WC final spec check

Chris Beard

Chris Beard

Chris Beard

Associate
Joined
17 Apr 2006
Posts
2,240
Location
Hampshire
Pumps:
2x
EK DCP 2.2 400lph 12V Compact Pump


Blocks:
1x
XSPC Delta V3 CPU Waterblock Intel 1366, 775, AMD AM3, AM2+, AM2 :
1x
XSPC Chip Only Graphics Card Waterblock : X2O VGA


Rads:
2x
Hardware Labs Black Ice® SR Series 140mm Single Radiator : SR1 140



Fittings, tubing, res:
10x
1/4" Thread Compression Fitting for 3/8" ID- 1/2" OD Tubing : Black Nickel

3m
Tygon R3603 3/8" ID - 1/2" OD (10-13mm) Tubing : Clear

1x
XSPC 5.25" Single Drive Bay Reservoir with Multi Fascia : BR525AL




Single Loop: Res -> pump1 -> pump2 -> Rad1 -> GPU -> Rad 2 -> CPU -> Res
 
I wanted to make sure that if one pump went down it'd not fry my GPU. I also wanted as much cooling as possible because I use 500rpm fans - as I can only fit two single rads (MATX case) I figured it would be good to make them 140mm rads.

Do you think a 140.1 rad would be OK for both GPU and CPU?
 
One rad will work fine with that setup. Set the BIOS so that if the pump goes down it causes an alarm or a shutdown depending on your mobo. It monitors the rpms of the pump like a 3/4 pin fan would.
 
anant_shah94 said:
there's no need to have two pumps or two rads for a cpu and gpu
Click to expand...

More radiators imply greater thermal dissipation potential for a given heatload. Or, alternatively, allows slower fans to be used for a given water temperature.

Given that he has only single 140mm radiators, I would say having two is absolutely necessary for a CPU + GPU loop, in order to get reasonable temperatures without insane fanspeeds.
 
One pump definitely. I would use a single rad and accept slightly higher temperatures. Water-cooling a gpu in particular reduces its heat by an inordinate amount.
 
wait, do we even have a list of components to be cooled?

if it's a phenom 2 + 4870 the 2x140mm rads will be more than enough, whereas it's dual gtx480's and an i7 you'll need more for sure...
 
twist3d0n3 said:
wait, do we even have a list of components to be cooled?

if it's a phenom 2 + 4870 the 2x140mm rads will be more than enough, whereas it's dual gtx480's and an i7 you'll need more for sure...
Click to expand...

He said 1 GPU so I highly doubt it'll be SLI :p

You are right though, a 480 will require more :D
 
no_1_dave said:
He said 1 GPU so I highly doubt it'll be SLI :p

You are right though, a 480 will require more :D
Click to expand...

purely as an example, and as we all know, we all like to upgrade :D

still, OP list the components you wish to cool, then that would give us an idea of what thermal load you'll be pumping out ;)

also, don't discount wanting to cool the chipset in the future - once you've caught the watercooling bug, it's hard to call it a day on what you've got :p

EDIT: dave our sigs look remarkably similar :D
 
Usually 1x120 rad per component as a rough rule, 140's will give you more cooling potential.

Whats the cpu and gpu you want to watercool?

Also flow rate does not have a noticable affect on cooling, so long as the water is moving. Having 2 pumps does give you a safety net should one fail. Some pumps can be connected to a mobo header and use the bios to shut the pc down should the pump stop.

Rest of the spec looks fine.
 
Duff-Man said:
Why?

What exactly is to be gained by not including the second radiator?

The radiator isn't too expensive, and neither are the few extra fittings.
Click to expand...

Expensive is relative. A half-decent radiator is £60+. Extra fittings, loop complexity, tubing, fluid, add more.

Extra radiators add resistance reducing flow. Some have found that adding extra radiators makes only marginal difference to cooling. Better to buy one bigger radiator than try to do multiple ones.

Water-cooling is about balance. The overall loop temperature variation is very low so the "need" to have lots of small radiators between heat sources is not a "need" at all.

Build an efficient heat transport to get the heat to an efficient heat remover. So a good pump, an easy-flow loop. good blocks and a radiator capable of removing the heat with air-flow that does not deafen (personal value) you.

Buying a large radiator is a one-time investment as they can be used on every subsequent rebuild. Buying several is more expensive and unnecessary.
 
JeffyB said:
Usually 1x120 rad per component as a rough rule, 140's will give you more cooling potential.
Click to expand...

So long as people don't think they need multiple radiators! Three components means a 120.3 not 3x 120.1.

JeffyB said:
Also flow rate does not have a noticable affect on cooling, so long as the water is moving.
Click to expand...

Sorry but I have to disagree. Flow-rate absolutely does have an effect. What you've said is akin to saying that a faster fan doesn't noticeably improve air-cooling.
 
MikeTimbers said:
So long as people don't think they need multiple radiators! Three components means a 120.3 not 3x 120.1.



Sorry but I have to disagree. Flow-rate absolutely does have an effect. What you've said is akin to saying that a faster fan doesn't noticeably improve air-cooling.
Click to expand...

Yes thats exactly what i ment regarding how much rad is needed.

Flow rate has been tested and the fan analogy is incorrect. Slower moving water will get hotter at the blocks as it'll be there longer, equally it will also spend more time in the rad giving it more time to transfer the heat to the rad. It's been well discussed on XS and tested by Gabe from swiftech

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=253337&highlight=flow+rate
 
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Using the data from skinnee and martin and thier very handy watercooling spreadsheets a d5 vario shows a mere 0.83 degrees difference in cooling going from speed 1 to speed 5. You'll never notice that.
flowrate1.jpg
 
Wow, very interesting. .58 C rise in temps for adding a second graphics card and only 2% increase overall from adding 2 graphics card to the CPU temps. Furthermore, despite the 8 C increase in temps when using 2 graphics cards instead of 1, the overall increase in temps does not impact the max overclock.

Mike, maybe you could add this to your watercooling guide. If I had known about this I would have probably gone with a single loop.
 
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MikeTimbers said:
Buying a large radiator is a one-time investment as they can be used on every subsequent rebuild. Buying several is more expensive and unnecessary.
Click to expand...

I would presume that anybody buying two separate 140mm radiators simply doesn't have room for a double-rad in their case. If there is only room for single radiators, then surely a second is still preferable to none for a CPU + GPU loop.


beh* - Check out skinnee labs, they have a fantastic suite of watercooling information (like the spreadsheet above) :)
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I currently have an undervolted e8200 at 3.2Ghz and a stock hd5770. I might go xFire if my broken hd5770 survives being baked and makes a magical recovery. If water is good enough next upgrade would be i7 + nvidia GPU come new year.

My case is indeed very small - it's an Elite 340/341 or something similar modded with a dremel (pain in the ass on steal) to allow for 140mm fans front and back.
 
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