Watercooling build - advice and spec please

ChrisD.

ChrisD.

ChrisD.

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So, following on from the idea of watercooling my FT02B, I've decided to start looking at alternate cases. I do like Silverstone, so I am thinking of building a new watercooled loop in a TJ07. Would this case suit nicely?

I haven't watercooled for a number of years, so I've no idea about latest kit.

Spec of my PC is:

i7-2600k
P8P67 (may change this for a better colour scheme)
16GB Ripjaws RAM (red coolers)
Gigabyte Windforce 290X
Seasonic 1050W PSU

Naturally I don't have the case yet. :)

Am I right in saying that the EK Supreme block for the CPU and the EK-FC 290X blocks would be good choices? And what rad/pump/tubing and accessories would I require for the build?
 
Found this thread:
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18561705

Gives me a great starting point.

Got this in my basket right now.

Silverstone TemJin TJ07B-W BigTower Windowed Case - Black (SST-TJ07B-W USB 3.0) £259.99
(£216.66) £259.99
(£216.66)
EK Water Blocks EK-FC R9-290X - Nickel EK Water Blocks EK-FC R9-290X - Nickel £95.99
(£79.99) £95.99
(£79.99)
EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy - Nickel EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy - Nickel

Is there another case I should look at instead of the TJ07? I ideally want something I don't have to mod. And I've started to go off the TJ07 now, after looking at some others. What about the Corsair 540?

I really don't want to be hacking away to get stuff to fit, I want it to all go in nicely and look good, as the case will be on my desk.

EDIT 750D looks ideal, a 120.3 rad in the top. Could add more later on.
 
Last edited:
Right, had a look through, I think this is a decent start?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Corsair Obsidian 750D Full Tower Case - Black (CC-9011035-WW) £160
1 x XSPC D5 Dual Bay Reservoir/Pump Combo V2 £109.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC R9-290X - Nickel £95.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy - Nickel £52.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream PE 360 (Triple) £49.99
6 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £17.99 (£107.94)
2 x Mayhems X1 Blood Red Coolant £7.99 (£15.98)
4 x Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - Clear £5.99 (£23.96)
1 x XSPC G1/4" T Fitting (Black Chrome) £3.95
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-CSQ Fitting 10/13mm G1/4 - Black £2.99
Total : £623.76 (includes shipping : FREE).




I'm probably missing something, or have put in the wrong combinations. Also what are the quick connect things in that other thread, is that to connect the tubes to blocks?

Also is that T piece enough to top up the fluid?
Would that rad go straight in at the top of the 750D along with three fans?

Complete idiot at this, apologies.
 
Last edited:
Hi Milanochris

Recently did my first watercooled Pc and found the EK stuff to be very good.
Keeping a 290X and i7 4770k very cool and silent.

Went with Phanteks Enthoo Primo for the case. I also had a silverstone FT02 in the past and believe the Phantek to be as good quality wise.

I did not go for the bay res/pump combo as heard reports about them being noisy due to vibration so got a pump top combo with separate bay res.

The T fitting is mainly used to add a drain for easy maintenance.

Cant help you with rad size best to google max dimensions for that case as those EK rads are slightly wider than other rads.

Hope something I have written helps you.
 
MilanoChris said:
Right, had a look through, I think this is a decent start?

/snip/


I'm probably missing something, or have put in the wrong combinations. Also what are the quick connect things in that other thread, is that to connect the tubes to blocks?

Also is that T piece enough to top up the fluid?
Would that rad go straight in at the top of the 750D along with three fans?

Complete idiot at this, apologies.
Click to expand...
Quick disconnects connect inline with each other (male<>female>) on any part of your loop that you want. People often use them as a drain solution (disconnect them and then connect another length of tubing with a spare male or female connector going to a bucket. You want them at the lowest part of your loop if going for this method) or as a means of isolating a part of their loop to allow components to be changed without draining the whole loop.

This thread will give you an idea of the different options available for sorting out a drain line: http://www.overclock.net/t/1420660/the-easiest-way-to-drain-any-loop-guaranteed-with-illustrations

Loop is filled and topped up via the reservoir, there's a screw cap on the top which reveals the fill port.

You may want to go for more radiator area to aid cooling. You can get a 240 or 280 in the front of the case. Maybe one of these:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 240 - XFlow £36.98
Total : £42.96 (includes shipping : £4.98).



The you could go bay/res>CPU>top rad>GPU>bottom port on front rad>top port on front rad>bay/res You could then work in your chosen drain solution where the loop connects to the bottom port of the front rad.

You'll need more compression fittings, two per component plus any extras needed to connect your chosen drain solution. You might want to think about a fan controller for connecting all the fans.
 
So the compression fittings basically replace the old barbs?

Then use quick disconnects where I want to run off a drain/filling point?

Thanks guys.
 
Uh, make sure you check that the WF3 card (290X) is still reference card, they're definitely boards made by Gigabyte as Opposed to AMD, but not sure if they changed anything.
 
Addicted said:
Uh, make sure you check that the WF3 card (290X) is still reference card, they're definitely boards made by Gigabyte as Opposed to AMD, but not sure if they changed anything.
Click to expand...

Yeah this is something I was going to look into one I'd worked out the rest of the rig. I would just get another reference 290X of the MM and put that under water, and put this one in the mining rig out in the garage.
 
I'm torn between the following cases:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-143-CS&groupid=2362&catid=1489 or
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-036-CS&groupid=2362&catid=1489 or
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-120-CS&groupid=2362&catid=1489 or
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-000-PT&groupid=2362&catid=2674

I really want to have a bay mounted res so I think the 540 may be out of the question? But my problem with that is that it's the case I would prefer. Which leaves the other three, and the Corsair 900D is pretty expensive. Would a single bay res be enough in a 540 to cool a CPU and a GPU, with a second GPU in mind later on?

Until I figure out which case I want, I can't really choose my pump/res/rad, so how is this looking?

YOUR BASKET
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC R9-290X - Nickel £95.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ - Full Nickel £66.95
6 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £17.99 (£107.94)
2 x Koolance QD3 Male Quick Disconnect No-Spill Coupling, Compression for 10mm x 13mm (3/8in x 1/2in) £11.99 (£23.98)
2 x Koolance QD3 Female Quick Disconnect No-Spill Coupling, Compression for 10mm x 13mm (3/8in x 1/2in) £11.99 (£23.98)
2 x EK Water Blocks EK-CSQ Adapter 45° G1/4 Black £7.99 (£15.98)
4 x Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - Clear £5.99 (£23.96)
2 x EK-EKoolants UV Blue £5.99 (£11.98)
8 x EK Water Blocks EK-CSQ Fitting 10/13mm G1/4 - Black £2.99 (£23.92)
Total : £394.63 (includes shipping : FREE).



Pointers welcome. :)
 
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I don't like the silver interior. I've been reading review of the 750D, 900D and 540. Still in three minds.

However, are my connections above correct for the base of the build?
 
MilanoChris said:
I don't like the silver interior. I've been reading review of the 750D, 900D and 540. Still in three minds.

However, are my connections above correct for the base of the build?
Click to expand...
Why are you set on a bay res? I got a 540 for my watercooled PC (pretty much the same as yours actually, R9 290X). I got a DDC pump/res combo and it works nicely, though it is too noisy for my liking, would have got a D5 instead if I knew. Mounted in the back...

fdXqpP7.jpg.png


Here's the build if you want to take a look. Also, get yourself a ball valve and a plug for draining your loop, with the T-fitting.

Also note that the R9 290X can have quite bad coil whine. The first one I got was really bad and I had to send it back, and the second one is still fairly bad and you can hear it while playing games. It's one of the reasons I don't think watercooling was worth it for me (other reasons include the stress of actually building it, noisy pump, and I got pretty unlucky with overclocking). I could have got SLI GTX 780s with aftermarket coolers instead and had double the performance for the same price. I'm not trying to put you off, just making you aware of my experience.
 
That's not a bad point, I could upgrade my CPU and motherboard for a lot less any maybe even throw in a second 290X. My issue with that though is the GPU noise when mining, I had two MSI 280X's in my case and they got very loud while mining and they were their Twin Frozr cards.

What do you mean with the T piece, I planned on just using disconnects just how the link above shows? I want a bay res as I like the way they look, I could use a separate pump elsewhere in the case, it doesn't have to be combined.
 
How's this looking lads? Any pointers please?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case - Black (CC-9011030-WW) £129.95
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC R9-290X - Acetal+Nickel £95.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-D5 Vario X-TOP - Acetal (incl. pump) £89.99
1 x Koolance TNK-501 Single 5.25in Bay Reservoir, Rev.1.1 £65.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ - Acetal + Nickel £52.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream PE 360 (Triple) £49.99
1 x BitFenix Hydra Fan/LED Controller £24.98
3 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £17.99 (£53.97)
2 x Koolance QD3 no-spill quick male to 13/10mm - black £14.99 (£29.98)
2 x Koolance QD3 Female Quick Disconnect No-Spill Coupling, Compression for 10mm x 13mm (3/8in x 1/2in) - Black £13.99 (£27.98)
2 x Koolance LIQ-702 Liquid Coolant Bottle, High-Performance, 700mL (UV Yellow) £11.99 (£23.98)
4 x Monsoon 13/10mm (OD 1/2) Rotary 45° - Matte Black £6.95 (£27.80)
2 x Monsoon 13/10mm (OD 1/2) Rotary 90° - Matte Black £6.49 (£12.98)
4 x Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - Clear £5.99 (£23.96)
10 x EK Water Blocks EK-CSQ Fitting 10/13mm G1/4 - Black £2.99 (£29.90)
Total : £740.39 (includes shipping : FREE).






Few Q's:
Is there enough tubing?
Is there enough fluid?
Have I got the correct fittings for what I have in the basket?
How would I fill the loop with that res?
 
Last edited:
Urgh, changed my mind.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Phanteks Enthoo Primo Full Tower Case £189.95
1 x XSPC D5 Dual Bay Reservoir/Pump Combo V2 £109.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC R9-290X £89.99
1 x XSPC EX560 Quad Fan Radiator £89.99
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy £49.99
1 x Akasa FC. SIX Channel Fan Controller - Brushed aluminium - AK-FC-08BK £27.98
6 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £17.99 (£107.94)
2 x Koolance QD3 no-spill quick male to 13/10mm - black £14.99 (£29.98)
2 x Koolance QD3 Female Quick Disconnect No-Spill Coupling, Compression for 10mm x 13mm (3/8in x 1/2in) - Black £13.99 (£27.98)
6 x Koolance Fitting Single, *Black* Swiveling Elbow £9.95 (£59.70)
3 x Mayhems X1 UV Clear Blue Premixed Watercooling Fluid 1L £7.99 (£23.97)
4 x Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 13/10 - Clear £5.99 (£23.96)
8 x Monsoon 13/10mm (ID 3/8 OD 1/2) Free Center Compression Fitting - Matte Black £5.29 (£42.32)
1 x Official Overclockers UK Elite Gaming Mug £3.98
1 x XSPC PSU Bridging Connector (24 Pin) £1.3
Total : £896.71 (includes shipping : £14.75).

 
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