First water-cooling build

madmedman · 26 Jun 2016 at 22:43

Hi all. Have been reading through water-cooling guides for weeks but need guidance from you guys before i pull the trigger.

I will be cooling a 6700k (stock but may look into overclocking soon) and a gtx 1080 FE (overclocked). Could you guys look into the list below and let me know if all's complete? Do I need fittings and tubes for the graphic card block as well?
Already have a zotac 1080 FE.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x OcUK Tech Labs - V12 Watercooling Kit 360 = £267.85
- Tubing Colourrimochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 16/11 - Clear
- Coolant Choice:Mayhems Ultra Pure H2O Watercooling Fluid 1L
- Radiator:Coolgate G2 Radiator 10 FPI - 360mm
- Pump & Reservoir Option:XSPC D5 Photon 170 Reservoir/Pump Combo
- CPU Block:EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy EVO
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC1080 GTX - Acetal+Nickel= £89.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC 1080 GTX Backplate - Black= £22.99
1 x Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Glass Mid Tower Case - Black= £154.99

zeegy · 27 Jun 2016 at 15:30

You will need 2 x additional fittings to include the GPU into the loop

Your kit originally came with - EK Water Blocks EK-CSQ Fitting 16/11mm G1/4 - Black Nickel

any 16/11 compression fittings (or 11mm ID Barb fittings) will do.

You may want to consider a little extra hose, just so you have plenty to play with.

Lastly, I have just fitted a 1080 waterblock, as well as a small phillips screwdriver you WILL need a 4mm Socket to remove the majority of the stock FE cooler.

zeegy · 27 Jun 2016 at 15:32

I would also, edge a word of caution on the Evolv (I was going to buy one too) but read horror stories about poor air extraction in the Evolv owners thread.
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18682069

madmedman · 27 Jun 2016 at 18:05

zeegy said:
You will need 2 x additional fittings to include the GPU into the loop

Your kit originally came with - EK Water Blocks EK-CSQ Fitting 16/11mm G1/4 - Black Nickel

any 16/11 compression fittings (or 11mm ID Barb fittings) will do.

You may want to consider a little extra hose, just so you have plenty to play with.

Lastly, I have just fitted a 1080 waterblock, as well as a small phillips screwdriver you WILL need a 4mm Socket to remove the majority of the stock FE cooler.

Thank you very much. Exactly what I was wondering about. Will get the proper fittings and tubing. Hope this kit is adequate for my system.

madmedman · 27 Jun 2016 at 18:11

zeegy said:
I would also, edge a word of caution on the Evolv (I was going to buy one too) but read horror stories about poor air extraction in the Evolv owners thread.
https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18682069

Hey. Thanks very much. I was just going by the reviews. Might go for graphite 760t or would you have any recommendation? Something with a window and suitable for this build? Would prefer a midi case though.

zeegy · 27 Jun 2016 at 19:34

madmedman said:
Hey. Thanks very much. I was just going by the reviews. Might go for graphite 760t or would you have any recommendation? Something with a window and suitable for this build? Would prefer a midi case though.

I don't want to influence you, but i was going to go for the evolve. I went for The Fractal Define S... it was either that or the NZXT H440 for me.

the Define S was perfect for me, as it had no drive bays... looking at your kit, you may want to go for something else.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/fractal-design-define-r5-midi-tower-case-blackout-edition-window-ca-063-fd.html Perhaps?

madmedman · 27 Jun 2016 at 20:29

zeegy said:
I don't want to influence you, but i was going to go for the evolve. I went for The Fractal Define S... it was either that or the NZXT H440 for me.

the Define S was perfect for me, as it had no drive bays... looking at your kit, you may want to go for something else.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/fractal-design-define-r5-midi-tower-case-blackout-edition-window-ca-063-fd.html Perhaps?

To tell you the truth. I had the r5 in mind but really liked the looks of the evolve and the graphite 760T. The r5 would save me a lot of money though. Could I ask, how did you mount the reservoir. Is there a separate kit that I could buy that would let me mount the thing?

Petelock · 28 Jun 2016 at 08:52

I have a watercooled heavily overclocked 5820k and 980ti in a Evolv glass case. Temps are fine for loop and case. (hit 60c under load on the CPU and 40c on the GPU).

I have my 360 radiator on the front pulling air into the case and 3x 140mm fans exhausting out the top and back.

Thought that feeding back on the other side of the argument would be worth doing

Aberfala · 28 Jun 2016 at 08:56

zeegy said:
I don't want to influence you, but i was going to go for the evolve. I went for The Fractal Define S... it was either that or the NZXT H440 for me.

the Define S was perfect for me, as it had no drive bays... looking at your kit, you may want to go for something else.
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/fractal-design-define-r5-midi-tower-case-blackout-edition-window-ca-063-fd.html Perhaps?

Good job you went for the Define S as the H440 is as bad as the Evolv for airflow restriction.

madmedman · 2 Jul 2016 at 14:23

Hi again. I went with these components.

1x) XSPC RayStorm Pro WaterBlock (Intel) Black
(1x) EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream XE 360 (Triple)
(1x) XSPC D5 Photon 170 Reservoir/Pump Combo
(1x) EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream CE 280 (Dual)
(10x) XSPC G1/4" to 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD Compression Fitting (Chrome) V2
(1x) Mayhems Ultra Pure H2O Watercooling Fluid 1L
(5x) Corsair SP120 Single Pack Red LED Fan (CO-9050019-WW)
(1x) EK Water Blocks EK-FC1080 GTX - Acetal+Nickel
(2x) Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 16/11 - Clear
Product Id: WC-144-TL

I had a hard time getting the compression fitting in. It seemed like I didn't screw it over the barb at all.
As I put everything together and having tested for leaks for Half an hour, the computer started but before I got display it shut down again. Now I see the motherboard light turn on but power button does nothing. Tried to check an older mobo but the CPU block tube came off and water spilled all over, including the graphic card.
I have left everything to dry out but I fear I have lost by main mobo, hopefully not the processor or the gpu.
Could you guys have a look and see if all the components I have a correct? I want to give it another go before giving up on watercooling altogether.