Help with 1st time loop on a budget

MrMD

MrMD

MrMD

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So i just bought a corsair 540 air,had no need really for it but think its gorgeous case and will allow me to have nice looking build aswell with allowing me to do WC/Sli if i choose.(these wasn't in option in my current case)

So i dont know too much about WC,mostly the pumps/res is where im lost tbh,everything else is easy to figure out lol.

What i want is just do a loop on the CPU,i considered doing both the Cpu/gpu,but i have a habit of changing gpu's quite frequently and the cost of blocks is quite prohibitive for me personally,and 970's dont really need watercooling to begin with.

My main priority is a pump thats quiet,or at least has the ablity to have it speeds lowered.The loops mostly for aesthetics, and to let push my cpu OC further.



I kinda dont wanna spend over £150 (low budget i know,but i just dropped a load on my new case+braided cables ect).I was looking at the techlabs value 240 kit at £100. :eek:
Link here http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-082-TL&groupid=962&catid=1532

Can anyone help figure out if that would be a good starting point for my needs,from what i can tell as a whole bundle its good value,for decent parts.I have no idea about the pump/rez combo tho tbh,or if i could even use it in the vertical ODD bays

Is it possible to spec a decent loop for £150 from individual parts for my needs?
 
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I have recently been looking at a first time loop for myself and was looking for something that I could originally use for my CPU only but that would allow me to upgrade to add in a GPU at a later date as funds allowed.
This was the kit suggested to me by rjkoneill and he assures me that it will allow a GPU upgrade at a later date with the help of an additional radiator to help with maximizing the effectiveness of the loop.
As far as I can tell it would be the best loop for me in my budget (£100) so it may well be worth looking at for yourself also.
But then I know nothing about water cooling so as I mentioned already, this will be my first loop also :).
 
Toadem said:
I have recently been looking at a first time loop for myself and was looking for something that I could originally use for my CPU only but that would allow me to upgrade to add in a GPU at a later date as funds allowed.
This was the kit suggested to me by rjkoneill and he assures me that it will allow a GPU upgrade at a later date with the help of an additional radiator to help with maximizing the effectiveness of the loop.
As far as I can tell it would be the best loop for me in my budget (£100) so it may well be worth looking at for yourself also.
But then I know nothing about water cooling so as I mentioned already, this will be my first loop also :).
Click to expand...


Yea he actually said the same thing to me lol

Would still like to get some input from those with more experience with WC in general tho however,i have no doubt the kit can keep do the job.Bit concerned about noise and the overall quality of the pump unit tho.
 
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I have that case and love it. I absolutely would not use a bay res/pump though. I've actually had one of those XSPCs and wouldn't trust it not to leak on its side, also it would be a pain to fill. I'll try get a pic of my setup but you'd be better off with a D5 pump and res combo, but then thats not cheap.
 
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Not the best pics but my phone sucks. Pump is in front of the PSU.

2015-01-10111728_zpsd2e131bf.jpg

2015-01-10111848_zpsfd63b965.jpg
 
This is my attempt at a £150 spec.

EK Water Blocks EK-DCP 2.2 X-RES (incl. pump) EK Water Blocks EK-DCP 2.2 X-RES (incl. pump) £63.95

Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GTX-Lite 240 Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GTX-Lite 240 £29.99

EK-Supreme LTX - Acetal CSQ Intel CPU Waterblock EK-Supreme LTX - Acetal CSQ Intel CPU Waterblock £29.99

Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - Clear Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - Clear £5.99

Mayhems Fine Silver Kill Coil Mayhems Fine Silver Kill Coil £4.50

XSPC G1/4" to 3/8" Barb Fitting (Black Chrome) XSPC G1/4" to 3/8" Barb Fitting (Black Chrome) £1.75
(£1.46) £10.50
(£8.76)
Sub Total : £125.76
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
UPS Access Point
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £26.75
Total : £160.51

I have briefly used the dcp 4.0 and it seemed like a good quality quiet pump. The 4.0 would be better as its PWM but its another £10. I cant attest to the rad quality but a triple rad should be enough should you ever add a gpu as well. You would need to add either deionised water from halfords etc or splash out on some mayhems.

I dont have your case so dont know if 1 metre tubing is enough but the oc kit has only 1 metre as well.

Hope this helps.
 
I would say for your price mark, you should really be picking pre-owned components off some auction sites or MM.

Especially often reusable components like rads and blocks, they are often sold in fairly new condition but at a much lower price tag.

Pick your parts at the website and try and look for pre-owned ones.
 
dfour said:
This is my attempt at a £150 spec.

EK Water Blocks EK-DCP 2.2 X-RES (incl. pump) EK Water Blocks EK-DCP 2.2 X-RES (incl. pump) £63.95

Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GTX-Lite 240 Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GTX-Lite 240 £29.99

EK-Supreme LTX - Acetal CSQ Intel CPU Waterblock EK-Supreme LTX - Acetal CSQ Intel CPU Waterblock £29.99

Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - Clear Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - Clear £5.99

Mayhems Fine Silver Kill Coil Mayhems Fine Silver Kill Coil £4.50

XSPC G1/4" to 3/8" Barb Fitting (Black Chrome) XSPC G1/4" to 3/8" Barb Fitting (Black Chrome) £1.75
(£1.46) £10.50
(£8.76)
Sub Total : £125.76
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
UPS Access Point
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £8.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £26.75
Total : £160.51

I have briefly used the dcp 4.0 and it seemed like a good quality quiet pump. The 4.0 would be better as its PWM but its another £10. I cant attest to the rad quality but a triple rad should be enough should you ever add a gpu as well. You would need to add either deionised water from halfords etc or splash out on some mayhems.

I dont have your case so dont know if 1 metre tubing is enough but the oc kit has only 1 metre as well.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

When i try and spec a budget loop its often this pump/res combo that seems would be viable,(or the 4.0 version) and the other parts listed too.Although i think i would personally go for compression fittings.

How good are these two units?, i noticed the 2.2 is rated at 17db,which is defiantly quiet,couldnt find that info for the 4.0,im assuming at low PWM is the same as the 2.2 but louder at full PWM due to having double the flow rate.

I mean basically i can get everything i need for a loop for £90-100,aprt from a pump/res.At most i think i would want to spend another £70-80 on top of that for the Pump and res.
 
The 4.0 is fine but I would suggest decoupling it from the case. I used a layer of decorators chaulk created a slab of that and used the foam from the pump box and it was almost silent at full pelt.
 
MrMD said:
When i try and spec a budget loop its often this pump/res combo that seems would be viable,(or the 4.0 version) and the other parts listed too.Although i think i would personally go for compression fittings.

How good are these two units?, i noticed the 2.2 is rated at 17db,which is defiantly quiet,couldnt find that info for the 4.0,im assuming at low PWM is the same as the 2.2 but louder at full PWM due to having double the flow rate.

I mean basically i can get everything i need for a loop for £90-100,aprt from a pump/res.At most i think i would want to spend another £70-80 on top of that for the Pump and res.
Click to expand...

I bet you can grab a set of pre-owned EK X-res D5 combo with that price tag.

DCP 4.0 is really noisy comparing with D5, I owned one, and I only use it as a flushing pump.
 
Mynight said:
Ooo yeah no contest between a 4.0 and D5/DDC Id never go back but it was a great pump for its price.
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Yer.

But if pre-owned D5 vs DCP, I'll take D5 everytime.

All you need to do is to check the D5 in a leak test to check for abnormal noise and give it a good flush when you get yours, which you will have to do when you buy it new anyway.
 
Nothing wrong with a DDC 4.0 PWM pump using one myself good value for the price.

Pump noise depends on how its mounted and how good your rads are dissipating the heat from your loop.

More heat dissipated the lower the pump spins giving less noise.

My pump idle's around 1340rpm and depending what l'm doing 1650rpm pump is silent.
 
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