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[Question] Water Cooling Advice Needed

post #1 of 6
11/11/12 at 7:38pm
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Hi all,

I'm in process of building my rig and I had a couple questions regarding my water cooling. Firstly, here's my build:

  • Motherboard: ASUS RAMPAGE IV EXTREME
  • CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K
  • GPU: 2x ASUS MATRIX HD7970 PLATINUM
  • Memory: 2x Samsung 8GB (2x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (Awesome Overclocker at a fraction of the cost!)
  • PSU: OCZ 1000W Modular Power Supply - Champion Series
  • Case: NZXT Switch 810
  • Storage: 2x Samsung 830 128GB SSD (RAID 0) // 1x Samsung 830 128 SSD (Boot Drive) // Seagate Barracuda Desktop 2TB

Because there are no water blocks made for my particular video cards, I can't water cool them and honestly, I don't want to switch them because I love the way they look and perform! My thinking was that I should just water cool the motherboard and the CPU. This was the water cooling setup I came up with:

  • Motherboard Block: EK ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Full Board Cooling Kit (Acetal + Nickel)
  • CPU Block: EX Supremacy Universal CPU Liquid Cooling Block (Acetal + Nickel)
  • Reservoir: XSPC Dual 5.25" Bay Black Resevoir w/ D5 Variant Pump
  • Pump: Swiftech MCP655 Variable Speed
  • Radiators: XSPC RX360 Triple 120mm Radiator (Rev 2) // XSPC RX240 Dual 120mm Radiator
  • Coolant: Primochill Base High Purity Deionized Water - UV Red
  • MISC: IandH Silver Kill Coils

Because I won't be water cooling the GPU's, I'm not quite sure how many fittings I'll need. Once the case arrives and I put the components in, I'll have a better visual and I can map out the tubing and the respective fittings. Now before I place my order, I wanted to ask you all a couple questions:

  • Is a custom water cooling loop a good/viable option for my current build versus getting just a H100? My only concern is that if I'm not water cooling the GPU's, is it worth doing the whole setup and spending the money to cool the CPU and the motherboard.
  • What fans would you recommend? I want to keep everything as cool as possible as I do plan on overclocking!
  • Also, a quick dumb question, do I need any mods to fit the radiators in the 810? I hoping not!

Thanks for taking the time to look through this, looking forward to getting your feedback!
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post #2 of 6
11/11/12 at 7:45pm
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1. A custom loop should offer better performance than an all-in-one unit, especially a loop like the one you outlined.

2. A lot of people like Gentle Typhoons. Personally, I'm running 29 of them, 18 AP-15 (1850RPM) and 11 AZ-00 (2150RPM). The sound is definitely noticeable, but I don't think it's too bad, especially since I usually listen to music or something while I'm at the computer.

3. No idear.

A couple things to note:
-Am I right in reading that you'll be running an RX360 AND an RX240? That's pretty overkill for just a CPU block and mobo block. The RX360 alone should handle everything with some performance to spare.
-For coolant, you could just as easily just go distilled water + a separate dye. It may end up cheaper, you'll just need to figure out for yourself if it's worth the savings.
-I feel like kill coil + dyed water will present some issues in the future. You'll need to get confirmation from someone though.

Edit: Just going over it real quick in my head, I think you'll need 8 fittings of some sort. Possibly more if you want to add things like a drain line, flow meter, temp sensor, etc.
Edited by audioxbliss - 11/11/12 at 7:47pm
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post #3 of 6
11/11/12 at 8:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by audioxbliss View Post

1. A custom loop should offer better performance than an all-in-one unit, especially a loop like the one you outlined.
2. A lot of people like Gentle Typhoons. Personally, I'm running 29 of them, 18 AP-15 (1850RPM) and 11 AZ-00 (2150RPM). The sound is definitely noticeable, but I don't think it's too bad, especially since I usually listen to music or something while I'm at the computer. Sounds good to me! I always have my headphones on 24/7 so it wouldn't make too much of a difference to me.
3. No idear. Fair enough!
A couple things to note:
-Am I right in reading that you'll be running an RX360 AND an RX240? That's pretty overkill for just a CPU block and mobo block. The RX360 alone should handle everything with some performance to spare. My rationale was that if in the near future they come out with some GPU blocks for my cards, I'll have the setup ready. Especially since I got the funds right now. I might cut back the 240 though.
-For coolant, you could just as easily just go distilled water + a separate dye. It may end up cheaper, you'll just need to figure out for yourself if it's worth the savings. I think I'll stick with the the coolant! Since I'll be using the clear tubing and some of the bit links tubes for the motherboard, I want to keep the red and black theme throughout.
-I feel like kill coil + dyed water will present some issues in the future. You'll need to get confirmation from someone though. I'll do some research to confirm.
Edit: Just going over it real quick in my head, I think you'll need 8 fittings of some sort. Possibly more if you want to add things like a drain line, flow meter, temp sensor, etc.

Thanks for the feedback - really helpful stuff! I'll adjust the setup accordingly. smile.gif
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post #4 of 6
11/11/12 at 8:10pm
I personally think you would be fine with only the RX360. I own the Switch and have had an RX360 in the top and 240 in the bottom and they both fit. I think mobo water cooling is more aesthetically beneficial than worth it for temps, but its up to you.
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post #5 of 6
11/11/12 at 11:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by yanks8981 View Post

I personally think you would be fine with only the RX360. I own the Switch and have had an RX360 in the top and 240 in the bottom and they both fit. I think mobo water cooling is more aesthetically beneficial than worth it for temps, but its up to you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by audioxbliss View Post

1. A custom loop should offer better performance than an all-in-one unit, especially a loop like the one you outlined.
2. A lot of people like Gentle Typhoons. Personally, I'm running 29 of them, 18 AP-15 (1850RPM) and 11 AZ-00 (2150RPM). The sound is definitely noticeable, but I don't think it's too bad, especially since I usually listen to music or something while I'm at the computer.
3. No idear.
A couple things to note:
-Am I right in reading that you'll be running an RX360 AND an RX240? That's pretty overkill for just a CPU block and mobo block. The RX360 alone should handle everything with some performance to spare.
-For coolant, you could just as easily just go distilled water + a separate dye. It may end up cheaper, you'll just need to figure out for yourself if it's worth the savings.
-I feel like kill coil + dyed water will present some issues in the future. You'll need to get confirmation from someone though.
Edit: Just going over it real quick in my head, I think you'll need 8 fittings of some sort. Possibly more if you want to add things like a drain line, flow meter, temp sensor, etc.

I decided to take both of your advice's! I won't be water cooling the motherboard. I'll just do 1 loop for the CPU and see how it runs. If the temps are not good, I'll work from there but I guess I'm good for now for water cooling. Thanks! biggrin.gif
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post #6 of 6
11/12/12 at 3:03pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mooimabear View Post

I decided to take both of your advice's! I won't be water cooling the motherboard. I'll just do 1 loop for the CPU and see how it runs. If the temps are not good, I'll work from there but I guess I'm good for now for water cooling. Thanks! biggrin.gif

Good plan. Start simple, add things little by little so you can identify any problem spots as they pop up biggrin.gif
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