Need Help Planning My First Custom Loop - i7-2600K OCed in Cooler Master 840 Case

[Wynter]

I looked at a couple of pre-selected kits, which were around 230-260 Euros. Problem was, they're partially based off selections from 2011 and never updated.
At least it gave me a general idea about pricing. I thought I wanted Noctua fans and would end up round about at 300-350 Euros for Phase 1.
For the sake of currency chaos, assume all pricing between USD, GBP, EUR etc. is 1:1.

Multi Phase Project

Phase 1: CPU loop.
Cooling an OCed i7-2600K, which is running at 4.2GHz at the moment. I would like to get to 4.5MHz and keep it cool.
It all has to fit into my Cooler Master ATCS 840 case without going modding crazy. There is "plenty" of room. I ran across a video of a "Little Devil" case the other day …

What do I need?

• Radiator
• Pump
• Reservoir
• CPU cooling block
• Tubing
• Fittings
• Coolant
• Fans

Thoughts on components
Radiator: I already replaced the 230mm fans up top, put in the 120mm fan bracket and have room up there for 3x 120mm fans.
There's only a fan controller in the 5.25" bay and there should be plenty of room to fit a 360 rad in there.
How thick can it be? I'll only be putting on one set of fans, either push, or pull.
What brand? Alphacool, Phobya? I have no idea. There seem to be too many options.

Pump: What to pick? Standalone? Attached to reservoir? How strong (W)? What brand? And what's the noise level?
There is room in my HDD cage. I have 3x 3.5 HDDs in the top half and removed the other 3 HDD trays. Depending on how high the pump is, it just might fit. I also wanted to add a Shoggy Sandwich V2.
Does it need to be fixated or can it just "stand" there?
I saw a video of a Phobya TPC fan controller with 30 Watts per channel for ~30 Euros. It looked very promising.  Can "all" pumps be controlled that way or will some get damaged?

Reservoir: 5.25" single or dual bay? Tube? One of those tiny plastic boxes?
How big does a reservoir need to be after all?
I do have 3x free 5.25"  bays, room for a dual bay reservoir and another fan controller for the pump, if needed.
My main concern at the moment is coolant compatibility and leaking. Apparently there are issues, causing (micro) cracks and/or leaks, in some case even under a week. That's horrifying.

CPU block: Ehrm yeah. Potatoe potatoe?

Tubing: Size/diameter? I'd like a clear one.

Fittings: Compression fittings looked neat and comfortable, although I'm aware that I need to keep checking every so often and keep them tight. Will I need angled bits?

Coolant: My initial thought was that I wanted a blood red one, but none of that pastel girly shit  :P  But frankly, the case is under my desk. I see the inside every 6 months or so when I clean or change a component. Mostly cleaning meanwhile. It could be made of unicorn blood and sparkle like nothing else has sparkled before ...
I figured distilled water might do. Do I need additives? Or a kill coil?
Does it make more sense to use a ready made coolant of brand x? Are those performing better than distilled water? And which one would be compatible with the reservoir? I'm not joking.

Fans: Noctua then, right? I like the Noiseblocker eLoops that I just added to my case. However, you can only use them in push configuration. Have them in pull and they make a weird sound.
To PWM or not to PWM? Originally I had the NF-F12 ones on my mental list.
Which config is preferable? Intake or outtake? Push or pull?
Otherwise there is a 230mm front intake and a 120mm back outtake.
I'm also thinking of adding the fan box that came with the 840, attach it to the back side of the card slots and help the outtake there.

Assuming the pump went into HDD cage, the reservoir was a 5.25" kind, the radiator went up top, the tubing would go from reservoir down to pump, up to CPU, up to radiator, down to reservoir and close the loop.

How does pressure (bar) get worked into this? Do all components fit together? Am I just overthinking it?


Phase 2: GPU loop.
Cooling an EVGA GeForce GTX 680 SC Signature 2.
Keep the loop and extend it.

What do I need?

• Radiator
• GPU block
• Tubing
• Fittings

Radiator: The side of the HDD cage has a frame that can hold 2x 120mm fans.
I thought of adding a 240mm radiator in push/pull configuration. That would also help the front fan with the air intake.
 

Thanks for your help :)

 

 

Case layout

 

 

 

Components shopping list (Phase 1)

 48.99 EUR Alphacool NexXxoS XP³ Light - Acetal Edition - Intel/AMD http://is.gd/hFTBam
 81.99 EUR Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 360mm    http://is.gd/i1zOsH
 65.99 EUR Alphacool VPP655 - single edition http://is.gd/gNtOg1
 58.99 EUR Alphacool Repack - Single Laing D5 - Dual 5,25 Bay Station http://is.gd/mRpZMg
 15.75 EUR Masterkleer tubing PVC 19/13mm (1/2"ID) clear (3m, 5.25 EUR per meter) http://is.gd/k3WVOR
 32.99 EUR Monsoon 19/13mm (ID 1/2" OD 3/4") compression fitting straight Six Pack - Matte Black http://is.gd/ab4bDF
 65.97 EUR Noctua NF-F12 PWM (3 fans, 21.99 each) ( 120x120x25mm ) http://is.gd/PlBPBj

---------------

370,67 EUR + shipping

 

still missing silver coil or equivalent, PWM can controller solution.

 

 

Loop planning for Phase 1

[Wynter]

Too much text? Too much noobing? Sorry about that.

 

I had a look around and just picked a few components to have something to work with.

 

 48.99 EUR Alphacool NexXxoS XP³ Light - Acetal Edition - Intel/AMD http://is.gd/hFTBam
 81.99 EUR Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 360mm    http://is.gd/i1zOsH
 79.99 EUR Laing DDC-Pump 12V DDC-1RT/Plus with 2xG1/4-outer thread 600l/h http://is.gd/qpepa0
or
 79.99 EUR Laing DDC pump 12V DDC 3.25 18W >900l/h http://is.gd/RWGefw
 24.99 EUR Phobya Balancer 150 black matt http://is.gd/lJJ7sk
 15.75 EURMasterkleer tubing PVC 16/10mm (3/8"ID) clear (5.25/meter) http://is.gd/AFSBeD
 29.99 EUR Kit compression fittings 16/10mm G1/4 straight - black nickel http://is.gd/dx2A7C
   6.79 EUR Aquacomputer Shoggy Sandwich 2.0 http://is.gd/vAY1Jr
-----
288.49 EUR


Not sure about the pumps. Or rather this one?

 

69.99 EUR Laing DDC-pump 12V DDC-1T Plus 400l/h http://is.gd/niPf6P
tempting to go with this reservoir
28.99 EUR Alphacool Repack - Laing DDC - 5,25 Bay Station http://is.gd/jllKGU

Not sold on the reservoir solution yet.

 

I saw the FAQ and am not entirely sure what pump strength I can get away with. In the end it will have to service 1x 360mm + 1x 240mm rads + 1x CPU block + 1x GPU block.

 

I still have distilled water. Which additives should I add?

I'm quite sure I'm missing some small things. Am I?

 

Do those items go together? What would you suggest?

 

Thanks for your input and help :)

[airdeano]

the pump you listed is fine, but for some it is a little warm to use on a PWM circuit.

would look into the heat sink option if using that pump. it is small, compact and

strong to use in a multi-block config.

 

for multi block, the DDC MPC 35x 18w is the one to use. the smaller rated pump is

good for a CPU/GPU, but can struggle.

 

with the distilled water either a silver kill coil (check block manufacturing for silver usage)

or biocide agent.

 

i don't see any fans listed..

 

airdeano

[Wynter]

Thanks :)

 

Did you mean that Swiftech pump? Finally found it without the DDC as a Swiftech MCP 35x 18w

 

However, I can't find it in Germany.

 

Oops. i said in the post above that I wanted to use Noctua fans, but didn't include them in the list.

 

 

That one looks interesting. It's a Laing D5 as single + case.

65.99 EUR Alphacool VPP655 - single edition http://is.gd/gNtOg1

+ 22.99 EUR Alphacool HF D5 TOP - Black Acetal G1/4 - (VPP655/TPP644/MCP655) http://is.gd/BI26qa

 

However, isn't 1500l/h a bit over the top? Or can't you overdo it with a single block and rad to begin with?

[Wynter]

I thought the price change would be steep, but with this fittings set I can switch from 3/8 to 1/2

 

32.99 EUR Monsoon 19/13mm (ID 1/2" OD 3/4") compression fitting straight Six Pack - Matte Black http://is.gd/ab4bDF

Masterkleer tubing price remains the same.

 

Also, I originally wanted to use the Noctua NF-F12 fans with the Swiftech PWM fan adapter/controller.

Since I'm not getting the H220 and not that adapter, I don't really need PWM fans anymore and can use my old Zalman ZM-MFC1 Plus fan controller.

I'll have to see whether I can hook up all three fans to a single channel though.

[airdeano]

yes the swiftech mpc 35x. or the 900l/h pump is the same, just different top.

D5 (MPC655) ratings are at 24v so yeah, they are tilted, but an excellent

pump for a h2o @ 12v..

 

cant use that controller on PWM fans.. the fans will not tolerate voltage control for long.

that controller and 3-pin fans, PWM controller or motherboard control.

 

airdeano

[Wynter]

Oh there's half a thought missing in my post. I was actually wondering which fans I could be using instead.

The other Noctua fans aren't as powerful.

 

NF-F12 - 1500RPM, 93.4 m³/h and pressure at 2.61mmH2O

NF-P12 - 1300RPM, 92.3 m³/h and pressure at 1.68mmH2O

and they're lacking those nice rubbery corners.

 

Noiseblocker NB-eLoop Fan B12-4 might be interesting with 150.3 m³/h and pressure at 2.741 mmH2O, however at 2400RPM  and only in push config. They "can't" pull.

34,3 dB(A) :rolleyes:

[airdeano]

the F12 is the most powerful at low rpm use. under-volted to control wind-noise

you still are ahead of the game in fan power. P12 was a good alternative, but

not today.. a quieter case fan more so a radiator fan. just dial down the F12.

 

the NB are good, but comparable 1500rpm (B12PS) is only 1.475mm/h2o @ 21dbA

I have the 140 fans and not that impressed for performance..

noise is low and so is performance.

 

airdeano

[Wynter]

The F12 is a PWM fan though. I wish I could get those tiny Swiftech PWM fan controllers here. The idea rocks. I think they come for a 10er and hold 6 fans.

 

Did a bit of measuring today. Got about 6cm in height in the HDD cage for the pump. Will a pump working there interfere with the HDDs? Is there magnetic stuff?

 

At the top there might be the front panel cabling getting in the way. Between fan and cable I've got about 3cm, a tad more if I push. I have no idea yet how long the extra bits on the rad are.

[airdeano]

use a gelid or phobya PWM fan splitter.

 

 

best thing to do is grab a side-view of case and using paint or photshop clip

items in to represent "locations" of hardware. then we can decipher actual

fitment and hardware agreement.

 

airdeano

[Ghost]

Expanding on airdeano's post. :o

 

Could you please make diagram of your loop? This not only helps us understand what you want but it also helps you to understand what you want better and makes it easy to spot potential flaws in a loop.

 

To do this simply grab a 2D side on snap of your case. (Just type your case name into google images and scroll down a bit till you find one, it should be there.) Then go to a photo editing program and simply put rectangles where you would like to place your radiators, blocks, reservoirs, pumps and tubing. For blocks use blue, for radiators use red and anything else use grey and for tubing use orange/brown lines with an arrow to point out the intended flow direction of your loop. There is no need to put fans in. This forum has an upload function or you can use an image sharing site and embed the picture into your post. This is an example of this from my personal loop: http://i.imgur.com/MynbfCp.jpg

[Akula]

Laing D5 Pump's are excellent, grab yourself a aftermarket pump top that allows the use of G1/4 thread fittings.

I don't recommend the nLoop's i had several of these for only a week, the RPM i was getting was not accurate and i found they were quite noisy when placed on a radiator.

[airdeano]

I don't recommend the nLoop's i had several of these for only a week, the RPM i was getting was not accurate and i found they were quite noisy when placed on a radiator.

 

agreed!

 

airdeano

[Wynter]

use a gelid or phobya PWM fan splitter.

Thanks, I was looking and found just about everything else but that.

 

And here's the loop. Res before pump, that's what I read, and then took it from there.

[Wynter]

Laing D5 Pump's are excellent, grab yourself a aftermarket pump top that allows the use of G1/4 thread fittings.

I don't recommend the nLoop's i had several of these for only a week, the RPM i was getting was not accurate and i found they were quite noisy when placed on a radiator.

Did you use them in pull config by chance? That's what I meant above. They make a horrible noise and are only supposed to be used in push config.

 

As case fans I like them. Just replaced the big stock fans with 12-2's.

 

I thought of this combo

 

Alphacool VPP655 - single edition http://is.gd/gNtOg1

Alphacool HF D5 TOP - Black Acetal G1/4 - (VPP655/TPP644/MCP655) http://is.gd/BI26qa

[Wynter]

Sorry for the chaos. I seem to be constantly switching stuff and will sum up the latest setup thought after this post in the thread starter.

 

This reservoir would be easier to handle, save me tubing work and "having to buy" a shoggy.

 

Alphacool Repack - Single Laing D5 - Dual 5,25 Bay Station http://is.gd/mRpZMg

 

I had seen something similar in a video but it had the pump control hidden in a way that would you either have to use longer tubing or dismantle the tubing each time you pull out the reservoir to reach the control. Sort of stupid design.

With this one you can just reach in and set it however you want. I completely overlooked this.

 

With that res solution I do not need this one anymore, right?

Alphacool HF D5 TOP - Black Acetal G1/4 - (VPP655/TPP644/MCP655) http://is.gd/BI26qa

[Wynter]

I updated the first post, hid all images in spoiler tags.

 

The updated loop idea is in there as well. With the 5.25" bay res pump solution it's very simplified.

[Wynter]

Meanwhile two different sources suggested the D5 mounted on the 5.25" res would be a source of vibration and noise.

The last suggested pump was the Aquastream XT with a Shoggy V2.0. I looked into the ultra version and it sounds

really nice, as it does come with a flow and temp sensor.

 

However, since it has the intake (outtake?) up top and I need an angled bit there, its too high to fit into my HDD cage.

It's about 3cm too high.

 

I'm now wondering if I can some fit it into 2x 5.25" bays somehow if I turn it on its side. That also means I will have to

use a single 5.25" bay res, which is OK.

[Wynter]

Time for an update. I did the build and it ate up my entire Saturday.

The machine is back up and running again, however, with a flaw. There is air in the loop that I cannot get out, apparently to a tubing SNAFU on my part.

The pump is pulling air from he reservoir. Yeah did I did the shaking and tilting, but it didn't help.

 

Here's what I got:

Alphacool NexXxoS XP³ Light - Acetal - Intel/AMD
Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 360mm
Laing DDC-pump 12V DDC-1T
Phobya Laing DDC top - brass - black matt Edition (second quality)
Aquacomputer Shoggy Sandwich building kit for pump decoupling - Version 2.0
Alphacool Repack Single Bayres 5,25" - Rev. 2
Innovation Cooling Diamond 7 Carat - 1,5g
Innovatek Protect concentrate by Aquatuning 500ml
3x Noctua NF-F12 PWM ( 120x120x25mm ) + 5in1 PWM cable
Masterkleer PVC 16/10mm (3/8"ID) UV-active clear/blue

 

It was a massive pain in the arse in so many ways.

I was already able to see that the store I wanted to buy from - Aquatuning - ran out of components I wanted to use.

Not an issue. I can order the stuff someplace else. And so I did the week before I did the "big" order.

Turned out that particular eBay vendor was unable to deliver neither res nor tubing and I only found out a week later.

That was when I had still hoped and planned on using the red tubing.

He then offered to send me any other colour. I told him clear/blue or clear would be alright. Then there was silence.

Meanwhile Aquatuning had sent out the good and they were damn fast as well.

I ordered the res from another vendor and it was here quickly as well, leaving me waiting just for the bloody tubing.

So I made another order, this time through the Amazon marketplace. Clear/blue retail kit, go. That one arrived last

Friday. Funnily enough the previously ordered tubing arrived on Saturday. Looks like I got some spare then.

 

Building the thing was damn annoying. I put the fan brackets on the radiator, had previously mounted the fans to the

bottom, tried to get it into the case and ... it didn't fit! I had to take off the tower fan anyway. Turns out I had to remove

the fan brackets again and then put the whole thing together and mount it screw by screw. Surely could have needed

a third hand there. When that was in, all was well, or so I thought. Turns out Cooler Master seriously half arsed the

mainboard tray cut out, exposing only half of the backplate. So I had to take the whole machine apart. It'll make it easier

to mount the new backplate for the CPU block anyway. No instructions whatsoever, lots of guess work, lots of things not

fitting. I estimated that if I used the rubber bits, the backplate would have stood out far enough to actually touch the

mainboard try. So that went back into the box and I went without it.

CPU block was just awesome and easy.

Somebody suggested I waited ~10 minutes after putting on the IC Diamond. I had never used it before and so I just did

that. The stuff works like a charm. Amazing :D

 

Tubing - that pissed me off. It's so tight in there and I had to rethink the way I wanted the tubes to go to just fit the pump in

properly. Add the weight of the Phobya top and the Shoggy almost disintegrated on me. I ended up using cable ties to keep

it all together. Other than that it seemed easy. Push, screw, done. Filling took a bit but it filled up, except for that last bit of

air. In the end I filled the reservoir up to ~90%. Else the pump would have kept pulling even more air.

 

The tubing was supposed to come out of the res, do a little curve and come down to the front of the pump. Since it's very

tight there it does a little twist and slightly goes up first. I can only imagine that's what's causing the air issue.

 

That's what it sounds like in the case: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4049716/WC/Memo.m4a

 

The case is still open. I've dropped the OC for now because there were instabilities. So it's 3.8GHz at an offset of -0.120V again.

Coolest core is just 1C above ambient. Ridiculous! :D

Highest core is 8-11C above the coolest. Depends on program output and update frequency. I've had that on air before as well.

 

That's pretty much idle at the moment

26C

32C

36C

32C

 

The Noctuas are controlled via UEFI. Regular setting is at 20%, 800RPM, temp threshold at 60C for 100%. I tried 50C before but

the fans ramped up their speed on the curve and it went very noisy far before reaching those 50C. The open case doesn't help

with the noise. LOL

 

Either way, it's just plainly amazing. All the troubles and frayed nerves aside, I love it. How quickly the temps go up and come back

down again. It just rocks.

 

I'll wait for a bit now, then redo the loop and do some cable management. Can't wait for phase 2, the other 240 rad and GPU block.

 

BTW, I let the thing run for 5-6 hours to test for leaks and then put a hand in every day before turning it on to make sure.

Should be alright.

 

 

 

Oh, one thing puzzled me. I got 16/10mm fittings and tubing. Ehrm that's G1/4, 3/8ID? Sorry that unit mix keeps throwing me off.

You're supposed to push the tube over the barb, then screw on the fitting, then give it a pull to make sure it's tight.

Well, I did that and the tube came off every time and I wasn't doing any brute force circus acts on it either. I just pulled.

I tried it with both tubes from those two vendors. Are you just supposed to give it a light tug?

It was even worse with 90° angle bits. The barbs are shorter there. I just found it very odd.

 

As for pump strength, turns out the DDC-1T has got plenty of power :D