New watercooling setup, need input.

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Digital Viper-X-

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I'm planning on wcing my mining rigs in the next few months. It will need to cool two 290xs and two 280xs, no CPU. I'm also considering leaving the rads submerged in a small kiddy pool of water in the shade outside and running the water lines into my basement. But let's assume I'm using fans to cool the rads;

Is it better to run two smaller loops? Or one big one with a better pump?

How many rads and what size will I need?

What type of pump would fulfill the requirement for both scenarios.
 
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Would a 120*9 rad be better than 3 individual 360s? I know cost wise the 9*120 is much better but wondering on performance.
 
Going for OC, low temps, or just low noise?

OC, go crazy.

If you're just going for noise, one loop, maybe 2 360s or 480s.
 
Ahh cool. Are there any drawbacks to using a mo-ra? Can I stat off with just 6 fans and add more as I go if needed?
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
Ahh cool. Are there any drawbacks to using a mo-ra? Can I stat off with just 6 fans and add more as I go if needed?
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only draw back is that it is external, and that is a minimal draw back.

Just keep in mind, external most likely entails a longer line and probably a higher loop height overall so you'll want a good pump that can handle the extra oomph. More water isn't the issue, just a higher height, it's just something to think about.

Fans are totally up to you and needs. If I got something like that for my FX cpu and gtx 680 I could run it fanless. If it were me Id try to use fewer larger fans instead of more small fans. Or hell, stick a small box fan from walmart in front of it.
 
SticKx911 said:
only draw back is that it is external, and that is a minimal draw back.

Just keep in mind, external most likely entails a longer line and probably a higher loop height overall so you'll want a good pump that can handle the extra oomph. More water isn't the issue, just a higher height, it's just something to think about.

Fans are totally up to you and needs. If I got something like that for my FX cpu and gtx 680 I could run it fanless. If it were me Id try to use fewer larger fans instead of more small fans. Or hell, stick a small box fan from walmart in front of it.
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External is not a problem :) rig is in milk crates already, so I'll be adding one to host the WC parts. I doubt I'll be able to run it fanless since I'll be dumping running roughly ~ 1100W of videocards into it. but it would be nice ;)

can you suggest a pump that can handle such a beast?! 4 full cover blocks + a 9x120(Mo-Ra)?

This is why I'm considering it leaving it in a kiddie pool outside, and just getting a pump that can handle the long or "high?" loop. Shaded kiddie pool that holds 40L of water should be able to dump a lot of heat.
 
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OK! next question, what is a good place to look for these parts? preferably one that ships to the great stat... Country of Canada.
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
External is not a problem :) rig is in milk crates already, so I'll be adding one to host the WC parts. I doubt I'll be able to run it fanless since I'll be dumping running roughly ~ 1100W of videocards into it. but it would be nice ;)

can you suggest a pump that can handle such a beast?! 4 full cover blocks + a 9x120(Mo-Ra)?

This is why I'm considering it leaving it in a kiddie pool outside, and just getting a pump that can handle the long or "high?" loop. Shaded kiddie pool that holds 40L of water should be able to dump a lot of heat.
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Might work if you don't care about contaminating the crap out of your loop and replacing distilled water constantly. You will get a lot of evaporation. If your going to go that route you could save yourself a ton of money and just go nuclear water cooling style.

Basically you can make a tower out of PVC, add a couple down angled openings to mount 120mm fans to, and put a showerhead at the top. As the water falls the fans will cool it, evaporating the hot particles.
http://www.overclockers.com/nuclear-tower-water-cooling/

This will cool Way better than a giant radiator, this style is how nuclear power plants efficiently cool the reactors, the problem is keeping the loop topped off, and keeping crap out of your loop. not to mention dealing with humidity indoors etc.

I would certainly go this route before you go the kiddie-pool route though! Basically it will still heat up quickly and only cool through evaporation so the water tower style would have significant advantages and take up less space.

A good pump would be a D5 strong.
 
Justintoxicated said:
Might work if you don't care about contaminating the crap out of your loop and replacing distilled water constantly. You will get a lot of evaporation. If your going to go that route you could save yourself a ton of money and just go nuclear water cooling style.

Basically you can make a tower out of PVC, add a couple down angled openings to mount 120mm fans to, and put a showerhead at the top. As the water falls the fans will cool it, evaporating the hot particles.
http://www.overclockers.com/nuclear-tower-water-cooling/

This will cool Way better than a giant radiator, this style is how nuclear power plants efficiently cool the reactors, the problem is keeping the loop topped off, and keeping crap out of your loop. not to mention dealing with humidity indoors etc.

I would certainly go this route before you go the kiddie-pool route though! Basically it will still heat up quickly and only cool through evaporation so the water tower style would have significant advantages and take up less space.

A good pump would be a D5 strong.
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sounds fun. put a water filter in line, even if just a sediment.
 
Justintoxicated said:
Might work if you don't care about contaminating the crap out of your loop and replacing distilled water constantly. You will get a lot of evaporation. If your going to go that route you could save yourself a ton of money and just go nuclear water cooling style.

Basically you can make a tower out of PVC, add a couple down angled openings to mount 120mm fans to, and put a showerhead at the top. As the water falls the fans will cool it, evaporating the hot particles.
http://www.overclockers.com/nuclear-tower-water-cooling/

This will cool Way better than a giant radiator, this style is how nuclear power plants efficiently cool the reactors, the problem is keeping the loop topped off, and keeping crap out of your loop. not to mention dealing with humidity indoors etc.

I would certainly go this route before you go the kiddie-pool route though! Basically it will still heat up quickly and only cool through evaporation so the water tower style would have significant advantages and take up less space.

A good pump would be a D5 strong.
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How would my method contaminate my loop? I would be submerging the mo-ra into the pool , my loop would still be closed :).

That tower looks pretty cool, if I knew that 3 months ago it would be great for winter. But summer days here are pretty humid
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
How would my method contaminate my loop? I would be submerging the mo-ra into the pool , my loop would still be closed :).

That tower looks pretty cool, if I knew that 3 months ago it would be great for winter. But summer days here are pretty humid
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Oh submerging the closed radiator, I misunderstood your intentions sir :) ... Well I think your water will still heat up quicker than you think and would work less well than using fans after a certain period of time (since this setup will be constantly on). You would also want a pump to circulate the cool water over the radiator fins not just letting it radiate out. Sounds like more trouble than it would be worth. That radiator should be large enough to handle all your cards anyways, just get some stronger fans or double them up if you still find it coming up short.
 
Justintoxicated said:
Oh submerging the closed radiator, I misunderstood your intentions sir :) ... Well I think your water will still heat up quicker than you think and would work less well than using fans after a certain period of time (since this setup will be constantly on). You would also want a pump to circulate the cool water over the radiator fins not just letting it radiate out. Sounds like more trouble than it would be worth. That radiator should be large enough to handle all your cards anyways, just get some stronger fans or double them up if you still find it coming up short.
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Sounds like a better idea, too much hassle with the pool, I'll wait to buy my own house and run some underground pipes! buahhahaa

Now, where can I buy goodies :(? the usual sites I used to use are all gone.
 
I for one actually think this might be ok. You might have to check on the radiator from time to time. In the shade, the pool would be quite cool. I can see this being an advantage over fans. Whatever the case, it's a fresh idea.
 
Selection- frozen cpu. They're not super cheap, but they're not crazy either.

price-check the f/s forum, I've found a lot of good stuff for super cheap there before.

I've bought all my w/c stuff from either microcenter or the f/s forum since I started. (other than the Tt kit I bought a long time ago on clearance from Tt that I've long since upgraded from).
 
+1 frozen CPU , use pcapex or OCN55 discount code for 5% off, should cover your shipping
 
frozen cpu/performance-pcs/sidewinders, plenty of options.

If you're going to ghetto something up, get a car radiator instead, way cheap for much more rad space, and so long as its copper core it won't corrode.
 
DV-X; I'd rather buy a PMP-500 than that eheim

http://koolance.com/pmp-500-pump-g-1-4-bsp

PPCs, FrozenCPU, etc. all carry it, and it's a better overall pump, and if you decouple it properly isn't very noisy (not sure how noisy that eheim pump is, but $ for $, the PMP-500 outperforms it by a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiide margin) 300L/h vs 960 L/h, 4m of head vs 7.5m head

I have the PMP-500 and it's a beast, I converted mine to a standard 3-pin and even though it draws a massive 2.6 amps, my lamptron FC Touch fan controller runs it fine at voltages 7-12
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
How's this one?

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...e=product_info&cPath=59_201&products_id=36773
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Monsta.......:D

Reality said:
DV-X; I'd rather buy a PMP-500 than that eheim

http://koolance.com/pmp-500-pump-g-1-4-bsp

PPCs, FrozenCPU, etc. all carry it, and it's a better overall pump, and if you decouple it properly isn't very noisy (not sure how noisy that eheim pump is, but $ for $, the PMP-500 outperforms it by a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiide margin) 300L/h vs 960 L/h, 4m of head vs 7.5m head

I have the PMP-500 and it's a beast, I converted mine to a standard 3-pin and even though it draws a massive 2.6 amps, my lamptron FC Touch fan controller runs it fine at voltages 7-12
Click to expand...

Looks like a hefty pump there, but alas is made by Koolance.......I just think their stuff is crap......not trying to start some kind of argument. Just my personal experience.:D
 
Reality said:
DV-X; I'd rather buy a PMP-500 than that eheim

http://koolance.com/pmp-500-pump-g-1-4-bsp

PPCs, FrozenCPU, etc. all carry it, and it's a better overall pump, and if you decouple it properly isn't very noisy (not sure how noisy that eheim pump is, but $ for $, the PMP-500 outperforms it by a wiiiiiiiiiiiiiide margin) 300L/h vs 960 L/h, 4m of head vs 7.5m head

I have the PMP-500 and it's a beast, I converted mine to a standard 3-pin and even though it draws a massive 2.6 amps, my lamptron FC Touch fan controller runs it fine at voltages 7-12
Click to expand...

magoo said:
Monsta.......:D



Looks like a hefty pump there, but alas is made by Koolance.......I just think their stuff is crap......not trying to start some kind of argument. Just my personal experience.:D
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Thanks for the input, my first WC build was with an Eheim pump, second was with a swiftech pump, now I'd rather keep everything running off of the power supply, but if I have to go external it's OK too, though price is also something I want to consider :)
 
I only use Heatkiller blocks.
I've had some EKs and they were no where near the quality and functionality of Heatkiller.
I looked at the XSPC 290X blocks, neat lighting, but no thanks.
Koolance, nope.

Honestly, the Heatkiller quality is top notch, functionality is superb.

I have two 290X using an MCP 655, three XSPC 120 x 2 radiators plus a 4770K overclocked and the 290Xs run 45C at full tilt.:D
 
magoo said:
Monsta.......:D



Looks like a hefty pump there, but alas is made by Koolance.......I just think their stuff is crap......not trying to start some kind of argument. Just my personal experience.:D
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martin @ martin's liquid labs reviewed the pmp-500, he gave it a great review

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2012/12/13/koolance-pmp-500-pump/

The PMP-500 does most things outstandingly well. It has a great price, build quality, g1/4 barb compatibility, built in heat-sink, and about double the power of the PMP-450 all while actually getting smaller in size. The hydraulic performance is nothing short of amazing and can push through pretty much any build out there. Really the only not so perfect area of testing was the noise level being a bit higher than other options. I know some of the earlier Laing DDC 1s and 2s have more noise than the 3 series. I have also modified a buzzy DDC1 using a DIYINHK Sanyo based controller which dramatically improved noise, so we have a history of examples to show that there are electrical controller differences and perhaps that is one area that may be improved in future revisions. It is not bad by any means only trailing a few dbA, but in the world of water cooling, silence is a priority for many no matter how small a difference.
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as far as head goes

If I have an equal amount of tubing with downward flow as upwards flow , do I need to worry about it :p?
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
as far as head goes

If I have an equal amount of tubing with downward flow as upwards flow , do I need to worry about it :p?
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you rarely ever need to worry about head pressure in a typical watercooling loop, nearly all available pumps have enough head pressure to not worry about it
 
alright thanks!
I'm going to slowly piece together some parts, I'll throw them up for review when I'm ready!
 
Reality said:
martin @ martin's liquid labs reviewed the pmp-500, he gave it a great review

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2012/12/13/koolance-pmp-500-pump/
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That's nice.
Martin's Liquid Lab is very good.
But....review and then move on......I have use a few Koolance products and found that over time they fail......something that a reviewer doesn't see.

I just don't see Koolance being as reliable as Swiftech as far as small pumps go. Enheim has been making quality products for as long as there has been a need for a pump.

Again, just my 2 cents.
 
I'm sort of leaning towards an MCP-655, but now I'm also considering building a new frame for my rig which I could easily customize for WC, and then an eheim with ac power can still be considered.
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
I'm sort of leaning towards an MCP-655, but now I'm also considering building a new frame for my rig which I could easily customize for WC, and then an eheim with ac power can still be considered.
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MCP655 is a great pump. I have several. Never failed. Oldest one is 4 years old, used everyday, never lost a step.

Sidewinder has the best price on those.:D
Jab-tech has a good price every once in a while, too. make sure you check there as well.
 
Also is it possible to run a second pump for redundancy? I don't think so but worth checking out I guess =],
 
yeah you can run any two pumps back to back in your loop for redundancy, in a "serial" configuration, i'm currently running a PMP-500 > MCP-355
 
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