Evaluate this loop?

[EpicFruit]

I'm looking to build a custom water cooling loop within the next several months, and it will be my first experience with a custom loop. I have designed a loop specifically for my system and case compatibility, but I would like some outside opinions and suggestions for potential improvements.

System specs:
Core i5-4670k
Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB
Gigabyte Z87X-UD4H
EVGA GTX 670 FTW
Corsair AX760
Samsung 830 128GB
Seagate 2TB SSHD
NZXT Phantom 530

Loop design:
EK Supremacy
EK Dual Bay Reservoir w/ DCP 2.2 pump
Alphacool Monsta 240
Alphacool XT45 280
(GPU block to be added when I upgrade later)

My design is to have the EK res/pump combo feeding straight down into the monsta 240 rad on the floor, and then back up through the GPU block, then into the CPU block, then into the XT45 280 rad at the top, then back into the res. This seems to be the best and simplest configuration to keep it clean, and I'm pretty set on this design. However, I can't help but wonder whether the DCP 2.2 pump will have enough muscle to keep the flow rate at a decent level. It is a rather small pump, and although people say it's better than it looks, the 400L/H performance puts a few doubts in my mind.

The solution I came up with is to use a Swiftech Apogee Drive II in place of the EK Supremacy block, which I think will then be overkill, but will allow me to run both pumps at low speeds and still achieve a better flow rate than the DCP 2.2 alone.

Another option I considered was to use the Apogee Drive II as the only pump, and have it being fed directly from a 5.25" bay reservoir, but strangely, the Apogee's inlet port is on the far side of the block, which will create a huge mess of criss-crossed tubing, or have the pump cables exit literally in the middle of the motherboard if I mount the pump upside down. But if I had the DCP 2.2 at the res and didn't have to feed the Apogee directly from the res, I could send it down to the floor rad, then back up through the GPU and perfectly reach the Apogee's inlet on the far side.

I can probably figure out a way to tidy up the Apogee if need be, but will I really even need anything more than a DCP 2.2?

I have nowhere else to mount a pump by itself, hence the reason for integrated pumps.

 

[Surfie]

My view: ditch the pump you are looking at, and get the D5. It is a much more reliable pump, WAY more than powerful enough for what you want, and (usually) has a dial on the bottom to dial it back/up if you want.

 

[NeverBackDown]

IMHO mine as well get a whole new GPU when you want to put it under water. A single 670 OC'd won't yield that much more than air for games when you put in the cost to performance ratio.

A R9 290 would be a very solid choice as an upgrade. Especially under water as they tend to provide very big boosts when overclocked high.

 

[EpicFruit]

Thanks for the replies! I have considered the D5 pump options, but the end result would be over budget for me. I have decided to go with the Apogee Drive II without the DCP 2.2 pump, I think the MCP35X in the Apogee will be more than adequate, and quite a good value when purchased in the Apogee. I never planned on adding this 670 to the loop, hence the reason I mentioned upgrading later, and it will most likely be an Nvidia Maxwell card later this year.

 

[DarthBaggins]

Thanks for the replies! I have considered the D5 pump options, but the end result would be over budget for me. I have decided to go with the Apogee Drive II without the DCP 2.2 pump, I think the MCP35X in the Apogee will be more than adequate, and quite a good value when purchased in the Apogee. I never planned on adding this 670 to the loop, hence the reason I mentioned upgrading later, and it will most likely be an Nvidia Maxwell card later this year.

I have a Swiftech MCP355 driving my water setup and seems to do the job, not super quiet but I built mine under a small budget (wanted to see how low I could get it together).