Advise for first water cooling loop :)

Bone9

Bone9

Bone9

Associate
Joined
17 Jul 2015
Posts
1,206
Looking at doing a water cooling look for the PC in my sig. This will be my first build so can you tell me if my parts are good and if there are any improvements to be made.



Seams an awful lot of cash!! Is that the best config for my setup? I want the top rad to enter the drive bay and I want to keep the hdd's. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Can someone give me there opinions please. What are the best brand of fittings and radiators to use?

Barrow fittings any good?
Should I just have a 280mm rad in the top?
 
Last edited:
cant go wrong with EK, no expert on hard tubing, but looks fine. and yes its a lot of money, but then you just need small tweaks down the line for new builds etc.

you could get away with just the 420 at first. most say 1 120mm rad per block.

if it helps, i just bought 2 xspc 420 mm rads which are much cheaper than the ek one, they are thinner but rad thickness has a much lower impact than general size. and they work great.
 
16mm PETG (as you have selected) will look better, especially in a bigger case.

I'd also check out other rads, unless you're dead set on EK. There's no issue with compatibility when it comes to rads, but performance can vary a bit... well, relatively speaking anyway. Check out xtremerigs.net, they have excellent reviews and comparisons there.
 
Legend said:
16mm PETG (as you have selected) will look better, especially in a bigger case.

I'd also check out other rads, unless you're dead set on EK. There's no issue with compatibility when it comes to rads, but performance can vary a bit... well, relatively speaking anyway. Check out xtremerigs.net, they have excellent reviews and comparisons there.
Click to expand...

I've got no idea on whats good or not for the parts as I have zero experience with custom loops. I just kept the brand the same. What do you think of barrow fittings?

What rad configuration would you put in this case? Thinking of ditching the optical drive. If I did I could move the hdd's up and then have a thicker rad in the front.
 
Last edited:
hornetstinger said:
£700?? holy crap.

I'd just leave your system as it is.
Click to expand...

I know I was shocked when I added it all up! I do like a project and love the look of a custom loop though. Would be nice to have the gpu under water.

Still working out what parts I want/need so the cost might change a bit.
 
There's no getting away from the cost unfortunately... it all adds up. You could look at the EK Kits, they do come in cheaper but there are some compromises to be made. If you can afford it though, go for it. I know exactly what you mean about the project aspect... I went all out on MY BUILD which was total overkill really, but I have no regrets.

Barrow fittings are very good by most accounts. You'd just want to make sure they fit fine with the EK tubing... or you could just get Barrow tubing of course. Those are two components (fitting+tubing) which the general consensus is to not mix, unless you are 100% certain they will fit together with no issues. You would think two items with the same listed measurement would be fine, but that's not always the case, and even a fraction of a mm difference can cause a problem, more so with hardline than soft tubing. Providing you can find people who've done builds with them though, you'll be fine.

As for optical drives, I haven't used one in years. I have an external USB one just in case, but I can't even remember the last time I used it.
 
Legend said:
There's no getting away from the cost unfortunately... it all adds up. You could look at the EK Kits, they do come in cheaper but there are some compromises to be made. If you can afford it though, go for it. I know exactly what you mean about the project aspect... I went all out on MY BUILD which was total overkill really, but I have no regrets.

Barrow fittings are very good by most accounts. You'd just want to make sure they fit fine with the EK tubing... or you could just get Barrow tubing of course. Those are two components (fitting+tubing) which the general consensus is to not mix, unless you are 100% certain they will fit together with no issues. You would think two items with the same listed measurement would be fine, but that's not always the case, and even a fraction of a mm difference can cause a problem, more so with hardline than soft tubing. Providing you can find people who've done builds with them though, you'll be fine.

As for optical drives, I haven't used one in years. I have an external USB one just in case, but I can't even remember the last time I used it.
Click to expand...

Yeah if I went barrow id change the tubing without a doubt.

Yeah think I've used the drive once since its been in and since then I've built a HTPC with one in anyway so if I need to burn something etc I can do it on that.
 
Bone9 said:
Can someone give me there opinions please. What are the best brand of fittings and radiators to use?

Barrow fittings any good?
Should I just have a 280mm rad in the top?

Just realised the front rad listed above is wrong, I need a 280mm rad in the front.
Click to expand...

Bone9 said:
Click to expand...

Hey Bone! Thought i'd chime in as you're well aware I've just been through all of this myself :)

I can't vouch for the Barrow fittings, never knew they existed. but I can say that BitsPower and EK Fittings are very good.

PETG 12/16 tubing looks very nice, that's the same tubing I've used in my build. - however I haven't been able to find an inner silicone rubber that properly fits the inside 12mm of my PETG tubing!.. this is VERY frustrating, because any amount of space that you have between the silicone rubber and the inside of the PETG tube will translate into your bends being slightly collapsed and flattened a little.

what brand of PETG are you going with? I'd be very interested to find out if your silicone inner rubber is a tight fit in your choice of PETG or not.

Radiators - I have to admit, I'm not 100% sold on the EK brand of radiators, my EK CE420 feels a little flimsy, and the screw holes on 1 side will not thread... it's as if the holes are ever so slightly too small for the included screws? I had to use thin cable ties in the end.

My front HWLabs Black Ice Nemesis GTS 280 radiator though is AMAZING, I love the build quality on this thing!

Front Radiator - Be careful with your choice of front rad, have you measured the size of the gap between your HDD cages and the front of the case yet? - I am currently running a 30mm Radiator in the front and I can see that there's space for maybe another 10mm, so I reckon a 40mm Radiator in the front would just about fit... however i'm not so sure about your chosen 45mm NexxoS XT45 rad.. you better measure the gap before you go ahead and purchase this one.

Top Radiator - you will be able to fit a 420mm radiatior in the top with the drive cage still attached, your optical drive will have to go into the bottom slot of course... however I ended up removing my drive entirely because I literally haven't used it in about a year. I decided that i'd just grab an external USB ODD caddy if I ever need to use it.

your water cooling loop diagram looks fine to me, in fact it's exactly the same as my own loop diagram so no complaints there!

Just remember to factor in a drainage port and a fill port (I forgot, and had to pull the system apart to add one.) - I see you've already listed the multi-port top so that will help a lot with filling options :)

As this is your first build here are a few pointers: (I apologise if some of these are obvious)

  • When filling the loop, make sure you open up a spare port on the reservoir to let the air out of your system, filling the loop without an 'air hole' makes is harder to bleed the air out.
  • Make sure all your ports are plugged before you turn the system on! - this should be obvious, and I don't need to explain what will happen if you don't!
  • contrary to the above, DO open 1 port to allow the air to bleed out whilst you're filling/power cycling your system. - I used a tube attached to the top of my reservoir, connected to a funnel, allowing me to let the air out and simultaneously pour more liquid in as needed.
  • Hard Tubing - measure twice, bend once. - you want to try and get those bends set on the first try, if you have to re-bend/un-bend a bend (so many bends!) then it'll start to look a little warped unless you're careful.
  • Practice practice practice! - it's a good idea to practice getting the bending technique right on a piece of tubing first, it took me about 12 bends and 2 days of attempts before it clicked and I figured out how to make perfect bends.
  • cut sparingly - always make your initial cuts too long on purpose, the idea is to get your tubing as close to the correct length as possible.. then re-measure the tube and cut small bits off until you get to the correct size. - the last thing you want to do is accidentally cut your tube too short after you've spent all that time making the perfect bend!
  • Always buy more tubing than you need! - if you think you could build the system with 4 tube lengths, buy 8! - trust me you'll need some tube to 'practice' with, and you'll definitely need some tube spare for when you inevitably mess up (i screwed up cutting, I screwed up bends... I went through about 6.5x 1000mm tubes before I finalised my build)

Of course if you decide to go the soft tube route, then you can ignore half of this! - soft tube is SOOO much easier to work with.

That's all for now, if you have any more questions, or if I think of anymore pointers, i'll reply back :)
 
Last edited:
Drazek said:
Hey Bone! Thought i'd chime in as you're well aware I've just been through all of this myself :)

I can't vouch for the Barrow fittings, never knew they existed. but I can say that BitsPower and EK Fittings are very good.

PETG 12/16 tubing looks very nice, that's the same tubing I've used in my build. - however I haven't been able to find an inner silicone rubber that properly fits the inside 12mm of my PETG tubing!.. this is VERY frustrating, because any amount of space that you have between the silicone rubber and the inside of the PETG tube will translate into your bends being slightly collapsed and flattened a little.

what brand of PETG are you going with? I'd be very interested to find out if your silicone inner rubber is a tight fit in your choice of PETG or not.

Radiators - I have to admit, I'm not 100% sold on the EK brand of radiators, my EK CE420 feels a little flimsy, and the screw holes on 1 side will not thread... it's as if the holes are ever so slightly too small for the included screws? I had to use thin cable ties in the end.

My front HWLabs Black Ice Nemesis GTS 280 radiator though is AMAZING, I love the build quality on this thing!

Front Radiator - Be careful with your choice of front rad, have you measured the size of the gap between your HDD cages and the front of the case yet? - I am currently running a 30mm Radiator in the front and I can see that there's space for maybe another 10mm, so I reckon a 40mm Radiator in the front would just about fit... however i'm not so sure about your chosen 45mm NexxoS XT45 rad.. you better measure the gap before you go ahead and purchase this one.

Top Radiator - you will be able to fit a 420mm radiatior in the top with the drive cage still attached, your optical drive will have to go into the bottom slot of course... however I ended up removing my drive entirely because I literally haven't used it in about a year. I decided that i'd just grab an external USB ODD caddy if I ever need to use it.

your water cooling loop diagram looks fine to me, in fact it's exactly the same as my own loop diagram so no complaints there!

Just remember to factor in a drainage port and a fill port (I forgot, and had to pull the system apart to add one.) - I see you've already listed the multi-port top so that will help a lot with filling options :)

As this is your first build here are a few pointers: (I apologise if some of these are obvious)

  • When filling the loop, make sure you open up a spare port on the reservoir to let the air out of your system, filling the loop without an 'air hole' makes is harder to bleed the air out.
  • Make sure all your ports are plugged before you turn the system on! - this should be obvious, and I don't need to explain what will happen if you don't!
  • contrary to the above, DO open 1 port to allow the air to bleed out whilst you're filling/power cycling your system. - I used a tube attached to the top of my reservoir, connected to a funnel, allowing me to let the air out and simultaneously pour more liquid in as needed.
  • Hard Tubing - measure twice, bend once. - you want to try and get those bends set on the first try, if you have to re-bend/un-bend a bend (so many bends!) then it'll start to look a little warped unless you're careful.
  • Practice practice practice! - it's a good idea to practice getting the bending technique right on a piece of tubing first, it took me about 12 bends and 2 days of attempts before it clicked and I figured out how to make perfect bends.
  • cut sparingly - always make your initial cuts too long on purpose, the idea is to get your tubing as close to the correct length as possible.. then re-measure the tube and cut small bits off until you get to the correct size. - the last thing you want to do is accidentally cut your tube too short after you've spent all that time making the perfect bend!
  • Always buy more tubing than you need! - if you think you could build the system with 4 tube lengths, buy 8! - trust me you'll need some tube to 'practice' with, and you'll definitely need some tube spare for when you inevitably mess up (i screwed up cutting, I screwed up bends... I went through about 6.5x 1000mm tubes before I finalised my build)

Of course if you decide to go the soft tube route, then you can ignore half of this! - soft tube is SOOO much easier to work with.

That's all for now, if you have any more questions, or if I think of anymore pointers, i'll reply back :)
Click to expand...

Cheers Drazek that's just the advise I was hoping for.

I've decided to go for the Barrow fittings and tube (14mm) with insert, read loads of good reviews so went for it. All of it is on its way.

After reading some reviews I've got these 2 rads sitting here in front of me...

Hardware Labs Nemesis 280 GTS for the front and a Hardware Labs Nemesis GTX420 for the roof.

Fancied keeping the drive in place but as you say will be 1 slot lower.

Regarding the loop, my 420 rad arrived today and it said for optimum cooling to connect the in port at the rear and the out at the front. This is the opposite of what I had planned so will need to think about that.

I've got a drainage port planned and was hoping to fill from a port on the res top.

Got 3m of tubing coming so hopefully that will do if not i'll place another order. I wont be happy unless all my tubes are perfect.

Thanks for the above tips, very useful for me :) Thanks for spending the time to write that.
 
Last edited:
Aww I had a Black ice, due to that edging it has, its actually wider than a normal rad, had the same issue in the top of my Phanteks Primo.

Gutting isn't it :(
 
VKleita said:
Aww I had a Black ice, due to that edging it has, its actually wider than a normal rad, had the same issue in the top of my Phanteks Primo.

Gutting isn't it :(
Click to expand...

It's not the end of the world, I hardly use it anyway (the cage is removable).

It will look nicer and I'll have better access to the top of the res, so not so bad :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom