one LAST chance to stop me: Items to purchase list

[eTanium]

So, as many of you have come to know, I've been working towards buying some water cooling products. My graphics card is in the mail after being on back order for a month, but now the GPU water block is out of stock! Grrr. Anyway, once the block is in stock, I want to buy the following items.

Please, if I am missing anything, or over compensating, feel free to give me your honest opinion.

Thanks.

==================================================

--------------- performance pcs ------------------

TIM: $8.95

Xigmatek PTI-G4512 Thermal Interface Conductive Compound

http://www.performan...oducts_id=29364

RAD Bottom: $69.95

XSPC RX240 Extreme Performance Radiator Version 2

http://www.performan...oducts_id=25388

RAD Top: $49.95

XSPC EX240 Copper Dual-Fan Radiator

http://www.performan...oducts_id=32459

FANS 120mm: $14.95 X 5 = $75.75

Akasa APACHE S-Flow Fan Blade PWM 120mm Case Fan - Black

www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=27422

FANS 140mm: $15.95

Akasa APACHE S-Flow Fan Blade PWM 140mm Case Fan - Black

http://www.performan...oducts_id=32170

FAN SPLITTERS: $7.95

Akasa SMART PWM Fan Cable Adapter - Black Braiding for 5 Fans

http://www.performan...oducts_id=30648

RES: $54.95

XSPC D5 Dual Bay Reservoir

http://www.performan...oducts_id=34300

PUMP: 85.99

Aquacomputer D5 Pump Mechanics with RPM Signal

http://www.performan...oducts_id=33825

CPU BLOCK: $49.99

XSPC Raystorm CPU Waterblock - Intel

http://www.performan...oducts_id=32331

GPU BLOCK: $159.99

eVGA Hydro Copper Waterblock for GTX 680

http://www.performan...oducts_id=33811

GPU Backplate: $19.99

eVGA GeForce GTX 680 Backplate

http://www.performan...oducts_id=33750

TUBING: $2.25 x 10 = $22.50

PrimoFlex Pro LRT Clear Tubing -1/2in. ID X 3/4in. OD

http://www.performan...oducts_id=23367

LIQUID/CONCENTRATE: $21.95

Mayhems Pastel Blue Berry Concentrate: $21.95

http://www.performan...oducts_id=34075

FITTINGS - 90 Degree: $8.99 X 3 = $26.97

Koolance Swiveling 90 Angle Fitting, Single - Black

http://www.performan...oducts_id=31840

FITTINGS - 45 Degree: $9.99 X 4 = $39.96

Koolance Fitting Single, Swiveling 45-Degree (V2) - Black

www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ind...t_info&cPath=59_346_203_473&products_id=31193

FITTINGS - Compression: $6.74 X 8 = $53.92

Nozzle Single, *Black* Compression [13mm ID, 19mm OD]

OD: 19mm (3/4")

ID: 13mm (1/2")

Wall: 3mm (1/8")

http://www.performan...oducts_id=31103

Parts: $764.71

Rebates:

Shipping:

============== TOTAL: $

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[Pr3d4t0r]

looks fine but i would use MX4 tim instead, not a fan of xigmatek tim really.

apart from that looks fine to me,

 

[airdeano]

hell, i wouldn't stop ya.. i'd like to ammend to the list of stuff i need to, b u d d y!

i could add $235.29 to make it an even long-wheel base benjamin.. you wouldn't

mind... nahhhh!

so far looks good, sorry i haven't followed your questions. what case and system?

airdeano

 

[nothingspecial]

TIM: $8.95

Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound

http://www.performan...oducts_id=23109

You haven't mentioned which case it is, but I'm guessing it might be the CM 690-II. Might be worth measuring the space for the top rad, see if you've got space for:

****edited by TTL**** he doesnt have room for that. But alphacool do do 30mm thick all copper rads

That's about the only changes I'd make. Not that I'm any kind of expert, but it's close to what I'm looking at for my first loop.

 

[tinytomlogan]

I edited the above post.

Another type of rads are the all copper alphacools. They do a 30 and a 60mm thick 240mm rad that you may want to consider.

SFA in it when compaired to the XSPC's though.

Again you didnt mention the case though....

Im really not a fan of compression fittings. Just buy 1/2 barbs and 7/16 hose, then you dont need clamps either!!!

 

[Mrboxfacetramp]

What case are you looking at?

 

[nothingspecial]

****edited by TTL**** he doesnt have room for that. But alphacool do do 30mm thick all copper rads

Really? I had a measure with an X79-UD5 in there and it looked like I'd just get away with it (about 5mm to spare). Point taken though, you've got the knowledge.

Not doing that loop now anyway, got a Switch 810 en route.

Edit: Tom is, of course, completely right. I've got 50mm between roof and heatsink, but the heatsink on the Asus board in your spec is higher up. 30mm thick max.

 

[eTanium]

I'm indeed using the Cooler Master CM690 II Black case. I mainly chose this because of the size, price, and the excellent review/build guide that Tom had done on it.

He said there should be plenty of room for a 30mm rad in the roof, unless I was wrong? The XSPC EX240 is a 35.5mm, which is a bit tight, but it seems that I will have the clearance in there; I'm just looking to do a pull configuration with two fans on the top of the case.

EDIT: I just cut out a piece of cardboard 35.5mm high (I believe my calculations were correct). It would be "tighter than a nun's naughty bits" and might be able to be done. The 8pin motherboard power might be in the way, and would be touching the rad. The CPU fan header would also be touching the rad. Would this rad be hot enough to melt plastic?

Either way, I looks like the 30mm rad suggested earlier will be a safer bet! That's why I always like to run these things by you guys before I buy them. Thanks!

Has anyone been able to put a XSPC EX240 in the roof of this case? I want to measure twice and cut once, but it is hard to really see how it is going to fit without having the rad in hand and in the roof.

As for the compression fittings, I prefer their aesthetics over barbs. But both will do equally well in performance and safety, right?

As for the TIM, I am basing my decision off of a topic I posted, in this forum a few days ago, where someone supplied me with a link of tested TIMs. the Xigmatek PTI-G4512 came out on top. I don't see why it isn't received very well on these forums.

All other PC specs - Items already purchased: (I have taken photos of the stages that this PC has taken since I started several months ago (research before buying, mainly), and I will post a build log once I finish the water cooling).

==================================================

CASE:

COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

POWER SUPPLY:

CORSAIR Professional Series Gold AX750 (CMPSU-750AX) 750W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

MOTHER BOARD:

ASUS P8Z77-V LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM:

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-17000CL9Q-16GBXM

SSD:

Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F240GBGT-BK 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

HDD:

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

CPU:

Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop

OS:

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional

DISPLAY:

BenQ XL2420TX Black-Red 24"

OPTICAL DRIVE:

LITE-ON 12X 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner

GRAPHICS CARDS: $529.99

EVGA 02G-P4-2680-KR GeForce GTX 680

 

[eTanium]

I edited the above post.

Another type of rads are the all copper alphacools. They do a 30 and a 60mm thick 240mm rad that you may want to consider.

SFA in it when compaired to the XSPC's though.

What does SFA stand for?

Also, I have looked through some other 30mm (or smaller) rad options, but I don't know which is best. AlphaCool was mentioned, and I took a look - it will fit, but is it the best option? I don't have any experience with any of these companies or products:

Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm (30mm, "all" copper. This one seems promising, no? I am not a fan of the connection area though)

http://www.performan...oducts_id=34155

What's the issue with 140mm rads? The CM690 II can fit two 140mm fans in it's roof, so wouldn't a radiator that supports two 140mm fans fit in the roof also?

Koolance Radiator, 2x140mm, Copper (High Flow)

http://www.performan...oducts_id=27106

Edit: I did some research and found someone (on another forum) that was able to fit this rad into the top, and get two 140's onto the top of the CM 690 II.

Magicool Slim Profile 2X140mm Radiator - Black

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=27800

Here are some others that would fit. Does anyone have experience or opinions on them?

Black Ice® GT Stealth 240 XFlow Highest Performance Radiator

http://www.performan...roducts_id=4540

Black Ice® GT Stealth 240 Highest Performance Radiator

http://www.performan...roducts_id=4537

X-Flow Black Ice Pro II High Performance Radiator (it's only 25mm, so I am thinking this isn't the one)

http://www.performan...oducts_id=29208

Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm (30mm, "all" copper. This one seems promising, no? I am not a fan of the connection area though)

http://www.performan...oducts_id=34155

Koolance Radiator, 2x120mm 20-FPI Copper

http://www.performan...oducts_id=30176

Koolance Radiator, 2x120mm, Copper Vert.

http://www.performan...oducts_id=25440

 

[nothingspecial]

What does SFA stand for?

What's the issue with 140mm rads? The CM690 II can fit two 140mm fans in it's roof, so wouldn't a radiator that supports two 140mm fans fit in the roof also?

Koolance Radiator, 2x140mm, Copper (High Flow)

http://www.performan...oducts_id=27106

Edit: I did some research and found someone (on another forum) that was able to fit this rad into the top, and get two 140's onto the top of the CM 690 II.

Magicool Slim Profile 2X140mm Radiator - Black

http://www.performan...oducts_id=27800

SFA = Sweet F*** All

As for 2x140 rads in the 690, you'll have problems unless you're into cutting plastic. 120mm fans will sit happily in the roof (take the top plastic bit off, 3 clips each side inside the case), but 140s won't without much messing about, and then you've got the issue of whether the holes for fans in the case match with the spacing between the screws for each fan on your rad.

So yeah, stick to a 2x120mm rad, 30mm thick. The XSPC EX series or the Alphacool ST30s seem the best. Also worth keeping an eye out for are the new XSPC EX 30mm rads with crossflow (one connector each end, might be slightly longer, but will probably fit). Could be a good option to keep the loop tidy.

Edit:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_457_667_671&products_id=34297

*** NEW *** XSPC EX240 Crossflow Series Copper Dual-Fan Radiator

 

[eTanium]

As for 2x140 rads in the 690, you'll have problems unless you're into cutting plastic. 120mm fans will sit happily in the roof (take the top plastic bit off, 3 clips each side inside the case), but 140s won't without much messing about, and then you've got the issue of whether the holes for fans in the case match with the spacing between the screws for each fan on your rad

The 690 has room for the 140's in the top already. It came with one of them installed, and room for a second. Why would I need to be cutting up any of the case/fans?

So yeah, stick to a 2x120mm rad, 30mm thick. The XSPC EX series or the Alphacool ST30s seem the best. Also worth keeping an eye out for are the new XSPC EX 30mm rads with crossflow (one connector each end, might be slightly longer, but will probably fit). Could be a good option to keep the loop tidy.

I was going to go with the XSPC EX240, but it's 35.5mm thick. I need a true 30mm thick rad for the roof of the 690, so that I don't block any connections for my motherboard (ie - 8pin power and cpu fan header)

The Magicool Slim Profile 2X140mm Radiator seems to be my best bet at this point for the roof.

http://www.performan...oducts_id=27800

 

[nothingspecial]

The 690 has room for the 140's in the top already. It came with one of them installed, and room for a second. Why would I need to be cutting up any of the case/fans?

I'm sitting next to one, and it doesn't. the 140mm fan you've got in there is within the case itself, under the metal parts that stick out to bolt the fans to. If you take the plastic top part off the case, then 120mm fans can go in there, above the metal part. That's where you need to put them to get the radiator in the case, under the metal parts. 140mm fans just don't fit in there. If you leave them below the metal part, you won't get the rad in.

 

[airdeano]

the bay area where the 120mm fits fine, just that the 140 will not fit.

airdeano

 

[eTanium]

Ok, not to doubt you guys, but I wanted to double check, and see how they would fit, and if they didn't, what type of modification I would need to do to make them fit. It seems like it is a lost cause, and I'll have to go with a 120 rad and fans in the roof =/

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[nothingspecial]

No worries. I've never really looked in there to see how much plastic you'd need to chop out, but the moral of the story is always check, check then double check!

Also, if you haven't already, take a look at Tom's Snow Drift build on YouTube, and his Beginner's Guide To Watercooling. Both in CM690-IIs. Is why I got the case in the first place, even if I haven't ever got around to putting a loop in there!

 

[eTanium]

Yep, Tom's review is why I bought this case! Went through every aspect of it! Also, the price online was right.

I still think I am going to bu the 140mm rad and fans, and mod the case. I know a person who fit two 140mm's up in top of the case, but had to drill new holes for them. A little nerve racking for me, but in the end, if it all works, well worth it.