Component Suggestions

[xeks]

Hey guys,

So I'm starting to order the pieces to my build and was previously going to get an H100 then change over to a true water cooling loop. My questions now are:

1. Is it possible to build a loop just for my CPU with the ability to expand for GPUs in the future at roughly the same cost as to just getting the H100?
2. Is there somewhere I can read up on recommended components to get? What would you recommend to get? Vs a pre put together loop?

My build specs are.
Case: Switch 810
Mobo: Asus Sabertooth Z77
CPU: Intel i7-3770K
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 1866 4x4
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 470 (will be replaced)
PSU: Corsair AX750

 

[MadMarc]

1. No, if you want to add a gpu to the loop later I'd recommend that you get a 60mm thick 360mm rad (this alone costs as much as a h100), then you need a good pump, a cpu waterblcok, fittings, tubing and coolant..... A loop where you can just add the gpu later without upgrading the rad or the pump is more like 2 to 3 time the cost.

2. Check out these two video, they give you a good idea what you need, it might be cheaper to buy the parts separately as you can choose better fans and maybe a cheaper rad (something like this: Alphacool NexXxoS UT60).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvdgAC1GFnU&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cseLyQzK_7I&feature=g-user-c

Which parts of your new rig do you already have?

 

[ruairi.C]

1. Is it possible to build a loop just for my CPU with the ability to expand for GPUs in the future at roughly the same cost as to just getting the H100?

just think about it. How can you get true watercooling ie much better performing than a closed loop for the same price never mind getting more components watercooled for the same price.

 

[xeks]

1. No, if you want to add a gpu to the loop later I'd recommend that you get a 60mm thick 360mm rad (this alone costs as much as a h100), then you need a good pump, a cpu waterblcok, fittings, tubing and coolant..... A loop where you can just add the gpu later without upgrading the rad or the pump is more like 2 to 3 time the cost.

2. Check out these two video, they give you a good idea what you need, it might be cheaper to buy the parts separately as you can choose better fans and maybe a cheaper rad (something like this: Alphacool NexXxoS UT60).

Which parts of your new rig do you already have?

Nothing yet, still trying to learn and piece together parts (pros/cons 240mm vs 360mm rads for example and dual/triple?). Doesn't have to be top of the line but would love it to last as long as my rig, which from my current rig has been ~5 years since I've touched it besides for cleaning. I would love to expand to GPU cooling which is going to be for looks and noise reduction since current GPUs aren't running that hot according to Tom and others. Thanks! Just being a sponge and trying to absorb info so I can make better decisions.

just think about it. How can you get true watercooling ie much better performing than a closed loop for the same price never mind getting more components watercooled for the same price.

I'm not looking for something to match price per dollar but I'm also not looking to drop $400+ on the cooling system. I understand that the cost will be more already. Thanks, I guess.

 

[MadMarc]

As you haven't ordered anything, I'd do some changes: unless you do a lot of video editing/3d rendering drop to a 3570k and 8GB of ram. Take also a look a MSI's z77 boards, they seem to be very good according to other forum members. If you are running a single GPU the AX650 is more than enough.

 

[Master&Puppet]

Hey guys,

So I'm starting to order the pieces to my build and was previously going to get an H100 then change over to a true water cooling loop. My questions now are:

1. Is it possible to build a loop just for my CPU with the ability to expand for GPUs in the future at roughly the same cost as to just getting the H100?
2. Is there somewhere I can read up on recommended components to get? What would you recommend to get? Vs a pre put together loop?

1. You can build a CPU loop with room for expansion should you wish to add a GPU block. You just need to get a slightly better pump and a bigger radiator. It will, however, be 2 or 3 times the cost of the H100 I'm afraid.

2. There are plenty of threads on here and other places with lists but all you really need is:

A pump and reservoir.
A cpu block + thermal paste.
A Radiator.
Some tubing.
Some coolant.
A GPU block when you want to expand. Please note that you will need a reference graphics card to fit a waterblock to.

 

[xeks]

Thanks for the quick reply. I know the parts that I need to get in general but it's the question of what kind of cpu block, looking at the xspc raystorm (already have some MX-4), what size/thickness rad, and specifically what kind of pump I would need. Those kinds of things I'm trying to read up on and see what's good/reliable then sorta pricing it all out. Thanks!

 

[Master&Puppet]

Mx-4 is good. Raystorm is very good cpu block.

For pumps I would look at a D5 or a DDC model - either is fine if you control the RPM in someway. You'll also need to decide whether you want the pump mounted on a optical bay reservoir or with a stand alone pump top.

For rads you'll be needing the equivalent volume of a 360x60mm to cool a CPU and GPU. That's assuming you get a modern energy efficient card which runs cooler. Hotter cards would work but you'll need to have the fans blowing quite a bit. I'd recommend an Alphacool Nexxxos or Phobya G-changer series. XSPC RX360s are also very good but a little more expensive for some reason.

 

[xeks]

Thanks for the reply, would it matter if I got one radiator for the CPU and one for the GPUs vs having one radiator for both? I assume there isn't a significance difference between the RX360 and the two you mentioned besides price? Saving some $$$ would be great if it doesn't sacrifice too much performance. Thanks again!

 

[xeks]

Would you recommend getting a 360x80 (or 360x60) to fit the top of my Switch 810 running only 3 top fans, or get a 240x60 (not sure if a 80mm thick radiator will fit push/pull with the mobo) and run push/pull? I personally don't have the tools or capability to cut a hole in the plate to fit push/pull on the 360mm.

Pump-wise, I've been told to get a D5 which Google-ing is a bit confusing, but I assume people are talking about the Liang D5 pump which is made by different manufacturers like DangerDen, Bitspower, etc? Also is it recommended to use a pump/res combo or separate them?

Thanks in advance! Still learning so I apologize if questions seem to repeat.

 

[MadMarc]

Would you recommend getting a 360x80 (or 360x60) to fit the top of my Switch 810 running only 3 top fans, or get a 240x60 (not sure if a 80mm thick radiator will fit push/pull with the mobo) and run push/pull? I personally don't have the tools or capability to cut a hole in the plate to fit push/pull on the 360mm.

Pump-wise, I've been told to get a D5 which Google-ing is a bit confusing, but I assume people are talking about the Liang D5 pump which is made by different manufacturers like DangerDen, Bitspower, etc? Also is it recommended to use a pump/res combo or separate them?

Thanks in advance! Still learning so I apologize if questions seem to repeat.

I'd get a 360x60, this is enough for the cpu and one gpu and it fits in the 810. A single set of fans is enough, just get decent ones like the Corsair SPs or Scythe GTs.
The D5 is a very good pump, get one from a different manufacturer as they are cheaper, you have to decide whether you want the version with speedcontrol.
There are pumptop-res-combinations, like the one from bitspower Tom uses in Orca, but they seem to be hard to find, you can always use a pumptop with a tuberes and connect them with a fitting with two male 1/4'' threads

 

[xeks]

So radiator wise, something like the Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Triple 120 would work? (Been eyeing that since it's way cheaper than an XSPC equivalent).

Still researching pumps and stuff but is fan control on the pump needed? I mean the pump is advertised as near silent so I assume I can always just have it at 100% and be okay. I'm using an Aerocool Touch 2000 so I don't really have room in the top drive trays but maybe I can put one in the removable cage. Also will be using stock 140 fans for now to just test out.

Looking to settle on getting the regular XSPC Raystorm CPU block which is like ~60 vs the chrome one and black ones which are like ~100, not sure the difference but I think it should work out fine. Thanks for the quick response, Marc! Fountain of knowledge you are.

 

[MadMarc]

So radiator wise, something like the Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Triple 120 would work? (Been eyeing that since it's way cheaper than an XSPC equivalent).

Still researching pumps and stuff but is fan control on the pump needed? I mean the pump is advertised as near silent so I assume I can always just have it at 100% and be okay. I'm using an Aerocool Touch 2000 so I don't really have room in the top drive trays but maybe I can put one in the removable cage. Also will be using stock 140 fans for now to just test out.

Looking to settle on getting the regular XSPC Raystorm CPU block which is like ~60 vs the chrome one and black ones which are like ~100, not sure the difference but I think it should work out fine. Thanks for the quick response, Marc! Fountain of knowledge you are.

np dude, the alphacool rad is a good choice. I don't own the pump but as far as I know it's only silent when you turn it down (it's still powerful enough then), the speedcontrol only controls the pump, not any fans and it's built in so you don't have to worry about it's placement.

I'm not sure how you plan to use 140mm fans on the rad, not sure if it will work.

 

[xeks]

I assume with the pump control, it's a manual thing where I would have to keep opening my case if I want to adjust it. As for my fans, the rad will be mounted on top inside and the three fans are mounted on top outside under the top cover.

 

[MadMarc]

I assume with the pump control, it's a manual thing where I would have to keep opening my case if I want to adjust it. As for my fans, the rad will be mounted on top inside and the three fans are mounted on top outside under the top cover.

You wont need to adjust it very often, just set it up that it's really quiet and gives you nice temps. The fans should work like this but I'd change that as soon as you've go a bit more money

 

[xeks]

How would you change the fans on the rads? Have the fans actually mounted on the rad then to the top of the case?

 

[MadMarc]

How would you change the fans on the rads? Have the fans actually mounted on the rad then to the top of the case?

I'd do it the same with the pars you have (or will soon have), I just suggest that you get some 120mm to go with the rad

 

[xeks]

I'd do it the same with the pars you have (or will soon have), I just suggest that you get some 120mm to go with the rad

Haha what? That post confused me: "pars"? So you're saying I should get 3x120MM fans, hook them to pull air through the radiator, then mount the radiator? Haha sorry.

 

[Master&Puppet]

Okay that sounds good. In the mean time would you be able to refer me to any sites that I could read up on like what a 180 dual vs 180 triple. Is and such? That's what confuses me the most is the radiator types, which all I know is I want at least a 240 mm rad for the top and or the bottom. And there are so many d5 variant pumps. Thanks!

When people talk about radiator size what they mean is the fan size and length of radiator. So an 120mm rad is designed for 120mm fans, if it is a triple rad then it is long enough for three fans, like so:
http://flyingsuicide.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ibuypower-triple-radiator-1.jpg
Problem with that is you get no indication of the depth of the radiator, which is very important obviously because a deep radiator is better than a narrow one. It's actually better to describe it in the format LxD, i.e. 360x60mm, AKA a triple 120mm radiator, 60mm deep.
There are 140mm rads and an 180mm rad has just entered the market too. Whilst the radiators themselves are absolutely fine the choice of decent fans is much more limited for those sizes.

As for pumps. What you'll find is that there are basically only two types. The Laing DDC which looks like this:
http://static.scan.co.uk/images/products/1472188-a.jpg
and the D5 which looks like this:
http://www.dangerden.com/store/images/D/d5_front_view_800w-01.jpg
Broadly speaking they are designed for slightly different purposes. The DDC is a higher pressure (known as the pressure head), lower lph pump (litres per hour, flow rate) and the D5 is lower pressure, higher flow rate. In truth there isn't much to split them apart because the D5's pressure is more than enough for several waterblocks (making the DDC's extra pressure redundant) but equally the LLCs flow rate is more than high enough to make any extra LPH redundant (water only heats up a tiny bit when it is pumped around - extra flow rate only matters when the water is totally saturated by heat - which won't happen). I have my 2 DDCs running at 7v (about 4-500LPH) and if I ran them flat out (7-800LPH) I see literally no change in temperatures but I get a whole lot of noise. The D5 has a 'vario' version which has a 5 speed selectable switch. Generally putting it at 3 will give you silent running and more than enough flow and pressure. The DDC doesn't have a selector but you can just run it off a 7v cable and get the same effect (as you can the non 'vario' model of the D5 too).
Generally the D5 is considered superior.

After that all you've got are aftermarket pump tops and reservoirs supplied by different people like phobya and XSPC and EK. The pumps are principally the same. Performance is more than enough with either pump - I'd suggest you work on keeping the rig silent. With that in mind you want a big enough radiator so that the fans can spin slower and you want to noise insulate the pump. So here's what I would do in your situation:

CPU block - I'd get an XSPC raystorm although there are a few good blocks out there from other's like EK.
Radiator - Since the top of the 810 can mount 140mm rads I'd take advantage and get a Phobya G-changer 420x60 rad.
Fans - The 140mm fan issue is solved with these babies from Corsair. I've chosen the low RPM edition which come with a 7v resistor cable. Mount these on the top of the case pulling air out (at RPMs under about 1300 this is more effective than push).
Pump - This is where things get tricky. On the face of it you have 2 options:
A. Optical drive res. Very neat and space efficient. You can get the D5 and the DDC like this. It will a tiny bit more noisy than the next option.
B. This option will need mounting somewhere else in the case, like on the floor under the HDD bays.
You'll need a dampening mat to stick to the bottom of the case.
Then you need the pump and pump top like this D5. Just stick this to the mat.
Finally you'll need a reservoir. Something sexy and easy to mount like this. If you went the DDC route it is easier to get that all together by purchasing something like this.
After that it's just tubing, coolant and barbs.

Take a look at get back to us with the bits that you like. You can't actually go far wrong and much of it will come down to how you want it to look.

 

[MadMarc]

Haha what? That post confused me: "pars"? So you're saying I should get 3x120MM fans, hook them to pull air through the radiator, then mount the radiator? Haha sorry.

Parts, is what I wanted to say. You missunderstood me there, you said that you have only 140mm fans atm, then I said that should work even though the rad is 120mm but I'd replace the 140s with 120s asap.