Phantom watercooling advice

[jamesriley94]

Gunna be watercooling my mates pc in a full tower phantom.

CPU only loop, cooling a 3570k, and doing it for his birthday present so it isnt gunna be a question of, why watercool that when you should use the extra money to upgrade something else in the rig etc...

As we're only cooling a 3570k, has anyone got any advice for parts?

Is a 360mm rad necessary? Or should we drop to a 240mm.

Also, will one of the alphacool ceramic pumps be enough to power this? or will two been needed?

He wont be upgrading to cool the gpu loop as well so dont worry about future proofing anything, just trying to save money in areas really, as temperatures wont really matter if they are 5 degrees more here or there, as long as it does cool sufficiently and it is relatively quiet.

He does want a Raystorm waterblock, but thats the only real thing set in gold.

Thanks!

 

[tinytomlogan]

You realise a 360mm rad wont fit in a Phantom right?

Wouldnt even be on my list for watercooling cases now mate. The case market has moved on so much that thing is dated... massively outdated.

 

[ruthless_villain]

You realise a 360mm rad wont fit in a Phantom right?

it will if you are willing to drill 2 screws, but i think its still only a slim 360.

 

[jamesriley94]

oops.

fortunately it's changed to a 240mm in the phantom 410?

The rad is an EX240, I take it that will fit in? for that matter,will it fit in the full tower as well?

I know they probably arent the best watercooling cases, but they'll be sufficient for what he wants.

 

[Grizzly]

If you're really fixed on getting a Phantom I know, from experience, that you can fit an EX360 in a full tower Phantom with a single set of fans, unless you have a stupidly tall MOSFET heatsink, without any sort of modding required. I would not however recommend it since you could get something like the Switch 810 for the same price as the Phantom was on release, which shows how, as TTL put it, outdated the Phantom is.

 

[tinytomlogan]

Just get a H100 and save the hassle mate. - new fans set the up for quiet - job done no messing.

 

[jamesriley94]

I know, if it was myself I wouldnt be buying it. my matewho im building it for does love the looks of it though.

Thanks for the advice, I think we will be sticking to the 240mm rad though, not that I mind modding at all. Just not sure he'd appreciate me getting a drill out to a brand new case.

Is that the same story with the 410 though regarding the EX240? It will only be a single set of fans regardless of which it is.

 

[jamesriley94]

Just get a H100 and save the hassle mate. - new fans set the up for quiet - job done no messing.

We are doing watercooling for a present for him from 15 of us so we're more than happy to spend the extra on it, and I have the next 10+ weeks off for summer holidays before uni so not strapped for time either. And he's only really wanting it for aesthetics

 

[tinytomlogan]

Just get a kit then, sure there is an EX240 kit with a bay res from XSPC like Gary is using in the NZXSPC build. Thats the best and cheapest way to go. Youll need new fans / set them up right though.

Plenty of info on the forums about how to build and set the system up right too, no excuses for a sloppy loop

 

[jamesriley94]

I'm gunna do it as neat as I possibly can dont worry, then pictures will follow for you to abuse

Due to the fact that he isnt THAT switched on about computers, I think I'm gunna have to add a drain line though, so I apologise in advance for that but it's something he will need for future maintenance.

Thanks for the help though!

 

[Jason-CL]

Come on TTL, you know damn well an H100 wouldn't cool half as well as a Custom loop.

Since you wanna go WC, and it's kind of a first time thing, go with an XPSC Raystorm 240 kit and add from there what you need.

 

[Lazy]

Regarding a 360 rad in a Phantom, you can easily fit that. All that you need is an adapter kit, or a custom three fan grill to go over the top bit.

My Phantom is awesome, they're great for water cooling, no doubt, but you don't need a dual pump for that loop. A single DDC or D5 would do fine for whatever you're doing. I know it's easier to just buy a kit, but it's so much better when you grab all of the parts by yourself. Personally, I'd go with a Black Ice 240 up top, a pair of Gentle Typhoon AP-15s, an XSPC Raystorm, an XSPC D5 bay res, a Koolance PMP-450S (D5), 3/8" x 5/8" Monsoon compression fittings (a six pack), and some 3/8" x 5/8" Primochill, Feser, or Danger Den tubing. Just to be clear, you can fit any 30-40mm rad in the top (save a 480mm rad). I've got an EX240 in the top of my full tower with two sets of fans and I've got like 20mm of space before I hit anything with my fans. Not sure about the 410, but I'm confident you could pull of push/pull in it.