Hydrocopper 2 Water Cooling

[Cyndre]

Hi,

I've been agonising for months over my new build whilst continuing to use my rapidly dying LGA775 system (beyond saving!).

Anyway it comes down to the GPU solution for high end gaming and when I drill down it is all about noise and cooling.

I've got two options:

TJ07 with SLI Hydro copper 2 and custom water loop
Pro's: Quiet, cool and sexy looking
Con's: I may need to consider the sale of organs!

FT02 with EVGA GTX 580 SLI
Pro's: Can afford without the loss of any essential body parts, superb performance and love the look of the FT02
Con's: Noiser and hotter?

I mainly worried that opting for a non water cooled solution will result in volcanic temps inside the casing that could cause damage to the machine and reduce its lifecycle.
My secondary concern is whilst I would value drowning out the wife's nagging I would like to enjoy good hearing into my later years.

Would really appreciate some advice on this especially from anyone using a FT02 with SLI GTX580;'s air cooled.

 

[aigomorla]

u need the rest of the h2o eq to finish option 1.

Personally id get standard 580GTX... Get a Koolance GPU Block or whatever block you want.

Watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAk-Vb_-0Mw

And yes the koolance block comes with all the pads you need... however u will need a torqx driver to take the stock sink off.

Well i personally like the koolance block more then the swiftech block.
But the choice is yours. :T

 

[Petey!]

As long as you have or get a Mobo where you can space your 580s with a slot between them, the FT02 will cool enough.

Even with them sandwiched it'll be fine.

I have a 470 which should be roughly the same as a 580, and during heavy gaming, the max the GPU gets to is 85 degrees while maintaining a very quiet (inaudible) 50-56% fan speed. With 2 cards it should be fine, especially since the vertical design means that the card sucks more air in from the back instead of from between the sandwiched cards.

Kyle on [H] had an article on 2 480s he put in an RV02 and how much of a difference it made.

 

[Cyndre]

Cheers guys, the actual build which I have now finalised is:

Case: Silverstone Fortress FT02B v1.4
Mainboard: Asus Maximus IV Extreme Rev.3.0
CPU: Intel Core i7 2600K
Heatsink: Corsair Hydro Series H70 (Replace stock fans with 2 x Gentle Typhoon 1850RPM)
GPU: 2 x EVGA GTX580 SLI
PSU: AX1200
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR3 PC3-12800
SSD 120GB OCZ Technology Vertex 3
HDD 1TB Western Digital WD1002FAEX Caviar Black
Soundcard: Asus Xonar Essence STX PCI-E
Optical: LG CH10LS20.AUAR 10x Blu-Ray Reader

Now the ambient temp in the apartment is fairly warm as it is 3rd floor and even with the heating system off you could say it was comfortably warm. Not sure on the actual temp.

I checked my budget and looked at a WC build but it'd be at best £600 more and I can't stretch that far.
Will the combination of the FTO2 and H70 be enough to keep the system cool enough factoring usage maybe 7 - 8hrs a day ish?

Is there anything else I could add to keep the noise / temp of the system down?

 

[SZLiao214]

Which video card did you get? Video cards with after market coolers are a nice way to drop noise.

If you care about cable management make sure you have LOOOOONG cables.

 

[Cyndre]

Ok so I've had another think on this and realised my build is going to have serious issues with fitting due to the case constraints. And tbh I'm still concerned about heat so I've gone back to looking at a water build and stripped my initial design back to fall slightly over my budget but manageable. So what we are looking at is:

Case: TJ07
CPU: 2500K Cooled by Corsair H70 with 2 x Gentle Typhoon 1850rpm fans (possible later upgrade to Ivy bridge and EK HF)
Mainboard: Maximus IV Extreme P67 (I've dropped the soundcard to save cash and will use onbnoard which should be fine for gaming.
RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance (2 x 4GB)
PSU: Corsair AX1200
SSD : 120GB Vertex 3
HDD : Reusing my existing 2 x 1TB Samsung F2 HDD
GPU: 2 x GTX580 Hydrocopper 2
Water Loop:

Laing D5 Vario Pump MCP655 with bitspower top
XSPC RX360 Radiator with 3 x Gentle Typhoon 1850rpm fans and radiator grill
XSPC Dual 5.25" reservoir
2m XSPC 1/2"ID - 3/4" OD Black Hose
Aquaero 5 Fan controller

Now the next problem I have is on fittings. I'd like to use the bitspower black fittings but no idea how many or which types I am going to need other than using a bitspower D Plug for the SLI cards. Also what flow sensors would I need and what recommended QDC?

Have I missed anything out with the loop or any other recommendations?

 

[Lightflash]

If you plan on getting QDCs, the 3N Koolance are going to be your best option unless you wish to use the new 4N and have adapters to change from G3/8 to G1/4. The N series makes it so that you do not have way in the space between the male and female when you take them apart. There is only a very small difference in resistance which is the problem that you most likely have with the TJ07 build. The 360 will be able to keep up with the 2 GTX 580s, but with the CPU added on later, you will need either another loop or another rad depending on what you wish to do.

For fittings, compression are probably the most easiest to deal with for a first build, but I know many people like to go with a barb with clamp or no clamp depending on how well you trust your work. Barbs are going to be a lot cheaper than the compressions, and to figure out how many you need will be just a simple count of how many ports are used in the loop. 2 for rad, 2 for pump, 2 for res, 2 for cards, then sli connectors for the cards. EVGA sends barbs I believe, but if you want all the same barbs, just do not worry about that then.

 

[Cyndre]

I had a look at the QDC's you recommended and saw they have model VL4N-F13-19S which has a 1/2" ID matching my hose type. Just trying to find a UK supplier with stock.

Had a good read of some other threads and looks like it'd be better to get the Koolance RP-452X2 Res due to superior build quality and durability.

The rest of the coolant system seems pretty sound and for fittings by your reckoning excluding the d plug I need about 8 parts. Just struggling atm to visualise how many 45 / 90 degree compressions and how many straight rotary and if I need any other parts.

Finally going to opt for the Aquaero 4 Black VFD controller and a bitspower Temp probe for it.

So any advice on the fitting angles?

 

[rgallant]

VL4N-F13-19S
-WATCH the O-ring on the male part , be very gentle when connecting , you can feel it go in a 1\32" then use force to insert it ,then twist lock it,wet or use lube as I cut a O-ring in half , did have a spare on the redundant one I use for bleeding ,but I need to pick up spares. but a standard o ring seems to work in a pinch ,but my QD's are outside the case.

 

[Petey!]

Out of curiosity, what were your concerns with your stuff fitting in the FT02?

I know the Bluray drive can be a pain with the top slot, but other then that I don't see any issues.

Also, why such an expensive Mobo?

 

[Cyndre]

Ah cheers for the advice on the QDC, gotta say building this thing is going to be a challenge but a great project.

With the FTO2 yeah it was mainly to do with the blue ray drive but I also continued to be uncomfortable with the potential heat output and the size of the air cooled GTX's.
That's not to say the FT02 is not an awesome case it really is but I had quite a few other things concerning me which are all neatly solved in the TJ07 chassis though if only the TJ11 was more affordable!

As for the MB that is largely indulgent. i build on a 4 yearly basis and often buy the best tech available at the time I build. However I have long wanted one of the ROG Mainboards and before Sandybridge really wanted a Rampage III. It is pretty OTT but it satisfies a craving for me

I did actually finally put my order in today and I have to say I am extremely satisfied with what I am getting and as I say it's my treat to myself as it's more or less the only material thing I ever buy for myself (Too much indulging my wife and daughter and her taste for Ugg boots!)

I finally went with this:

Final Build:

Case: Temjin TJ07
Cpu: Intel i7-2600k
Mainboard: Asus Maximus IV Extreme P67
RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 PC12800
PSU: Corsair AX1200
SSD: 120GB OCZ Vertex 3
HDD: 2 x 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3
Optical: LG CH10LS20 Blue Ray
GPU: 2 x EVGA GTX 580 Hydrocopper 2

Coolant System CPU:

Corsair H70 with stock fans replaced with 2 x Gentle Typhoon 1850 rpm fans
(Once I can afford it I want to finish a dual loop with an EK Supreme HF and Dual Rad)

Coolant System GPU:

Koolance RP452X2 Dual reservoir 5.25"
Koolance VL4N F13/M13 19S Quick Disconnect 1/2" ID 3/4" OD
Laing D5 Vario Pump with Bitspower top
XSPC RX360 Radiator with 3 x Gentle Typhoon 1850rpm fans
Bitspower BP-MBWP-CT Temp Probe
Bitspower Matte Black G 1/4 D-Plug Set for SLI
Aquaero 4.00 USB Silver Black VFD Controller
XSPC 2M 1/2" ID 3/4" OD Hose

Bitspower compression fittings to flavour once I've got all the parts and can take a good look at my requirements.

It's going to be a serious challenge to build as I quit being an IT system builder professionally over 10 years ago but hoping my current experience in oil operations might help with assembling the coolant systems as the principles are similar just less explosive

All in all I don't regret this purchase one bit, LGA2011 would've been nice but I need a pc now and have already waited a year longer than I wanted with this current Dell XPS failing (No surpises there).

I also picked up alot of great advice here and on bit tech which caused me to opt for a QDC and change the XSPC Res for the better Koolance one.
I've little doubt the machine will play everything current and forthcoming on max settings with no issues at all. My next upgrade will be focused on my LG W2261VP monitor which frankly is criminal to use with a machine like that.

EDIT: Forgot to say I still do have the lodestone that is the UK's ADSL service holding me back, wouldn't mind if anyone could recommend anything better than my current DG834N ADSL+ Router.

 

[aigomorla]

lol... your gpu loop so outscales your cpu loop, its almost hilarious.

 

[Cyndre]

I will concede it is pretty crazy though cost motivated. Let's say I just had an unexpected windfall from work for awesomeness!!! And that now water cooling the gpu was possible.

Say I'd like to go with a full nickel EK supreme hf what else would I need to fill out the loop. Say we are going dual loop to utilise the koolance res.
Do I need a second pump? Should I go RX240 in the roof? Should I increase the gpu rad to RX480? And what kind of thermal improvement would I see over the H70.

 

[Lightflash]

Good luck with the build. I am with Aigo on the differences in loops, but it is the price all of us pay for setting up high end graphics systems. All QDC advice came from Aigo and my own few months of experience with them.

If you are going for a second loop to just the CPU, Martin did a review of the Koolance bay reservoir on xtremesystems that shows the different ways you can run two loops.

You would need a second pump and change the plug in the res. to run two seperate loops.

With the TJ07 you have a lot of ways to mount radiators, just need find out what space you have available down the road.

A 480 rad going to the GPUs would help temp. to a certain point, but I am unsure of how much of a difference there would be.

As for thermal difference, the H70 is going to be running hotter than a custom loop. As for a numerical difference, there are many websites that would be able to answer that question better than I.

 

[darckhart]

chiming in a bit too late for you OP, but i have gtx580 SC sli sandwich on air and you don't really have to worry about noise and heat. albeit i dont do marathon gaming sessions, but perhaps 3-4 hrs at a time. the top card does stress out a little, but the fans never get above 60% and the temps drop back down very quickly once 3d mode is off.

 

[Cyndre]

That was a handy pointer to the xtremesystems site. I think what I am looking at getting advice now is my final selection for a water cooled system bearing in mind I've never set one up before. This is my premise then:

Loop requirements: Two seperate loops, one for GPU cooling and one for CPU cooling.
Reservoir: Koolance RP452X2
Pumps: I'm guessing 2 x Koolance PMP450 one for each loop
Radiator: 1 x RX480 with 4 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon fans 1850rpm for GPU cooling and 1 x RX240 with 2 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon fans 1850rpm for CPU cooling
CPU Block: EK Supreme HF Full Nickle
GPU Block: Hydro copper 2

So the next questions I'd have are:

1. Where would be the best place to set the QDC in the loop and would it require a second?
2. Are the Scythe Gentle Typhoons 1850rpm the best choice of fan or would I be better served by Noctua NF-P12 especially in terms of low noise high heat dispersion.
3. Do I need one of these serial connectors for the RP452 res to help with bleeding if using a dual loop?
4. Would an Aqaero 5 controller be the best solution for monitoring on this loop and what type of sensors would I need to get the most out of it?
7. Is an RX240 going to be good for the CPU or could I opt for a thinner Black Ice rad to avoid having problems with space between the rad and mainboard?

Think I'm starting to get the hang of this but need to refine down what I am doing. Appreciate the advice so far and really need to change my topic name given the major change in direction!

EDIT: Got the Koolance P-452X2 rad today and saw a superb video by that Martin on filling and bleeding the loop.