Phantom 410 + 3960x + 3 way 290

Annihilation

Annihilation

Annihilation

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Joined
10 Jan 2004
Posts
155
Hi all,

So I just went through an ebay purchasing spree and got myself 3 R290s for a knock down price. However I have the challenge of running them in my Phantom 410!

They are running really hot obviously, and are reaching ridiculous fan speeds. It was an impulse and if I had thought about it I should have gone for the non-reference cooler models. However I am where I am, and have some experience (be it 4 years ago) with watercooling.

So my main questions are:
1) Will 2x240mm radiators be enough to cool this amount of heat, I am not after low temps, just a quieter rig with stable (high isn't an issue - below throttling) temps? - Any guidance on good radiators, the top one will need tro be <35mm and the other can be as deep as required?
2) I have been looking at the heatkiller 290 blocks, are they a good choice?
3) I have no idea about the CPU block though, I have a socket 2011 i7-3960x - any thoughts on this?
4) For the pumps and res I have been looking at the XSPC Twin D5 - Is this overkill for pump power?
5) Connectors, I am going to use some form of CF/SLI combo block or pipes for the cards, I am really keen on quick disconnect/connect for ease of use, etc.

Any guidance on this would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Annih
 
I should have said that the case is something that whilst I would like to keep, I have been considering the Phantom 630 or H630 as an alternative (should give me 360mm and a 280/360mm rad setup)
 
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1. Two 240mm wont make this quieter, as fans will be running at a less than silent speed to keep temps reasonable for watercooling. If it is less than 35mm i think choices are the stealth rad or maybe the 35.5 XSPC EX radiator. For thicker radiators would just go for a RX v3 if you dont mind splashing cash for a few degrees or jsut fill with the EK Pe radiators which are cheap and not far off top end radiator performance.

A rig like this would be better off with a big external radiator. Temps will be good, it would be way cheaper for the performance and itl be the quietest way of doing it. A single 1080 radiator with four 180mm fans would be my first choice.

2. Blocks dont really matter, as all full cover GPU blocks are made by decent manufacturers. I use EK, as spare parts are easy to get and they have always shown me great results.

3. CPU block i will recommend the EK supremacy. It is a top end block with mounts for all sockets and extra 'jet plates' if you want to change it to suit the specific chip you are cooling (although it is not necessary.

4. two D5s is overkill. More pump does not mean lower temperatures. I have a 5 block loop next to me being powered by two EK 4.0 pumps. These two together normally cost the same as a single D5 and a top. Even the dual DDC seems overkill. I would either grab a single D5 or two of the speed control EK 4.0's and just turn them down to a level you are comfortable with.

5. To connect up Crossfire, you may want to go for a bridge but you might end up scrapping it fi you change cards. another option would be to use hardline fittings and acrylic tubing. EK does the tubing for Crossfire/Sli at pre-cut lengths, so you just need to buy that and the correct size EK HD fitting to connect up the cards.

As for QDC, i have always used koolance, am sure any of the reputable companies would do though.
 
Avenged7Fold said:
1. Two 240mm wont make this quieter, as fans will be running at a less than silent speed to keep temps reasonable for watercooling. If it is less than 35mm i think choices are the stealth rad or maybe the 35.5 XSPC EX radiator. For thicker radiators would just go for a RX v3 if you dont mind splashing cash for a few degrees or jsut fill with the EK Pe radiators which are cheap and not far off top end radiator performance.
Click to expand...

I'd say that four decent 120mm fans wouldn't be anywhere near as loud as three ref AMD blowers. Still, 2x240 isn't ideal for this scenario tbh...

A rig like this would be better off with a big external radiator. Temps will be good, it would be way cheaper for the performance and itl be the quietest way of doing it. A single 1080 radiator with four 180mm fans would be my first choice.
Click to expand...

Agree with this and everything else though :)
 
Thanks guys!

So I went on a spec out mission and came up with this:

System
- Phobya G-Changer Xtreme NOVA 1080 Radiator
- Phobya Silent G-18 x 4
- Phobya Bench stand
- EK Water Blocks EK-D5 X-RES 140 incl. Xylem D5 Vario
- Silver Coil
- Distilled water

Blocks
- Koolance CPU-380i
- Watercool Heatkiller GPU-X Ni-Bl (R9 290) x 3
- Watercool Heatkiller backplate x 3

Fittings
- Koolance Dual VID connection nipple variable G1/4 - 2-3 slots x 2
- Koolance Quick Release Connector G1/4 - Female connector inc bulkhead x 2
- Koolance QD3 Male Quick Disconnect No-Spill Coupling, Male Threaded G 1/4 x2
- Koolance Female Quick Release Connector 16/10mm (ID 3/8 OD 5/8) clutch x 4
- EK Water Blocks EK-CSQ Fitting 16/11mm G1/4 x 8
- Tubing 16/10mm - 6m (Should be enough?)

Few questions:
1) I went for 16mm/10mm fittings, etc. but I did also look at the 13mm/10mm too, any views?
2) The QDC setup I am planning is to attach the bulkhead part to another QDC part so that I can QDC the outside and the inside parts from the case. Does that sound OK, or are there better ways?
3) QDCs in general, are they worth doing for all the fittings?
4) Have I missed anything, also any tweaks, etc.?
 
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1. no performance difference. I prefer smaller tubing due to aesthetics and ease of bending due to thinner walls, though this also means that they kink easier.

2. If you mean you connect the QDCs ina way that you can make two separate loops, then it is a great idea. I use this on an external set up so that i can break down and maintain parts of the loop at a time.

3. no, just where you think you would often break the loop for maintenance or upgrade. Many use them to connect their external set ups and also their GPUs so that adding or removing the GPUs becomes easy.

4.

-Of you were going down the water + silver coil route, might be worth just getting 5l of DI cheap from the supermarket rather than getting several expensive bottles of ultra pure Distilled water. I prefer pre-mixes and have had tones of success with them. Mayhems offer 5l packs of coolant i believe and the price makes it not far off the cost of water + kill coils.

-6m of tubing is overkill but it is handy to have extra to practice on.

-Tubing needs to be 16/11 if you use it on 16/11 fittings. Some 16/10 fits but not all, as compression fittings might not screw down due to the extra mm of tubing.

-I personally would grab a expensive pump with high head or two cheaper ones with high head and less flow over a single D5 for a long external loop which requires a lot of water to be pushed around.
 
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Thanks again.

I changed the compression fittings to 16/10s not sure why I picked 11s.

When you say an expensive pump, is the D5 I selected not on the higher end of performance?
 
D5 have higher flow but lower head than DDC's and the more powerful of the DCP. Putting pumps in series will keep the same Head but add the flows, in parallel its visa versa.

E.g

D5 pump with a top usually cost £80+
Has a flow of 1200lph and Head of 3.7m unhindered.

DCP 4.0 costs £40 + requires no pump top
800lph and 4m of head unhindered. You can buy two and put them in series for a combined effect of about 1600lph flow and 4.0m of head for the same cost of a single D5 + pump top.

EK DCC 3.25 requires a pump top and costs about £70 with one usually.
Slightly lower flow than a single D5 at 1000lph but MUCH higher head at 5.2m. 200lph of unhindered flow is a small price to pay for such an increase in head pressure when building a big external loop which requires a lot of water to be pushed around through a fair few blocks and long lengths of tubing.

Not saying the D5 wont do the job, just the DDC ro two DCP's will do it better for cheaper.
 
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