Considering water cooling my i7

setter

setter

setter

Caporegime
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armoy, n. ireland
Ive been thinking of going the watercooling route on my i7 rig, ive been looking at a few bits and pieces for this, thinking of moving away from my current akasa eclipse62 to the corsair 800d. Had a look at the following components for a water cooled system, now the main part that confuses me is tubings and connections, what would be the best size of tubing and connections to go with this. Ive only looked at components for the cpu to start with as im unsure on my next graphics card purchase, either a second gx 280 or nvidias next high end offering.

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Those parts should be great for cooling an i7.

Regarding tubing, if you are using barb fittings, then you are best to go with 7/16" ID or 3/8" ID tubing over 1/2" barbs, whereas with compression fittings you will need to match the size of the compressions to the size of tubing, so you would use 3/8" ID 5/8" OD compressions with 3/8" ID 5/8" OD tubing.
 
If you don’t have any objections, setter, I would like to tag onto this thread, but very much as a silent’ish observer with perhaps the odd question here and there.

I’ve stumbled across too many of JonJ’s posts and his enthusiasm for water is infectious and as a result I’m seriously considering the transition to water for my next build. And from reading other posts of yours it's evident that we come form similar PC backgrounds - certainly a similar technology time line. So your reasons and misgivings for moving to water, i imagine, will be very similar to mine.

Speaking of JonJ I will be very surprised if he doesn’t find this thread and proceed to bamboozle you with facts and stats and then beguile you with pics of custom cast copper blocks – and before you know it you’ll have a custom water kit being prepared for packing :D

As such, I’m afraid I can’t offer any constructive/informed advice – but I can take time out to enthuse about your choice of case. If I do end up submersing my next (personal) build that is definitely a case I would consider. Simple lines with a sturdy professional finish that exudes quality – and as a result would date very well. I, personally, would have to get rid of the window, as I hate artificial lights – but apart from that it’s a timeless looking case that would tick most of the boxes for me (although I wish the usb ports etc were exposed on the top of the case.)

EDIT: /off topic Hi DavyBoy how's that maniacal build of yours - has it stopped trying to rob you of your sanity? From your post i'm guessing you've now submersed it under water?
 
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Tubing can be summarised as size doesn't affect flow rate, normal choice is 7/16" over 1/2" barbs with jubilee clamps. Tygon is worth it for the bending radius, coloured tubing with deionised water much better than clear tubes with dyed liquid.

Compression fittings are basically barbs with jubilee clamps built in, they're pretty but prone to tube twist and gradually winding themselves out of the blocks. The tube size has to match the compression fittings exactly, 1/2" tubing with 1/2" barbs or 3/8" with 3/8" etc. 11/8mm is difficult to source pieces for.

The D5 is excellent. I'd want the ek top for it, in order to use the same barbs with it as with the rest of the system. I don't trust plastic barbs. The DDC is the other option, again with a top, but either will do you proud.

The reservoir is convenient for filling but not required, a T piece with a length of tubing and a fill port/valve on the end achieves slightly lower temperatures and a system which reacts faster to changes in processor load as there is less water in the loop. Connect it just before the inlet to the pump. A second one to empty the system is a really good idea if you don't want to have to turn the case upside down to get the liquid out, I've run a line down from my graphics block with a valve on the end.

WC-005-OK_400.jpg

This thing is threaded both ends, I've got a blanking cap screwed into it as well as the valve closed because I fear leaks. Can do both fill and drain lines for well under £34, gaining more space in the case, better temperatures and the ability to drain the system. The drawback is that it takes longer to fill as you have to repeatedly pour water into the line rather than fill the res and wander off.

Any questions? I knew you'd see the sense to pumping water around a computer given time :D

edit: I wrote this without seeing the above by Plec. He's right though, I'm still keen on copper waterblocks, and even posted an enticing photo. Here's another, I was once teased for describing this as beautiful.
WC-035-EK_400.jpg


Water works so much better than air does, can't imagine going back to the saner option. Better temperatures, less noise, so much more control. Brilliant.
 
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Hey Plec, my rig is running perfectly now, I am just in the process of switching my hardware out into my new TJ07, and I will also be plumbing in my loop at the same time.

I've spent the last week doing some minor mods to my TJ07 so that I can get everything fitted in where I want it, and get the cables routed nicely, but a lack of tools has put it on hold until the weekend now unfortunately... :(

Need to get my dad to cut another hole for me with his dremel, I really should invest in my own dremel, but I always end up spending my spare cash on PC bits instead!!!

Once I finish building up my rig, I will then have to start building my fiancees system up in my old TJ10.. I wish she'd just build it herself, but then again, she'd probably end up breaking it!

Anyway, sorry for going off-topic setter..
 
Can I ask the OP why he has chosen the longest of the EK multioption res's? If you are going to use a separate res then it doesn't actually need to be that big to do its main function which is to assist with bleeding. You may get very marginal benefits from having a slightly higher volume of water in the loop in terms of slightly taking longer to reach equlibrium temperature, and some say there is **slightly** less pressure drop compared to a smaller res, but weigh that up against the space it will take up in your case. In reality the Swiftech micro-res will do exactly the same job as that 250 behemoth. Have a look at the image gallery for some examples of how this big res is mounted.
 
Plec said:
If you don’t have any objections, setter, I would like to tag onto this thread, but very much as a silent’ish observer with perhaps the odd question here and there.

I’ve stumbled across too many of JonJ’s posts and his enthusiasm for water is infectious and as a result I’m seriously considering the transition to water for my next build. And from reading other posts of yours it's evident that we come form similar PC backgrounds - certainly a similar technology time line. So your reasons and misgivings for moving to water, i imagine, will be very similar to mine.
Click to expand...

Go for it Plec, I found the whole experience relatively easy and a very worth while project albeit very time consuming. I made sure I did my homework first but once done there's no going back to conventional cooling which won't please the wallet. It's amazingly silent and looks so cool . There's only one downside to water cooling which is upgrading. I have both my CPU and Video card on the same loop, which means even changing the video card means emptying and breaking down the whole loop. It also means when buying a new card, you will have to remove the stock cooler thereby voiding any warranty so it needs to be tested before you do this. The thought of buying a £350 graphics arriving DOA and not knowing so is a bit frighting. Fortunately, i have a spare couple of rigs I can test before hand.
 
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Watercooling is fast becoming the norm these days and that's a very good thing.

Admiral Huddy has listed good an bad points regarding watercooling. So as long as you know what are you using and how many loops you plan on having, then go for it. I watercooled my gaming machine earlier this year and I still can't stop smiling after doing it. My next move is to get the Corsair 800D Obsidian and move all my stuff into there from my Antec 1200. Room a plenty in that case. :D
 
@JonJ, you mention that coloured UV tubing is better than transparent and dyed water, i've been finding this mentioned elsewhere too.

Is it that the dye stains components or makes clogs? I just like the idea of transparent tubing with dyed liquid, like it would have greater depth of colour 'texture' to it...
 
Changing components around is definitely easier with air cooling, and warranty is a bit of an issue. Evga and bfg are pretty good about water cooling, and I've confirmed with both Asus and Gigabyte that using chipset waterblocks on the board is fine.

@3t3P coloured liquid with clear tubing may well be prettier. However it will stain things, which is annoying. Blocks filling up with gunk doesn't seem to hurt them or happen to everyone, but it can kill pumps and make systems run hotter. I like black tubing, no issues with depth of colour there.
 
Jon does make a good point. But I have blue coolant with blue UV tubing and a fair few UV lights and neons going on in my case. If you ask me it is well worth it :D
 
Water is great, but I spend quite a lot of time worrying it will leak or the whole thing will go boobs up and I'll have to strip it down and rebuild it. It's not worth it if you want a simple, hassle free system but if you want the looks and performance it rocks.
 
I've been through it all, phase change / high end water and now currently back to air with a Megahalem + i7.

It's great fun setting a rig up with water and it's something every enthausiast should try at least once.

But these Megahalems are so efficient with high static low noise fans i don't really feel a need to go back to water right now.
 
Thanks guys, ive been doing a bit of reading on watercooling, (pumps, barbs, compression fittings etc) its a bit baffling (but in a good way) im ordering the 800d case next week to replace my akasa eclipse 62, ill still be cooling my rig with my current TRUE black until i get the parts for a custom water loop.
 
If you buy a £20 Omega top for the Eclipse and drop back to a PA120.2 (15mm spacing) radiator you don't need to change the case and you'll still get excellent performance cooling for the CPU.

Also - a combined reservoir/pump set makes installation so much easier and these days the Primochill Typhoon III and the XSPC dual DDC bay reservoirs mean you can have the best pumps with neat 5.25" bay installations.
 
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