First watercooling rig, sanity check

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Kingdud

n00b
Joined
Jun 30, 2009
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2
System:
Blu-ray player/DVD burner: GGC-H20L
Core i7, 920 (plan to OC to 4, maybe 4.2ghz, higher if I can)
Asus P6T Deluxe V2
2x for RAID 1 WD Caviar Black 1TB: WD1001FALS
2x Corsair 6GB 1866 Kit: TR3X6G1866C9DF
Corsair 850W PSU: CMPSU-850HX
BFG Tech 295 GTX Watercooled: BFGEGTX2951792H2OCWE
Gigabyte Full Tower case: GZ-FA2CA-AJB
Asus 24" Monitor: MK241H

Things being cooled:
i7 920 @ 4.2GHz + OC
GeForce 295 GTX Comes with BFG attached waterblock

The build plan:
-Swifttech (model as of currently undecided) resorvior in my 5.25" drive bays.
-1/2" ID Tygon tubing
-1/2" OD barbs all around, with Worm clamps to seal them.
-Coolant: Distilled water ONLY
-At least 1 Silver kill loop somewhere
-Radiator: (see below)
-CPU block: Heatkiller 3.0 (if I could ever find one)
-Cooling loop will go: Pump -> Rad -> CPU -> GPU -> Res However, because my Res will be mounted fairly high (near the top of the case), will the head pressure of the pump be something I should be concerned about?
-Pump will be inside the case if it is a DC pump, outside case if AC pump.
-Rad will be outside case, below/next to the case somewhere (below the reservoir in terms of total height)

Things I need to know:
1. Pump recommendations. I have looked at all manner of charts and graphs, I still don't have a good feel on how much pump I need. AC pumps are ok with me, as are DC pumps.

2. Radiator: I have been reading here, it sounds like a 360mm Rad will do the job, but a 480 would not be considered overkill. Additionally, I was thinking a BlackIce or Feser Rad. If I went blackIce, since they are so hard to get air through, I will DIY a shroud to this nice 24" box fan I have. That should defeat any lack-of-air problems (2000+ CFM ftw) :)

3. CPU waterblock, is there something better than the HK 3? Just curious.

4. Comments/criticism. I am a first-timer. If I appear to have missed anything, let me know. I have 0 plans to SLI any cards. 1 295 GTX is all I will ever use. Also, Mofset/NB/etc will be cooled with a few case fans that come with the case.

Thanks ahead of time,

-Kingdud
 
1) The MCP655 with the variable speed control is my favorite pump on the market. It boasts better reliability than any other WC pump, and can be speed (and noise!) controlled. Moving the pump from 5 to 3 removes all of it's "whine" and makes for almost completely silent operation - with no real cost in temperatures.

2) A triple radiator for a 4ghz i7, and a GTX295 is certainly not what I would shoot for. If you have the room, you could stack two of the triple swiftech radiators (best option IMO - especially if you get creative and stack some of the better performing rads instead) or go for a quad radiator. The black ice Pro's aren't restrictive at all though, only the Black ice Xtreme, GT or GTX series are restrictive. The pro's are on par with Swiftech's MCR series (within a percentage point or two).

3) Not really at this point.

4)

Don't worry about your pump's head pressure... You could mount your reservoir two meters above your case and, if the loop is sufficiently full, see no real loss.

Absolutely no need for a 2000+ CFM fan for this loop, if you plan your rads correctly.
 
Thanks for the feedback. Here is an updated parts list. Again, if I seem to have missed anything, let me know. Feedback/criticism/comments welcomed.

Blu-ray player/DVD burner: GGC-H20L
Core i7, 920
Asus P6T Deluxe V2
WD Caviar Black 1TB: WD1001FALS
Corsair 6GB 1866 Kit: TR3X6G1866C9DF
Corsair 850W PSU: CMPSU-850HX
BFG Tech 295 GTX Watercooled: BFGEGTX2951792H2OCWE
Gigabyte Full Tower case: GZ-FA2CA-AJB
Asus 24" Monitor: MK241H

Heatkiller 3.0
Heatkiller 3.0 backplate
Swiftech MCP655: MCP655
2x Swiftech MCR320 rad
25ft of Tygon Tubing - clear (1/2" ID x 3/4" OD)
8x Feser Compression fitting (1/2" ID x 3/4" OD)
4x Feser angled compression fitting (1/2" ID x 3/4" OD)
Silver kill coil
 
I just wanted to add my own two cents on tubing:
* For my build, I used only about 7ft of hardware-grade tubing and 6ft of tygon. I had 10ft of tygon, but realized that it's not the best choice for external use--it's super flexible, but it "droops" everywhere. That, and I messed up while cutting a bunch of times.
* Thus, I'd get a mix of vinyl and tygon if you're planning on mounting your radiator externally.
* Although tygon is quite flexible, it kinks or flattens quite easily, so remember to get some smartcoil-type anti-kink coils
* My built involved using tygon for all the interior, between-the-waterblock connections, and vinyl for the exterior ones/the tube that runs up my entire full tower to the top-mounted rad.
 
7/16" tubing is meant for 1/2' barbs, i love that setup. you dont even need clamps.
 
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