Yet another noob to WC thread

[Interitus]

First I'd like to state that I have been doing a lot of reading on water cooling, but I'd like to get my ideas out there for critique by some of you that have experience with it, and can provide some useful feedback. There's still a lot I don't know, and a lot of stupid questions for me to ask With that out of the way, let's get to the good stuff...

Goals:

I am currently on high end air (Venomous-X) and am shooting to run my i7-920 @ 4.0 or maybe a tad higher. Temps aren't terrible, around 75C Linpack load, but I'd like to maybe shave a bit off of that. My chip will do right up to 4.0 at stock 1.25v. I currently use low-rpm fans on the Veno-X because I like quiet PC's, but that leaves my temps a little higher than I'd like for 24/7 use. My main issue is that my board's VRM's (EVGA X58-SLI, not a Classy) run very hot. I'd like to build a single loop for the CPU and VRM's, possibly including a full board block or a set of blocks for the NB and VRM's. I don't think the NB would be necessary, but I have a feeling the whiny little fan on it would be more pronounced with everything else under water. At this point, I wouldn't be including a GPU because my 5850 runs fairly cool and I don't plan on OC'ing it at all. Maybe that will change in the future, but for now it's not necessary.

A little preliminary info:

I currently have 2 case options: A P180, or my current Lancool K62. Neither of these are very WC-friendly, so I will probably start with an externally mounted radiator. I plan on upgrading to the 800D or 700D, but for now the cash isn't quite there and this is going to be a project spread out over time, picking up parts when and where I can.

Components I have coming:

CPU Block: Swiftech Apogee XT

Radiator: Swiftech MCR320

Components I have yet to order:

Pump: 2x DDC/355's (for redundancy/failsafe, not dual loops)

Pump Top(s): Not really sure what the best here is.. I like the EK acetal and the HK DDC case

Reservoir: EK Dual-Bay Spin Res (works in current cases) or Iandh Stealth (availability?)

Motherboard/VRM Block: Enzotech EV-X58 (not a lot out there for the e758) or individual VRM/NB blocks (little help with this?)

Tubing: Primochill LRT UV Red (goes with build color, assuming 3/8 ID)

Barbs: Bitspower Silver (assuming 3/8 ID here, will probably skip compressions for the first build on water)

Fans: I currently have a lot of Yate Loon mediums, so I would probably use those. Could order GT's if need be though.


Component concerns:

Main component concerns are the reservoir and the board/VRM blocks. I like the EK bay res with the built in flow meter, and the tube style res's definitely won't fit in either the P180 or the Lancool. I don't necessarily need a bay res with an integrated pump either, I'm sure I could find a sufficient mounting spot for the DDC's. I've searched endlessly for board blocks for the X58-SLI, but there doesn't seem to be much out there. Most of the "full board" blocks I found do not incorporate the VRM's, one of my primary goals for the loop. I like the Enzotech the most, but I'm not against using separate blocks. I did look at a few single VRM blocks, but trying to nail down which ones would work for this board was aggravating. As for the tubing size, I assumed the 3/8" ID would be sufficient for my goals.

Yes this is long but I swear it's almost over...

Any advice on components would be welcome. Also here is a link to my build inside the Lancool K62 if it helps with install orientation etc...

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=29404953&postcount=178

Thanks for reading this long post

 

[zagood]

1. http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2085713
2. http://www.overclock.net/8531645-post584.html
3. Disregard #2 - didn't realize you ordered a 320. External it is (or new case asap).
4. Ask questions BEFORE you buy components.

 

[Interitus]

1. http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2085713
2. http://www.overclock.net/8531645-post584.html
3. Disregard #2 - didn't realize you ordered a 320. External it is (or new case asap).
4. Ask questions BEFORE you buy components.

I did read aigo's thread I figured I had enough of what he covered figured out already, was mostly looking for specific component advice and an overall thumbs up/down I guess.

I bought the XT and the 320 because I got an amazing deal on them. I paid barely over the price of the XT for both. I figured 2 things:

1) Pointless to buy a 220 right now if I plan on moving to the 700/800D later. Even if the 220 fit in the top of the K62, I'd be re-purchasing a 320 later anyways. External rad won't bother me as a temporary solution.

2) The XT is a pretty universal and future-usable block that is widely recommended for beginners. Seeing aigo recommend it as well made me pretty confident that it was a good choice.

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate you taking the time to read through

 

[aigomorla]

dont like the spin res.

It caused an unneeded restriction for a quickly played out spin flow meter.

I would get a Bay res which is intigrated for dual DDC's.
Go though the stores, you'll see one thats like the one i recomended, only meant for 2 ddc's.

Iandh's stealth res's are nice, thats another route to go, but seeing how you want redundancy, a dual top, or a res with dual ddc' option would be your best choice.

 

[nitromullet]

Nice looking build.

For the dual DDC res top, I'd personally go with:

EK Waterblocks EK-DDC Dual TOP V.2 G1/4 - Black Acetal
EK-Multioption LINK 2×G1/4
EK Waterblocks EK-Multioption RES 150 rev.2

This will give you a dual DDC top and tube res with the option to run the tube res attached to the top or by itself. If you decide to go this route, you would want to do either:

1) Grab the res in a hurry because EK has discontinued the Rev. 2 res and replaced it with a the X2. The X2 doesn't work with that top because the tubes have a different diameter. Rev. 2 is 50mm, and the X2 is 60mm.

2) Wait and see if EK puts out a top compatible with the 60mm tubes.

Another thing you might want to think about carefully is the tube diameter and fittings... Compression fittings are more expensive than barbs, but if you think you'll end up wanting compression fittings eventually go ahead and get compression fittings. WC fittings last a long time if you don't abuse them, so you would be able to re-use them on your next build. Same goes for the tube diameter... If you think 1/2" will be what you use on the future, go ahead a start with that.

I'm relatively new to wc'ing, but I've learned a few things: wc is pricey, so buy what you really want now instead of buying interim parts because even less expensive parts are still expensive. ...and don't underestimate the cost of fittings.

I also think you are on the right track with selecting Acetal/Delrin components. I personally stay away from components that have threads for the barbs/fittings directly into acrylic and/or use glue to join acrylic parts. Acrylic is more brittle than Acetal/Delrin, is more likely to crack under pressure, and the glue can separate. I won't say that all acrylic bay reservoirs are bad, just that you should research acrylic bay res/pump combo failures before buying one. I prefer Acetal/Delrin parts with screws/rubber seals with only the Delrin part threaded (like the EK spin res).

If you want a bay res, but aigo has scared you away from the EK perhaps a Bitspower 5.25in. Bay Res - Black Acetal (POM) - BP-WT525P-BK is another option. Compared to to the EK, it's smaller, cheaper, and won't restrict flow; but it's still made out of Acetal.

 

[Interitus]

Thanks for the input guys, very helpful.

Aigo -

Would the EK bay res be too much restriction for the loop I have planned? I did read a lot of reviews on the res, and I guess I got the feeling that while it was restrictive, it wouldn't be a huge problem for my planned loop. Especially since the XT seems to perform well with lower flow rates.

Do you have a flow meter you personally recommend or think would be good for this project? Only spin-type model I've seen around is the Koolance one, and I remember reading a lot of people had complaints about it.

Nitro -
Thanks for the "buying what you want" advice. I guess I never really thought of it that way. Might make me think twice about the bay res altogether. I'll consider the Bitspower one you linked. I mainly decided on the Spin res just because a visual flow confirmation on my first build sounded good without going all out on some of the nicer equipment (read that as more expensive ) I really prefer the tube res' but I just figured a transplant would ease the pain of buying the 800D right away.

A big reason I haven't gone water yet is the cash involved. But I figured I was tired of making excuses and wanted to try it out My build plan estimate was $600 with fittings and everything, so I'm finding out exactly how even the little things hurt, lol.

-edit-

I'll check out the EK tube res option too

 

[nitromullet]

A big reason I haven't gone water yet is the cash involved. But I figured I was tired of making excuses and wanted to try it out My build plan estimate was $600 with fittings and everything, so I'm finding out exactly how even the little things hurt, lol.

-edit-

I'll check out the EK tube res option too

Yeah, understand that. I built my first loop in March 2010... I'm already on my second cpu block and reservoir, added a rad, gpu block, pump top, replaced all my barbs with compression fittings, and re-worked my loop at least 5 times. I don't have any regrets on paying more for the parts I have now, but I do regret not getting better stuff the first time around.

 

[aigomorla]

Thanks for the input guys, very helpful.

Aigo -

Would the EK bay res be too much restriction for the loop I have planned? I did read a lot of reviews on the res, and I guess I got the feeling that while it was restrictive, it wouldn't be a huge problem for my planned loop. Especially since the XT seems to perform well with lower flow rates.

Do you have a flow meter you personally recommend or think would be good for this project? Only spin-type model I've seen around is the Koolance one, and I remember reading a lot of people had complaints about it.

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/dubayreforla.html

i would pick that over the other, and connect the two chambers in serial.

The EK spinner i dont like it.
I never liked it, and i heard the spinner also get stuck sometimes.

Do you really need a flow meter? If you want to go flow meter and temp sensor route, get a controller card.

Like the TMS-200.
http://www.koolance.com/water-cooling/product_info.php?product_id=797