I'm in need of some water cooling radiator planning help.
I'm considering getting a BH8 case and setting up a water cooled "workstation" and gaming PC with a custom loop. I rather like the Bullet series layout, but the smaller cases just don't have enough radiator space to satisfy my desired build, the BH8 should. I'm currently running a OC 4770k on a mini-itx MB and 1080ti, all in a Fractal Node 304. Typically I want to either build small, air cooled systems or relatively compact, high-performance water cooled systems. What has me excited about water cooling my next build is the idea of ThreadRipper 1950X or Core-X holding high all core turbos.
I've never bothered with SLI/Crossfire. I prefer to run one high-end GPU instead. However, I want to consider a dual GPU loop setup just in case VR heads down the split-eye rendering path. Also, the BH8 has plenty of slots and I doubt I'd use them all.
I'm not interested in water cooling everything just because. CPU and one or two GPUs and that's good enough. RAM, SSD, VRMs, etc. just isn't necessary IMHO. The solid cross MB airflow of the Bullet series should really work well with air cooling the remaining parts.. I'd consider a mono block if it fit into my plans, but it's not a requirement. I have no need for large storage as I have a dedicated 32TB NAS. I intended to run high performance SSDs in PCIe slots, not 2.5". Also, for this project I'm not cost sensitive...I'm quality focused. I do hate noise though.
System Use Cases (ordered):
1. 4k gaming and VR
2. Limited engineering simulations/analysis.
3. Occasional video/photo editing, but it's just for fun and very bursty. I've made do with a 4770k, but I hit go and find something else to do...CPUs have been so boring for too long!
4. Several VMs for various projects.
Goals (not prioritized...seeking balance across all goals):
1. Water cool to allow for high all core turbo on 10-18c CPU. Est. ~300W TDP OC
2. Water cool to allow for one or two high-end GPUs (Titan/Ti). Est. 300-600W TDP OC.
3. Minimize noise to the extent possible. Ideally, nothing louder than a Noctua 1200-1500RPM 140/120mm fan.
Illustrative Build:
- ThreadRipper 1950x / 7900x - water cooled
- One or two Titan/108Ti - water cooled
- Intel 900P PCIe SSD - air cooled (stripping is possible, but unlikely)
- 10GbE PCIe or MB integrated - air cooled (would consider 25GbE if switches ever made available at a reasonable cost)
- 64-128GB RAM - air cooled
Now to the questions...
The BH8 has the option to have dual 140.2 (280mm) top mounted radiators. Given the potential TDP of the desired build and my dislike of noise, it seems obvious that I should run dual top radiators. However, the standard clearance for the radiator above the GPUs is 55mm. That's basically a 25mm fan and a slim 30mm radiator. After some research, HardwareLabs Nemesis 280 GTS seems like an ideal slim, low-noise radiator. According to ExtremeRigs, the 280 GTS can handle ~250W@1300RPM and 10C delta. That's right in my moderate noise window and 500W for the pair; peak is ~650W with faster fans. http://www.xtremerigs.net/2016/02/15/hardware-labs-nemesis-280gts-radiator-review/5/
The catch with the GTS is it's very restrictive. That can be worked around with dual pumps or using the single pass x-flow versions.
However, that barely handles the CPU OC and a single OC GPU. Radiator in air temp should never exceed 25C. Dual OC GPUs are out of the question unless...
1. I let delta temps rise. 15C yields 750W nominal and ~1000W peak. Rather tight given my goals.
2. I add additional radiators, but the BH8 is limited in location. I could *maybe* add a front slim radiator (140.2), but it will make the two top mounted radiators less efficient since they'll see warmer than 25C air. May provide no benefit.
3. I leverage the bottom mounted 120.2 radiator and/or the dual 80mm fan spots for a mini 160 GTX radiator.
4. I replace the CPU side, top mounted slim radiator with a thicker GTX/GTR core and push/pull fans.
5. Some combination.
Thoughts? What's do you think is the optimal configuration to water cool 500-1000W in the BH8? 500W or less and dual Nemesis 280 GTS should work just fine, but I want to plan for expansion capacity.
I'm considering getting a BH8 case and setting up a water cooled "workstation" and gaming PC with a custom loop. I rather like the Bullet series layout, but the smaller cases just don't have enough radiator space to satisfy my desired build, the BH8 should. I'm currently running a OC 4770k on a mini-itx MB and 1080ti, all in a Fractal Node 304. Typically I want to either build small, air cooled systems or relatively compact, high-performance water cooled systems. What has me excited about water cooling my next build is the idea of ThreadRipper 1950X or Core-X holding high all core turbos.
I've never bothered with SLI/Crossfire. I prefer to run one high-end GPU instead. However, I want to consider a dual GPU loop setup just in case VR heads down the split-eye rendering path. Also, the BH8 has plenty of slots and I doubt I'd use them all.
I'm not interested in water cooling everything just because. CPU and one or two GPUs and that's good enough. RAM, SSD, VRMs, etc. just isn't necessary IMHO. The solid cross MB airflow of the Bullet series should really work well with air cooling the remaining parts.. I'd consider a mono block if it fit into my plans, but it's not a requirement. I have no need for large storage as I have a dedicated 32TB NAS. I intended to run high performance SSDs in PCIe slots, not 2.5". Also, for this project I'm not cost sensitive...I'm quality focused. I do hate noise though.
System Use Cases (ordered):
1. 4k gaming and VR
2. Limited engineering simulations/analysis.
3. Occasional video/photo editing, but it's just for fun and very bursty. I've made do with a 4770k, but I hit go and find something else to do...CPUs have been so boring for too long!
4. Several VMs for various projects.
Goals (not prioritized...seeking balance across all goals):
1. Water cool to allow for high all core turbo on 10-18c CPU. Est. ~300W TDP OC
2. Water cool to allow for one or two high-end GPUs (Titan/Ti). Est. 300-600W TDP OC.
3. Minimize noise to the extent possible. Ideally, nothing louder than a Noctua 1200-1500RPM 140/120mm fan.
Illustrative Build:
- ThreadRipper 1950x / 7900x - water cooled
- One or two Titan/108Ti - water cooled
- Intel 900P PCIe SSD - air cooled (stripping is possible, but unlikely)
- 10GbE PCIe or MB integrated - air cooled (would consider 25GbE if switches ever made available at a reasonable cost)
- 64-128GB RAM - air cooled
Now to the questions...
The BH8 has the option to have dual 140.2 (280mm) top mounted radiators. Given the potential TDP of the desired build and my dislike of noise, it seems obvious that I should run dual top radiators. However, the standard clearance for the radiator above the GPUs is 55mm. That's basically a 25mm fan and a slim 30mm radiator. After some research, HardwareLabs Nemesis 280 GTS seems like an ideal slim, low-noise radiator. According to ExtremeRigs, the 280 GTS can handle ~250W@1300RPM and 10C delta. That's right in my moderate noise window and 500W for the pair; peak is ~650W with faster fans. http://www.xtremerigs.net/2016/02/15/hardware-labs-nemesis-280gts-radiator-review/5/
The catch with the GTS is it's very restrictive. That can be worked around with dual pumps or using the single pass x-flow versions.
However, that barely handles the CPU OC and a single OC GPU. Radiator in air temp should never exceed 25C. Dual OC GPUs are out of the question unless...
1. I let delta temps rise. 15C yields 750W nominal and ~1000W peak. Rather tight given my goals.
2. I add additional radiators, but the BH8 is limited in location. I could *maybe* add a front slim radiator (140.2), but it will make the two top mounted radiators less efficient since they'll see warmer than 25C air. May provide no benefit.
3. I leverage the bottom mounted 120.2 radiator and/or the dual 80mm fan spots for a mini 160 GTX radiator.
4. I replace the CPU side, top mounted slim radiator with a thicker GTX/GTR core and push/pull fans.
5. Some combination.
Thoughts? What's do you think is the optimal configuration to water cool 500-1000W in the BH8? 500W or less and dual Nemesis 280 GTS should work just fine, but I want to plan for expansion capacity.