Loop Advice & Spec

Soldato
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Never done this before, but I think its about time and it is upgrade season after all (convinced my missus that I deserve it). Will add GFX later as may get new card and not sure what plate would work with my card.

How is this set up?
Have I missed anything? (Already have 1 fan just laying about).
This is the most I can spend, ideally it would be lower (under £200) but I don't really want to sacrifice quality (having said that, I have no idea which manufacturer is good or okay).
Probably order in next week.


YOUR BASKET
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-BAY DCP 2.2 Combo Unit (incl. pump) £79.99
1 x Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis Radiator GTS 360 - Black £33.95
1 x NZXT Sentry Mix 2 Fan Controller - Black £25.99
1 x EK-Supreme LTX - Acetal+Nickel CSQ Intel CPU Waterblock £25.99
1 x Monsoon 13/10mm (ID 3/8 OD 1/2) Free Center Compression Fitting Six Pack - Green £24.95
1 x Corsair SP120 Twin Pack Green LED Fans (CO-9050032-WW) £16.99
1 x Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - Clear £5.99
1 x Mayhems Dye Emerald Green 15ml £5.48
1 x Mayhems Ultra Pure H2O Watercooling Fluid 1L £4.99
1 x Mayhems Fine Silver Kill Coil £4.5
1 x XSPC PSU Bridging Connector (24 Pin) £1.99
Total : £230.82 (includes shipping : ).

 
For only a CPU loop you only need a 240/280mm radiator,you could save some ££ their if you wanted rather than gettin the 360.

Nzxt Fancontroller is fine,but if you spend an extra £5/10 you can get a Lamptron FC5/6.These are better because they have a full range of voltage control (0-12v) rather than only the 7-12v that the Sentry have.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Lamptron FC5 V2 5.25" Bay Fan Controller - Black £34.99
1 x Lamptron FC6 5.25" Bay Fan Controller - Black £29.99
Total : £69.97 (includes shipping : £4.16).

 
I did think about rad size and went 360 as I will eventually add the GFX to the loop (120 each +120 extra). This will all move over to the next build so the less I have to buy then, the better.

Swapped fan controller out for the FC6, thanks :)
 
Serious advice...

You have to be very careful when using bay rez mounted pump.

The vibration of the pump can easily be transferred to your case as it is attached to the bay rez to your case without any damping, and this can easily result in a low humming box. You may want a tube rez for that reason instead.

Another point is, DCP is a very noisy pump for it's power, try and source a D5 you will not have to upgrade later as it's more than powerful for another VGA block.

Lastly, do you really need a fan controller though? If you can control the fans off your mobo fan headers, you can use that money to get a better pump like the D5.
 
^
This is what i've been thinking. I've read some many reviews on vibration from bayres/pump combs..

I've got a D5 pump and it's impressed me with how little noise it can make if you mount it correctly.

You could always just use a Bay reservoir and a standalone pump mounted on a soggy sandwich in the bottom of the case?
 
So would something more like this be a better option?

YOUR BASKET
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-D5 Vario X-RES 100 (incl. pump) £105.95
1 x Hardware Labs Black Ice Nemesis Radiator GTS 360 - Black £33.95
1 x EK-Supreme LTX - Acetal+Nickel CSQ Intel CPU Waterblock £25.99
1 x Monsoon 13/10mm (ID 3/8 OD 1/2) Free Center Compression Fitting Six Pack - Green £24.95
1 x Corsair SP120 Twin Pack Green LED Fans (CO-9050032-WW) £16.99
1 x Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - Clear £5.99
1 x Mayhems Dye Emerald Green 15ml £5.48
1 x Mayhems Ultra Pure H2O Watercooling Fluid 1L £4.99
1 x Mayhems Fine Silver Kill Coil £4.5
1 x XSPC PSU Bridging Connector (24 Pin) £1.99
Total : £230.78 (includes shipping : ).



I do use Speedfan but would prefer a more direct way of controlling fan speed. Not overly important though. My case is on the desk so quite close to my ears.
So a pump/res like the one I have is usually mounted on foam from what I've read. Will any foam do or should it be soft/firm?
 
These brackets give you some good mounting abilities..

YOUR BASKET
1 x EK UNI Holder 50-70 - Black £3.98
Total : £6.26 (includes shipping : £1.90).



This is how I have mounted my pump.

IMG_1244.jpg



Then I'm putting some anti-vibration pad between that and the case.


Edit:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-000-MM

Those are good from what I hear. You could you cutting up a spare mouse mat? I had it on a 3mm mouse matt to test and that worked pretty well. It's the kind thats fairly firm, but you can roll them up.
 
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I think I could do that. Shopping basket was made up from items in stock only. Doubt I'll a tally get round to building until Easter.
 
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