[nyder]

Considering taking the Water Cooling plunge. Of course, i'm a noob when it comes to WC, so please be gentle. =)

my machine below is the beast.

Like to put blocks on the cpu (doh!), 2-3 Vid cards, and the chipset on the board (partly because the current heatsink keeps me from putting 3 vid cards into the computer).

Love to hear some suggestions on what I should get.

thanks

 

[noahmateen1234]

I would run 2 seperate loops
1st loop - CPU & NB
MCP355+XSPC Restop - $75+$40
MCR320QP - $53
Dtek Fuzion V2 - $60
Northbridge block, not sure which one, look for an EK one.

Loop 2 - GPU's
MCP355+XSPC Res Top - $75+$40
2 Dtek Fuzion GFX Blocks - $47+$47
2 Dtek GFX Unisinks - $35+$35
MC320QP

Or you may be able to do 1 giant loop with a 480GTX. I will let some others answer that. I gotta run to school but I will post links when I get back.

 

[javier]

^^^^ That all looks good to me. 2 loops would be ideal given the number of blocks you want to run, but could probably get away with a 480gtx and some good fans...

 

[ChielScape]

I'd SERIOUSLY go for a single loop
several advantages are:
-maintenance.. its easier to drain and refill a single loop
-single reservoir... just a tiny difference in cost
-single (though large) radiator... cheaper than 2 smaller ones.
-safety... i'll explain this next.

first of all, a single extreme end loop will, like dual loops, use 2 pumps.
that's for two reasons. A) you will get much better flow trough all those blocks, especially (and I recommend doing this) if you buy the Swiftech NB-MAX block for your awesome motherboard (though a single good pump will still do perfectly fine in such a large loop) and B) if one pump fails, the other one will still keep your hardware from burning up, while if you had to do this with dual loops... well, who wants to pay for 4 pumps?

about the single huge rad. a GTX480 is capable of cooling the coolant with an 800W heatload (Skulltrail + QuadSLI + GeForce PhysX) to a mere 3C from ambient with 133CFM Ultra Kazes (any other 38mm thick fan in this CFM range will do about the same obviously) without shrouds. if you add the shrouds, you could drop to around 110 CFM or so, and since your heatload is lower, probably to 80-90CFM.
In short: the GTX480 rad wont be the weak link at all.

so there you have it. a single loop is technically superior to dual loops.
though dual loops have the advantage of easthetics. for example, you could use 2 differently colored coolants, different tubing sizes. but that suddenly doesnt seem as important, now does it?

 

[fstfrddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChielScape I'd SERIOUSLY go for a single loop several advantages are: -maintenance.. its easier to drain and refill a single loop -single reservoir... just a tiny difference in cost -single (though large) radiator... cheaper than 2 smaller ones. -safety... i'll explain this next. first of all, a single extreme end loop will, like dual loops, use 2 pumps. that's for two reasons. A) you will get much better flow trough all those blocks, especially (and I recommend doing this) if you buy the Swiftech NB-MAX block for your awesome motherboard (though a single good pump will still do perfectly fine in such a large loop) and B) if one pump fails, the other one will still keep your hardware from burning up, while if you had to do this with dual loops... well, who wants to pay for 4 pumps? about the single huge rad. a GTX480 is capable of cooling the coolant with an 800W heatload (Skulltrail + QuadSLI + GeForce PhysX) to a mere 3C from ambient with 133CFM Ultra Kazes (any other 38mm thick fan in this CFM range will do about the same obviously) without shrouds. if you add the shrouds, you could drop to around 110 CFM or so, and since your heatload is lower, probably to 80-90CFM. In short: the GTX480 rad wont be the weak link at all. so there you have it. a single loop is technically superior to dual loops. though dual loops have the advantage of easthetics. for example, you could use 2 differently colored coolants, different tubing sizes. but that suddenly doesnt seem as important, now does it?

Can't top that, listen to him.

 

[OC'ing Noob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChielScape I'd SERIOUSLY go for a single loop several advantages are: -maintenance.. its easier to drain and refill a single loop -single reservoir... just a tiny difference in cost -single (though large) radiator... cheaper than 2 smaller ones. -safety... i'll explain this next. first of all, a single extreme end loop will, like dual loops, use 2 pumps. that's for two reasons. A) you will get much better flow trough all those blocks, especially (and I recommend doing this) if you buy the Swiftech NB-MAX block for your awesome motherboard (though a single good pump will still do perfectly fine in such a large loop) and B) if one pump fails, the other one will still keep your hardware from burning up, while if you had to do this with dual loops... well, who wants to pay for 4 pumps? about the single huge rad. a GTX480 is capable of cooling the coolant with an 800W heatload (Skulltrail + QuadSLI + GeForce PhysX) to a mere 3C from ambient with 133CFM Ultra Kazes (any other 38mm thick fan in this CFM range will do about the same obviously) without shrouds. if you add the shrouds, you could drop to around 110 CFM or so, and since your heatload is lower, probably to 80-90CFM. In short: the GTX480 rad wont be the weak link at all. so there you have it. a single loop is technically superior to dual loops. though dual loops have the advantage of easthetics. for example, you could use 2 differently colored coolants, different tubing sizes. but that suddenly doesnt seem as important, now does it?

In terms of performance, a dual loop will always bring components cooler to ambient than a single loop because each is dedicated to its own components where as single loops have ALL of them adding to the water. Now whether or not the temperatures achieved are worth dual loops is an entirely different story. I rather have 2 loops with 2 GTX 480 with one cooling the CPU and one cooling the GPU. Sadly I only have enough space for one GTX right now. *ponders about that DD dual black series case I saw*

 

[ChielScape]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OC'ing Noob In terms of performance, a dual loop will always bring components cooler to ambient than a single loop because each is dedicated to its own components where as single loops have ALL of them adding to the water.

that dual loops perform better? show me some.

hell, i forgot one other crucial advantage.
in single loop, everything is balanced way better, a single rad has less restriction yet cools as well as 2 240's, and the heatload is divided over the available surface area better.

 

[ira-k]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChielScape that dual loops perform better? show me some. hell, i forgot one other crucial advantage. in single loop, everything is balanced way better, a single rad has less restriction yet cools as well as 2 240's, and the heatload is divided over the available surface area better.

Show us some proof that they don't.

 

[ltulod]

single loop = less maintenance = I like it.

 

[oblivion.sky]

if budget is not an issue, i say go for dual loop

1st ... you get to choose and blend 2 diff coolant colors (if your concerned about looks

2nd ... you will definately get better temps, and you get to choose the virgin/restrictive blocks out there...

but you will really have to get your wallet ready for a beating.

my suggested specs:

gtx 360 for gpus' and nb sb

gtx 240 for cpu only and maybe volt reg and mosfets

2 ek resevoirs

Gtz cpu block / ek for restriction

2 mcp655 pumps.

 

[ChielScape]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ira-k Show us some proof that they don't.

thats not the way it works

 

[ira-k]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChielScape thats not the way it works

According to you anyway, and your little face palm game.

.Hey if he needs proof for a opinion so do you.

OP unless your doing extreme clocking a single large rad loop would be fine. If you are pushing your clocks I'd do 2 loops. The CPU is a lot more temp sensitive then GPU's and mobo components.

Take your time picking parts and do a little research and you'll get a rig that best suits your needs.

I'll leave you a few things to read and my cleaning and set-up PDF.

..FAQ: Planning and Installing Your Liquid Cooling System

..How To: Make any Sized shroud in 2 minutes

..How To: Build A Performance Shroud

 

[OC'ing Noob]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChielScape that dual loops perform better? show me some. hell, i forgot one other crucial advantage. in single loop, everything is balanced way better, a single rad has less restriction yet cools as well as 2 240's, and the heatload is divided over the available surface area better.

Are you seriously saying that?!? A dual loop is NOT the same thing as a parallel loop. Who the hell cares about restrictions when you have two separate single loops. That is what a DUAL loop is. That means you have 2 radiators, 2 pumps, and individual blocks in individual loops. Restriction only matters when you have multiple blocks because thermal performance will suffer with each additional block in the loop. That is the greatest weakness of a SINGLE loop.

With a dual loop, you separate the components into two separate and individual loops. That means that a radiator is ONLY cooling a CPU and another radiators is once again, ONLY cooling a GPU.

 

[oblivion.sky]

dual loop!!!!!!!!! it's sexier!

single or dual, it will definately run your cpu cooler..

look, if your only new wcooler then try single loop first, then if you get

the urge, which im sure you will then try out dual loop!

then experience it yourself...

and oh, enuf with the competition of whos got the bigger balls.

 

[OC'ing Noob]

My balls are soooo big that you can't see my ... umm wait ... never mind that!

 

[pixie]

two loops vs one loop with two rads is really dependent on the heat load in each loop.

for instance, my gpu loop on a feser 360 gets up to ~5°C over ambient. my cpu loop barely touches 2°C above ambient. if i were to combine the loops, the heat dump from the gpu would combine with the cpu and the temps would even out to probably ~3°C above ambient which is better than the GPU being on it's own loop, but slightly worse for the CPU. but then again, it's only a matter of 2 or 3°C so it's not that big a deal.

the only way you would really want, or need, to run two separate loops would be if your gpu/others loop was so hot that joining the two loops would have a huge impact... like +5 or 10°C.

yes, restriction plays a part when having a bunch of blocks, but that's why you have a second pump in series to add some much needed head.

 

[OC'ing Noob]

How would it make the GPU temperatures worse. At worst, it will not change. It does not matter what the heat load is, you can always decrease the delta T even if its not in a change that can be measured by whole numbers. When you cool a GPU after a CPU, even if the temps only rise by 3-5C, that is still already 3-5C higher than what it could be.

 

[pixie]

sorry, i didn't specifically say what would rise, i was talking mainly of loop water temp. and if you have a loop that is running at 10°C and another loop that is running at 2°C, combining the two loops will result in an averaged temperature, meaning one loop will get hotter and one loop will get colder.

as for the rest of you post, i really can't understand what you're trying to say.

 

[OC'ing Noob]

Ok in a single loop you cool the CPU first since. After the water passes through the waterblock, it is usually about 3-5C higher before it enters. This means that now the temperature of the water will be 3-5C higher entering the GPU block than it could have been when it was in its independent loop.

 

[pixie]

i see what you mean there, even though the 3-5°C figure is slightly high. i had a temp probe on both the inlet and outlet sides of the CPU and GPU (when i had my 8800 GTS g80) and the difference was never more than a degree.

but also when i do a single loop/dual rad setup i do it like this... res>pump>rad>into the case>cpu>ram>vregs>out of the case>pump>rad>back in the case>gpu(s)>nb>sb

i also tried it with having the two rads together and going through all the blocks before hitting the rads and it was definitely hotter - roughly 2-3°C hotter than the above loop.