Need advice on SFF Custom Loop

[toilet pepper]

I now have almost all the parts for my Meshlicious custom loop and desperately need help before I build it. With the Meshlicious you can place a singles rad at the front. The first question is the fan placement and orientation.

Should the rad be the one that is attached to the case instead of the fans? If the rad is attached to the fans it would be more convenient for swapping fans.

Next question is.. Push or pull?

I have no idea where I can place this pump.

Just some tubes that I randomly bought. The small cut one is a PU tube which I think is a great for a soft tube but unfortunately its hard to find the right diameter for them. It is clear and kinda stiff. Lower left roll is a Duralene tube by St Gobain an I heard some posts that these dont cloud up as bad as the others. Right one is a Bykski PVC pipe that came with the kit I bought. The frosted one is food grade silicone tube. I think this is a great tube if only you can find a thick walled set for it as it kinks easy.


PCIE risers and random fittings

 

[cvaldes]

It's unclear what size radiator this is and which components it is intended to cool. Since you unhelpfully did not provide any details, I had to search the Internet to find the case specifications and it looks like a 280mm radiator is the largest it can handle.

My current primary gaming build (Lian Li O11D Mini) has a 5900X (previously a 5800X) CPU and an RTX 3080 OC GPU (similar to yours) although I have separate 360mm radiators cooling each device.

Based on another smaller gaming build (NZXT H210), I would guess that one 240mm radiator would struggle to cool both of these components but a competent 280mm radiator (with good high static pressure fans) might be able to handle them, assuming you are not trying any crazy overclocking.

Your pump looks pretty big for a compact loop. My aforementioned two radiator 5900X/3080 loop is driven by a single low-end Phobya pump. Just based on its size, your pump looks more than adequate to handle the flow requirements.

More unhelpfully, you don't mention your primary usage case. CPUs rarely max out during gaming whereas GPUs often do. Certainly your 3080 generates more heat than your 5800X.

You might get better/more responses if you provided more relevant details.

 

[phanbuey]

Rad to the case pull if you can, but push if it turns into an oven. Are you cooling both CPU and GPU?

 

[maxfly]

My best advice is buy your fans once so you dont need to swap them. Plan your loop out down to the last detail before you start building so you arent buying random parts at the last minute. Theres nothing worse than getting your loop 99% finished only to find that your one fitting short! Get solid static pressure fans that will pair well with your rads and fit your noise profile. Fans always perform best when pushing through your rads vs pulling.
I would also suggest going with something like primochill primoflex lrt tubing, if your going soft tubing and buying it by the foot if you dont need an entire 10ft package(performance-pcs.com). You wont have to worry about plasticizer leaching or tight bends with it. Its all i used before i went to petg, i had great luck with it for the 6 or 7 years that i had a soft tubing loop.
GL!

Edit-you can get brackets that will allow you to mount your pump on your rads 120/140mm fan mount or any 120/140mm fan mount.

 

[toilet pepper]

For some reason, TPU did not alert me this time for replies. My bad in not providing a lot of details.

Here's the parts list:

Ssupd Meshlicious
280mm Bykski copper rad painted white
Bykski AM4 waterblock
Bykski waterblock and backplate for MSI Ventus 3080
Bykski waterblock terminal with coolant temp sensor
AMD 5800x
Barrow Mini ITX 18W DDC Pump/Res
10mm ID/16mm OD soft tube and compression fittings
Aorus B550i
Arctic P14 140mm fans

Since this is my fist custom loop, I asked my BIL to help me out and that was a great idea. My fingers hurt just to make sure the fittings and tubes were plugged correctly. (it still leaked) The fittings I used are a tad tall causing the fittings to be pushed when I put the panels on. I have then made adjustment and leaked test this setup for a couple of hours.

The pump cable is a hair's length away from touching the fan blades.

I'm currently mining on it while working and the coolant sensor helps ease my anxiety. I didn't expect that a single 280mm can keep the 3080 cold inside an SFF case. The temp difference when it was inside the Nr200 is night and day.

Question is.. Are there shorter profile 90 degree fittings? I can't get the Koolance one since I have to import them. Are the Quantum EK ones shorter than the regular 90 fittings?

 

[cvaldes]

Barrow makes some different varieties of 90 degree fittings including female-female, female-male (non-rotary) and female-male (rotary). I typically use a mix of these in any given build, sometimes with a barb fitting on the female side instead of a bulkier compression fitting.

For the female-male (non-rotary) fitting, it's a crap shoot whether or not a given fitting will point in the desired direction once it is properly screwed in. Sometimes you need to try a couple and hopefully find one that works well. Same goes with female-female fittings paired with male-male low-profile couplers.

Barrow also makes 45 degree fittings which are more optimal in some places if you want straighter tube runs.

Anyhow it looks like you have answered the questions from your original post yourself just by assembling your loop.

 

[toilet pepper]

Yes. I am aware of the non rotary 90 fitting from Barrow and Bykski but as you said its a toss in the air if it would point in the right direction or not. I'm just shy a couple of mm to be comfortable with the loop now.

 

[maxfly]

Get yourself a good pair of mechanix type gloves for tightening down your fittings. Any brand will do, just be sure they have the the lightly rubberized fingers and palms. They are a god send!
The ek quantum 90s dont look any shorter from looking at them. The specs say they are 31.5mm.

 

[toilet pepper]

Hope someone with those fittings can answer. I cant check anywhere where it says how tall the EK 90 fittings are except that 31.5mm that you said and it is in their website. Even Bykski and Barrow shows how tall their fittings are with an ISO diagram.

Since the store sent me 10/12mm fittings. Maybe I can use that and simply get another tube.

 

[maxfly]

Hope someone with those fittings can answer. I cant check anywhere where it says how tall the EK 90 fittings are except that 31.5mm that you said and it is in their website. Even Bykski and Barrow shows how tall their fittings are with an ISO diagram.

Since the store sent me 10/12mm fittings. Maybe I can use that and simply get another tube.

Try emailing their tech support. They will generally get back to you in a day or two.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

280mm Bykski copper rad painted white

did you paint the fins too? Just curios.

 

[toilet pepper]

did you paint the fins too? Just curios.

Nope. But I used a can of spray paint as I dont have white acrylic for my hobby air brush kit. Needless to say I made a mess and painted some of the fins even though I covered them with foam. No performance penalty though.

I was doubting Optimum Tech's review that a single 280 can cool a high-end CPU and GPU and it turns out it can.

 

[cvaldes]

Well, this is the first instance that you explicitly mentioned Optimum Tech -- whom I've never read -- as an influencer.

Again, it would have been more helpful if you had named them directly in your original post. But you seem to have a habit of excluding vital and relevant information until you are coerced to divulge details. I really detest pulling teeth but it happens more and more these days on the Internet. So tiresome.

Ah well, the Internet is 2021...