New Project Help - Please

stueng

stueng

stueng

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Hi, I have never watercooled before but I find myself bored and wanting a little project to work on. I plan on running this project over a few months (as I wait for each pay cheque)

I will be building a new machine rather than modding my existing one, so I am starting from the ground up. The only thing I want to transfer from my old machine are my 2 X GTX 560Ti

I am space limited in terms of depth and width - I only have 50cm of depth, I currently have an Antec 300 and I really cant go much bigger than this. I have settled on the Corsair 650D (54cm depth) I think unless someone can come with another idea?

For the first few months I plan to purchase the case and all the watercooling kit that I need to cool:
1 X MSI GeForce GTX 560Ti OC Twin FrozR II
1 X OcUK GeForce GTX 560 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express
1 X i5 or i7 CPU

So, some questions:

1) How many radiators do I need? And why? Which radiator does what?

2) How many pumps do I need? And why? Which pump does what?

3) What is the purpose of a reservoir? Why is it necesarry?

4) Is there a GPU block, watercool cover thing for the MSI card? I looked on EK and didnt see anything

5) OCUK, are you aware of a GPU block or whatever its called that can watercool the OcUK card I have? Or do I have to sell it and buy a second MSI card?

6) Am I able to run the WC solution without the CPU being installed? to check for leaks and test to make sure its all running nicely before installing hardware?

No hotlinking of images

Thanks to anyone who has read this far

Stuart
 
stueng said:
Hi, I have never watercooled before but I find myself bored and wanting a little project to work on. I plan on running this project over a few months (as I wait for each pay cheque)

do your reading first

I will be building a new machine rather than modding my existing one, so I am starting from the ground up. The only thing I want to transfer from my old machine are my 2 X GTX 560Ti

I am space limited in terms of depth and width - I only have 50cm of depth, I currently have an Antec 300 and I really cant go much bigger than this. I have settled on the Corsair 650D (54cm depth) I think unless someone can come with another idea?
bitfenix shinobi?

For the first few months I plan to purchase the case and all the watercooling kit that I need to cool:
1 X MSI GeForce GTX 560Ti OC Twin FrozR II
1 X OcUK GeForce GTX 560 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express that combo won't work. You need two GTX 560Ti's
1 X i5 or i7 CPU

So, some questions:

1) How many radiators do I need? And why? Which radiator does what?
Do your reading first ;)

2) How many pumps do I need? And why? Which pump does what?
as above

3) What is the purpose of a reservoir? Why is it necesarry?
supplies pump with water. You can't leave the pump running dry

4) Is there a GPU block, watercool cover thing for the MSI card? I looked on EK and didnt see anything
try coolingconfigurator.com

5) OCUK, are you aware of a GPU block or whatever its called that can watercool the OcUK card I have? Or do I have to sell it and buy a second MSI card?
as above

6) Am I able to run the WC solution without the CPU being installed? to check for leaks and test to make sure its all running nicely before installing hardware?
yes

7) In the below picture does anyone know what resvoir that it? I really like its look
http://www.cedric-photo.fr/images/pcslider/small/pcslider067.jpg[IMG]
[COLOR="lime"][B]it's a modded EK res (colour is different)[/B][/COLOR]

8) In the below picture what is the stuff called that covers the wires?
[IMG]http://www.cedric-photo.fr/images/pcslider/small/pcslider072.jpg[IMG]
[COLOR="lime"][B]MDPC sleeving[/B][/COLOR]

9) In the below picture what are the black things called at the end of the tube?
[IMG]http://www.cedric-photo.fr/images/pcslider/small/pcslider107.jpg[IMG]
[COLOR="lime"][B]compression fittings[/B][/COLOR]

Thanks to anyone who has read this far

Stuart
[COLOR="lime"][B]you're name isn't Cedric?! I thought it was. I'd remove those pics - they're hotlinked which is against the rules[/B][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

First thing's first, you need to do a LOT of reading up first. We don't say it to be mean, it's necessary.

There's a good guide at the top of this subsection in the watercooling forum and another beginners one on clunk.org

read through those and come back with more specific questions
Click to expand...
 
You seriously need to do some research before starting this, read the stickies at the topof this forum and also have a good google for info, as easy as watercooling is, its potential to go horrrendously wrong means you really can't just figure it out as you go.





Watch those, will give you a bit better idea of what's going on
 
I have read the stickies here and both youtube videos, didnt learn anything over what I had already learnt by reading Cleecoo's build and the following build log

Only the post on clunk actually explained what the res does.. remove air bubbles. If the loop was completely closed the res would not serve to supply water as the loop would be full

I haven't yet found any chart or recommendation on how many res are required to cool 1 X CPU and 2 X GPU... I have seen a build with a 120 and a 200 running this setup and also a build with a single 280 running a CPU and single GPU. Any people have experience with running two GPU's on here? I think I am going to go with a 120+200. I'd like the ability to expand if possible, perhaps add RAM or mobo cooling.. all this while trying to squeeze into a 60cm deep case

The GPU's are both GTX 560Ti's I dunno why OcUK call it a plain 560. The coolingconfigurator.com is a EK site isn't it? I checked there for a solution for my card already, are there any others? Obviously the OcUK card isn't going to come up on that list. I hear people referring to cards as "reference" if its reference does that mean the full cover block will fit?

The Shinobi is smaller than the 650D and Antec 1100 which I have been looking at. Any specific reason you recommended it other than price? I like the high quality finish on the Corsair and the cable management. I also like the window on the 1100 and again the cable management

Thanks for the other answers

One thing that is not clear to me is the order for the flow in multi-res configurations. I would presume the water goes res > pump > rad > cpu > rad > gpu > gpu > res ?
 
In general, you need 120mm of rad space for every chip you have (chip being each GPU/CPU)

In your case you need a 360 worth of rad minimum.

Any idea on your budget?

Re cases, the xigmatek Elysium is excellent for space :D

Re pumps, one D5 pump is all you need

And your loop can go in any order as long as res is before pump.
 
360.. ok thats a good figure to design around then thanks

budget, no budget.. the more it costs the longer it takes to put together is all. I will be looking for performance parts with good aesthetics which are not over priced :)

I could remove the dish washer to fit in the Elysium I guess... wonder if the misses will mind

I have read the statement about the loop being in any order as long as the res goes first a few times, but presumably you want the water to go through the second rad between chips not just go through two rads then into all the chips in a row?

res > pump > rad > cpu > rad > gpu > gpu > res
rather than
res > pump > rad > rad > cpu > gpu > gpu > res

I still haven't found a solution for my GFX cards.. the MSI GeForce GTX 560Ti OC Twin FrozR II is a popular card I am suprised I cant find a block/cover thing?
 
as cleeecooo says you need res then below it pump then after that it doesnt matter....res offers a place to fill from aswell as taking air from the loop and depending on what one you buy looks nice aswell..... one good 360 rad with 3-6 high static pressure fans will serve you well, its like anything thing though it depends on how cool you want your stuff to run and what your budget is.....read the posts , look at the pictures and some enough you will know what you want :)
 
stueng said:
I have read the statement about the loop being in any order as long as the res goes first a few times, but presumably you want the water to go through the second rad between chips not just go through two rads then into all the chips in a row?

res > pump > rad > cpu > rad > gpu > gpu > res
rather than
res > pump > rad > rad > cpu > gpu > gpu > res
Click to expand...

only in your mind does it make a difference...in real world terms it makes no difference if you go through 2 rads and then through your blocks or any other way but res needs to be first then pump below so water flows into impeller of pump otherwise its nippy to get it flowing
 
I think I have a solution... Buy a TJ11... And live in it :p

The Elysium is a huge case, but really worth the money :)

I'll do a spec for you tomorrow.

Are Your cards listed at all on coolingconfigurator?
 
I have emailed OcUK about the OcUK card.. I am hoping that its reference then I will try find one for sale somewhere and sell my MSI one
 
cammy5477 said:
only in your mind does it make a difference...in real world terms it makes no difference if you go through 2 rads and then through your blocks or any other way but res needs to be first then pump below so water flows into impeller of pump otherwise its nippy to get it flowing
Click to expand...

I dont get how this makes sense. When the difference in temperature between the water and the chip are greater the ability of the water to lift heat will be greater

By sending the water through a rad, then a chip, then another rad, then another chip the rads will be cooling warm water twice rather than warm water and then cool water?

Here's another question.. is it possible to run two loops off a single res?
 
You can run two loops off one res but only idiots go for dual loops ;)

Whilst in theory, what you say is correct, in practice, it makes VERY little difference
 
Cleeecooo said:
You can run two loops off one res but only idiots go for dual loops ;)

Whilst in theory, what you say is correct, in practice, it makes VERY little difference
Click to expand...

I'm going to take issue with that statement. I built a dual loop system for a friend where the two loops share a common reservoir - the XSPC one with two 18W DDCs.

One pump feeds the CPU block and then the motherboard block and the other pump feeds the graphics cards.

There are two radiators, a PA120.3 for each loop and the 6 fans are all driven off the CPU fan header. So it doesn't matter if the CPU or GPUs are stressed, the common fluid temperature across the whole loop drives the fan speed. At idle, all the fans switch off and only come in when the CPU temperature rises enough to warrant it.

So multi-loop systems can be useful for some applications. Also if you have a need to test blocks on one loop of another it can be handy to have multiple loops.
 
Do you have a budget at all? As it would be easier to spec a loop and case, watch ttl's guide to water cooling on YouTube, his channel name is timetolivecustoms (can't link as it mentions a competitor in the vid)
 
WJA96 said:
I'm going to take issue with that statement. I built a dual loop system for a friend where the two loops share a common reservoir - the XSPC one with two 18W DDCs.

One pump feeds the CPU block and then the motherboard block and the other pump feeds the graphics cards.

There are two radiators, a PA120.3 for each loop and the 6 fans are all driven off the CPU fan header. So it doesn't matter if the CPU or GPUs are stressed, the common fluid temperature across the whole loop drives the fan speed. At idle, all the fans switch off and only come in when the CPU temperature rises enough to warrant it.

So multi-loop systems can be useful for some applications. Also if you have a need to test blocks on one loop of another it can be handy to have multiple loops.
Click to expand...

I was being ironic ;)
I have two loops :p

But it's faairly pointless unless you already have 2 pumps or can get them cheap
 
 
@WJA96
What res did you use for a dual loop? Does any res work as long as it has 2 ins and 2 outs? Any special considerations?

@kyiiyzo
No budget, if I spend £50 or £250 on a case I don't care as long it's worth it.... Same applies to the other components, there is always a point where the extra money doesn't warrant itself with the reward

@Cleeecooo
Cool thanks for that
I'll swap the compression fittings for nickel
I doubt very much a 360 will fit into whatever case I choose, I suspect I will have to go for 120+240
Are there things which create 90 degree turns in the tubing? To avoid kinks? In nickel?
I don't like the look of the CPU block much is there one with more nickel? XSPC Raystorm?Swiftech apogee? I prefer the nickel approach than black if you haven't noticed yet :)
Love the lamptron!
I like the res, is there one that looks like that which is capable of two loops?
Last thing is about the fans, I love the coolermaster ones with the soft LED strips... Looking at the price I doubt that are very good?
 
OcUK replied to my mail saying there are no blocks but didn't tell me if the OcUK card is reference or not.. so I have mailed them again to try find out. This is annoying, the Twin FROZR is a very popular card but theres no custom block for it

Are we allowed to sell second hand hardware on here?
 
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