Please critique my loop!

[GruffDaddy]

I'm planning to build a water cooled system using Aqua Computer parts as much as possible. This will be my first water cooled rig. The parts will be purchased in 2 phases due to finances. These are the parts which I plan on getting initially:

Phase I

Case.....Lian-Li PC-G75B
Mobo....Maximus Formula SE
Radiator...Danger Den Black Ice GTX Xtreme
Pump....Danger Den DDC 3.2
Reservoir....Aquabay
Aqua Tube
Aquatube LED Mounting Cap
Blue LED
Tubemeter
CPU Waterblock......Cuplex XT Double Impact
GPU Waterblock......AquagraFX NVIDIA 8800 GTX
Plug&Cool 8mm Fittings...14
Aquastream 3.5" Monitoring Device
Tubing..............14 ft Tygon Premium 3/8" ID
Coolant.............Zertex

Layout will be as follows:

Pump-->Rad-->CPU-->NB-->GPU-->Res-->Pump

1. Will this be enough to get me started?
2. Is the layout alright?
3. Any suggestions for improving what I have?

Phase II (at a later date)

Flow Control Sensor & Cable
Thermal Control System
Aquajet
Thermal Sensor
Vario Dual LED
Aquaero Power Connector ATX Standby Relay Cable
Monitor......Aquaero VFD
Control......Multiswitch
Aquastream Controller Board - V3.5
Cable Connector.....Aquabus
Aquaero to Aquastream Cable

Thanks to anyone who can help!

 

[Arcygenical]

Looks good, except for the radiator. For a quad core (You didn't specify) and a single 8800GTX, you should have at least a triple radiator. I suggest the swiftech MCR320, although I'm sure AC has something comparable.

That's one hell of an expensive setup you'll be running.

 

[waterlogged]

That's one hell of an expensive setup you'll be running.

Expense is relatively to your ability to make (or steal) money. Doesn't look expensive to me after I saw that 3 loop Aqua Computer setup Top Nurse did on bit-tech.

 

[headala]

Expense is relatively to your ability to make (or steal) money. Doesn't look expensive to me after I saw that 3 loop Aqua Computer setup Top Nurse did on bit-tech.

OMG you said her name...you'll be banned for sure!

Are you talking about Feeding Frenzy? I don't think she ever finished it.

 

[waterlogged]

I'm planning to build a water cooled system using Aqua Computer parts as much as possible. This will be my first water cooled rig. The parts will be purchased in 2 phases due to finances. These are the parts which I plan on getting initially:

Phase I

Case.....Lian-Li PC-G75B
Mobo....Maximus Formula SE
Radiator...Danger Den Black Ice GTX Xtreme
Pump....Danger Den DDC 3.2
Reservoir....Aquabay
Aqua Tube
Aquatube LED Mounting Cap
Blue LED
Tubemeter
CPU Waterblock......Cuplex XT Double Impact
GPU Waterblock......AquagraFX NVIDIA 8800 GTX
Plug&Cool 8mm Fittings...14
Aquastream 3.5" Monitoring Device
Tubing..............14 ft Tygon Premium 3/8" ID
Coolant.............Zertex

Layout will be as follows:

Pump-->Rad-->CPU-->NB-->GPU-->Res-->Pump

1. Will this be enough to get me started?
2. Is the layout alright?
3. Any suggestions for improving what I have?

You definitely have good tastes in water cooling.

When you talk about the Aquastream control device are you speaking in reference to the Aqua Computer Power Adjust controller? If so you might want to consider getting a new Aquastream XT pump as it runs similar to the standard DDC pumps. The 18w DDC's seem to have more problems than the standard DDC pumps. With the regular DDC + the Power Adjust you can OC the pump for more flow plus you get use of the Aquasuite software right now. Lots of options to consider here.

The loop layout is nothing to worry about. Do what ever is the easiest.

Phase II (at a later date)

Flow Control Sensor & Cable
Thermal Control System
Aquajet
Thermal Sensor
Vario Dual LED
Aquaero Power Connector ATX Standby Relay Cable
Monitor......Aquaero VFD
Control......Multiswitch
Aquastream Controller Board - V3.5
Cable Connector.....Aquabus
Aquaero to Aquastream Cable

Thanks to anyone who can help!

Make sure you get the new flow meter with the 5.6mm hole size. The Multiswitch was a bit of a letdown as it doesn't do much unless you can program with the SDK. Otherwise it all looks good to me.

 

[waterlogged]

OMG you said her name...you'll be banned for sure!

Are you talking about Feeding Frenzy? I don't think she ever finished it.

Banned? Did she piss off the powers that be that much around here?

Yes, I do believe that was the name of the project. Haven't had a chance to get to the end yet. That is one hell of a long project! You know how girls change their mind...

 

[GruffDaddy]

Thanks for all the replies! This is GREAT! I'm waiting on the QX9650 to come out this week. If not I'll settle for a QX6600 till then.

Arcygenical- The Danger Den Black Ice GTX Xtreme has 3 x 120mm fans. I just read about the Aquastream XT in this forum earlier so I'll wait until Sharka gets them and place an order.

Waterlogged- I'll get the new flowmeter. Hopefully Sharka will either have it on stock or on their next purchase cycle.

You definitely have good tastes in water cooling.

This rig will look so sexy it will make my wife jealous. As for the price of the setup...a little over 1k.

Where I'm having problems with is selecting the correct tubing and fittings. Any advice would be greatly appreciated here.

 

[headala]

R u getting an Aquaero? If you're spending that much, it would be a nice little toy to have. I love mine; just set it up and forget about it.

Regarding tubing and sizes, first some required reading:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=147767

Basically, if I were you I'd use 1/2" or 3/8" OD barbs and 7/16" or 3/8" ID tubing. Masterkleer and Tygon 3606(?) are what I've used and loved. I really love to stretch 3/8" tubing over 1/2" barbs (dip ends in boiling water to soften); sometimes don't even need hose clamps with that!

 

[ikellensbro]

Firs and foremost, while I think pretty much...everything in Phase 2 is pointless, I'll add my critiques for Phase 1:

While I dislike AC blocks for their price vs. performance value, they'll keep your hardware from frying. It's hard to find reviews, but most indicators say a FuZion or Apogee GTX should cool better than a DI, while giving the rest of your components more flow to perform better. Same with the AquagraFX, except that I personally find EK full cover blocks to look (and most likely perform) better.

I'd check again to make sure the tubing you want (and I'd recommend Masterkleer instead of Tygon, no point spending more for practically the same thing) will fit those Plug & Cool fittings. 8mm = 0.315", not 3/8" (0.375), which means their outer diameters (which is what actually matters) will most likely not be the same. With Plug & Cool fittings (as with any push fits), you need tubing whose outer diameter matches the fitting size, so make sure you match tubing to the right push fits.

It's been a while, but iirc some people had some problems with Aquatubes not bleeding properly (aka acting as a reservoir should) when using powerful pumps, although AC Aquajets may have solved that problem - at the expense of less performance. If you're looking for silence, I'd suggest something more along the lines of an original DDC (aka DDC 3.1/Swiftech MCP350 - not on DD's site), in addition to the higher chance of problems with DDC3.2s (although the AC Power Adjust claims to rectify these problems - for almost the same cost as a backup pump).

You won't get much use from a Tubemeter until you get an Aquaero, so I'd wait until your Phase 2 to get that.

BI GTX Xtremes look promising, but for the price, you might as well go Thermochill. Of course, I would recommend going with a Swiftech MCR320 at nearly 1/3 of the price of either. If you're willing to mod or do a little extra tubing routing, you could get a single MCR320 and mount it wherever you were planning to mount the GTX Xtreme, and use the money you'd save to stick MCR120s over every remaining 120mm fan mount.

You also don't list an NB block, so I'd recommend an MCW30 if it'll fit your mobo. AC's NB blocks are overkill (and pointlessly restrictive), but if you really need to use all AC blocks, make sure it'll fit your mobo.

 

[headala]

Firs and foremost, while I think pretty much...everything in Phase 2 is pointless, I'll add my critiques for Phase 1:

While I dislike AC blocks for their price vs. performance value, they'll keep your hardware from frying. It's hard to find reviews, but most indicators say a FuZion or Apogee GTX should cool better than a DI, while giving the rest of your components more flow to perform better. Same with the AquagraFX, except that I personally find EK full cover blocks to look (and most likely perform) better.

I'd check again to make sure the tubing you want (and I'd recommend Masterkleer instead of Tygon, no point spending more for practically the same thing) will fit those Plug & Cool fittings. 8mm = 0.315", not 3/8" (0.375), which means their outer diameters (which is what actually matters) will most likely not be the same. With Plug & Cool fittings (as with any push fits), you need tubing whose outer diameter matches the fitting size, so make sure you match tubing to the right push fits.

It's been a while, but iirc some people had some problems with Aquatubes not bleeding properly (aka acting as a reservoir should) when using powerful pumps, although AC Aquajets may have solved that problem - at the expense of less performance. If you're looking for silence, I'd suggest something more along the lines of an original DDC (aka DDC 3.1/Swiftech MCP350 - not on DD's site), in addition to the higher chance of problems with DDC3.2s (although the AC Power Adjust claims to rectify these problems - for almost the same cost as a backup pump).

You won't get much use from a Tubemeter until you get an Aquaero, so I'd wait until your Phase 2 to get that.

BI GTX Xtremes look promising, but for the price, you might as well go Thermochill. Of course, I would recommend going with a Swiftech MCR320 at nearly 1/3 of the price of either. If you're willing to mod or do a little extra tubing routing, you could get a single MCR320 and mount it wherever you were planning to mount the GTX Xtreme, and use the money you'd save to stick MCR120s over every remaining 120mm fan mount.

You also don't list an NB block, so I'd recommend an MCW30 if it'll fit your mobo. AC's NB blocks are overkill (and pointlessly restrictive), but if you really need to use all AC blocks, make sure it'll fit your mobo.

Did you find some reviews online or people willing to test them? I would love to hear what you found out...I'll be in the market come my next build and like you said information is hard to come by for the Di.

Also, while I agree that the price/performance ratio isn't as good as, say, a Fuzion, I really don't think that price is a huge issue for most people. It's funny to me when people gloat about saving $.33 a piece on hose clamps for their SLI'd, Core 2 Extreme, Lian Li, Iwaki, etc. rig.

 

[ikellensbro]

Did you find some reviews online or people willing to test them? I would love to hear what you found out...I'll be in the market come my next build and like you said information is hard to come by for the Di.

Mostly, it looks like the DI won't be able to be bowed, which really hurts compared to Apogee GTXs and FuZions on 775 procs. As for the flow part, the few Pressure Drop vs. Flow graphs that came out for the Cuplex XT showed it to be incredibly restrictive - so take that level of restriction, and increase it again. If you're looking for absolute top performance, look somewhere else for the time being (especially at that price), but I'm sure some people will find the DI's appearance to make up for both of those drawbacks (in my book at least).

 

[Arcygenical]

Expense is relatively to your ability to make (or steal) money. Doesn't look expensive to me after I saw that 3 loop Aqua Computer setup Top Nurse did on bit-tech.

Not really. Expense is relative to the prices of other comparable products on the market. An expensive car is deemed expensive because it's expense is greater than most other cars. It might not be much money to some, but that doesn't change it's level of expense.

Arcygenical- The Danger Den Black Ice GTX Xtreme has 3 x 120mm fans.

Careful here. There are many different radiators. The GTX Xtreme comes in 1x 120, 2x 120, 3x 120 and 4x 120mm fan configurations.

 

[waterlogged]

Firs and foremost, while I think pretty much...everything in Phase 2 is pointless, I'll add my critiques for Phase 1:

Pointless? It certainly has a point, but you may not see it.

While I dislike AC blocks for their price vs. performance value, they'll keep your hardware from frying. It's hard to find reviews, but most indicators say a FuZion or Apogee GTX should cool better than a DI, while giving the rest of your components more flow to perform better. Same with the AquagraFX, except that I personally find EK full cover blocks to look (and most likely perform) better.

Are you comparing by experience of using AC products or just what you have read somewhere? So if there are "no reviews" out there for the DI how do you justify dissing them?

I'd check again to make sure the tubing you want (and I'd recommend Masterkleer instead of Tygon, no point spending more for practically the same thing) will fit those Plug & Cool fittings. 8mm = 0.315", not 3/8" (0.375), which means their outer diameters (which is what actually matters) will most likely not be the same. With Plug & Cool fittings (as with any push fits), you need tubing whose outer diameter matches the fitting size, so make sure you match tubing to the right push fits.

Good catch! I think he meant to say he was going to use hose barbs made by AC. Hopefully he gets everything with G 1/4 threads.

It's been a while, but iirc some people had some problems with Aquatubes not bleeding properly (aka acting as a reservoir should) when using powerful pumps, although AC Aquajets may have solved that problem - at the expense of less performance. If you're looking for silence, I'd suggest something more along the lines of an original DDC (aka DDC 3.1/Swiftech MCP350 - not on DD's site), in addition to the higher chance of problems with DDC3.2s (although the AC Power Adjust claims to rectify these problems - for almost the same cost as a backup pump).

I think I would rather have a controller that fixes a particular problem rather than wait for the dang thing to fail and possibly ruin an expensive computer. The problem is not that the Aquatube is hard to bleed. The problem is when using an Aquajet in a horizontal position the flow is to fast and you get a major problem with bubbles. In a vertical operation this doesn't seem to occur, but the fix in a horizontal operation is to not use the Aquajet (using an Aquajet in a horizontal position is a waste of money).

You won't get much use from a Tubemeter until you get an Aquaero, so I'd wait until your Phase 2 to get that.

The Tubemeter can be hooked up to a USB port and use the Aquasuite software without an Aquaero, IIRC.

You also don't list an NB block, so I'd recommend an MCW30 if it'll fit your mobo. AC's NB blocks are overkill (and pointlessly restrictive), but if you really need to use all AC blocks, make sure it'll fit your mobo.

My TwinPlex is one of the least restrictive designs on the market. The TwinPlex Pro is also another. Even the TwinPlex XT look alike is a simple pin grid much like anything else on the market.