Watercooling Newbie Advice

[m3z]

Just a little background - I've wanted to do a water cooled build for years and am finally ready to actually go ahead. My reasons for wanting to do it aren't to do with aesthetics but instead for low noise and because, well, it's cool. I don't intend to overclock anything.

I've just a couple of parts where I'm hoping to get some advice or confirmation.

So the components I want to cool (which I already own) are an amd 5950 and a kfa2 geforce 3090 sg.

The parts I'm looking at getting are:
EK Quantum Vector RTX 3080/3090 Copper + Plexi (WC-A14-EK)
EK Quantum Vector RTX 3080/3090 Backplate (WC-A15-EK)
EK Quantum Magnitude AM4 CPU Block Copper + Acetal (VO-002-EK)
2x EK CoolStream CE 420 Radiators (WC-99I-EK)
EX XTOP Revo Dual D5 PWM (WC-945-EK)
EK-RES X3 250 Reservoir (WC-314-EK)

Then for fittings I was planning on using
EK-Torque Angled 90 Black Nickel (WC-9V8-EK)
EK-Tube ZMT Matte Black 19/13mm (WC-9NY-EK)
XSPC G1/4 to 1/2 Barb Fitting (WC-099-XS)
EK Tube Clamp PVC 17-19mm (WC-9NQ-EK)
Monsoon Premium Temp Plug Chrome (WC-137-MO)
Bitspower Temperature Sensor Carbon Black (WC-520-BP)
EK Stop Fitting Plexi (WC-432-EK)

I know that 2 radiators is probably overkill, but considering the cost of the rest of the system adding another rad just because isn't really adding a significant price, and if it'll help it stay quiet then it's worth it to me.

I had planned to order a couple more of the barbs than I expect to need - just in case - cos once I start building I don't want to have to wait for a delivery. Also planned to get a couple of extra stop fittings, in case there are more holes to stop than I think there are.

For fluid I was planning on just using some de-ionised water. That ok?

So I was trying to follow the advice on keeping to the same metals - in this case I was trying to stay with copper but some of the fittings I can't find in copper - does that matter?

Is the tube the right size to go with the barb attachments?

Should I get a flow rate sensor - is it necessary - I would have thought a fan with a curve set to come on full blast if it reaches over a certain temp would be indicator enough if there was an issue?

Am I missing anything else I ought to have, or anything that will make it easier to do... something?

Any other things or gotchas I should know?

Thanks all for your time

 

[Radox-0]

Personally on tubing front, I would just go for 16/12 ZMT tubing and grab the compression fittings EK do which work fine then faff with barbs and clamps. Will be easier too work with in general as the inner wall is largely similar to what you want in 19/13, but external wall is a bit thinner so can make some easier bends anyways. Can then use some of EK's compression fittings like there EK-Quantum Torque STC-12/16 range which works with 16/12 ZMT, simple.

Usually deionised with inhibitors is one way or just grab something like Mayhems XT1 or EK EK-CryoFuel mix's which come with all the inhibitors premixed so just pour into loop.

For metals, its usually mixing aluminium with the other stuff is the advise. However most fittings are brass / plated etc so fine with the blocks you picked. In EKs range there gaming fluid line is kept apart. Aforementioned EK-Quantum Torque STC-12/16 for example are brass, work with the tubing size I mentioned and all blocks you mentioned.

Personally a flow rate meter is a nice to have then required. A D5 will have more then enough flow even at lower speeds in part list you outlined. Dual D5 in serial will be way more then enough. I use that combo in a much larger loop with way more blocks and it has less issues, let alone in a relatively simple loop like you outlined, Dual D5 in serial will have 0 issues with flow and could save yourself decent money by getting a single D5 which would also have no real issue. Best way IMO is to control the fan speeds based in the water temperature which is why I imagine you have the temp sensors. You have not mentioned where you will plug the temp sensors into, usually a device which accepts temp sensors also can control fans so usually able to set fan profiles up accordingly.

One comment would be to possibly look at using a ball valve and adding it in somewhere as a drain port to make life easier to drain. Also a cheap PSU, jump bridge or basically easy way to power pump only for leak testing.

 

[m3z]

Thanks for the tips. I have a couple of follow up comments/questions:

On your suggestion I looked again at the compression fittings and I see a footnote on EK's page for the 16/11 tubing saying it works perfectly with 16/12 fittings. As someone new to this, it's kind of confusing that they have different dimensions in the titles and I had originally given up on those compression fittings because I couldn't find tubing with the same numbers.

Is this D5 (WC-9VH-EK) the right thing - I had seen it and thought it looked like a replacement part. I assume I would also need something such as this mount (WC-9DY-EK)? When I looked before all the other D5 pumps have rgb (and I'm kind of allergic to rgb ) which is why I ended up picking the dual one. And yes, I could just turn it off, but some irrational subconscious part of me hates that it's there enough to spend more on one that doesn't have it.

Do you have any recommended flow meter and the fan controller device? I hadn't really gone as far as how I was planning to control the fans yet. The temp sensors I had thought to maybe plug them into a raspberry pi or similar - mostly so I can tinker more than anything.

Ball valve to drain sounds like the voice of experience. I shall have to add one to the list.
On the PSU - also sounds like a good tip, I have a bunch of old pc's in my garage I could raid but I have a bench power supply so I figure I will try to hook that up before I go raiding old machines for parts.

Thanks again

 

[therealdippy]

@3mz, as a WC noob myself, I am in a similar position to you with some key differences. I'm still waiting for a GPU and so I haven't even bought mobo, CPU etc. However I went ahead and bought all the other components I need for a watercooled system, so that I could check how everything fits, since there's a limit to what I could do looking and manufacturer specs etc. That progressed to actually building and testing it. Crazy as it seems I now have a fully functioning watercooling system without any of the heat generating parts! At least when I do get the parts it will be quick to complete the PC.

Anyway my reasons for doing this were only partly for the interest and fun of doing it (although it has indeed been a rewarding project so far), the main reasons were efficiency and noise. I wanted my PC to be very quiet at idle, as quiet as possible at load, and with a smooth transition of sound level between. To this end I have as many rads as I could fit in the case (Alphacool XT45 140 + XT45 420 + HWL SR2 420MP) and a total of 9 140mm fans (5 in 4 out). I bought the EK-XTOP Revo dual D5 PWM so that I could drive the pumps at low rpm for low noise (and I like the idea of redundancy) and have hooked everything up with EX ZMT 10/16. My tests show that I can get good flow rate (Aquacomputer High Flow Next) without hearing the pumps and feel fairly confident that this won't change much or at all when I have waterblocks connected. BTW I even have the expensive and unnecessary Corsair AX1600i on pre-order for the sole reason that it will be fanless at idle but has a 140mm fan to kick in if necessary at load.

Anyway, back to your post I have a few comments from my research and experience:
1) Don't discount the EK-XTOP Revo dual D5 PWM yet. I have tested it with one pump and dual pumps. There is no doubt in my mind that without the dual pumps I would need to run it at a higher rpm and would hear it. The pumps are hardly noisy but its still the sort of hum that is always noticeable.
2) One of the YouTube folks did a tube test and found that there was negligible improvement in efficiency with the bigger bore tubes.
3) If you are anything like me then you'll want to have confidence in the flow before the PC has finished boot. A flow meter is great for this but so is RGB. I too have a dislike for that sort of bling however I have found that just having the white light in my EK FLT360 reservoir allows me to see the slight movement of the coolant. I imagine I'll like that with the waterblocks too.
4) Based on my experience with Aquacomputer I plan to use their Octo fan controller.
5) Great advice from @Radox-0 - I bought a Noctua fan controller for my testing, hooked up to an old PC PSU.
6) I bought a pressure tester. I'm in two minds if I recommended or not. For me as a noob with mild OCD it was essential for my confidence.

 

[megatron]

With the EK Res 150 lite you get a male to male g1/4in which is meant for putting the res ontop of the pump.

 

[MikeTimbers]

I wouldn't do barbs, and I wouldn't do 19mm OD tubing. I bought some and 19/13 fittings and I hate them. They're just so bulky.

I'm with Radox-0, go with 16/12 ZMT tubing and 16/12 EK STC Torque which I've used and really liked.

 

[Drumroll]

16/10 ZMT and EK Classic Chrome.
Single D5 is plenty.
As you're going for EK waterblocks, even easier, not very restrictive, anyway. Same for radiators.
About flow meter, the aquacomputer is quite accurate, can't say about the others.
For a 3090, I'm inclined to suggest the active backplate. £80+ on top of the regular backplate, but considering how hot the backplate still gets watercooler, and that heating around other components, I rather have it redirected straight out the case.
2 rads not overkill, believe me.
I would recommend the coolant to go past GPU and CPU, then to the radiator exhausting, and them to the radiator as intake. The exhausting radiator would deal with most of the heat, not affecting the other components. The second radiator would "normalize" the temperature, and the few degrees over ambient won't affect the first radiator performance or the other components as much.
3 x 360 here. Delta of 5C gaming. 6C benchmark.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

2 X d5 pumps as said certainly not necessary from a flow point
But a second pump from a redundancy point
Is something I would never be without
Pumps are pretty reliable don't get me wrong
But draining everything down to replace a failed pump
Isn't a two minute job
With two pumps if one should fail
I can sort it at a time that suits me not have
To be without a pc as soon as the pump fails until
I can get a replacement and fix it
As also said a ball valve for draining
Put your drain point as low in the loop as you can though

For radiators xflow or crossflow ones
Can be a good idea
The coolant goes in one end out the other
Not in and out the same end
It makes for less tubing runs and a tidier build
Multiport radiators are also my preference
Having extra ports gives more flexibility
I like to use the top port on my radiator as a fill port
For example
Also when draining being able to crack open
That top port prevents air locks and makes it drain
So much easier

 

[D1craig]

Have a look at the FLT reservoirs that EKWB do. They look a lot better to me. I got a 120mm one.

You could even get a distro plate reservoir. The make things a lot easier if you can fit them in your case.

 

[megatron]

@Drumroll Jayz2cents says flow order doesn't matter.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

Yeah loop order
Other than reservoir feeding the pump
It doesn't matter as after its been running
For a period of time it reaches equilibrium
Regardless of what order it's in
Least as far as I remember from
Martin's liquid lab days of old who I rate a lot higher
Than jayz2cents for water-cooling stuff
As he did stuff really scientifically

 

[Drumroll]

@Drumroll Jayz2cents says flow order doesn't matter.

Don't matter to an extend.
Dropping from 80% to 50%, increase my delta in 1 to 2C. Not a big deal, true, but if your flow rate is too low, you may be limiting your performance.
Just do the test and drop your pump speed to 25%.
But using 2 or even 4 pumps (Alphacool) max speed won't return much performance, at least for 99.99% of the users.

 

[Rebecca Whitlow]

I wouldn't do barbs, and I wouldn't do 19mm OD tubing. I bought some and 19/13 fittings and I hate them. They're just so bulky.

I'm with Radox-0, go with 16/12 ZMT tubing and 16/12 EK STC Torque which I've used and really liked.

I want something like this! It's so pretty!!!!