Where to buy water cooling parts?

Pump separate vs combined pump/reservoir is purely personal preference. There are some aftermarket reservoirs and pump tops that can increase performance of the pump, or add additional capabilities like extra ports, but performance increases are generally negligible for the cost and extra capabilities are again purely personal preference.

Barb vs compression is again purely personal preference. You will pay a lot more for compression fittings over barb ones.
 
Right now I am looking at:


XSPC X20 750 Pump Reservoir Combo V4 - Dual 5.25" Bay (New Version with Black Nylon Body and Improved Pump/Electronics)

as the pump and reservoir combo. Might be a silly question, where do most people put their pump and reservoir?
Also, how do I know if the pump is going to do well enough for what I want?
The water issue I will run into are my 270x cards, doesn't look like anyone makes a full coverage block for it.
 
Don't get the 750 pump. That pump is a piece of crap. Get the D5 pump.

You would get it at the same places you get your other watercooling parts.
 
Well the FAQ is always a good source of info, if you haven't read it yet; although some of the info is old, it's mostly solid info.
The Watercooling Sticky has a lot of pictures of other people's loops, and many have a list of what parts they used (not always as specific as what/how many fittings, but sometimes they do). There are many unique, simple, and complex loops to look at there.

Pump/res placement depends greatly on what components you're cooling and the size, shape, and available mounting locations within your case. Generally, you want the res above your pump and before it's inlet in the loop (so it has a good supply of water). Otherwise, it's up to your personal preference. For instance, I don't even have a res (or a T-fitting, for that matter), because my case is small and I didn't want to spend money on one. Consequently, it's a bit more difficult to bleed air out of the lines or drain the system, but it's something I'm willing to put up with.

Edit: Almost forgot--FrozenCPU has a nice little chart for matching fittings to clamps/tubing. Sucks that they went down the drain, but at least their website is good for something. :D
 
FAQ and sticky, I forget to use them for what they're there for sometimes. My apologies, just got bored at work yesterday and was looking at piecing everything together. I have a fairly large case so I think I would be able to mount it inside. Wondering if I can mount it where my CD drive goes because there are 5 bays there and of course I'm only using one.
I will definitely go read up on those threads to catch up to all of this stuff. I think I get the gist of it, realistically I just need to have everything in my hands to be more confident and not just go off of internet pictures. Just something that has always intrigued me but never pulled the trigger on it.
 
I would suggest making a build advice thread. Find a picture of your case and make a mockup of where parts will go. List the parts you want to cool, and watercooling gear you are planning on buying. Then people will comment and help you out with suggestions on things you could change, or something you might be overlooking.

In general watercooling these days is much easier than it used to be. Most manufacturers have standardized on the same threading, so it is easy to change fittings. Back in the day lots of parts didn't even have threaded fittings so you were stuck with whatever was soldered on.
 
I would suggest making a build advice thread. Find a picture of your case and make a mockup of where parts will go. List the parts you want to cool, and watercooling gear you are planning on buying. Then people will comment and help you out with suggestions on things you could change, or something you might be overlooking.

In general watercooling these days is much easier than it used to be. Most manufacturers have standardized on the same threading, so it is easy to change fittings. Back in the day lots of parts didn't even have threaded fittings so you were stuck with whatever was soldered on.

That's a great idea, I didn't think about that. Luckily I just recently made a local friend that may be able to help me out with majority of figuring this out. I just feel I'll end up spending a ton of money on something that is either completely wrong or I didn't even need in the first place. Pretty sure I have the gist of what I want. Was looking on ekwb.com

cpu bloc, 2 vga blocks 7870's that will fit my 270x cards, pump/res combo, 240mm rad, hose, fluid and fittings of course. I don't think i'm missing anything. I know it's in my wishlist on there.
 
Don't support them? Oh crap, someone said something about that earlier in this thread right?
Refresh my memory, I can't find it again.
 
Don't support them? Oh crap, someone said something about that earlier in this thread right?
Refresh my memory, I can't find it again.

Google "EK nickel plating". tldr: their nickel plating had corrosion issues. I've been out of the scene for some time (looking to fix that soon though) so I don't know how/when it was resolved, unfortunately.
 
Google "EK nickel plating". tldr: their nickel plating had corrosion issues. I've been out of the scene for some time (looking to fix that soon though) so I don't know how/when it was resolved, unfortunately.
Oh wow. That's a little uh, out there. Wasn't expecting that. Maybe I was thinking of someone else that someone had said to not supports.
Post is from 2011 says that they were planning on creating a fix blah blah.

What do you think:
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2011/07/28/ek-introduces-electroless-nickel-plating/1
 
Oh wow. That's a little uh, out there. Wasn't expecting that. Maybe I was thinking of someone else that someone had said to not supports.
Post is from 2011 says that they were planning on creating a fix blah blah.

What do you think:
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2011/07/28/ek-introduces-electroless-nickel-plating/1

Electroless nickel plating is high quality, in theory, but it comes down to manufacturing quality as well. Your best bet is to search for some reviews of their recent products (here or on OCN/Xtremestems/etc).
 
Yeah that's true as well. I will do that. It is just hard to find even the 7870 blocks I have come to find out.

Anyone ever used/heard of Kraken G10 before? I didn't realize it was a thing until the idea popped into my head.
How well do these work if anyone has any experience? I would assume I should get small heatsinks for vram and other goodies? Or no?
 
The issue with EK, at least for me, was not the QC snafu. That can happen to anyone.

The issue was they lied about it, threatened people, and never made it right with the distributors or customers that got fucked on the deal.

Sleazy outfit, would not do business with again.
 
I've read that the G10 is decent--there are reviews around. Would be a good solution if you don't have a custom loop and already have an AIO that's compatible (there's also a bracket made by corsair, for their coolers, since they're a different shape). Only issue would be if you have two GPUs, you'll need two AIOs or one that's expandable and a GPU block+fittings for the other card...at that point you'd almost spend as much making a custom loop if you didn't have the AIOs already on hand (unless you can find them from a reputable seller used). Also have to consider mounting locations for the two radiators, if you're doing two cards.
 
Basically what jojo69 said. It's not the fact that they had problems that makes me not want to support them (it is largely fixed now, and their non-nickel plated products don't have problems), it's how they handled it. There are plenty of other companies to choose from that have better support. The only reason EK has so much publicity is because they sponsor a lot of builds.
 
Oh, I didn't even think about that aspect of it. Yeah, that's more messed up than it was looking like. I definitely now know that I will not go with them as far as blocks go. Thank you guys for the extra info.

I'm still debating the G10 because altogether it would cost me about $170 brand new for the setup I would want. But, I need to go back to my case to find mounting points so I know I can do it.
 
Not to derail but did anyone see FrozenCPUs facebook page?

"Something Wicked This Way Comes...................."

All the old weird stuff that had been posted by Mark has been removed. No more threats against the cops who are "harassing" him. Just figured I'd bring this up since we are talking about stores to buy watercooling parts.

Perhaps they're reopening? Or maybe his cocaine supplier just gave him some extra rat poison.
 
Not to derail but did anyone see FrozenCPUs facebook page?

"Something Wicked This Way Comes...................."

All the old weird stuff that had been posted by Mark has been removed. No more threats against the cops who are "harassing" him. Just figured I'd bring this up since we are talking about stores to buy watercooling parts.

Perhaps they're reopening? Or maybe his cocaine supplier just gave him some extra rat poison.

Uh wow, that is kind of strange. No I hadn't seen it though because I had read something about them on here and decided to not even worry about it.
There seems to be some great stories about the water cooling world.
 
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