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Taking the plunge

C

crimsonyoshi

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
150
I wrote a topic in here many months ago which was a good base, but now I'm looking for some more ideas here. Prior to getting started with the questions, here's the setup / plan. And yes, I'm aware this computer could most likely power all of Canada (which for the record is where I live).

Specs:
Corsair 900D case (cause all that room is needed)
i7-5960x
Rampage V
64 GB ram (dominator series cause that's nearly all I can get)
3x GTX Titan X's (yes three). I haven't determined which brand yet (Asus Poseidon or evga hydrocopper perhaps? It of course depends if these companies release these cards as such)
1500W PSU (corsair most likely again based on what's available to me)
3x PG278Q RoG swifts (maybe 4)
Various other SSD's, CD drives, etc.

This machine will be built for gaming (and yes I know it's absolute overkill).

Now I'm pretty sure I'm going to be going for a dual pump / reservoir system. I'm strongly leaning to having the GPU's be in one loop on their own, and the CPU being in its own loop.

I've heard a lot of "you should have a custom loop for all of this" being thrown at me, but I know the perils of doing those (condensation if you haven't sealed everything in - or worse a leak). I am definitely a fan of the rigid piping. For the CPU, I'm pretty sure I can get away with a non custom job and quite frankly if I can I will as that just gives me a bit more comfort knowing there shouldn't be any leaks.


On to the questions:
If I make a custom loop using rigid piping, is it a good idea (or can / should I even do this) to put silicone around every pipe end where it meets a fitting? I realise I'll never be able to pull the pipes apart if I silicone everything, but that should solve any end hose leaks?

From people who have experience with water cooling, should I even think about doing a custom loop at all, or should I get the pre-made ones?

FrozenCPU seems to have a lot of stuff, so I'm most likely going to be getting as much as I can off of them, does anyone have any not so great experiences with them?

I feel like I'm missing more important questions, so if anyone has any advice for a first time water cooler, please chime in!

Thanks!
 
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I have the same case you are looking to get, and I love it for water cooling.

With a case like that I would suggest a custom loop. I have two 480 rads, one on top and the other on bottom.

Those two rads are cooling my rig in my sig, with no issues what so ever.

GPU's never go about 50C and CPU never go above 60C.

I also just noticed you were looking at buying your gear from FrozenCPU. I would stay away from that place for now, do a quick google search and you will see why.
 
Condensation is only a concern for sub-ambient cooling. You are not doing sub-ambient cooling unless you're using phase-change coolers or peltiers. Or if you have an external (outside the house) radiator where outside temperatures drop below interior temperatures.

FrozenCPU, as said, is in full shutdown at the moment. Your only North American choice for a great selection is Performance-PCs. Other smaller companies include Sidewinder and Koolertek. Or direct from the manufacturer.

I generally recommend multiple loops only if you are going extreme with one 360 or larger radiator per component being cooled. Otherwise, keep it all in one loop. Run the GPUs in parallel if you're worried about flow restriction (parallel lowers overall restriction, 2 blocks in parallel has less restriction than 1 block, and 3 in parallel has less than 2 in parallel).

I would suggest not starting with rigid tubing. Go with traditional tubing, I recommend Primochill Advanced LRT. Flexible tubing is much better for getting your feet wet, so the saying goes. If you want to practice for rigid tubing, try to use connectors to make the flexible tubing as straight as possible. The less bends you have to make with rigid tubing, the better.

Put the fittings on properly, and it should not leak. That's also what leak testing is for. Water on components that are turned off will not harm them if wiped off within a few hours, and then let dry for another few hours. Water while components are on can kill them, though I have had water leak on my GPUs before while they were on and they weren't harmed by it.
 
Fantastic posts, thank you guys! I'm happy to hear you can get a couple of 480 rads into there. Parallel loops for the cards was where I was leaning too, you also inject all 3 cards with the same water temp vs in series.

Creepin, how much does your rig weigh (approximately) with water in it?

Duly noted about frozenCPU, that's too bad but good to know I have another option.

I'll definitely check out the flex tubing you recommend tsumi, ty!
 
Ive got a 900D With a 480 rad in it + just 2 CPU atm (Keep putting off buying GPU blocks :X) ... anyhow it weighs A bit more than 2x the empty case weight when filled with water (See sig for detials on rig)....

FrozenCPU - Owner went bat shit crazy, hold off .... However as said Performance PCs is a nice option, Aquatuning.us doesnt get enough cred either, I personally love the place.

Rigid, start with flex as Tsumi (Seriously listen to this dude) said, if you then feel comfy with it, get yourself some rigid, less to worry about

Most important, take your time making th eloop and you wont have the issues of leaks (Typically).
 
If you're going to spend that much on hardware, why not get a caselab case?

I'm not knocking the 900D, it provides a lot for its price point. But if you want a full modular case with possibility of expansion, get a caselab. I got two
 
Pardon the double post here, but I think I've got a shopping list. By all means let me know if there's better quality components vs this list (and if you've got charts to back it up, even better).

Assuming the case is a 900D

Radiators:
So it seems if I get two 480 radiators, I'll be totally fine (even slightly overkill). Some recommendations I've gotten locally where I live even say for the GPU setup to have a 480 and a 240 (for a total of 6 fans worth of cooling). I could easily do that in this case.480 rads and 240

I see everyone using 3/8" ID 1/2" OD tubing, so I'll stick with that for sizes. Now this is a stupid question, but for that tubing I presume for the fittings on the rads, I want to stick with the same dimension as on the inner diameter of the tube? Or do you want to try and make a 3/8 inch ID fit over a 1/2 inch connector (as hard as that is) to prevent leaking?

Pumps:
I'm at a total loss here as to what to get, the name I see thrown around often is something like this: Pump

I have no idea what the different models mean (-b, PWM). Now I assume the pump controller is a device that gives me metrics on my desktop as to how my pump is doing. Which controller is a good / the best one?

Reservoir:

I'm pretty sure I can get 240's comfortably in there. As far as I know there's nothing amazing special about reservoirs so here's what I had in mind: Reservoir

CPU Block:
When it's in stock

The graphics cards I think I'll just buy with water blocks on them (Poseidon or hydrocopper)

Fans:
Corsair fans

And possibly a fan controller? Controller (note this one also apparently controls lights)



I think that covers everything. Any suggestions, or anything I missed? Note I'll have 2 reservoirs, 2 pumps, and 2 loops.
 
Again, I would highly recommend going single loop, two pumps in serial. Two D5 pumps are more than enough to maintain a high flow rate in your proposed system, and you will get better overall cooling, and the redundancy of serial pumps (one goes down, the other keeps the water flowing).

For the Laing D5 models (aka MCP655, VPP655, PMP450, etc), -b means static speed. Without the -b, it has an adjustment knob on it to adjust the speed. PWM models use PWM signals to adjust speed. A controller isn't necessary, a flow meter will provide far more useful information than a pump controller. Especially if you opt for the PWM model, where it can be controlled by PWM from the motherboard and feed RPM signals to the motherboard.

Get a good clamp and you can use same size ID barbs. Worm gear hose clamps are foolproof. Some people do 7/16" ID with 1/2" barbs with no clamps. 3/8" ID on 1/2" barbs would be impossible. Thicker wall tubing (i.e. 3/8" ID 5/8" OD) will allow you to make tighter bends if necessary.

I have heard lots of things about buggy Corsair link software. If you want software control of your fans (and everything else, really), get the Aquacomputer Aquaero stuff. It makes Corsair Link seem like a cheap copy.
 
Sense you are looking to get the same case as I got, I'll explain my loop to you just to give you an idea on what you could do.

Like I said before I have 2x480mm rads and 60mm thick.

The rads are cooling a CPU and 3 GPU's, in one loop. I tried going two loops in the past, but it was too much of a head ache trying to change parts. Plus my case looks so much cleaner with just one loop.

I'm using a double bay rez, with one MCP655. I still have plenty of flow with one pump.

Here is the rez I am using. You will notice that you can connect your pump directly to the rez, which again cleans up the look of the case.
http://www.performance-pcs.com/alphacool-repack-single-laing-d5-dual-5-25-bay-station.html

Also, I noticed you were looking at a fan controller. I was thinking about getting one myself, but decided to buy this instead and use my board’s software to control my fans.
http://www.quietpc.com/gel-pwm-1-4-pwmcable

Lastly, you asked me how heavy my case was. One word VERY! :D

*edit: I should mention that if you plan on upgrading your video cards every 6 months you might want to consider isolation valves upstream and down stream of the cards. I pretty much have to drain my whole system the next time I upgrade my cards. I have valves ready to go back in. :)
 
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Okay okay I'll do one loop!

I'll try this again: One (or two) pump(s) - maybe 2 because more power! Parallel split to the three graphics cards, I'll have to find a 1 to 3 way connector. Then combine the parallel tubes to one again and off to the first 480 radiator. From there to the CPU to the second radiator and then back to the res.

And flow meters? Now we're talking automation which is my day job! Where the heck can I get my hands on a flow meter for a computer and would that even work with a Rampage V motherboard?

The aquaero looks pretty neat, I guess really I just want to ensure the cards + cpu stay at nice temperatures no matter what I throw at them.

And in terms of swapping graphics cards, I think I'm going to be keeping my gtx titan X's for more than 6 months! Duly noted when I do decide to upgrade my cards more often.

I saw a chart saying the hardware labs had some of the best scores in terms of getting rid of heat, it looks like they are actually 518mm long all in all, is that still going to fit or is that 38mm too big for that case?
 
You could split your tubing, but would it be easier to have one path?

Again, mine as an example: Rez to first rad, then to cpu, then to cards, then to second rad then, back to rez. I guess all that matters is the water gets back to the pumps hahaha

I never bothered with flow meters, so I can't help you.

As for your rad question. I can't say forsure, but I don't think it will fit.


Off topic: You say you are from Canada, and working automation. I work in Alberta and I'm an instrument tech. Maybe we will cross paths some day..or we already have hahahha
 
Loop order doesn't really matter with a sufficiently high flow rate. It should be done in the order that provides the cleanest tubing runs.

Doing parallel is fairly easy, you don't need a 1 to 3 connector. Here are several pictures of doing parallel with GPU blocks: http://www.overclock.net/t/1347431/different-methods-of-running-multi-gpu-in-parallel-any-difference-in-temps

Aquacomputer has a few flow meters that work with their Aquaero stuff. Personally I use a Koolance flow meter, which basically gives an RPM readout to a fan header on my motherboard.

Quick disconnects are awesome, and not just for swapping out cards. It's especially handy when something decides to take a dump, like my motherboard recently did. Having quick disconnects meant I didn't have to drain anything or tear down my loop to take my motherboard out.

If you want the absolute best in watercooling control, then get Aquaero, don't get anything else. There are also D5 pumps that are designed to interface with Aquaero, called Aquabus D5.
 
The more I get further down the hole, the more I realize this is just a small scale operation of what I do every day at work, except it's not quite water I normally deal with! That and Rockwell PLC's are a bit more basic than a desktop.

Off topic: I'm in Manitoba, and I doubt we've met as the only inst. tech I know is the guy who works with us (and he's pushing 80 years old too!) but I'm sure we'll cross paths one day.

The reason I'm thinking of a 1 - 3 split is because that way you guarantee the water going into each GPU is exactly the same as opposed to one GPU heating the water up prior to entering the second and third. I see from that link most people notice a higher temperature. I realize splitting a hose from 1-3 is going to cut flow rate (which definitely matters) but if I have two pumps in series in this entire loop, we should be okay for flow rate. Because I'm running 3 monitors in surround with this setup, one monitor plugged into each card - each gpu should have an even load.

I think when all the chips are down, I don't -really- need to monitor flow rate, but it would be a nice metric to see. As long as my system responds to temperature automatically (increasing flow rate and fan speed as the temps go up) then I'll be all set.


Edit: Aquaero 6 pro controller + 2x Aquastream XT Ultra pumps look like I should get a whole bunch of temperatures and flow rates. It says it takes 4 fan outputs, if I have 2 rads with 4 fans each, does that mean I need two controllers?
 
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If you read further in the thread, you will find that it was due to air being trapped in his system rather than the parallel setup.

Also, water from one GPU cannot enter the other GPU in a parallel setup. It's impossible for the water to flow backwards. What happens is the flow rate gets cut in three, and higher flow rates can equate to slightly lower temperatures.

As for the fans, I would control fans in zones. i.e. the 4 fans on one radiator on one channel, 4 fans on the second radiator on a second channel, etc. It should be able to output enough power to handle that. You can also get the poweradjust to expand the Aquaero's capabilities.
 
You're right, I see that further on (having a small child demand attention when you get home equates to really short reading sessions).

Okay this is good stuff. I think you've got me sold on an aquaero controller (the 6 XT I believe is the one I want). Coupled with two of those pumps, and I can get the fans on a single channel for 2 channels worth of fans.

Now, I just have to double check that the Asus or evga cards can actually be run in parallel with the water blocks provided on them.
 
The reason I'm thinking of a 1 - 3 split is because that way you guarantee the water going into each GPU is exactly the same as opposed to one GPU heating the water up prior to entering the second and third.
Click to expand...
Also, water from one GPU cannot enter the other GPU in a parallel setup. It's impossible for the water to flow backwards.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure that's what he was saying (that he wants to do parallel because the water will not enter another GPU), though I could be reading that wrong.

I don't think the reduced flow would be that big a deal, except it's not divided in even 3rds. Rather, like air conditioning, if all the ducts are the same size, then you'll get less and less flow as you go down the run, with the last GPU having the least flow (due to reduced pressure). Maybe it's not exactly the same with a liquid, but if you reduced the inner diameter of the tube/fittings as you went from the first to the second, and again from the second to the third GPU, you could maintain the pressure across the three GPUs (although the flow rate will still be in 3rds).
 
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