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Water cooling in Define R4

SamGriffiths

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Hey, so I'm looking into water cooling in a Fractal Design Define R4, I know I can fit a 240mm Rad in the front, I don't have any free Drive bays to put a Reservoir in so I would have to use an internal one.

Is this okay for a loop:



Red is the Pump

Green is the Rad

Blue is the Reservoir

I think I'm going to use this as a Reservoir.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-320-BP&groupid=962&catid=2133

And this as the Rad.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-044-BX&groupid=962&catid=1523&subcat=1525

Or maybe getting this as a pump/reservoir combo:
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-008-TL

But I don't know about anything else, like the pump, the tubing (I would like so red tubing if possible) or the waterblock (I'm using 1150) I'm going to use, I think I could easily fit a 50mm thick rad due to the massive amount of space, any suggestions would be very helpful.
 
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It would work. You do want the resiovor above the pump so make sure of that.

I have rad in the same place and was able to fit a 80mm alphacool.
 
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I think rad-cpu-pump-res-rad is better, cool water straight from rad goes to cpu, but maybe it does not matter once the water temp reaches equilibrium.
 
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I think rad-cpu-pump-res-rad is better, cool water straight from rad goes to cpu, but maybe it does not matter once the water temp reaches equilibrium.

this...

loop order has no relevance
 

SamGriffiths

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Okay, I think I've made my mind up. I'm going to set up the loop as it is in the picture in my previous post, I'm going to use a XSPC RayStorm CPU block, XSPC HighFlex Hose 1/2" ID, 3/4" OD, XSPC D5 & XSPC Acrylic Tank Reservoir and 6x XSPC G1/4" to 1/2" ID, 3/4" OD Compression Fitting. Also for fans I'm going with NF-F12s I think, do I need to push/pull since the rad is so thick? Anyone know of some other fans that are as good and not so, erm, brown?:laugh:
 

SamGriffiths

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What about push/pull with BitFenix Spectre PRO PWM 120mm, I'm also thinking about maybe a 60mm Rad, I've been told there isn't much difference in performance at all.
 
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ive got to stop looking at watercooling threads, that alphacool rad looks great. and fairly cheap!

and that R4 looks a dream to work with, only thing id suggest is getting angled fittings. and make sure the hose doesnt get in the way of components.

that diagram looks as the hose will run where the card will be and maybe get in the way of ram!

a slight alteration will allow a cylinder res above the pump

efdas.png
 

SamGriffiths

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Thanks, I've gone for a pump/res combo so the positioning isn't a problem, and I'm getting Corsair LP Ram so it's not a problem.
 
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Pretty sure he was talking about the hose being in the way of your GPU, unless you don't have one, in which case I'd ditch the water cooling idea and get one.
 
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Yeah, I'm getting a GPU, a Asus 760, I will just curve the pipe around it =P

hose, especially 1/2 inch stuff doesnt bend that easy, and it will want to bend the way its wants.

thats why i put another route suggestion, plus its looks cleaner.

the last thing you want is a hose resting against the card.

and you can still add another res even if ya gone for the combo, more water is better.
 
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What I have found is this case fairly good for water cooling. I used an D5 XSPC Bay Reservoir and 2x EK 240XT radiators.... 1 in the top and 1 in the front.

Here are pictures of my build before I added the second 240Xt rad upfront.

DSCN2567.jpg


The 240XT is really the largest rad you want in the case. It will still allow you to mover the HDD bay forward and therefore not have to go through the pain of hiding the HDD behind the Motherboard tray.
I will try to take pictures of what my build looks like now with my second larger rad up front.
 

SamGriffiths

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That looks really cool, I plan on mounting the HDD in the Optical Drive tray with a mount made by BitFenix.

I'm thinking about maybe getting a 90 degree corner fitting and using that to round the GPU.
 

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This is my R4 with a 240 rad up top and an extra 120 in the back just before I finished it up:





*Note- didn't want to give up the front drive bays right now but there is plenty of room for another 240 if you pull them out
 

SamGriffiths

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Okay, I think what I'm going to do is get the loop I've posted, but with a XSPC RX240 and a single set of fans, then see if it's not preforming well enough, if it isn't I'll add another set of fan, but either way I think I'm going to totally remove my drive cages to make space for the pump. So this is what I'm going to be buying:

 
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This is my R4 with a 240 rad up top and an extra 120 in the back just before I finished it up:





*Note- didn't want to give up the front drive bays right now but there is plenty of room for another 240 if you pull them out

That looks very nice and tidy, had no idea you could get that much rad in to that case.
I'm looking for a small case to house my old MV Gene and 3570K, this might be it.
 

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That looks very nice and tidy, had no idea you could get that much rad in to that case.
I'm looking for a small case to house my old MV Gene and 3570K, this might be it.

Thanks! :)

Wasn't the easiest thing I ever did but I did manage to get the 240 rad in there :eek:

I like 20mm rain's pic with the extra 120mm in the front too (may be a future upgrade for me)...
 

SamGriffiths

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Hmm, well, to set up this water cooling rig it would cost £350, right now I'm getting a GTX 760, with the money I would spend on water cooling I could get a GTX 780, or I could get 480GB of super fast SSD, it's a nice idea and it looks fun to do, but it costs to much and the risk of it leaking is there too, I think I'm just going to get a BeQuiet Dark Rock Pro 2 and be done with it.

Maybe in the future, thanks for all your help though.
 
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leaks are nothing to worry about if done correctly.
Water cooling can be carried from pc to pc so it's a long term investment, but yes it's a costly one.

The raystorm kit is a good starter and can be added and modded to cool just about anything you can think of.
The all in one coolers are a ok for medium overclocking or silent HTPC imo.

Good luck in what ever you choose
 
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i done my loop for about £180

no leaks, no hassle (i lie) and its a great investment!

but youre right, what ive spent and going to spend on water would get me a 7970 to xfire

and all that thread and help for nothing, cmon lol

 

SamGriffiths

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Yeah, I'm going to do it later =P, I think I'm just not going to overclock and keep the stock cooler until I can work up the extra money for the loop, thanks again guys.
 
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