Newbie watercooling advice

wavehunter · 20 Jan 2013 at 17:40

Hello all,

I'm planning on ditching my unreliable Corsair H100 (rattling noise despite diode fix) and doing what I should have done when I bought the Corsair - watercool.

I currently have an i7 2600k cooled by the H100 and a GTX560ti which I've mated to a Corsair H70.

The plan would be to buy an Overclockers V8 or V12 cooling kit and either a OcUK H20 GTX670 or HD7970.

The question is, could I run these together using just the one radiator for cooling (as in some custom builds I've seen) or would I need a separate radiator for the GPU cooling but on the same loop?

Would the triple radiator of the V12 kit be sufficient for both or would I be better buying the V8 kit and a separate single radiator and fan for the GPU?

Thanks in advance.

Rob

p.s. great site!

SeraphX · 20 Jan 2013 at 21:30

A single triple radiator would easily cool both cpu and gpu in a single loop.

wavehunter · 21 Jan 2013 at 16:16

Thanks.

My plan would be:

Pump/res -> CPU -> Rad -> GPU ->Pump/res

Without an 'intercooler' between the GPU and the CPU, is the idle temp of the CPU likely to be effected by GPU intensive tasks or would the heat be dissipated in the tubing and reservoir?

mjones1 · 21 Jan 2013 at 17:30

Loop order doesn't have a large effect on the temperatures.

Space Monkey · 21 Jan 2013 at 17:47

As long as the res feeds the pump, order doesn't matter

wavehunter · 23 Jan 2013 at 14:39

The deed is done.

V12 on order.

Koolance clips too for good measure.

*Rich* · 23 Jan 2013 at 16:18

wavehunter said:
The deed is done.

V12 on order.

Koolance clips too for good measure.

Nice, and remember some pictures along the way, we like build pictures.

wavehunter · 23 Jan 2013 at 20:40

Before:

Corsair Obsidian800D
Corsair HX1000W PSU
i7 2600 with Corsair H100 cooler
32GB Corsair RAM
MSI GTX560ti mated with Corsair H70

wavehunter · 24 Jan 2013 at 22:51

Hokay...

So the kit arrived in good time as planned, but there's only 1m of tubing, not the 2m I was expecting.

Things might get a little tight in the Obsidian with just 1m.

More on order. No big deal - waiting for the Koolance clips off e-bay.

Sunday should be the day of the build...

*Rich* · 25 Jan 2013 at 15:25

Shame about the hose, bet you're eager to get on it aren't you?

sieze2 · 25 Jan 2013 at 15:55

Good man...keep us posted with pictures .

wavehunter · 25 Jan 2013 at 21:48

*Rich* said:
Shame about the hose, bet you're eager to get on it aren't you?

Yeah, but can't do much until the clips arrive anyway.

Time to do a spring clean of the case and chuck out some of the SSDs to clear some cables.

*Rich* · 26 Jan 2013 at 08:30

Well more time to plan at least

wavehunter · 26 Jan 2013 at 17:50

Speaking of planning, should I recycle the Akasa Apache Black's that I've currently got on the H100 rad (four, so one spare) or stick with the Scythes in the V12 kit?

sieze2 · 26 Jan 2013 at 18:01

wavehunter said:
Speaking of planning, should I recycle the Akasa Apache Black's that I've currently got on the H100 rad (four, so one spare) or stick with the Scythes in the V12 kit?

Both I understand are really strong performers. I guess it come down to personal preference. Are there any comparison reviews?

wavehunter · 29 Jan 2013 at 18:55

Well, the tubing arrived today so after a few prayers to the Gods of cooling I set to work.

I quickly learned that trying to be accurate with tube lengths was futile as what looks sloppy and long is easier to fit than what looks neat and tight. As this was a first go, I'm not too broken up by the blue tentacle look.

I'd read on another thread that some hot water is good at making the tubing more pliable when fitting on the barbs but I found that the missus's hairdryer was just as good and a lot less wet.

Fitting Koolance 5/8" (16mm) OD hose clamps for XSPC 7/16" ID [16/11mm] tubing on OcUK 1/2" barbs is a bitch. Some fat plyers with plent of rom to wiggle them on is needed. I did try to do this to the radiator outside of the case but when I put back in to fit there was just too much king in the tubing fr my liking so skinned knuckles it was.

Filling the reservoir was helped by tipping the case backwards so that the reservoir became the most elevated part of the loop. Even then, it took several top-ups in small increments to get the air out.

View of the back of the reservoir housing with tubes and clips

From the inside of the case

CPU block

Radiator

Empty tubes

Filled and lit reservoir window

Whoosh!

wavehunter · 29 Jan 2013 at 18:59

Some observations:

The XSPC D5 Dual Bay Reservoir/Pump Combo ring to secure the pump is proud of the reservoir housing itself so you can't sit it exactly flat.

I can't seem to secure it properly in the front of the Obsidian 800D as the retaining holes don't match up with those on the case caddy when using the lowest shelf. Any suggestions?

The XSPC D5 pump speed controller cable does nothing when connected to a fan controller. There is a little red dial on the back of the reservoir case but with no markings. Can I set pump speed using a fan controller?