Custom Loop: Does flow order matter?

Daiyus

Member
I'm currently building a PC that isn't initially going to be liquid cooled, however I may want to in the future so my brain is already whirring on how to do it. The case is an FTZ01. I think I've got a good idea of how to do it using Quick Releases to make sure the lid and GPU bracket can be removed and re-installed easily but it means that the pump won't be pulling directly from the reservoir as I want to mount the reservoir externally. The flow would be:

Reservoir - 120mm Radiator - CPU Block - Pump - 240mm Radiator - GPU Block - Reservoir

Will that cause any problems?
 
Thanks for the advice. I was originally thinking of mounting the reservoir on the lid, but I could mount it on the GPU/ODD end of the case instead. That way I could run the flow as:

Reservoir - Pump - CPU Block] - Quick Release - [120mm Radiator] - Quick Release - [GPU Block] - Quick Release - [240mm Radiator - Reservoir

The only difficult run would be the 120mm rad to the GPU block. If I used an XSPC Photon 270 Reservoir I think it'd look really good with the aluminium fascia of the FTZ01 as it's a glass tube with a black aluminium bracket, and that LED tube would give it a nice glow.
 
Last edited:
Provided you can bleed it and the pump remains free from air the order of the loop is not important, a reservoir is not even necessary however it does make it much easier to remove any air. If your pump does not directly follow the reservoir then just pay attention to get as much coolant as possible into the loop before turning the pump on. Fill slowly to mitigate getting air trapped and keep moving it around.

Mounting components externally just seems like conceding defeat to me even more so in smaller form factors. If your going to have QDC's and external elements why not just use a pump/res combination on the outside?

JR
 
Last edited:
Provided you can bleed it and the pump remains free from air the order of the loop is not important, a reservoir is not even necessary however it does make it much easier to remove any air. If your pump does not directly follow the reservoir then just pay attention to get as much coolant as possible into the loop before turning the pump on. Fill slowly to mitigate getting air trapped and keep moving it around.

Mounting components externally just seems like conceding defeat to me even more so in smaller form factors. If your going to have QDC's and external elements why not just use a pump/res combination on the outside?

JR

You make some good points. I'll explain my thinking so you can point out the fallacies; that way I learn.

I figured that having an external reservoir would allow me to keep an eye on coolant levels as the FTZ01 doesn't have a window and I don't particularly want to have to open the case every week or so to check (if I used a small reservoir/pump combo), plus I thought it would make the build look more interesting. While I love the understated "street sleeper" look I figure if I'm going to liquid cool I might as well show it off.

The idea of not including the pump directly on the external reservoir was two fold; pumps aren't generally that pretty and I thought that having the pump inside might reduce the noise output of the system slightly.
 
Back
Top