Watercooling solution advice needed - please help...

[Camrada]

Hi guys...

I've had my new system running for 6 months now and am now feeling the urge to delve into the watercooling arena. This is my first foray into water cooling, so any advice and/or suggestions are appreciated...

At the core of my current build is an Intel QX9770 and 2 x XFX Nvidia 9800GX2.

My initial thoughts are to use either the Zalman Reserator XT Titanium (which comes with the CPU Water Block ZM-WB5) or the Exos-2.5 Black (CPU cooling block to be decided upon) as the main hub.

And either the Koolance VID-398GX2, the EK-FC9800 GX2 SLI - Plexi, or the Danger Den DD-9800GX2 for the GPU Cooling...

The intention is to run the tubing as follows:

hub > CPU > GraphicsCard1 > GraphicsCard2 > hub

Is this a feasible option?

Also, does it make a huge difference on the tubing size? eg 1/2", 3/8", 10mm, 8mm...

Any thoughts would be appreciated?

[Webby]

Okay no off the shelf solution is going to be good enough for you with the heat load you are talking about you will need a lot of radiators and decent blocks, pumps and everything else for that matter.

So for your GX2's you have a couple of options I would consider the EK block if you can find them or aquacomputer make one as well.

For your CPU I would consider the Swiftech GTZ, D-tek Fuzion v2 or an XSPC Delta V3.

Radiators if you can fit it then a Feser Xchanger 480 will give you the best cooling possible I would also suggest a second rad probably a 360 (Feser again or Thermochill are the best currently available, XSPC are releasing their RX series shortly which will also be right up there).

Tubing wise and connectors the best you can get will be 1/2" compression fittings and 1/2" tubing. In answer to your question about if tubing size matters yes it does the smaller the tubing the lower your flowrate will be as the pressure drop through the tubing will be higher.

For a pump you will need a DDC 3.2 (which is called an Ultra 18W) you can have 2 in series for extra oomph if you want.

I would suggest the DDC 3.2 with an XSPC res top, the top increases the performance of the pump and with 2 rads, cpu block, 2 (or effectively 4) GPU blocks you are going to need a good pump for sure.

Finally you need to decide if you want to cool your motherboard as well (if it puts out heat you can water cool it!) so the northbridge, southbridge and mosfets.

That is all the major components covered from your original comments considering a reserator and koolance (aluminium rads are a no no) external units and tubing size questions you may need to read up a bit more before you get stuck in water cooling is really not for the faint hearted.

If you fancy an external unit the is one option for you Aquacomputer make a really nice unit which you may consider http://shop.aquacomputer.de/product_...oducts_id=2185 you will need blocks still obviously.

[Camrada]

Many thanks Webby, you have certainly pointed me in the right direction... I think I need to do a LOT of further reading into the subject if I want to do my system justice...

The information is superb. My case is a Cosmos S, so the 480 at 527mm wont fit inside. My options will be to change the case or build something externally.

I'm going to have to sit down with pen and a large piece of paper and draft out my plans again. Although the Aquaduct 720 XT mark III is an elegant solution and very tempting, for half the cost I could use 2 TFC 480's and 2 pumps, which from my understanding would dissipate more heat.

More reading into the subject will follow, but my thoughts are now heading towards the following:

2 x TFC Xchanger Quad Radiator 480 (LN23557)
1 x XSPC Delta V3 (CPU Block) (LN25150)
or 1 x Swiftech Apogee GTZ (LN24617)
2 x EK-FC9800 GX2 SLI - Plexi (GPU Blocks) (LN?????)
1 x XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) Acrylic Reservoir (LN24385)
or 1 x XSPC 750 Clear Bay Reservoir & Pump (LN24299)
1 x XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) inc Acrylic Top (LN24387)

Using 1/2" compression fittings and 1/2" tubing.

I'll not be cooling the Northbridge or Mosfets, the Motherboard is an XFX 790I Ultra and the airflow through the system should be sufficient to cool all the heatsinks already attached.

I could easily mount the radiators externally using XSPC Radiator mounting kit or a couple radbox's. Would the Aquacomputer Aquaduct 360 XT be a sufficient solution or am I on the right track with the above components?

Thanks again for your input, it truly is appreciated...

[Webby]

Okay I would look at other places to buy than Scan you will save a fairly large amount check Specialtech, ChilledPC and WatercoolingUK.

As well as being cheaper on the whole they stock a wider selection of products as well.

Personally I would consider hanging the 480 rad off the back and then installing a 360 inside (you should be able to get one in the top I think) I would steer clear of the aquacomputer rads but only because they are an unknown quantity to me.

Pump wise I would stick with the Laing DDC 3.2 (Ultra) with an XSPC top (either the res version or not) I would consider having 2 you could then have separate loops for your CPU and GPUs or join them together in series for more flow through the whole loop.

[Camrada]

sounds like a gameplan is forming... 480 rad hanging off the back, the 360 will easily fit on the top of the case (hidden away).

The thought of having two loops occurred to me, I could use the 360 for the CPU and the 480 for the GPU's. Is there any advantage one way or the other to having one main loop or two smaller ones? Will more flow through the system help dissipate heat? With one main loop would it be easier to manage with an integrate flow monitor and res?

Currently I have two exhaust fans on the top of the case and one exhaust on the back. Would it be feasible to move the exhaust fan from the back and have 3 exhaust on the top pushing exhaust air through the 360 rad.

Once I've got a clear idea of the components I will shop around. I did notice in passing, that scan sell the XSPC Laing DDC-Pump (w res) for £60 where others have it at £15-£20...

[moogle]

For a pump you will need a DDC 3.2 (which is called an Ultra 18W) you can have 2 in series for extra oomph if you want.

Don't forget increases heat dump too

But how much more ooomph would you need the DDC 3.2's have 4.7m head delivery! More than the MCP655 suprisingly.

DDC's with an XSPC Res or Pump top would be good though.


I'd say get a GTZ as it's got the best mounting and fitting system for S775. Plus best performance and least pressure drop. Well compared to those that perform as good as it.

BTW that XSPC thing you're talking about. It's £18-20 for the Reservoir Top only, around £50 for the DDC 3.2. The £60 one at Scan is the Res Top + the 10w DDC. You want the 18w one which is £70 at Scan iirc. I'd just buy pump and top seperate though, not sure if the XSPC one comes with the standard top.

[Webby]

That scan price is including the pump the £18 mark is just for the top The ultra with res top from scan is £73 you can get ti from Specialtech for £65.

The are advantages to both a single loop and multiple loops, in multiple loops you can choose to cool a single item more than others so for example CPU's are more temperature dependent than GPUs so by giving the CPU its own radiator you will give it the best possible cooling. A single loop in contrast will give equal cooling to all components and you can feasibly have one less pump which reduces the heat dump to the loop as well. What this means is that if you want all components to be cooled to the lowest average temperature then go with a single loop if you want a extra cold CPU and are not so bothered about the GPUs then go for multiple loops (they will still be much cooler under load than if they were air cooled though). Since you will be using 2 large capacity radiators I would say two loops could be the best option for you, if you were limited to say 2 duel rads the a single loop would be far more sensible.

As to fans I would go for 3 top fans pulling air into the case rather than exhausting it, the will give you cooler air over the rad resulting in better cooling then you can have a couple of low speed fans exhausting air either out the front or maybe even the bottom.

[Webby]

Moogle with 4 GPU blocks and a CPU block he may actually need a second pump but it is likely that a single would have done the job just as well.

The GTZ is actually quite restrictive compared to the XSPC Delta V3 and the D-Tek Fuzion V2 (which he can not use because 1/2" compression fittings will not fit on the V2) see this review for a slightly dubious set of results http://www.***********.net/reviews.php?/cases_cooling/waterblock_shootout/5 the dubios bit is that it compares water temp to cpu temp for its delta T when it should be looking at air to CPU delta T really, and since we do not know the ambient air temp we can not draw a lot from the tests... the pressure drop bit at the top of the page is useful though shows you which is the most or least restrictive.

[moogle]

Moogle with 4 GPU blocks and a CPU block he may actually need a second pump but it is likely that a single would have done the job just as well.

Isn't it 2 GPU blocks? The 9800GX2 blocks are one big chunk of copper. I thought you meant 2 DDC's in the same loop

Two seperate loops are what I'd recommend too in a setup like that. If it was a single loop I'd get a D5 though.

see this review for a slightly dubious set of results http://www.***********.net/reviews.php?/cases_cooling/waterblock_shootout/5

Naughty website eh

Only kidding, I can see it.

the dubios bit is that it compares water temp to cpu temp for its delta T when it should be looking at air to CPU delta T really, and since we do not know the ambient air temp we can not draw a lot from the tests... the pressure drop bit at the top of the page is useful though shows you which is the most or least restrictive.

Well air to CPU delta would be more specific for a radiator or whole setup wouldn't it? For CPU blocks you just want to know how much heat it can transfer to the water. Or is my logic flawed?

[Camrada]

fantastic... with each comment it all becomes that little bit clearer and that little bit more exciting...

New draft solution:

TFC 480 Radiator
v
TFC 360 Radiator
v
XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) Acrylic Reservoir with G1/4" Threads
v
XSPC Delta V3 (will read about the differences between this and the GTZ) - CPU
v
EK-FC9800 GX2 SLI - Plexi - GPU1&2
v
EK-FC9800 GX2 SLI - Plexi - GPU3&4
v
XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) inc Acrylic Top
v
TFC 480 Radiator

[Camrada]

fantastic... with each comment it all becomes that little bit clearer and that little bit more exciting...

New draft solution:

TFC 480 Radiator
v
TFC 360 Radiator
v
XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) Acrylic Reservoir with G1/4" Threads
v
XSPC Delta V3 (will read about the differences between this and the GTZ) - CPU
v
EK-FC9800 GX2 SLI - Plexi - GPU1&2
v
EK-FC9800 GX2 SLI - Plexi - GPU3&4
v
XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) inc Acrylic Top
v
TFC 480 Radiator

ok, scratch that, lol....

if I have 2 loops, would it be of any benefit to use the XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) Acrylic Reservoir in both loops, or just stick with the XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) inc Acrylic Top

[moogle]

Ideally you want the pumps before the radiator, so that the radiator can dissipate the heat they generate.

Since your draft has 2 DDC's I'd suggest looking into splitting them into two loops. 480 for the 9800GX2's and 360 for the QX9770.

ok, scratch that, lol....

if I have 2 loops, would it be of any benefit to use the XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) Acrylic Reservoir in both loops, or just stick with the XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) inc Acrylic Top

Yes it'd be of benefit. Otherwise you'd be stuck on the 3/8" (smaller) size barbs on the standard DDC. Plus it'd save you some money and space getting the Reservoir and top in one instead of getting a seperate reservoir for each loop.

[Webby]

The temperature of the water is directly effected by the temperature of the air cooling it so if one test was carried out at 10oC and the other at 20oC the water temps would be very different as would the resulting CPU temps. While this may mean that they more directly in proportion to the air temps I would be happier if Air temps were quoted as it is the major parameter water temp is a effected by the block as well.

Oh and for anyone who can not work out what the swear filter cut then http://www.xspc.biz/reviews.php take a look at the top review for the Delta V3

Edit:

If you have two pumps in a single loop then their relative positions makes no difference they still generate the same amount of head, if you have a single loop then get one xspc res top pump and one xspc top pump this will as Moogl says save you some space, if you go for duel loops then you will need 2 xspc res top pumps as each loop will require a res.

[moogle]

The temperature of the water is directly effected by the temperature of the air cooling it so if one test was carried out at 10oC and the other at 20oC the water temps would be very different as would the resulting CPU temps. While this may mean that they more directly in proportion to the air temps I would be happier if Air temps were quoted as it is the major parameter water temp is a effected by the block as well.

Ahhh correct. I suppose in that case they should have either put water temp before CPU block in or quote the air temp like you said.

[Camrada]

okies, so next draft...

Loop1 :
TFC 480 Radiator
v
EK-FC9800 GX2 SLI - Plexi - GPU1&2
v
EK-FC9800 GX2 SLI - Plexi - GPU3&4
v
XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) Acrylic Reservoir
v
TFC 480 Radiator

Loop2:
TFC 360 Radiator
v
XSPC Delta V3 - CPU
v
XSPC Laing DDC-Pump 12V Ultra(18w) Acrylic Reservoir
v
TFC 360 Radiator

This way I can break down the whole thing into two less-frightening systems, lol...

[moogle]

Looks good
Should be able to put quiet fans on that and cool it easy.