dual loops in a single build.

jakings238

New member
Hi There,

This is my first time building a computer with watercooling so it's a completely new experience for me. I work in IT and am able to pick up various bits and pieces from our suppliers cheap as we are a reseller. Because of this I am building a pretty overkill system.

What I intend on doing is watercooling:
Loop 1
- Ram
- Motherboard
- CPU

Loop 2
- GPU's (At this stage I'm not sure what GPU's I'll be cooling. It will most likley be some GTX 700 series when they release but depending on the date at the time I'm ready to purchase the cards I may wait until 2014 for the maxwell cards)


I currently have two xspc ex360 multiport radiators mounted vertically in the PSU compartment of a Corsair 800D.

wm7RAc.png
wm7RAc.png

aWxtb4.png



I have no doubt this is ridiculously overkill but what i wanted to do was have these two radiators for the loop 1, and in the 2nd case replicate the exact same thing and have two radiators/12 fans for the graphics too.

Before anyone says it... I don't care about noise as i game with headphones on.


Anyway so now I've set the scene here is my actual question:

What sort of pump configurations will i need for this to work?
I don't want to use 5.25 bays, I want to have some reservoirs/pumps mounted on the shelf in the 2nd case
M8Dnzg.png



I've heard you can have a single loop have two pumps in it which helps pressure/flow and also has redundancy in the case of a pump failing.

So what I'm expecting to see is a total of 2 reservoir and 4 pump suggestions.

Hope this all makes sense.

Many thanks for your help..
 
You dont need push pull on such a skinny rad,You can get all of your rig on a single loop with dual pumps in series,mush better than dual pumps on dual loops.
 
It may be excessive but surely the redundancy of 2 pumps can only be a good thing?

I can get this stuff pretty cheap so I'm not bothered about it being 'a waste of money'.... We meet our re-seller targets as a company often and our re-sellers give away freebies for doing so. For example I got one of my 800D's for £0.

The fact I have such a massive (overkill) case (two 800D's bolted together) I may as well fill them....
9bXfNt.png

you say dual pumps would be excessive but... Would it really? I mean for example, If this was the route it took Res > dual pump > rad > rad > Motherboard > ram > cpu > 2nd set of ram > rad > rad > back to res that's one hell of a trip. Now I know 4 rads is extreme.... But like I said I have massive case and I'd rather fill it.

Loop 2 would be: Res > dual pump > Rad > Rad > Potentially 4 way SLI > rad > rad > back 2 res.

I'd imagine 2 pumps would be required in order to keep the pressure high with such a long route? I also plan on using 90 degree angles all over the place to keep things looking neat rather than having a lot of excess pipes which have to make big loops so they don't kink.

Appreciate the help guys.
 
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You asked what pumps to use, short answer just get D5s and for rez anything you want basically. Your going over the top and there is no budget factor so apart from answering, "yes you CAN do that." I don't know what you are tying to gain. You haven't said anything about your goals in this build other than using as much space as possible. So there isn't really much advice to give.

One thing I will say is that doing something like this as your first water cooling build has a big chance of getting you into fustrating problems, no matter how many questions you ask before hand.
I can't help but think about all the videos of people who get a sports car because they can, but can't drive and end up crashing it... :D
You might want to consider getting a Lada first just to have a little fun and learn the basics of driving before getting in a Bugatti.

You work in IT so I'm guessing you like to play around with pcs anyway, plus you can get parts with minimal effort and money.So wouldn't you enjoy building just any simple wc build for the fun of learning what its all about and then continue with this?
Just my 2 cents :)
 
So if I was to get this:

1999806-b.jpg


two ports would be blocked off and both pumps would be used simultaneously to pump the coolant through the loop?

Sorry if I'm being dumb but we all had to start somewhere. I'd just rather ask than take the gamble.
 
Cheers for reply Tom, Appreciate it.
If you had a case that big wouldn't you want two pumps for redundancy though? I'm going to try my best to make it look nice. I think i can - given the chance...

It's just i have these questions regarding watercooling loops as it's something I've never really dived into before.



Do you honestly think cooling ram is a waste of time?
I'm going to have 64Gig of ram as I run a lot of virtual machines for my work/training. I'd imagine 64Gig of Ram could get quite hot?

I run a lot of Windows 7/8/2008 R2 machines simultaneously replicating a domain environment for training purposes.

Once again thanks, I appreciate it.
 
a multiple case and loop builds tend to get messy looking with oodles and oodles
of tubing. and there is no getting away from it. if its for show, it won't really
manage well. if purely for functionality.. meh can all be done on one case.

larger Caselab cases with complex multi-radiators configs can all be run on a
single D5 or 35x pump. the redundancy is a fail-safe or eye-candy.

unless you are overclocking the RAM in ridiculous voltages, nix the RAM coolers.
case cooling still has a bearing on system. and RAM @ 1.5-1.65 easily is cooled.
jacking voltage to 1.8-2.0 now you are cooking, literally. in a stable environment
that'd be strickly for benching purposes and LN2.

what temps are your current rig handling with all the VMs, now?

airdeano
 
Well I was planning on doing all the piping like this:

ggmzxP.png


I think that looks amazingly neat...

Tom do you think a D5 could run for example:

Rad > Rad > Ram > motherboard > Cpu > Ram > Rad > Rad > res > Pump

on speed setting 3 without any issues? Also have you considered hooking it up to a fan controller for the PWM on the fly control?

I'm pretty set on using a separate loop for the cards.
 
a multiple case and loop builds tend to get messy looking with oodles and oodles
of tubing. and there is no getting away from it. if its for show, it won't really
manage well. if purely for functionality.. meh can all be done on one case.

larger Caselab cases with complex multi-radiators configs can all be run on a
single D5 or 35x pump. the redundancy is a fail-safe or eye-candy.

unless you are overclocking the RAM in ridiculous voltages, nix the RAM coolers.
case cooling still has a bearing on system. and RAM @ 1.5-1.65 easily is cooled.
jacking voltage to 1.8-2.0 now you are cooking, literally. in a stable environment
that'd be strickly for benching purposes and LN2.

what temps are your current rig handling with all the VMs, now?

airdeano


Sorry Airdeano,

Didn't catch your message until just now. I'm planning on using a lot of 90 degree fittings for straight lines rather than big lengths of tubes all over the place. The pipes will be going directly down through some holes i cut in the shelf. It will then route through to the other case and up through the shelf.

The way i envisage it in my head it will look really neat.

I just need to know if this part: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/ek-d5-dual-top-g1-4-csq-acetal

Will allow me to run two pumps simultaneously for increased flow/pressure rate. Like i said, I'm not 'too' bothered about excessive noise as a lot of the time I will be accessing it remotly but when I am using it for entertainment purposes (gaming) ... I will have headphones on.
 
good luck with your vision..

you'll understand the complications when you encounter them. i to, was not concerned
with noise, buzzing of loud fans, until you are sitting at your station 6-10hrs.

i understand you firm stance on the look, but i (and others) believe you will be
spending a lot of time, energy and money on something that will drive you mad
on issues, flow problems and temperatures.

we assume you are looking for suggestions and ideas on bringing the appartion
to light. some will be complicated to explain and illustrate, so we try to lend ideas
on alternate planning. kinda like, been there, done, that and now the T-shirt sorta
thing.
and this is only preliminary steps...

airdeano
 
good luck with your vision..

you'll understand the complications when you encounter them. i to, was not concerned
with noise, buzzing of loud fans, until you are sitting at your station 6-10hrs.

i understand you firm stance on the look, but i (and others) believe you will be
spending a lot of time, energy and money on something that will drive you mad
on issues, flow problems and temperatures.

we assume you are looking for suggestions and ideas on bringing the appartion
to light. some will be complicated to explain and illustrate, so we try to lend ideas
on alternate planning. kinda like, been there, done, that and now the T-shirt sorta
thing.
and this is only preliminary steps...

airdeano


The SP 120 fans are really quiet. I've had 12 running simultaneously and it wasn't a problem to me.

I won't be a hypocrite and say i can bare the noise of the pumps as I've never heard them.

All suggestions are greatly appreciated of course but I think you'd be pleasantly surprised when it all comes together....

If i was to have 4 pumps all running on setting 3 (like tom said) would that be bearable? He said he can't hear it so i imagine with 3 running like that... at the most it's going to be a mild hum?

I plan on sound-proofing the 2nd case containing the pumps etc which should absorb some of the sound...

Thanks for helping me airdeano.
 
It depends how you isolated the pumps...that determines the noise more than anything else.
I would urge you to reconsider this dual pump/dual loop design,you have made it unnecessarily expensive and you wont get the gains i think you are looking for..
If pumping power is what you want and dont mind pump noise then consider a Iwaki pump,ultra reliable and ultra powerful.

I have a pair of D5's in series for my loop,its got to pump thru 2 cpu blocks,3 gpu blocks,mobo block,VRM block and 3 480 rads.

This is ONE D5 running that loop....
1yqji.jpg


Lots of 90's in that loop too.
Dont waste your money......
 
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I guess I'm just paranoid about having so much equipment running on a single pump. The thought of having two pumps gives me peace of mind.

However you guys are experienced with this stuff... there is no point asking for your advise and then not listening too it I'm taking everything into consideration but still have my own questions i wanted answering.

I was thinking If I was to get 2 D5 pumps running simultaniously they wouldn't need to be on a high setting at all... So say I had two D5's running @ level 2 surely that would be practically silent?

I was also thinking if i bought several blocks of thick sound dampening I could cut out a housing for the D5's so both could be submerged in a sound dampening housing? What do you reckon? Think that would work well?
 
I guess I'm just paranoid about having so much equipment running on a single pump. The thought of having two pumps gives me peace of mind.

However you guys are experienced with this stuff... there is no point asking for your advise and then not listening too it I'm taking everything into consideration but still have my own questions i wanted answering.

I was thinking If I was to get 2 D5 pumps running simultaniously they wouldn't need to be on a high setting at all... So say I had two D5's running @ level 2 surely that would be practically silent?

I was also thinking if i bought several blocks of thick sound dampening I could cut out a housing for the D5's so both could be submerged in a sound dampening housing? What do you reckon? Think that would work well?

It works for DDC's,no reason why it wouldnt work for D5's.
The reason you dont see noise boxes for D5's is they make no noise if setup correctly.
Setting 3,as Tom pointed out,is silent enough for most people.
Get a dual loop top if thats what you want,run it and see what you think..
As for reliability,D5's go on for years,I know some guys that have been running the same D5 24/7 for the last 7 years.
For MilSpec,i used a XSPC bay res,D5 on 4 and i had to actually check the pump was running as it was so quiet.
 
Thanks mate you've been most helpful.

I think I'm going to do what you said and just try 2 D5's and see how i get on.
If it's too loud or anything I can simply return them.

If you were to run two D5's would you use something this:

1999806-a.jpg


Having never used one before I assume 2/4 the ports get filled with blanking caps to allow the two pumps to run together on the same loop?

I'd rather use a mounted Res than a 5.25 Bay one also.
 
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