NCASE M1 watercooling choice

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Mastaba

Limp Gawd
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Apr 2, 2011
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I'm planning to build a M1 based config using 6700K and next gen (polaris or pascal) gpu, but i wonder what's the best choice for a full watercooling cpu+gpu :

1/ classic single side 240mm radiator with two NF-P12, i would use a EK EVO CPU wb, a DCC+EK top (does it fit?) and probably the compatible EK full cover wb for the gpu when available. Don't know if a single 240 is enough to cool CPU+GPU? Nobody know the exact power consumption of these future gpus but i assume it shouldn't be more than high end 980ti or furyX?

2/ twin 240mm rads (bottom with 12mm fans) like here, but this will force me to use some pump-wb combo on the CPU like the Apogee Drive 2, i don't know what are the performances versus the EK, wondering about the lack of vibration dampening and the AD2 seems to be out of stock here in Europe so i'll have to order directly from swiftech.
Don't know if this really worth it? Is there a significant performance increase from a second 240mm radiator even with 12mm fans?

3/ classic side 240mm + 120mm in the bottom like here, but don't know if there's enough space to fit a 120mm and a DCC and the needed tubing?

4/ something completely different?
 
Mastaba said:
I'm planning to build a M1 based config using 6700K and next gen (polaris or pascal) gpu, but i wonder what's the best choice for a full watercooling cpu+gpu :

1/ classic single side 240mm radiator with two NF-P12, i would use a EK EVO CPU wb, a DCC+EK top (does it fit?) and probably the compatible EK full cover wb for the gpu when available. Don't know if a single 240 is enough to cool CPU+GPU? Nobody know the exact power consumption of these future gpus but i assume it shouldn't be more than high end 980ti or furyX?

2/ twin 240mm rads (bottom with 12mm fans) like here, but this will force me to use some pump-wb combo on the CPU like the Apogee Drive 2, i don't know what are the performances versus the EK, wondering about the lack of vibration dampening and the AD2 seems to be out of stock here in Europe so i'll have to order directly from swiftech.
Don't know if this really worth it? Is there a significant performance increase from a second 240mm radiator even with 12mm fans?

3/ classic side 240mm + 120mm in the bottom like here, but don't know if there's enough space to fit a 120mm and a DCC and the needed tubing?

4/ something completely different?
Click to expand...

You might get more responses over on the SFF > NCase N1 thread (NCASE M1: a crowdfunded Mini-ITX case (updates in first post)).

The 240mm rad on the bottom implies that you're either using Intel graphics or you have a full-cover block on your GPU. This is because there's simply not enough space for standard 25mm fans.
See my build here for the clearances with an EK CoolStream SE 240 radiator and 15mm Silverstone fans on the bottom: NCASE M1: a crowdfunded Mini-ITX case (updates in first post)
GPU is an EVGA GTX970 with the EK full-cover block.

This build works fine but water temperatures are pretty high after an evenings 1440p gaming (Delta-T of 35C above ambient).
Because of my pump/res choice, I can't install another 240mm radiator on the side so I've ordered a 120mm CoolStream PE (the mid-thickness one) and a Noctua NF-F12 plus some soft tubing and fittings to splice it into my loop. It'll go across from the CPU on the side bracket.
This should just about bring things into line.

The other option is a 92mm radiator at the back (as used here: NCASE M1 v1 Mini-ITX Build) but you need to measure things up to ensure you can tube up your CPU in this configuration.
Note that the 120mm radiator is 70% more surface area that the 92mm so you're losing out on quite a bit of extra cooling if you go this route.
 
From a temperature perspective one 240mm rad is enough to cool both one high-end CPU and GPU. I have a 5820K @4GHz and a GTX 980 @1.5GHz on one Swiftech 240mm, and the temps max out at 61°C on the hottest CPU-Core, and at 59°C on the GPU, all in an Ncase. If you go 2x240mm, you will get into a real struggle with cable management and tubing, and be forced to use a cpu-block-pump combo. However, performance wise, the Apogee 2 won't be far behind a EKWB evo, so i wouldn't worry too much about that.

My bet would be to go for one 240mm on the side, and mount a ddc on the bottom; this way you have room for tubing and cable management under the gpu, and if you use a full cover block you also won't need an extra fan to cool the vrams. You can, however, mount a slim 120mm rad below the gpu (like a magicool G2 Slim) with a slim fan (Im not sure a 25mm one will fit), but it will be a tight fit with all cables.
 
Do you think a second 240 rad on the bottom will provide much more cooling vs only one 240 side? Or it's negligible?
As for a 120mm rad, is it going to increase the performance or noise by a significant margin and worth the hassle?
I saw that MarkRWatts managed to cool his rig using only one 240 bottom rad (with 15mm fans) so even if the temps are quite high it seems to cool effectively.

I also saw the Predator build that's very interesting as it contains the pump in itself (but a little worried about the very tight fit)
Tube routing could be bottom rad>predator>cpu>gpu
 
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