Watercooling - I am drowning!

jonjay

jonjay

jonjay

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Hello all :)

So I want to get into watercooling so I can have a quiet and cool system. I had a custom setup many many many years ago so any knowledge I had then [probably old and wrong anyway] I have forgotten to be honest.

I have read through the guides and watched several videos about my options with my case. I put together a shopping list but part of me thinks I am overspending for what I want to achieve. I am also aware that my components are not the newest but still pretty decent?

My Goals:
#1 - Quiet and Cool system.
#2 - Has to be tidy and functional even though I havent got a window on the side of the case
#3 - Good value but I am willing to spend if it makes a difference.
#4 - easy to maintain i.e. flush out every 6 months?
#5 - Dont mix materials. Try to keep everything copper? Is that the best way to go?
#6 - Cool both 7950s with water. I am thinking this is pointless even though I do game but having a high stressful job in IT and a kid my time does get limited so spending 300+ on a new gfx card seems a little bit wasteful.
#7 - Have fun doing this mini project, learn something.

Disclaimers:
- I am getting a bit confused with fittings/stop valves/plugs how many I need of eac etc...Probably just need to read more but there are so many options its confusing.

Spec and questions:
XSPC X2O 750 Dual Bayres/Pump (Black) V41 - £59.98*
?? Will the pump be quiet and powerful enough for two rads? For the CM690 II case it is recommended to get a 60mm rad and just have a pull setup rather than a 30mm in a push/pull due to space issues.

XSPC EX240 Crossflow Radiator £41.99*
??Will go in the top of the case. May need a thinner rad if possible due to space?

XSPC RX240 Dual Fan Radiator V3 - £59.99*
?? Recommended for the bottom of the case to due space issues.

3x Primochill Primoflex Advanced Tubing 16/11 - Clear - £23.96*

10x Bitspower Premium G1/4" Black Matte High Flow 7/16" ID (5/8" OD) Compression Fitting - £69.80*
?? Is this the right amount for CPU block, two rads, two graphics cards, res??

1x XSPC RayStorm Pro WaterBlock - £64.99
?? Worth spending the extra on this? I doubt I will get much more speed from my existing 4.6ghz clock?

Mayhems Ultra Pure H2O 5Ltr - £12.95*

Bitspower Mini-Valve - Matt Black £16.98*
?? Required for future maintenance when draining the system?

XSPC Hose Cutter (0-25mm) - £6.95*
2x XSPC 240mm Radiator Gasket - £5.98*
??Are these a gimmick?

Other Questions:
I am sure I will need some 90 and 45 degree bends, not sure which ones? Also Is there anything I can save some cash on, better alternatives.

Finally Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. I appreciate your help and will post pictures when I get the chance :)


UPDATE 01/01/2015:

Right so my current list is this - taking on board everyones suggestions

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £345.05
(includes shipping: £11.10)
​


​

THE PLAN
Top Rad
Mount top Radiator EX240 with inlet and outlet on the same side as the Reservoir for shorter and neater run. The rad will have two 90 degree fittings.

Fans will be located outside the case within the top cover of the CM690. These will be my existing AK-FN059 120mm Ultra Quiet Venom Viper in a pull configuration.

Bottom Rad
Fans will be mounted in a push configuration [same fans as top rad). Rad will sit on top and have 90 degree fittings as it will be really tight [apparently millimeters of room from the front fan]. The outlet of the rad will then go into the 4 Way Fitting whereby my drainage valve will go etc..

Routing Plan
Routing will essential going

Res / Pump > Top Rad > CPU Block > GPU Blocks > Lower Rad > Res > Pump

More Questions
1) What will I lose by not having an RX240 [60mm] rad and only a EK240 [30mm] rad. Is the 60mm overkill or its better to have it than not.
2) Can one 60mm Rad be enough for everything?
3) I made some minor tweaks to what MrMD suggested, this current shopping list should work?
4) EK Water Blocks EK-Thermosphere - Nickel - will these definitely fit the 6950s?

All sound good? :)
 
Last edited:

jonjay

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Sin_Chase said:
Never used a bay res or this particular model. However, I can only feel that a bay res mounted pump is going to be hard to isolate/dampen and will be nosier than a separate pump in another suitable location.



Don't do Push/Pull. Waste of time.



No. At minimum you need 12 fittings for the parts listed. You will want extras anyway. They are cheap enough that you should buy more, and a few 45 deg rotarys etc for places where tubing might kink. Consider using hard links or a bridgeport for the GPUs as connecting GPUs can be fiddly with flexible tubing.




Get a premix solution which contains inhibitors/biocides.



Yes, a drain port is useful. Do not forget to add EXTRA FITTINGS to put it in.



Up to you whether you use this or not. Decent scissors or a sharp knife do a decent enough job.



Never used them, cannot comment. I imagine it will largely depend on the fans you will use, whether they are designed for rad use and whether a standoff between fan/rad is worthwhile. Doubt they will represent any meaningful temp difference.



Yup. 90degs are overkill in my opinion, never needed more than a 45 deg personally, depends on your loop plan.
Click to expand...

Ok so changing my list to:

XSPC RayStorm CPU WaterBlock (Intel) - £49.99
?? Its cheaper than the Pro version.

16 x EK Water Blocks EK-ACF Fitting 12/16mm - Black Nickel - £60.64*

2x EK Water Blocks EK-AF Angled 45° G1/4 Black Nickel - £4.99*

2x EK Water Blocks EK-AF Angled 90 Degrees G1 / 4 inch - Black nickel
?? I may need 90 degrees for the lower rad in the case as the inlet and outlet will be towards the fan side to due to the proximity of the PSU. £5.99*

1x EK Water Blocks EK-AF Ball Valve (10mm) G14 - Black Nickel - £12.95
?? Cheaper than the other valve I chose

EK Water Blocks EK-AF FillPort G1/4 - Black Nickel - £5.99*
?? Do I need this?

Mayhems Fine Silver Kill Coil - £4.50
?? I guess I can put this in resevoir and just use distilled water?

Guess the above is all good and compatible?

My total costs are:
Total order value
Total value excluding VAT
Total VAT at 20.00 %

£347.66

Seems quite expensive or is it about bang on? Looking at the OcUK kits, they are half the price which sort of confuses me as it suggest I am adding stuff I dont need or they are missing stuff?
 

jonjay

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MrMD said:
XSPC rads come with gaskets,no need to buy new extras ;)

If one of your primary goals is quietness you will want to avoid the lower end and bay mounted pumps.For silence you want to be looking at a D5 pump.

Its immposible to get new 7950 blocks now as the cards a old.You could get a pair of universal blocks like the EK-Thermosphere and use them,you would need to get the additional mounting plates and some heats sinks too tho.Alternately you could try and source some Full cover 7950 blocks 2nd hand,maybe try the MM?


Whats your budget?
Click to expand...
I havent got a budget really but i am trying to be sensible and weigh the cost and how future proof it is for when I want to upgrade.

This pump better? D5 Dual Bay Reservoir/Pump Combo V2... CM690 II case may be limited in space for seperate pump somewhere?

I fully get your point with the 7950s...You think its even worth bothering with it?

Rammix said:
Get more 90s than you think you'll need. My build got delayed because I failed to get enough. So long as you don't open any you don't use I'm sure the good folks at overclockers would rma them for you.
Click to expand...
The 90s I got in previous post ok? I think I may need two for the bigger RAD at the bottom of the case.
 

jonjay

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MrMD said:
Heres what you need would need including gpu blocks,based around a D5/bay combo :)

Only two things things missing are fans and the additional mounting plates for the gpu blocks.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £453.77
(includes shipping: £12.60)
​


​

Watercooling a pair of 7950 is probily still worth it if you plan on keeping them for a while,the reduction in noise would be significant IMO.


Edit:Regarding the ocuk kits,most of them use entry level parts and have the bare minimum required to build a loop,thus why they seem a lot cheaper than than some of the kit your looking at
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for spending the time to do this.

What would I need the XSPC G1/4" 4 Way Fitting for? Also is 1m of tubing enough?
 

jonjay

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MrMD said:
I should have put 2m of tubing actually,my bad.

The 4 way is for the drain port.You want this as low as possible in your loop for convience.In your case that would be the bottom mounted rad.

So you into one rad port it would be a standard commpresion fitting,in the other port it would be, Commpresion>4 way>male to male>Rad. Then put a stop plug on one of the open ports and the drain valve to the other(using another male to male extender)

Would look similar to this
http://postimg.org/image/bfpcq45rb/
Click to expand...
Brilliant, thats helped me a lot. Think I may be ready to start ordering :)
 

jonjay

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zoomee said:
my advice - don't buy new.

You can pickup most of the important (and expensive) components from the MM for half the cost if not better. There will obviously be some bits you will need new so dont discount purchasing from OCuk completely! lol :)
Click to expand...
I would have to post another 250 times which isnt going to happen. I been purchasing from OcUK 16 years maybe, shame i cant get access to the MM.
 

jonjay

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Question would having one bigger radiator [RX240] that is 60mm instead of two rads, handle CPU and two GPUs?

My original thought was to have an EX240 and an RX240? Would I be better off with 2x EX240s? I am literally on the verge of ordering everything but trying to save a few pennies here and there if possible.
 

jonjay

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Right so my current list is this - taking on board everyones suggestions

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £345.05
(includes shipping: £11.10)
​


​

Plan is:
Top Rad
Mount top Radiator EX240 with inlet and outlet on the same side as the Reservoir for shorter and neater run. The rad will have two 90 degree fittings.

Fans will be located outside the case within the top cover of the CM690. These will be my existing AK-FN059 120mm Ultra Quiet Venom Viper in a pull configuration.

Bottom Rad
Fans will be mounted in a push configuration [same fans as top rad). Rad will sit on top and have 90 degree fittings as it will be really tight [apparently millimeters of room from the front fan]. The outlet of the rad will then go into the 4 Way Fitting whereby my drainage valve will go etc..

Routing Plan
Routing will essential going

Res / Pump > Top Rad > CPU Block > GPU Blocks > Lower Rad > Res > Pump

More Questions
1) What will I lose by not having an RX240 [60mm] rad and only a EK240 [30mm] rad. Is the 60mm overkill or its better to have it than not.
2) Can one 60mm Rad be enough for everything?
3) I made some minor tweaks to what MrMD suggested, this current shopping list should work?
4) EK Water Blocks EK-Thermosphere - Nickel - will these definitely fit the 6950s?

All sound good? :)
 
Last edited:

jonjay

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Sin_Chase said:
Have you considered dumping your 7950s and migrating to a single card setup, for which you could buy a proper full block?

Yes, it's going to cost you extra but it will alleviate no end of headache. Depending on what you could fetch for your current GPUs it might be worth considering.
Click to expand...
I am indeed.

I think I am going to go for Alphacool HF 14 Smart Motion universal copper edition. Its cheap and if it doesn't work then meh, I will have to buy a new gfx card to do what I want.

I want to get ordering but would appreciate peoples opinions on:

1) What will I lose by not having an RX240 [60mm] rad and only a EK240 [30mm] rad. Is the 60mm overkill or its better to have it than not.
2) Can one 60mm Rad be enough for everything?
3) I made some minor tweaks to what MrMD suggested, this current shopping list should work?
 

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Bit of an update I ordered everything so should be coming tomorrow at some point. Will probably take me till the weekend to get underway due to work.

I managed to sell one of my 7950s for a good price to recoup some of the costs. I am really happy about this as xfire was so pony. Just going to watercool one of the cards which will save money on fittings, block etc...

:)
 

jonjay

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Hello all,

So after 1.5 years of my watercooling just sitting in a box, I finally got round to installing it.:D

Everything went swimmingly well and the only issue I got now is a little tidy up with one of the hose lengths being a tad longer so when I drain the system I will fix that.

So currently running my i7 2600k @ 4.7ghz at 1.36v with temps in HWMonitor at showing as 62c max, motherboard is showing 53c during a heavy gaming session. In benchmarks like Firestrike and Heaven the CPU doesn't reach that high and I also noticed if I limit the frames in a game like Quake Champions to 144fps the CPU doesn't go above 53 degrees. If I uncap the FPS it goes up to 60-62 degrees. Same behavior with my 980ti also.

I have some questions:

1) Are the temps in line with what they should be?
2) I used the paste that came with EK Supereme EVO block - I read it was high quality paste. Should I used something like Artic Silver 5 or bought grizzly?
3) Got my 2600k to 4.9Ghz at 1.42v. Ran through benchmarks fine. Ran initially find through a gaming session but the next day it blue screened on me a few times. Is it worth me trying to get it stable at 4.9Ghz and trying high vcore like 1.45?

It the back of my mind I am wondering weather I need to re-seat the block and see if the coverage of the paste was good first time round? I used the "pee" method. Ultimately I want to squeeze as much out of the system as possible but if the trade off is too much heat or a burnt out CPU then may just leave it and be happy with 4.7Ghz...Just seems a waste as I got 4.6Ghz at 1.35v with my Corsair H80i.
 

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VKleita said:
wow .. now that is some serious sitting time before install, and I thought I was slow :p

The one question i dont have is "How hot in the loop getting?" as we dont have a water temp sensor in there.

Is the air coming through the rads warm when in use?

And no im not an expert :)
Click to expand...
Yea, I was just too busy with other projects :)

Yea warm air is definitely coming from the rad when gaming. That would indicate its doing its job right?
 

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Bluntwrapped said:
Your temps seem pretty great to be honest but fire up something like Realbench stress test or IBT and see what happens.

You'll prob find anything beyond 1.425v becomes much more difficult to cool.
Click to expand...
Been doing a lot of tweaking lately trying to hit 4.8/4.9ghz stable. Of course it has meant hours of IBT/Prime/Realbench

Currently with a 1hour Prime 95 blend: 1.40vcore, 1.605 PLLv, VCCIO 1.07 and 4.8ghz clock I am seeing 71 degrees max. With IBT I am seeing 74.

This morning I dropped vcore down to 1.395 as I think i got enough stability to go down a little on vcore and I am seeing after 20 minutes Prime blend 67 degrees max.

Part of me thinks it should be lower. Maybe the contact isnt that great on the CPU Block and I have read this can be an issue with the Supremacy Evos. What is everyone's thoughts? I would have thought it should be early 60s with water but if I am to hit 4.9ghz or 5.0ghz i will need more voltage.
 
Last edited:

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Bluntwrapped said:
Sounds about right to be honest. When I had my 2700k under a XSPC Raystorm block 1.4v+ was particularly hot running (70c+) even with multiple attempts at reseating the thing. If you’re using a EK block I would expect temps to be a bit lower, but not by much. Best stay below 1.4v if you can and you’ll be fine.
Click to expand...
Cheers mate.

I think when i drain system I'll investigate the tim spread and see what it is like. Currently they are good for what they are now so no need to change and in gaming scenarios like Doom the CPU didnt go above 56 degrees.

I'll be pushing for 4.9Ghz so I will see what the temps are like then.
 
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