First Custom Water Cooling Purchase About To Go Down...Some Questions

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seaneboy

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 19, 2013
Messages
253
Ok, so I am finally closing in on actually starting the build I've been shelling out for the past few weeks...
Here is what I have:
3930k
RIVBE
4x4GB Dominator GT 2133
256GB Evo Pro
Caselabs M8

Parts I need to buy:
Seasonic 1000 Platinum
Monitor(s)
GPUs (2x 290s)

Here is what I'm thinking for the loop:
(2) Black Ice SR-1 360 rads
(1) D5 vario (not sure which?)
Bitspower fittings throughout

Not sure on CPU block, but I was thinking black and red - Bitspower Summit EF? I can't find much info on it so kind of scares me off... maybe a Raystorm instead?

Would the EK full motherboard block be stupidly overkill? Or just overkill? ;c)

I kind of want to go with a bay res - Koolance RP-401X2 perhaps? Would going dual pump for (2) 360s, cpu block, mb block, (2) 290s, be completely unnecessary?

As for fans, Noctua? or Gentle Typhoon? Definitely PWM though, right?

I need to learn the "no mixing metals" rule a bit more.. Or perhaps just need to learn what metals are in what blocks...
 
I'm guessing you're going for looks;so..
Iknownothing.jpg

Well..I do know that Raystorm blocks are good.
Motherboard blocks are unnecessary.
 
Well, I'm only going for looks because the review(s) I've read say that nearly all CPU blocks are the friggen same..?

However, if that has changed, feel free to enlighten me. I hate the idea that out of all the awesome stuff out there, all these rigs come down to is looks... Ok, so no mobo block, that's $100 saved...
 
My suggestion is to keep it simple. You can always add more parts later. I agree, just say no to motherboard blocks. I'm personally not a fan of bay reservoirs, though they do make things easy. Dual pumps are not necessary, though some argue that dual pumps offer some redundancy. I would say that adequate thermal protections are all that is needed should a pump fail. And when we are talking about D5 pumps, reliability is not a concern. I've been using a single DDC for YEARS, and it keeps on trucking. Only thing I did to extend pump life is to add an external heatsink. I'd reckon that most pump failures are caused by overheating.

My suggestion. 1 pump, 1 block, some fittings and some hose. Start easy and add parts as you go. My first setup was rather simple, but its evolved over the years and many of the first parts I purchased are still in use, so its not money being wasted.


And Gentle Typhoons all the way!
 
The Summit EF is a decent block, but there are better performers out there. The Summit has low resistance at the expense of temps... something like the Supremacy will net you a few degrees better temps.

The EK fullcover wb is completely up to you... it's not at all a necessity, but if you enjoy the aesthetics then go for it.

I would go for a tube res if you have room, it's easier to fill and bleed. Make sure it has multiple inlets on top so you can have the actual res as part of the flow of the loop and still bleed it while filling.

I'm partial to the D5 Vario... it's $75 at PPCs and allows for speed adjustment. You will need a pump top with it though, obviously.

As far as mixing metals goes, it's fine to mix copper, nickel, brass and stainless steel in a loop. It is not ok to mix metals like silver and nickel. It's always a good idea to use an anti corrosive additive in your coolant (Mayhems makes a great standalone additive, and all their premixes come with anti corrosives already mixed in.)
 
failwheeldrive said:
The Summit EF is a decent block, but there are better performers out there. The Summit has low resistance at the expense of temps... something like the Supremacy will net you a few degrees better temps.

The EK fullcover wb is completely up to you... it's not at all a necessity, but if you enjoy the aesthetics then go for it.

I would go for a tube res if you have room, it's easier to fill and bleed. Make sure it has multiple inlets on top so you can have the actual res as part of the flow of the loop and still bleed it while filling.

I'm partial to the D5 Vario... it's $75 at PPCs and allows for speed adjustment. You will need a pump top with it though, obviously.

As far as mixing metals goes, it's fine to mix copper, nickel, brass and stainless steel in a loop. It is not ok to mix metals like silver and nickel. It's always a good idea to use an anti corrosive additive in your coolant (Mayhems makes a great standalone additive, and all their premixes come with anti corrosives already mixed in.)
Click to expand...

Thanks failwheel! I'll look all that up.. Yeah, I thought that the bitspower might be a bit on the gimmicky side with the colors, but wanted to confirm because apparently their fittings are top notch (from what I hear). So, in that case, it's Supremacy all the way.

What about my rads? Black Ice a smart choice, or should I go more dense?
 
seaneboy said:
Thanks failwheel! I'll look all that up.. Yeah, I thought that the bitspower might be a bit on the gimmicky side with the colors, but wanted to confirm because apparently their fittings are top notch (from what I hear). So, in that case, it's Supremacy all the way.

What about my rads? Black Ice a smart choice, or should I go more dense?
Click to expand...

Sure thing. Bitspower does make the best fittings out there as far as I'm concerned. I'm also a big fan of their reservoir and pump accessories. And don't get me wrong, their blocks do look nice and have great build quality (I'm running a Summit EF at the moment even though I've got a brand new Supremacy lol) they just don't perform quite as well as some other options like the Supremacy.

Black Ice makes nice rads, but it all depends on what speed fans you plan on running. If you want a quiet rig with low speed fans, I would go with a low fpi rad like an alphacool UT60 or monsta, black ice sr1, or aquacomputer AMS (if you feel like spending big $$$ lol.) If you don't care about noise and just want the highest speed fans and lowest temps available, the black ice gtx series or xspc ax series are good choices.
 
Here's what I use......

not flashy, but works like a dream.

Your radiators are fine.
MCP 655 (D5 variant made by Swiftech) I use the variable speed pump.
XSPC pump top reservoir. Saves space.
Watercool Heatkiller CPU block
I would not cool the MB at all, that R4EB is going to do a fine job by itself.
Watercool blocks for the GPUs as well, also buy the backplates if you have a windowed case.....they look really nice.
Bitspower makes the Cadillac of compression fittings, but I've been looking at the new XSPC compressions, they are pretty cool and have a unique design, plus they are cheaper.

Go to Sidewindercomputers.com for all your watercooling needs. Great guy, great prices.
 
failwheeldrive said:
Sure thing. Bitspower does make the best fittings out there as far as I'm concerned. I'm also a big fan of their reservoir and pump accessories. And don't get me wrong, their blocks do look nice and have great build quality (I'm running a Summit EF at the moment even though I've got a brand new Supremacy lol) they just don't perform quite as well as some other options like the Supremacy.

Black Ice makes nice rads, but it all depends on what speed fans you plan on running. If you want a quiet rig with low speed fans, I would go with a low fpi rad like an alphacool UT60 or monsta, black ice sr1, or aquacomputer AMS (if you feel like spending big $$$ lol.) If you don't care about noise and just want the highest speed fans and lowest temps available, the black ice gtx series or xspc ax series are good choices.
Click to expand...

Yeah, well I'm not much of a headphone guy, although I suppose I could easily be converted - especially considering my "space" isn't exactly 5.1 friendly without encompassing myself in wires...

I am looking for a 24/7 overclock on this build, but I am no benchmarker.. So, perhaps low fpi with low rpm fans is for me then, right? My chip is capable of 5.1gHz, but I'd imagine that's not a smart move for a 24/7...

magoo said:
Here's what I use......

not flashy, but works like a dream.

Your radiators are fine.
MCP 655 (D5 variant made by Swiftech) I use the variable speed pump.
XSPC pump top reservoir. Saves space.
Watercool Heatkiller CPU block
I would not cool the MB at all, that R4EB is going to do a fine job by itself.
Watercool blocks for the GPUs as well, also buy the backplates if you have a windowed case.....they look really nice.
Bitspower makes the Cadillac of compression fittings, but I've been looking at the new XSPC compressions, they are pretty cool and have a unique design, plus they are cheaper.

Go to Sidewindercomputers.com for all your watercooling needs. Great guy, great prices.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response!

Yeah, I've dropped off the mobo blocks... Which will aide in the purchase of a GPU block..

Is 3/8" ID the way to go?
 
Yeah I think a low fpi setup is definitely best for most people. The sr1s are a good choice, as would be UT60s from Alphacool.

Sorry if I missed it, but you'll be adding cards to the loop, right? If so, how many?

Have you decided on fans then? PWM is nice since it allows you to run the power from your psu but still control the fan speed using the motherboard pwm header or a pwm fan controller. Scythe GTs are excellent fans, though I'm partial to Noiseblocker for the bling factor lol.

either 3/8" ID 5/8" OD or 1/2" ID 3/4" OD. Both have thick sidewalls to prevent kinking. Get whichever size matches your rig better (small rig get 3/8", large rig get 1/2".) Pretty much the only flexible tubing I recommend these days is Primochill Advanced LRT. Good stuff.
 
Many people use the larger hose, as stated above.
The theory is the larger the OD the more resistance to collapse in the bend.

Me, I use 3/8 ID by 1/2" OD......mainly because that's how I started and I have a shit-ton of compressions of that variety....too much invested.
Honestly, if the bend looks too tight I just use anti-kink coils....they work very well.

I like Tygon R-3400 solid black tube or Primochill LTR if I'm in the mood for color.

What really interests me lately is rigid acrylic tubing....I'm researching it for a new build, but it may be too expensive once I consider bending tools and new connectors.
 
magoo said:
Many people use the larger hose, as stated above.
The theory is the larger the OD the more resistance to collapse in the bend.

Me, I use 3/8 ID by 1/2" OD......mainly because that's how I started and I have a shit-ton of compressions of that variety....too much invested.
Honestly, if the bend looks too tight I just use anti-kink coils....they work very well.

I like Tygon R-3400 solid black tube or Primochill LTR if I'm in the mood for color.

What really interests me lately is rigid acrylic tubing....I'm researching it for a new build, but it may be too expensive once I consider bending tools and new connectors.
Click to expand...

Acrylic is actually really cheap, assuming you go the bending route instead of using rotary adapters like me lol.

The fittings are generally cheaper than compressions, and acrylic tubing itself can be found for dirt cheap. It can get pricey if you go for the full Monsoon Hardline kit, but you can always substitute that with a cheap heatgun and homemade mandrel (roll of tape ftw lol.)

Using rotaries is insanely expensive though... I'm sure I've spent well over a grand on fittings alone for my latest build.
 
I prefer to use high RPM fans on a 5.25" bay controller. SR-1s are good but pricey, the UT60 are better and less expensive.

Raystorms are nice. I plan to get a copper edition Raystorm and get it gold plated by a machinist that I know :D
 
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