Some liquid cooling questions

[ArelSickler]

Hello everyone, I've got a few questions about cooling I hope could be answered by someone more experienced than I am with open loop systems. Soon here I plan to upgrade to a larger case and install an open loop liquid cooling solution.

Here's my current specs, sorry if it seems long-winded but if you need information in order to help me, here it is.

Motherboard-Gigabyte 990FX-UD7, Northbridge is OC'd one stepping up (+200MhZ), this is the revision 4 board with the SB950 Southbridge.

CPU- AMD FX-8350, Overclocked to 4.7GhZ (Currently)

GPU- 3x MSI 7850 Twin Frozr in tri-fire, Core OC'd to 1050MhZ(900 stock) and 1300MhZ memory (1200MhZ stock) - this overclock applies to all three cards.

RAM- 16GB Corsair Dominator 2133 9-9-9-24 (stock) I slightly toyed with the timings but nothing considerable.

Hard-drives- 3x 7200RPM, 1 terrabyte Western Digital Blue drives in a RAID 0 array; I plan on adding a small SSD sometime in the future as a boot drive.

PSU- Corsair GX-1000w Modular power-supply. As much as I like tinkering with things I am whole-heartedly against fucking with the power supply, so it is stock.

Current Case- Raidmax Smilodon, all fan ports are filled, and I modified the top of the case with a dremel steel drill to accommodate 2 extra 120mm fans.

New Case-Corsair Graphite series 780T, nuff said.

Currently my CPU is cooled with an H80 closed loop system.

Here are the parts I plan on using for my open loop system, if you think they are shitty parts please let me know your opinions. If you want to list other parts, keep in mind aesthetic is very important to me.

Swifttech Maelstrom V2 Pump/Reservoir combo

Apogee XL CPU block

GPU Block- advice?

Eventually I will add the rest of my system (Northbridge, Mosfet) to the loop so the ability to expand is important to me.

Here are my primary concerns.

2 parts I picked out quality parts?
What GPU block should I use? I can't really find any full coverage blocks for my cards; but they get very hot in crossfire and I definitely need another solution.
Can I use multiple pumps in a single loop?
How do I know how far a single pump is able to push the coolant?
I am looking for clear, UV reactive tubing and coolant, what should I use?


I appreciate any help/advice. Thanks

-Arel.

 

[aigomorla]

2 parts I picked out quality parts?
What GPU block should I use? I can't really find any full coverage blocks for my cards; but they get very hot in crossfire and I definitely need another solution.
Can I use multiple pumps in a single loop?
How do I know how far a single pump is able to push the coolant?
I am looking for clear, UV reactive tubing and coolant, what should I use?


I appreciate any help/advice. Thanks

-Arel.

1. full cover blocks are typically reserved for the top end video cards.
2. yes, pumps in serial give you double head pressure, with also a bump in 1/3rd more flow.
3. Depends no the pump.
4. I like Primochill LRT tubing, however i dont know if they make UV reactive ones. I know Fesser had some, but i dont think they are still in business.
We dont use clear tubing anymore due to it collecting stuff on the walls over time, or losing plasticizers leech which makes it look ugly.

 

[FiLeZz]

my 2 cents is save the money from water cooling.. I have at least 1200 bux in water cooling alone. Save that money and just buy faster Video cards/CPU...

 

[ArelSickler]

1. full cover blocks are typically reserved for the top end video cards.
2. yes, pumps in serial give you double head pressure, with also a bump in 1/3rd more flow.
3. Depends no the pump.
4. I like Primochill LRT tubing, however i dont know if they make UV reactive ones. I know Fesser had some, but i dont think they are still in business.
We dont use clear tubing anymore due to it collecting stuff on the walls over time, or losing plasticizers leech which makes it look ugly.

I know that most full cover blocks are made for top end cards, but with three of these cards in crossfire and all of them being overclocked it produces a ton of heat, air cooling simply does not cut it in my system, I also live in florida, it's pretty hot here, so that adds to the problem.


Clear tubing and UV reactive coolant would also work.

 

[Blain]

2 parts I picked out quality parts?

If the focus is on "quality", I would opt for 1.5v (or less), rated DIMMs.

 

[ArelSickler]

If the focus is on "quality", I would opt for 1.5v (or less), rated DIMMs.

Quality without spending a fortune.

I found some universal swiftech GPU core blocks that I think will work well with my setup. But how should I go about cooling the memory? And is active GPU memory cooling necessary? Keep in mind my overclocks.

Also, I need a quick rundown on tubing/fittings. On the Apogee XL it says it is compatible with all G 1/4 fittings. Are the fittings I need basically 1/4 on one side to connect to the waterblock and then the other side of the fitting converts to my 1/2 or 3/8 tubing on the other?

 

[Blain]

Quality without spending a fortune.

If I were shopping for high quality memory, I would use the following parameters as a guide...

* DDR3 rated at 1.5v or lower
* DDR3 rated at the lowest CAS I could afford
* DDR3 rated at the highest clock speed I could afford
* Limit the scope of my purchase to G.Skill, Mushkin, Samsung, Corsair XMS or Crucial (non-Ballistix)

While not wavering on the voltage point, I would balance the other issues with my budget.

Remember, my goal is not pure "benchmarking" performance, but simply finding the highest quality memory I can afford. ^_^

The only reason I pay a premium for low latency, high speed, low voltage memory is...
Quality and quality alone.

1.5v is the JEDEC DDR3 voltage standard.
Stay with 1.5v or less if you can afford it..

What he said

 

[ArelSickler]

What he said

I'm not sure if you're trying to be sarcastic or if you really think we're talking about RAM here, either way, irrelevant.

Does anyone else have anything to contribute before I give up on this forum and ask someone who isn't going to make a mockery of my thread?

Remember that Aesthetic is important to me in deciding what components I will use, I will sacrifice a small amount of quality for something to look awesome, because I am not sitting around my house running bench-marks to show off on forums, I tend to have more practical and lucrative reasons for building/modifying computers.

Let's put a few ground rules here. Since AigoMoria's post has been the only reply to this thread that was remotely helpful.

Tubing suggested must be clear/Semi clear, tinted transparent tubing is also acceptable.
Please keep opinionated conjecture to yourself, if you feel I have selected a bad component (In my cooling set-up) Provide your reasons why, do not just link me to another component you feel is superior. Keep in mind that the component you list DOES have to look good, as mentioned before Aesthetic is important to me.

Also, I still have that one big question. Is active GPU VRAM cooling necessary? Is a full coverage block necessary?

 

[Cerb]

Can I use multiple pumps in a single loop?

Yes. Some do it for redundancy, other more water, others to share a res with separate GPU and CPU loops, etc.. I think I've seen a few where those are excuses for symmetry, though.

How do I know how far a single pump is able to push the coolant?

All the way. Hence the loop part. Unless you are trying to push or pull the water several feet against gravity, it will keep recirculating. The flow rate will need testing, with any given implementation, if you want to actually find out, rather than leave it as, "enough." You can get a flow meter, to check with it closed, or make up a facsimile of the loop with a large reservoir, and measure volume/time into a container (a bit trickier). Once you have enough pressure to eliminate any standing water areas, and risk of laminar flow, additional flow will offer diminishing returns (with thin hoses, and matching radiators, I doubt the water time in the radiator will mean much, compared to exposed surface area).

OCN and OCUK will have many more members that can provide experience from those products and similar ones, and such multi-device loops. We're mostly lazy air types, 'round here, with trendy CLCs littering rigs 🙂.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I'm not sure if you're trying to be sarcastic or if you really think we're talking about RAM here, either way, irrelevant.

Does anyone else have anything to contribute before I give up on this forum and ask someone who isn't going to make a mockery of my thread?

Easy there, Tiger. When you asked:

Here are my primary concerns.

2 parts I picked out quality parts?

I read it as asking if your total build (not just the water cooling parts) were quality components also, so I don't think Blain's suggestions were out-of-line (and it is good advice for picking out high-quality RAM, btw). No one is trying to make a mockery of you, your thread, or anything else, they're answering your original question, and your own post seems to have been the crux of the miscommunication.

 

[ArelSickler]

Easy there, Tiger. When you asked:
I read it as asking if your total build (not just the water cooling parts) were quality components also, so I don't think Blain's suggestions were out-of-line (and it is good advice for picking out high-quality RAM, btw). No one is trying to make a mockery of you, your thread, or anything else, they're answering your original question, and your own post seems to have been the crux of the miscommunication.

I'm sorry if perhaps I wasn't clear enough in my OP, that was my mistake. Ultimately I am just trying to figure out a few more key questions.

Those being that if a full coverage block is necessary? Does the VRAM need to be actively cooled?

Are the pipe fittings that go from my block to the rest of my loop essentially 1/2 on one side and convert to 1/4 or 3/8th's tubing on the other side (Depending on which I use)? The reason I ask this is because that CPU block I chose said it used 1/2 fittings, and I know tubing is not made in this size regularly.

 

[OlyAR15]

I'm sorry if perhaps I wasn't clear enough in my OP, that was my mistake. Ultimately I am just trying to figure out a few more key questions.

Those being that if a full coverage block is necessary? Does the VRAM need to be actively cooled?

A full coverage block isn't absolutely necessary. Many partial blocks come with heat sinks for the RAM and other components. As long as there is some airflow in your case and you aren't into extreme overclocking, it should work. That said, full coverage blocks do look nicer and cool all the components on the card better.

And if you are looking for full coverage waterblocks for your 7850s, there are a couple available: http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g30..._-_Card_-_ATI-HD_7850_Water_Blocks-Page1.html

Are the pipe fittings that go from my block to the rest of my loop essentially 1/2 on one side and convert to 1/4 or 3/8th's tubing on the other side (Depending on which I use)? The reason I ask this is because that CPU block I chose said it used 1/2 fittings, and I know tubing is not made in this size regularly.

Virtually all water cooling components use G 1/4 fittings, which means that any fitting that is threaded for G 1/4 will work. Most waterblocks do not come with fittings, which allows the user to choose the appropriate diameter fitting to match their tubing. So if your CPU waterblock actually comes with 1/2" fittings already installed, then those can be replaced easily with something smaller if you don't want to use 1/2" ID tubing.