Always wanted to watercool, but never had the budget. I'm at the point where if I don't do it now, I never will! First PC I built was ~14 years ago, and I am an engineer by trade, so I wouldn't call myself completely helpless. I will be going all-out with PETG tubing, and using a combination of heated bends and compression fittings.
TLDR; GTS 280 XFLOW or Alphacool XT45? D5 or VPP755? Recommendations for pump/res setup in this case as shown? Should I have my PSU fan up or down?
I'm in need of a new PC, so I figured now is a great time to start assembling parts in preparation of the Ryzen launch (unless it sucks, so Kaby Lake or better for me). At this time, it doesn't look like Ryzen will be a complete furnace, with a 95W stock TDP rating. I only have an RX480 right now, but will look to upgrade when Vega comes out. I am still at 1920x1200p, so I don't really need more than an RX480, and I am waiting to buy a monitor unless the ultrawides catch up in Hz, and prices are not so crazy. I don't plan on a multi-GPU setup at this time.
I picked up a Dark Base Pro 900 for my case, as I wanted an inverted motherboard chassis. Since I now have an utterly unnecessary case (with tempered glass), I might as well add to the crazy. For those of you who don't know the case, here it is inverted.
I chose this case because it allows for an inverted motherboard, but also because it has room for 5.25" drives as well as 7 hard drives. I plan to only use 4-5 hard drives ever in here, with 4 being most likely (3 data, 1 parity). I started to model the case in AutoCAD, dimensions are generally accurate if not rounded up slightly. I read through lots of reviews, and it seems like the Nemesis GTS 280 is the best slim radiator that will fit in the front. The case comes with a pair of Silent Wings 3 (SW3) PWM 1000rpm fans up front, which push 59.5 cfm @ 1.08 mm H2O. There is another SW3 fan at the back which is already mounted as an exhaust.
I'd like to use another pair of SW3 (1000rpm DC version) up top in a pull configuration, unless another fan will be significantly better. For the top radiator, I am somewhat stuck between a GTS 280 XFLOW and an Alphacool XT45. Even though my dimension shows 31mm clearance, there should be room above the motherboard still for cables. If needed, I can always drop the tray, however that will force the PSU forward due to the case fan interference. See picture for reference:
For a pump, I know I want either a D5 or the new Alphacool VPP755. I don't care if I have a separate or integrated reservoir. Being an engineer, I have modeled a bunch of pump systems, so I am hesitant to delete the reservoir altogether (cavitation = bad). It looks like the best mounting options for me are on the bottom of the case (2x 240/280 fan mounts), otherwise I could look into fabricating an adapter for the drive cage vertical support piece, which main support at the bottom. I do not want to drill into the motherboard tray at this time I am stuck on what setup would be best for this case/system. Some of the options I am considering are:
Now, onto my questions:
TLDR; GTS 280 XFLOW or Alphacool XT45? D5 or VPP755? Recommendations for pump/res setup in this case as shown? Should I have my PSU fan up or down?
I'm in need of a new PC, so I figured now is a great time to start assembling parts in preparation of the Ryzen launch (unless it sucks, so Kaby Lake or better for me). At this time, it doesn't look like Ryzen will be a complete furnace, with a 95W stock TDP rating. I only have an RX480 right now, but will look to upgrade when Vega comes out. I am still at 1920x1200p, so I don't really need more than an RX480, and I am waiting to buy a monitor unless the ultrawides catch up in Hz, and prices are not so crazy. I don't plan on a multi-GPU setup at this time.
I picked up a Dark Base Pro 900 for my case, as I wanted an inverted motherboard chassis. Since I now have an utterly unnecessary case (with tempered glass), I might as well add to the crazy. For those of you who don't know the case, here it is inverted.
I chose this case because it allows for an inverted motherboard, but also because it has room for 5.25" drives as well as 7 hard drives. I plan to only use 4-5 hard drives ever in here, with 4 being most likely (3 data, 1 parity). I started to model the case in AutoCAD, dimensions are generally accurate if not rounded up slightly. I read through lots of reviews, and it seems like the Nemesis GTS 280 is the best slim radiator that will fit in the front. The case comes with a pair of Silent Wings 3 (SW3) PWM 1000rpm fans up front, which push 59.5 cfm @ 1.08 mm H2O. There is another SW3 fan at the back which is already mounted as an exhaust.
I'd like to use another pair of SW3 (1000rpm DC version) up top in a pull configuration, unless another fan will be significantly better. For the top radiator, I am somewhat stuck between a GTS 280 XFLOW and an Alphacool XT45. Even though my dimension shows 31mm clearance, there should be room above the motherboard still for cables. If needed, I can always drop the tray, however that will force the PSU forward due to the case fan interference. See picture for reference:
For a pump, I know I want either a D5 or the new Alphacool VPP755. I don't care if I have a separate or integrated reservoir. Being an engineer, I have modeled a bunch of pump systems, so I am hesitant to delete the reservoir altogether (cavitation = bad). It looks like the best mounting options for me are on the bottom of the case (2x 240/280 fan mounts), otherwise I could look into fabricating an adapter for the drive cage vertical support piece, which main support at the bottom. I do not want to drill into the motherboard tray at this time I am stuck on what setup would be best for this case/system. Some of the options I am considering are:
- Alphacool Lighttower 150mm
- XSPC - Tank Reservoir
- XSPC - Ion Reservoir
- Heatkiller Tube 100
Now, onto my questions:
- What is the best/cleanest way for me to route my tubing for the pump/reservoir/radiator at the bottom left? Should I route my tubing into the top of the reservoir, or directly from 1 radiator to the next, behind the reservoir?
- Is there any concern for me to have my PSU fan pulling air from inside the case? I figure this helps keep a negative pressure for the system, BUT it now opens up a large area for water to leak into from the CPU/GPU.
- XT45 or GTS 280 XFLOW?
- Pump/Reservoir advice for this case?