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Need help adding $700 Water Loop added to my PC!

S

SpencerMLB

n00b
Joined
Apr 26, 2014
Messages
4
I got a $4200 budget for my new gaming PC I am going to be building soon. Due to some very fortunate events, I was able to upgrade to this budget, from my previous $3500 budget. with the extra money, I want to add a custom Water Loop to my PC. I've never done a water loop, and it's something I've been studying for a while. I am aware of the possible problems I could face with a water loop like leaks, and corrosion, and all that. Now, I don't know almost anything about Water Loop equipment. I know EK, and Koolance, as they're apparently good manufacturers. But, taking the build I will give you, can you add a custom water loop to it? I will be cooling my CPU, and 2 Way SLI GPU's. I kind of have a Red/Black theme going on, so, if you can help that out, that would be nice. I don't mind much for colored coolant, Distilled water is fine, but red tubing would be cool. Thank you very much!

The case supports these measurements of Radiators/Fans if it helps:
Front: (x3) 120mm
Top: (x4) 120mm or (x3) 140mm
Rear: (x1)140mm
Side: (x8) 120mm or (x6) 140mm
Mid: (x1) 120mm

Current build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.99 @ Newegg)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Cooling MX4 4g Thermal Paste ($7.24 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Formula ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($284.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Dominator Platinum 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ Best Buy)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Dual Classified ACX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($759.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Dual Classified ACX Video Card (2-Way SLI) ($759.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 900D ATX Full Tower Case ($279.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 1000G2 1000W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($154.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus PB278Q 27.0" Monitor ($489.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $3559.13
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-26 20:44 EDT-0400)
 
$700 is kind of pushing it for the kind of monster loop that can be fit in a 900D. You may want to see if you can increase that to about 800-900.

Top radiator: Alphacool Monsta 480
Bottom radiator: Alphacool UT60 480
Fans: 12 Aerocool Red DS 120 fans
Pumps: 1 or 2 MCP655 or D5 pumps
Reservoir: Either standalone reservoir with pump tops, or reservoir designed to integrate D5/MCP655 pumps. Your choice.
CPU block: Koolance CPU-380I or Swiftech Apogee XL
GPU blocks: As much as I hate to recommend them, EK Classified 780ti blocks are the only ones that would fit your choice of cards.
Tubing: Primochill UV Red tubing, I recommend either 3/8" ID 5/8" OD, or 1/2" ID 3/4" OD. About 10-15 feet should be sufficient.
Fittings: Barb fittings for cheapness, or compression fittings if you prefer the nicer looks and are willing to spend the money.
 
Tsumi said:
$700 is kind of pushing it for the kind of monster loop that can be fit in a 900D. You may want to see if you can increase that to about 800-900.

Top radiator: Alphacool Monsta 480
Bottom radiator: Alphacool UT60 480
Fans: 12 Aerocool Red DS 120 fans
Pumps: 1 or 2 MCP655 or D5 pumps
Reservoir: Either standalone reservoir with pump tops, or reservoir designed to integrate D5/MCP655 pumps. Your choice.
CPU block: Koolance CPU-380I or Swiftech Apogee XL
GPU blocks: As much as I hate to recommend them, EK Classified 780ti blocks are the only ones that would fit your choice of cards.
Tubing: Primochill UV Red tubing, I recommend either 3/8" ID 5/8" OD, or 1/2" ID 3/4" OD. About 10-15 feet should be sufficient.
Fittings: Barb fittings for cheapness, or compression fittings if you prefer the nicer looks and are willing to spend the money.
Click to expand...
Why do you hate to recommend the 780 Ti blocks?
 
SpencerMLB said:
Why do you hate to recommend the 780 Ti blocks?
Click to expand...

EK has/had a history of nickel plating issues that they blamed on customers using distilled water, silver kill coils, and competitors liquid coolants. Their nickel would corrode and potentially cause corrosion on other waterblocks in the loop.

They also have occasional sub par machining and milling on their copper.

Though sticking with plain acetal and copper or plexi and copper can prevent any corrosion issues.
 
Also, might want to rethink that motherboard, unless you don't plan to use the block in your loop. Asus uses aluminum in their blocks, so it cannot be used in a normal watercooling loop. People say you could run anti-freeze in with the water or whatever, but no, that degrades the cooling ability of the water. Just plan on getting a different block or running the risk of corrosion.
 
TraptPatriot said:
Most people do not like EK because of an issue in the past. The issue was resolved. I am running an EK 780ti block and it works awesome.
Click to expand...

It's not just an issue in the past, the ongoing issue of poor customer service remains a problem. It's for that same reason I don't recommend XSPC.
 
TraptPatriot said:
Also, might want to rethink that motherboard, unless you don't plan to use the block in your loop. Asus uses aluminum in their blocks, so it cannot be used in a normal watercooling loop. People say you could run anti-freeze in with the water or whatever, but no, that degrades the cooling ability of the water. Just plan on getting a different block or running the risk of corrosion.
Click to expand...

Whats a good motherboard I could use then?
 
jrweis said:
With that budget, why aren't you buying a socket 2011?
Click to expand...

Not all of the build is final. I'm still working out different solutions to it. This won't be completely bought and finished by ~ August, and by that time, I do know that the new Z97 and X99 Mobo's would have released, Intel's new 8 core processors would be released, Nvidia G-SYNC monitors would be released, so half of this stuff on this build will be upgraded when I start buying the parts.
 
SpencerMLB said:
Why do you hate to recommend the 780 Ti blocks?
Click to expand...

I echo the EK sentiment. Their quality is just poor, period. Even now.

I use Heatkiller blocks....but I don't know about the availability for a 780 Ti. You should email Watercool.de and ask them. Heatkiller blocks are superbly machined and their quality and customer service is excellent.

I have the Maximus VI Formula. I don't use water in the on-board water-capable sinks. they are aluminum....unfortunately. The board really doesn't need water cooling in that spot. In my install, those stupid sinks got in the way of a top mounted radiator, until I got creative....I don't think in the 900D you'll have the same space problems I had.

If you want the Maximus VI and have the bucks....I'd just buy the Extreme.

I'd go with MCP-655 pump and the XSPC acrylic pump top-reservoir....I have that in my Maximus VI computer and it's a good choice.
I like and use compression fittings. The gold standard is/are BitsPower, but XSPC has some nice compressions these days.
 
SpencerMLB said:
Whats a good motherboard I could use then?
Click to expand...

For Haswell, boards matter very little in overclocking when you get above the $125 range. What you want to look for is the features you need/want in the board (number of USB, SATA ports, layout of slots, onboard power buttons, etc). Asus has had a recent history of poor RMA service, and I've had good experiences with Gigabyte and MSI, so I would recommend you look at their boards. ASRock is also high on the recommendation list.

magoo said:
I echo the EK sentiment. Their quality is just poor, period. Even now.

I use Heatkiller blocks....but I don't know about the availability for a 780 Ti. You should email Watercool.de and ask them. Heatkiller blocks are superbly machined and their quality and customer service is excellent.

I have the Maximus VI Formula. I don't use water in the on-board water-capable sinks. they are aluminum....unfortunately. The board really doesn't need water cooling in that spot. In my install, those stupid sinks got in the way of a top mounted radiator, until I got creative....I don't think in the 900D you'll have the same space problems I had.

If you want the Maximus VI and have the bucks....I'd just buy the Extreme.

I'd go with MCP-655 pump and the XSPC acrylic pump top-reservoir....I have that in my Maximus VI computer and it's a good choice.
I like and use compression fittings. The gold standard is/are BitsPower, but XSPC has some nice compressions these days.
Click to expand...

Heatkiller has blocks for the 780ti I believe, but these are 780ti Classified (uses a much larger PCB). Only EK makes blocks for those cards.

As I've said about EK, they put quantity over quality. They want to get as many different kinds of blocks as possible.
 
The EK 780ti block I have works just fine and the craftsmanship is great. I have a copper and acetal one, I wouldn't touch their nickel plated blocks.
 
Tsumi helped me with my water cooling setup. I have a pair of the EK blocks and bridge on my 780Ti KPE's. No issues to speak of. At least, yet, anyway.
 
Why are you even doing this if you're not going to do itt until August.

This is not home improvement by August things will have changed or will be on the edge.

Pause.

Come back.
 
Why not get a bigger SSD if you can get more $$?

If you need more CPU power the 2011 6 core might be better?
 
And remember if you buy ASUS products, you are pretty much guaranteed to be be buying products that effectively have absolutely no warranty support from the manufacturer.
 
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