Custom Loop Guide - How to Watercool your PC

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Hi guys :)

Seeing as I promised to make a guide on how to watercool your PC if the mods made a forum for it, well, here we go!

Why watercool?

There are three main reasons for water-cooling your PC: temperature, noise, and aesthetics.

Temperature:

When overclocking your PC, you have to increase the voltage of various components. This introduces extra electrical resistance, which in turn generates extra heat. For mild overclocks, the extra heat can be dissipated using the more traditional method of air cooling, using a heatsink and fan on a processor for example. But more extreme overclocking can exceed the limits of regular air cooling. Water-cooling is much more capable of dissipating heat, as the surface area provided by radiators is often much higher than that provided by that of regular heatsinks. Particularly hot components, such as graphics cards, can benefit greatly from this temperature drop, and as such can be overclocked to rather high frequencies. For example, I managed to overclock my GTX 580 to 1ghz under my custom loop.

Noise:

Traditional air cooling, using heatsinks and fans, due to their relative inefficiency, can generate a stupid amount of noise. Anyone who's owned a first generation Fermi card, or a 69xx series graphics card, or even a Titan Fenrir, for example, can tell you just how annoying such noise can be (I have owned all three, and it is very off putting). As water-cooling is so much more efficient at dissipating heat, the fans on the radiators can be set to much lower speeds, therefore reducing the amount of noise produced greatly. Of course, if you are going for monster overclocks, the fans will have to be set at higher speeds to cope with the heat output, but that's a problem you will always have to cope with unless you are using more exotic forms of cooling.

Aesthetics:

Anyone who has built a custom loop can tell you just how damn sexy they look. For example, take a look at the water-cooling case gallery, a stickied thread in this forum :)



Choosing your parts.

So, now you have decided that you want to go absolutely chicken jalfrezi with that overclock, or that the noise from that bloody graphics card is doing your head in! Now you have to consider what parts you need for your system, and what your case can handle.

The case:

A good water-cooling case has to have space for at least a double radiator, if you are going to cool your CPU, or preferably space for 2 double radiators, or even a triple and a double radiator, if you are going to go all awesomesauce on our arses. There are quite a few good modern cases for water-cooling, and many cases can be modded to fit water-cooling quite easily. Probably the best case at the moment is the Xigmatek Elysium, which, at 150 quid, is frankly a steal. Other good cases include the Silverstone TJ07 and the Fractal Design Arc. I myself have used an NZXT Phantom for my loop, click my signature for the whole build log of how I managed it. But pretty much any case can be modded for water-cooling; but that's for another thread, which I shall do next week. A good indicator of a water-cooling case, however, is 2 120mm fan mounts next to each other: this generally indicates that you can install at least a 240mm radiator.

The Blocks:

Now, this part depends on just what you want to cool. If you are going CPU only, then you have quite a range of blocks to choose from. The generally considered top blocks at the moment are the XSPC Rasa and the EK Supreme HF, both of which you can pick up for around 40 quid. The EK also comes in a few different types, either plain black, or see through plexi. However, I would definitely recommend going for the HF (high flow), over the LT, as it has a temperature difference of around 5 degrees; whether you go for plain black or plexi top is entirely up to you. I myself have an XSPC Rasa block, and find it to be incredible.

If you are going to include your GPU in the loop, then you have 2 choices. Either a full cover block (covers most of the graphcs card) or a core only block (covers just the GPU core itself). Whereas full cover blocks are the most aesthetically pleasing, and are easier to work into a multi-gpu sytstem, the block itself is usually limited to one type of graphics card (eg the EK GTX 580 block can only be used with the 580, and usually only with the reference design). Core only blocks are usually universal (can work with most graphics cards), however don't have quite the wow factor, are not quite as easy to work into multi gpu setups, and you also need to purchase separate small heatsinks to fit onto the ram and power management on the card. Full cover blocks are also usually a lot more expensive. For full cover blocks, I would recommend either going with EK, XSPC or Swiftech. Again, you have the choice of plain or plexi top, depending on your preference. With core only blocks, you really need look no further than the EK block, again choosing between plain or plexi.

Motherboard blocks are generally tailored to a specific motherboard, eg the EVGA SR-2, or the ASUS Ranpage III Extreme. You only really need to cool the motherboard for LGA1366 boards and older, as the hottest running part of the board (the northbridge) is incorporated into the processor. Again, this can look really damn awesome, but the blocks are quite rare, so you would be limited to one brand per board.

It is also possible to watercool your RAM and HDD's, and, although this isn't really needed, it can really add to the aesthetics if a system, and can add to the hardcore image of a PC. For ram, it's best to go with EK or MIPS RAM Freezers, and for HDD's it is best to google your preferred block.

Radiators:

Now, a kick arse water-cooling system would be useless if it didn't have a way to dissipate heat, wouldn't it? The radiator is the means with which the hot air is transferred from the system to the air outside the case. All radiators now come with a fan spacing of 15mm, which means a dual 120mm radiator can fit into pretty much any case with 2 120mm fan mounts next to each other. There are three things you need to consider when choosing a radiator: size, thickness and fins per inch, or FPI.

Size:

Radiators are tailored to fit different fan sizes, from single fan 120mm radiators, to the monster Phobya 1080 rad. When choosing a rad, you need to take into account the mounting spaces. For example, the coolermaster cm690 2 has spaces for 2 120mm radiators, one in the top and one in the bottom, a fact you can easily tell by looking at the fan mounts (2x120mm fan mounts in both the top and bottom). If you are willing to get creative with a dremel, you can easily create your own fan mounts, but again, that's a thread for next week :). Another example is my case. The NZXT Phantom has space in the top for a 360mm radiator in the top, if you mount it correctly, and a 240mm radiator in the bottom (my current setup). Generally, larger rads can dissipate more heat than smaller rads

Thickness:

There are two main thicknesses of radiator, full height (about 60mm), and half height (self-explanatory ;)). When you design your water-cooling loop, you have to take into account the space taken by the motherboard and other components. For example, it is best to fit a half height radiator in the top of a case usually, as the RAM and motherboard heatsinks may get in the way of you installing a full height radiator with fans. However, due to the thinner nature of the radiators, they aren't quite as good at dissipating heat as thicker radiators.

FPI:

The amount of heat a radiator can dissipate is also directly linked to the density of the fins. The more tightly packed the fins are, the larger the surface area, and thus the larger amount of heat removal potential. However, as you increase the density of the fins, you decrease the amount of space that there is for air to pass through the radiator, and therefore the more powerful the fan you have to use to push the air through.

There are several brands of radiator, the best being down to your preference, and how you choose in the categories above. A good reference point would include EK, Swiftech, Black Ice and XSPC.

Pump:

If you don't have a pump in your system, you won't have any water movement, and how useless would that be? The pump is one of the easiest things to choose, however, as there are only a few different types. There are three things to consider when choosing a pump: flow rate, head pressure, and where/how you are going to mount it.

Flow rate is an indicator of how much water the pump can push through a system. For example my XSPC pump can push 750 lp/h (litres per hour) round the system theoretically. Obviously this will drop as you add components into the system, as you will invariably have resistance to the flow of water.

This is where head pressure comes in. It's no use being able to push 750 lph through a plain circle of tubing if it can only manage 5 lph when you add a CPU block for example. High head pressure will endure that the water flows fast and consistently through your system, and helps to keep the heat transfer efficiency high.

Mounting. This is one of the most important things you should consider when designing your loop. Pumps like the Laing D5 and the Laing DDC can typically be mounted anywhere in the case, but it's best to have them mounted on foam or rubber, to minimze annoying vibrations travelling throughout the case. Alternatively, you can mount the pump inside a resevojr in the optical bays of your case-more on that later.

The best pumps are generally variants of the Laing D5 or DDC, however all in one pump/resevoir units such as the XSPC 750 pump are just as good.

Reservoir:

Another very important consideration when designing your loop is the resevoir. Reservoirs generally come in two types: internally mounted tube reservoirs or optical bay mounted reservoirs. There are not really any considerations beyond this, apart from taking into consideration where you are going to mount it. I have a personal preference for optical bay reservoirs, as not only do they enable you to check if you have a drop in the water level at a glance (as they are mounted at the front of the case) but you can also mount a pump inside them, which can save space and tubing. If you are going to mount a pump inside the res, make sure that you choose the correct res for the pump ;)

Tubing and fittings:

I have lumped these two items together for a reason, as these are the two things that are entirely dependent on each other. There are many different measurements of tubing, but each different type has two independent measurements: ID (internal diameter) and OD (outside diameter). If you are using barbs to attach your tubes to the other water-cooling components, then you only need to worry about ID, however if you are using compression fittings, you need to take into occount the OD of a tube.
I personally use barbs with my tubing, as this is for me the most secure option. When choosing tubing and barbs, it is best to choose tubing that has a slightly smaller internal diameter than the barb. For example I use 1/2 inch barbs with 7/16 inch tubing - this means that the tubing is naturally tight over the barbs, and such less likely to slip off. Even so, it is a good idea to use hose clamps or jubilee clips on the tubing that covers the barb, just in case. For compression fittings, you choose the tubing that has the same ID and OD that is specified by the compression fittings.

The best barbs and fittings are the ones made by either EK or Bitspower, these really are very high quality and come in either silver or black, depending on your tastes. Tubing is entirely up to you, however the best brands are XSPC, Tygon and Masterkleer. Tubing can come in a lot of different colours, again depending on what look you are going for, as well as clear if you want to use coloured fluid or just like a nice clean look :).

Fluids, additives and kill coils:

Again, this is almost entirely up to you. The norm, however, is to use distilled or deionized water for the loop, and place a silver kill coil in the res to prevent algae and other little buggers from growing in your loop. However a lot of people like to experiment with additives. Dye bombs, like Mayhems and Primochill are excellent for adding colour to the water, and there are other premixed fluids like Feser that come in a variety of colours, including UV. The only thing that I would recommend if you are using colour in your loop is to drain and flush the system every 6 months to avoid the dye building up in blocks. If you are using regular distilled and deionized the water can be good for up to 18 months max.

Fans and Fan Controllers:

Now, you need some way to dissipate the heat, and the best way is to have have fans pushing through your rads. What fans you choose is entirely up to your preferences: for performance, you use high rpm, high cfm fans to push the air through to get that heat out faster, but for silence you use low Ron fans, to get the job done with the minimum of fuss. Obviously, you have to pick the right size fans for your case and radiator, but apart from that the choice is up to you :). You can choose to go vessel with LED's, or have a nice understated look. However, you do have to choose what orientation you want your fans: pulling air through the radiator, pushing air through the rad or having push pull (one on either side). Push pull can add a further decrease jn temps, so if you have the space I would highly recommend it.

Of course you don't want the fans to be running at full blast all of the time, so the best idea is to get a fan controller. When choosing one you have to think of space (most fan controllers take up one optical bay, although a couple take up 2), aesthetics and how many fans you want to control. The best fan controllers are the NZXT Sentry range and the Lamptron FCx range.

Other considerations:

DO NOT MIX METALS!!! I cannot stress enough how important it is not to mix metals, such as aluminium and copper. You WILL get galvanic corrosion. Don't be an idiot by risking it.

Loop order: it doesn't really make that much difference in what way you order your loop, but the one thing you must make sure is that the reservoir goes before the pump, otherwise you will have a lot less flow than you would like.

Multiple loops: it is just as easy to set up multiple loops, for example one to cool the processor and motherboard, and another to cool SLi Graphics cards. You just have to remember to vet an extra reservoir and pump.

Hose kinking: avoid. This will greatly decrease the flow of your loop, and can range the pump over time. You can get anti kink coil, which not only loos fantastic bit helps you avoid kinks.

And don't for get to check the water level regularly!



Building your loop.

Right, so you've chosen the components, designed the loop, have it all laid out in front of you... Now what?
Well, I'll give you a tutorial on how to set up a CPU only loop using the XSPC Rasa 240 kit. This is a great kit, and contains everything you need for a loop excluding coolant. For a visually guide, check out G-Dubs' build log using the coolermaster CM690 2 case and this kit :) (this guide assumes you are using the coolermaster cm690 2 and all hard drives, optical drives and psu are installed into the case)


Step 1:
Flush the radiator several times with hot water. You used to have to use vinegar, but nowadays radiators have a lot less icky flux in them, so that hot water generally does fine :) repeat till the water coming out of the radiator is clear.

IMG_0024.jpg



Step 2:
Check you have everything. Have a checklist down against everything I have listed that you need, pump, res, tubing etc. (all included in the kit)

(My kit, YMMV ;))

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Step 3:
With your motherboard outside of the case, install the processor and ram. After you have done this, attach the CPU block to the motherboard using the instructions provided.

(ignore the fact this is in the case, I installed everything outside, this is just as an example)

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Step 4:
Attach the fans to the radiator. Decide on the orientation of the fans, and then screw them on to the radiator using the screws provided. Make sure the holes for the barbs on the radiator will be facing downwards.

IMG_0025.jpg


Step 5:
Screw the barbs into the block, radiator and reservoir/pump combo. Rule of thumb for tightness is to get them as tight as possible using your hands, then do a half turn using a wrench.

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Step 6:
Mount the radiator into the case. This assumes that you have the fans pushing air upwards through the radiator. While holding the radiator in the top of the case, attach it using the rest of the screws provided with the radiator, making sure the barbs are at the rear of the case. Do the screws up nice and tight.

IMG_0032.jpg


Step 7:
Install the reservoir/pump. Push the res into the optical bay caddy, don't screw it in yet.

IMG_0043.jpg


Step 8:
Install the motherboard into the case. If you don't know how to do this then you really shouldn't be water-cooling ;)

Step 9:
Install any add-in cards to your motherboard. But don't plug in any cables from your psu yet.

IMG_0023.jpg


Step 10:
Take one end of the pipe, and attach it to the pump outlet barb from the reservoir. Secure it with a hose clamp.

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Step 11:
Align the hose so that you would be able to link the reservoir to the CPU block, with a little bit of slack. Cut the tube to length (remember, cutting it too long is fine, there is nothing wrong with slack ;))

Step 12:
Push the pipe onto the barb marked "in" on the CPU block. Secure with hose clamp.

Step 13:
Push the remainder of the hose onto the barb marked "out" on the CPU block. Secure with hose clamp.

Step 14:
Again, roughly measure out the length of pipe, this time to either of the radiator barbs- which ever looks neater to you. Cut to length, again leaving some slack, push onto the barb and secure with hose clip. You should be left with something like this: (obviously with the block attached to the motherboard, this is the only pic I have unfortunately)

IMG_0060.jpg


Step 15:
Repeat for the final section of tube, from radiator to res.

IMG_0063.jpg


So now the loop is all sorted, time to fill it up! How, you may ask? Well, you see that little piece of plastic in the top of the res, with marks for a cross head screwdriver? Unscrew that, and using a funnel to channel the water, fill it up :). At the moment, your system should look like this: (well, sort of, if you have 2 rads and a GPU block. If not then it will only have the top section of the loop :D)

IMG_0070.jpg


Step 16:
Fill the res up as much as possible without it spilling, using distilled water. Add the silver kill coil you purchased to the res.

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Step 17:
Attach the PSU Bridger supplied with your kit to the 24pin ATX connector. Then connect the molex cable from the pump to a spare molex connector on your power supply. Make sure the power supply is switched off, and then connect it to the mains.

IMG_0073.jpg


Step 18:
Put tissue paper around all of the barbs - this way you can tell if there is a leak. Now, flick the power supply on. The pump should start to work (it definitely should be the ONLY THING running at this point), and the water should start to empty from the res. Keep topping it up till the level stops decreasing.

IMG_0608.jpg


Step 19:
Flick the power supply off and on in quick succession, checking for any leaks. Repeat for about 10 minutes. This will help to dissipate air bubbles.

Step 20:
Replace the plug on the top of the res. Now, flick the power back on, and start to rock your case from side to side, for about 5 mins.

Step 21:
Remove the plug from the top of the res.

Step 22:
Repeat steps 19-21 for about half an hour, till all of the large air bubbles are gone, checking for leaks constantly.

Step 23:
Now, leave the computer with just the pump running for the next 24 hours, checking for leaks periodically. (Note: 24 hours is a rough guideline. I'm on my 4th watercooled build, and I generally only leak test for half an hour. Test as long as you are comfortable with :))

Step 24:
If no leaks are aparrent after 24 hours, take the tissue out, plug in your computer fully and enjoy your new watercooled system! :D



Thanks guys for reading what has taken bloody ages to write, about 2 hours on the iPhone. As soon as my PC is sorted I shall update as much as possible with pics, and more info. And I hope this guide helps you to create a beast of a watercooled system :)

Enjoy ;)

Useful Links:



PSU Bridger


My signature image contains a useful build log :)

OCUK Watercooling product section

A cracking CM690-II watercooling build log
 
Last edited:
Associate
Joined
4 Dec 2010
Posts
2,290
Location
London
Nice guide. Sticky? Def add some pics when you get a comp back.

And you wrote all that on your IPHONE?!!! **** on a stick how the hell did you manage that. I can't even type an email on my iphone without the autocorrects and missed keys ******* me off.
 
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