will this rad do?

[Asperatis]

Hi guys,

I'm planning on building a beasty rig which will also be my very first ever, and I'm considering watercooling. I'll be using the Corsair 760T case, 5930K CPU and two ROG Matrix 980's. I'll be overclocking these (slightly, we'll see what I can do as a newbie overclocker). Might go for 980 Poseidons instead of Matrix 980s.

I'm wondering if a single 360 rad with a 38mm thickness will be enough in a push-pull config. I don't want to add another rad in the front as I want to keep the HDD cage there. I could go 60mm thick 360 rad with a single set of fans, but I'd like to have a push-pull config for aesthetic reasons.

Please tell me what you think ^_^

Here's the full spec list as I have it for now, without the watercooling taken into account:

Rig:
Case: Corsair 760T black
MoBo: Asus ROG Rampage V Extreme
CPU: intel i7 5930K 6 core @ 3.5-3.7GHz
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB 4x8GB DDR4 2666MHz CL16
PSU: Corsair AX1200i
CPU Cooling: Corsair H100i
GPU: dual SLI Asus ROG Matrix 980's
SLI Bridge: the newly yet to be released Asus ROG SLI bridge
SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB
HDD: WD Black 2TB
ODD: Asus BD-RE BW-16D1HT/B 12x
OS: 64 UK Windows 8,1 PRO OEM 64 bit
Cables: Cablemod C series AXi cable kit in red-black and a bunch of small E22 cable combs for some sweet cable management
Extra Fans: 2 Corsair SP 120 quiet (replacing the stock H100i fans), 1 Corsair AF 140 quiet (replacing the stock rear case fan), 3 Corsair AF 120 Red LED quiet (2 for the H100i on top and another above the ODD bay)
Dust Filters: DemciFlex 760T dust filter set
Lighting: 2 Corsair Link RGB LED lighting kits
Soundcard: Asus Xonar Phoebus

Peripherals:
Monitor: ASUS PG278Q ROG Swift 27" 2560x1440 1ms 144Hz
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Chroma
Mouse: Razer Deathadder Chroma with a Razer Goliathus Control extended mouse mat
Headset: Razer Tiamat 7.1
Audio: Razer Leviathan soundbar
And a Dx Racer Chair OH/FE08/NE in Green to top it all off

And these are the watercooling parts I'd love to add:
CPU block: Swiftech APOGEE XL PPCS Custom ROG Edition (not THE best, but dayum does it look sexy)
Res: FrozenQ LF Reaction 250mm Reservoir - Blood Red Helix (will it fit properly in there?)
Rad: EK Coolstream PE 360, 400 x 130 x 38mm (L x W x H)
Tubing: Red tubing, not sure what to get yet
Coolant: just some distilled water with some anti-algae drops
Misc: XSPC LCD Temperature Sensor V2 - Orange + G1/4 Plug Sensor

Fittings: red compression fittings, no idea which ones though
Pump: don't know yet
GPU blocks: might go with 980 Poseidon cards

Ofc, the H100i and ODD bay will vanish in this case and another SP120 Corsair fan will be added.

Cheers

 

[Highlander89]

You can only have one CPU cooler. Skip the AIO and add more rads. moar = better. I'd say get 2x 360x60mm for that setup if it'll fit. and a D5 pump. good luck

 

[Asperatis]

You can only have one CPU cooler. Skip the AIO and add more rads. moar = better. I'd say get 2x 360x60mm for that setup if it'll fit. and a D5 pump. good luck

I know, hence my last sentence of my post, ditching the H100i in case of watercoolilng

A second 360 rad won't fit unfortunately. The only other second rad option would be a 240 or 280 in the front, but I still want to keep a HDD cage over there. I'll post a pic for refference

 

[JR23]

Personally I can see two distinct sensible options and it really hinges on what work you want to do.

1. Do some modding and fabricating and get two 360mm rads in there or at least a 240 + 360. Then relocate the drives somewhere else, if you only have 2/3 it won't be a problem at all, you will find somewhere if your prepared to put in a little thought and fabrication. You could even leave the optical cage in and place them there. Put both graphics cards and CPU into a simple loop with a tube-res and a single D5 pump. If you don't intend to do any really serious overclocking then reference 980's and waterblocks would be nicer than Poseidon's IMO at a similar cost.

2. If you don't feel comfortable with modding anything at this moment in time you could build it as an air cooled rig with an AIO. The reason I say this is because quality 980's will most likely run quieter on air than the fan speed you would require to cool everything with a single 360. You could do it but it's really not worth the added cost of watercooling if your not going to make it silent. You will still leave yourself plenty of overclocking headroom and it will be comparatively cheap leaving you some room in the budget to buy Matrix Platinum's. Plus with a little more confidence in the future you would have a great set of components to take forwards and watercool if you decide to go that path.


I realize I haven't directly answered your question of if a single 360mm radiator would be sufficient. In short it would, if the airflow through the radiator was high enough it would work fine. Choosing watercooling components is a delicate balance between acoustics, temperatures and of course aesthetics.

I'm familiar with the 760T platform having done a build in a 750D which is internally identical so if you have any questions relating to what will fit and what might be difficult fire away. I put two 360's (a 30mm and an 80mm) in mine in a single loop with two 780's and a 2011 CPU so quite similar components and heat load.

JR

 

[Asperatis]

Thanks JR, looking at your build log gave me tons of inspiration. I might even attack my future case with a dremel too in order to fit a second 360 rad in there.

I've done some research and these are the watercooling parts I found most interesting:

CPU Block: EK Supremacy EVO Red
Reservoir: FrozenQ LF Reaction 250mm res Blood Red Helix
Pump: EK-D5 Vario X-TOP incl. pump - Acetal
GPU Block: EK-FC980 GTX Acetal for Nvidia reference card x2
GPU Backplate: EK-FC980 GTX backplate - black for Nvidia reference card x2
Rad 1: Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 360mm rad 400x124x60
Rad 2: Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 360 rad 400x124x30
Miscelanious: Monsoon Silver Bullet antimicrobial G1/4 plug - black and a XSPC LCD Temp Sensor V2 Red + G1/4 plug sensor
Tubing: PrimoChill Acrylic tubing 13/10mm 90cm length Red x5
Coolant: EK-Ecoolant clear 1000ml
Coolant additive: IandH Dead-Water copper sulfate biocidal pc coolant additive

As you can tell I will order plenty of hard tubing, giving me ample room for some mistakes as I've never done tube bending before
Not quite sure what 980 to watercool either. I like the full blocks for the reference design which extend over the entire length of the card instead of the Strix model for instance. However, that extra power held by Strix or Matrix cards is what I'll most likely go for. I assume there are still EK waterblocks to be released for the Matrix cards.

I do need some help with the fittings though. I'd go with some sort of compression fittings (compressing the O-rings, not the tubes). Not sure what kind or brand of fittings I'll be needing. Some plugs as well and some kind of valve to drain the system when needed.

I'm hoping there will be enough space between the HDD cage (placed next to the PSU) and the front rad in push-pull to fit the pump.

Cheers,
Asper

 

[Asperatis]

After some more research, many decisions have been made.

I've decided to go all out and get a 900D case with two Alphacool UT60 480 rads, one in push in the bottom and another in p/p in the top.
GPUs will become 980 Strix's with their respective EK FC Acetal-Nickel blocks and backplates.

All the fittings have been picked as well, PrimoChill Revolver fittings ftw And some BitsPower plugs and valve etc ofc. I'd need like a 15mm male-male extender (rad to drain valve) too but can't seem to find one from BitsPower on ppcs anywhere.

 

[Highlander89]

Good lad! That machine will be a beast! Will we have a project log to look forward to?

 

[Asperatis]

Good lad! That machine will be a beast! Will we have a project log to look forward to?

Yes yes yes =00=

Can't post any pictures yet though as I'm quite a new member on here and haven't reached the required posts limit to do so. So I also can't post a schematic of my plans either now I'm more of a reader than a poster since I don't have any first hand experience in this business (yet!) and I don't feel like spamming threads just to get the post count up.. Build log will start around the end of May, so there's still some time for me to assemble some posts.

A little teaser though: I'll have an acrylic floorplate made, a backplate to hide all them grommets on the mobo tray, a small panel to cover the drive bays,... I've been bitten by the OCD bugs so everything has to be as clean as possible, including the tubing, wiring, etc. I'll even get a monsoon acrylic bending kit to help me get the bends as perfect as they can get

 

[Highlander89]

You don't need many more posts to post pics... Sounds good with the floor and backplate. You should check out the awesome stickys on how to lace and braid. Well worth it.

If you start assembling in the end of may, It may be a good idea to wait around for the next generation of AMD CPU's and see what comes along.

 

[Asperatis]

I've already ordered a bunch of E22 small cable combs a month ago, still waiting for them to arrive though.. Sewing the cables seems like such a task and a pita imo.

I'm stuck in the Intel & Nvidia camp mate Won't change cpu until 10nm architecture sees its light.

EDIT: ooh looks like I can attach pics now!
Here is my schematic of how I've planned to build the loop:



Made with Sketchup, in 2D, nothing too fancy. Dimensions are correct though.
A drain valve will be added on the bottom rad on the right hand side. One of the front intake case fans will have to go to make room but that's just fine.

Asper

 

[Asperatis]

Well I suppose I could post a small update, right?

All of the Razer goodies have already arrived and are waiting for me to get home.
Yesterday I also contacted the people over at IceModz to see if they could help me out with my plans to light up the case with RGB LED strips. I want to light up the front air intakes to the left and right of the 900D's front panel in another colour than the inside of the case, so I needed two controllers etc. They had everything I need, so I placed my order immediately!

Next up are the watercooling parts! I've already ordered a few things from ppcs like my res and some fittings I couldn't find in the EU lolzz.. Can't wait to see that FrozenQ LF res with the double blood reed helix and light that baby up

Next week I'll order all of the required EK blocks and the alphacool rads, all of the fittings, loads of acrylic tubing (first time bender, I might need some spare test tubes..) etc etc.

Just a shame though I won't be home until mid-May

 

[Warchild]

Next up are the watercooling parts! I've already ordered a few things from ppcs like my res and some fittings I couldn't find in the EU lolzz..
Next week I'll order all of the required EK blocks and the alphacool rads, all of the fittings, loads of acrylic tubing (first time bender, I might need some spare test tubes..) etc etc.

Don't forget you can order WC parts direct from the manufacturer quite often like www.ekwb.com

Prices are still reasonable there and often have a better selection.

 

[Asperatis]

Prices over at ekwb.com actually are exactly the same as where I'll be getting my stuff, and they have a very big range of products as well. The only thing I'll have to get from the manufacturer are the Alphacool rads, as caseking doesn't stock on Alphacool goodies.

I'm from the EU so my best bet is caseking imo, just had to order a few items from overseas but shipping on those was a real pain in the ass

 

[Asperatis]

Good news! My E22 cable combs have arrived (thanks @Nate for his amazing customer support!) Ppcs order will arrive today as well, and all of the needed watercooling equipment has been ordered too, except for the two UT60 480 rads I'll order from alphacool

'Just' need to wait two more months now before I get back home, then I can go pick up all of my hardware, do some glamour hardware shots, and finally start building this baby

 

[Asperatis]

Question: Has anybody over here ever used the Primochill coupler fittings to have a loop pass through a case's mid-plate? Wondering if they can be used for this and what the spacing is between the two 'coupled' fittings. The mid-plate will be custom made so thickness can vary based on this spacing.

Cheers

 

[Asperatis]

Never mind, got me a few bitspower fillport/pass through fittings.

On another note, I was planning to get two 980 Strix cards in SLI, costing me roughly 1200-1300€. Guess what, the Titan X costs 1200€ as well.. AND EK has already released waterblocks for them.. I am so getting a Titan X now!

Edit: Two way or no way, right?.. My screen will be powered by two freakin' Titans!