some more questions:
I got this soft tubing kit
▷ EK Water Blocks EK-Kit Classic RGB S360 Perfo… | OcUK (overclockers.co.uk)
1. Do I need different fittings if I want to use hard tubing?
Yes you do, soft and hard line use different compression fittings.
2. What diameter hard tubing should I use? although EK do 10/12 and 12/16mm, you would think that you get better flow through the wider tubing? but both must reduce down to a narrower (and the same bore) to go through the fitting and therefore the diameter of the tubing is just aesthetic?
The general and most common size for hardline tubing is 14mm OD. Tubing width these days is more down to personal taste or more importantly the size of your case and what you have to work with.
3. I hear that PETG tubing is more forgiving, but that Overclockers use Acrylic - which hard tubing should I use?
I went from PETG to acrylic and never looked back, PETG is a lot softer and i have seen PETG melt and cause catastrophic leakages. On the other hand, acrylic is a lot harder and more prone to cracking however is treated correctly you should not have this issue. One thing to note, don't mix hardline tubing with different brand fittings. They have slight variances that cause some tubing to not fit into certain fittings.
4. I currently have the EK SE360 (which uses UNC 6-32 screws) but like the look of the white corsair X5 which uses M4 x P0.7 screws - these presumably are different - do I need to use different screws for the different rads? Would it be easier to use EK stuff thoroughout?
Yes different rads most certainly use different screws although not always the case. XSPC, Corsair and EK i believe all use different size threads from experience. The Radiators will come with the correct screws though so its not something to really worry about.
5. If I need to use different fittings for hard tubing and if I stick with EKWB then should I pay more for the quantum fittings?
Not really, EK also do a variety of different class fittings. You do not need to necessarily buy the most expensive ones. As long as the brand is the same for the fitting and the tubing they should work fine unless stated otherwise by the manufacturer.
6. I think that the thick EK XE rad at 60mm is too practically thick for the top or bottom of the Lian Li 011 dynamic case. Would the PE at 38mm thick and a fan 25mm be more sensible? Until I got a GPU block in say 18 months time for the next gen cards (and when supply and prices have normalised somewhat) then at the moment I dont really need any more cooling for my cpu but I may add another rad to try watercooling a bit more and to give me something to do. Hence I am thinking of adding a 2nd rad. I could move my slim SE rad to the bottom and the new PE rad to the roof (graphics card is too long for me to currently house my pump/reservoir on the floor fan and currently being orientated horizontally wont allow me to put a rad fan inside the main compartmant).
You can fit upto a 55mm without issue at the bottom of the O11D if you intend on keeping a horizontal mount for the gpu. If you decide on a vertical mount then the max radiator thickness is 20mm (XSPC TX series), anything thicker and it will foul on the bottom of the vertical mount. Alternative would be to install a custom adjustable vertical mount as mentioned previously.
