Watercooling basket

rankftw

rankftw

rankftw

Associate
Joined
8 Jul 2011
Posts
313
Location
Rosyth, Scotland
Hey guys. I'm embarking on my first watercooling build and could use some opinions. My case is a Fractal Design Define R5. I have a 9900k and Palit 2080ti to cool. I'm planning on having a 360mm rad on top with a 240mm rad at the front. This is all pretty new to me and I just want to make sure I'm buying everything I'll need. My budget will be around £500 but I can stretch that a little. I'd probably like some way of draining the loop easily too. Any help or recommendations would be welcome.

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £492.64 (includes shipping: £0.00)​
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EK Water Blocks EK-Cable Y-Splitter 3-Fan PWM (10cm)
WC-9AK-EK
£3 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
EK Water Blocks EK-ATX Bridging Plug (24 pin)
WC-995-EK
£3 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
XSPC Radiator Fan Screw 6-32 30mm (16PCS/BAG)
WC-40Y-XS
£1 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Mayhems - PC Coolant - X1 Premix - Eco Friendly Series, 1 Litre, Clear
WC-035-MH
£12 (incl. VAT)
Find out more
Last edited:

pastymuncher

pastymuncher

pastymuncher

Man of Honour
Joined
12 Jul 2005
Posts
20,533
Location
Aberlour, NE Scotland
I would ditch the overpriced tubing for Mayhems excellent 13/10mm tubing at only £1.99 per metre. It's quality tubing and there is absolutely no need to spend any more. Personally I don't like 13/10mm due to the thin wall thickness and prefer 16/10mm which is only slightly more expensive at £2.45 per metre. You can still choose EK compression fittings as they have 16/10mm at the same price.

My personal choice of fluid is Mayhems X1 as I have been using it for a few years now and have had no problems with it. They do a clear version and it's £1 cheaper per bottle than the EK stuff.

Not sure about the fans but if price is a factor then I would find somewhere that have the new static pressure Arctic Cooling PWM fans in stock rather than those XSPC fans. If price isn't a factor then I would spend a little more on the Phanteks PH-F120MP PWM fans (theres a black blade version as well). There are better fans but personally I think that anything above a tenner per fan is just ridiculous. I have 12x BeQuiet Pure Wings 2 120mm fans for my radiators. They are not the PWM version but are the three pin version and are controlled by a fan controller. Turned down to 900rpm they are more or less silent yet still keep the water temp below 22 degrees c even while gaming (my rads have outside air going through them). Last summer I had to turn them up due to the extreme temperatures and they are noisy at full speed but that was only for a few weeks. The best bit is that I only paid £5.26 each for them as the retailer I got them from got hold of loads of them from failed BeQuiet Silent loop AIO's so is offering them for this fantastic price. The ones I received were brand new and unused so I am extremely happy with them.

Everything else looks good. The CPU block is a good choice as I don't think that the Pro version is worth the extra money for barely a 1 degree decrease in temps. You should have very good results with that setup although I can't believe how expensive it is for a decent loop these days.
 

pastymuncher

pastymuncher

pastymuncher

Man of Honour
Joined
12 Jul 2005
Posts
20,533
Location
Aberlour, NE Scotland
Forgot to look at the rads to see what they came with. The rads do indeed come with 6mm and 30mm screws so there is no need to buy extra. Saying that, they are only 95p per bag and spares are always handy. Everything looks good to go.

Forgot about the drain. A drain should be at the lowest point in the loop and is usually done with a "T-piece", a ball valve, a male to male G1/4" adaptor, blanking screw, G1/4" barb and a bit of left over tubing. A good place to fit a drain is on the outlet (or spare port) of the pump. Fit the "T-Piece", preferably a rotary one so you can orient it the way you want, and fit the male to male adaptor to the 90 degree outlet. Fit your ball valve to this and when it's not in use fit the blank to the open end. Take your barb (any will do as it won't be fixed in place until you drain the loop) and fit it to your left over bit of tubing. When you want to drain the loop just remove the blanking plug and screw in the barb and it's length of tubing and open the ball valve. Here is a list of parts. As we have to use OCUK on the forums the parts seem quite expensive but they are comparable to the same items at other retailers. I have two drains in my loop and as they are out of sight I didn't care what they look like so my ball valves are chrome and black and cost me £3.59 each. They work and they don't leak so they are good enough for me. Likewise my "T-Pieces" are chrome and cost me £1.99 each. Again, they do the job for me. I only picked the bits I have picked for you because it's in keeping with the other black fittings and will be visible in your case. All the same, I don't like picking a "T-piece" and ball valve that costs as much as these. Anyway, these are what you will need:-

My basket at Overclockers UK:
​
 
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