New to water cooling...TEACH ME PROS!!!!

dont get coolant man get distilled water...nasty mess you're going to have when you use coolant after a while.

1) route looks good
2) Generally the thicker the rad the better but it is also a function of fin density.
3) No that they tend to be week pumps good ones are the D5 or the mpc355/35x. the one you have selected is a D5.
4)performance pc's / frozen cpu might be depending on the product.
5)Use distilled water with a kill coil or pt nuke if you do you might only need to flush once a year
6)No just plain water is the best
7)Use fans that fit your rad so 120 for 120mm rads and 140 for 140mm rads. Your selected rad is 140mm.
8)Push pull is better i have no idea if the case will work
9)A loop is much better than an H100
10)It just adds more rad area so it cools better
11)Yes it should be able to.
12)Your choice the size doesn't matter that much.
Edited by rancor - 5/2/12 at 10:00pm

If you want color in your loop use Soild color tubing. Im going to join the WC boat soon! =) SLI GPU's first then CPU when i upgrade!

I'm just going to copy/paste what i said some time ago in a previous thread:


Fittings:
If you get any form of rotary fitting, make sure it's a quality one. Usually the unbranded rotaries have poor seals, and any lateral force (no matter how mild) often will spring a leak.

Quality fittings like Bitspower/Alphacool are good, albeit expensive, but worth the price considering the cost a leak could cause you. Generally rotaries are more prone to leaking then any other fitting afaik - so exercise caution.

I'd also recommend compressions as well simply because they look cleaner, but if you really want security, get barbs and jubilee clips - not zip/cable ties, or that plastic clip crap, jubilee clips are what you want. And certainly don't listen to any fool who says it's ok to not have any clips on the barbs at all.

This is all based on my experience.

Coolant
I personally use ready mixed motor antifreeze as it's readily available to me. This way i at least know my system won't freeze over . However, it's not ideal as:

1. it contains dye, usually blue, which will gunk up the loop over time. Dye's are not good.

2. It stinks, but for me this is a benefit as if i get a leak, i'll smell it before i see it. This has proven helpful on a few occasions.

i'd recommend against it and go with just regular distilled and a silver killcoil like others have suggested - it's a far cheaper alternative to buying "proper" PC coolant anyway, which is overrated. Also don't fall for any "Non-conductive" bull. You'll never get liquid that's non-conductive, trust me.



Leak Testing:

Stage 1: 2 Hour test
When you finally get all the parts together, assemble it all within the system - why? well if you assemble it outside a rig it's alot of hassle putting it in the case (esp with complex loops) and it's extremely easy to unscrew a fitting while faffing about with it, which can be disastrous. It's also easier to get more accurate tube measurements by assembling it in the case.

Hotwire the PSU so only things like fans and the pump get powered. Place plenty of kitchen roll around/under fittings and blocks in case of a leak and leave it for a couple of hours while on. All the while filling/bleeding as you go.


Stage 2: Running the system
If you don't get any leaks, run/power the system as normal. I normally leave the side panel off at this point and i never, EVER leave the computer on while unattended. All the while i'm also bleeding the loop ensuring all the air is out. I'll also visually inspect the kitchen roll a few times an hour. After doing this for a few days (two is best), you can safely say the loop is leak tested and it shouldn't leak.

Stage 2 can be just as prone to a leak as Stage 1, as the heat caused by components can expose a leak within the loop (Thermal expansion/contraction) so you must always be inspecting/at the machine during this time. So don't leave it on overnight. turning it off would likely help find a leak anyway (by letting it cool right down).



I'd just stick to watercooling the CPU and GPU, anything else is unnecessary and overkill. Not only does it put unnecessary strain on the pump, it'll increase the likelihood of a leak. I wouldn't bother, especially as most other components will get along absolutely fine on good airflow.


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I edited some of it to make it more relevant to your needs, perhaps there's something useful you can take from those few paragraphs.
Edited by Thingamajig - 5/2/12 at 10:16pm

You really should have the res before the pump but the order of everything else should be whatever uses the least amount of sharp bends and tubing length.

Welcome to OCN!

Fair warning, WC'ing is addictive, expensive and there is no 6 step program...

The parts you picked out look good.

1. Yes. With a simple loop like that you can't really go wrong. The water temp does not change by much as it goes through the blocks (~1°C for every 260W at 1GPM), so there is no "hot" or "cold" coolant, only slightly warmer and slightly cooler.

2. Yes and no. Thickness and fin density are two things that determine how a rad performs at certain fan speeds, some are better at low speeds, some at high speeds. Have a read of Martin's excelent comparison to get an idea of how the various rads stack up.

3. Not that one, the pump you have selected is better. Unless you are on a very tight budget I would stick with what you have. You can get a bay res which you can mount the D5 (MCP655, VPP655) pumps in (example). If you go that route look at getting a VPP655 single - it is cheaper as you don't buy the housing, which you wont need as you are mounting it in a res.

4. Quite a few - Performance PCs, Frozen CPU are two. Have a shop around.

5. To replace the coolant you drain out the old stuff and put new coolant in. A lot of people have some kind of draining arrangement, let me know if you want one and I can point out some options. You don't have to replace the coolant unless it gets cloudy, floaters apear or performance drops off. Ignore the people saying that you must do it every x months.

6. No. Distilled water is pretty much the best cooling medium to use.

7. Depends on the fan. Radiators need static pressure, some 140mm fans lack this. Again, have a look at Martin's fan tests to get an idea of how 140mm fans compare to 120mm ones.

8. Push / pull will net you some performance gains 5-15% depending on fan speed. If you have the space then the only downside is noise and cost.

9. "Worth" is something only you can determine. It will give you better temps than the H100, will allow you to cool your GPU (they benefit greatly from WCing) and looks awesome. Can get a little expensive and time consuming though.

10. It will make a difference, a few °C off your water temps. You can always see how you go with the one rad and add the second in later.

11. Easily. The D5 (MCP655) is a good pump.

12. Up to you. There is negligable performance difference between 3/8" and 1/2" ID, so base it on looks. I would always advise you to use the thicker wall tubing though as they are less prone to kinking - 3/8" x 5/8", 7/16" x 5/8" or 1/2" x 3/4" Make sure if you are using compression fittings that you match both the ID and OD of the tubing to the fitting, if you are using barbs / clamps then the barb needs to match the ID and the clamp the OD.

Unless you plan to mount the pump in a res or replace the stock top you need to use 1/2" ID tubing. The D5 pumps come with moulded 1/2" barbs.

13. Again up to you. I'm not sure what OD they support (I know ou get 3/8" and 1/2" ID fittings), so worth checking that they are compatible with your tubing size (e-mail EVGA).

14. They are the same base pump, but the MCP655 has a 5 poisiton speed controller on it. The -B does not, and performs the same as a MCP655 on setting 4.


No problem, glad to help.

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Edited by GingerJohn - 5/3/12 at 9:28am