First Watercooled Build - Feedback Wanted

E

Epos7

Gawd
Joined
Aug 31, 2015
Messages
892
I've been running on air happily for a while now, but I'm toying with the idea of building a custom loop. I think it would be a fun project, but my hope is it will be quieter than my air-cooled setup while keeping my GPU significantly cooler and letting me wring a little more performance out of it.

My build is in an NCASE, so space is at a premium. I'd like to go D5 pump over DDC due to less noise and better reliability, but that means I'll have to mount the pump/reservoir on the back of the case. Not a huge deal for me as long as it's nice and secure and could survive an occasional accidental bump.

Here's the parts list I've come up with so far:

Pump/res: Optimus D5 Absolute 5.75"
CPU block: Optimus Foundation
GPU Block: Heatkiller IV (this is one of the blocks known to fit in NCASE m1)
GPU Backplate: Heatkiller IV (would any manufacturer work?)
Side rad: Black Ice Nemesis GTS 240mm
Side fans: Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM
Bottom rad: XSPC TX240 Ultrathin Radiator
Bottom fans: NF-A12x15 PWM

I'm limited by vertical space under my graphics card, so a thin radiator and 15mm fans are almost certainly necessary there.

I'm leaning toward brass or copper tubing as I don't care if it's transparent. Given the space constraints, a few extra mm over plastic tubing could be welcome. I'd like to be able to buy white or black tubing, and it looks like Bitspower would be my only option, so I think I'd have to use their fittings as well?

I'd like to make assembly/disassembly as easy as possible, so any tips on making the loop easy to fill, drain, and pull apart as possible are much appreciated. I'm also limited to two fan headers, and one of them needs to control my PSU fan. PSU fan could share a fan curve with the side fans. Do I need one fan header exclusively for the pump?

Thanks!
 
Nothing wrong with your parts list, youve gone ultra premium. Shame you have to put the res on the outside, kind of defeats the purpose. Have you considered a flat radiator/pum combo like EK's FLT series? You can get 12mm OD plastic tubing, it sure would make your life easier, that is pretty darned skinny, not sure why you think copper will save space. You dont need an exclusive header for the pump, you can run it on the same header as your fans or you can get a pump with a manual control and set it and forget it. Or you can do what I do just dont attach the pwm part of your d5 and let it run at 100%, they are quiet if mounted right. You can use any backplate you want with your gpu block.

Cant wait to see this build!
 
Smoked Brisket said:
Shame you have to put the res on the outside, kind of defeats the purpose. Have you considered a flat radiator/pum combo like EK's FLT series?
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Yeah, not ideal. I wasn't aware of the flat style reservoirs, will have to see if that is feasible. Even if it still has to go on the rear, a lower profile would be nice.

You can get 12mm OD plastic tubing, it sure would make your life easier, that is pretty darned skinny, not sure why you think copper will save space.
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My understanding was the copper and brass tubes have way lower wall thickness than plastic, however if flexible tubing is going to be that much more convenient, I may have to reconsider.

Thanks for the input!
 
Here is a a link my friend: https://www.amazon.com/EKWB-EK-Quantum-Kinetic-Reservoir-Combo/dp/B0817NRS4S I have the 240 version of this and I can tell you it looks spectacular.

Wall thickness doesnt matter because when your talking hard/rigid tubing it has to fit the fitting. So the smallest outer diameter rigid tube you will find for pc wcooling will be 12mm, whether its plastic or copper or brass. Now I am sure you can adopt stuff from other industries I am talking about gear you can find ready to go from a PC water cooling shop.
 
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The thickness is lower for sure, but it may not be an appreciable amount. You're talking about a 3-4 mm difference in diameter. Smaller than 3/8" and you start restricting your flow. Tubing is not brand specific, as long as the diameters match up you can mix and match tubing and fittings.

Quick disconnects will make things a little easier to take apart, but are very pricey. A T for draining is good if you can finagle in the room for it. Filling is done by topping off the reservoir so there shouldn't be much trouble there.

I would measure your actual clearance on the bottom and see what you can get away with. Radiator specs are pretty well established.

Fan header for the pump isn't necessary if you are fine with how much noise it generates. I can't hear my pumps over my fans at max speed, so I just leave them running at max. Granted, my fans are mostly spinning at 800+ RPM, so it's not by any means silent.
 
Right Tsumi, the walls of copper are thinner, but he is talking about using copper to save space. 12mm will be the smallest he can go and buy standard fittings regardless of tube material. I think you'd agree that tube material will make no difference in performance of the loop using the standard sizes out there. PETG is going to be a ton easier to work with for a first build especially with the small form factor challenge.
 
Smoked Brisket said:
Right Tsumi, the walls of copper are thinner, but he is talking about using copper to save space. 12mm will be the smallest he can go and buy standard fittings regardless of tube material. I think you'd agree that tube material will make no difference in performance of the loop using the standard sizes out there. PETG is going to be a ton easier to work with for a first build especially with the small form factor challenge.
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I don't know what special copper the PC water cooling industry cooked up, but standard 3/8" copper tube (commonly sold as refrigeration coil) is generally soft and hand formable. Cutting, flaring and bending tools are cheap and widely available. Even the tubing is cheap. There is no shortage of instruction on how to work with it.

But I agree, for a first loop, to not use it. It's a great material, and under used, but this industry settled on an uncommon fitting size and charges insane markups. What ought to be 3-4$ for a fitting at any home store is 10$ and an online only affair.

Start with barbs and simple tygon tubing. Grab a few springs for tight bends to keep the tubing from kinking. It's cheap, it's effective, it gets you started and there is nothing about it that you can't acquire readily.
 
Nimisys said:
I don't know what special copper the PC water cooling industry cooked up, but standard 3/8" copper tube (commonly sold as refrigeration coil) is generally soft and hand formable. Cutting, flaring and bending tools are cheap and widely available. Even the tubing is cheap. There is no shortage of instruction on how to work with it.

But I agree, for a first loop, to not use it. It's a great material, and under used, but this industry settled on an uncommon fitting size and charges insane markups. What ought to be 3-4$ for a fitting at any home store is 10$ and an online only affair.

Start with barbs and simple tygon tubing. Grab a few springs for tight bends to keep the tubing from kinking. It's cheap, it's effective, it gets you started and there is nothing about it that you can't acquire readily.
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Seriously brother, the guy is asking advice for a first build in a modern small form factor case. Noone is bashing serious DIYers that want to go to the hardware store and create a unique masterpiece. On the other hand I think it is awesome that we have a healthy community of water cooling companies that are making the hobby easier and aesthetically beautiful. Some are charging massive markups for fittings, some are not. But, to suggest barbs and springs, cmon, barbs and ties are way less reliable and harder to use that compression fittings. Can you at least agree that compression fittings and soft tubing is the starting point?
 
Or use regular 1/2" OD copper tubing and Primochill Revolver fittings. I had to make a turn out the back of a case and went copper tubing/Revolvers. 5 years later and still running fine (just used it, it has my Lightroom program on it).
 
Smoked Brisket said:
Seriously brother, the guy is asking advice for a first build in a modern small form factor case. Noone is bashing serious DIYers that want to go to the hardware store and create a unique masterpiece. On the other hand I think it is awesome that we have a healthy community of water cooling companies that are making the hobby easier and aesthetically beautiful. Some are charging massive markups for fittings, some are not. But, to suggest barbs and springs, cmon, barbs and ties are way less reliable and harder to use that compression fittings. Can you at least agree that compression fittings and soft tubing is the starting point?
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shove a 5/16" hose onto a 3/8" barb and tell me its going anywhere under the measly pressures these systems run. even a 3/8" hose on a 3/8" barb isn't going anywhere with the slightest retention device. compression fittings are sensitive to both ID and OD and proper installation.
 
Smoked Brisket said:
Seriously brother, the guy is asking advice for a first build in a modern small form factor case. Noone is bashing serious DIYers that want to go to the hardware store and create a unique masterpiece. On the other hand I think it is awesome that we have a healthy community of water cooling companies that are making the hobby easier and aesthetically beautiful. Some are charging massive markups for fittings, some are not. But, to suggest barbs and springs, cmon, barbs and ties are way less reliable and harder to use that compression fittings. Can you at least agree that compression fittings and soft tubing is the starting point?
Click to expand...

Barbs + worm gear clamps are way more secure than compression fittings will ever be. I can yank out tubing from compression fittings with just my hands. The tubing is going to break first if I tried to do that with barbs and worm gear clamps, assuming I even have enough strength to do so.

Back in the late 2000s/early 2010s, before compression fittings became mainstream and widely available, people stuck 5/16" ID tubing onto a 3/8" barb for clean looks. That was never coming off unless you cut it.

Given the parts the OP chose to use though, it's quite clear cost is not a concern. Then again, OP has also stated that aesthetics is not a concern either. The best thing the OP could do right now is take measurements of what room he has inside his case and see what parts can fit in those areas. The XSPC D5 tank reservoir is pretty compact.
 
Don't want to derail this man/woman's topic, but they are asking for some advice on a small form factor build that needs to be portable. With respect to my forum elders, and i give them respect, this is a forum with a ton of water cooling experience. IMO that does not mean that you move the [H] bar from 10 years ago when just trying to do a custom loop made you [H] to, fast forward, if you aint doing it "old school" you aint [H].

Dullard said:
Or use regular 1/2" OD copper tubing and Primochill Revolver fittings. I had to make a turn out the back of a case and went copper tubing/Revolvers. 5 years later and still running fine (just used it, it has my Lightroom program on it).
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Yes, that is a standard size for fittings and many companies offer that size pre-bent even.
 
Where does the OP say he doesnt care how it looks? And I am not going to argue fittings advancement. Please just post your links on barb fittings for sale advise the OP to get them.
 
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Thanks for all the input so far, it's much appreciated.

I do want the loop to look nice, just that my first two concerns are cooling performance and noise. I'm also conscious of the cost, and am aware I chose high end parts. I'd rather do it right than cut corners, as I find such an approach often saves me time and money down the line. I'd also plan to reuse watercooling the components I can as I upgrade my computer over the next 5-10 years.

I actually have some barbed fittings and tubing for one of my other hobbies - beer brewing 😀 I'm not fond of the idea of hose clamps in my computer though, so I think I'll look at other options. I see that some companies offer quick disconnect fittings. Do these work well and are they worth the extra cost? To have access to my motherboard, I'll need to be able to remove the side rad. I've seen people use flexible tubing that allows the rad to be removed while keeping everything connected, and this may be the best approach. I also wondered about quick disconnect fittings if I were to use hard tubing, but I presume I'd need to drain the loop first.
 
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I have Koolance QDCs in my system, and they work well enough. They seal themselves shut when disconnecting, and leak maybe a drop or two. Flexible tubing would definitely be easier to work with. QDCs can be used with both flexible and rigid tubing, no need for draining.

Whether or not they are worth it depends on how much you value ease of putting things together and taking things apart. I got mine used as part of a package deal, so the cost wasn't that high. Keep in mind that you need 2 pairs of QDCs per component you plan to put it on (one inlet and one outlet), plus a fitting for each QDC part if it doesn't come with built in fittings (many do not). The cost of adding QDCs add up fast.

Compression fittings are the way to go if you don't want to use barbs. Lots of options out there nowadays compared to 10 years ago.
 
Head pressure might be an issue as that foundation block is stupid restrictive and given the scope of the setup, two blocks (one super restrictive) and two rads. I love me some QDC and 90s etc etc, but all that adds up.
 
Tsumi said:
Barbs + worm gear clamps are way more secure than compression fittings will ever be. I can yank out tubing from compression fittings with just my hands. The tubing is going to break first if I tried to do that with barbs and worm gear clamps, assuming I even have enough strength to do so.

Back in the late 2000s/early 2010s, before compression fittings became mainstream and widely available, people stuck 5/16" ID tubing onto a 3/8" barb for clean looks. That was never coming off unless you cut it.

Given the parts the OP chose to use though, it's quite clear cost is not a concern. Then again, OP has also stated that aesthetics is not a concern either. The best thing the OP could do right now is take measurements of what room he has inside his case and see what parts can fit in those areas. The XSPC D5 tank reservoir is pretty compact.
Click to expand...

We also used 7/16" tubing on 1/2" barbs. That offered a bit more flow, and the only way I could take it off was by cutting it - like you said, without any clamps on it.

Epos7 said:
Thanks for all the input so far, it's much appreciated.

I do want the loop to look nice, just that my first two concerns are cooling performance and noise. I'm also conscious of the cost, and am aware I chose high end parts. I'd rather do it right than cut corners, as I find such an approach often saves me time and money down the line. I'd also plan to reuse watercooling the components I can as I upgrade my computer over the next 5-10 years.

I actually have some barbed fittings and tubing for one of my other hobbies - beer brewing 😀 I'm not fond of the idea of hose clamps in my computer though, so I think I'll look at other options. I see that some companies offer quick disconnect fittings. Do these work well and are they worth the extra cost? To have access to my motherboard, I'll need to be able to remove the side rad. I've seen people use flexible tubing that allows the rad to be removed while keeping everything connected, and this may be the best approach. I also wondered about quick disconnect fittings if I were to use hard tubing, but I presume I'd need to drain the loop first.
Click to expand...

I've done both and currently have a PETG setup, with some ZMT in the back running to additional pumps. That being said, I've got plenty of space to make it all work. The learning curve will be much higher when dealing with any type of rigid tubing. Like I quoted up top, the slightly undersized tubing will provide great bite on the barbs, and you can pick up some rather posh clamps for this (I hate worm gear clamps as much as the next guy - in any application).

https://sidewindercomputers.com/collections/hose-clamps
 
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