I'm out of my depth...

Rammix · 15 Dec 2015 at 20:14

Hello one and all,

I've decided to watercool my (almost) 1 year old build as I fancy a new challenge. I have never done a custom loop before but have been extensively researching and now feel confident I can pull it off. To make this harder on myself I've decided to go with hardline tubing (I know I'm a fool).

Thought I'd make this thread so I can share my experiences along the way and you lot can have a good laugh at my (literal) expense.

So, without further ado here is my build in it's current state (specs in my sig)

Here is my parts list for the loop:

Monsoon PETG Tubing 16/12mm 8x90cm - UV Red
EK Water Blocks EK-XRES 140 DDC 3.2 PWM Elite (incl. pump)
XSPC RayStorm Pro WaterBlock (Intel) Black
Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 360
Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 240
120mm Noctua NF-F12 2000RPM x2
EK 980 GTX Strix Full cover waterblock x2
EK FC980 GTX Strix Back Plate x2
EK FC Terminal triple (with a blanking plate because the R5E has crazy spacings for 2 way SLI)
Monsoon Hardline Pro Bender Kit (16mm)

Still waiting for the Monsoon free Centre fittings, hopefully they will be back in stock on Friday.

For the drain:
EK Water Blocks EK-AF Ball Valve
Mayhems Ultra Clear Watercooling Tubing 10/16mm
XSPC Compression Fitting x4

Wish me luck, I think I'm going to need it...

Peace,
Ram

FloppyPoppy · 15 Dec 2015 at 20:16

looking forward to seeing the end product mate! good luck and remember just take your time make sure everything is fitted properly.

Rammix · 15 Dec 2015 at 20:23

Thank you Harry, I'm hoping to do it over the Christmas break so I have loads of time. I Just hope I get the fittings in time.

MrMD · 15 Dec 2015 at 20:27

You might want to grab a couple of 45/90 degree fittings aswell,will definatly make life easier to hook up your tubing between the front and rear chambers.

Rammix · 15 Dec 2015 at 20:34

MrMD said:
You might want to grab a couple of 45/90 degree fittings aswell,will definatly make life easier to hook up your tubing between the front and rear chambers.

Ah I knew I'd forgotten something, nice one!

Disco_P · 15 Dec 2015 at 21:18

If you order angled fittings off OcUK be sure to ask them to price match as the listed price is ridiculous.

Rammix · 15 Dec 2015 at 22:17

Having opened up the tube to have a look, the monsoon PETG UV red definitely looks more orange than red. I'll have to call OcUK tomorrow and see if they'll exchange it for the blood red. if not I'll have lots to practice on at least...

fantasticCG · 16 Dec 2015 at 08:19

Looks awesome dude
Look forward to more updates

Smffy · 16 Dec 2015 at 09:54

Particularly interested in this:

Monsoon Hardline Pro Bender Kit (16mm)

Basically I ordered a load of stuff from EK, tubing included, and forgot to add the bending insert so ordered "Alphacool Silicon Bending Insert 30cm for ID 1/2 / 12mm" thinking the same ID would be fine. Its not, it doesnt fit tight - and I can't stress this enough, makes getting good bends virtually impossible.

Would you mind testing the kit/tubing and posting back if the insert is a VERY tight fit? If so i'll probably order a bunch more tube/insert from them... Not sure if anyone else has used the same kit as me and had that issue?

Rammix · 16 Dec 2015 at 14:06

Smffy said:
Particularly interested in this:

Monsoon Hardline Pro Bender Kit (16mm)

Basically I ordered a load of stuff from EK, tubing included, and forgot to add the bending insert so ordered "Alphacool Silicon Bending Insert 30cm for ID 1/2 / 12mm" thinking the same ID would be fine. Its not, it doesnt fit tight - and I can't stress this enough, makes getting good bends virtually impossible.

Would you mind testing the kit/tubing and posting back if the insert is a VERY tight fit? If so i'll probably order a bunch more tube/insert from them... Not sure if anyone else has used the same kit as me and had that issue?

I'll have a look for you when I get home but I think the problem here is the fact EK are a European company so all there stuff is actually metric. Alphacool being an American company will be using imperial measurements. That's why you'll find differences of a few mm +/- between the 2. Unfortunately vendors don't make it clear in their listings and display them with both imperial and metric in the same listing.

That's my understanding anyway, I'm sure someone with more experience will correct me if I'm wrong.

Smffy · 16 Dec 2015 at 14:44

Thanks, i've just ordered more bits so included a Monsoon insert which states 13mm ID - hoping that comes up a little big which is perfect.

Frank Jeagar · 17 Dec 2015 at 09:33

Immediately subscribed to this thread! Your build looks awesome already, I can't wait to see what it looks like with a hard tube custom loop inside!

The best of luck to you, I'll try and give any advice/help I can

First peice of advice: count out all the fittings you need then +2/4 angled fittings, you are guranteed to use one or two

Glacius · 17 Dec 2015 at 09:46

I was in the exact same position last year having to attempt my first custom loop and was rather nervous, after getting it done I have learnt 3 things which I know are all quite standard things to remember to do but I was so focused I forgot about these.

1: Make sure you add a draining point some where, as I forgot to do this and my loop is a royal pain in the ass to drain literally have to cut a pipe and hope or pull one off lol.

2: Make sure you flush out and clean the radiators before you use them, I didn't do this and within 2 weeks I had this huge build up of white metal flakes in the Res and then some mold started to appear.... wasn't best time I've had

3. Add a silver coil in the res or loop some where, I done that and no mold or build ups what so ever

Those are just my amateur tips and mistakes I made first time around.

Rammix · 17 Dec 2015 at 18:28

Small update, I've just received a few rotaries and also the UV curing glue (not pictured) for the monsoon fittings I'm still waiting for.

I was planning on using the mayhems extreme biocide (in pure distilled water) instead of a silver kill coil as I've read silver doesn't play nicely with the nickel in the GPU blocks. But after ordering the monsoon free centre fillings I've found out they come with silver plated bases. I'm hoping it'll be OK as the bases won't be in direct contact with the GPU blocks as I'm using a SLI Terminal bridge. Time will tell I guess...

Rammix · 21 Dec 2015 at 10:55

Well, looks like this project is on hold. The monsoon fittings seem to be like rocking horse droppings, so it's looking like I won't be able to proceed over the Christmas break.

Frank Jeagar · 21 Dec 2015 at 10:59

Rammix said:
I was planning on using the mayhems extreme biocide (in pure distilled water) instead of a silver kill coil as I've read silver doesn't play nicely with the nickel in the GPU blocks. But after ordering the monsoon free centre fillings I've found out they come with silver plated bases. I'm hoping it'll be OK as the bases won't be in direct contact with the GPU blocks as I'm using a SLI Terminal bridge. Time will tell I guess...

You should be fine, the reastion rates of nickel and silver are really low that even if they were likely to cause a reaction when in solution that the rate of that happening would be so slow that it isn't noticeable, let alone worth worrying about

Silver kill coil is the standard use item, skeptics can say otherwise, but it is tried, tested and loved across the board.

Rammix · 29 Dec 2015 at 09:18

OK time for a update.

I had a bit of a result and received these fittings on Christmas eve..

So it was just a case of trying to fit the build around husband and father duties around the Christmas break. Apparently not doing very well as every time the PC moved I got face ache from the wife.

I did manage to get the GPU waterblocks on boxing day evening once the kids were in bed and the wife has passed out in front of some BBC period drama.

With all the waterblocks on it was time to be a bender, and to be honest I found it incredibly difficult to begin with. I think I must have made every noobie mistake I told myself I wouldn't do. I think my scrap pile is testimony to how bad I was.

The only mistake that really bothered me however was when I cut some tube without removing my silicon insert. Thankfully it was near the end of it and none of my bends were far away from the end of the tube.

With these Monsoon fittings you have to glue a lock collar to the end of the tube using UV curing glue. On the monsoon hardline guide videos (a must watch if you're new to hardline) he says "just take them outside for a few minutes and the sunlight will cure them just fine" well it's December in the UK so sunlight is at a premium. Fortunately I had bought the wife a UV nail kit for Christmas that comes with a handy UV lamp (pure coincidence, honest).

So I'm more or less there, I've had to order a couple of fittings for the drain. the EK pump has recessed ports for the 2 in ports but only supply you with 1 of the required extenders to actually use them. They are not expensive but it's very inconvenient and for a £100 pump/ress to not come with an extra £2 fitting is a poor show IMO. Shame on you EK.

So here it is so far, I'll update again when it's time to fill tomorrow (so long as the fittings arrive)

Peace, Ram

Frank Jeagar · 29 Dec 2015 at 13:57

Looking good so far mate! I like how you just "happened" to have gotten your wife a UV lamp

I had the same problem with my EK res, it's a bit ridiculous they don't ship with at least one more extender and the variable top accessory that has more ports doesn't ship with any either...

Luckily I prefer to have a T-splitter at the lowest point in my loop as a drain so I fortunately only needed two, but it was luck that I was able to do that anyway becasue my backup plan was another tube off of the rese...

Rammix · 29 Mar 2016 at 22:04

I finished this project ages ago but forgot to conclude this thread.

Here's it finished..

It's by no means perfect, if I was to do it again I'd put a thicker rad in the front as I ended up mounting the fans outside the chassis. I'd also use flexible tube to go into the rear of the case where my res is. I might get round to changing at some point.

Thanks to everyone who offered advise and to all those folks writing guides and posting videos. They helped a lot

Ram

D1craig · 29 Mar 2016 at 23:15

That looks awesome it's as if it's not your first time. Some pictures of the res? I know probably a shame full mess on the other side of the mother board but it would be nice to see.