Help for custom loop 6900XT, 8600k and Corsair 5000D

dureiken

dureiken

dureiken

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Joined
16 Oct 2011
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5
Hi experts, after hesitating between Air / AIO / custom loop, I decided to go once again to full loop :)

I currently have a nice little mini ITX WC config with an [email protected] and a 2080ti:

20200508_200638.md.jpg


I just bought a 6900XT and a Corsair 5000D Airflow mid-tower, full loop. The goal being to have a silent config, I don't want a plane fan next to me. The 6900xt will be WC and potentially UV.

I just tested the AIO 420mm and it does not fit :cry:, so it will be 360 radiators maximum :



I propose this loop:

b123ff27bcb6f26191f443d4586c9642.png


I had several questions for you before continuing:

1- is it useful to have 3 radiators there or 2 are enough? or is it counterproductive and it is better to put fans free of passage, for example rad at the top and on the side, fans free in front?

2- the top radiator is max 30mm, I will take the same 3 I think, what type of fans is suitable?

3- I currently have Noctua AF14 2000rpm, which are very good but very expensive. I'm going to go on 120mm fans but the Noctua are at 28 €, as I need at least 10, it will start to cost severely. Advice on efficient fans for my radiators ? I saw the Artic P12 PWM which looks ok?

4- I had put white EK liquid in my config, after 2 weeks the liquid became transparent, with deposits of white ... great. I will surely stay on transparent liquid, what advice do you recommend? just distilled water?

5- how to clean my current radiators / WB? especially the one of the GPU which is really white and dirty?

6- any other useful advice :)

Thanks a lot for your help.

Durei
 
1- is it useful to have 3 radiators there or 2 are enough? or is it counterproductive and it is better to put fans free of passage, for example rad at the top and on the side, fans free in front? the more the merrier but it comes down to overall 3d surface area. two big fat radiators vs three thin rads etc.

2- the top radiator is max 30mm, I will take the same 3 I think, what type of fans is suitable? get the fans you like. With sufficient rads, any fans will do fine. I've taken to using cheapo RGB fans typically costing less than a fiver each and haven't noticed any real impacts to temps. IMHO, fans are overthought. My main advice is to get 140mm rads as 140mm fans can be run slower for a given airflow.

3- I currently have Noctua AF14 2000rpm, which are very good but very expensive. I'm going to go on 120mm fans but the Noctua are at 28 €, as I need at least 10, it will start to cost severely. Advice on efficient fans for my radiators ? I saw the Artic P12 PWM which looks ok? Why switch to 120mm? see above. 140mm is better and then you can continue to use the AF14's that you have.

4- I had put white EK liquid in my config, after 2 weeks the liquid became transparent, with deposits of white ... great. I will surely stay on transparent liquid, what advice do you recommend? just distilled water? distilled water with biocide, clear Mayhems or Cryofuel.

5- how to clean my current radiators / WB? especially the one of the GPU which is really white and dirty? dismantle waterblocks as much as possible and soak in a mild acidic solution like watered down coke. for rads, clean the outside with a garden hose, the inside by attaching to the garden hose. mains pressure does wonders to shift crap. don't waste money on blitz kits.

6- any other useful advice - watch Jayztwocents watercooling videos on youtube. the man talks sense.
 
Mike's covered the good stuff, all I would add is that I've used the Mayhems clear fluids for literally years in a loop without maintenance and had absolutely no issues at all. Can't recommend enough if you want a colour instead of just clear coolant.

Also, don't buy new fans if you've already got some!
 
MikeTimbers said:
1- is it useful to have 3 radiators there or 2 are enough? or is it counterproductive and it is better to put fans free of passage, for example rad at the top and on the side, fans free in front? the more the merrier but it comes down to overall 3d surface area. two big fat radiators vs three thin rads etc.
Click to expand...
thanks for your answers, Sirconfused too

Do you think a 45mm radiator is almost as efficient than 2x20mm ? or scaling is not true ?

I think I will go for 1 gts 360 (30mm) on top, 1 TX360 (20mm) on side and 1 TX360 (20mm) in front

I can't pull more than 30mm on side with 25mm fans on it, it collides with front fans, so I won't be able to put a 45mm rad on side.

what do you think of that way ?

thanks
 
dureiken said:
thanks for your answers, Sirconfused too

Do you think a 45mm radiator is almost as efficient than 2x20mm ? or scaling is not true ?
Click to expand...

interesting question. two 20mm rads vs one 45mm rad. if there were no fans and the rads were all horizontal or all vertical I would think the 45mm rad is better than two 20mm rads.

but that's not what's going to happen. it's going to depend on the fans you use. 3 vs 6. high static pressure vs airflow. full speed or not.
 
Three rads sounds like a lot of case and fittings but if you can fit it all in and afford it, why not? Personally I prefer thicker fewer rads but it's all down to personal taste.
 
Another factor to consider is FPI when looking at rads, it's not all just about thickness. The higher the FPI, the more static pressure you'll need to use them effectively, which generally means faster RPM on your fans.

I think that amount of radiator space fullly loaded with fans will be plenty of capacity, you should be able to have the fans running at a pretty low speed with that setup.

Personally I've always gone with positive pressure, it means less dust buildup in the case and I've never noticed any cooling performance issues. 9 in and 1 out should do you fine, but if you notice any issues with performance you could always turn around the top fans to exhaust and you're still going to have positive pressure in the case overall.
 
I wouldn't do 9 in and 1 out. If the case doesn't have other outlets for the air, the total air coming in will be only equal to the single fan at the back. You want to do much closer to equal in vs out.

I typically do front in and top/rear out. Aim for maybe one more fan as an in than the number of fans for out.

The point above though about fans is important. A rear fan that just goes through the case opening should be a simple airflow fan. The fans going through radiators need to be matched to the radiator. A thick high fins per inch (FPI) radiator will require fans that have high static pressure. A thin low FPI rad can have a simpler airflow fan.

But all of that said, you can really over think this. Get good fans. Or crap ones. It really doesn't matter unless the radiator capacity is borderline. Overwhelm the heat creators with radiators and then any fans will do. For example, in one of mine I have a 1080ti and a 1070 running Folding@Home 24/7 overclocked, overvolted. But because there's a 420mm and a 280mm rad, the fans are cheapo RGB Chinese crap. Neither GPU goes over 40c.
 
So I can use my 3*360 with arctic P12 PWM and Noctua NF12i it will be fine ?

No problem with using top or side radiator with fan pushing case air at the outside ?

thanks mike and sir
 
the fans you mentioned are all fine. front fans in and top fans out. I would do a 420mm at the front if you can and the 360 at the top. I think the 420mm will fit if you remove that plastic front ramp thing.

de rien.
 
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