First watercooling build, need help/tips/advices

HammerFall

HammerFall

New member
Hi,

i'm planning to start my first watercooling build. (Budget approximately 300€-400€, maybe 50€ more)

First my current system:

Coolermaster Haf X
Asus Sabertooth P67 Rev 3.0
Intel i7-2600k
2x4GB Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz CL8
Zotac Gtx 470 amp! (Oc to 820Mhz at 1.087V)
WD 640GB HDD
OCZ Fatal1ty 750W

I want to cool my CPU and the GPU (maybe expand later to MB and ram) with a 360 Radiator.

The list i've chosen after watching at prizes and tests:


  • Masterkleer PVC 10/8mm (5/16" ID) (colour will depend on the design i choose which is still a problem ^^)
  • Phobya G-Changer Ver 1.2 Black
  • Phobya G-Silent 12 700RPM Black Silent
  • EK Water Blocks EK-Surpreme HF Acetal
  • EK Water Blocks EK-FC470 GTX - Acetal
  • Reservoir should be a 5.25" Bay reservoir
  • Want to go with black compression fittings
  • Scythe Kazee Master 5.25" - black
  • Innovatek Protect

My questions would be:


  1. Will the components work together well (e.g. different metals)?
  2. Is the 360 radiator capable of cooling the CPU and GPU even if i plan to oc the CPU in the future?
  3. I want to go with a red-themed design concerning light and tube/coolant because i like the combination of black and red. I would like to have red tubing but is it better with red coloured tubing or a clear tube with red dyed coolant or both coloured in red?
  4. Concerning question 3: What would you recommend as coolant? de-ionised water with addins? Pre mixed solutions as the Innovatec above or Mayhem? Pre dyed and mixed coolants? And as for the dye: What are your experiences? Does the dye stain components or pollute the loop in an other way?
That are all questions which came to my mind at the moment of writing this. If i have any further ones i will post them.


Would be great if anybody can help me out with this or even if anybody has experiences with a Haf X concerning watercooling. :D
 
Clear tube and red dye. Then white lights.

What pump? Unless I'm missing something?

And why compression fittings? It'd look better with 1/2 barbs and 7/16 tubing.
As for coolant it doesnt matter too much. Although we have had some horror stories here regarding EK blocks getting wrecked. They dont honour warranties if you use any coolant other than their own.
May be better with XSPC blocks as they have a good reputation here
 
Pretty good list.

Decent fan controller and radiator for what you want. 360x60 is really the minimum size radiator area you want for a cpu/gpu loop so my concern is that you've picked 700rpm fans. Since you will be attaching them (presumably) to the fan controller, get more powerful fans which you can turn down. I'm talking 1500-2000 rpm jobs with good pressure and cfm.

You should be fine with a decent coolant. It'seasier than trying to mix your own an get the biocides and anti-corrosion agents all in there...XSPCs coolant and Mayhems X1 are great examples of good coolant. I had the XSPC stuff until recently and it was great and didn't stain the tubing but I haven't tried dyes.

The 'EN' series of EK waterblocks have had some issues with rusting due to poor plating. Best to go copper.
 
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@jamesriley94: Sorry, my fault, forgot the pump xd
Added it to the list above and because i've ordered it half a year ago i will use it, ;)
Concerning the compression fittings they just seem much mor tidier to me than normal barbs.
I will have a look at replacers for the EK blocks.

@Master&Puppet: I will upgrate with another radiator when i expand my system in the future with another GPU and additional blocks and the thing with the higher RPM-Fans just came to my mind this day, so i will change that ;)
I already chosen the copper EK blocks because i'm sceptical about the nickel. ^^

@Josh Weston: Thought about the Corsair fans too but i'm nut sure about the design...

Edit: Mystically i can't edit my initial list above so i will post the pump here: Laing DDC-1T with aftermarked top from watercool or alphacool.
 
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The PSU works quite well and thrustfull went off when my electricity had an error and looks quite nice with the red fan in this build ;)
 
Whenever you have a spare 150 odd euros, get a nice ol'Corsair unit. I wouldn't wish for your PSU to explode when under load, and I can't imagine you would either.
 
Yeh i used to have the same one tbf. Aesthetically it is really nice, and the red fan is great.

OCZ's reliability when it comes to power supplies is questionable however, and when power supplies go, they tend to break everything connected to it. When I upgraded from AMD to Intel, I made sure I got a proper power supply, didnt want to risk anything going with over a grands worth of equipment inside. Tbf though, I never actually had a problem with mine, but I never pushed it anywhere near 750w. This system will be pushing quite a lot, and I would definitely look to upgrade to a Corsair unit before doing any SLIing.
 
Go at least with 13mm/10mm tube (dont remember inches, because metric rocks!)
Though I would recommend 19/13mm due to thicker wall, And looks much better than thin tubes :)

For fans I would say gentletyphoons 1500 rpms, or if you can afford for those corsair SP series (they are quite expensive)
Phobya g-silent series are great too, had 1100rpm models for awhile.

About coolants, I have no opinion, since I use only di-ionised water, no addins.

Anyways, I'm quite new to watercooling myself too and am not to be taken too seriously :)

E: What comes to PSU I would recommend this to you http://www.mindfactory.de/product_i...W-Super-Flower-Golden-Green-Pro-80--Gold.html
But be sure it is Golden King pro, or Golden king platinum series, those have got awesome reviews from jonnyguru. Review from 500w model.
The one I linked above is 750w with gold efficiency, BUT it will give you 850w with silver efficiency.
 
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Thanks for your answers ;)
I will think about changing the PSU in the future but not together with the wc because of money ^^

Will even think about the fans but my main considerations are about the coolant, the tubing and the technical problems ;)

I think i will go more for a medium sized tubesize not such a big like 19/13mm.
 
So after considering your suggestions i've updated my list:


  • Alphacool AlphaTube HF 13/10mm (3/8"ID) - clear
  • Phobya G-Changer 360 Ver 1.2 Black
  • Phobya Nano-G-Silent 12 PWM Silent 1500rpm Red LED
  • CPU cooler?
  • Aquacomputer AquagraFX GTX470
  • XSPC 5.25" Bay reservoir alu front
  • Want to go with black compression fittings
  • Scythe Kazee Master 5.25" - black
  • Mayhems Aurora - Tharsis Red Coolant
So i would go with a mid sized tubing clear with Mayhem coolant inside. My sceptical question about the coolant is this (http://mayhems-aurora.wikispaces.com/) table of compatible wc components. Any suggestions about the coolant itself or how serious this list should be taken? (e.g. the Phobya G-Changer 240 passed but the 360 isn't listed)
I've even replaced the EK GPU cooler with a (sadly) more expensive one. But have anyone a suggestion for a good CPU cooler which is concerning the prize around my previous EK CPU cooler and is black too (maybe some silver accents?)?
at least i would stay with the compression fittings because i think they look tidier than the barbed fittings.
 
You'd be better off having 1/2inch tubing, but it's up to you. Get a better flow through it anyway.

How about the XSPC Raystorm? Very good performing block and looks very nice.
 
looking good so far
the raystorm would be a good choice as jamesriley already said
good luck mate
 
So i've updated my list again:


  • Alphacool AlphaTube HF 13/10mm (3/8"ID) - clear
  • Phobya G-Changer 360 Ver 1.2 Black
  • Phobya Nano-G-Silent 12 PWM Silent 1500rpm Red LED
  • Aquacomputer cuplex kryos Delrin
  • Aquacomputer AquagraFX GTX470
  • Phobya 5.25" Bay Reservoir Black
  • Want to go with black compression fittings
  • Scythe Kazee Master 5.25" - black / Phobya MaxGuide 6 Controller
  • Aquacomputer Double Protect Ultra - Red
  • Aquacomputer Temperature Sensor Inline
  • Thermalright Chill Factor 3 4g
  • Phobya LED-Flexlight HighDensity 30cm - white
I've changed the CPU-cooler because of your warnings concerning EK products and the kryos Delrin did well in the tests i've read and has a good prize and for me it looks quite nice. ;)
Also changed the reservoir and the fan controller because i think that the blue display from the Kazee Master doesn't fit my build and the Phobya one is enough for my desires (i don't really need such a display, do i??).

I also think that the coolant from Aquacomputer would be better because the Mayhem's one looks too matt and not clear/shiny enough and i didn't find any problems on the internet concerning this coolant.
And my last question about this list: Is this enough thernalpaste for both the GPU and the CPU?
 
Last edited:
HammerFall said:
Also changed the reservoir and the fan controller because i think that the blue display from the Kazee Master doesn't fit my build and the Phobya one is enough for my desires (i don't really need such a display, do i??).
Click to expand...

...dont need a fan controller in the first place if you set your fans up correctly to begin with
 
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