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New Watercooling Rig- Need Advice Please

noah1164

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Jul 14, 2010
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Hey guys,

I have built many systems in the past but I am now putting together a new rig in which I will be overclocking and water cooling; two things which I have never done before. I already bought the all components for my rig except for the water cooling components. I have been trying to decide for a while in how I want to do this but I am not sure in how to go about it. I was going to run 2 separate loops with different colors, having 2 separate bay reservoirs (I thought it would have a good look in the front of the case with 2x XSPC Single 5.25in Bay Reservoir (Aluminum Black Front). Then I read reviews about the coolants and dyes and how they breakdown and clog the system. I now want to go with just distilled water with some of that silver coil kill.
I also was wondering if I really need 2 loops to cool my i7-930 over clocked CPU and 2x PowerColor LCS Radeon HD5870 over clocked. I will list my PC components I already have and then I will list what water cooling components I was thinking of getting. Any advice would be appreciated on whether I would be better with 1 loop or 2 and any other good ideas.

My System:

Thermaltake Armor Plus Full tower
I7-930
ASUS P6X58D Premium
12GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR (6 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel -Model TR3X6G1600C8D
ENERMAX REVOLUTION85+ 1050W ATX12V V -SLI Ready CrossFire Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
AeroCool Touch 2000 Fan Cpntroller
The rest are SSD, HDD, Sound card, Optical drives and typical parts

Watercooling Parts I was thinking of getting:

2x Swiftech MCP655 12 VDC Pump
2x Bitspower D5/MCP655 Pump Replacement Top Version 2
Swiftech APOGEE-XT Extreme Performance CPU Waterblock
Swiftech MCR320-QP Quiet Power radiator
Swiftech MCR220-QP Liquid Cooler Radiator
2x XSPC Single 5.25in Bay Reservoir Aluminum Black
1 Swiftech MCB-120 "Radbox"

I am not sure of the tubing. I was going to go ½ ID and 5/8 or ¾ OD. I need something sturdy so it won’t collapse from the pump intake. If I could use 1 loop for that over clocked CPU and 2 over clocked 5870GPU”S then will one of those pumps do? And then I could get the dual bay reservoir and maybe the Tygon silver tubing. If I need 2 loops then I will maybe use 2 colored tubings with UV LEDS in the case.
As far as the Rads: I removed the two extra HDD racks at the bottom and putting a 220 there. The 320 I will hook to the back of the case unless any other good ideas (I will be using all the 5.25 bays).
I was thinking of going with compression fittings also. Any ideas would be grateful.
 
Joined
Aug 2, 2009
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Welcome to TPU:toast:

I'm pretty sure one pump would be adequate for your loop, expecially a 655 with an aftermarket top. As I understand it, the EK top will increase your head, making your pump more apt to push through multiple blocks and rads. Even without a top, I think it would suffice. I have a 655 with a 3.120, 2.120, cpu and gpu block, and it seems to work great. Also, 5870s run very cool, so it's not like they will dump a bunch of heat in your loop. If you're really worried about it, I have read that 355s have a larger head, with less flow, making them better for more restrictive loops.

Try posting this question in the Naturally aspired WC thread, although most will see it here, I always get fast responses from people who know a lot more than I do.

Here's a shot of mine:http://img.techpowerup.org/100621/031.jpg
 

Naekuh

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Joined
Apr 2, 2009
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Location
Miko Fox? Fire Miko? Its FireFox-Tan!
System Name Nadeshiko
Processor i7 980X @ 4.2ghz /w HT ON 24/7
Motherboard eVGA Classified E759
Cooling Custom H2o
Memory Corsair Dominators 6 x 2GB
Video Card(s) 2 x HD4870X2 in Xfire
Storage 3 x X-25V in Raid 0 (OS) + 3 x Raptors in Raid 0 (Game)
Display(s) Dual Gateway 2485
Case MM U2
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply Ultra 1.6KW
Software Win7
gonna be hard mounting all those rads in an armor. (speaking from experience as i had an armor which i LC'd)

Usually when people go that big of a loop, they get a case meant for water.



Trust me.. you want a more LC friendlier case..

Corsair 800D, Corsair 700D, HAF, and a few other CM cases.
Also the entire MM line.

I made this thread over in AT.
I should ask a Mod here if they want me to mule it over here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2085713

Its a good place to learn what you need b4 you start buying stuff.
Also i recomended the most installation friendliest package u can possibly start with.
And i say this because ive also had 3 other friends who are vets in the field look over the package with me.
 
Joined
Nov 12, 2007
Messages
750 (0.13/day)
Location
RI, USA
Processor FX 8150 4.41Ghz
Motherboard Asus Crosshair V Formula
Cooling Custom Water
Memory 16GB GSkill Ripjaws X 1600
Video Card(s) Diamond Multimedia HD7970 3GB
Storage 2x WD Black 640GB, WD Black 2TB, Samsung 830 256GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung 32" LED
Case Cooler Master Cosmos (new version)
Audio Device(s) Platronics 777
Power Supply Corsair AX1200
Software Windows 7 Ultimate Signature Edition x64
Benchmark Scores Geekbench: 10,136 3DMark 11: P7792
My System:

Thermaltake Armor Plus Full tower
I7-930
ASUS P6X58D Premium
12GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR (6 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel -Model TR3X6G1600C8D
ENERMAX REVOLUTION85+ 1050W ATX12V V -SLI Ready CrossFire Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
AeroCool Touch 2000 Fan Cpntroller
The rest are SSD, HDD, Sound card, Optical drives and typical parts

Watercooling Parts I was thinking of getting:

2x Swiftech MCP655 12 VDC Pump
2x Bitspower D5/MCP655 Pump Replacement Top Version 2
Swiftech APOGEE-XT Extreme Performance CPU Waterblock
Swiftech MCR320-QP Quiet Power radiator
Swiftech MCR220-QP Liquid Cooler Radiator
2x XSPC Single 5.25in Bay Reservoir Aluminum Black
1 Swiftech MCB-120 "Radbox"

that's a whole lot of water.. if you have 2x 5870's and an i7 to cool, then yes go with 2 loops. a 2x120mm rad will be fine for the cpu, and the 3x120mm rad is perfect for your 2x5870's. Compression fittings are nice, my preference is hose clamps, but they do strip so you have to be careful. 25feet of tubing should be good for 2 to 4 applications if needed. I wouild personally go with 1/2" ID tubing, it moves more water. as far as waterblocks, I love my D-tek FuZion v2, although gpu waterblocks I don't know much about. I doubt you need a radbox, unless you're just using it for the appearance; most rads will mount inside the case, if there is room and a spot to mount them.
 
Joined
Nov 12, 2007
Messages
750 (0.13/day)
Location
RI, USA
Processor FX 8150 4.41Ghz
Motherboard Asus Crosshair V Formula
Cooling Custom Water
Memory 16GB GSkill Ripjaws X 1600
Video Card(s) Diamond Multimedia HD7970 3GB
Storage 2x WD Black 640GB, WD Black 2TB, Samsung 830 256GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung 32" LED
Case Cooler Master Cosmos (new version)
Audio Device(s) Platronics 777
Power Supply Corsair AX1200
Software Windows 7 Ultimate Signature Edition x64
Benchmark Scores Geekbench: 10,136 3DMark 11: P7792
MT, 5870's arn't that cool running.. and with the fan cranking, they make some noise.. lol
 

noah1164

New Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
Messages
4 (0.00/day)
gonna be hard mounting all those rads in an armor. (speaking from experience as i had an armor which i LC'd)

Usually when people go that big of a loop, they get a case meant for water.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p73/aigomorla/IMG_0399.jpg

Trust me.. you want a more LC friendlier case..

Corsair 800D, Corsair 700D, HAF, and a few other CM cases.
Also the entire MM line.

I made this thread over in AT.
I should ask a Mod here if they want me to mule it over here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2085713

Its a good place to learn what you need b4 you start buying stuff.
Also i recomended the most installation friendliest package u can possibly start with.
And i say this because ive also had 3 other friends who are vets in the field look over the package with me.


Believe it or not I was doing research before I bought, and I liked the appearance of the Armor Plus and their site says they are made for W/C. But now that I have it, I agree with you. I can take out the 2 xtra cages at the bottom and fit a 120.2 (even though I don't like the idea of a rad on the bottom). There really is no room else where except buying a radbox and throwing it on the back (I really didn't want to do that). The power supply takes most of the top room. Only thing I can think of is throwing a makeshift mount on top, but it will look like crap due to the curved design of the armor.

You mentioned you W/C'ed an Armor. How did you do so if I may ask?
 

noah1164

New Member
Joined
Jul 14, 2010
Messages
4 (0.00/day)
that's a whole lot of water.. if you have 2x 5870's and an i7 to cool, then yes go with 2 loops. a 2x120mm rad will be fine for the cpu, and the 3x120mm rad is perfect for your 2x5870's. Compression fittings are nice, my preference is hose clamps, but they do strip so you have to be careful. 25feet of tubing should be good for 2 to 4 applications if needed. I wouild personally go with 1/2" ID tubing, it moves more water. as far as waterblocks, I love my D-tek FuZion v2, although gpu waterblocks I don't know much about. I doubt you need a radbox, unless you're just using it for the appearance; most rads will mount inside the case, if there is room and a spot to mount them.

I agree with the 120.3 and 120.2 for the 2 loops. I was also looking at the 355 pumps but saw mixed reviews. I figure for the slight difference in cost I will just go 2 655 pumps, since they are highly reviewed. I also might buy a 3rd gpu for PhysiX so another reason for the 2nd loop. Also I agree with the 1/2 ID tubing for better flow rate. It kinda irritates me I have this huge case and it is not set up very well for rads. I was also going to initially have 2 5.25 drive bay res's and have 2 coolant colors to make for a killer looking box; but after reading all the reviews of the coolant dye breakdowns I have decided to go with just plain distilled water with a silver kill coil and use the colored tubing that looks best under uv lighting.
I was going to go with the dual bay res since the liquid color won't affect the front as I had wanted but then thought maybe with 2 pumps, the turbulence may be too high in the res on the intake (not sure but it makes sense that it might).

Also the reason for the radbox is because this Armor plus doesn't give much room for W/C. I can fit the 120.2 on the bottom but not a 120.3 except for the back unless someone has some good ideas for me.
 
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