Taking the Water Cooling Plunge

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
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I've been using the all-in-one coolers for awhile, but I'd really like to "graduate" to full-fledged custom water cooling. Now, I'm a fairly peculiar person when it comes to computing, because I don't really care about overclocks and such as I much prefer quiet computing. I've got a Corsair 800D, and I'd like to cool the CPU (i7-4770k) and the GPU (GTX 680). I've been looking around at different solutions and trying to see what would fit well based on cabling and such.

This is what I've come up with so far...

CPU Block: Koolance CPU-380I
GPU Block: Heatkiller GPU-X3 LE + Backplate
Radiator: XSPC AX360
Reservoir: XSPC D5 Dual Bay
Pump: Swiftech MCP-655 PWM

Apologies for the lack of links on everything. For some reason, I can't access a few pages from here that I know work elsewhere. To note, XSPC also has a PWM variant of the DC5. Anyway, I figure that using a bay reservoir will help alleviate the problem of where do I put a reservoir in my case. I've read reviews at Martin's Liquid Lab for most of the items above, and they tested very well.


I've also considered going with a slightly simpler approach that isn't much cheaper, but it would probably be easier for a newbie like me. Swiftech has a fairly concentrated kit called the H2O-x20 Edge HD series. It comes in 2 or 3 fan variants and it's a combination of their Apogee HD water block and the MCR-X20 Drive reservoir/pump/radiator. I would purchase a separate GPU block and then add it to the loop. I would also consider just buying the MCR-320 and using the Koolance CPU block above as the price is similar.

Any thoughts?
 

24601

Golden Member
Jun 10, 2007
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No overclocking?

True Spirit 140 or Thermalright Archon.

Trade your 680 for a 770 with Titan cooler.

Enjoy quieter than most water loops for cheap.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
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No overclocking?

I could overclock, but what I want to stress is that I care far more about the system being quiet than faster than stock. I'm also rather tempted to try water cooling, because it's always interested me.

True Spirit 140 or Thermalright Archon.

Trade your 680 for a 770 with Titan cooler.

Enjoy quieter than most water loops for cheap.

After removing an old motherboard and seeing it slightly bowed from the weight of the ridiculously large air cooler that was on it (I believe it was a Zalman CNPS heatsink/fan), I've been trying to avoid huge air coolers.

Selling my 680 to buy a 770 sounds a bit extreme of a side-grade though. :p It probably isn't any more expensive than buying a full water block + backplate though as that's about $130-140.
 

24601

Golden Member
Jun 10, 2007
1,683
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I could overclock, but what I want to stress is that I care far more about the system being quiet than faster than stock. I'm also rather tempted to try water cooling, because it's always interested me.



After removing an old motherboard and seeing it slightly bowed from the weight of the ridiculously large air cooler that was on it (I believe it was a Zalman CNPS heatsink/fan), I've been trying to avoid huge air coolers.

Selling my 680 to buy a 770 sounds a bit extreme of a side-grade though. :p It probably isn't any more expensive than buying a full water block + backplate though as that's about $130-140.

Well, that's true.

You probably know this already, but the fans you use will be the most important part of your water cooling experience.
I've been informed that the TY-140 doesn't have the correct mounts to be able to be used on water coolers so you'd probably have to get fans that are as good in every category (Tested CFM, Tested static pressure mmH2O, Tested Noise in dBa).

Haven't been able to find large reliable roundups of fans with reliable measures of static pressure in mmH2O, but for the other measures this is a good resource.

120mm
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/120mm-fan-roundup-4_24.html#sect0

130-150mm
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/140mm-fan-roundup-2_11.html#sect0
 

felang

Senior member
Feb 17, 2007
594
1
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Have you looked at the XSPC raystorm kits? You would only need to add the GPU block of your choice. Even the included fans are quite decent.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
You probably know this already, but the fans you use will be the most important part of your water cooling experience.
I've been informed that the TY-140 doesn't have the correct mounts to be able to be used on water coolers so you'd probably have to get fans that are as good in every category (Tested CFM, Tested static pressure mmH2O, Tested Noise in dBa).

Yup. If I went with that Swiftech kit, the first thing that I would do is replace the stock fans. I was originally considering using some Enermax Magmas that I have lying around, but those Corsair SP120 fans look even better.
 

dma0991

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2011
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You should be getting the XSPC RX360 instead. The XSPC AX360 looks nice but aside from its looks, its almost similar to mine, the XSPC EX series. If your aim is silence, you should go for radiators with low FPI as there is less drag and works better with low RPM fans. High FPI radiators like the EX and AX series are at their best with high RPM fans.

Having used bay reservoir(XSPC single bay) for the first time, I wouldn't say that I like it nor would I recommend using it unless its your preference. The fill port will be a hassle, especially based on XSPC's design(I would go for Koolance as front fill ports are more convenient). With the size and space that the Corsair 800D has, I'd suggest using tube reservoir instead.

Make sure you find clear tubing that doesn't leech plasticizer too quickly(greenish tinge makes it unsightly) or colored tubing. Get silver coils too if you're running with distilled water. I'd recommend going with colored tubing + silver coil + pure distilled water.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
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You should be getting the XSPC RX360 instead. The XSPC AX360 looks nice but aside from its looks, its almost similar to mine, the XSPC EX series. If your aim is silence, you should go for radiators with low FPI as there is less drag and works better with low RPM fans. High FPI radiators like the EX and AX series are at their best with high RPM fans.

Hmm after reading this, I looked into the RX360, and the only problem that I can see is that it's really thick at 58.5mm and you still need to add in 25mm for the fan. According to this review (that includes the AX and RX), it definitely performs very well, but unless I put my fans on the top of my case, it just won't fit because of the 12-pin motherboard power connector that's coming out of the grommet at the top left of my 800D.

Although, would the AX still be a problem if I used fans like the Corsair SP120?

The one thing that is bugging me about the radiators is the port positioning. I'm wondering how bad the tube routing will be with both ports on the same side! The DDR3-2400 memory that I have in this build has really tall heatsinks on it too. I've read that the Koolance CPU block that I chose works best when the inlet/outlet are perpendicular to the memory, so I might have to use some rather interesting fittings to get a nice, unobtrusive setup.

Having used bay reservoir(XSPC single bay) for the first time, I wouldn't say that I like it nor would I recommend using it unless its your preference. The fill port will be a hassle, especially based on XSPC's design(I would go for Koolance as front fill ports are more convenient). With the size and space that the Corsair 800D has, I'd suggest using tube reservoir instead.

I did some more reading after making the original post, and I've decided against the XSPC unit. From what I've read, the top is made of nylon, and there have been quite a few reports of leaks. From the photos that I've seen, there's simply too much pressure as the top literally bends between each screw hole. I'm currently considering the Monsoon M2-D5P.

I have looked at a Koolance unit with a front fill-port, but I wasn't sure if that was necessary. Now, I do think it will be less hassle, but since I can simply remove the 800D's front panel with a quick pull, I have easy access to the top of the device with no movement at all.

I also considered a more normal tube reservoir + pump combination, but I've never been able to feel confident that it would work well for me. I've pretty much had three nagging questions with it...

  1. Where do I put the tube reservoir?
  2. How do I mount it?
  3. Where do I put the pump so it's below the reservoir?
In regard to #1, the 800D may have a lot of room to the right of the motherboard, but there are also cable grommets there that are used. As for #3, I'm just not sure where I would mount the pump. Maybe beneath the video card? I've always read that the pump should by below the reservoir, but the problem is that the 800D has a fan mounted at the bottom right of the motherboard area.


Make sure you find clear tubing that doesn't leech plasticizer too quickly(greenish tinge makes it unsightly) or colored tubing. Get silver coils too if you're running with distilled water. I'd recommend going with colored tubing + silver coil + pure distilled water.

I'm not much of a lights person when it comes to cases, but I wanted to make the cooling look at least pop a little bit. I was thinking about going with a black/blue motif for the design with blue tubing. Hmm looking at tubing right now, maybe I'll go with white instead as it's easier to match various brands that include white items.

EDIT:

For example, if you look at the blue on that reservoir, it's a very light blue that would match blue, UV-lit hoses. Well, I'd go with something like this and not use UV. It's much darker, so it doesn't match well. There's a slightly brighter one, but I still think it's kind of off. My slightly OCD nature can't handle it being off like that! :p But I definitely do prefer the subtle pop of the blue on my black case compared to the sharp contrast with the white with my black case.
 
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dma0991

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Mar 17, 2011
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Hmm after reading this, I looked into the RX360, and the only problem that I can see is that it's really thick at 58.5mm and you still need to add in 25mm for the fan. According to this review (that includes the AX and RX), it definitely performs very well, but unless I put my fans on the top of my case, it just won't fit because of the 12-pin motherboard power connector that's coming out of the grommet at the top left of my 800D.

Although, would the AX still be a problem if I used fans like the Corsair SP120?
Corsair 800D is a humongous case compared to my Corsair 400R, it would be impossible if it didn't support a thick radiator. It will definitely block the grommets at the top but wires are flexible and there should be an ever so slight gap that allows you to route them through to the motherboard.

The only cause that will make you mount the fans externally is if you have VRM height clearance like mine did. Look at this, it fits well in the Corsair 800D. If you're still keen on using the AX series, Corsair SP120 are good as they emphasis on static pressure, important on high FPI radiators.

The one thing that is bugging me about the radiators is the port positioning. I'm wondering how bad the tube routing will be with both ports on the same side!

  1. Where do I put the tube reservoir?
  2. How do I mount it?
  3. Where do I put the pump so it's below the reservoir?
There are radiators like XSPC EX360 or HWLabs Black Ice GT Stealth 360 with ports on both ends if it makes your loop neater. The only problem is that its the same high FPI and thin radiator, not an ideal choice if you want better silence(it will still work regardless).

1. You could either make it sit on the middle plate or have it suspended near the grommets on the right side of the case.
2. Corsair 800D is a popular case for watercooling. There's a lot of examples that you can find.
3. Usually below the middle plate by the side of the PSU, this is one of many ways.

Part of the fun with watercooling comes from figuring out where to best place your components. Whether you want it to look aesthetically better or you want the tubes to be as short as possible. There's a lot of room to play with in the Corsair 800D, the number of ways to do it is only limited by your creativity.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
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Corsair 800D is a humongous case compared to my Corsair 400R, it would be impossible if it didn't support a thick radiator. It will definitely block the grommets at the top but wires are flexible and there should be an ever so slight gap that allows you to route them through to the motherboard.

Hmm I guess I could cover the grommet, but honestly, I'd prefer not to if I could avoid it.

The only cause that will make you mount the fans externally is if you have VRM height clearance like mine did. Look at this, it fits well in the Corsair 800D. If you're still keen on using the AX series, Corsair SP120 are good as they emphasis on static pressure, important on high FPI radiators.

I'm considering going with the SP120 Quiet Edition. They're kind of like the Performance Edition, but they spin at a slower speed. So, it means I don't have to use a rheostat or an in-line resistor to reduce the speed anyway. :p

There are radiators like XSPC EX360 or HWLabs Black Ice GT Stealth 360 with ports on both ends if it makes your loop neater. The only problem is that its the same high FPI and thin radiator, not an ideal choice if you want better silence(it will still work regardless).

Hmm I saw the Black Ice GT Stealth, but I didn't see any good comments about it; I missed the crossflow EX360. I guess it will be a toss-up between prettiness and performance. The EX360 is thinner and a single loop (I think that's the right term) vs. the AX360's dual loop. I read that the latter is better if you have a strong pump since the water spends more time in the radiator, and the MCP655 is pretty potent.

1. You could either make it sit on the middle plate or have it suspended near the grommets on the right side of the case.
2. Corsair 800D is a popular case for watercooling. There's a lot of examples that you can find.
3. Usually below the middle plate by the side of the PSU, this is one of many ways.

Hmm some of those placements sort of highlight the biggest problems with the 800D that I believe Corsair fixed with the 900D. The place that you mentioned for the reservoir would be covering part of the only input fan, and the place for that pump would be covering the opening for the air flow for that only input fan. You can see that in this image. Although, I guess that's not as big of a problem since you should be pulling air in over the radiator, right?

Part of the fun with watercooling comes from figuring out where to best place your components. Whether you want it to look aesthetically better or you want the tubes to be as short as possible. There's a lot of room to play with in the Corsair 800D, the number of ways to do it is only limited by your creativity.

That's true... and that's probably bad for someone like me that tends to be OCD about looks and such.

I was actually tempted to upgrade my GPU to the 780 because I recall reading how bad the reference 680 was at overclocking. Although, it appears that you just need to flash a new BIOS that allows you to jack the voltage up higher. Only slightly worried about that given the NVIDIA cards only have one BIOS unlike the AMD cards!
 

dma0991

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2011
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I'm considering going with the SP120 Quiet Edition. They're kind of like the Performance Edition, but they spin at a slower speed. So, it means I don't have to use a rheostat or an in-line resistor to reduce the speed anyway. :p
Not sure how many fans will be in your final setup but I do have a fan speed controller installed, Lamptron FC5v2. Having the ability to manually control the fan speed does make a difference in terms of silence, when I don't have the noise intensity induced by the speed ramping up and down of a fan.

Downside is that it has to be changed manually every time I want it at maximum but I rarely found the need to toggle it.

Hmm some of those placements sort of highlight the biggest problems with the 800D that I believe Corsair fixed with the 900D. The place that you mentioned for the reservoir would be covering part of the only input fan, and the place for that pump would be covering the opening for the air flow for that only input fan. You can see that in this image. Although, I guess that's not as big of a problem since you should be pulling air in over the radiator, right?
With or without an intake fan at the stated position, the radiator will cool. If you're pushing case air out through the radiator from the top 360mm radiator, you're creating a negative pressure in the case which will be replenished with fresh air from any holes in the case regardless if there is an intake below.

Still, if you're more comfortable with a pump and bay reservoir combo, and it seems neater to you, go for it. It still is your build and I'm just expressing my displeasure of using a bay reservoir. I still like bay reservoirs but if I had known there were ones with fill ports at the front, I wouldn't have to be doing this every time and have extra tube length to ensure it can be slid out.

I was actually tempted to upgrade my GPU to the 780 because I recall reading how bad the reference 680 was at overclocking. Although, it appears that you just need to flash a new BIOS that allows you to jack the voltage up higher. Only slightly worried about that given the NVIDIA cards only have one BIOS unlike the AMD cards!
Depending on how cool you want your system to run and whether there will be overclocking, you might want to add in an extra radiator to work with the 360mm. Probably a thick 120mm at the back or 240mm at the bottom.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
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I've been wondering... what about a drain port? I've seen some people have separate tubes that could be used for easier draining.

Not sure how many fans will be in your final setup but I do have a fan speed controller installed, Lamptron FC5v2. Having the ability to manually control the fan speed does make a difference in terms of silence, when I don't have the noise intensity induced by the speed ramping up and down of a fan.

Hmm you are really tempting me to go with the Lamptron even though it's price does make me balk a bit! I guess part of the issue with the Quiet SP120s is that they're almost too quiet. It's sort of a Goldilocks scenario here where I could probably raise the RPMs enough to hit about 28 to 30dB, and I would still be fine. In other words, I think the sweet spot is in between the High Performance and the Quiet models, so I guess I would need either a fan controller + High Performance or the PWM models... and a lot of PWM splitters. :p

I'll probably go with the fan control. Although, I have read some reports about the LCD being somewhat flaky. Have you had any problems with it? I also saw how someone used a switch to allow him to turn it on and off (connecting the circuit where there's normally a jumper). That seems rather useful especially if I'm not really using it all the time!

With or without an intake fan at the stated position, the radiator will cool. If you're pushing case air out through the radiator from the top 360mm radiator, you're creating a negative pressure in the case which will be replenished with fresh air from any holes in the case regardless if there is an intake below.

Hmm I've read that using positive pressure can help keep dust out. Would I want to aim for that instead?

Still, if you're more comfortable with a pump and bay reservoir combo, and it seems neater to you, go for it. It still is your build and I'm just expressing my displeasure of using a bay reservoir. I still like bay reservoirs but if I had known there were ones with fill ports at the front, I wouldn't have to be doing this every time and have extra tube length to ensure it can be slid out.

Understandable, and I appreciate the information! :) I just think the high amount of 5.25 bays gives me a little bit of an advantage as I have plenty of room to work with. Well, unless I start filling those bays with fan controllers! ;) I do need to go through and buy the USB 3 upgrade for my 800D as I won't want to waste a 5.25 bay on two USB 3 ports.

I was wondering.. what are your thoughts on using Quick Disconnects on the reservoir to make it easier to fill up? I think I read on Martin's that they do significantly reduce pump pressure compared to other fittings, so I don't know if that would be an issue.

Depending on how cool you want your system to run and whether there will be overclocking, you might want to add in an extra radiator to work with the 360mm. Probably a thick 120mm at the back or 240mm at the bottom.

Hm... I thought about putting a 140mm in the back, but wouldn't that be overkill?
 

24601

Golden Member
Jun 10, 2007
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I've been wondering... what about a drain port? I've seen some people have separate tubes that could be used for easier draining.



Hmm you are really tempting me to go with the Lamptron even though it's price does make me balk a bit! I guess part of the issue with the Quiet SP120s is that they're almost too quiet. It's sort of a Goldilocks scenario here where I could probably raise the RPMs enough to hit about 28 to 30dB, and I would still be fine. In other words, I think the sweet spot is in between the High Performance and the Quiet models, so I guess I would need either a fan controller + High Performance or the PWM models... and a lot of PWM splitters. :p

I'll probably go with the fan control. Although, I have read some reports about the LCD being somewhat flaky. Have you had any problems with it? I also saw how someone used a switch to allow him to turn it on and off (connecting the circuit where there's normally a jumper). That seems rather useful especially if I'm not really using it all the time!



Hmm I've read that using positive pressure can help keep dust out. Would I want to aim for that instead?



Understandable, and I appreciate the information! :) I just think the high amount of 5.25 bays gives me a little bit of an advantage as I have plenty of room to work with. Well, unless I start filling those bays with fan controllers! ;) I do need to go through and buy the USB 3 upgrade for my 800D as I won't want to waste a 5.25 bay on two USB 3 ports.

I was wondering.. what are your thoughts on using Quick Disconnects on the reservoir to make it easier to fill up? I think I read on Martin's that they do significantly reduce pump pressure compared to other fittings, so I don't know if that would be an issue.



Hm... I thought about putting a 140mm in the back, but wouldn't that be overkill?

If you're going custom water, you need to go all the way. Water + video cards = perfect cooling performance scaling.

Also, Negative pressure is ALWAYS quieter than Positive pressure, so it's going to depend on which you value more.

If you have choice between 120mm and 140mm, always go 140mm, as its always quieter than 120mm for the same performance.
 

dma0991

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2011
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I've been wondering... what about a drain port? I've seen some people have separate tubes that could be used for easier draining.
Its done with a T block + 3 barb/compression or T connector or Y splitter and fillport. Some tube reservoirs with extra holes at the bottom will reduce the need to purchase additional connectors mentioned above but will still require a fillport connector.

It certainly makes a lot easier to drain fluids but it has to be placed at the lowest point in the loop where gravity will do its magic.

I'll probably go with the fan control. Although, I have read some reports about the LCD being somewhat flaky. Have you had any problems with it? I also saw how someone used a switch to allow him to turn it on and off (connecting the circuit where there's normally a jumper). That seems rather useful especially if I'm not really using it all the time!
Fan controls like the Lamptron gives me manual control of how much noise I want relative to its required cooling performance. If you're certain that your fans will run silent at its intended speed, fan controller might seem an unnecessary expense.

The LCD works fine, never had issues with it. Unless its referring to touch based ones, I don't like them as its a lot easier turning a knob than to fiddle with a capacitive screen.

Not sure how useful would turning it off the fan controller would be as it turns off the fans as well. I remembered the only mod done to the Lamptron FC5v2 was using a 4 way dip switch. It connects to 2 sets of jumpers at the back, one for changing color(4 colors) and the other changes RPM reading to voltage supplied to the fan (12V max). Its makes it a lot easier to change these settings when the dip switch is placed at the front. The method of putting your hand through the back is difficult and some wires/probes will detach based on my experience.

Hmm I've read that using positive pressure can help keep dust out. Would I want to aim for that instead?
Positive pressure accumulates less dust if your intakes are filtered in the first place. Mine has 6 filtered intake fans making it positive pressure but very fine dust particles does creep in eventually.

I was wondering.. what are your thoughts on using Quick Disconnects on the reservoir to make it easier to fill up? I think I read on Martin's that they do significantly reduce pump pressure compared to other fittings, so I don't know if that would be an issue.
I've don't see QD being commonly used for bay reservoirs(more common for GPUs), but it won't make it easier to fill, especially when you'll have to fill it the first time and bleed air from the loop. The workaround is to leave at least 2 empty bays above the reservoir. Filling will only require removal of the 2 bay covers and a bottle or funnel + flexible tube.

Hm... I thought about putting a 140mm in the back, but wouldn't that be overkill?
Not overkill when you have an overclocked CPU and overclocked high end GPU in that loop. 120mm or 140mm is up to you but I do prefer 120mm sizes as there are more choices for fans.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
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Its done with a T block + 3 barb/compression or T connector or Y splitter and fillport. Some tube reservoirs with extra holes at the bottom will reduce the need to purchase additional connectors mentioned above but will still require a fillport connector.

It certainly makes a lot easier to drain fluids but it has to be placed at the lowest point in the loop where gravity will do its magic.

I'm guessing that the lowest point on the loop would be the GPU itself. The GPU block that I chose has four ports on it, but since I only have a single GPU, I only need two. Is it viable to place some sort of drain off the GPU block's unused ports? I've seen some photos where people do that, but they have a long tube running down. Does that have any negative effects on the cooling potential, or does the dead-end just fill up with water and just sort of sit there? I was considering that I could just use a quick disconnect on the GPU and create a drain hose with the other side of the quick disconnect.

Fan controls like the Lamptron gives me manual control of how much noise I want relative to its required cooling performance. If you're certain that your fans will run silent at its intended speed, fan controller might seem an unnecessary expense.

Yeah, I think I'm going to go with the fan controller. It's almost a Goldilocks-esque problem for me, because I'm guessing that SP120 Quiet Edition operates at 23db max, I probably have some leeway beyond what it can do. So, why not get the normal Performance Edition, which is too loud at max, and just turn it down until I'm happy with it. I like that Lamptron model too, because I can keep with the black and white motif that I'm going with. :D

The LCD works fine, never had issues with it. Unless its referring to touch based ones, I don't like them as its a lot easier turning a knob than to fiddle with a capacitive screen.

Not sure how useful would turning it off the fan controller would be as it turns off the fans as well. I remembered the only mod done to the Lamptron FC5v2 was using a 4 way dip switch. It connects to 2 sets of jumpers at the back, one for changing color(4 colors) and the other changes RPM reading to voltage supplied to the fan (12V max). Its makes it a lot easier to change these settings when the dip switch is placed at the front. The method of putting your hand through the back is difficult and some wires/probes will detach based on my experience.

Well, the reason why I was thinking of turning the LCD off is that I saw some reports that the LCD goes bad on the 5Cv2. So, I figured that if I disable the LCD when I'm not using it, I'm fine. To be clear, when I say turn it off, I really mean that I would turn the LCD off by removing all three jumpers from the RGB pins... or in my case, using a switch to toggle them off.

Speaking of the fan controller, I was thinking about using the temperature sensors in the fan controller in conjunction with in-loop temperature leads. Are those bad for flow or anything like that? I talked about the GPU having two spare ports earlier, and I was thinking that I could put a temperature sensor in one of those. I just don't know if that would impede the flow too much.

Not overkill when you have an overclocked CPU and overclocked high end GPU in that loop. 120mm or 140mm is up to you but I do prefer 120mm sizes as there are more choices for fans.

Ahh I just didn't think it would be necessary to add another radiator for a CPU and a single GPU. Also, the GTX 680 has a relatively low TDP for a high-end card (low-200s), so if I had an overclocked 7970Ghz or SLI/Crossfire, I would probably want another radiator. That's at least what I'm assuming.
 

dma0991

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Mar 17, 2011
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I'm guessing that the lowest point on the loop would be the GPU itself.
I'm assuming that this is with the bay reservoir but I wouldn't want a drain port near there for aesthetics reasons. You can place the tubing on opposite ends of the GPU block with one facing downwards and with a T block in the middle of the tube that runs back to the reservoir.

Yeah, I think I'm going to go with the fan controller.
Then get a three way 3 pin splitter to go along with it(there's Bitfenix but there are cheaper alternatives). That way, you could control the 3 radiator fans with a single knob. Every channel of the Lamptron FC5v2 supports 30W, daisy chaining won't be an issue.

Well, the reason why I was thinking of turning the LCD off is that I saw some reports that the LCD goes bad on the 5Cv2. So, I figured that if I disable the LCD when I'm not using it, I'm fine. To be clear, when I say turn it off, I really mean that I would turn the LCD off by removing all three jumpers from the RGB pins... or in my case, using a switch to toggle them off.
Removing the jumpers would only mean that it goes to a default color(have forgotten, maybe white), not turning the display off. Still, the controller is well built(quite heavy I might say), and I've been running it for a year now, the unit or display have not died on me yet.

Speaking of the fan controller, I was thinking about using the temperature sensors in the fan controller in conjunction with in-loop temperature leads. Are those bad for flow or anything like that? I talked about the GPU having two spare ports earlier, and I was thinking that I could put a temperature sensor in one of those. I just don't know if that would impede the flow too much.
Shouldn't impede much of the flow if you have ones that are equally sized as the tube you're using.
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
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Over the course of looking at water cooling stuff, I've seen quite a lot of setups. One thing I've always wondered is the direction of flow. Is it true that you should try to go from the last radiator to the reservoir? My thought is that since almost any reservoir that I've seen has a maximum temperature listed, you probably want the water to be cool when going into it.

I'm assuming that this is with the bay reservoir but I wouldn't want a drain port near there for aesthetics reasons. You can place the tubing on opposite ends of the GPU block with one facing downwards and with a T block in the middle of the tube that runs back to the reservoir.

Yeah. That's why I was thinking about using the quick disconnect for it, as I do think that having a little flange coming off doesn't look bad... especially if it's black as that matches the inlet/outlet part on the Heatkiller GPU block. The idea is that I can simply leave the drain tube portion disconnected when I don't need it and rely on the quick disconnect to keep things tidy looking... and dry. :p


Then get a three way 3 pin splitter to go along with it(there's Bitfenix but there are cheaper alternatives). That way, you could control the 3 radiator fans with a single knob. Every channel of the Lamptron FC5v2 supports 30W, daisy chaining won't be an issue.


Removing the jumpers would only mean that it goes to a default color(have forgotten, maybe white), not turning the display off. Still, the controller is well built(quite heavy I might say), and I've been running it for a year now, the unit or display have not died on me yet.

Ahh, okay. I thought having all the pins in there would give you white where none of them would turn it off. I saw a YouTube video where a guy did it, and in a response to a comment, he said he used a switch. Maybe he is really turning the fan controller off. :eek:

Shouldn't impede much of the flow if you have ones that are equally sized as the tube you're using.

Okay. Monsoon has some nice temperature probes, and I can even plug one into one of the unused ports on my reservoir. If I'm going to do that, should I plug it into an input port? My thought is that the output port would have more pressure against it and I'm not sure if that would cause problems.

EDIT:

To let you know, you convinced me to tack on an extra 120mm radiator. :p
 
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dma0991

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2011
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Is it true that you should try to go from the last radiator to the reservoir?
I don't know if its true or not but I worry more about the pump rather than the reservoir. The water coming would be at its hottest when it enters the reservoir and it will of course affects the longevity of the pump since there is heat coming from the motor and the fluid that runs through it.

But the thing is, the fluid that passes throughout the tubes will not have the same temperature as you see on your CPU or GPU readout. The fluid only acts as a heat transfer medium and with the fluid passing at a very fast rate(wicks heat from blocks and expels the heat through the radiator rapidly), it doesn't have the same high temp like the CPU or GPU.

But worry not, the MCP-655 is a reliable unit and should last you years with proper care(don't run it dry).

Yeah. That's why I was thinking about using the quick disconnect for it, as I do think that having a little flange coming off doesn't look bad...
Well if you think it will look awesome who am I to judge. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. :D

Okay. Monsoon has some nice temperature probes, and I can even plug one into one of the unused ports on my reservoir. If I'm going to do that, should I plug it into an input port? My thought is that the output port would have more pressure against it and I'm not sure if that would cause problems.
That you will have to decide because there are two sections in the loop where one runs hotter than the other. Where do you want to place it depends on which reading do you want to capture.

To let you know, you convinced me to tack on an extra 120mm radiator. :p
You can do with a single 360mm radiator, provided that it is the double thickness variant like XSPC RX360, no overclocking and be satisfied with a higher temp delta or higher noise output.

If your budget doesn't permit(WC does get pretty expensive) an extra radiator, you can always add in the 120mm radiator later if you see the need for it. Just remember to keep some of the unused tubing, its just a matter of rerouting from CPU > GPU to CPU > 120mm radiator > GPU.
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
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Over the course of looking at water cooling stuff, I've seen quite a lot of setups. One thing I've always wondered is the direction of flow. Is it true that you should try to go from the last radiator to the reservoir? My thought is that since almost any reservoir that I've seen has a maximum temperature listed, you probably want the water to be cool when going into it.

No shortest loop always win... go with whatever route is the shortest.... Typically res sits b4 a pump for bleeding reasons...Res before pump means the pump is always pushing water unless your pump is located higher then the res, which means major bleeding problems to come.

Yeah. That's why I was thinking about using the quick disconnect for it, as I do think that having a little flange coming off doesn't look bad... especially if it's black as that matches the inlet/outlet part on the Heatkiller GPU block. The idea is that I can simply leave the drain tube portion disconnected when I don't need it and rely on the quick disconnect to keep things tidy looking... and dry. :p

ROFL u know i brought back QDC's to our hobby. I begged and begged koolance to sponsor me and my testers. No one trusted koolance back in the days.
No one wanted to touch them with a 10 foot pole... I got lucky with dean and they did. They were excellent at followup and advice... applied it.. koolance QDC's are almost manditory in any high LC build now.


Then get a three way 3 pin splitter to go along with it(there's Bitfenix but there are cheaper alternatives). That way, you could control the 3 radiator fans with a single knob. Every channel of the Lamptron FC5v2 supports 30W, daisy chaining won't be an issue.

Yes.. only a very select few can handle that many amperage tho.
The lower the fan is run, the more work the fan controller does.
To offset the voltage the fan controller releases heat... without good mosfets on the controller, the fan controller burns up and dies a horrible mess..



Ahh, okay. I thought having all the pins in there would give you white where none of them would turn it off. I saw a YouTube video where a guy did it, and in a response to a comment, he said he used a switch. Maybe he is really turning the fan controller off. :eek:

Explain...

Okay. Monsoon has some nice temperature probes, and I can even plug one into one of the unused ports on my reservoir. If I'm going to do that, should I plug it into an input port? My thought is that the output port would have more pressure against it and I'm not sure if that would cause problems.

The moonsoon? As in DD's?
DD went out of business... id suggest you look at koolance's gear..
Koolance has one of the best warrenties in or hobby... no one comes close... not even swiftech and definitely not eK.
If koolance messes up, they say sorry, and BAM! revision is sent to you... if the other companies mess up, they blame us first.. then wait until we PROVED it was there fault.. and then think about offering a RMA.


:p


This is also the product of using too many fans on one fan controller...
IMG_0757.jpg


which is why my system now uses 3.
 
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Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
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I don't know if its true or not but I worry more about the pump rather than the reservoir. The water coming would be at its hottest when it enters the reservoir and it will of course affects the longevity of the pump since there is heat coming from the motor and the fluid that runs through it.

Yeah, there seemed to be two prevailing opinions that I read in regard to ordering. Some people said that it doesn't really matter that much as long as your flow is good, and others preferred to put a radiator after the pump to help remove some of the heat generated by the pump.

But the thing is, the fluid that passes throughout the tubes will not have the same temperature as you see on your CPU or GPU readout. The fluid only acts as a heat transfer medium and with the fluid passing at a very fast rate(wicks heat from blocks and expels the heat through the radiator rapidly), it doesn't have the same high temp like the CPU or GPU.

That's true. That's one reason why I wouldn't mind putting temp sensors in various spots on my build. I don't think it would be necessary, but part of this is a learning experience for me. So, it'd be interesting to see the temperature differences in spots such as reservoir, post-CPU and post-GPU. Although, given the rather large expense of the build so far, I'd rather not tack on multiple $10 sensors that require $10 elbows... and then figure out how to route the cables! :p

Well if you think it will look awesome who am I to judge. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Haha, I wouldn't call it beautiful! However, I think a little 1.5" flange hanging off my GPU (that's the same color as the inlet/outlet portion of the GPU block) is a lot nicer than a permanent tube with a fill cap on the end. :p My only worry right now... are quick disconnects designed to hold pressure for long periods of time or are they designed for convenience when things are turned off. My plan is to hook the threaded female into the outlet portion of the GPU and leaving it detatched until I need to drain. I don't know exactly how it works, so I can't make any assumptions.

You can do with a single 360mm radiator, provided that it is the double thickness variant like XSPC RX360, no overclocking and be satisfied with a higher temp delta or higher noise output.

I ended up going with the AX radiator. If the RX wouldn't have covered the grommet, I probably would've went with it instead. It's a bit neurotic of me, but I just didn't like that grommet being covered... even if the cable would still work. :\ I've been a bit vocal with some of my issues with the 800D, so I've really been wanting to get my hands on a 900D since it's been announced. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it on the major retailers. All that space behind the motherboard looks amazing! :D

WC does get pretty expensive

Yeah, it really does. I joked to a friend that I could just buy a GTX 780 and a huge air cooler for the same price, and the not-so-funny part... I wasn't really joking. :p The nice part though is that I can probably upgrade to just about anything and keep almost every component. The only thing that will probably need to be replaced in future computer upgrade is my GPU block.

No shortest loop always win... go with whatever route is the shortest.... Typically res sits b4 a pump for bleeding reasons...Res before pump means the pump is always pushing water unless your pump is located higher then the res, which means major bleeding problems to come.

Yeah, I went with a bay reservoir + pump setup, which I heard are a bit of a pain to bleed.

ROFL u know i brought back QDC's to our hobby. I begged and begged koolance to sponsor me and my testers. No one trusted koolance back in the days.
No one wanted to touch them with a 10 foot pole... I got lucky with dean and they did. They were excellent at followup and advice... applied it.. koolance QDC's are almost manditory in any high LC build now.

Hmm I wouldn't have suspected that they were considered mandatory since I still see some flak from people on forums and such when it comes to QDCs. I think it was on Martin's where he was testing pressure drops from various components that showed that QDCs drop the pressure 10x more than normal fittings. I think it was something like .5 vs. .05, but I might be remembering incorrectly. Although, as I mentioned above, I'm still not sure if the QDC Will work like I need it to.

Yes.. only a very select few can handle that many amperage tho.

I only have four fans for the water cooling, so I was probably just going to hook them up separately right now. Although, I'm thinking that I'll need to go out and buy extension cables for them or just use a Zalman single fan controller for the time being (I have one left over from an old CNPS air cooler).

Explain...

The fan controller in question has three sets of pins that represent Red, Green and Blue. To determine the LCD color, you attach a jumper to the pins representing one of the colors and mix to get what you need. Since it most likely just toggles power to a set of LEDs, removing all pins would effectively turn off the display but leave the controller running.

The moonsoon? As in DD's?
DD went out of business... id suggest you look at koolance's gear..
Koolance has one of the best warrenties in or hobby... no one comes close... not even swiftech and definitely not eK.
If koolance messes up, they say sorry, and BAM! revision is sent to you... if the other companies mess up, they blame us first.. then wait until we PROVED it was there fault.. and then think about offering a RMA.

I'm not sure who handles Monsoon stuff now, but they definitely seem to be making new items. I did go with a few Koolance items though such as their CPU380I water block. I was considering their bay reservoir, and part of me thinks that I should have considered it more given the dual pump support is nice for expandability.

EDIT:

I saw your post in the other thread, aig, and to let you know, the fan controller that we're talking about is the Lamptron 5C (Version 2) that you like so much. :p
 
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aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
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Sep 28, 2005
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u talking about a switch so u can change the LED screen on fly?

Its not hard to do that.
You just need a switch which can terminate and join.
There was a bitspower unit which could do this via usb even...
however i dont know where it went...
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
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So, I received about half of my parts today, and I'm a little bummed about one small detail. When I setup my order at Frozen CPU, I had an option to select a pump on the reservoir's page. I selected to sleeve the cables, but it turns out that doesn't include the pump. In fact, unless you buy the pump separately, you can't get it sleeved. There really should be an indication for that as now my system will look rather awkward unless I sleeve the cables myself, which I've never done before. I think I might need to try it with a few test cables before I hack into a $100 pump's cables. :p

EDIT:

Luckily, the hobbyist store near me sells cable sleeving stuff!
 

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
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its not difficult to sleeve.

Remove the molex head slip heat shrink... slip sleeve... heat up heat shrink on one end to prevent the sleeve from unwinding.... then repeat on other side.... reattach molex head.

You can remove the molex head with precision flat head... a tiny tiny flat head to indent the hook holding it.

IMG_0766.jpg
 

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
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its not difficult to sleeve.

Remove the molex head slip heat shrink... slip sleeve... heat up heat shrink on one end to prevent the sleeve from unwinding.... then repeat on other side.... reattach molex head.

You can remove the molex head with precision flat head... a tiny tiny flat head to indent the hook holding it.

Yeah, I saw a website that mentioned how to remove molex connectors. I'm glad I didn't just stop with this one website that cut the cables! :eek: I considered buying some black connectors, but then I realized... why not just color the white ones? After a little Google searching, it looks like I can use rit dye on plastic, and I'm guessing any of the local hobby stores will have it. Excellent! This might be an even more interesting build than I expected.
 

dma0991

Platinum Member
Mar 17, 2011
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Don't bother coloring the connectors, it ain't worth the extra effort for such a tiny detail, unless you're making something of MDPC quality. I've had some sleeving experience myself, even making irreversible mistakes along the way; like snipping off the end of one of my Lamptron temp probe(the yellow plastic end).

If you have to get sleeving, go with quality ones where the weave is tighter, preventing the color of the wires from peeking through. MDPC sells sleeving which has quite a tight weave but you can find ones of similar quality for slightly less. Some tips, burn off the edges to prevent fraying, use a hair dryer for heat shrink tubings(I've used lighter is usable but requires more finesse or you end up burning things).