[jd2195]

I am going to be water cooling my computer in the near future and have been picking up parts over the last few months when I see good deals. Here is the list for what I have got so far:
• 10x ek psc compression fittings black 10/13mm (3/8" ID, 1/2" OD, G1/4")
• 2x ek psc 45 degree fittings (3/8" ID, 1/2" OD, G1/4")
• 3x ek psc 90 degree fittings (3/8" ID, 1/2" OD, G1/4")
• 1x alphacool 90 degree fitting (3/8" ID, 1/2" OD, G1/4")
• 1x Frozen Q reservoir
• 1x nVidia GTX Geforce 570 KFA2 with water block
The graphics card with water block only cost me £100, was very happy with that deal.

I have got an 800D waiting in my garage for this project so was thinking a 240mm rad in the bottom or the front and then a 360mm rad in the top. But here is what I still need to get and I would love some feedback on parts that I have already got and people to give suggestions on parts that I need to get:
• 1x CPU Block (XSPC Ray storm Intel Block probably)
• 1x 240mm radiator (Alphacool NexXxos XT45 240mm Dual Radiator : Full Copper)
• 1x 360mm radiator (Alphacool NexXxos XT45 360mm Triple Radiator : Full Copper)
• 1x pump (XSPC D5 Vario)
• 1x pump mod kit (Bitspower D5 mod kit)
• 3/8" ID and 1/2" OD tubing (Probably Masterkleer Tubing UV-Active Blue/Clear)

 

[jd2195]

I forget about radiator fans. I am looking at the phoyba g-silent 1200rpm fans for my radiators. I have read some good reviews on the fans but what do you guys think? Should I get the 1200 RPM model or get a higher or lower model, bearing in mind that I would like to overclock my core i5 2500k but I would also like to keep my pc quiet?

 

[jd2195]

I forget about radiator fans. I am looking at the phoyba g-silent 1200rpm fans for my radiators. I have read some good reviews on the fans but what do you guys think? Should I get the 1200 RPM model or get a higher or lower model, bearing in mind that I would like to overclock my core i5 2500k but I would also like to keep my pc quiet?

 

[Juggalo23451]

You just need a 360 rad for a cpu and gpu but if you want a 240 rad. Go for it.
This is what the loop can look like
I helped a buddy of mine do this to his case


The speed of the fans will be determined on what kind of rad you choose.

 

[jd2195]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juggalo23451

You just need a 360 rad for a cpu and gpu but if you want a 240 rad.

I am going for the 240 rad just for future plans as I will plan to have an SLI setup in the future.

 

[47 Knucklehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jd2195

I forget about radiator fans. I am looking at the phoyba g-silent 1200rpm fans for my radiators. I have read some good reviews on the fans but what do you guys think? Should I get the 1200 RPM model or get a higher or lower model, bearing in mind that I would like to overclock my core i5 2500k but I would also like to keep my pc quiet?

Who makes, and how thick will your radiators be (You have them just listed as 240 and 360)? That will largely determine what speed and how many fans you want to get.

A thin 25mm or 45mm thick radiator generally needs to use higher speed fans to achieve better cooling than say a 60mm or 80mm thick radiator, which can often get away with 800 or 1000 RPM fans (but personally, I like 1450 RPM fans on them for SERIOUS cooling without being obnoxiously loud).

 

[jd2195]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 47 Knucklehead

A thin 25mm or 45mm thick radiator generally needs to use higher speed fans to achieve better cooling than say a 60mm or 80mm thick radiator, which can often get away with 800 or 1000 RPM fans (but personally, I like 1450 RPM fans on them for SERIOUS cooling without being obnoxiously loud).

I am not sure what type of rads I am going to get yet. What would you suggest getting? Those fans I have chosen come in 4 different fan speeds, 700, 1200, 1600 and 2000RPM so I am pretty flexible as to what thickness radiators.

 

[47 Knucklehead]

Well, it your budget can handle a little more $$, I recommend the Alphacool UT60 for a thicker rad or the UT45 for a thinner one in that case. Otherwise, I am a fan (no pun intended) of the XSPC RX for 60mm and RS for 45mm.

They both work great at various speeds, but as I said, I prefer 1450 RPM, but I also have done 1200 and tested them at speeds from 300 to 4240 RPM.

I like the Alphacool because the IMO the finish is nicer and the radiators have multiple ports (unlike the RX and RS line) so you can put your connections just about anywhere). They also have nice "screw stoppers", which are nice for a person new to water cooling so they don't puncture the radiator core with too long a screw.

A great site to look at is: http://martinsliquidlab.org/category/radiators/

Here are some of the ones I would always recommend:

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2012/04/12/alphacool-nexxxos-ut60-360-radiator/
http://martinsliquidlab.org/2012/04/15/alphacool-nexxxos-xt45-360-radiator/
http://martinsliquidlab.org/2012/03/27/xspc-rx360-radiator/
http://martinsliquidlab.org/2012/03/27/xspc-rs360-radiator/

And just to look at a quick comparison for various radiators at various RPMs, this is the "one stop look":

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2012/04/14/360-radiator-shootout-summary/

Lastly, determining if you want to go with just one set of fans or two, you can look here and see that in some cases, if you want to spend twice as much on fans, you can get very appreciable results by going "push/pull":



As far as noise goes, adding more fans doesn't impact you as much as one may think:
Quote:

Originally Posted by 47 Knucklehead

You know you got computers on the brain when you are laying in bed at 2 in the morning and suddenly think to yourself ... OMG, how loud will this thing be? Should I have ordered 18 AP-13 or AP-12 fans instead?

Well, after running some numbers, it really doesn't matter much. Pretty much the most noise will be generated from the 2 MCP655 pumps, which puts out about 33dBA each.

9 800RPM fans AP-12 @ 9dBA = 18.54dBA (36.08dBA w/2 MCP655 pumps) = 28.25 CFM per = ~120 Watts @ 10C
18 800RPM fans AP-12 @ 9dBA = 21.52dBA (36.15dBA w/2 MCP655 pumps) = 28.25 CFM per = ~140 Watts @ 10C

9 1150RPM fans AP-13 @ 16dBA = 25.54dBA (36.37dBA w/2 MCP655 pumps) = 37 CFM per = ~160 Watts @ 10C
18 1150RPM fans AP-13 @ 16dBA = 28.52dBA (36.72dBA w/2 MCP655 pumps) = 37 CFM per = ~190 Watts @ 10C

9 1450RPM fans AP-14 @ 21dBA = 30.54dBA (37.08dBA w/2 MCP655 pumps) = 50 CFM per = ~215 Watts @ 10C
18 1450RPM fans AP-14 @ 21dBA = 33.52dBA (37.94dBA w/2 MCP655 pumps) = 50 CFM per = ~260 Watts @ 10C

For those that don't already have this site, you might want to book mark it. It is simply wonderful for calculating noise.

Combining decibels - up to 10 levels
Combining decibels − up to 30 levels

 

[jd2195]

Thanks for all that information. I will have a look at martins liquid lab now. I have looked at the alphacool previously and they do appeal to me. I will have a look around at other radiators. I am not too keen on push pull. I do not much like the look of push pull and I am not too fussed about the small performance increase.

 

[jd2195]

Anyone got a any good suggestions for pumps I know all of the obvious ones and have looked at martinsliquidlab but am still undecided. I would like a pump that is quite quiet so I will probably go with a Swiftech MCP655 Watercooling Pump - w/ Speed Controller, does anyone know anything better?

 

[jd2195]

Updated my parts list, now know all the components I need to get, just need to get them. Tell me what you think of my decisions.

 

[jd2195]

bump

 

[Fan o' water]

I don't have a tremendous amount of experience with different fans, but i can tell that GT AP-15's are superb performers, but not quiet and AP-14's are excellent and pretty/fairly quiet. I am using a mix of both, but if buying from scratch would go with AP-14's throughout.
The GT-15's make a hum that some dislike and I can no longer hear.

Just a thought, but a 360 up top and a 120 on the back will give serious cooling to an OC'ed sli rig and would be a lot less effort.

Welcome to watercooling! A terribly cool and expensive addiction.

 

[jd2195]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fan o' water

I don't have a tremendous amount of experience with different fans, but i can tell that GT AP-15's are superb performers, but not quiet and AP-14's are excellent and pretty/fairly quiet. I am using a mix of both, but if buying from scratch would go with AP-14's throughout.
The GT-15's make a hum that some dislike and I can no longer hear.

Just a thought, but a 360 up top and a 120 on the back will give serious cooling to an OC'ed sli rig and would be a lot less effort.

Welcome to watercooling! A terribly cool and expensive addiction.

I really want a silence optimized rig and so if the AP-15's make a lot of noise I would not go with them. The AP-14's would definitely be better if they are quiet but are a lot more expensive then the current fans I have got listed so I will do more research into them and see if it is worth it.

I have considered going with just a 360mm and 120mm radiators and I know what I am planning is overkill but why not? I am also not a big fan of how a 120mm radiator looks in the back. I think it just look a bit bulky and can overshadow other components in the rig.

 

[Fan o' water]

Overkill fits right in on this website!

I mounted my 120 outside the case with the fan on the inside - just to keep the vrm heatsink from being covered. So I completely understand your thinking.
The more radiator surface area you have the more effective the cooling can be with lower speed fans. Just make sure you select lower fin density radiators.

Also, if you haven't decided on your radiators yet have a look at the Black Ice SR-1 series. They are specifically designed for low rpm fans, but work really well with fan rpm's up at 2000, where higher density rads start to outperform them.
http://www.hwlabs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=3

I am using an SR-1 280 mm and a GTX 120 and am very happy with the performance.

Cheers

 

[jd2195]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fan o' water

Overkill fits right in on this website!

I mounted my 120 outside the case with the fan on the inside - just to keep the vrm heatsink from being covered. So I completely understand your thinking.
The more radiator surface area you have the more effective the cooling can be with lower speed fans. Just make sure you select lower fin density radiators.

Also, if you haven't decided on your radiators yet have a look at the Black Ice SR-1 series. They are specifically designed for low rpm fans, but work really well with fan rpm's up at 2000, where higher density rads start to outperform them.
http://www.hwlabs.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=3

I am using an SR-1 280 mm and a GTX 120 and am very happy with the performance.

Cheers

The Black Ice SR-1 series certainly does look nice and I like the fact that they are optimized for low rpm fans. You have given me a lot more to think about. There are so many options with everything in water cooling , it makes making decisions so hard. Luckily I have a quite a bit of time before this build starts so that means that I have a lot of time to make these decisions with the help from all you wise people here.