Watercooling build

[Sylvanas]

Okay so the story so far is that I intend to be installing a High end watercooling system in my current case, the Coolermaster Stacker T01 (I remember aigo made mention of this case in his WC guide here, so I hope it will fit everything). I have no problems with busting out the Dremel if thats required. I will be acquiring the components over a few weeks as it will be coming out of a few paychecks so I am not in a hurry but I would like some input so I know exactly what I should and will be purchasing when the time comes.

I intend to do it right the first time with this build so I intend to gather all the components I would require first up. This means I intend to be cooling the rig in sig with CPU block/NB/SB/Mosfet/2x FC Crossfire 3850. So the components I have acquired so far due to there being little debate over their top performance are as follows:

Thermochill PA 120.3 (arrived today )
D-Tek Fuzion + nozzle kit (arrived today)
Swiftech MCW30
Zalman ZM-G200 anti corrosion (got this a while ago on special, not sure if thats all I need +distilled water for fluids?)

Current components I have my eye on are the Laing D5 Vario, another MCW30 for the SB, 2x EK FC 3850 blocks and an EK mosfet block (have to measure Mosfet dimensions in order to find out which one will fit). Any other recommendations?

What I am currently stuck with are the tubing/fittings/res required. The D-TEK came with metal barbs which looks great but my MCW30 came with plastic barbs...what should I replace the plastic ones with? I was thinking these (I live in Australia so I might not be able to source every manufacturer domestically but I can get access to most of the main ones). I going with 1/2" tubing for this, so the Clearflex/Tygon looks the go...I figure about 2 Meters?

Also what fans should I get for my PA 120.3? I currently have a spare Sythe S Flex 120mm lying around, should I get two more of those? Also what is the best way to go about mounting fans on a PA 120.3? Then hose clamps....how many would I need for this loop+ any other miscellaneous fittings I missed out?

I am thinking of going with the Swiftech MCRES-MICRO Hi-Flo Reservoir and after aig's guide I also decided I best go with the T-line aswell, would this be appropriate?

I think thats all for now, no doubt I'll think of more questions later.
Thanks for your time and help!


Update: 10 May- See below

 

[DerwenArtos12]

GOOD POST!

Those d-tek fittings will be just fine.

You really only need the reservoir OR the t-fitting, not both, unless you plan to drain and bleed your system a lot.

The s-flex are good fans for the PA series, the D will work, the E will work better and can be slightly undervolted on the PA series if it ends up being too loud, obviously the more airflow you cram through it the better, jsut depends on the ammount of noise you can stomach.

The ideal layout for the case is to put some tall feet or caster on it to raise it up at least 1" and mount the radiator to the bottom of the case with the power supply at the top. Mounting the radiator in the 5.25" bays will work well as well(say that five times fast).

Why 3850's? Do you already have them? D5 vario is a good pump and there is a new top on it's way out from EK and I'm currently working with martin to get a top made for it to bump pressure for really restrictive set-ups.

Only thing I'm not 100% sure about is a single PA120.3 being able to handle all of that. Is this going on the AMD or the Intel system in your sig or a totally new one?

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
GOOD POST!

Those d-tek fittings will be just fine.

You really only need the reservoir OR the t-fitting, not both, unless you plan to drain and bleed your system a lot.

The s-flex are good fans for the PA series, the D will work, the E will work better and can be slightly undervolted on the PA series if it ends up being too loud, obviously the more airflow you cram through it the better, jsut depends on the ammount of noise you can stomach.

The ideal layout for the case is to put some tall feet or caster on it to raise it up at least 1" and mount the radiator to the bottom of the case with the power supply at the top. Mounting the radiator in the 5.25" bays will work well as well(say that five times fast).

Why 3850's? Do you already have them? D5 vario is a good pump and there is a new top on it's way out from EK and I'm currently working with martin to get a top made for it to bump pressure for really restrictive set-ups.

Only thing I'm not 100% sure about is a single PA120.3 being able to handle all of that. Is this going on the AMD or the Intel system in your sig or a totally new one?

Thanks for help!

All of this will be going on my rig in sig (AMD), yes I already have the 3850's and EK seems to be the only one with Full Coverage Waterblocks for these- I would prefer FC blocks over just single GPU block. Are the D and E you refer to revisions of the Sythe S Flex? I currently have one of these so I would be looking to get two more- but I am unsure what revision they are.

Thanks for the advice on the mount, I would think I'll be mounting this on the bottom of the case, the res (will stick with res over T-Line) in the drive bays and the pump up top? As for the pump- what does a new 'top' improve, I assume flow rates? I would think with all the blocks in this system that it will be rather restrictive- which is why I went with the Fuzion over the EK Supreme so should I hold out for an improved pump/top?

Additionally I just realized, what position should I have my fans mounted on the PA 120.3...'suck or 'blow' any difference in temps between the two?

Thanks for your time.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: Sylvanas

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
GOOD POST!

Those d-tek fittings will be just fine.

You really only need the reservoir OR the t-fitting, not both, unless you plan to drain and bleed your system a lot.

The s-flex are good fans for the PA series, the D will work, the E will work better and can be slightly undervolted on the PA series if it ends up being too loud, obviously the more airflow you cram through it the better, jsut depends on the ammount of noise you can stomach.

The ideal layout for the case is to put some tall feet or caster on it to raise it up at least 1" and mount the radiator to the bottom of the case with the power supply at the top. Mounting the radiator in the 5.25" bays will work well as well(say that five times fast).

Why 3850's? Do you already have them? D5 vario is a good pump and there is a new top on it's way out from EK and I'm currently working with martin to get a top made for it to bump pressure for really restrictive set-ups.

Only thing I'm not 100% sure about is a single PA120.3 being able to handle all of that. Is this going on the AMD or the Intel system in your sig or a totally new one?

Thanks for help!

All of this will be going on my rig in sig (AMD), yes I already have the 3850's and EK seems to be the only one with Full Coverage Waterblocks for these- I would prefer FC blocks over just single GPU block. Are the D and E you refer to revisions of the Sythe S Flex? I currently have one of these so I would be looking to get two more- but I am unsure what revision they are.

Thanks for the advice on the mount, I would think I'll be mounting this on the bottom of the case, the res (will stick with res over T-Line) in the drive bays and the pump up top? As for the pump- what does a new 'top' improve, I assume flow rates? I would think with all the blocks in this system that it will be rather restrictive- which is why I went with the Fuzion over the EK Supreme so should I hold out for an improved pump/top?

Additionally I just realized, what position should I have my fans mounted on the PA 120.3...'suck or 'blow' any difference in temps between the two?

Thanks for your time.

Ok, I don't know how much those 3850's put out though I doubt it's much but, combined with an X2, NB, SB and Mostets it may overpower your radiator, we'll have to wait on aigomorla to weigh in on this one.

That fan is actually not an sflex, I can't find the bearing stats on it but, the model starts with an SY so it's more than likely a slipstream, not an slfex. realistically, you will have to run those at full bore if you put three of them on a PA120.3. I would really reccomend the Zalman ZM-F3(available with LED but harder to find) or the Scythe Ultra Kaze 2Krpm to really get the best performance you can out of the system.

As for the layout, ideally you would want all your runs as short as you can, the shorter the loop, the less distance the water has to travel, the best you'll be performance wise. With the fuzion I woulnd't reccomend using any of the nozzles, the washer may be ok but, not any of the nozzles, for the sake of flow.

The D5 is a very good pump with high flow, lower restriction systems but, it suffers more on restrictive loops. An aftermarket top is designed to increase flow and/or pressure. The current tops out should increase pressure just slightly but, I not enough to really make them worthwhile, I'm designing one specifically for increased pressure up to 2gpm, for ideal performance in the 1.5-2gpm range on restrictive loops. The DDC3.2 is honestly a better pump for more restrictive loops at the moment, especially if you run a pair in serial. I would say hold off on buying your pump till last I should have at least a prototype of mine in about 3 weeks.

Ideally fans should blow through the radiator into the case. With the radiator on the bottom and the right fans though, won't make too big a difference.

 

[aigomorla]

http://www.flabbergast.com.au/...ddc-reservoir-top.html

+

http://www.flabbergast.com.au/...ump-laing-ddc-3-2.html

= best pump combo you can get right now minus the RD-30. :T


then you dont need a res.


Also use distilled + pentosin.

http://www.flabbergast.com.au/...ant-additive-blue.html


Sorry derwen he's not conus.

 

[Sylvanas]

Thanks for the response guys.

I can indeed find the Zalman F3's so I'lll be ordering 3 of them in a 'blow' configuration at the bottom of the case.

That pump+ res top looks like a great combo and should be easier to fit, however would I very much better off going with a Turbohead such as this with the DDC 3.2 and a standalone res? My next order will be the SB/EK FC blocks/2meters of Clearflex/ Tygon +Pentosin then since those components aren't likely to change. Whats the verdict on if the Radiator can cope with all this?

Thanks for your time.

 

[EarthwormJim]

According to Martin on xtremesystems, http://www.martinsliquidlab.co...32PumpTopTesting.html, that combo res/top is the best performing top for a ddc 3.2.

I'm still kinda new to watercooling, but I'd be a little concerned about flow having a nb/sb/mosfet/cpu, and two full cover blocks in one loop (especially the full cover blocks).

Honestly consider not having a sb block since it really doesn't help anyways, all it'll do is dump more heat into your loop and reduce your flow.

As long as you're not going crazy with your overclocks though, I'm sure the radiator can take it.

 

[Sylvanas]

Well it looks like there is some concern about all the components in the same loop dumping alot of heat and in turn becoming a restrictive loop. Am I looking at suffering a significant temp increase across the board with the current proposed setup?

Would it be better considering a dual pump/ dual rad setup in the same loop OR another loop altogether and if so what components would you hook up to a separate loop and what additional pumps/rads would you suggest? What concerns me about this is if I can fit it all into my case...

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: Sylvanas
Well it looks like there is some concern about all the components in the same loop dumping alot of heat and in turn becoming a restrictive loop. Am I looking at suffering a significant temp increase across the board with the current proposed setup?

Would it be better considering a dual pump/ dual rad setup in the same loop OR another loop altogether and if so what components would you hook up to a separate loop and what additional pumps/rads would you suggest? What concerns me about this is if I can fit it all into my case...

well first off i hope all this isnt going on that ip35-e. Its not the best of things to h2o cool.

As for restrictions, yeah, it would be ideal to split your loop up. The mosfets can dump a lot of heat back into the water, and having all of that on 1 PA might be asking for it.

If you can afford another loop, put the Cpu + Northbridge. Gpu + Sb. And forgo the mosfets. They can easily be kept under control via air, and you really should check out how hot they get under load.

 

[Sylvanas]

Thanks for the responses.
(damnit accidentally deleted long post )

Indeed it is not going on the IP35-E/Intel rig- it will be going on the MSI K9A2 Platinum w/ X2 5000+ black edition. I know the Mosfets can get up to 100C on air if you're not careful and that WC them is not essential but I have had my heart set on it after seeing this sexy build on XS. It understand it would be best to have 2 loops in this build so I guess that's what I will work towards....It will take longer to save up the $$ but that just gives me more time to procure the right components .

As suggested, I will now be looking to create a 2nd loop. Firstly I would imagine it will be difficult to fit all of this my case in but I can worry about that later . I will venture to say that I doubt I would need a Rad/pump the calibre of a PA 120.3 and MCP355 Inline 12V DC Pump (Laing DDC-3.2) + Laing DDC Reservoir Top for the 2nd loop. So how does this sound:

Loop 1:
D-Tek Fuzion (w/ nozzles now that there is much less restriction?)
MCW30 NB w/ D-Tek 1/2" Chrome barbs
EK Mosfet
PA 120.3 w/ Zalman F3's
MCP355 Inline 12V DC Pump (Laing DDC-3.2)
Laing DDC Reservoir Top

2nd Loop:
2x EK FC 3850 Acetal GPU blocks
MCW30 SB w/ D-Tek chrome barbs.
Pump ??
Rad ??
Res

I am thinking along the lines of a Hardware labs rad with perhaps a cheaper pump for the 2nd loop.

Thanks for your time.

 

[PCTC2]

I'd have to say a Swiftech MCR320 for your GPU loop, with maybe the same pump but just keep the standard top and use a Swiftech Micro-Res.

 

[Sylvanas]

Originally posted by: PCTC2
I'd have to say a Swiftech MCR320 for your GPU loop, with maybe the same pump but just keep the standard top and use a Swiftech Micro-Res.

Indeed thanks for the recommendation. Looking at the prices here that would be a good combo thats easier on the wallet aswell.

 

[Sylvanas]

Edited: problem solved.

 

[Sylvanas]

Thread resurrection!

Okay so I have just about everything and this weekend I was all set to do the assembly. Pics!

However when I came to the Thermochill, I realized my D-Tek High flow 1/2" barbs did not simply just screw on like the MCR320. The thread was too big for the barbs as you might be able to see here. So then I check my local hardware stores....nobody stocks these kind of fittings (I should have known this ), so it looks like I'll need to buy something like this (I believe that's the correct fitting right?). Apart from that I'm all set....lucky I didn't dismantle my computer+ case before I found out about the barbs.

Stay tuned for more!

 

[Xed]

Yes, the pa 120.3 uses g3/8 fittings instead of g1/4 =)