[RabidSnail]

Im about to start my second water cooled rig, and Im looking for some suggestions from those around here who have had a little more experience. My first rig was a $4000 build with a hex core cpu and 3x gpus, but this time i want to build something a little smaller. Im looking at an i7 quad core and either a GTX 660 or GTX 670, not sure which yet.

So on my loop its going to have 1 CPU, 1 GPU, 1 Pump, 1 Res, and 1 Rad (either a 240 on the top blowing out or a 200mm on the bottom blowing out)

First question is should I add a second Rad (120 on the back fan). I do not plan on OCing, so I think the single Rad is fine.

Second question is which pump should I get? These are the two I am looking at...
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/14568/ex-pmp-171/Swiftech_MCP35X_12v_PWM_Controlled_Water_Pump_-_White.html?tl=c107s153b33
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/18222/ex-pmp-231/Swiftech_MCP655-PWM-DRIVE_12v_Water_Pump_-_PWM_Enabled_w_G14_Thread_Ports_Perfectly_Tapped.html?tl=c107s153b33

This build with double as a HTPC and I TRYING to build it with a 520W PSU. Im not sure i will be able to do that, But basically im aiming to reduce noise and power consumption to a minimum.

Any Advice is beneficial!

Thanks!

 

[RX7-2nr]

I would go with the D5 series pump, but not a Swiftech MCP655.

 

[RabidSnail]

Could you give your reasoning for both the D5 pump and why not swiftech? I use dual Swiftech D5 pumps in my previous build, so I'm just curious.

Obviously D5 are better than the DCC (?) pumps, but I'm trying to reduce energy consumption/ noise / space it takes up, so I assumed the smaller pump would better meet those requirements, assuming it want too small for the number of things on the loop.

 

[RX7-2nr]

The D5 series is very quiet and powerful enough for anything but the most restrictive or complicated loops. The DDC is more powerful sure, but it is also *usually* louder and can have overheating problems. It is smaller though, so if that's a major concern it may tip the scale in that pump's favor.

Swiftech's warranty sucks compared to ANY other pump reseller. All of these D5 pumps are manufactured by Laing, Swiftech is the only reseller of these pumps that feels the need to deny your warranty if you use it with custom tops or disassemble it for any reason. For this, I would never recommend a Swiftech pump, neither a D5 nor DDC series. I know they have their reason for doing it, but the fact still stands that they are the only ones that do. This entire market is about customization and saying that you cannot use custom tops or disassemble it is absurd.

You may use your pump for 5 years with no problem so warranty doesn't seem like a big deal. Why support a company that does not support it's customer when ALL other resellers that are selling the identical product do?

 

[PepeLapiu]

I suggest any of the D5 variant pumps.
But there is no need for PWM controlled pump.
I would recommend the D5 vario.
You can adjust the speed from 1 to 5 and decide your best noise/flow.
And once you puck your pump speed, there are no scenarios available where you would need to ever change pump speed.
The D5 is more quiet than the DDC ones.
And yes, the DDC is smaller, but once you add the top, heatsink, and fan, it starts to get even bigger than the D5.
The ones woth the threaded G1/4 into them are the most affordable. But I prefer the look and the port options of an Alphacool top.

So I recomnend the D5 vario with the Alphacool top.

 

[pc-illiterate]

you can get a ddc-1t from bmaverick. they are $35 each shipped in the US. at only 10watt they are both quiet and cool. get a cheap xspc top and a res and youre in business. the ddc-1t has plenty of oomph for 2 blocks and a rad. you can buy a replacement pcb for the pumps for $10 plus shipping and they get quieter as ive heard. im still waiting for my solder station so i can get them changed out in mine.

http://bmaverickddcpumps.wordpress.com/buy-ddc-pumps-here/

 

[IScreamMon]

I have 2 gpus liquid cooled and my cpu and the D5 pump is perfect. Its great

 

[RabidSnail]

Thank you everyone for your input. I was unaware of both that warenttee issue with swiftech as well as the DCC pumps running hot. I agree with the idea of not supporting a company that doesn't support us, so you swayed me

Are there any other opinions for a pump top to go with other than the alpha cool top? I

 

[PepeLapiu]

There is the XSPC top, or the EK top.
I don't recommend the Bitspower one as the ports on top are too close to each other and won't play nice with some fittings.
Knock yourself out here.

 

[IScreamMon]

You can get a 5.25 reservoir from xspc and have a d5 pump installed, it saves space and works pretty well.

 

[PepeLapiu]

Personally, I tend to shy away from pump/res combos. The pump is harder to decouple for sound when directly attached to the res.
But they are a compact option if space is an issue.

 

[IScreamMon]

Yea I understand what you mean, I liquid cooled a small PC mid sized case and it saved a lot of spaxe

 

[IScreamMon]

Also if you are doing just a cpu and one gpu it's up to you if you want to add the second rad

 

[d00bzilla]

I have my CPU and gpu in a loop. CPU is OC'd to 4.4ghz and the gtx 780 is stock speed for now until I find a game that can actually stress the card. I have a single 240mm rad and it keeps everything within reasonable temps. I rarely see the CPU go above 60c even after hours of gaming in arma 3 which is very CPU intensive and the 780 has never gone over 39c no matter what I play. This is all with fans running at about 800-900rpm. Many people here would tell you to add another rad but realistically the single 240mm will cool your rig just fine while keeping the noise to a minimum.

She's not the prettiest rig on this site but she can game with the best of them.



Ps. If you are going to spend this money id get a better video card than a 600 series. Those things are ancient now.