Very first water cooling loop - Page 2

Yeah it would appear you're right, EK doesn't offer it yet in copper. That's a bizarre move. EK-TIbor you around to comment?

Akasa vipers are good fans as well-- PWM, so if you get a splitter you can run all 6 fans off of a single mobo header (they draw power straight from the PSU) and that gives you fan control super cheap.

Make sure and check the clearance in your case for the radiator. Depending on your space I'd recommend the Alphacool UT60 or XT45 series for most any fan speed. And the Alphacool ST30 series for sub 1400 speeds. Martin's most recent testing put their line ahead of the pack for the most part (martinsliquidllab.org).

As far as cpu block may want to look at the Swiftech Apogee or XSPC Raystorm. Both slightly better performers for similar prices. Albeit if you picked it for looks by all means go ahead.

Fans I'd recommend either the Akasa's or Gentle Typhoons. Once again check martin's testing, he even records the tests so you can compare noise levels yourself.

Don't forget the backplate!

I would highly recommend EK-LGA115x TRUE Backplate:
http://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-lga115x-true-backplate.html

This one replaces the original ILM of LGA-1155/1156 motherboard and nicely accepts the screws of EK-Supreme LTX.



P.S.: CSQ line of water blocks do not have a bad rep for corrosion.

You've done a good bit of research there and definitely will build something decent whatever you do... good job!

My thoughts

PrimoFlex... I recommend it... I don't have issues but I use Mayhems X1 coolant. I'd personally use 7/16" ID, but if it's for looks then 1/2" ID 3/4" OD is fine.

Waterblock... prob worth paying extra for the EK Supremacy... after all this is a high-end build!

Pump good, Res good, Rad good.

Fans, I'd defo get 3 Gentle Typhoon AP-15s on there. If that's not enough (but I think it will be, I have an overclocked 3570K and a 5850 in one of my systems with a smaller rad and GT AP-15s), then stick another 3 on in push/pull.

Cheers,

DB

I definitely recommend the MCP35X over the D5, as the former has far more pressure and is essentially "fully modded" from the factory (best top already installed,PWM ccontrol, etc) while you can easily spend the cost of a second D5 just modding the first to extract every bit of power. I have to say that with the MCP35X, you really need to get the heatsink, it will increase the life of the pump exponentially, especially if paired with a 80x15mm fan (whichmounts via the legs included with the heatsink). It's $12 +$7 for the fan.

For the CPU block, I personally absolutely love the Apogee HD. It has the absolute best mounting hardware and is by far the easiest block on which to get consistent mounts, and it's so easy to assemble that you barely need to pay attention to it after you have done it once. The thermal performance of the block is one of the best, separated from the top performers by less than one half of one degree on average. The two additional outlet ports are an awesome bonus, as you can run one or two parallel loops for blocks that may be very high restriction without hampering the primary blocks, so if you end up putting a VRM/MOSFET block set on your MB (more useful than many think, if you overclock), you will not have to worry about pressure drops.

For the GPU block, I can't recommend Heatkiller enough! I have the GTX680 Hole Edition Block and Backplate for my 670FTW and it's, without a doubt, the absolute nicest and best-made Waterblock I've ever seen. If the devil is in the details, then the guys at WaterCool must keep an exorcist on staff because the stuff is flawless! It's seriously an almost-1kg hunk of perfectly milled copper with a stainless steel "pretty plate" on top. The Backplate is also fantastic, being one piece of stainless steel, but unlike many others, this one not only has holes milled into the areas over the hot spots, it's actuallyraised so tthat airflow across the back of the card is increased AND focused. I don't think you will find a single person who will say anything bad about the Heatkiller Blocks .

For the reservoir, you can always get the inexpensive MCP35X-RES and it will function perfectly fine, but I have heard numerous stories about it not bleeding well due to the small size causing a cyclone to form. What I did was to get the EK Multioption Res X2 150 Advanced and a Bitspower male to male rotary coupler and simply attached the EK res directly to the pump. You get the same effect but with a far superior reservoir.
I am not a huge fan of bay reservoirs, as they tend to be loud and difficult to fill/bleed, but I would use one so long as it istthe type that the pump is NOT directly attached to, as that reduces a lot of potential headaches IMHO. XSPC has the cheapest good-quality bay res (stand-alone), but numerousccompanies produce them.

For fittings, here is what I do to keep costs down:
- Calculate how many ffittings you will need, and add 2-4 extra to account for any issues
- Choose one type of compression fitting that you like (XSPC are cheapest at $4ea, Monsoon are middle of the pack price but lots of colors, and Bitspower areeexpensive for just regular compression Fittings), and add the number you need to your cart
- Plan out your loop both on paper and in your case, and figure out the absolute shortest possible tubing runs (the route that takes the least amount of tubing to create), and figure out where rotary angled fittings would be beneficial, and there are always places where they are
- Instead of getting the expensive rotary angled fittings (w compression fittingbuilt in ), get the rotary angled adapters which are the ones with female threads on the end instead of a fitting, as they are generally 1/3-to-1/2 cheaper ($9 for Bitspower 45deg Rotary Adapters vs $15 for 45deg Rotary Compression Fittings)
- I would typically suggest 2-4x/each of 45deg single-rotary adapters and 90deg dual rotary adapters, 1-3x 90deg single rotary adapters, 1-2x male-male rotary coupler, and 2-8x 10mm/20mm/40mm extension Fittings (mix of the different sizes) *you will likely require the smaller amount, but plan carefully because it sucks to have everything ready to go only to find you need one mmore of whichever fitting
- Bitspower has the absolute best rotary Adapter Fittings IMHO, but Phobya, EK, and others make them too
- Make your life easier and get a ball-stop valve fitting or two, and 1-2 EnzoTech Stop-Plug fittings for fill and drain ports
- If you don't like silver, get some extra black plug fittings ($1-2/ea) for visible areas
Now you can change your tubing size, even, and all you have to replace are the compression Fittings, not any of the angled expensive stuff! Modular, as wel , for example I have a 90deg single rotary Adapter connected to a 90deg dual rotary Adapter to fit around an awkward spot coming out of my top 420 rad. You can'tdo tthat with angled Compression Fittings.

For the radiator, I would recommend against the Koolance and instead look at either the XSPC EX240/280 if you need a slim radiator, the XSPC AX240 or Alphacool NeXXos XT45 240 if you can fit a mid-size rad, and the Alphacool NeXXos UT60 240 if you can fit a full thickness radiator. Each is about the absolute best in its size range, and all are extremelyvversatile rads that scale ridiculously well with fan speed. Plus, they are very well priced, less than many radiators that are inferior.

For fans, I have one 120mm fan that I go to because of its insane flexibility, power, and price. That would be the Koolance 120x25mm or 120x38mm 2600rpm Fans which pprovide 5.4mmHg/6.4mmHg static Pressure and 107.4cfm/118cfm respectively, and for just $8. They are dual ball bearing fans so they work in any orientation, and I have 4 in push pull on a UT60 240 and they can move ungodly amounts of air yet they undervolt via a fan Controller extremely well. I personally think they are extremely quiet for the speed, and at 80% speed (about 2100rpm) they become silent yet still push insane amounts ofair tthrough the rad.
They are the best 120mm fans I have ever used, and are somewhat of hidden gems.
Another excellent option are the XSPC 2000rpm fans which cost the same and trade a bit of cooling power for somewhat quieter operation.
One thing I have noticed is that the fans made by the liquid cooling companies (or made to their specs) are vastly better than the case fans you see on Newegg once you stick them on a rad. The Koolance fans simply cool better than anything short of Sanyo Denkei or Delta fans, but are quieter and much cheaper. The 120x38mm are the way to go if you can fit them, or if you can only do push fans, because they hold onto their static Pressure better than the25mm when slowed ddown (almost always the case between equivalent 25mm and 38mm thick fans). The 120x25mm are excellent if you want push pull fans, and I would pick 4 120x25mm over 2x 120x38mm fans everytime, but it is a preference.

That's all I have for now. Hope it helps!

Agree with MCP35X over D5... i have lots of D5s and they are great... think of this as a D5+

CPU block... I used to use Apogee almost exclusively, but recently have tried EK and XSPC, which are more readily available in Europe. I must say Swiftech customer service is one of the best though. I find the Apogee is easier to fit... but the EK and XSPC weren't exactly difficult.

Res, I've used the EK one with no probs, but mine only fits inside a bigger case... something to think about... I still like the idea of an XSPC bay-res only, you'll be less paranoid as you can keep an eye on the water level (although it should never really go down).

Rad, I have a Alphacool NeXXos ST30, which is... 30mm thick! If you can fit the 45 or 60, then that's better, but it's not 50% and 100% extra performance. The increase in performance is more like 5 to 25% depending on fan speed. If you are using AP-14s (1450rpm), the difference between the ST30 and UT60 is barely 5%.

Once you've decided on everything, pop it back up on here and one of us will double-check it. Whatever you pick, you won't go wrong to be honest.

Cheers,

DB

+rep to nleksan... very informative reply!
Edited by Del Boy - 10/16/12 at 1:58am

I have the 1900rpm Slipstream as well as the Koolance, and the latter are better in every way, especially being dual ballbbearing fans so they can be used in any orientation. They also have significantly more static pressure, and the air flow pattern is much more concentrated.