Watercooling Parts Check

[dante671]

Hi all

So I'm looking to build myself a new system with a DIY watercooling loop, it'll be my first watercooled system. I've built several systems before just not watercooled, I've read up a fair bit on it so should be Ok and I'm quite exited to go ahead with it.

However before purchasing I wanted to do a final check to ensure I've covered everything as well as checking if there's alternative components which could be better.

So here's my main components including the main PC components and watercooling components, not including the Thermaltake Core X9 case I'll be buying:
My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x 8Pack Xtreme X370 Asus Crosshair - AMD Ryzen 7 1700 @ 3.90GHz - Overclocked Ryzen Bundle = £850.16
  • Memory:Team Group Dark T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TDGED416G300
  • CPU Cooler:EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy EVO AMD/AM4 - Nickel
• 1 x TP-Link 450Mbps Wireless N Dual Band PCI Express Adapter (TL-WDN4800)= £29.99
• 1 x Super Flower Leadex II 650W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply - Black= £99.95
• 1 x Samsung 960 EVO Polaris 500GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £229.99
• 1 x Asus GTX 1080 Ti ROG Strix OC RGB Water Cooled Graphics Card= £936.95
• 1 x XSPC PETG Easy Cut / Easy Bend Toolkit= £14.99
• 1 x Monsoon Hardline Pro Heatgun w/ Adapter= £15.95
• 1 x EK Water Blocks EK-ATX Bridging Plug (24 pin)= £1.99
• 1 x EK Water Blocks Filling Bottle (1000mL)= £5.99
• 1 x Water Cooling Configurator = £371.65
  • CPU Block:Unwanted
  • Single Radiator:Unwanted
  • Triple Radiator:Unwanted
  • Reservoir:Unwanted
  • Pump:Unwanted
  • Dual Radiator:Unwanted
  • Fittings:Unwanted
  • Quad Radiator :EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream XE 480 (Quad)
  • Fluid:Mayhems X1 UV Red Premixed Watercooling Fluid 1L
  • Fans:4xThermalTake Riing 12, 120mm LED RGB 256 Colors High Static Pressure Radiator Fan
  • Tubing:Unwanted
  • Pump/Reservoir:EK Water Blocks EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM (incl. pump)
  • Acrylic Fittings:8xEK Water Blocks EK-HDC Fitting 12mm G1/4 - Nickel
  • Acrylic Tubing:EK Water Blocks EK-HD PETG Clear Tube 12/10mm 500mm (2pcs)
• 6 x EK Water Blocks EK-CSQ Plug G1/4 (for EK-Badge) - Nickel= £2.99
• 1 x EK Water Blocks EK-AF Ball Valve (10mm) G14 - Nickel= £14.99
• 1 x EK Water Blocks EK-AF T-Splitter 3F G14 - Nickel= £7.49
• 1 x EK Water Blocks EK-HD PETG Clear Tube 12/10mm 500mm (2pcs)= £4.99
• 4 x EK Water Blocks EK-HDC Fitting 12mm G1/4 - Nickel= £4.99

Total: £2,635.58
(includes shipping: £12.60)



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I've already done a check over the main PC components, so I'm just looking to check the watercooling side of things.

1. I like the idea of RGB fans but unsure if I'm splashing out a bit much for them?
2. Should I get a fan controller? Read on a sticky that its a good idea to do so, if so any recommendations (the idea of one for an optical bay appeals)?
3. Is everything compatible?
4. Have I selected enough fittings etc?
5. I picked a pump/reservoir combo to keep things a little simpler, is that best or is separate better?

Thanks in advance

 

[dante671]

Thanks for the advice, I've updated my original post following your recommendations.

For the drainage valve do you know if there's something like a male to male connector by EK that would connect the valve directly to the T-Splitter? I can't seem to find one but it seems like it'd maybe be a better way to connect the two rather than a short piece of tubing.

 

[dante671]

Excellent, thanks for advice. Is it Ok to mix brands of components? Had been trying to stick with EK throughout.

Anyone got any opinions about the fans? and the potential addition of a fan controller like the NZXT Sentry?

I'm plan to go with UV based watercooling, maybe green or red, so I'd thought either RGB fans or ones to match the colour scheme.

 

[dante671]

Yea tbh I'm clueless when it comes to overclocking, so I thought going for a bundle would remove any risk

 

[dante671]

In the end I went with pretty close the the spec I posted.

Thanks for the recommendation though. I considered the likes of a processor upgrade, but decided I liked the simplified OC option of the bundle. In the future OC'ing is definitely something I need to learn about and then try out, but I'd like to do it on a older PC.

For thee watercooling I don't think any of the EK bundles did a 480 radiator unfortunately, at least none that I could see so I went with the configurator/individual parts