My 1st water cooling system - advices

S

Sliceoflife

New member
Hey guys,

In the next lines i will show you the parts of the machine i want to build from ground zero. As for the parts, im a bit in doubt with the RAM (cause of the OC) and the GFX (cause of the water cooling blocks). All advice will be taken in consideration, so please do tell me if you think i should change any part.

My System:

Motherboard: Asus Maximus VI Formula
CPU: Intel I5 4670K
RAM: Corsair Vengence 2133MHz 2x4Gb CL9
GFX: 2x Asus GTX 770 Direct CU II (SLI)
Case: NZXT Switch 810 Matte Black Special Edition
PSU: Corsair AX Series AX860 860W Platinum

I will run the OS on a SSD that i already have.

EDIT: i have a 120hz monitor, the reason why I am aiming for SLI.

The plan is to buy this by the end of the month, everything but one of the GFX, and by the end of September buy the 2nd GFX and all the water cooling system.
I intend to OC the processor as much as i can, so, could you guys advice me what parts do i need in terms of water cooling to cover all this hardware? The parts i want to cover with the water loop are the CPU, motherboard VRM, and both GFX.
I want a custom water cooling solution, not something like the corsair closed water loops.
I will mod the case in order to fit the biggest possible radiator at the top of it, and also fit another one in the bottom/front panel of the case.

I want to thanks in advance any input you guys can provide me with, and please let me know if I forget of anything.

Regards,
Slice
 
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Just curious. How come you haven't opted for a single 780 if you have the money for 2 770s. I know the 2 770s will perform slightly better but surely you'd rather have the newer tech and the ability to SLI when cost comes down?

I'm afraid on the WC side of things i'm no expert but I just thought i'd mention the graphics thing.

Also your username... Dexter fan by any chance?
 
WillSK said:
Just curious. How come you haven't opted for a single 780 if you have the money for 2 770s. I know the 2 770s will perform slightly better but surely you'd rather have the newer tech and the ability to SLI when cost comes down?

I'm afraid on the WC side of things i'm no expert but I just thought i'd mention the graphics thing.

Also your username... Dexter fan by any chance?
Click to expand...

I'm so sorry, i forgot to say that i have a 120Hz monitor, so the plan is to try maximize the FPS in order to run most of the time at 120FPS during game-play. Do you think that i should aim for the 780 considering my monitor and my expectations? For the benchmarks I've seen, 2x 770 its not just slightly better then 1x 780. There is a notorious difference, or at least that's what the benchmarks say.

Yes, big big fan of Dexter :)
 
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Sliceoflife said:
I'm so sorry, i forgot to say that i have a 120Hz monitor, so the plan is to try maximize the FPS in order to run most of the time at 120FPS during game-play. Do you think that i should aim for the 780 considering my monitor and my expectations? For the benchmarks I've seen, 2x 770 its not just slightly better then 1x 780. There is a notorious difference, or at least that's what the benchmarks say.

Yes, big big fan of Dexter :)
Click to expand...

If the monitor is 1080p I would go for the 780 because no new game is going to be running at 120fps consistently and you won't notice it much anyway. Also the 780 is the more powerful card so why not just get 1 and then pick up a second when they get cheaper? Remember the only advantage of a 120hz screen is really that it can allegedly be more comfortable for the eye and they're 3D capable.

P.S Dexter is AWESOME!! can't believe it's the last series :'(
 
You can run 2 80mm thick rads in pull in the top and bottom. Biggest on the market and they work wonders.

Get a 780 and then a titan/780 waterblock(they will work for both) and presto all done:p
 
Hi there,

First of all, thanks for you guys answers.

To be honest, i have watched a 120hz performing before at 120FPS, and i have to be honest here, i could tell a lot of difference when a game was running at 120FPS (vsync on) when you have a 120hz monitor. Its not that 60FPS is bad, but i can really notice the difference on the 120FPS (when you have the 120hz monitor)

I think i will be aiming to the 770 SLI for this matter as the benchmarks provided from some webpages shows that there's a very good improvement when using 2x GTX 770 over a single GTX 780, and price wise, makes more sense to have 2x GTX 770 instead of a single GTX 780.
But i really appreciate your recommendation and thoughts about this matter.

As for the cooling solution, i would be very much appreciated with some brands of radiators, pumps/reservoirs, etc... I red that XSPC is a good brand for this, but if you guys can recommend something that its better i would appreciate because this is the really thing i don't know much about.

Thank you so much for the reply's so far.

Regards,
Slice
 
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i went similar to you, but i started out with an h100i and gtx 780, next year i'll buy another 780, then after that buy my WCing components. 2x GTX 780 is very pricey but i'm hoping to find a 1440p 120hz monitor eventually (which right now there are none :( )which will soak up the performance they have to offer.
 
loglog said:
i went similar to you, but i started out with an h100i and gtx 780, next year i'll buy another 780, then after that buy my WCing components. 2x GTX 780 is very pricey but i'm hoping to find a 1440p 120hz monitor eventually (which right now there are none :( )which will soak up the performance they have to offer.
Click to expand...

Hi there

Makes sense for you to have a 780 if ur gonna use a 1440p monitor as u could take benefit of the 3gb GDDR.. Mine is a 1080p monitor, so I should be fine with 2gb GDDR

I hope u achieve what you intend to do ;)

Regards,
Slice
 
Sliceoflife said:
Hi there

Makes sense for you to have a 780 if ur gonna use a 1440p monitor as u could take benefit of the 3gb GDDR.. Mine is a 1080p monitor, so I should be fine with 2gb GDDR

I hope u achieve what you intend to do ;)

Regards,
Slice
Click to expand...

The only reason I think a 780 might be a better choice is that the 770s are essentially cherry picked and tweaked 680 cards (fantastic cards dont get me wrong) whereas the 780 is closer to a Titan. Even with 2 770s a lot of new games will not be running at a consistent 120fps. Are you looking at gaming benchmarks or things like 3DMark etc? What games do you plan to play?

A lot of good gaming benchmark comparisons here for 770 sli, 780 etc http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/463...ew-geforce-gtx-760770780-in-sli-and-3-way-sli
 
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The games ill be playind in near future (like total addict) is either elder scrolls online or Wildstar.. Of course I will also try out some other games, but those two are my main goal!!

I don't care for bench marking. I just wana be able to play my games with full detail and running most of the times at 120FPS!!

Cheers
 
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Hi tom,

Im new in here, and im very sorry if I posted in the wrong section.
I have to say you were one of the main reasons that i came to this forum cause I really appreciate your video reviews, and you are very clear in the way you explain things (adding a bit of humor to those videos :) )

Can you fix this for me if you think i have posted this thread in the wrong section? Could be beneficial in order to obtain answers to my water cooling build.

Thanks

Regards,
Slice
 
You're right mate, SLI 770s WILL be far faster than a single 780, and will keep your games pegged at 120fps for a larger percentage of the time :)

Off the top of my head the best WC brands in general would be XSPC, Phobya, EK and Koolance, but these are just recommendations I've heard around here, not having actually built a custom loop myself yet :P

Best of luck with the rig mate :)
 
NeverBackDown said:
780 over a 770 SLI. Performance won't be as much but in all honestly a 780 is far more future proof and has a better resale value.
Click to expand...

iBeInspire said:
You're right mate, SLI 770s WILL be far faster than a single 780, and will keep your games pegged at 120fps for a larger percentage of the time :)

Off the top of my head the best WC brands in general would be XSPC, Phobya, EK and Koolance, but these are just recommendations I've heard around here, not having actually built a custom loop myself yet :P

Best of luck with the rig mate :)
Click to expand...

Hi,

Thanks for your input. I see a lot of people telling me to go on the 780 cause they say the diference between a single 780 and a 770 SLI is not that much. For all the benchs i saw, there is a big diference, so ill stick to my plan and go for 2x GTX 770.

Regarding the water cooling, is there a big diference between a reservoir with a pump inside, and having the pump outside the reservoir? I ask this cause it would save me a lot of space... was thinking about buying this one:

http://www.xs-pc.com/water-pumps/d5-dual-bay-reservoirpump-combo

Do you guys think would be enough to pump through 2 radiators, CPU, motherboard VRM, and 2x GFX?

Thanks,
Slice
 
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You're thinking of purely performance... We are thinking purely better value,future proof, and ability to SLI later when prices come down.

780 over 770 SLI anyday.
 
NeverBackDown said:
You're thinking of purely performance... We are thinking purely better value,future proof, and ability to SLI later when prices come down.

780 over 770 SLI anyday.
Click to expand...

Better value? of course its cheaper to buy just 1x 780 compared with 2x 770, but, when you add the 2nd 780, the total price will be higher, even when the price comes down in the future.
I want to be able to have the performance straight away, or asap. There isn't such a huge difference in FPS comparing a 1x 770 VS 1x 780, in other words, that difference doesn't pay off the 200 pounds between both specially if you are going to play in a single monitor @ 1080p. That's just my opinion.
I have already decided, and i'm going with the SLI 770, but i do thank you for letting me know your thoughts about this matter!

The real thing I am not so sure of is the Water cooling and i would truly love to have someone with the expertise in this matter to give the best possible advice.

I'll ask again: Is there a big difference between a reservoir with a pump inside, and having the pump outside the reservoir? I ask this cause it would save me a lot of space... was thinking about buying this one:

http://www.xs-pc.com/water-pumps/d5-...voirpump-combo

Also, im thinking on buying this blocks for both GFX hopping they are good:

http://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-fc770-gtx-dcii-acetal-nickel.html

I want to thank in advance once again for any help and advice you guys can provide me with!!!

Regards,
Slice.
 
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