# Custom Watercooling loop advice needed



## FSXManu (Mar 9, 2020)

Hi

I've been planning to make a custom loop pc for myself with my alteady existing parts. 
Atm I got two RTX2080Ti in SLI and an i7-8700k with an ASUS z370-f mainboard (maybe upgrading the CPU)

Now my Problem is I never built a custom watercooled pc before. I got a friend who knows stuff about hard tubing and stuff stuff so he will help me with that. 
I want it in the Phanteks Enthoo 719 case because I got like 6 SSDs. 
I don't knkw which parts I need like yes fittings and the tubes and stuff (already got waterblocks for cpu und gpu and a reservoir/pump combo and the ekwb watercooled sli bridge) 

Can anyone help me in terms of which parts I need like tubing and fittings? I think the 16mm/13mm tubes will be the ones I go for. 

Best regards
Manuel


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## JackCarver (Mar 9, 2020)

I have the 16/12 EKWB acrylic hard tubes and EKWB 16mm hard tubing fittings. But you can also use 13/10 or 12/10 acrylic tubes if you want a little smaller ones.

When it comes to hard tubing you only have to decide between PETG or acrylic tubes.


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## utilizedamplitude (Mar 9, 2020)

Use EKs configurator. It will tell you everything you need for your case and components.



			Custom Cooling Configurator | Custom Loop Configurator


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## EarthDog (Mar 9, 2020)

I don't recommend hard tubing the first go... but if you have a friend...

Will that case hold 7x120mm worth of radiator? To cool 2x 2080ti (why do you have 2 2080ti...you play at 4k????) and the cpu, you will need around that much.


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## JackCarver (Mar 9, 2020)

EarthDog said:


> I don't recommend hard tubing the first go... but if you gave a friend...
> 
> Will that case hold 7x120mm worth of radiator? To cool 2x 2080ti (why do you have 2 2080ti...you play at 4k????) and the cpu, you will need around that much.



That case is huge, you have plenty of radiator space, look here:






Is definitely in my consideration taking this case for my next water cooling rig.


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## phill (Mar 9, 2020)

Might be a suggestion at this point but grab some soft tubing as well, make it outside the case if you'd like and test it that way.  Sometimes much easier for trial installs and it's an easy way to get to grips with everything  

Also as I try to test this way as well, don't power from the PC to test the tubing and barbs/fittings etc., use a molex or whatever the pump power connector is from another PC and just have the pump powered on, seems to work fine for me although I'm sure that there's another way around doing that, 24 plug trick I guess??  

The hard tubing I've not yet gone over to as I'm personally not such a fan but I've not had any issues with soft tubing all the times I've used it so if you can give it ago first time, why not   Just be warey as it's a hard job from what I see and hear


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## EarthDog (Mar 9, 2020)

JackCarver said:


> That case is huge, you have plenty of radiator space, look here:
> 
> 
> 
> Is definitely in my consideration taking this case for my next water cooling rig.


Plenty of locations for rads, but where does the cool air come in unimpeded? 

I really dislike that side rad location... especially on cases (not sure if this one is or not) that have poor airflow properties.


This guy is cooling around 600W when the CPU is overclocked... so airflow is key.


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## JackCarver (Mar 9, 2020)

phill said:


> I'm sure that there's another way around doing that, 24 plug trick I guess??



I use that one to power on pump without plugging in the PSU to the mainboard:





phill said:


> The hard tubing I've not yet gone over to as I'm personally not such a fan but I've not had any issues with soft tubing all the times I've used it so if you can give it ago first time, why not  Just be warey as it's a hard job from what I see and hear



Hard tubing has the cleaner and better look in my opinion but that's personal preference.



EarthDog said:


> This guy is cooling around 600W when the CPU is overclocked... so airflow is key.



He has to cool up to 800W, RTX 2080Ti up to 300W, twice of those and the i7 8700K up to 200W in worst case. But he wouldn't need to use those side panel to assemble a rad there, he can do a 480 rad front and a 360 rad top. Should be sufficient. And by the way air flow is needed for RAM and VRM, CPU+GPU is water cooled.


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## EarthDog (Mar 9, 2020)

JackCarver said:


> He has to cool up to 800W, RTX 2080Ti up to 300W, twice of those and the i7 8700K up to 200W in worst case. But he wouldn't need to use those side panel to assemble a rad there, he can do a 480 rad front and a 360 rad top. Should be sufficient.


If each part is overclocked to the max, sure. Otherwise, at stock, they are 250W cards, and I gave the 8700K 100W... underestimating it. So, up to 800W... then I would want 8x120mm worth of rad...

... I'm not convinced this case can move enough cool air to make it worth it... One rad up front to blow warm air in the chassis to go through the second rad...


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## JackCarver (Mar 9, 2020)

EarthDog said:


> So, up to 800W... then I would want 8x120mm worth of rad...



Yes that would be optimum but imho 480+360 rad should also be sufficient. Need to speed up the radiator fans a little and you are nice to go. And as you said, 800W is a worst case scenario, mostly it will be below that.
As a rule you can read in the web, a 120mm rad can cool 75W up to 125W, that's dependend of the noise you want to tolerate, cause for 125W you have to speed up the fans. So with 7x120mm you could cool 525W if you want an absolute silent loop and up to 875W if you speed up your fans.


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## EarthDog (Mar 9, 2020)

JackCarver said:


> Yes that would be optimum but imho 480+360 rad should also be sufficient. Need to speed up the radiator fans a little and you are nice to go. And as you said, 800W is a worst case scenario, mostly it will be below that.



That will be sufficient... and what I said originally, lol.


Part of the point, to me, for watercooling is that it isn't as loud and runs cooler. I fear with lower rad amounts and case airflow, this won't be optimal for the OP. It will work, and be OK.., note. 

Still trying to figure out the need for 2x 2080Ti's, lol!


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## JackCarver (Mar 9, 2020)

EarthDog said:


> Part of the point, to me, for watercooling is that it isn't as loud and runs cooler.



Sure the noise is one thing people dislike, but my rig gets only loud in high load scenarios like gaming or benchmarking. While gaming I wear a headset, so I can't hear anything lol.



> As a rule you can read in the web, a 120mm rad can cool 75W up to 125W, that's dependend of the noise you want to tolerate, cause for 125W you have to speed up the fans. So with 7x120mm you could cool 525W if you want an absolute silent loop and up to 875W if you speed up your fans.


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## EarthDog (Mar 9, 2020)

You haven't told me a thing I don't know, Jack.  

All I am saying is the to get the most out of the water cooling and have quiet operations, it needs to have enough rad capacity and airflow.

Our guides:








						Beginner's Guide to Water Cooling Your PC *** READ THIS FIRST ***
					

A guide to water cooling your computer from the ground up.  ... Return to article to continue reading.




					www.overclockers.com
				











						The Ultimate Water Cooling Thread
					

This thread is to try and clean up the water cooling section and make it easier to access needed information. Hopefully it will help point new water coolers in the right direction as well.  Here are stickies from OCForums:  Beginner's Guide to Water Cooling Your PC - Just what it says. If you're...




					www.overclockers.com


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## JackCarver (Mar 9, 2020)

Here a picture from the web with 3 rads, 2x360 and 1x480:


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## xtreemchaos (Mar 9, 2020)

if your just going for a static build " you build and don't touch it" id go for hard tubing but if your like me " the rig evolves week by month" go for soft tubing its much more forgiving and easyer to swap out kit. goodluck not that you will need it.


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## EarthDog (Mar 9, 2020)

JackCarver said:


> Here a picture from the web with 3 rads, 2x360 and 1x480:


That airflow, though...


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## JackCarver (Mar 9, 2020)

xtreemchaos said:


> if your just going for a static build " you build and don't touch it" id go for hard tubing but if your like me " the rig evolves week by month" go for soft tubing its much more forgiving and easyer to swap out kit. goodluck not that you will need it.


It's not all about evolving it's also about looking and hard tubing has the better look in my opinion. So yes it's more complicated than soft tubing and not that nice if you want to put a new component in your rig but the look is worth the effort imho.

That's what I mean, nice and clean look:


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## xtreemchaos (Mar 9, 2020)

"putty n paint make many men faint " ill allways take function over looks unless we are talking about ladys but its nice to have looks and function together .


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## JackCarver (Mar 9, 2020)

xtreemchaos said:


> ill allways take function over looks unless we are talking about ladys



LOL!!!!


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## phill (Mar 9, 2020)

JackCarver said:


> I use that one to power on pump without plugging in the PSU to the mainboard:
> View attachment 147584
> 
> 
> ...


I understand that one   Works a treat if there was anything to happen 

I can agree hard tubing in some ways better but as we agree, it's all personal preference 

Well from the Black Nemesis GTR's seem to be rather decent and from this spec list - GTR Rads a dual rad would do 





Unless I'm reading it wrong....


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## JackCarver (Mar 9, 2020)

phill said:


> Well from the Black Nemesis GTR's seem to be rather decent and from this spec list - GTR Rads a dual rad would do



Those charts can't be right, a 240 rad is capable of handling 1100W? Can't believe that or I get it wrong   
But their radiators are really good, if not the best on market.


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## EarthDog (Mar 9, 2020)

phill said:


> Well from the Black Nemesis GTR's seem to be rather decent and from this spec list - GTR Rads a dual rad would do


I wonder at what delta they base that wattage on.................I mean you can throw on a push/pull set of 3,000 RPM deltas maybe......... but as was quoted earlier, the general rule of thumb is around 100W / 120mm (thin) radiators.

I mean, AMD's R9 295x2 was ~500W and 'cooled' by a 120mm radiator... the water temp was like 60C and barely kept the card from throttling with the fan at full tilt.......


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## ZenZimZaliben (Mar 9, 2020)

I would see how many watts you are pulling from the wall under load on air. Then plan according to that. My guess is you will need 6-7x120 worth of cooling. So 3 240's or 1 360 and 2 240's.


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## phill (Mar 9, 2020)

JackCarver said:


> Those charts can't be right, a 240 rad is capable of handling 1100W? Can't believe that or I get it wrong
> But their radiators are really good, if not the best on market.





EarthDog said:


> I wonder at what delta they base that wattage on.................I mean you can throw on a push/pull set of 3,000 RPM deltas maybe......... but as was quoted earlier, the general rule of thumb is around 100W / 120mm (thin) radiators.
> 
> I mean, AMD's R9 295x2 was ~500W and 'cooled' by a 120mm radiator... the water temp was like 60C and barely kept the card from throttling with the fan at full tilt.......


Both are interesting questions to ask answers of which I've no idea   

Been looking at a few water cooling bits of late, so the thread caught my eye and with the wattage requirements as well...

I know I mention Jayztwocents a fair bit but he does mention that a '120mm rad' for each component...  Wonder if it's worth an ask to Black Nemesis as well just to see if they can confirm....


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## eidairaman1 (Mar 9, 2020)

Since you are new to this start with flexible tubing to prevent wasting money on having to reshape due to errors in measurements.

Also Do not mix dissimilar metals together as Galvanic Corrosion can set in and is only sped up with a electrolyte. So if running a copper block make sure fittings are 100% compatible (not just by thread but by metal same with the radiator (copper).

If you use aluminum, use aluminum only.


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## JackCarver (Mar 10, 2020)

phill said:


> I know I mention Jayztwocents a fair bit but he does mention that a '120mm rad' for each component...



Depends really if you are for OC or only stock clock speeds and the noise you want to tolerate. For stock clock speeds and if a little higher fan speeds are not that problem then for sure, why not using a 120 rad per component.


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## phill (Mar 10, 2020)

He normally does a lot of overclocking and with setups I do in the past myself, I tend to separate components so, CPU has a loop and then the GPUs have a loop, if I went back to my X58 systems, they also had a loop on the motherboard...  That said, a triple rad for just the motherboard was a little ott....  But.... Meh 

For my personal experience/what I'd look for, I'd go at least triple rads for a CPU and dual GPUs without question.  I did use a 120mm quad for a 4960X and another 120mm quad for two 7970's and it ran amazingly cool


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## kapone32 (Mar 12, 2020)

phill said:


> He normally does a lot of overclocking and with setups I do in the past myself, I tend to separate components so, CPU has a loop and then the GPUs have a loop, if I went back to my X58 systems, they also had a loop on the motherboard...  That said, a triple rad for just the motherboard was a little ott....  But.... Meh
> 
> For my personal experience/what I'd look for, I'd go at least triple rads for a CPU and dual GPUs without question.  I did use a 120mm quad for a 4960X and another 120mm quad for two 7970's and it ran amazingly cool



You are absolutely right. When I tried to use a CPU block and 2 GPU waterblocks together the heat from the CPU would make the GPU block feel hot and my GPU temps would be in the 40s under idle and in the 70s under load. So I put the CPU on it's own block and the GPU(s) on their own block. I was playing a session of TWWH2 yesterday and my GPU(s) were at no higher than 52 C. Unfortunately I think the tubes are too long on the CPU loop as I am unable to control the beast that is the 2920x. So i ordered 2 of these 



			Amazon.ca
		


To use with 1 of these 



			Amazon.ca
		


To the OP I have said this before but if you want to get into watercooling without too much effort the Alphacool Eisbaer and Eiswolf series are a great place to start. The Esibaer is called an AIO but it really is not as all of the parts can be individually ordered and you can replace whatever you want as long as it's G1/4. One thing is that all the parts are (rad, block) copper.


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## John Naylor (Mar 12, 2020)

WARNING:  Wall of text coming ... don't feel confortable giving advice to 1st timer with a few quick tips, especially when  rules of thumb replace readily available accurate data.  So feel free to skip if you know all this already

Built our 1st rigid tube custom loop in a Phanteks case 7 years ago.  I could never stand the wily nilly look to flex tubing.  Never tossed a piece ... ever on a build w/ fittings.  When bending you are gonna mess up 1 or 2.  Given the similarity in case choice and loading, perhaps you will benefit from the following:

1.  First size your radiators.  You can download a tool here.  All data in this tool was from laboratory testing at martinsliquidlab.  Feedback from users has been solid.  Bariations Temps predicted by the tool and post-build testing variances have stayed in single digits.   Wattage was measured when Delta T was 10C.








						Radiator Size Estimator
					

A few peeps have asked me to provide this info in an easily accessible / findable spot so the don't have to remember what thread it is in or take snippets from multiple threads. If ya find it useful, great .... if ya like something better, by all means use what ya comfy with. First off, I did...




					www.overclock.net
				




289 watts (from TPU Review) x 2 cards x 1.10 (moving power slider in MSI AB to max @  110%) = 635 watts

Overclocked CPU @ 5.2 Ghz ~ 130 watts








						Intel Core i7 8700K processor review
					

It is time to check out the new six-core proc from Intel, yes the Core i7 8700K will be put through our benchmark paces and yes this is Coffee Lake, Intel's new mainstream processor that you will ne... Overclocking




					www.guru3d.com
				




MoBo ~ 0 watts ... assumed MoBo Block
635 + 130 + 40 = say 800 watts.   In my build 2013 build it was 792 watts

Exhaustive trial and error testing has shown that rads will only handle about 60% of the therotical load ... first reason is that not every component will ever hit peak wattage for any sustained time interval and not all will even get close at the same time.  In addition, your radiator shrouds, fitting, tubing, blocks will all radiate hear inside the case.  About 60% of that theoretical load will actually be handled by the radiators.

60% of 800 watts = 480 watt radiator load (475 watts in our 2013 build)

For a quiet system, we recommend 1250 rpm fans and the Phanteks that come with the case are the chart toppers.  Take the fans off a Noctua cooler and replace them with the ones that come with the case, and your temps will drop 6C at the same rpm.


			Phanteks PH-F140(XP, SP, SP_LED) Fans: Testing -  Phanteks PH-F140 (XP, SP, SP_LED) Case Fan Review - Page 3
		

https://www.silentpcreview.com/140mm_Fan_Roundup1 ... scroll down to chart near end

Downloading the Radiator Size Estimator from above link (AlphaCool), we see that:

@ 1250 rpm, a 420 rad 45 mm thick in front with 1 set of fans in push takes care of 250 watts
@ 1250 rpm, a 360 rad 60 mm thick on bottom with 1 set of fans in push takes care of 166 watts

That totals 416 watts, 529 in push / pull.  My build was slightly overdesigned (475 provided / 420 load) by 13%.  Those charts are based upon an assumed Delta T of 10C, so my calculated Delta T was 8.5C ... tested post-build it hit 8.7 C which attests to the accuracy of the 60% methodology.

In short, Id recommend a 420 x 45mm rad in front and a 360 x 60mm rad on bottom.  Radiator fans blow in as always, no exceptions ! .... unless you want warmer temps.  Avoid 2 port rads ... You will want the flexibility ... ideal a 7 port radiator 6 on one end (2 @ top, bottom and end), 1 on the other.  Screw protectors are a good idea.

Allowing the power options to turn off the screen, I can run Furmak and RoG Real Bench and sitting in front of the heyboard, there is no sound, you can not tell the system is running.

2.  Pumps.... I prefer dual pumps... like the Swiftech MCP 35x2 ... I use the Heatsink w/ legs and HS fan w/








						Swiftech MCP35X2 Pump
					

Introduction Welcome to my Swiftech MCP35X2 review, possibly the ultimate in “Smart PWM Monster Pumping Performance”. After reviewing the Swiftech 35X single pump, I found myself making…




					martinsliquidlab.wordpress.com
				




Swiftech MCP35X2-BK
Swiftech MCP35x2 Dual Pump Heatsink (MCP35X2-HS)
Noiseblocker NB-BlackSilentPro PC-P 80mm x 15mm Ultra Silent PWM Fan - 2500 RPM

In smaller systems ... the Swiftech MCP 655-PWM-DRIVE








						Swiftech MCP 655-PWM-DRIVE Pump Review
					

Welcome to my “living” review/preview of the Swiftech MCP 655-PWM DRIVE. What do you get when you couple our most reliable, most silent, and most cool running pump with PWM technology? …




					martinsliquidlab.wordpress.com
				




3.  Reservoirs... I used EK  noting special about it.  The bigger it is, the larger thermal mass and the less pump cycling you will see as fan rpms try and keep up with varying loads.  Add a 3 port top and necessary fittings to have the fill tube extend below the water line, leaving a 1/2 inch of visible air space.  One port has a small riser and bleed valve

4.  Accessories ... I used Bitspower temperature probes on the inlet and outlet of each radiator plus 2 additional sensors to display ambient and interior case temps.  Temps were displayed on a 6 channel Reeven 6 Eyes mounted on front of the case.

On the top ports of the top rad, I used 40mm extensions which ended about 2mm below the top case grille allowing me to remoive the grille to fill, bleed or whatever.

With bottom raid raised by the fans, you can attach an elbow to a bottom rad port, add an extension and male Quik-Disconnect.  This allows you to drain the system simply by attaching the female disconnect and 3 feet if tubing.

For TIM, we use Thermal Grizzly of Shin Etsu 751 for CPUs and Gelid Extreme for GFX cards ... the Gelid has longer workability and by the time you get done applyining to to the GPU, memory chips and the VRMs you can have 20 or more application points after doing block and backpate sides.

5.  We use an electric scroll saw w/ table to do the tube cutting ... and dont forget a good deburring tool... bought plastic one from a PC shop but replaced it with one I found at Home deport. 

6.  Split the flow before the GFX cards, this has several advantages:

a) Using the SLI blocks, one card will always be hotter than the other.
b)  Due to the small thermal mass / contact area of CPU Blocks ... they are impacted by flow... one of the reasons that CLC need extreme speed fans.  The large thermal mass and contact area of GFX cards makes them rather unaffected by flow rates.  Testing on that 2013 build to balance noise / performance revealed that there was no perceptable gain with flow rates above 1.20 gpm thru the CPU block and 0.60 thru the GFX blocks

Any questions ... yell




JackCarver said:


> It's not all about evolving it's also about looking and hard tubing has the better look in my opinion. So yes it's more complicated than soft tubing and not that nice if you want to put a new component in your rig but the look is worth the effort imho.    That's what I mean, nice and clean look:
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/attachments/1583763586212-png.147600/



In full agreement and well done.  Things to consider:

1.  As an alternative to single loops or dual loops, split the flow upstream of the GFX cards, allowing half the flow to go thru each card in parallel.  

2.  Allow an an air cap at the top of the reservoirs ... accommodates thermal expansion and  provides for leakage monitoring.




JackCarver said:


> Those charts can't be right, a 240 rad is capable of handling 1100W? Can't believe that or I get it wrong
> But their radiators are really good, if not the best on market.



That chart is crazy .... I didnt see any mention of fan rpm but to hit those numbers, your case could levitate off the desk

for 45 mm thick Alphacool rads, tested in lab conditions ... very little variance between brands
@ 1250 rpm each 120mm is good for about 61 watts
@ 1800 rpm each 120mm is good for about 86 watts
@ 2200 rpm each 120mm is good for about 102 watts

@ 1250 rpm each 140mm is good for about 83 watts
@ 1800 rpm each 140mm is good for about 117 watts
@ 2200 rpm each 140mm is good for about 139 watts









						Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 360 Radiator
					

This is #8 in my series of triple radiators the Alphacool NexXxos UT60.  Unlike most manufacturers that may make 1-3 models, Alphacool makes many different models that vary in materials as well as …




					martinsliquidlab.wordpress.com
				







ZenZimZaliben said:


> I would see how many watts you are pulling from the wall under load on air. Then plan according to that. My guess is you will need 6-7x120 worth of cooling. So 3 240's or 1 360 and 2 240's.



Just to be clear....the cooling system doesn't have to include the waste heat from the PSU so you wouldn't design for that load.   Efficiency loss in the PSU could add 100 watts and there's no block oin the PSU.  However, measuring the wattage at the wall is a good check to see if your component calculations are in the ballpark.  The six SSDS, other drives, memory, fans, opticals, etc won't be handled by the rads



phill said:


> I know I mention Jayztwocents a fair bit but he does mention that a '120mm rad' for each component...  Wonder if it's worth an ask to Black Nemesis as well just to see if they can confirm....



Even at an imaginary 2 cents he's overcharging ... any guy who drills thru a $400 motherboard to mount a cooler is not someone we should be taking advice from.   Water cooling has been around for 30 years... laboratory testing has been performed on all components.   We don't need to guess how many watts radiators remove, they have been lab tested and results published..... Rules of thumb can be useful in early planning stages but wjhy not use readily available data for the specific components being used ?  See martins link above

120 mm for each component ?  At what rpm 1200 or 3000 ?  Odd to imagine using the same 120mm for a 300 watt GFX card and a 40 watt MoBo Block .... or even a 125 watt CPU and 300 watt card


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## phill (Mar 12, 2020)

John Naylor said:


> Even at an imaginary 2 cents he's overcharging ... any guy who drills thru a $400 motherboard to mount a cooler is not someone we should be taking advice from.   Water cooling has been around for 30 years... laboratory testing has been performed on all components.   We don't need to guess how many watts radiators remove, they have been lab tested and results published..... Rules of thumb can be useful in early planning stages but wjhy not use readily available data for the specific components being used ?  See martins link above
> 
> 120 mm for each component ?  At what rpm 1200 or 3000 ?  Odd to imagine using the same 120mm for a 300 watt GFX card and a 40 watt MoBo Block .... or even a 125 watt CPU and 300 watt card



Well I guess since they make GPUs with AIO's on a single rad and a not so great fan, I'm sure it's enough for the masses??

Still I've always done things differently and found no issues whatsoever with my results either   I try to stick with a loop with a component, so CPU on it's own, GPU on it's own and etc.  I don't believe that adding components together in a loop with multiple rads is going to give the best results.  Just my opinion tho but it seems to work fine for me when I've done it 



kapone32 said:


> You are absolutely right. When I tried to use a CPU block and 2 GPU waterblocks together the heat from the CPU would make the GPU block feel hot and my GPU temps would be in the 40s under idle and in the 70s under load. So I put the CPU on it's own block and the GPU(s) on their own block. I was playing a session of TWWH2 yesterday and my GPU(s) were at no higher than 52 C. Unfortunately I think the tubes are too long on the CPU loop as I am unable to control the beast that is the 2920x. So i ordered 2 of these
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I don't think with the speed of the pumps, that you could really have too long a loop, unless it's like 30 feet of tubing...  Mighty impressive but I'm sure it's not a real issue.  Those CPUs are warm if your maxing out all of the cores at once, it's just the way it is, just be thankful that the CPU package is big enough that your not trying to cool down a postage stamp size component that puts out 150w of heat for arguments sake...

Check the pump speed, check the mount, check the rad and see if it's warm/hot etc.  see how much air the fans are pushing..  Might be something basic or if your ambient temps are warm to begin with, there's half your problems


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## maxsava0202 (Mar 21, 2020)

I purchased this for a new rig and ended up going a different route with my setup, so this card was never installed. $625 shipped, or $600 picked up locally, I am located in Plano, Texas. Feel free to message me for pictures/information/selling & buying credentials. Thanks.


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## maxsava0202 (Mar 22, 2020)

maxsava0202 said:


> I purchased this for a new rig and ended up going a different route with my setup, so this card was never installed. $625 shipped, or $600 picked up locally, I am located in Plano, Texas. Feel free to message me for pictures/information/selling & buying credentials. Thanks.


Nox Vidmate VLC


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## Deleted member 190774 (Apr 4, 2020)

@OP, I think you're going about this the right way, from the planning perspective. I tried asking PC Case Gear in Australia for advice on what components to purchase, but they literally wouldn't help - suggesting that I should research myself. Therein lies the problem though, as I'd already done my research but still didn't know what I wanted - and resulted in half-a-dozen extra online purchases, along with those extra shipping costs.

If you're going with hard-tubing, buy twice as much as you think you need. I found that you could easily use up tubing if you couldn't get a particular bend just perfect. Plus I had to buy the heat gun as I didn't have one.

If you don't want hard tubing, go with the larger diameter flexible tubing with some nice compression fittings - as it also looks fine, and will be a lot quicker to assemble.

When I bought the pump, I couldn't seem to find the right pump and reservoir combo in one purchase, so I ended up with a D5 / small reservoir, then having to buy a larger reservoir. Then I found that you have to buy a down pipe for inside the reservoir, separately - and they come in different lengths. Also consider how you will attach your reservoir / pump as there are brackets you can buy to support multiple orientations.

The PSU / Motherboard power cable termination adapter (pictured earlier) is really useful for priming the loop outside the case.

I started with sealed AIOs, then went the Switftech expandable AIO - where I eventually added another radiator, replaced tubing and water block. From here I got the confidence to go full hard tubing with a custom loop - and honestly, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. The key being - take your time, and have plenty of kitchen roll handy!

In my loop, I have 2 x 280mm radiators - one in the top, and one in the front, a D5 pump and reservoir.






I've also just done a mod to the back to provide some airflow around the back of the CPU backing plate.


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## X71200 (Apr 4, 2020)

I'd actually just suggest, if you can, returning the blocks and stuff. Ampere will be released in August and for the money you will spend on all this, you can just sell one 2080 Ti, and get one of those. Even upgrade the CPU while at it.


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