1st WC setup, spec check / advice please

dekez

dekez

dekez

Soldato
Joined
14 Apr 2009
Posts
4,329
Location
Location: Location
I'm starting to put together my first watercooling setup, I've read a lot but could do with some advice on parts.

Mainly looking to cool a Q6600, and possibly a graphics card at a later date, with it to be no louder than the case fans.

I've got an antec 902, not a great case for water cooling but here is what I plan:

I've picked up a 2nd hand XSPC RS240 rad, I'm going to remove the drive caddies behind the front 2 case fans and place the rad here (I only have one HHD and can place it at the top). Ideally just using the case fans as push, but if needed can add fans to pull as well.

As space / budget is tight I'm looking at an XSPC X2O 450 Pump with Acrylic Reservoir

CPU block and tube size I'm still unsure of, any suggestions as to what would work best with this type of set up? What is the difference between high / low pressure loops?

CPU block I'm looking to pick up 2nd hand to keep costs down.

Thanks
 
Hey man. Glad to see you joining the wc crowd.

Radiator in front is good, you'll get fractionally better temperatures using them as pull rather than as push, and better temperatures either way if you use shrouds (other 120mm fans with the hub ripped out are cheap).

I'd look around for a second hand laing ddc/D5 in preference to that xspc. Otherwise I'd suggest going for an xspc pump at the same price bracket without a reservoir, as you'll get a better pump for your money. Reservoirs aren't needed, take up space and cost money. Using a T piece with a short length of tube and a ball valve on the end as a mini-reservoir is probably the way to go. The fill line goes just before the pump, adding a drain line in the same fashion is a good idea.

The difference between high and low pressure loops is the pump. Low pressure loops can maintain high flow rates only if the blocks are fairly free flowing, and blocks like the ek supreme (and I believe the heatkiller) are very restrictive. Low (head) pressure pump + ek supreme won't do all that well. There's realistically not a huge amount in it, if you try to run a dozen blocks off a £16 pump it won't work out all that well, whereas the 18W ddc will probably handle anything you could ask of it.

The ek supreme lt is excellent if buying the block new. Second hand will be dependent on what's on offer, I bought an ek supreme for £25 which is doing well three builds in (one 775, one am2+. one 1366).

That's about all I can offer, your questions are getting towards the point where I don't know. Regarding flow rate, I work by putting numbers into the spreadsheet found here, which sadly insists that my pump isn't sufficient. Enjoy :)
 
Thanks that is really helpful, I didn't know you could do with out the res, spent ages trying to work out where to put it! That will save a lot of space, I can keep an eye out for a better pump as well.

That spreadsheet looks really useful to, will have a look at that later.

Does the tubing size matter much, or is it more down to personal preference?
 
The spreadsheet is a little bewildering I think, not convinced I've managed to get sensible results out of it yet. It's based on a lot of very carefully collected data so I'm sure this is my failing.

Not using a res means filling takes a little bit longer, you fill the T line, run the pump for a few seconds, repeat. Otherwise no worries, I like the £3.50 ball valves ocuk sell for putting on the ends, otherwise fillports are made for the purpose.

Tubing means very little in terms of performance. Less than 8mm and you start to suffer, from 8mm to 1/2" or so there's very little in it. 7/16" over 1/2" barbs (preferably with jubilee clamps) is the favourite, as the tubing doesn't want to come off and the sizes are large. I'm using 11/8mm which has an excellent bending radius but is a little hard to buy in the UK. Compression fittings are pretty but harder to use, as they tend to twist the tubing when you tighten them. Basically preference, I like metric, and feel safer with compression fittings than with barbs.

I'm guessing you've already come across dyed liquids and resultant gunk in waterblocks. Deionised + a silver kill coil is the approach I'm using. Technically I suppose I'm just using the water, not got around to putting the silver coil in yet. No algae issues yet, I think the black tubing does a reasonable job of keeping light out of the system.

Cheers
 
I'll probably go for the simpler 7/16" over 1/2" barbs with jubilee clips then to begin with, then try compression fittings later when I've a bit more confidence.
Yes I'm not planning to put any dyes into the system, I've got my heart set on some nice white tubes :)
 
The 450 XSPC pump is actually quite good - but a second hand DDC pro (10w) or D5 is a much better investment.

The DDC with a res top also kills two birds with one stone, and doesn't take up much space.
usually around 30-40inc on MM for both (sometimes inc barbs as well)

As JonJ said you don't need a res but it will make life soooooo much easier on your first build.
I'd always recomend a res and barbs with a first build so much less hassle. And you will not need the 5% performance gain that a seal loop (aka one with no res air bubbles) gives you.

7/16 over 1/2 barbs is a winner - will also mean you can use value or cheap EK barbs too without issue.

Deionised + a silver kill coil works well (as JonJ said above) or if you've a mate with an aquarium then a few drop of his 'happy fish' copper solution will do (it's the same as nuke).

As for blocks with the exception of the heatkiller 3.0 all the top ones are very close.
I'm not a fan of impingement block (but there are better for quads) so I usually go for higher flow options - the cheaper HK3 LC would be first on my list for a new build - but anything made in the last two years (except the apogee GTX) will be more than enought in a cpu only loop.
MM have a fusion v2 - will worth the £20-25inc
 
Thanks for the advice both, I'm a lot clearer on what I should be looking for now, I'll look into putting in an offer for the fusion v2, hopefully MM will come up with some more goodies soon :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom