Input on loop fixing...

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W.Feather

[H]ard DCOTM x4 & [H]DCOTY x1
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Nov 10, 2009
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Its been quite a while since I looked at new cooling stuff with work, house, and car stuff..... recently when I fired up the rig I've had issues with cooling and figured its time to look into it.


Found out the rad was low (No experience with such a thick rad @ 480 previously .... should have realized this)....So while I'm tearing into things I was thinking I should look at re-routing / cleaning up the whole setup, looking for input overall.

Right now I'm going Pump -> CPU 2 -> CPU 1 -> GPU 1 -> GPU 2 -> Rad -> Pump ... Photos all below. Case is a Corsair 900D, at this time I don't think I want to look at replacing it (Unless there is something more friendly to a water-cooling all internal setup.

So questions are:

- Thoughts on basically reversing the loop? The GPU's were what were overheating causing me to look into it (EK Blocks for the Asus GTX980 STRIX, only option available when I purchased).... CPU's were meh temps, fixing the rad being low should drop them again .....

- Im not a fan of the top/res on my D5, is there a better options for my type of setup? I am looking to order extended cables for the PSU to run behind the tray (Below...) to clear up airflow, appearance is not my highest priority these days, wouldn't hurt to make it look nicer though .

- The fans are Alpha Cool Noise Blocker 2's (I think....) They do really well on the noise level, is there anything I might want to swap to, partially on the rad.

- Last time I set this up (Probably 2 years ago ....) I was using Noctua NT-H1, is there anything better to look at getting? I plan to reseat all blocks, maybe crack em open and clean up the blocks as required.

- Is there a easy way to purchase extension cables these days (Rig listed below).




Rig:

-CPU's: 2x E5-2670 At stock clocks
-CPU Blocks: 2x Alpha Cools, can't remember the model right now, couple years old, should be pretty good still...
-Motherboard: Asus Z9PE-D8 WS
-Memory: 8x8gb samsung EEC stuff
-GPU's: 2x ASUS GTX980 STRIX
-GPU Blocks: EK blocks for the STIX
-GPU Bridge: EK one for their blocks..
-Radiator: Alphacool 480mm UT60
-Pump: Alphacool D5
-Res/Top: EK something or another, I got it used and frankly don't remember
-SSD 1 - 500GB EVO 850
-SSD 2 - 250GB Intel drive
-RAID Card - HP P222 .... can this be water cooled? Just popped into my head
-RAID SSD 1 - Corsair Force GT3 120gb
-RAID SSD 2 - Corsair Force GT3 120gb
-Fans - 6x Alpha Cool NB-2's (I think? It sounds right)
-1x Noctua 140mm can't remember which or find order history for it
-PSU: Seasonic X-1250 (Looks like I've had it since 2012 , I'd rather not replace it, but I could I guess).
-Controller: Aquero 5LT array of sensors


Ive got a inline temp sensor on the rad in, was thinking of throwing my spare onto the exit get a nice delta T on that ....along with more air temp sensors that I know what to do with it.


Thanks for any input.


Edit: Forgot pictures....






 
You need more radiator coverage with 2 CPU's and 2 GPU's, it will work with the 1 480 but as you have seen temps will not be ideal. I would go with 2 360's personally. Also the higher the static pressure for the fans the better performance you will have. Gentle Typhoons have always been good for this reason. I personally have had good success with the Swiftech Helix fans, which have good static pressure also.

What you also have to realize that rearranging your blocks will do nothing for temps, the water temp will equal out so it will not matter where your components are in the chain.

As far as cases go a lot of it is personal preference. I have been very happy with my Caselabs S5 and it has been the most watercooling friendly case I have ever used. I love how I can basically take any panel off and access my system from any direction or remove the radiators without removing any other components. Now since these are basically custom cases they are not cheap and can take weeks to get depending on what options your choose. I went into this planning on keeping the case though multiple builds, so it was worth it to me for having such a WC friendly case.
 
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Ya im not expecting amazing temps, the simplicity of one rad is the preference here I think (Draining the loop the rad had ~1/2 the estimated water I would have expected.....), I do have 2x Black Ice GTX360's laying around I guess I could swap in without much fuss, would Have to find em again.

Ya the rearranging of blocks was more for input on routing than anything, the temps will normalize within the water (For the most part), this will simply allow better/easier routing.


Case labs would be nice, just catn justify the hefty price at this point in time on one, couldnt find a better open market one when I looked several years ago for the 900D lol
 
W.Feather said:
Ya im not expecting amazing temps, the simplicity of one rad is the preference here I think (Draining the loop the rad had ~1/2 the estimated water I would have expected.....), I do have 2x Black Ice GTX360's laying around I guess I could swap in without much fuss, would Have to find em again.

Ya the rearranging of blocks was more for input on routing than anything, the temps will normalize within the water (For the most part), this will simply allow better/easier routing.


Case labs would be nice, just can't justify the hefty price at this point in time on one, couldn't find a better open market one when I looked several years ago for the 900D lol
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You could get a dual bay reservoir with pump attached, which would place it higher in the case for better bleeding of air. Then go Pump/Res - CPU 1 - CPU 2 - GPU 1/2 - Rads - Pump/Res.

You could always throw in a 1080 and drop 20-30% heat with better performance. :D
 
Thats actually been what I was thinking ... I originally kept away from a bay res due to aesthetics .... Now im about the cooling ability / ease of use :D


Oh I wish .... One day maybe, but the 980's are more than adequate for me now lol
 
Looking for a water-cooling friendly case on the cheap? NewEgg has the Thermaltake Core X9 on sale for $149 plus a $20 rebate. Buttloads of radiator options in that beast!
 
Nice looking case .... If/when I swap back to a 1p i'd be looking at that (Downfall of my system ... full tower or super tower is basically required....)


Err....herp derp, it does E-ATX , should fit my board .... might look at that sometime when i get fully fed up with this massive 900D ....
 
W.Feather said:
Nice looking case .... If/when I swap back to a 1p i'd be looking at that (Downfall of my system ... full tower or super tower is basically required....)


Err....herp derp, it does E-ATX , should fit my board .... might look at that sometime when i get fully fed up with this massive 900D ....
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Ummm... Look at the specs. Not exactly a small case. 7484 CI (123 Liters) @37.5 lbs for the Core X9 vs. 6894 CI (113 Liters) @ 41 lbs for the 900D so the Core X9 is significantly larger although because of its shape it may appear smaller and less imposing. And if you want something truly massive you can stack two (or more) Core X9s! All your hardware in one and your rads, res, pumps in the other. Glorious!
 
RedWagnum said:
Ummm... Look at the specs. Not exactly a small case. 7484 CI (123 Liters) @37.5 lbs for the Core X9 vs. 6894 CI (113 Liters) @ 41 lbs for the 900D so the Core X9 is significantly larger although because of its shape it may appear smaller and less imposing. And if you want something truly massive you can stack two (or more) Core X9s! All your hardware in one and your rads, res, pumps in the other. Glorious!
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Damn, good catch ... Maybe if/when I want more room in the case in that case...
 
So finally had the chance to reassemble it all. Trimmed ~10c off at idle on both CPU, and 6c on the GPU's....Now to game a bit and see under load
 
Grab a 2nd 480 and throw it in the roof, or one of the 360's you have lying around, maintenance is easy as hell in my 900D, I'll try to get a pic
 
Actually now at 42c after ~30 minutes of gaming (Before tear down the GPU was at 70+), and 50c on the CPU. Very good, almost no noise. Whenever I get the hankering to upgrade some parts I might look at throwing more radiator space in .... would be interested in the pics there rgMekanic
 
W.Feather said:
Actually now at 42c after ~30 minutes of gaming (Before tear down the GPU was at 70+), and 50c on the CPU. Very good, almost no noise. Whenever I get the hankering to upgrade some parts I might look at throwing more radiator space in .... would be interested in the pics there rgMekanic
Click to expand...


Only have the CPU under water at the moment since no one makes a block for my card

pc.png


Forgive the dust, just a quick cell phone pic heh.

On my basement 480 behind the front fan filter I have one of these ball valves, it's small enough to where it doesn't interfere with the filter or front panel in any way. Remove the cap (just there for redundancy) screw on the barb fitting and a bit of tubing then crack it to drain, refil though the top port on the res and Bob's your auntie.

drain.jpg
 
Ya thats what I would end up needing ... an easy drain port .... on the list I guess....Damn, never thought of removing the side plate on the rad area , going to have to remove that to just have airflow increase from there .... after a hwile of load the water temp's have not hit 40c yet (With 2x CPU and 2x GPU), temps in the rad channels are ~38c, so not too much to complain about (HOwever that is approx ~30f above ambient)
 
W.Feather said:
Ya thats what I would end up needing ... an easy drain port .... on the list I guess....Damn, never thought of removing the side plate on the rad area , going to have to remove that to just have airflow increase from there .... after a hwile of load the water temp's have not hit 40c yet (With 2x CPU and 2x GPU), temps in the rad channels are ~38c, so not too much to complain about (HOwever that is approx ~30f above ambient)
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, if you still have the sides of the basement capped remove them for sure, will make it quieter as well, and that $8 ball valve has been a blessing for doing maintenance. I've been doing custom WC since 2004 and the 900D is the easiest case I've ever worked in by a long way.
 
Started in a Antec 1200, moved to this and been a blessing (Worth the change I dropped too), going to have to look at one of those next time i flush...
 
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