Help with first WC setup (niche questions)

M

Matrices

Supreme [H]ardness
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Well, first foray into WCing after about 10 years; I did it once before but wasn't really impressed. I have a couple specific questions about what I'm supposed to do. I want to cool 2 GTX 470s, nothing else. I am not primarily doing this for performance, but for quietness. I don't care if they run as high as 70c or so. I'm hoping to use an inexpensive 240mm radiator with a couple Scythe S-Flex fans I already have.

I have a 'wish list' of everything I'm buying as follows:

Swiftech MCP655™ 12 VDC Pump

$79.95 x = $79.95



Swiftech MCR220-QP

Selected options:
Barb Size: 1/2" Chrome Fittings

$46.00 x = $46.00
Update



Tygon R-3603 1/2" ID 5/8" OD Chemical Tubing
$1.85 x = $14.80



Swiftech MCRES-Micro Rev 2

Selected options:
Res Port: NONE

$24.95 x = $24.95


Bitspower True Silver G1/4 High Flow 1/2" Barb - BP-SLWP-C01

$3.20 x2 = $6.40
Update



Dangerden Crossfire / SLI fitting pack

$10.95 x = $10.95
Update


Swiftech MCW 80 VGA Cooler

$53.95 x2 = $107.90


Everything appears to be 1/2" fittings, except for the MCW-80s, which are 1/4" fittings, so I'm buying two 1/4"-to-1/2" barbs. I'll connect them to one another using the 1/4" SLI fitting. I have to buy a G80 adapter plate from the old MCW-60s because that works with the Fermi cards and Swiftec has failed to produce Fermi-specific adapters so far.

Does all this stuff look OK? I was going to buy PT Nuke but this site doesn't have it, so I'll need to go elsewhere for that. It also has shitty plastic clamps instead of brass clamps, so I'll need to go somewhere else for those, too.

How exactly am I supposed to test the setup out before attaching it to my cards, since the pump only uses a molex connector? Any other tips? Is there some advantage to using the micro-res over, say, a 3.5" res? How exactly am I supposed to drain this thing when I need to take it apart? I read something about 'fillport' and that was the end of that before my eyes glazed over at the jargon. Speaking of jargon, what the hell is a pump top and why should I get one? Thanks.
 
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Matrices said:
How exactly am I supposed to test the setup out before attaching it to my cards, since the pump only uses a molex connector? Any other tips?
Click to expand...

Got a spare power supply? Maybe you could attach the setup to that, just to test it out.

Is there some advantage to using the micro-res over, say, a 3.5" res?
Click to expand...

I expect the main advantage is the space you save with a smaller res.

How exactly am I supposed to drain this thing when I need to take it apart?
Click to expand...

Very carefully? The main difficulty will be draining the reservoir. Once you get that out of the loop, I don't think there'd be too much liquid left.

I read something about 'fillport' and that was the end of that before my eyes glazed over at the jargon.
Click to expand...

Fillport is an alternative to using a reservoir. Basically in a loop that uses no reservoir, there's a tube at the top with a stopper. You fill the liquid in the loop through that tube at the top, then you stopper it. When you run low on liquid, just unstopper and add liquid via that "fillport".

Speaking of jargon, what the hell is a pump top and why should I get one? Thanks.
Click to expand...

A pump top mod literally changes the pump's default top and can increase the pump's flow capabilities. You don't need to get one as the default one works, but a pump top mod can improve GPM performance, ie gallons moved per minute.
 
Google "PSU Paperclip trick" to power on the periphs without powering on the PC.

You're confusing a Fillport and a T-Line.

A fill port is anything that's connected to your loop at any point to full up the loop with water.

What he described is a T-Line. A Fill port can be used on a reservoir, and you can even get them combined.
 
I've been warned that the R-3603 Tygon variant leaks plasticizer. I haven't noticed much of this myself because while I used it I was tearing down the loop constantly, but I believe that warning to be from a credible source (RedRaider).

Thus I'll recommend Tygon R-3400 for black tubing, and Tygon b-44-4x for transparent (or primochill LRT as a secondary choice).

If your goal is silence, then you may eventually swap out those fans... just a guess.

LASTLY: The MCW-80 uses 1/4" fittings? Where did you read this? I thought it used G 1/4 threads, 1/2" barbs. Meaning... 1/2" Inner Diameter.

Look at the spec page again and decide whether or not you truly need those 1/4" to 1/2" adapters. I'm thinking that you DON'T need them.

The DangerDen crossfire/SLI fittings also use G 1/4 thread. More Jargon eh?

Here is a copy/paste from an FAQ at RedRaider's forum:

"Q: I'm confused at the sizes of the barbs? What is G1/4" I see often in documentation and discussions?:
There are 2 components in the fitting dimensions : The threading size and the tubing inner diameter. The G1/4" is the threading size, which is the same as 1/4" BSPP (British parallel plumbing threading) and it's currently the standard used in almost every watercooling component beside a few oddities (Thermochill radiators use G3/8" as example). The tubing side diameter is the tubing inner diameter size it can accept so logically, for a 1/2" ID tubing, you should be looking at 1/2" barbs. With compression fittings, things get more complicated because it will list the inner diameter and the outer diameter too so with a compression fitting, make sure you get the right one for the correct tubing (like 8mm/10mm compression fitting requiring 8mm/10mm tubing and nothing else).

Don't confuse BSPP or G1/4" with NPT which is often used in North America. If you want more information about threading standards, Google is your friend."

Edit: and CrowJA is right with his corrections. Furthermore, if you have some silver in the loop (either silver fittings or a small strip of silver as a "kill-coil") then you won't need the PT-nuke biocide. I'm not sure if those bitspower true silver fittings qualify - but I'm betting someone here knows the answer.

edit2: It'd be great if you could retain the stock cooling for the VRM and other components. Maybe you could even retain the stock fan and leave it on at inaudible levels. I'm not sure if this is possible with the mcw-80, but consider it as a potential $$-saving mod. [If this doesn't make sense, then it's because I'm completely unfamiliar with the stock GTX-470 cooling situation].
 
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Thanks for all the information. You're right, the MCW-80 is 1/2" barb. I was a little miffed when I thought it was only 1/4". Thread is internal measure and barb is external measure, right? I.e., if something is 1/4" thread and 1/2" barb, I can connect a 1/4" thread device to it, but I need 1/2" ID tubing to go over it - correct? I ask because the SLI pipe is 1/4" thread and has no barbs, so I assume I just plug it into the MCW-80 1/4" thread. Actually, it does look like I will need a couple rotary fittings. That SLI pipe is oriented for full water blocks, which all have vertically oriented holes, whereas the MCW holes/barbs are horizontal. So I should do this:

MCW80 --> 1/4" thread rotary-->1/4" thread SLI pipe. Right?

And yes, you can leave the default plate on if you use the MCW-60, according to a couple people who've done it, and since the MCW-80 is the same dimensions, it should do the same. I honestly don't know whether the stock fan would do much once deprived of its plastic housing, since it's a squirrel fan, but there's also no way to disconnect it without taking off the whole plate and pulling out the fan cable. I think I'll just force it to the lowest 38% speed and leave it at that; it's practically inaudible at that speed.
 
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A couple more questions - what is a fillcap and what is a stop fitting? I just want something to plug up the other end of a draining tube that I'll connect to the bottom of the res.
 
Well, I had to drop the dual radiator idea; looked inside my case and there's barely an inch between the fans and the top of my motherboard on the RC 690. What the hell is the point of creating a space for a dual rad if you're not going to create the space for the damn rad? My board is regular ATX form factor, MSI GD80. Ridiculous. Maybe other people have the fans or radiator hanging over their motherboard?

Anyway, had to get a radbox so I decided I might as well get a triple radiator (MC320) while I'm at it. For some reason it was only $10 more than the 220.
 
CrowJA said:
Google "PSU Paperclip trick" to power on the periphs without powering on the PC.

You're confusing a Fillport and a T-Line.

A fill port is anything that's connected to your loop at any point to full up the loop with water.

What he described is a T-Line. A Fill port can be used on a reservoir, and you can even get them combined.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification. :) I'm still new to this.
 
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