Is my water cooling list good ?

R

reaper7534!

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
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Attached is my list. I've never done a custom loops so I'm hoping I picked out the right parts. One thing I'm not sure of a drain valve. I assume I want a 14mm valve to match my tubing OD, but not seeing that on the site.

I already have fans, heat gun and I will use some type of pastel blue, not sure of brand.

Appreciate any direction. I'm not currently doing the GPU. This will be going into a Core P5 case, not sure if the Res will
need a special bracket for mounting.

Thanks
 

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So they are!
Looks good, but I would sub out the block for EK Supremecy Evo.
 
Keep in mind the Photon 270 is a huge reservoir.

This is what it looks like once installed in my Corsair 750D full tower:

img_20160816_223958-jpg.6780


Make sure you have enough space for it.

The opening in the top of the reservoir is not a standard G1/4 fitting, so if you were planning on attaching a tube up top and filling it, you'll need an adapter. Search Amazon or elsewhere for "XSPC fillport adapter" and you should find it.

This reservoir can be tricky to fill, as there is no way for the air to escape if you fill it using a tube (and if you don't it's almost impossible to get in there and fill it without spilling). You will wind up having to massage your tubing to get the water to go in, and the air to go out. It is a slow process. (I did this yesterday, and will do it again today.)

Of all the parts in my build I think my least favorite was this reservoir. I think if I were to do it again, I'd get a standalone tube reservoir and standalone pump, and connect them together using a swiveling male to male G1/4 adapter, like Jayz2cents did in his $800 "blow your budget" guide.

No plans for GPU cooling blocks?
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Keep in mind the Photon 270 is a huge reservoir.

This is what it looks like once installed in my Corsair 750D full tower:

img_20160816_223958-jpg.6780


Make sure you have enough space for it.

The opening in the top of the reservoir is not a standard G1/4 fitting, so if you were planning on attaching a tube up top and filling it, you'll need an adapter. Search Amazon or elsewhere for "XSPC fillport adapter" and you should find it.

This reservoir can be tricky to fill, as there is no way for the air to escape if you fill it using a tube (and if you don't it's almost impossible to get in there and fill it without spilling). You will wind up having to massage your tubing to get the water to go in, and the air to go out. It is a slow process. (I did this yesterday, and will do it again today.)

Of all the parts in my build I think my least favorite was this reservoir. I think if I were to do it again, I'd get a standalone tube reservoir and standalone pump, and connect them together using a swiveling male to male G1/4 adapter, like Jayz2cents did in his $800 "blow your budget" guide.

No plans for GPU cooling blocks?
Click to expand...
Reason I picked that reservoir was the price, only 10 bucks more. If that much of a issue, I'll go with 170. I will do gpu once I go sli. Believe it or not, the shiny rgb I paid for on the card is holding me back, lol. I need to rethink my adapters, a couple of 90s will make things a lot easier
 
reaper7534! said:
Reason I picked that reservoir was the price, only 10 bucks more. If that much of a issue, I'll go with 170. I will do gpu once I go sli. Believe it or not, the shiny rgb I paid for on the card is holding me back, lol. I need to rethink my adapters, a couple of 90s will make things a lot easier
Click to expand...

I would avoid 90° anything at all cost. They are resistance adders, cutting flow and adding pressure.
 
alxlwson said:
I would avoid 90° anything at all cost. They are resistance adders, cutting flow and adding pressure.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you can make your loop work without them, sharp bends are a negative. One or two in an otherwise not so restrictive loop probably won't be bad, but if you can avoid them, that's probably better.

Either way, in my limited experience, 45 degree fittings usually wind up being more useful than 90 degree ones.

I have two 90 degree bends in my loop, one on one side of my CPU block, and one coming out of my pump, in order to make the tight turn to my front radiator and 5 45 degree bends.

Flow appears pretty good, but I have no way of measuring it.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Yeah, if you can make your loop work without them, sharp bends are a negative. One or two in an otherwise not so restrictive loop probably won't be bad, but if you can avoid them, that's probably better.

Either way, in my limited experience, 45 degree fittings usually wind up being more useful than 90 degree ones.

I have two 90 degree bends in my loop, one on one side of my CPU block, and one coming out of my pump, in order to make the tight turn to my front radiator and 5 45 degree bends.

Flow appears pretty good, but I have no way of measuring it.
Click to expand...

Indeed.
Also, if you don't have it, you should pick it up. This text is amazing and full of wonderfuk information. It's great, especially if you enjoy the technical side of a water loop.

Industrial Hydraulic Technology Bulletin 0232-B1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1557690251/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_YNCTxb6G31SHC
 
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reaper7534! said:
Reason I picked that reservoir was the price, only 10 bucks more. If that much of a issue, I'll go with 170. I will do gpu once I go sli. Believe it or not, the shiny rgb I paid for on the card is holding me back, lol. I need to rethink my adapters, a couple of 90s will make things a lot easier
Click to expand...

Well, the 170 is the same design, only shorter, so filling will be similarly difficult. At least so I presume.

Personally, rather than order all your parts from the same manufacturer, I'd mix it up from different manufacturers. It gives you a bigger selection to pick from, so you can get the best parts for your custom loop. In other words, you don't have to get everything from XSPC (in fact, XSPC has a little bit of a poor reputation, which I only found out after I ordered all my fittings, bends and that reservoir). One of my XSPC bends actually leaked in the swivel portion when I did my initial leak test, and I had to replace it.

I'm hoping it's one of those where they either leak or don't, not one where they might develop leaks over time.

If you have the space for the 270 on the case, by all means go with it. or at least don't reject it on size grounds alone. It looks majestic, and fits a lot of fluid. More fluid than you'll ever need in a reservoir. In fact, you'd probably never need more than the 170 provides. You'll probably have an easier time installing the 170 though.

One thing I've learned from my build is that water cooling has a way of making a seemingly cavernous full tower case feel tiny :p
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Interesting. I might grab one.
Click to expand...


It's my textbook for my hydraulics class. I won't be selling this one back. Next year, I'm gonna rebuild, and follow the info here. May do it sooner. I'm an electronics/electrical guy, so I thought hydraulics would bore me, but it's quite exciting.
 
I have no issue about mixing manufacturers, if anyone wants to take a stab and throw a parts list together, I'd appreciate that. I would like to keep a combo unit though as that is one less hassle I have
to deal with while learning how to do the loop. Appreciate all the info.
 
reaper7534! said:
I have no issue about mixing manufacturers, if anyone wants to take a stab and throw a parts list together, I'd appreciate that. I would like to keep a combo unit though as that is one less hassle I have
to deal with while learning how to do the loop. Appreciate all the info.
Click to expand...


If you want a solid combo, look at EK's packages. They have some pretty great kits! PC Water Cooling Kits – EK Webshop


Also, if it's your first loop, stay away from rigid tube. It's difficult to work with. You also dont wanna fuss with that if you have plans in the near future to change the loop up.
 
alxlwson said:
If you want a solid combo, look at EK's packages. They have some pretty great kits! PC Water Cooling Kits – EK Webshop


Also, if it's your first loop, stay away from rigid tube. It's difficult to work with. You also dont wanna fuss with that if you have plans in the near future to change the loop up.
Click to expand...

I'm so going with rigid tube !! ...love the look. That is why I'm buying lots of extras for the mistakes I'll make. I know EK's kits are with soft, do they have a rigid option ?

Right now I'm using a Swiftech H240 X2
 
Not sure on the rigid option with EK. If you shoot them an email or call, they get bwck quickly. If they dont offer it, they'll put one together for you for sure
 
reaper7534! said:
Attached is my list. I've never done a custom loops so I'm hoping I picked out the right parts. One thing I'm not sure of a drain valve. I assume I want a 14mm valve to match my tubing OD, but not seeing that on the site.

I already have fans, heat gun and I will use some type of pastel blue, not sure of brand.

Appreciate any direction. I'm not currently doing the GPU. This will be going into a Core P5 case, not sure if the Res will
need a special bracket for mounting.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I actually have most of the parts in question in my own P5. All of that should work fine. Don't get the short version of that reservoir. It leaves a gap above it, if you install in the spot Thermaltake intended, that is difficult to fill with anything.

In order to mount that reservoir, you have to drill holes in the case. It's not a big deal, but you'll want to be sure to measure twice so it's not crooked. Thermaltake sells a pump/reservoir combo dealie that is outrageously expensive, but bolts to the included bracket. EK's may also fit, but the XSPC one does not.

Also a word of warning - that reservoir looks SUPER cool once it's filled and working, but in order to fill it, you'll need to stick a small straw, like a coffee stirrer, in the top of it, so air can escape. The little anti-vortex thing makes the fill hole too small otherwise, and water just piles up on top of it and makes a mess otherwise.
 
Thanks Razor...can you post a pic of your pc and parts list ? I may be ready to order tonight, I got a nice little check in the mail for a refund on my GAP insurance I wasn't expecting.... 350 bucks !!
 
Sweet jesus man, if you're getting a $350 refund, how much is the premium?

Here's a photo of my system I took yesterday, after I got done hanging it on the wall. I still need to tidy up the cables, and get my hands on a water jacket for the 1080 - I had one on my last card, which game the system more of a "bundle of snakes" kind of look, with the extra hoses. It looks kinda weak with just the three shown here

System spec:
MSI X99A Gaming 7
Intel Core i7 5820K
32GB of DDR4 memory (G.Skill, I think?)
Corsair SATA III SSD and 1 spindle (Western digital, I think)
PNY GTX 1080 Founder's Edition
Meinberg GPS180PEX GPS Timing Card
Corsair RM1000i power supply

The cooling system consists of:
XSPC Raystorm CPU jacket
XSPC Photon D5 - 170mm version
XSPC EX480 Radiator
XSPC Screw fittings - I love these
XSPC 120mm fans - 1650 RPM falvor (I run these at 7V, which is plenty)
Primochill Advanced LRT 3/8ID/5/8OD tubing

Previously, it also had an Aquacomputer water jacket on the Sapphire 290X I was running before. The Aquacomputer GPU jackets are gorgeous.

The hose you get with the XSPC kits from Performance-PCs gets cloudy after a couple of weeks of use. I had to buy this Primochill hose separately, and it's pricy, at about $2.50 a foot, but it hasn't gotten cloudy and gross looking after a couple of months of use, so I guess it was worth it.

IMG_0464.JPG
 
Thanks for the photo.... in your opinion, if I go with the 270 res and a 420 rad along with a couple 1070 will it all fit ? According to NewEgg...the gpu is 11.73" long in stock form. Once I cool it, it will probably be a 1/2
shorter. Want to make sure I don't hit the res.
 
I don't think you'll have a problem, although I'd question the wisdom of using two 1070s. That's a Founder's edition 1080 in the photo. Regardless of which position you put the card in, there's space between it and the reservoir on my setup, and you can see how much space I have to move the reservoir to the right.

While I'm thinking about it, though: The PCI-E riser cable that comes with the case is garbage. You need this cable:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CEIEWU4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You may also need a longer one for the outer GPU (actually card 2) in an SLI arrangement.

You may be able to get Thermaltake to send you a new cable (they revised the design at some point), but the one I got was also garbage.
 
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RazorWind said:
I don't think you'll have a problem, although I'd question the wisdom of using two 1070s. That's a Founder's edition 1080 in the photo. Regardless of which position you put the card in, there's space between it and the reservoir on my setup, and you can see how much space I have to move the reservoir to the right.

While I'm thinking about it, though: The PCI-E riser cable that comes with the case is garbage. You need this cable:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CEIEWU4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
You may also need a longer one for the outer GPU (actually card 2) in an SLI arrangement.

You may be able to get Thermaltake to send you a new cable (they revised the design at some point), but the one I got was also garbage.
Click to expand...


Don't question the wisdom, I'm doing it for no other reason than because I want to. Already have one 1070. Thanks for the tip on the cables, heard they were problematic.
 
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Ordered a few things today. Pretty much nothing on my list....in no particular order

Core P5

EK-Supremacy EVO CPU Water Block - (Original CSQ) Copper/Plexi

Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper X-Flow 420mm

Still on the fence with the pump/res combo ... most likely will go with the xspc 270, but who knows.
 
I'm at quite the loss for fittings... maybe you guys can point me in the right direction. I don't plan on cooling my gpu immediately, but will at some point, so I will still need the fittings. I will be going with the photon 270 along with the other parts listed above. I know 90's aren't recommended since they reduce flow, but I'm still open to using them. I don't really overclock so I can lose a little performance. I will be going with 1/2 OD PETG since that seems to be the most popular. I'll also need drain valves. Basically all the small stuff that adds up and breaks the bank. Would prefer less expensive fittings, but not garbage either.

Off topic.....it seems I will lose the backplate on my strix 1070 if I go with EK, can anyone confirm that ? If so, that sucks, since it is a real nice plate.
 
reaper7534! said:
I'm at quite the loss for fittings... maybe you guys can point me in the right direction. I don't plan on cooling my gpu immediately, but will at some point, so I will still need the fittings. I will be going with the photon 270 along with the other parts listed above. I know 90's aren't recommended since they reduce flow, but I'm still open to using them. I don't really overclock so I can lose a little performance. I will be going with 1/2 OD PETG since that seems to be the most popular. I'll also need drain valves. Basically all the small stuff that adds up and breaks the bank. Would prefer less expensive fittings, but not garbage either.

Off topic.....it seems I will lose the backplate on my strix 1070 if I go with EK, can anyone confirm that ? If so, that sucks, since it is a real nice plate.
Click to expand...

I can't speak specifically to that model, but yes, both with the Gigabyte G1 Gaming 1080 and with the Pascal Titan X, the included back-plates were not compatible with EK's water blocks.

On Nvidia design it was because they used some weirdo hex nut screws to hold the cooler on, that had threaded holes in the top to screw in the backplate. This obviously wasn't going to work with an aftermarket solution.

In Gigabytes case its because they got silly with their design and used screws going on both directions through the holes in the board, meaning that in order for their backplate to stay on you'd need acrews to go through the water block and into the backplate.

This would all work so much easier if all backplates just had through holes, and they were attached with the same screws that go through the board and screw into threaded holes in the cooler on the other side.

Simple, works and universal compatibility.

Anyway, long story short, if you want a backplate with that block, you will either have to some how jerry rig the original one into place, which may make it impossible to reinstall it with the original cooler if you want to sell the board, OR you'll have to order EK's backplate specifically for the Strix 1070.
 
reaper7534! said:
I'm at quite the loss for fittings... maybe you guys can point me in the right direction. I don't plan on cooling my gpu immediately, but will at some point, so I will still need the fittings. I will be going with the photon 270 along with the other parts listed above. I know 90's aren't recommended since they reduce flow, but I'm still open to using them. I don't really overclock so I can lose a little performance. I will be going with 1/2 OD PETG since that seems to be the most popular. I'll also need drain valves. Basically all the small stuff that adds up and breaks the bank. Would prefer less expensive fittings, but not garbage either.

Off topic.....it seems I will lose the backplate on my strix 1070 if I go with EK, can anyone confirm that ? If so, that sucks, since it is a real nice plate.
Click to expand...

I have a couple of 90's in mine and they aren't a problem unless you jave a very complicated and restrictive loop, in which case they might push you over the edge.

The bends I used were XSPC's 45 and 90 degree bends. They essentially just screw into the holes of the other components, and you still need to screw the fitting of your choice into the other end of them.

So your assembly would go like this:

Component (block, pump, radiator etc) -> bend -> fitting -> tube.

You don't need the bend in-between there if you can make your routing work without it. They just help avoid tight bends where you'd otherwise get a kink, in some situations.

I planned mine by taking a picture of my motherboard in my case, and then printing it and drawing in all my planned components and figured out my planned tube routing. Where thibgs looked tight, I assumed I would need a bend, so I counted up the tight spots and ordered that many bends.

As far as which fittings to get, I like compression fittings. That way you won't need any other clamps or zip ties, and they stick on there really well.

Just remember the aisle has to match your tubing, so if you have 3/8" ID 1/2" OD tubing, you need fittings designed for 3/8ID an 1/2" OD or they won't fit and might leak if you can even get them on.

As far as what brand to get? I don't know. I went with XSPC because they were more reasonably priced (no fittings are truly reasonable in price though) and readily available on Amazon with prime.

They worked for me, but I've only built once, so I have no experience with any other fittings.

Get a couple of extra ones just in case you have a leaky one during leak test and need to swap it out, or if you want to attach tubing to your fill or drain ports.
 
I don't worry about 90s... keep it reasonable and its not something that should keep you up at night.
 
Thanks guys...case will be here tomorrow so it will be easier to plan. Want to make sure I have everything on hand since this is my primary pc and don't want it down to long.
 
Here are the fittings I'm getting, no 90's ... going to attempt build without them. I believe I have everything I need for plumbing cpu, res/pump, radiator and drain. I'll need additional fittings when i go sli. Yes, I'm lazy and tired of paper clips....picking up the jumper.

Missing anything ?

upload_2016-8-20_23-43-56.png
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
I can't speak specifically to that model, but yes, both with the Gigabyte G1 Gaming 1080 and with the Pascal Titan X, the included back-plates were not compatible with EK's water blocks.

On Nvidia design it was because they used some weirdo hex nut screws to hold the cooler on, that had threaded holes in the top to screw in the backplate. This obviously wasn't going to work with an aftermarket solution.
Click to expand...

Does EK use a different thread pitch than the Founder's Edition reference cooler? It wouldn't totally surprise me to find that you can just reuse the nvidia weirdo fasteners, and then get some hex cap screws or something to hold a backplate on using the threads in nvidia's fasteners. The biggest obstacle here being that the nVidia backplate uses countersunk holes, whereas most others don't.
Otherwise, a trip to a Fastenal (or local indie equivalent) would probably get you some super cool looking stainless fasteners that would do the job.
 
RazorWind said:
Does EK use a different thread pitch than the Founder's Edition reference cooler? It wouldn't totally surprise me to find that you can just reuse the nvidia weirdo fasteners, and then get some hex cap screws or something to hold a backplate on using the threads in nvidia's fasteners. The biggest obstacle here being that the nVidia backplate uses countersunk holes, whereas most others don't.
Otherwise, a trip to a Fastenal (or local indie equivalent) would probably get you some super cool looking stainless fasteners that would do the job.
Click to expand...

Its very possible that this might work.

The problem is that messing with tolerances on these things can be dangerous. I don't want to risk cracking the die of my $1,200 GPU :p

I'm no stranger to customizing things, drilling holes, and fastening, etc, but this is one area where I am inclined to not stray from the intended design one little bit.
 
EK uses different threading so it won't work and really rigging the ref backplate on at this point seems foolish to me. Blow 1200 on gpu + any applicable taxes, add 135 block, then jury-rig plastic backplate? Not my cup of tea.
 
thesmokingman said:
EK uses different threading so it won't work and really rigging the ref backplate on at this point seems foolish to me. Blow 1200 on gpu + any applicable taxes, add 135 block, then jury-rig plastic backplate? Not my cup of tea.
Click to expand...
The OP is using about a (non-reference?) 1070, not a Titan. It apparently comes with a pretty nice aluminum back plate.

Regarding the risk of damage to the card, I think you'd almost have to try to screw this up, assuming you could get fasteners in the correct thread pitch and length. At least, that has been my experience with much more delicate and expensive hardware than any graphics card.
 
RazorWind said:
Sweet jesus man, if you're getting a $350 refund, how much is the premium?

Here's a photo of my system I took yesterday, after I got done hanging it on the wall. I still need to tidy up the cables, and get my hands on a water jacket for the 1080 - I had one on my last card, which game the system more of a "bundle of snakes" kind of look, with the extra hoses. It looks kinda weak with just the three shown here

System spec:
MSI X99A Gaming 7
Intel Core i7 5820K
32GB of DDR4 memory (G.Skill, I think?)
Corsair SATA III SSD and 1 spindle (Western digital, I think)
PNY GTX 1080 Founder's Edition
Meinberg GPS180PEX GPS Timing Card
Corsair RM1000i power supply

The cooling system consists of:
XSPC Raystorm CPU jacket
XSPC Photon D5 - 170mm version
XSPC EX480 Radiator
XSPC Screw fittings - I love these
XSPC 120mm fans - 1650 RPM falvor (I run these at 7V, which is plenty)
Primochill Advanced LRT 3/8ID/5/8OD tubing

Previously, it also had an Aquacomputer water jacket on the Sapphire 290X I was running before. The Aquacomputer GPU jackets are gorgeous.

The hose you get with the XSPC kits from Performance-PCs gets cloudy after a couple of weeks of use. I had to buy this Primochill hose separately, and it's pricy, at about $2.50 a foot, but it hasn't gotten cloudy and gross looking after a couple of months of use, so I guess it was worth it.

IMG_0464.JPG
Click to expand...



I had a similar experience with the XSPC tubing. I had it in black and within two weeks it had a build up of leeched out plasticizers bad enough for me to notice bits of it in the res. I went with the Primochill and haven't had a single issue with it in over a year.
 
RazorWind said:
The OP is using about a (non-reference?) 1070, not a Titan. It apparently comes with a pretty nice aluminum back plate.

Regarding the risk of damage to the card, I think you'd almost have to try to screw this up, assuming you could get fasteners in the correct thread pitch and length. At least, that has been my experience with much more delicate and expensive hardware than any graphics card.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's a very nice backplate. EK say's no to using it with their block, but I wonder how much work it really would be to use it.
 
thesmokingman said:
If you had to mod it, leaving behind proof it's not worth it at least to me.
Click to expand...


Yeah, these things are easier to sell down the road if you put the original cooler back on and it looks like when it came out of the box.

I have no doubt I could make the original backplate on mine work, but it may require modding it, which would lower resale value down the road.
 
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