Watercooling rig spec

dhill

dhill

dhill

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Ive never gone down the complete watercooling setup myself before, having only gone closed loop for CPU cooling only. However, I am getting the urge to take that first big step into "proper" watercooling.

Im looking to watercool the rig in my spec (cpu & gpu), but this maybe changing to Gigabyte GA-Z87x-OC & 4670k (which I will overclock) so needs to be cross compatible cpu wise really if possible. This will all be going into a Corsair Carbide Air 540 case so space isn't going to be an issue.

Is the EK Water Blocks EK-FC R9-280X Matrix water block one of the better ones available for the Asus Matrix HD7970 Platinum?

So spec me up please, I'm not looking for the best of the best type solution but also don't won't a cheap as chips solution either. Really just looking at what a watercooling solution is going to cost me vs the performance/gaming benefits.
 
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Yes. Sorry, I forgot that the 280x has the same chip orientation as the 7970 :o
For some reason I thought they'd made it square like the 290's...

Ok then! Let's get you specced up :)
 
I did pretty much the same one for someone else earlier with a 540 in mind, so...

Want fancier fittings or coloured tubing?

YOUR BASKET
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-D5 Vario X-RES 100 (incl. pump) £105.95
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC R9-280X Matrix - Acetal+Nickel £89.99
1 x XSPC RayStorm CPU WaterBlock (Intel) £51.98
1 x Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 360 £49.99
1 x Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 240 £35.99
2 x Mayhems X1 Clear Premixed Watercooling Fluid 1L £7.99 (£15.98)
1 x XSPC HighFlex Hose 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD, 15.9/11.1mm, 2m, Clear £5.99
10 x XSPC G1/4" to 7/16" ID, 5/8" OD Compression Fitting (Black Chrome) £2.99 (£29.90)
Total : £385.75 (includes shipping : FREE).

 
Is there much difference performance wise between all the various radiators etc?

For example is the Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator GT Stealth 360 better than the EK CoolStream Radiator XT 360 (120.3)?

Why choose the EK Water Blocks EK-D5 Vario X-RES 100 (incl. pump) over the EK Water Blocks EK-D5 Vario X-RES 140 (incl. pump)?

The same question can be asked with the XSPC RayStorm CPU WaterBlock (Intel) versus the EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy cpu blocks.
 
There's a variance between rads, sure :)

I picked the HWLabs rads for the slim size which is balanced by their fin density of 30fpi.
The EK XT is a little thicker and has a fin density of about 10fpi, so even though the HWLabs is slimmer, it has a larger surface area which = more cooling potential at the cost of running fans a little faster/louder.

I've seen XSPC AX rads in there (40mm) and taking fittings into account, it didn't look like there was a lot more room to play with so I went with the slim rads.
If you had the front rad's ports at the bottom, you could use a rad up to 60mm thick there and 45mm up top.

Either res should fit. I chose the smaller one in case you wanted to mount in the rear compartment at the top of the case as others here have done. See this post for example. He's used the 140 res and cut a hole for it. Could've mounted it lower I suppose and drilled a hole for a fillport.

Either cpu block is fine :) I just chose that one. Pick whichever you like the look of best.
 
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