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Watercooling risk, etc..?

2K views 30 replies 13 participants last post by  Soggysilicon 
#1 ·
I'm a complete noob when it comes to watercooling, I want to build myself a small cpu loop (rasa kit) as a base and I want to know the risks involved when doing a custom waterloop. Like, what are the chances of the pump failing, leakage, etc?
 
#2 ·
Well, assuming you use distilled, which you should, there shouldn't be any ions in the water, so, if it does leak, no parts can short, because the thing in water that can make electrical devices short is small particals, called, ions. This is why distilled water is great, because as far as I know it's de-inoised.

There are a few risks, things like during installation breaking certain components. If you do it well and take your time, and if all goes well on the equipment end, then you should be able to sleep well at night
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#3 ·
Depends on how carefully you check your loop. The risk is - it leaking, going all over your expensive equipment, and then needing to buy all new components
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But that is just my own personal experience b/c of a leaking cpu block
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#4 ·
Pump failures, pretty uncommon and most the ones I have heard about you could see coming. (noise, heat, loop performance declines), to solve that most quality pumps provide a fan speed header 3pin connector which you can monitor pump rpm's with, many bios's allow for a setting that if that rpm = 0 the pc shuts down, otherwise third party software like CoreTemp may be used to shut down the pc if it gets beyond a user defined threshold.

Leaks, you want to use some teflon tape/plumbers tape on fittings to prevent gauling of the threads, different people feel different ways, but generally, 24hr testing using a psu with a jumper or dummy plug to run the loop before power is applied to the pc will reveal any poorly installed fittings/leaky blocks/rads (though a rad should be cleaned before use).

Those are the 2 big ones...
 
#6 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Soggysilicon;12163966
Pump failures, pretty uncommon and most the ones I have heard about you could see coming. (noise, heat, loop performance declines), to solve that most quality pumps provide a fan speed header 3pin connector which you can monitor pump rpm's with, many bios's allow for a setting that if that rpm = 0 the pc shuts down, otherwise third party software like CoreTemp may be used to shut down the pc if it gets beyond a user defined threshold.

Leaks, you want to use some teflon tape/plumbers tape on fittings to prevent gauling of the threads, different people feel different ways, but generally, 24hr testing using a psu with a jumper or dummy plug to run the loop before power is applied to the pc will reveal any poorly installed fittings/leaky blocks/rads (though a rad should be cleaned before use).

Those are the 2 big ones...
Well, you don't need teflon tape. Otherwise, good advice.

Leaking and pump failure aren't huge issues if you do everything right. As long as you keep a close eye on your rig for the first several hours, everything should end up fine.
 
#7 ·
I've watched an installiation guide by TimeToLiveCustoms (OC3D) and It seemed pretty easy to install a basic cpu loop, and since you guys said that pump failure/leakage isn't that commen (if done properly), I think I'm going to buy the rasa kit when I get the money
 
#8 ·
if you do it right:

1 - take your time
2 - Use the correct parts (thread sizes, o-rings, ect)
3 - bench test (only power up the pump and not the whole pc)

your risk of damage is almost NIL

throw it together, plug it in to see what happens and then your playing russian roulette
 
#10 ·
hahah the rasa kit will kick the h70 to the curb and then some
you might use those fans on your rasa kit though
 
#11 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Analog;12164439
One last question.
I currently have a H70 in P/P with a pair of Scythe GT AP15's, I guess the 120mm rasa kit would be beaten by the H70, right? Which kit would outperform the h70?
THe 120 rasa kit should beat the H70 by a bit. I would go with the 360 or 240 rasa. This gives you room to expand to GPU cooling as well. As far as pump failures. A lot of Pumps have MTBF(mean time between failure) of 50,000 hours and most pumps will run forever.
 
#14 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by Analog
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So either 240/360, Is the installation for these kits the same as a 120mm one? The guide I saw was for installing a 120mm.
Also, I have an NZXT Phantom case, Can I fit a 240/360 in it (without modding)?

The installation is all the same. It is no different from the 120mm guide. The only difference is you have a bigger radiator.

NZXT can only hold a 240mm rad without modding. You can though fit a 360mm outside. The rasa kits comes with a mounting bracket should you decide to fit it outside.
 
#15 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by Pencuri
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The installation is all the same. It is no different from the 120mm guide. The only difference is you have a bigger radiator.

NZXT can only hold a 240mm rad without modding. You can though fit a 360mm outside. The rasa kits comes with a mounting bracket should you decide to fit it outside.

I rather have it inside the case, so a 240mm it is.
I guess it fits just below the top 200mm fans?
 
#19 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by Clairvoyant129
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H70 is a joke. Even the RASA RS120 outperforms it. If you can, it would be better to get 2 120mm fans instead of a single 200mm fan for the rad.

I already have a H70 in PP with 2 AP15's, If I get a rasa kit I will just use the 2 AP15's, I guess they should be good enough.
 
#20 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by Soggysilicon
View Post

Pump failures, pretty uncommon and most the ones I have heard about you could see coming. (noise, heat, loop performance declines), to solve that most quality pumps provide a fan speed header 3pin connector which you can monitor pump rpm's with, many bios's allow for a setting that if that rpm = 0 the pc shuts down, otherwise third party software like CoreTemp may be used to shut down the pc if it gets beyond a user defined threshold.

I don't mean to Hi-jack the thread...but I have a 655 and I plugged the three pin into the mobo, and it doesn't read...Is there a specific plug on the mobo?
 
#22 ·
Quote:


Originally Posted by charliehorse55
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No, it should work out of the box. Are you sure you didn't plug the cable in backwards? Does the RPM display in the BIOS?

It only fits one way, but I'll see if the other way works, and no it doesn't display in the bios. I know the pumps working unless my CPU generates 0 heat.
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Analog;12164580
So either 240/360, Is the installation for these kits the same as a 120mm one? The guide I saw was for installing a 120mm.
Also, I have an NZXT Phantom case, Can I fit a 240/360 in it (without modding)?
Thats funny...

Check meh build out in meh siggy for pics of my NZXT phantom-white with a 360 G-Phobya 1.2 Black rad on the outside...

As far as the 240, you should be able to fit it, BUT, anything wider than a dime is going to hard press you if you want to do push/pull... not only that but the 200mm fans (assuming you buy a second fan, stock case only has the 1) have lots o' cfm, but very little in the way of pressure, I am not sure about the whole good/bad of that in a real world environment... point being is that it wont fit quite square, its going to be a little off by design... the fans are centerline to the case, while the mounting is off by 1/2" to be aligned with the mobo mounting plate.

Great case, but the wc solutions the manufacturer envisioned was probably not what you or I dream of, just a little too much wasted space.
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