Water cooling heat calculation

[dxkj]

Water cooling noob, looking into giving this a shot on my next build. 3930k + 2x770 or 1x780.

Been reading a ton but are there good all in one reads that explain knowing how much wattage you can put into a given cooling loop, benefit of splitting, parallel, etc.

My goal is maximum stable overclock on everything, but willing to spend a little more to keep it quieter, whether that means a second loop or larger radiators. Would prefer the Stealth look without mounting a crazy sized radiator on the outside, still looking for cases. Still debating between micro atx and full atx, probably going full atx and big tower.

Is cooling motherboard components and full coverage ongraphics card worth it to tweak out the max overclock? I havnt built a highend system in awhile (current is an X6 phenom with dual radeon eyefinity 6s), so any input on this water thing and what is worth it, vs waste of money is much appreciated.

thanks!

I know this is all answered somewhere, and will keep on with my own research, but time is short these days and wanting toget started sooner than later.

 

[Aikouka]

I know BrightCandle has chimed in on a few threads about calculating cooling based on the number of watts used by a component, so he'll probably be able to help you out in that area. Although, it certainly depends on your case choice a bit, because your case may support larger 140mm-sized radiators versus smaller 120mm.

A big factor will definitely be whether you choose 770 SLI over the 780 as the 770 SLI will be nearly doubling the GPU's heat contribution. As for your choice there, what display are you going with? I originally had a single 680, but I ended up going with a 680 SLI setup because I have a 120Hz monitor, and it takes two 680s to hit 120 FPS at 1080p (with eye candy on) in most games. However, if you're using a 1080p60 or 2560x1440 monitor, you might be fine with just a single 780.

Anyway, from what I've read in setting up my own loop, just use one contiguous loop over splitting things apart. Some components might end up slightly hotter because of having only a single loop, but it's also significantly easier. Your case might also affect this choice given space requirements. You gotta have room to mount all that junk!

As for cooling motherboard components, I'm not too certain since you're looking at a Sandy Bridge-E rather than the non-enthusiast line, which is what I have. I was told that the latter doesn't really need it. Also, speaking of the enthusiast line, you may want to hold out until September if that's viable, because Ivy Bridge-E is supposed to come out in early September.

 

[jaedaliu]

You need to use a decent sized case in order to hold all your radiators inside. Because of that, I wouldn't consider a microATX board. If your case has to be a certain size, go with the normal sized motherboard. There's a price premium for microATX, and they tend not to put as many options on them.

Take a look at the posts on the first page. There should be plenty of information on fan recommendations and radiator sizing.

 

[BrightCandle]

A 3930k overclocked can pull 250W alone.
A 780 is 250W + 20% for an overclock is 300W
A 770 is 230W + 20% for an overclock is 280W

A single thick 120mm radiator (PA series, Swiftech MCR is about the thinnest that roughly meets this) can dissipate around 120W per 120mm fan at 800 rpm when using high static pressure fans like a Gentle Typhoon. This is at a 10C delta in water temperature.

A single thin 120mm radiator (RS series) is about 90W again at 10C delta.

So add the total power consumption of your parts up (add 10-25W for the pump as well) and then work out how many radiators you need. That will very much determine what case you want.