the static air pressure for the Gentle Typhoons but I found one thread that lists it at 2.9 mm/H2O. That makes it comparable to the SP120 and the Excalibur.

 

[dtrunk]

Toovok, this is my new theory... parts are ordered. lets see if it works, parts/shipping came to 87 bucks. i think overall, surface area is going to be the most important. so in this case, i added a 140mm x2 surface area for the price of the Alphacool Monsta 120mm radiator. i think the 180mm is a bad idea; crappy fans and pretty huge... easier to run with a setup like this.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=721811

 

[Toovok]

Toovok, this is my new theory... parts are ordered. lets see if it works, parts/shipping came to 87 bucks. i think overall, surface area is going to be the most important. so in this case, i added a 140mm x2 surface area for the price of the Alphacool Monsta 120mm radiator. i think the 180mm is a bad idea; crappy fans and pretty huge... easier to run with a setup like this.

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=721811

Gratz on the order! I'm itching to pull the trigger too. So which 140mm rad did you order? I assume that was 2 rads and no fans for $87(good deal!) Have you picked out fans yet? That rad setup looks interesting too. I think two 140 rads plus the 360 rad I was planning on getting would be overkill for sure. But price wise actually works out to about the same as the Monsta 120! things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm.

 

[dtrunk]

i don't mind blowing 4$ on a yate loon, so i did and got two... if they are too weak i'll get better fans. the radiator is a Magicool slim 140mm which was stupid cheap and 29mm thick wth 14fpi. so both fans and two radiators for 87$; i already have a spare 120/90/80mm fans so i can play with placement and design.