OCUK Watercooled Systems

The Tourist

The Tourist

The Tourist

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Joined
31 May 2012
Posts
134
Hi again, related to a previous thread here:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18414463

But with a different question now :)

I'm interested in purchasing a watercooled system and would like to know what you guys think of its watercooling components and case. This will probably be quite a long post, my apologies if it sends you to sleep!

What are your thoughts with regards to the Lian Li PC-Z70 Diamond Series Full Tower Case compared to the Silverstone TemJin TJ11 Full Tower Gaming Case? Is one significantly better than the other? The reason I ask is because I'm looking at this system, and it uses the Lian Li case:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-185-OE&groupid=2180&catid=2203&subcat=

It has the following watercooling Specs:

WC-080-EK EK Supreme HF CPU Waterblock - Full Nickel

WC-012-BX Black Ice GT Stealth 360 Radiator (x2)

WC-093-EK EK UNI Holder 50-70 - Black (x4)

WC-003-BX Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 120

WC-178-EK EK-FC680 GTX Full Cover Waterblock - Nickel Plexi (x4)

WC-190-EK EK-FC Link GeForce (x4)

WC-200-EK EK-FC Bridge QUAD Parallel

WC-137-EK EK-PSC Adapter Rotary 45° G1/4 Black (x3)

WC-138-EK EK-PSC Adapter Rotary 90° G1/4 Black (x3)

WC-298-OK OcUK 1/2" G1/4 - FatBoy Style - Black Nickel - Barb Fitting (x14)

WC-011-AQ Aqua Computer Aquaero 5 LT USB Fan-Controller

CM-087-BX BitFenix Alchemy 3pin Fan extension 90cm - Black

CM-093-BX BitFenix Alchemy 3pin Fan extension 90cm - Red

CM-093-BX BitFenix Alchemy 3pin Fan extension 90cm - Red

CB-000-BX BitFenix Alchemy 24pin ATX extension 30cm - Black

CM-087-BX BitFenix Alchemy 3pin Fan extension 90cm - Black

CB-001-BX BitFenix Alchemy 8pin EPS extension 45cm - Black

CB-003-BX BitFenix Alchemy 6pin PCI-E extension 45cm - Black (x8)

CM-024-BX BitFenix Alchemy Molex to 4 x SATA power extension - Red

WC-002-MH Mayhems X1 UV Red Premixed Watercooling Fluid 1L

WC-002-MH Mayhems X1 UV Red Premixed Watercooling Fluid 1L

WC-008-EK EK Multioption Reservoir X2 250 Advanced

What do you think of these specs? Are they top quality components? I'd like my system to be powerful and quiet. Are these components of a high enough quality to ensure that it is a silent system? (within reason)

Would any of you use different components?

It looks like they use barb fittings, but I thought compression fittings were better?

I'd greatly appreciate any help with my decision, thanks guys :)
 
The Tourist said:
WC-012-BX Black Ice GT Stealth 360 Radiator (x2)
I'd change to EX rads instead

WC-003-BX Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 120
as above

What do you think of these specs? Are they top quality components? I'd like my system to be powerful and quiet. Are these components of a high enough quality to ensure that it is a silent system? (within reason)
All the components are of a high quality and your system should run pretty much silent :)

Would any of you use different components?
The EX rads give marginally better performance

It looks like they use barb fittings, but I thought compression fittings were better?
It's all opinion. Compressions are more secure, but IMO, barbs look better. Whilst compressions are more secure, this doesn't really come into play unless something's being suspended from it.
I'd greatly appreciate any help with my decision, thanks guys :)
Click to expand...

Firstly, what resolution are you using?

Secondly, will you benefit from a 3960X over a 3930K?

Finally, maybe i've missed it, but the mobo seems to be running on air. I'd get that changed as I personally found that mobo to be too loud and ruined the effect of watercooling :/
 
Thanks for the replies guys :)

The resolution is a bit of a funny one, I'd probably connect the system to a 60 inch LED TV which looks great at 1680x1050 but when it goes up to 1920x1080 the display says 1080i and the colours look less sharp, the edges of the display are off screen and the mouse becomes sluggish. Anyway, I'd probably stick with 1680x1050.

I was also looking at this option:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-093-OP&groupid=2180&catid=2203&subcat=

Whether it's the option linked above or in my first post, I definitely want to change some of the components, so I'd probably go for a 3930 K, maybe change some of the GPUs, RAM SSDs etc.

Also, what about the case? How does the Li PC-Z70 compare to the Silverstone TemJin TJ11 and the Cooler Master Cosmos II Ultra?
Is one significantly better than the other? Out of the 3 which would you pick?

Would you suggest watercooling the mobo as well to keep the noise down? I can ask them if they would do that.
 
Last edited:
TJ11 over both of those, more Rad room and IMO cosmetically better.

If that's the res you're at you only need something along the lines of a single 670 to Max everything.
 
Cool, thanks man :)
So a large screen with a lower resolution than a small screen with a higher resolution doesn't need as much GPU power? Screen size doesn't factor into how hard the GPU has to work?
 
Ah, thanks for the info :)

Also:

"Originally Posted by The Tourist View Post
WC-012-BX Black Ice GT Stealth 360 Radiator (x2)
I'd change to EX rads instead

WC-003-BX Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 120
as above"

Do you mean EK rads? I can't find EX rads.
 
Right, here it is.

Changes from OcUK system:
Pastel coolant
Cheaper RAM
Bigger SSD (only 1)
3930K
Watercooled mobo
Different case
Cheaper PSU
Dedicated high end sound card
Blu ray drive
Retail win 7 pro
Only 2x 680 (more than enough for your res)
Bay res
Pastel fluid
Red fans
PS. RAM blocks not in stock, so they haven't been added to the spec.

DISCLAIMER TO THE HATER OF MY SPECS:
NOTE: I have focused more on looks than performance for this build and it has been configured to my own personal tastes. Feel free to configure/tweak as much as you like, my spec is merely a guideline. When doing this spec I presumed money was not any issue at all and have therefore gone for many things a lot of you will deem unnecessary.

And the spec itself, apologies for anything missing:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Silverstone TemJin TJ11 Full Tower Gaming Case - Black (SST-TJ11B-W) £459.95
1 x Intel Core i7-3930K 3.20GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - Retail £459.95
2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (02G-P4-2680-KR) £439.99 (£879.98)
1 x Asus Rampage IV Extreme Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £334.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 512GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT512M4SSD2) £329.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Professional - Retail (FQC-00133) £169.99
1 x Silverstone Strider 1200W Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply (SST-ST1200-G) £149.99
1 x Corsair Dominator 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (CMP16GX3M4X1600C7) £139.99
1 x Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Xtreme 560 £130.99
1 x Aqua Computer Aquaero 5 PRO LCD Fan-Controller £101.99
2 x EK-FC680 GTX - CSQ Full Cover Waterblock - Nickel Plexi £84.98 (£169.96)
1 x OcUK Tech Lab - D5 Vario Pump & Alphacool Clear HF D5 Top Value Combo £84.98
1 x Asus Xonar D2X 7.1 PCI-E Sound Card £84.98
1 x EK-FB ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Waterblock - Plexi & EN Nickel £79.98
1 x Pioneer BDR-207MBK 12x BDRW Multilayer 128GB - OEM £69.98
1 x EK-Supremacy - CPU Waterblock - Nickel Plexi £56.99
1 x EK Dual Bay Spin Reservoir - Acetal £46.99
1 x XSPC EX280 Dual Fan Radiator £44.99
2 x EK-FC680 GTX Backplate - Black £19.99 (£39.98)
2 x Mayhems Pastel - Light Red Coolant 1L £14.99 (£29.98)
6 x Prolimatech Red Vortex Red Wings Red LED 140mm Fan £11.99 (£71.94)
2 x Masterkleer Hose Pack PVC 15,9/11mm (7/16ID) Clear 3.3m £10.88 (£21.76)
22 x OcUK 1/2" G1/4 - FatBoy Style - Black Nickel - Barb Fitting £1.69 (£37.18)
Total : £4,017.78 (includes shipping : £16.85).

 
Last edited:
Cleeecooo said:
Right, here it is.

Changes from OcUK system:
Pastel coolant
Cheaper RAM
Bigger SSD (only 1)
3930K
Watercooled mobo
Different case
Cheaper PSU
Dedicated high end sound card
Blu ray drive
Retail win 7 pro
Only 2x 680 (more than enough for your res)
Bay res
Pastel fluid
Red fans
PS. RAM blocks not in stock, so they haven't been added to the spec.

DISCLAIMER TO THE HATER OF MY SPECS:
NOTE: I have focused more on looks than performance for this build and it has been configured to my own personal tastes. Feel free to configure/tweak as much as you like, my spec is merely a guideline. When doing this spec I presumed money was not any issue at all and have therefore gone for many things a lot of you will deem unnecessary.

And the spec itself, apologies for anything missing:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Silverstone TemJin TJ11 Full Tower Gaming Case - Black (SST-TJ11B-W) £459.95
1 x Intel Core i7-3930K 3.20GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - Retail £459.95
2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 680 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (02G-P4-2680-KR) £439.99 (£879.98)
1 x Asus Rampage IV Extreme Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard £334.99
1 x Crucial RealSSD M4 512GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive (CT512M4SSD2) £329.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Professional - Retail (FQC-00133) £169.99
1 x Silverstone Strider 1200W Modular '80 Plus Gold' Power Supply (SST-ST1200-G) £149.99
1 x Corsair Dominator 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual/Quad Channel Kit (CMP16GX3M4X1600C7) £139.99
1 x Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Xtreme 560 £130.99
1 x Aqua Computer Aquaero 5 PRO LCD Fan-Controller £101.99
2 x EK-FC680 GTX - CSQ Full Cover Waterblock - Nickel Plexi £84.98 (£169.96)
1 x OcUK Tech Lab - D5 Vario Pump & Alphacool Clear HF D5 Top Value Combo £84.98
1 x Asus Xonar D2X 7.1 PCI-E Sound Card £84.98
1 x EK-FB ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Waterblock - Plexi & EN Nickel £79.98
1 x Pioneer BDR-207MBK 12x BDRW Multilayer 128GB - OEM £69.98
1 x EK-Supremacy - CPU Waterblock - Nickel Plexi £56.99
1 x EK Dual Bay Spin Reservoir - Acetal £46.99
1 x XSPC EX280 Dual Fan Radiator £44.99
2 x EK-FC680 GTX Backplate - Black £19.99 (£39.98)
2 x Mayhems Pastel - Light Red Coolant 1L £14.99 (£29.98)
6 x Prolimatech Red Vortex Red Wings Red LED 140mm Fan £11.99 (£71.94)
2 x Masterkleer Hose Pack PVC 15,9/11mm (7/16ID) Clear 3.3m £10.88 (£21.76)
22 x OcUK 1/2" G1/4 - FatBoy Style - Black Nickel - Barb Fitting £1.69 (£37.18)
Total : £4,017.78 (includes shipping : £16.85).

Click to expand...

Wow! Thank you for taking the time to help me Cleee :)

You mentioned that your build focused more on looks than performance, however despite that it looks like you still have an exceptional build :)

I personally would like my build to focus on performance first then looks. Would that alter anything in the basket you provided?

While it's overkill for my resolution (I use 3D if that makes a difference) I am very tempted to get a GTX 690, maybe even 2 and have them watercooled. (This is probably gonna result in several forum members initiating tactical facepalms :p)

For SSDs, I think I would go for these:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-150-SA

I might get 4 of them, It works out cheaper than 2 Crucials and I think they are as good maybe even a little better.

For windows 7, unless there's a really good reason to go for the Ultimate then I'm happy to stick with a retail 64 bit version of professional.

For the PSU, I'm happy to go for the strider, but I was also looking at this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-029-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084

What do you think?

As for RAM, well the RIVE can take up to 64GB if I'm reading things right, although I doubt I will need that much now, maybe further down the line I will, but not at the moment. At the same time I want to use all available RAM slots on the mobo :p It'd be a shame for them to go to waste right?
Apart from looks, will watercooling the RAM make much of a difference?


I read some bad things and been warned away from these RAMs on a RIVE:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-332-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817

Although I am looking at:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-128-GL&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=817

What do you think?

I'm liking the look of the Aqua Computer Aquaero 5 PRO, I'm also intrigued by the Aqua Computer Aquaero 5 XT, do you think it's worth the extra cost?

For the pump combo, do you think there's much difference between the:
D5 Vario Pump & Alphacool Clear HF D5 Top
and
D5 Vario Pump & EK D5 X-Top V2

With regards to the sound card, due to my intended setup, I'd probably have to rely on the GPU for sound instead of a dedicated sound card. You see, I'd have a samsung HT-D5100 home cinema system connected to the TV with an HDMI and optical cable. However the D5100 only has one optical port and, as far as I can tell no other ports that would allow me to connect the sound card to it. So when I connect the GPU to the TV using an HDMI cable, I'd have to rely on it for the sound as well. At least, that's how I understand it.
Hope that made sense :p

As I already have a blu ray player, I was looking at these as optical drive options:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-090-LG&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-126-SA&groupid=701&catid=10&subcat=

As you've probably guessed, I have absolutely no experience when it comes to watercooling :p What made these components:

EK-FB ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Waterblock - Plexi

EK-Supremacy - CPU Waterblock

EK Dual Bay Spin Reservoir

XSPC EX280 Dual Fan Radiator

Masterkleer Hose Pack PVC

stand out compared to the others in their category? :)

And this:
Mayhems Pastel - Light Red Coolant 1L
6 x Prolimatech Red Vortex Red Wings Red LED 140mm Fan

I guess this is where I choose my colour scheme :cool:

I've also read about the EM generated by some pumps causing interference and being a bit problematic, is this something you think I should be concerned about?

Thanks again for helping me and taking the time to read this :)
 
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