Need help with my first custom loop.

[Braver Pleinair]

Hi guys!

I recently sent an email to overclockers asking about what I'd need for watercooling, if I had chose the right things, along with a few questions about upgrading and so on only to receive a pretty lackluster reply:

"Dear Alex,

Thank you for your webnote

I have looked thought your list and i believe you have everything you need but i can not guaranty this. I would suggest looking online for guides and advice.

Regards,"

As you can see, this really didn't help in the slightest, so after flicking through your forums over the past year or so, I decided to put my questions on here and hope for some amazing help I see so often on this forum.

What I originally asked was:

"Hi,

I've been looking to upgrade from my GTX 690 but really don't know where to go.
Originally I was just going to watercool it, try for a better OC and leave it at that until the 800 series were released.

I was thinking of going SLI 780's but is the difference in performance even worth the extra £ over the 690?
I'm gaming at 1440p, so from what I've been told (and have read) the extra VRAM, MEM Bandwidth, texel and pixel rate's would be worth the change.

Either way, I'm also looking to get a full custom loop, so I was hoping you would be able to guide me in the right direction of what to buy for it.
I have everything picked out from you that I think would complete the build, but want to be sure that I have everything I need before I buy them and if I've picked the right things for my build.

-At the moment, my build is:

-ASUS GTX 690

-Maximus V Gene (looking to upgrade to a full size mobo)

-8gb Corsair Vengeance (looking to upgrade to dominator if the price is worth it)

-Intel 3570K

-Corsair AX850 (not sure if I'd need to upgrade)

-2x 1TB HDD's in Raid0

-1x 3TB HDD

-1x 64gb SSD

-Cooler Master Cosmos 2 (which I'll be watercooling)

-ASUS PB278Q monitor (Will there be a noticeable increase in performance with 2x 780's or other GPU's over the 690 on this monitor?)

Taking into consideration what's inside of my rig, I'd like to know what Radiators to get that would fit without a problem.
Also, I'm looking to buy the quietest fans with the best airflow.

The other items I chose from you for the watercooling are:

- EK-RES X3 400 Reservoir (Is this a good size for my case?)

-Aqua Computer Aquastream XT USB 12V Pump - Ultra Version (Will this be enough to move the coolant efficiently?)

-XSPC HighFlex Hose 1/2" ID, 3/4" OD, 19/12.7mm, 2m, Clear/UV (Is this a good size tubing, as I've been told the wider the tube, the better flow.)

-Aqua Computer Cuplex Kryos .925 Silver Edition - Intel/or the XSPC RayStorm CPU WaterBlock (Intel) Copper (can't decide on this, is the Kryos worth the extra £135? especially for a 3570k?)

-Mayhems Ice Dragon Nano Fluid 1L (I was originally going for a clean white theme, is this the best fluid and would I need Mayhems Ultra Pure H20 Watercooling Fluid 1L to mix with it?)

-Watercool Heatkiller GPU-X³ GTX 690 "Hole Edition" Ni-Bl (Or same brand and model for 780's)

-Watercool HEATKILLER® GPU Backplate GTX 690 (Or same brand and model for 780's)

Is this everything I need to fully watercool my system, and have I chose the right things?

Thank you for your help
Alex"


I'd really appreciate some help with this as it's my first custom loop and I'm really excited to get it started, but want to make sure I'm 100% ready.

Thanks for the help guys
Alex

 

[Hakanese]

Well the kyros silver edition cpu block is primarily bling, the silver content in the block does mean you'll need no speak over kill coil, but premixed fluids already contain biocide so you can save 100 odd quid by using the other kyros blocks.
The case you have is nice, but people seem to have to do some rather large modifications to it to get the best out of it for water cooling.
But I'll let the pros explain it more in detail for you.

 

[Braver Pleinair]

Well the kyros silver edition cpu block is primarily bling, the silver content in the block does mean you'll need no speak over kill coil, but premixed fluids already contain biocide so you can save 100 odd quid by using the other kyros blocks.
The case you have is nice, but people seem to have to do some rather large modifications to it to get the best out of it for water cooling.
But I'll let the pros explain it more in detail for you.

So I would be best sticking with the XSPC RayStorm CPU WaterBlock (Intel) Copper?
And what kind of modifications would I need to make?

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Uncle Petey]

You won't see much difference between most decent blocks anyway. Just look for reviews on the ones you like the look of to narrow it down.
Have a google for watercooled Cosmos II cases to see what people have done with them

 

[Staffy50]

The silver is better at transferring heat. I think they said it was 10% better or something. there other blocks are also pretty nice and about £60

 

[Hakanese]

Which is massive if you're into your extreme overclocking. But not worth the added cost unless you plan on pushing the boundaries of cooling or have a big cheque book.

 

[Braver Pleinair]

Honestly I wasn't planning on going above 4.6 as an average.
I wouldn't mind hitting the 5GHz mark but I'm more interested in cooling my GPU's/aesthetics.

So is everything in my list sound like a decent watercooling setup? Is there anything I need to change?
Also, how many radiators would I need, and what size?

 

[Uncle Petey]

Have you looked at other Cosmos II builds?

 

[Staffy50]

No rads and no fittings? Also you'll probably Need 2l our coolant

 

[Staffy50]

Missed the rad question. I don't really know what rads that case can take. But for sli and a gpu you should look at getting a 360 and a 120 or 240 if it would fit. Depending on the quality and size (thickness) you could use less.