Beginner water cooler questions.

[Mark Stilwell]

Hello,
Just starting to think about doing a custom water cooling loop. The case i would be using is a Phanteks Enthoo Evolv atx. Im not sure where to start in the process of buying parts and planning it out, so im looking for asvice on where to atart and what to look for.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I would recommend going on youtube and watching a bunch of jayz2cents videos. He'squite the geek, but who on here isn't, and he has been kind enough to take the time to show how everything goes together in a few of his videos.

This one is pretty good, but click around on his others too. This one is called "how to blow your budget" but he also has a more budget friendly guide. It helps to be aware of all of it, so you can make your own decisions.


Once you understand how it all goes together and what you need, then you can start your part selection.


Personally I just decided to fit all the radiator capacity I could in my case, which winds up being one 3x140mm radiator 45mm thick and one 2x140mm radiator 80mm thick.


Then I read some reviews for what blocks were good. EK gets good reviews for both their Supremacy EVO CPU block and their full cover GPU blocks, so I went with them.


Everyone seems to think PrimoChill Primoflex LRT is decent tubing, so I went with that. The writeup in the sticky in this forum suggests that there isn’t much of a performance difference above 3/8” ID tubing, so I went with a 3/8” inner, ½” outer. Some have suggested a 5/8” outer would have been better to avoid kinking, but we’ll see how it goes. I found myself a pump/reservoir combo. D5 pumps seem popular so I decided to go with one of those.


I looked at some videos comparing barb fittings to compression fittings and decided I really wanted compression fittings, so I ordered a bunch from XSPC. (you need two per component, so since I have two radiators, two water blocks and a pump/res combo I needed at least 10 fittings.) Remember that barb fittings have to match only the ID of your tubes, whereas compression fittings need to match both he ID and OD of your tubes. With barb fittings you’ll want a zip tie, or something else to secure the tubing onto the barbs, just to make sure a hose doesn’t pop. With compression fittings this is not needed.


Then I got some bleed/fill ports and various swivels and bends.


End result, I blew my budget completely out of the water, most of it on small parts like fittings, bends, and ports, not the big parts. The little parts add up quickly, so be careful



So essentially, watch some of the tutorials, googles some reviews, choose some components, and then I'd recommend posting what you've come up with for the forums to tear apart

As far as that Phanteks Enthoo Evolv case goes, I believe there are two others on the [H] who have custom WC loops in those, and as I recall they turned out really nice. Scan through the build thread, and you might get some ideas of what fits nicely in it.

 

[Mark Stilwell]

So essentially, watch some of the tutorials, googles some reviews, choose some components, and then I'd recommend posting what you've come up with for the forums to tear apart

As far as that Phanteks Enthoo Evolv case goes, I believe there are two others on the [H] who have custom WC loops in those, and as I recall they turned out really nice. Scan through the build thread, and you might get some ideas of what fits nicely in it.

Awesome! Thanks, that really helps

 

[Nobu]

It's always nice to have a couple 45° and one or two 90° fittings (depending on how you end up needing to route tubes between components).
If you're on a budget, barbs work great as long as they're the right size. Definitely should have something to hold the hose on and prevent leaks, though--I hear zipties work, worm gear hose clamps are another solution (just make sure they're lined so you don't damage your hose and don't overtighten), I'm using a spring clamps. Here's amazon's clamp category, use the menu on the left to choose the type and go to town, you can buy them locally if you find one you like but don't care for amazon.

Good luck!

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I would recommend going on youtube and watching a bunch of jayz2cents videos. He's kind of a tool, but what ebay personality isn't, and he has been kind enough to take the time to show how everything goes together in a few of his videos.

Actually, I take the "tool" part back. Replace "tool" with "geek" (aren't we all?). It had been a while since I watched his videos, and upon review I felt I had to take that one back

 

[DWolvin]

Another way to start is just getting a decent kit- it will have everything you need to start, but make sure it will fit in your case... I grabbed an EK 240 (somethingorother) kit back when I started, and am still using that pump and CPU block. Just upgraded a part at a time as needed / wanted. That way I don't notice I have about three fiddy in parts since it was spread over years...

But a watercooled system is so nice and quiet- I have no rotating storage, and can actually hear one of my SSD's with the case open.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I can actually hear one of my SSD's with the case open.

Really? What does it sound like? Coil whine?

 

[DWolvin]

Yea, basically. I can hear writing, but not reading. I friend was sure I was wrong until he came over, and the look on his face was priceless....

It's an old crucial M4, nothing important on it so I am just going to use it until it dies. 3~ish years so far.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

It's an old crucial M4, nothing important on it so I am just going to use it until it dies. 3~ish years so far.

That's certainly better than my old OCZ drives, all of which failed within 2 years. Except the last one I got as a warranty replacement for my Vertex 4. I think it was a Vector. it's actually still going, albeit in a low risk capacity as a backed up boot drive for one of my HTPC's, because I don't trust it.

it is possible that after the Toshiba acquisition they fixed their shit though. Who knows.

These days I only trust Samsung and Intel SSD's. I've learned a lot since my first one in 2010

 

[VanGoghComplex]

+1 on JayzTwoCents. Between that lovable dork and this forum, I built my custom loop with confidence.

Edit: nice choice on the case. You'll love it. Here's mine!