Rigid (PETG) tubing Loop plan help w/ pics

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Dutt1113

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 30, 2005
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I've been doing water cooling for several years now with soft tubing and will be switching to PETG rigid tubing once my new video cards and gpu blocks come in. I'm trying to plan the loop route and have come up with a couple possible ideas. Let me know what you think and please feel free to let me know if there is a better way. I'll include the stock pic if someone would like to draw out any better layouts. Not sure of any good creative loops that would be easy to do.
Thanks in advance


idea 1
plan%201_zpsc9vuvkaf.jpg



idea 2
plan%202_zpsyjpnwuej.jpg



stock pic
small1_zps2vicrdbl.jpg
 
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I'd aim for idea 1, simpler bends since you won't have to go over the ram and then back in to hit the top of the res.
 
I'd say option one. Make sure you check the clearances so you can do SOME work without needing to remove all the tubing. (like going over the top of the RAM or tight-fitting power connectors)
 
IjIf7gP.jpg


That is my similar build.

A couple notes, you probably want the CPU to go into the far top radiator port, just for simplicity sake. Also the long run on the left worked out to make everything else pretty clean, but it does make changing the video cards harder ;)
 
Erasmus354 said:
IjIf7gP.jpg


That is my similar build.

A couple notes, you probably want the CPU to go into the far top radiator port, just for simplicity sake. Also the long run on the left worked out to make everything else pretty clean, but it does make changing the video cards harder ;)
Click to expand...

Your setup looks good. Also, your suggestion to go from cpu to the the far top port may line up perfect with a right angle adapter. Then I can go straight over from the near most top port over to the reservoir. That will save having to possibly go across the memory or the tight space above the motherboard. I will do similar to yours except going into the GPU first instead of the long run on the left and also your suggestion. I think that will be the simplest way like you said.
 
I dunno, rigid tubing looks like waxed sex, but to me at least, looks run a distant third as far as priorities go when it comes to PC hardware. Function/performance all trump looks where my rig is concerned. When I start to degrade/sacrifice performance for looks, that's when I do a self re-assessment/redo. But, that's just me.
I can appreciate that other folks are willing to bump up looks in their priority scheme, but I just can't bring myself to do the same. And yes, I realize that the performance degradation is minimal, but it's still there.... guess I'm just anal that way. :D
 
There is no performance penalty from rigid tubing.... it will have the same performance as any 3/8 ID tubing. In fact it is probably better because the fittings don't restrict the flow further like they do for soft tubing fittings.

The only penalty you pay is a convenience penalty.
 
Erasmus354 said:
There is no performance penalty from rigid tubing.... it will have the same performance as any 3/8 ID tubing. In fact it is probably better because the fittings don't restrict the flow further like they do for soft tubing fittings.

The only penalty you pay is a convenience penalty.
Click to expand...

Errr, I believe the physics of fluid dynamics would tend to disagree with you. It's called head loss. (Ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darcy–Weisbach_equation). The 90 degree bends that are typically used in conjunction with rigid tubing layouts are more restrictive to coolant flow than the gradual bends used with soft tubing. It's not massive, but it is there and it does adds up if you have a large loop involving multiple cards/radiators and lots of 90 degree bends/fittings, every 90 bend is roughly equavelent to the flow friction introduced by adding an additional foot and a half of extra pipe/tubing to your loop. Not a big deal in a small, simple loop, but it does add up in more complex layouts.
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
Errr, I believe the physics of fluid dynamics would tend to disagree with you. It's called head loss. (Ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darcy–Weisbach_equation). The 90 degree bends that are typically used in conjunction with rigid tubing layouts are more restrictive to coolant flow than the gradual bends used with soft tubing. It's not massive, but it is there and it does adds up if you have a large loop involving multiple cards/radiators and lots of 90 degree bends/fittings, every 90 bend is roughly equavelent to the flow friction introduced by adding an additional foot and a half of extra pipe/tubing to your loop. Not a big deal in a small, simple loop, but it does add up in more complex layouts.
Click to expand...

The bends on hard tubing are much more gradual than a 90 degree fitting, and as such do not have nearly the impact on flow rates.
 
Erasmus354 said:
The bends on hard tubing are much more gradual than a 90 degree fitting, and as such do not have nearly the impact on flow rates.
Click to expand...

It depends on the angle and flow rate. You can end up with a significant impact. Also remember that the outside bend is much more gradual than the inside bend.

There is some loss and considering the additional work ridged tubing takes, special fittings, special tubing and having to take things off and not just apart I just don't see why people do it. It's a fad like RGB's.

Supercharged_Z06 said:
Errr, I believe the physics of fluid dynamics would tend to disagree with you. It's called head loss. (Ref: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darcy–Weisbach_equation). The 90 degree bends that are typically used in conjunction with rigid tubing layouts are more restrictive to coolant flow than the gradual bends used with soft tubing. It's not massive, but it is there and it does adds up if you have a large loop involving multiple cards/radiators and lots of 90 degree bends/fittings, every 90 bend is roughly equavelent to the flow friction introduced by adding an additional foot and a half of extra pipe/tubing to your loop. Not a big deal in a small, simple loop, but it does add up in more complex layouts.
Click to expand...

Yep

Performance over looks IMO. Though it may be aesthetically pleasing to some, it does have a performance impact. Just like how windowed cases transmit more sound than non windowed cases and tempered glass shatters where steel / aluminum, err, doesn't.
 
There is a sticky in this forum from 10 years ago testing tubing sizes impact on temperatures. 5 years ago Martin's Liquid Lab did testing of fittings, elbows, tubing etc... It basically all shows that there is no real impact to performance from something as small as a slight bend in your tubing..... the MLL testing showed that even a straight up elbow fitting didn't lower temperatures (it did lower flow).

So while theoretically there is a drop in flow rate, practically there is no discernible drop in performance. As I already said this thread, hardline tubing is a PITA to work with and I would not do it again, but it has nothing to do with performance.
 
Like I said earlier, there is an impact, but it's not a large one for most setups... for more elaborate loops running multiple radiators and GPUs, it does put more of a load/strain on your pump... so over time it will wear your pump out faster. And if your flow rate due to resistance is impacted heavily enough, it will effect cooling performance. Martin's testing most likely didn't take into account a more elaborate loop - for a simple loop, I'd agree it's pretty much a wash. I still opt to forego rigid tubing primarily because of this... my loop is a bit more elaborate. The other reasons being cost and the hassle involved, especially since I go through upgrades every couple of years.
 
Supercharged_Z06 said:
Like I said earlier, there is an impact, but it's not a large one for most setups... for more elaborate loops running multiple radiators and GPUs, it does put more of a load/strain on your pump... so over time it will wear your pump out faster. And if your flow rate due to resistance is impacted heavily enough, it will effect cooling performance. Martin's testing most likely didn't take into account a more elaborate loop - for a simple loop, I'd agree it's pretty much a wash. I still opt to forego rigid tubing primarily because of this... my loop is a bit more elaborate. The other reasons being cost and the hassle involved, especially since I go through upgrades every couple of years.
Click to expand...


It is the opposite actually. For a larger loop the tubing plays a smaller proportion of the overall restriction. More blocks will always be much more restrictive than additional tubing.
 
Erasmus354 said:
It is the opposite actually. For a larger loop the tubing plays a smaller proportion of the overall restriction. More blocks will always be much more restrictive than additional tubing.
Click to expand...

You're mixing things up to confuse the issue. Yes, blocks are hella more restrictive and no one is arguing that. I wasn't comparing/contrasting 90 bends with frickin blocks. My point being simply that with a larger loop involving a dozen or more connections and a static set of components, if 10 of those connections involve 90 bends with rigid tubing vs using soft tubing to avoid them altogether, there IS going to be a difference in flow resistance that adds up. But 3 or 4 90 degree bends, not so much.
 
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