Upgrading PC - impact on water loop?

CageyH

CageyH

CageyH

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Joined
28 Nov 2011
Posts
155
After my PC died on me (suspected storm damage), I am upgrading from an Asus Z170-Pro and Ian i7-6700k @ 4.6GHz to an Gigabyte Aorus Pro with an i7-9700k @ TBD.

For now I will transfer my other parts across to the new board. (32Gb Corsair vengeance 3200MHz, Water Cooled Sapphire Nitro+ RX480 8 Gb OC).

This is built in an Enthoo Primo, with an EK CE280 rad in the base, with EK Vardar EVO 140ER fans in push/pull, and a Hardwarelabs Nemesis 280 GTS in the roof with Nanoxia Deep Silence 140mm 1100 rpm fans in the roof in a push/pull configuration.

The idea being that the GTS cools actively whilst on idle/low load whilst the CE280 cools passively.
As the CPU load rises, and the water temp rises the CE280 kicks in progressively.

My aim is quiet performance for VR Racing games.

The question I have, is are the radiators in my system up to the demands of an i7-9700k, which may be slightly overclocked. If the answer is no, what is the best bet? Adding a 420mm radiator in the roof to replace the 280gts, or just add a 140mm radiator in the rear vent position, or in the roof?
 
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I should also mention that I have two Phanteks PH-140 fans in the front of the case, two Noctua 140mm PWM fans on the sides, at the front as intakes, with two Noctua 120mm redux fans on the HDD cages to aid airflow through, and a Phanteks in the rear position acting as an intake, and another in the roof as an exhaust.

All were set at low rpm fan curves, to keep thing quiet and cool. Old i7 used to max out at 76 degrees, with the graphics card at around 6o degrees with a coolant temperature of a max of 35 degrees. When serious gaming starts, the aircon is switched on to keep the ambient temperature to 21 degrees.
 
Another thought is to move the HDDs to ODD bay converters, and fit two 240mm radiators in the front.
The 240mm is marginally more expensive than a 140mm radiator, so it probably makes more sense for cooling gained.
 
My rule of thumb is 240+120 per component minimum; more for silence and/or heavy overclocks.

Having some radiators run passively is an awesome way to maintain silence, only issue can be less airflow inside the system for SSDs, which can generate plenty of heat with low core temps.

I think you'll be fine, especially as you're running push/pull. Just watch water and component temps, adjust your curves, and see how it goes.

Sounds like you're itching to upgrade your loop tbh, I can only ever resist for about a year, it's an itch that must be scratched. :D
 
I have so much space for radiators, it is crazy. Ideally I would stop a 420 in the top, but the 280 won’t fit anywhere else.
That is why I started to look at 240s. It is a bit noisy with the two 280 rads. I have converted the top to push/pull so I may wait and see how that goes.

I really want it to be quiet when gaming, and under normal load, which is why I was looking at adding another radiator, then started to get carried away as I realised I could fit an additional 2 radiators in the front and side of the case by moving my HDDs into the 5.25” bays.

My only concern is that if I do that, will I have enough airflow?
Bottom and top rads are push pull from the bottom to top of the case. There is an additional fan in the roof set as an exhaust.
The front two rads will be used as intakes, using 2 x 140mm fans on a 240mm rad in the front, and 2 x 120mm fans on the 240mm rad on the side. I have a fan on the rear position, which I currently use as an intake, but it could easily be flipped around to exhaust.
 
Some pictures might help. Why not just sell the 280 and put a 420 in the top? Low FPI radiator, single set of PWM fans. Nice and quiet job done :)
 
I will post some pictures when I have my Enthoo Primo built back up.
I am going to be sensible, and try the push/pull fans on the top radiator first, with the additional exhaust in the roof, and all gaps sealed up. I have also added additional fans as intakes compared to my last build, so I will see how this goes.
I have used my system down time to work out how to fit the front 240mm radiator without losing the HDD cages. If I fit a 2nd rad on the side, they will need to come out.

Selling the 280 is an option, but to be honest, I can’t be bothered with the hassle and jokers on evil bay these days.
 
CageyH said:
I will post some pictures when I have my Enthoo Primo built back up.
I am going to be sensible, and try the push/pull fans on the top radiator first, with the additional exhaust in the roof, and all gaps sealed up. I have also added additional fans as intakes compared to my last build, so I will see how this goes.
I have used my system down time to work out how to fit the front 240mm radiator without losing the HDD cages. If I fit a 2nd rad on the side, they will need to come out.

Selling the 280 is an option, but to be honest, I can’t be bothered with the hassle and jokers on evil bay these days.
Click to expand...

Sorry, didn't realise you don't have access to the MM. Only place I buy and sell components :)

Totly understand!
 
Members Marketplace?
Is it a secret society? ;)

Built the PC up. A quick 15 minute stress test with the Intel software with the i7-9700k set at 4.7 GHz showed an average temperature of 51 degrees, and a peak of 59. Not too shabby. I am running the PC overnight using folding@home on the COVID-19 research to make sure everything is good.

A quick check after a couple of hours shows the CPU getting into the low 60s, and the coolant reaching 35 degrees.
They look like acceptable figures, although I would like the coolant to be slightly lower temperature.
 
CageyH said:
Members Marketplace?
Is it a secret society? ;)

Built the PC up. A quick 15 minute stress test with the Intel software with the i7-9700k set at 4.7 GHz showed an average temperature of 51 degrees, and a peak of 59. Not too shabby. I am running the PC overnight using folding@home on the COVID-19 research to make sure everything is good.

A quick check after a couple of hours shows the CPU getting into the low 60s, and the coolant reaching 35 degrees.
They look like acceptable figures, although I would like the coolant to be slightly lower temperature.
Click to expand...
yeah members market is hidden
until a member 6 months and 1000 posts
if a long time member the required post count may be lower not sure
still about 6 weeks before i can use it
and 35c coolant is way under the max no worries there
 
Yes mate, MM is visible when you meet the above requirements. Post count used to be lower. It's very active, with reliable, long standing members. Built my entire rig from it, with a couple of exceptions.

Temps all sound good. If your fans are quiet then I'd be happy with them anyway, certainly no cause for concern.

Happy for you :)
 
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My post count averages 7 a year.

Folding@home has been running all night. Average Coolant temp was 34, with a max of 36 degrees.
I need to change the fan curves, as they are a bit noisy right now.
 
CageyH said:
My post count averages 7 a year.

Folding@home has been running all night. Average Coolant temp was 34, with a max of 36 degrees.
I need to change the fan curves, as they are a bit noisy right now.
Click to expand...

Roll on 2095 :D

If your fans are loud at those temps, I personally would be looking to add rad space at some point.

Why are you running push/pull, are your rads high FPI?
 
I am running push/pull to try and avoid replacing or adding a radiator. Just want to try and maximise the efficiency. I also had enough fans lying around to do it.

The rads are an EK CE280 and a Hardwarelabs 280GTS. They work best a low to medium speed.
I have changed the fan curves, and things are better, but still not perfect. Coolant is peaking at 36 degrees.

I’ll get there, but it gets warm down here in the south of France....
 
I understand mate, trying to keep my current build budget to an absolute minimum.

My own personal tinkering found push pull had almost no benefit on low FPI fans.
 
Here is a rather poor image (taken late last night/early this morning) of the configuration before I spend time tidying up the cables.

49863026082_18498c7fe4_c_d.jpg
 
Using the EK 420 top and EK 280 bottom,same case. Both radiators 45mm thick. Cooling a modest Ryzen 3600 + RTX 2080. Minimum speed, push/pull Phanteks fans. Even under load, no difference increasing fan speed, so rad area is fine.
The only advice, a bit of a bodge job, but a fan pointed where the VRM and the NVME is, sorted any issue with the minimum airflow of the slow (on purpose) fan speed.
 
It was the article on extreme rigs that tempted me to try it, pus most radiator reviews showing you gained about 10% performance.
I would still be happier with a little less noise, so fitting a 240mm fan in the front, or the side of the Enthoo Primo would probably do it. Two would probably be overkill, and I am not sure that 4 rads, a CPU and GPU block is a good idea on a single D5 pump.

The other thing I did was to have the bottom radiator fans turn off when the coolant temperature is below 25 degrees, and then slowly ramp up.
 
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MrPotato said:
Using the EK 420 top and EK 280 bottom,same case. Both radiators 45mm thick. Cooling a modest Ryzen 3600 + RTX 2080. Minimum speed, push/pull Phanteks fans. Even under load, no difference increasing fan speed, so rad area is fine.
The only advice, a bit of a bodge job, but a fan pointed where the VRM and the NVME is, sorted any issue with the minimum airflow of the slow (on purpose) fan speed.
Click to expand...

The top fan is an intake, blowing air across the VRM. ;)
I am missing 140mm rad space in comparison. A 420 in the roof is probably the most sensible step, as it is an easy change to make. I just need to make sure it clears my fill port, which is on the window side of the case, in the side of upper part of the ODD cage.
 
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