Slow planning of watercooling -550d

[Nordic]

Since I have decided I will eventually be watercooling my components I am trying to plan the loop layout. I will be picking up parts as I find them for prices I like. I am a water cooling noob so bear with me. I would rather not mod my case. Budget options are preferable but I will be getting parts over time so better products might be doable. I am afraid I might have bigger eyes than I have wallet. Ascetics are not important to me. I always prefer quieter computing but I no longer sleep in the same room as my computer and am willing to have it be a little louder.

This is what I have envisioned so far.

Rads for the top back (cpu rad):
120mm heatercore rad - Got for $5 from danger dens closing sale. Thinking about putting it in the top back to cool the cpu:
Maybe put a 120x45mm to a 120x60mm in the top back instead.

For the bottom front (gpu rad):
I was thinking a 120mm x 60mm rad like the alphacool ut60 or xspc rx120 in push pull. Maybe even an alphacool monsta 120x80mm rad in push pull.
I will be putting my lone hdd in a 5.25 bay along with my fan controller.

The gpu block will probably be universal, maybe a swiftech mcw82.

That pump, whatever pump I end up using, I was thinking I could velcro where it is in the picture. I don't know how much pump I need but after reading a few things I am guessing 500lph-750lph.

I was thinking some yateloon mediums/highs for fans. I did just buy two 120x38mm panaflo fans for $10 each and they will definitely be used.

This a bunch of rambling noob thoughts on watercooling. Guide me wise watercoolers of TPU!!

 

[erocker]

Looks fine, though why not go with something like this: http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=59_318_665&products_id=33423 for the resevoir. You can mount a MCP355 right up to it, it will save space and one less step in the loop.

 

[Nordic]

Looks fine, though why not go with something like this: http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=59_318_665&products_id=33423 for the resevoir. You can mount a MCP355 right up to it, it will save space and one less step in the loop.

Thanks. Glad I did not make some glaring noob error. That res would be great and I did look at that specific one. I did get a super cheap res from danger den though so will use that.

 

[cdawall]

I would look at one of these pumps.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155400

Flow will be plenty for your loop and if your worried buy two they will still be cheaper than a 355 or 35x.

As for the rest looks good but can you by chance fit a single 120x2 rad? It's almost not worth it to do dual 120s.

 

[Nordic]

I would look at one of these pumps.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155400

Flow will be plenty for your loop and if your worried buy two they will still be cheaper than a 355 or 35x.

As for the rest looks good but can you by chance fit a single 120x2 rad? It's almost not worth it to do dual 120s.

I could technically fit a 120x2 in the top. I only have 45mm of space there total. I could go 20mm rad + 25mm fans or 25mm rad and 20mm fans. In the front I could fit a 120x2 with modding that I would rather avoid. It could only be push or pull not both.

The 120x80mm monsta rad I am eyeing is more than 300watts of cooling dissipation, especially with good fans. I could probably cool my The 60mm thick and 45mm thick can do 300 watts which is enough. This is a German review that includes all three of the alphacool rads, among many others, I am looking at with a 300watt test bed. It convinced me that I probably can do a watercooling system in this case.

Thanks for the link on those pumps. 420L/h might be enough. I honestly have no idea. If you say so then I will believe you. The only similar setup I found had a 750L/h pump so I was looking around there.

 

[Nordic]

I am definitely getting a pump from bmaverick. Do you guys think a pump top would beneifit me much. It seems like it would grant another gallon per minute.

Here is a graph.

 

[Delta6326]

Dunno if you have picked out a CPU block, but here is a good review to read.
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1038985356&postcount=10

EDIT: here is the actual thread so you can go through pic and stuff.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1038985356#post1038985356

Here's a Rad review from TPU here and another block Review

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157540

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153781

 

[drdeathx]

I am definitely getting a pump from bmaverick. Do you guys think a pump top would beneifit me much. It seems like it would grant another gallon per minute.

Here is a graph.
http://martinsliquidlab.files.wordp...om/2011/03/ddc-1-comparisonpq.png?w=614&h=547

There will be no temperature difference. Apogee HD is one of the better waterblocks. Aesthetically looks great too.

 

[Nordic]

Dunno if you have picked out a CPU block, but here is a good review to read.
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1038985356&postcount=10

I did pick up a dd mc-tdx for $25. By what reviews and what not I have read, it compares similarly to the xspc rasa. Not the best block but it was a good price.

There will be no temperature difference. Apogee HD is one of the better waterblocks. Aesthetically looks great too.

Not getting one then. Thanks.



I am about $150 into a watercooling setup and all I think I need now is rads. Most of what I got is pretty ramshackled parts but I guess we will see how well they go together.

One thing I am unsure of is the 69x0 full cover block I got from danger den. I don't know why I did. I am using a 6950 right now while my 7970 is RMA'd and that might be why. I plan to use a 7970 again, if and when sapphire sends me a new 7970. My 6950 is a non reference TW3 and I doubt it would work with the dd block. I will probably just sell it.

 

[drdeathx]

All you need is one trip 120mm rad.

 

[Nordic]

I can not fit one without heavy modding or externally. I would rather not mod my case or have an external rad right now.

This is how I am generally thinking I will make the layout.

I am thinking I will use the $5 120mm heater core (as in car rad) I got from dd behind the cpu at first. If I am not satisfied with it I might switch to a thicker 120x45mm thick rad or a 60mm thick rad there instead. I could technically fit a 120x2 in the top. I only have 45mm of space there total. I could go 20mm rad + 25mm fans or 25mm rad and 20mm fans. I think the extra thick 120mm rads would be better in my situation. In the front I could fit a 120x2 with modding that I would rather avoid. It could only be push or pull not both. I am eyeing an 120x80mm monsta rad I am eyeing is more than 300watts of cooling dissipation, especially with good fans. This is the only real review of it I can find, it uses a 300 watt test bed. I am thinking I could pair the two Panaflow 120x38mm fans I got for $10 each with it in the bottom front of my case. Those fans plus that rad should make really excel at cooling.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Oh shit, you weren't kidding when you said my thread made you want to go water haha!

I definitely would get 240 rads not just 120s.

That 7970 will saturate even the thickest 120 rad pretty quick.

 

[Nordic]

Oh shit, you weren't kidding when you said my thread made you want to go water haha!

I definitely would get 240 rads not just 120s.

That 7970 will saturate even the thickest 120 rad pretty quick.

Yep!

I don't feel like modding the front of my case and I only have 45mm in the top. I don't see 240 as much of an option.

You sure. The monta rad is 80mm thick. Thats pretty thick. The reveiws I have read show it to easily cool 300 watts. The 7970 is 250watts. That leaves a little room for overclocking. I could be wrong. Watercooling noob here.

This is a review of the 240mm monsta:

keeps my i5 3570k oc to 4.6 and my 7950 oc at 1 GHz under 30 at idle and under 55 under load. have 2 Koolance Black 120mm x 38mm fans running at 40% to 60%

I guess I could mount externally on the top. I could even do the dual 120 monsta. I don't know why but I think these 80mm thick rads are awesome. I don't really want to mount externally though. I think I might just get the 80mm monsta for now and see how I do with this heater core. Probably wont be enough. I can always then add another rad up top externally.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Dude you don't need anything THAT fat lol. Look at XSPC RX series or something.

 

[Nordic]

A user review of the 120mm monsta:

The NexXxos Monsta 120 radiator is massive at 86mm thick, (actual radiator bar/fin thickness is 80mm), but made almost completely out of copper materials Alphacool has really created something spectacular and way ahead of the pack.

I've had the priviledge to use this radiator in a recent SFF build and it's been a great performer when paired with Corsair SP120 fans.

Just with this radiator alone I'm able to cool a EVGA GTX 670 SC+ as well as an Intel Core i5 3570k and temps are roughly hitting a max of 20-25 degrees above ambient at 1000-1500rpms fan speed.

As I've only had the radiator a short time I can't speak to it's performance over a long period of time but thus far it's made me a believer.

What really sets it over the top for me (past it's stunning watercooling performance) was the superior craftsmanship that is displayed when you first take it out of the box, no flat black easily chipped paint job going on with this - also it comes with pure copper caps as well as copper alan machined bolts for not one but two fans (or one fan and rad mounting).

 

[drdeathx]

Ahhh modding isn't that bad

 

[drdeathx]

Dude you don't need anything THAT fat lol. Look at XSPC RX series or something.

Those rads do a great job and are the best bang for the buck (XSPC RX series).

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Ahhh modding isn't that bad

I had to do a little bit of modding my case when doing my GPU loop. Its fun! Dremel and sparks flying everywhere!

 

[Nordic]

Ahhh modding isn't that bad

I have modded before. It was a little matx case that I gave better airflow. I just don't want to mod this case.

Those rads do a great job and are the best bang for the buck (XSPC RX series).

Alphacools ut60 performs the same or better than the xspc RX series by all I have read. The ut60 has higher FPI (by 1.6) and is cheaper. The 80mm monsta rad peforms a good bit better. Peformance/$ I would go with the ut60. Peformance/space I would go with the monsta. For my case, I am space limited. More so than mxphenom is because of my MB. I am open to ideas. This thread is titled with the words slow and planning.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

I have modded before. It was a little matx case that I gave better airflow. I just don't want to mod this case.


Alphacools ut60 performs the same or better than the xspc RX series by all I have read. The ut60 has higher FPI (by 1.6) and is cheaper. The 80mm monsta rad peforms a good bit better. Peformance/$ I would go with the ut60. Peformance/space I would go with the monsta. For my case, I am space limited. More so than mxphenom is because of my MB. I am open to ideas. This thread is titled with the words slow and planning.

yeah, those UT60 rads are pretty sweet. I think they are slightly denser then the XSPC RX series, as they perform on a similar level as the Black Ice rads at 1200rpm fan speeds and higher

I might get one of the 240s soon to replace this weak Black Ice X-Flow rad.

Oh yeah,

Buying one of these in a few weeks!

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata..._info&cPath=59_457_667_1075&products_id=32769

Should have listened to MtAlex when he said a fatter rad would be better because itll be quieter as its not as dense. This black ice rad is pretty loud, I can hear the air rushing threw it and shit.

 

[HammerON]

Dunno if you have picked out a CPU block, but here is a good review to read.
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1038985356&postcount=10

EDIT: here is the actual thread so you can go through pic and stuff.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1038985356#post1038985356

Here's a Rad review from TPU here and another block Review

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157540

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153781

More recent rad review:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2735346#post2735346

 

[Nordic]

More recent rad review:
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2735346#post2735346

Thanks. Like triple thanks. A review with the monsta I have not read. It also happens to have most of the rad series's I am looking at right now also. It is missing the black ice gtx though. Monsta took the lead at all but 600-800rpm as should be expected.

At 800rpm

At 1500rpm

So now some questions. Partially in regards to the graph above.

In the review hammeron posted there were two koolance rads. A 20 fpi one and a 30 fpi one both 30mm thick. They were both some of the worst rads in the review. The fans were these from phobya and only went to 1500rpm. I know higher fpi needs more static pressure. If the tests were done with GT 1850's, do you think the koolance rads would of done a lot better?

Do you think a 120x45mm with 20fpi would work better than an 120x80mm with 10fpi. This may not be a good way to determine which is better but 120*54*20=129600 while 120*80*9.6=92160. Would the black ice actually be better? The koolance 30fpi rad comes out to 108000. It performed worse than the monsta. Thoughts? How much louder would double the FPI be?

There have been concerns that the 80mm monsta would not be enough for a 7970. The antec 620 can keep a 7970 + OC below 60c, and can keep the even hotter gtx480 + OC at 65c. By that alone I would assume that the monsta would be more than enough being twice as thick as an antec 620. Anyone disagree?

I did get a really cheap heatercore rad (as in car rad) from danger den that I plan on using to cool my cpu at first. This is the dd page. I have read that car heater cores are much better than anything in the pc realm. How well do you think this will do? If it is not enough I am thinking I will upgrade it to a 120x30mm 20 fpi black ice rad with push pull fans. Not sure which fans yet. I am thinking I will get a second aerocool shark and use them in push pull. I might even get two GT 1850's and use them instead. I also have 1 cougar vortex fan.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Thanks. Like triple thanks. A review with the monsta I have not read. It also happens to have most of the rad series's I am looking at right now also. It is missing the black ice gtx though. Monsta took the lead at all but 600-800rpm as should be expected.

At 800rpm
http://www.abload.de/img/800gtf7t.png

At 1500rpm
http://www.abload.de/img/1500bpfmc.png





So now some questions. Partially in regards to the graph above.

In the review hammeron posted there were two koolance rads. A 20 fpi one and a 30 fpi one both 30mm thick. They were both some of the worst rads in the review. The fans were these from phobya and only went to 1500rpm. I know higher fpi needs more static pressure. If the tests were done with GT 1850's, do you think the koolance rads would of done a lot better?

Do you think a 120x45mm with 20fpi would work better than an 120x80mm with 10fpi. This may not be a good way to determine which is better but 120*54*20=129600 while 120*80*9.6=92160. Would the black ice actually be better? The koolance 30fpi rad comes out to 108000. It performed worse than the monsta. Thoughts? How much louder would double the FPI be?

There have been concerns that the 80mm monsta would not be enough for a 7970. The antec 620 can keep a 7970 + OC below 60c, and can keep the even hotter gtx480 + OC at 65c. By that alone I would assume that the monsta would be more than enough being twice as thick as an antec 620. Anyone disagree?

I did get a really cheap heatercore rad (as in car rad) from danger den that I plan on using to cool my cpu at first. This is the dd page. I have read that car heater cores are much better than anything in the pc realm. How well do you think this will do? If it is not enough I am thinking I will upgrade it to a 120x30mm 20 fpi black ice rad with push pull fans. Not sure which fans yet. I am thinking I will get a second aerocool shark and use them in push pull. I might even get two GT 1850's and use them instead. I also have 1 cougar vortex fan.

It really depends on how cool you want your stuff to run. Erocker has a 7970 and with a triple (360) rad it gets to 39c(and its only the GPU going to that rad). With a single 120x80 rad like the monsta, it won't run anywhere near that cool. I do really recommend the Corsair SP series of fans though.

 

[cdawall]

The black ice GT stealth will perform very very similar to the Koolance 30FPI model. Those phobya fans are not good water cooling fans as far as I am concerned.

Even the low end Sickleflow Coolermaster fan I had originally picked for my HTPC has almost double the static pressure.

A pair of these with the fan running PWM will turn that graph around with the high FPI fans outperforming everything.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Wow that monsta rad is pretty damn good though, but like ive said before, I wouldn't want a rad that huge haha.