New to H20 Cooling, purchase list, case mod (First Time)

[Sims Reaper]

First off,

Hello all, this is my first post on the site, though I'm sure I will become a regular. I've browsed the site for the last week or so, gathering ideas for my system. I was up in the air regarding a few things, but finally, after a stressful day at work, I just up and pulled the trigger on the buy. A little pc upgrade stress relief if you will

I wanted to post it here, because, it was somewhat of an impulse buy, and I would honestly like your opinions on it. As well as advice on the whole build and mod project, though I may have to start a new thread there, because I will be modding my NZXT Phantom case for the new system. So, your thoughts, questions, queries, concerns and criticisms are welcome here!


Sound Activation Cold Cathode Addon w/ Blue LEDs

Logisys Dual 12" Cold Cathode Kit - Blue

Black Ice GT Stealth 360 X-Flow Radiator - Black

Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilentFan XL2 120mm x 25mm Ultra Quiet Fan - 1500 RPM - 21 dBA

FrozenCPU Superman Applique (I'm a Supe fan, what ca n I say, Plus my last name starts with an S so it fits )

Alphacool VPP655 Variable Speed Pump - HF Top Edition - Acylic

XSPC Razor GTX Titan Full Coverage VGA Block - Reference Design

Backplate: XSPC Titan Backplate

Swiftech Maelstrom 5 1/4" Dual Bay Standalone Reservoir (Maelstrom)

XSPC RayStorm High Performance Acetal CPU Liquid Cooling Block - Intel (Sockets LGA 1155 / 1156 / 1366 / 2011)

EK EKoolant Premium Liquid Cooling Premix Coolant - 1L - UV Blue

1/2" ID - (5/8" OD) PVC Clear Tubing


So there you have the jist of the purchase, no it was not cheap... but I'm pretty pumped about it. I have always wanted to go H20, but just never pulled the trigger. I also have nickel plated compression fittings, and uv red sleeving, with uv blue heatshrink with this, to go with the whole supermanish scheme.

So, how does it look so far.
P.S. I already know I will have to mod the case for the triple rad, its all good, going to add windows as well right away, possibly tonight. Never done any of this before so wish me luck. I'll keep you updated if you want!

Keep your sticks on the ice!

 

[Knufire]

LEDs > cathodes for lights.

 

[Sims Reaper]

I purchased the cathodes more for the UV reactive fluids and sleeving. The fans are all led lit, and I plan on possibly adding the NZXT Hue controller and RGB LED's just to have a little fun with it all. But that will happen after all my other work.

 

[Knufire]

You can still get UV LEDs...

The MCP35X is typically recommeded over the 655 as it's PWM controlled and way quieter.

Don't use premixed coolant unless you want to be cleaning junk out of your loop later on. Distilled water + biocide is the only coolant you should use. Get UV reactive tubing for the color, but definitely not fluid.

 

[Sims Reaper]

Oh, I like the idea of those UV LED's, didnt really know about those. Thanks!
Also didnt know about the premix problems, I saw on reviews that it was an issue with some premixes, but everything I read about the EKoolant seemed positive. Hope it ends up that way, though I appreciate the heads up. And I also read that while the 655 isnt PWM, it is a variable speed pump, and quieter than the 35 as long as it isnt at full voltage. But again, there is no personal experience to back this all up. I will definitely keep everything you said in mind as I build, thanks for the heads up!

 

[Conumdrum]

The rad is a very old design 2006 and you should reconsider it. Poor fpi poor flow rates and only single pass.

 

[Sims Reaper]

ya, That is turning out to be my possible regret purchase. I tried to look at as many performance graphs and comparisons as I could, and while the GTS 360 appears to perform with the best during hi rpm operation, it does lag at low rpm's, which sucks for me. One of the reasons I bought this one was it's minimal thickness, which I hope will allow me to top mount a push pull system with a little case modification. Like I said though, my first try at this, so I am learning something new every step.

 

[Conumdrum]

Find Martins Liquid lab and Xtreme Forums, look for bundymania posts in the WC forum about rads. That will help and we know what rads are best for diff setups, space is a concern unless you go all out on a monster case.

Also, you have the case/mobo etc right? Time to do some measurements and look for your case with other WC rigs in Google and here. If you can measure the distance you have for Quality 120mm 25mm thick fans and a rad above the mobo mosfets etc at the top. If you tell me that I can prolly help. BTW, Bobby Bubblehead made a sticky of rad sizes in late 2011, you can use that also. We'll see how much room you have and help.

BTW, 120x3 rad really isn't enough, have you done the heat load calculations STICKY on the wattage you're trying to cool? And take into account overclocking and noise levels you want? We can work with that too. Martin has some calculators that might help.

Methinks you jumped the gun quiet a bit, your not the first by a long shot, and your list isn't bad. Ahh no worries, we'll get through it.

BTW, your tubing is thin walled and will kink easy. And not a mention about fittings either. And we still need to discuss proper liquids and biocides. These things are talked about all the time here, over 30 days it's mentioned at least once. Wish you found us sooner. Some goodies.............

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

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=708096
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums...**WARNING-graphic!**-also-pump-disintegration...
http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=717099
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums...lbow-Impacts-to-CPU-Temperature-(TEST-RESULTS)
http://www.overclockers.com/guide-deltat-water-cooling/

And yea, I'm a hard a$$ on these forums, but I mean well. So please, no hurt feelings, we'll get you right.

 

[Sims Reaper]

Haha, oh I totally jumped the gun Lol.
But yup, that's why I'm here man. For exactly the help like you are giving me. I'm not really looking to o/c super hard or brake any benchmarks, really more for the bragging rights around my buds.

 

[Conumdrum]

Ohh pretty bling.

My thoughts.

Wait till a Rocket Scientist comes to visit and asks questions...........

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7511912&postcount=44

 

[Conumdrum]

BTW, we 'do' have a WC forum. Might want to visit. Expand your forumology.

 

[Sims Reaper]

Thanks for all the links Conumdrum. Those are going to be indispensable. I can see a few things right now that I am not 100% sure of, but I think I will go with what I have for at least the initial set up and startup, while I expand my knowledge of just how this will all work together. Apparently my first purchase next will be a new rad. Hope this one will not make me run my fans too loud, but, hey, it'll be a good lesson. And I will just mod the case to the limit of what I can to get the extra height for a deeper rad when I decide on it. Still gonna try the premix, though I do realize that it may leave the residue. If push comes to shove, and its bad enough I cant stand it, then the rad change will happen early along with a full rinse and cleaning of the system, going to colored tubes and distilled water (with biocides / corr. inhib's). I can see it's not going to be a perfect out of the box system, but I'm sure lots have done worse for there first time... haha, really shouldnt have said that, seeing as how it isn't even installed yet

 

[Conumdrum]

DO NOT USE THE PREMIX. If you do I'm done here. If you can't can't find distilled or deionized water then you................

It's a hobby. Best savored over 3-6 months, not .05 milliseconds. Not over the last 5 beers. Level heads. Looks like it was a beer buy and now you need to justify it.

You have never removed gunk in the blocks for hours or had to rinse a rad for hours have you?

Rush/fail. On ignore. I thought you folks up there were slow paced level headed well educated?

With a so quick reply you spent less than 2 hours reading, way less. Good luck.

Waiting to see the results.

 

[Sims Reaper]

No, I've been reading! haha, and by no means have read it all. But I do plan to continue to read it all. It's like you say, this whole thing will take months. Ya, it was a beer buy, but it was also meant really as a jumping off point, a big kick start. The hobby part will be getting it just right. And I can see that you are seriously against pre mix.. It's that bad eh? Yikes. I'll listen to that one, and find some distilled. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Conumdrum]

And a biocide? You need to buy some.