Going watercooled...

Soldato
Joined
21 Sep 2009
Posts
5,267
Location
London
Hello watercooling people :D

Decided to dip my toe into watercooling.
Current spec i7-2600k, P67 GD55, CM Storm Scout

Thinking initially of the following:-

240644_10151930812006494_507620737_o.jpg


Installing the 240 rad in the bottom, cutting out the floor etc, and the 2nd 120 rad in the rear (already have fan) Will also buy a few angled fittings to go with this, or am I better of selecting individual parts instead of the EK kit?
 
Personally I'd go for one of the XSPC kits over the EK kit, better block, better pump and better rad ;)

I'm just having a look now at the spacing on the storm scout, as if it saves you a little money I have a spare XSPC RX120 (60mm thick) I can fire up on the MM.

Edit: Also welcome to the elite club :D

Edit2: Looks like you'll have plenty of room for a thick 240 too down the bottom.
 
Last edited:
I do kind of want the XSPC drive bay res so may just buy separate bits. If i get non resetrictive blocks would I be ok with a D5 variant instead of a D5 itself?

Wrt the bottom rad, yes I want to get a thick 240, will only have to remove lower HD cage and cut out the bottom of the case, there's enough room underneath to blow out that way.
 
This is pretty much a highest spec (also highest price):

YOUR BASKET
1 x XSPC RayStorm D5 RX240 WaterCooling Kit £239.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC7970 - Acetal CSQ £71.99
1 x XSPC RX120 120mm Radiator - Black £43.99
2 x Mayhems X1 Clear Premixed Watercooling Fluid 1L £7.99 (£15.98)
4 x XSPC G1/4" to 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD Compression Fitting (Chrome) £2.99 (£11.96)
Total : £395.90 (includes shipping : £10.00).




^^contains everything you would need, obviously change out the fluid to what you like, also always plenty of used odds and ends kicking about on the MM if you want to cut some costs :)

Edit: Obviously you will need another fan for the single RX120.
 
The 750 should cope fine with that loop, D5 is not required but its nice to have a top performing pump you can adjust the speed on :)

Before you go cutting the roof to fit a 240 in, get measuring up first, it looks quite cramped in the top of the scout, looks like you may have 25 maybe 30mm if using standard 25mm thick fans. The first thing a rad/fan is likely to clash with from the roof is either the ram slots or the EPS connector.
 
Quite cramped is an understement! There's no chance of fitting a 240 with fans internally imo, I will install the rad (slim 240) inside and mod the roof to fit the fans flush there.

Will update this thread when I get the bits and build it etc, looking forward to some kamikaze benchmark runs as my 2600k got to 5.7ghz on air!!!
 
Good luck Dave and good to see you joining the Water boys :)

PGI is the man with this water cooling kafuffle. He helped me with a good spec.
 
Get the D5 if your serious about a good loop. Yes its dear but its the only pump really

The xspc raystorm is lovely aswell.
Personally if it fits your case id stick with just the 240 rad and leave the 120 rad..

get some corsair SP fans and create a push/pull config using 4 of them on the 240. that will do a good job on a 2600k and a 7970 mate.

Also I think you will only need 1 ultra pure 1L but it doesnt cost much and is good for piece of mind having more
 
Last edited:
Even consider a case move? The cm 690 ii is a brilliant little case and would take a pair of 240's no modding required :)
 
There is nothing wrong with the 2.2 EK pump, in a loop with a 120mm + 240mm its has plenty of flow and temps are fine on a one GPU + CPU loop.

I have I5 + 570GTX on the same spec as the OP's post and maxed out BF3 on a 22" screen Im hitting 100FPS average and max temp on the GPU at around 50 Deg, water temp hits about 36/37 Deg.

I'd not go with a slim 240mm rad tho your getting the same performance with a normal 120mm rad.

However the case is pretty small and your looking at loosing those HDD bays to get the 240mm in, but if your going to do that you may aswell go for a triple rad and a tube res, unless your willing to go to a new case.
 
Last edited:
Even consider a case move? The cm 690 ii is a brilliant little case and would take a pair of 240's no modding required :)

No, I love my scout, it's not too big, it's about the same size height as my monitor and i'm quite attached :)

I'd not go with a slim 240mm rad tho your getting the same performance with a normal 120mm rad.

However the case is pretty small and your looking at loosing those HDD bays to get the 240mm in, but if your going to do that you may aswell go for a triple rad and a tube res, unless your willing to go to a new case.

I'm probably going to go for a bottom mount thick 240 with push/pull fans, double bay res/pump combo, not fussed about losing hdd cage as I run 2 x SSD's and 1 HDD so can move those with no drama.
 
Hey Dave, going WC is a great move imho.

I did my loop last month then put my 580 under water as well. Blissful Silence compared to the 580 jet engine noise that I used to have to deal with.

I agree about the HD's, get em out. I put a slim 240 in the bottom of my C70 and it does make a big difference. Just wish I'd have measured better and gone for the full fat 50mm variety.

I would say the big con is cost...but then again, I'd suggest that while most of us are cost concious, we wouldn't be on here without wanting t splash a bit of cash.

My XPSC drive bay pump / res combo is fine, does the job with no worries with a CPU block, GPU block, a 280 top rad & a 240 bottom rad. I will consider getting a litte EK 2.2 pump to put in the rig if I get myself another 120 rad to mount as rear exhaust. But i'm not sure if it'll really be needed.

Good luck and keep us updated :D
 
The 2.2 is a tall pump, I find that my 4.0 takes up quite a bit in my case now which is annoying.

should have gone for a Laing 18W really.

But it's true, once you go water you really don't want to go back.
 
My XPSC drive bay pump / res combo is fine, does the job with no worries with a CPU block, GPU block, a 280 top rad & a 240 bottom rad. I will consider getting a litte EK 2.2 pump to put in the rig if I get myself another 120 rad to mount as rear exhaust. But i'm not sure if it'll really be needed.

On a slightly different note, EK make a dual bay res with EK pump support :D
 
Hey Dave, going WC is a great move imho.

I did my loop last month then put my 580 under water as well. Blissful Silence compared to the 580 jet engine noise that I used to have to deal with.

I agree about the HD's, get em out. I put a slim 240 in the bottom of my C70 and it does make a big difference. Just wish I'd have measured better and gone for the full fat 50mm variety.

I would say the big con is cost...but then again, I'd suggest that while most of us are cost concious, we wouldn't be on here without wanting t splash a bit of cash.

My XPSC drive bay pump / res combo is fine, does the job with no worries with a CPU block, GPU block, a 280 top rad & a 240 bottom rad. I will consider getting a litte EK 2.2 pump to put in the rig if I get myself another 120 rad to mount as rear exhaust. But i'm not sure if it'll really be needed.

Good luck and keep us updated :D

This is my shortlist:-

Phobya UC-1 LT Black Edition cpu block
Alphacool NexXxos ATXP Full Cover gpu Waterblock
XSPC X2O 750 res/pump combo
EK CoolStream XT 240mm Dual Radiator
+fittings, tubing and liquid and 4 x Scythe slipstreams in push/pull config
 
Last edited:
240 still going down the bottom? I wouldn't bother with push pull, especially with slipstreams. If you had the room I'd be looking at an RX240/XTX240/G.Changer 240 with a single set of gt1850's on a fan controller.
 
This lot will be with me tomorrow, mounting rad in bottom with 2 fans only.

Phobya UC-1 LT Intel CPU Waterblock Black Edition with backplate : Copper Acetal
Alphacool NexXxos ATXP Full Cover block for Ref AMD7970 Black Nickel
XSPC 1/2" ID - 3/4" OD (13-19mm) High Flex Tubing Clear
Alphacool 120mm Coolmove 2000 x2
Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 240mm Rad
Mayhems Pastel Fluid for Water Cooling 1 Litre : Raspberry Purple
Phobya DC12-260 600LPH Pump
XSPC 5.25" Single Drive Bay Res

+ mix of 45º and straight compression fittings in black
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom