I thought I was ready to go fully water-cooled...

[Chopper3]

Hi, I've got this water-cooling itch I'm keen to scratch and I thought I knew enough to start the process but then I read something on overclockers about not mixing metals and now I'm confused.

My signature lists all the current parts I have, including the H100i already in place. But the thing is I'm interested in having two 780's in my machine and one of them will just get too hot - hence the look into fully water-cooling my box.

I have some photos of the current state of my machine here - http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=54387&page=4.

I currently have a 240mm top radiator but I know I can fit a 280 in there, does it make sense to do this? I just don't like the bit or space around the 240 - but then again the current 240 is only 27mm deep and the shallowest 280 (a Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 280) I've seen was 30.something mm, I think it'd be fine, I was also thinking of having a vertical one at the front so that between them they can handle the CPU and GPU/s - would they be enough?

I was looking at the XSPC bay res/pump combo, also their 780 block and the 'EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ' (what does CSQ stand for or mean?) but now I'm confused about this 'don't mix metals' thing - I don't know where to start on that one. Also what barbs should I choose? I like the sound of the black compression one but are all the parts I've looked at the same size. Oh and how much liquid would I use?

Basically I'm looking for a bit of advice if anyone has the time please.

 

[alpenwasser]

Hi there,

For info related to corrosion and mixing metals, have a look at the Wikipedia article on
galvanic corrosion, especially the section on galvanic compatibility.

Usually people run premixed coolants nowadays, which have anti-corrosion inhibitors
in them. They don't completely prevent corrosion, but having, for example, anodized
alu parts and copper in your loop with such a coolant is not problem, provided the
anodizing is of proper quality (I did this for years without issues).

240/280: Up to you really. If the space around the radiator bothers you that much,
then sure, change it, but you won't get much better performance (if at all, since the
new rad might be a bit worse than the previous one, depending on what model you
go for).

If I understand things correctly, you're intending to have 2 x 780 and 1 x CPU in your
loop?
Two 240's could probably handle that, but I recommend thick ones (even if you go
with 280's), and you're unlikely to be able to run your fans on low speeds with that
much power going into the loop I'd reckon. But it's feasible. If you have the space to
fit an Alphacool Monsta with push/pull, I recommend looking into that as well (only if
it's p/p, otherwise it's not really worth it IMO).

What bay/pump combo of XSPC exactly are you talking about? The one with the D5?
That should be fine. That's what I'd recommend for 2xGPU and 1xCPU.

That GPU and CPU block will be OK.

CSQ = Circle Square Design AFAIK.

I'd probably order around 3 litres of coolant.

Fittings: Pick what you like, doesn't make that much of a difference. Personally I
prefer 16/10 mm tubing, it's not too bulky while still providing good kink resistance
(so, 10 mm barbs, which equates to ~3/8" I think). Primochill Advanced LRT is what
I've seen people recommend, or Norprene.

 

[Chopper3]

Oh thank you SO much for getting back to me with such great advice.

The combo bay res/pump I was looking at was this one (http://www.xs-pc.com/water-pumps/d5-dual-bay-reservoirpump-combo), reckon it'd be ok?

Good news on the corrosion thing, that got me properly worried for a moment oh and thanks for the CSQ thing too.

I was thinking I could put in a much beefier radiator at the front as I've got a lot more room but I'm not sure I have enough fan pin-outs on my motherboard to support push-pull - I wonder if there are splitters of some kind?

Thanks again for your help.

 

[S_I_N]

please for the love of the computer gods do not power your water cooling fans off the mobo. either get fan reducers and use the psu or get a proper fan controller.

 

[Chopper3]

Thanks for the tip! will do.

 

[alpenwasser]

The combo bay res/pump I was looking at was this one (http://www.xs-pc.com/water-pumps/d5-dual-bay-reservoirpump-combo), reckon it'd be ok?

Yes, that's the one I meant, will be OK.

I was thinking I could put in a much beefier radiator at the front as I've got a lot more room but I'm not sure I have enough fan pin-outs on my motherboard to support push-pull - I wonder if there are splitters of some kind?

Yes, what S_I_N has said. Either run your fans off the PSU with some voltage reducing
technique (there are several possibilities for that one) or get a proper fan controller,
doesn't need to be a hugely expensive one, just something that can power it all.

 

[Bartacus]

Chopper3: if you're looking for a cheap fan controller that works well, pick up a Sunbeam rheostat controller. I've had good experiences with 2 flavors of those (30W x 3, and 30W x 6). They allow you full control from 0-100%, which might not sound like a big deal, but they allow a fine enough adjustment to find that perfect "sweet spot" for fan noise. If that's a factor for you.

You can use splitters in conjunction with the controller to make life easier. I use a few Bitfenix Alchemy 3-1 splitters to connect my fans in banks of 3 to each channel on the controller (I'm running 3 360 rads, pull OR push only). Since you'd be looking at 240s or 280s, you'd need some 4-1 splitters (assuming push/pull). So you'd need a few of these:

https://www.dazmode.com/store/produ...sh-pull-fan-power-y-cable-splitter-jet-black/

I'm a Canuck, so I have no clue where to buy this stuff in the UK. Link is just for reference. The Sunbeam controllers are inexpensive, but not cheaply made IMO. Those + a few splitter cables and you're laughing.