Yet another, Watercooling noob setup.

[Iceni]

hey I'm really sorry to post this but i have been browsing a lot of water cooling threads and none seem to answer the questions i want to know.

Firstly i've been looking into the noob kits. I think i'm settled on the EK HF 240 kit. I've looked at most of the available kits, Larkooler don't cover my price range with a decent pump. So there out. Swiftech i can't seem to find anything that suits me. Leaving the XSPC rasa kit with the 750L/ph pump and front mounted drive bay reservoir. Or the EK with the standard reservoir and a 800L/ph pump. EK have the edge for what i want to do. Since I want to be able to fill and drain screwlessly.


Firstly before i begin, The question that nags me more than any.

Is there a standard system for waterflow. CPU->rad->res->pump->CPU I can't find anything on the actual mechanical layouts of watercooling to give me an indicator of what works best.

all of my other questions have already been answered a million times by you people already, You must get sick of it. So there will be no barbs V/s compression mounting questions. i can work that out for myself with the search function



this is a very simplified version of what i had in mind. Keep in mind this is basic.




I'll start at the cpu.

Cpu to rad. simple.

Rad to reservoir. (res) Note the resovoir will be mounted so the pipes connect at the top. I'll explain this in a few mins.

Res to pump

pump to cpu.

Filling and draining.

Filling first. The pink intersection of the pipework is a T section with a capped end. The first intersection between the rad and the reservoir is the fill point. By laying the pc down drive bays to the floor i should be able to get a good fill on the loop. Getting most of the air out of the rad and out of the reservoir. Cycle the pump and top up. this is the reason to mount the reservoir so the pipes are a top filling as the air should go to the rad when i settle the pc in the correct orientation. A simple bow in the pipework near the T section will mean i can get the last of the air out pretty fast i hope.

To drain the case it placed on it's back, I/O plate to the floor. by loosening the fill and then loosening a drain that is place discretely on the underside of the case i think it should drain air block free.


Will this work?

many thanks for reading this watercooling threads Probably need some sort of sticky at some point.

[WhiteNoise]

That will work but IMO its not the best flow direction.

In my system I run:

Res to Pump to Rad to CPU to Res.

This provides the coolest water to the cpu IMO.

Here is a pic of my system (though I have made hardware changes since this was taken the loop is the same though.

[Loosenut]

My loop is res>pump>280rad>cpu>280rad>gfx>res.

[Iceni]

wonderful thank you, the pair of you

That complicates the drain and fill method. I'll have a real good think about it and come back with a solution. It'll probably involve flipping the rad, and filling from the front of the case. I'll post back with my solution in a bit.

[WhiteNoise]

I don't have a drain installed. TBH using distilled water and silver coils I doubt I'll ever have to change the water. Unless I just want to swap it out for shits and giggles.

I have my res mounted to the back of my case and by unmounting it I can tip it back and drain it out of the fill hole. But like I said I doubt it will be needed for a very long time.

You can install a T at the pump or res that will allow you to drain if needed. Thats what many people do.

[Iceni]

It needs to be drain-able because i sometimes travel 100+ miles with my computer to go to a friends house for long weekends of gaming. I also don't like the idea of not knowing how much fluid is locked up in the rad before i start to take it to bits.

I'm cautions of air blocking in the pipework causing the water not to flow out of the components when it's drained, These cheap rads are just that. If i could afford it i'd get a rad with connectors at either end. Or with a 4 way style block at the top as this problem would be mute then. But none of the kits come with that kind of rad.

It's probably me been way overcautious. I just want this to work without fear of a fry up I suppose i could always revert to blowing the water out. Deionised/distilled water isn't too bad to drink in small quantities.... I one drank a glass of reverse osmosis water.... Bloody pranksters, gave me a terrible time on the loo for a few days.

[MT Alex]

Layout your loop however it works best in your situation, as once water temperature equilibrium is reached, loop order has zero impact. That being said, I try to stick with the old axiom of: a rad placed before every major component. Mine is pump>360 rad>CPU>240 rad>GPU>Res. But like I said, order will have little affect on temperatures, and actually, adding a bunch of tubing to keep an order a certain way can hurt temps and flow.