Suggestions for Dual Loop setup

I have a question about the configuration of a dual loop water cooling setup I have planned. I am going to be watercooling my CPU and video cards with a separate loop for each component. I originally planned on keeping them completely separate with a pump/rad/reservoir for each. However now I am wondering if a shared reservoir would be a better solution. I would keep both loops separate except for a shared reservoir with 2 inputs and 2 outputs. This would cut down on the space required in my case and allow one loop to help cool down the water in another if needed. Does a shared reservoir sound like a good idea or should I just keep them completely separate? How would a shared reservoir effect flow rates?

Oh boy. This thread has Top Nurse written all over it. I'm sure she'll be along any minute to talk to you about those uber H20 parts.

What thread doesn't have Top Nurse written all over it

There's no problem sharing the res, as a matter of fact, there are sever that are made to be shared. Swiftech and Typhoon come to mind first. It won't hurt your flow rates.

I've seen the Swiftech model but it only seems to have a single outlet and 2 inlets. I believe I would be needing one with 2 outlets and 2 inlets unless I use a Y-splitter, which I am trying to avoid.

I'm not a big fan of "Y" connectors either. but the option is there. You could just make your own, super easy to do...............

I wound NOT recomend using only one res. unless it is very large ( like 80 + square inches and as square as possable )
using only one res will not allow the air to surfice , there would be a crazy amount of flow inside the thing and you would just end up with air being traped in the system and it would damage the pumps and lower the over all flow and the cooling would not be as efective.

I know , because i attempted to do it and ended up with a white foam flowing in the tubes.


front of my case
Inside the case
2 pumps

Thanks for the input eumskickin. I wonder if your own experience with this type of setup is a normal occurance or something to do with the way your setup in particular was configured.

aug1516 said:

I have a question about the configuration of a dual loop water cooling setup I have planned. I am going to be watercooling my CPU and video cards with a separate loop for each component. I originally planned on keeping them completely separate with a pump/rad/reservoir for each. However now I am wondering if a shared reservoir would be a better solution. I would keep both loops separate except for a shared reservoir with 2 inputs and 2 outputs. This would cut down on the space required in my case and allow one loop to help cool down the water in another if needed. Does a shared reservoir sound like a good idea or should I just keep them completely separate? How would a shared reservoir effect flow rates?

Click to expand...

Well my personal opinion is that if you are going to do separate loops you will be a lot better off in life if you do separate reservoirs as well. Simply if you share a reservoir the water in your reservoir is going to stabilize at an equilibrium temperature that is the average of the two temps thus obliviating the advantages of a dual loop system. IOW the hotter system is going to raise the temp of the cooler system. By separating the reservoirs you will have two completely independent systems that will not interact with each other. In my current project Feeding Frenzy I am building a three (3) loop system. All three loops have independent pumps, reservoirs, and radiators. The system is all tied together though a common controller system called an Aquaero.

The shared reservoir concept will not have any affect on flow per se as that is controlled by the pump, tubing size, and waterblocks. As others have indicated the big problem is that you may have too much flow into the reservoir which may cause bubbles to be generated.

LOL..........didn't hurt the performance or add air into my system with a single res, and I was using dual D4 pumps at the time with a single 40 oz home made rez, It's all in how you set it up............
And it's really kind of hard for one to heat the water up more than the other when the water is just above ambient.........................

But I ended up combining the loops again due to the temps not being any lower than when they were in seperate loops. My video card idles at 26c with full load at 32c and that's with my OC of 450/550 (X800XL's don't OC well........ ) and the CPU idles at 28c with a full load of 36c with a OC of 310x9............... If everything is setup correctly, a single loop is all you need

Talonz said:

What thread doesn't have Top Nurse written all over it

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True, but at least she's posting good stuff. TN has info on stuff I don't see elsewhere, and ALL knowledge is good.

what I suggest for what you are looking for..


Best performance, price, noise, space set-up

typhon bay res (2-out) -->

--> DDC > Storm > rad --> [3/8" tubing]

--> DDC > Maze4 GPU (or your preference) > rad --> [3/8" tubing]

--> (2-in) back into typhon bay res.

OR.

Innovatek Fass-o-matic (2-out)

--> DDC (or D5) > Storm > rad --> [1/2" or 3/8' tubing]

--> eheim 1046 (or 1048) > Innovatek/Aquacomputer GPU block > rad --> [3/8" or 8/6mm tubing]

--> (2-in) back into Fass-o-matic and spare port on fass to use a 3/8" DD dillport to aid filling.

No doubt that TN will come along and suggest all AC parts for the setup.

OR.

a totally 8/6mm (or 10/8mm) setup consisting of 1 x 1048 and 1 x 1046/8 pump and a Nexxos XP and GPU block of choice with either an innovatek fass-o-matic or an Aquatube.

Now all of these setups I have personally used in my rigs... and they all worked without a hitch... no problems at all.

My current main rig will now run dual loops still... but I have opted for a dual reservoir approach, not for performance reasons as in my experience with each of these setups and a separates setup.. the temperature difference is minimal at best.

Loop 1: storm, DDC, thermotube res, thermochill he120.2 rad, 3/8" tygon

loop 2: AC 6600 block, 2 x ramplex ram blocks, twinplex nb block, Aquadrive double HDD water block, Aquastream pump (1046), Evo 360 radiator and an Aquatube

Could've plumbed them up using one larger res instead of two smaller ones, but with the storm block, it's better not to use UV dye as it may eventually clog up the jets and thus reduce performance... so the CPU remains on it's own 'performance' orientated loop and the rest are plumbed up to 'look good'.

Top Nurse said:

Well my personal opinion is that if you are going to do separate loops you will be a lot better off in life if you do separate reservoirs as well. Simply if you share a reservoir the water in your reservoir is going to stabilize at an equilibrium temperature that is the average of the two temps thus obliviating the advantages of a dual loop system. IOW the hotter system is going to raise the temp of the cooler system.

Click to expand...

...Wait, does the water effectively raise to the temperature of the hottest element or something? In other words, relative to what you are saying, won't the "cooler system" effectively lower the temperature of the "hotter system" a tiny amount in effect?

Isn't the net energy transferrence the same??....or am I just tired?...heh.

Xylo said:

...Wait, does the water effectively raise to the temperature of the hottest element or something? In other words, relative to what you are saying, won't the "cooler system" effectively lower the temperature of the "hotter system" a tiny amount in effect?

Isn't the net energy transferrence the same??....or am I just tired?...heh.

Click to expand...

Yes that is correct, what you get is an equilibrium temperature. If you want warm water how do you get it? You mix hot water with cold water right? So when you use a common reservoir you will sooner or later develop an equilibrium temp that leaves the reservoir and goes out to the individual cooling circuits. The water returning may come back at different temps due to differences in cooling ability, but it will then mix and the process will repeat itself.

Bio-Hazard said:

LOL..........didn't hurt the performance or add air into my system with a single res, and I was using dual D4 pumps at the time with a single 40 oz home made rez, It's all in how you set it up.
And it's really kind of hard for one to heat the water up more than the other when the water is just above ambient.

But I ended up combining the loops again due to the temps not being any lower than when they were in seperate loops. My video card idles at 26c with full load at 32c and that's with my OC of 450/550 (X800XL's don't OC well) and the CPU idles at 28c with a full load of 36c with a OC of 310x9.... If everything is setup correctly, a single loop is all you need

Click to expand...

Well your example is kind of extreme don't you think? After all if I used my swimming pool as a reservoir for a fresh water fish tank I wouldn't have much to worry about in the way of temperature differentials either. How many people are running around with cases big enough to put in a 40 oz reservoir? And as I recall don't you have two gigantic heater cores in their as well as the two D4 pumps?

J-Pepper said:

No doubt that TN will come along and suggest all AC parts for the setup.

Click to expand...

Never fear, Top Nurse is here or near

Actually I have been kind of busy lately building Feeding Frenzy so I don't have a lot of time to be hanging around giving out all kinds of AC advice. If the OP wants a AC setup then let me know and I will recommend something appropriate. Nothing wrong with mixing and matching parts, just depends on what your after. I look for performance, looks, and high technology stuff. I find most of it with Aqua Computer or Innovatek parts, but you may be different.

Top Nurse said:

Well your example is kind of extreme don't you think? After all if I used my swimming pool as a reservoir for a fresh water fish tank I wouldn't have much to worry about in the way of temperature differentials either. How many people are running around with cases big enough to put in a 40 oz reservoir? And as I recall don't you have two gigantic heater cores in their as well as the two D4 pumps?

Click to expand...

Yup................. It's what I call MAX performance.................... I wheeled and dealed for a long time to get my hands on the components for this setup.

As a matter of fact, with all the water in the system I had to make a wood base for the case to keep it from sagging in the middle........Thank god that there are wheels on the thing..................

Top Nurse said:

Yes that is correct, what you get is an equilibrium temperature. If you want warm water how do you get it? You mix hot water with cold water right? So when you use a common reservoir you will sooner or later develop an equilibrium temp that leaves the reservoir and goes out to the individual cooling circuits. The water returning may come back at different temps due to differences in cooling ability, but it will then mix and the process will repeat itself.

Click to expand...

In my particular case this would actually work out well because I think my video card setup may actually have extra cooling capability that would just be wasted. If that extra cooling could lower temps for the CPU loop that would be excellent. I think I may try the shared reservoir idea out first and see what problems I have. If it doesn't work out all I have to do is add an additional reservoir. No hurt in trying I suppose.

aug1516 said:

In my particular case this would actually work out well because I think my video card setup may actually have extra cooling capability that would just be wasted. If that extra cooling could lower temps for the CPU loop that would be excellent. I think I may try the shared reservoir idea out first and see what problems I have. If it doesn't work out all I have to do is add an additional reservoir. No hurt in trying I suppose.

Click to expand...

That's the best way to find out what works best for your system, test, test and retest till you're happy with the setup configuration and performance........... As long as you're happy with it, too hell with what others think about it.............

Top Nurse said:

Yes that is correct, what you get is an equilibrium temperature. If you want warm water how do you get it? You mix hot water with cold water right? So when you use a common reservoir you will sooner or later develop an equilibrium temp that leaves the reservoir and goes out to the individual cooling circuits. The water returning may come back at different temps due to differences in cooling ability, but it will then mix and the process will repeat itself.

Click to expand...

So, I guess I'm missing the point then of making sure to isolate difference components?...yes, one loop would run cooler than another, but that's most likely due to a *lot* of things, like what you are trying to cool in particular...

Ok, now I'm tired, and have been drinking, so probably making even less sense now...