Help with acrylic loop in my 900D

[Suhr]

Hi guys!

So I'm really close to starting my first build log and I can't wait! But first of all I need some advice or inspiration.

 

First of all. I'm building water around my partially old parts. The only new chip is the gtx 980. The other stuff is so old that I'm too emberaced to say what they are. It'll all be upgraded as soon as ddr4 falls in price, trust me.

 

Secondly. I already bought a couple of items, being:

GPU block Ek nickel: https://www.komplett.no/ekwb-ek-fc980-gtx-ni-gpu-block/826323

CPU block Ek gold: https://www.komplett.no/ekwb-ek-supremacy-evo-gold-cpu-block/825112 (got it real cheap. I know the gold can be hard to incorperate design wise)

Pump Ek D5 pwm: https://www.komplett.no/ekwb-ek-d5-pwm-motor-pump/822085

 

The rest I still don't have, but here is my plan:

2 EK XTX 480 (I'll most likely start with 1 and then expand)

EK-D5 X-Res 100 CSQ Acetal pump top

EK reservoir (250 or 400ml) Will the 400 one be too big for 900D?

EK acrylic tubing 16mm outer

A bunch of EK fittings (I would prefer bitspower, but I think it's too hard to identify the 16mm ones)

EK 980 nickel backplate (For bling)

4/8 noiseblocker Pl-1

Mayhems aurora looks unique (I may change my mind and use some normal non-flashy coolant)

 

Is there anything I forgot to think about?

 

My plan is to run the system completely passively cooled at idle. That means that I'll use a internal fan controller to make the pump and fans completely shut down as long as temps are under a certain treshold and ramps up whenever the system gets hot due to load.

One of my concerns is if the Pl-1 fans will be too weak at load? I will run a lot of folding@home ones I upgrade my system. Do you think I need the Pl-2 to get rid of the heat?

 

Just remember that my main goal with this build is SILENCE with a decent OC. I do not care if the system makes a tiny bit of noise when under full load, but that should really be minimal. In my opinion, the PSU should be the loudest component.

 

Wall of text, I know, I'm sorry. What do you guys think?

[Benji_w]

@Suhr I really wouldn't shut a pump off completely to be honest because your CPU will just continue to gather heat in one spot same with the GPU I would assume unless I'm wrong then by all means some education on the matter would be greatly appreciated. 

 

Also you should check out this video, it is possible to make a system completely silent without shutting off all fans and pump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aDID5S41_A

 

(I don't know how to embedd videos here so if someone could tell me how that would be great?)

[ManWithBeard1990]

You could go passive with a pump shutoff as long as you do it properly. You'd need to set up a thermosyphon type of arrangement: Mount the heat-producing components as low as possible, and the rads as high as possible. That way water will continue to flow a little even when the pump isn't running. Using large diameter tubing will help. TBH the HAF stacker is more suitable for this than the 900D because most rads go in the bottom there. Then you could rig up some analog electronics between the CPU and GPU's fan headers, so the pump will switch on when either would have spun up its fans.

[WaterKewl]

A PWM pump is a great start to a silent auto adjusting loop. I would continue to run it even if very slowly at all times. You don't want water to stop moving, that would be like completely shutting off the fan on an air cooler. It's just not a good idea.

 

Also, with rigid tubing, you should make sure that everything is finalized, and in its permanent place, before starting your tubing bends. If you upgrade, tinker, or rearrange things frequently as I do, then rigid is not going to be a good solution for you. No, it's not permanent, but it may as well be. My acrylic graveyard from doing a client build consisted of 12 feet of unusable acrylic tubing. Granted this has a few complex bends in it, and I was being paid to do it so perfection was expected. 

 

I would recommend the Monsoon rigid acrylic fittings, and PETG tubing. PETG bends easier, resists cracking better, and in general is easier to work with. Also, buying rigid tubing from a water cooling parts manufacturer is a waste of money. You can find both acrylic, and PETG on mcmastercarr for a lot less. I ordered 2 6' lengths from them a while back, and they came all scratched to hell, so I called them, and they shipped replacements completely free of charge, and let me keep the originals.

[Suhr]

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

 

First of all, about the tubing. I'm open to everything as long as it looks polished and smooth. My problem is that I live in Norway and I don't really know any places to get "non-watercooling tubing". We have a very limited choise of water cooling shops in the first place (Like two. Both very small and both online).

I expect a bit of wasted tubing as it will be my first time working with rigid tubing. But it looks so amazing that I just HAVE TO. I might start of with soft tubing and then go over to rigid once i upgrade the rest of the system to ddr4. To minimize waste.

 

Fittings: http://digitalimpuls.no/Search.aspx?q=monsoon

These are the only monsoon fittings available at the store I'm using. They have a better range of Bitspower and EK. So it does not seem like I can get 16mm outer monsoon fittings from my store. Perhaps I could get these from abroad. It is a bit of a hassle and I'd have to pay import taxes, but is it still worth it?

 

Passive cooling: I will have 1x 480mmx60mm rad in the top. Will not this be enough for the warm water to flow up to it?

I've heard about people passively cooling 4770k with monster Noctua's and using speedfan to turn the fan on when the CPU passes 55-ish degrees c.

I'll most likely use internal usb connected fan controllers as I don't want to expose the front of the case with a display. They will be setup to control all system fans and the pwm pump. I'll have all fans shut off until the CPU reaches a certain temperature. My hope is of course that the CPU never will reach this kind of temperature when idle.

I will experiment with the pump. I understand that having the pump completely off might be a problem, but I'll give it a try. Having the pump on the lowest possible setting with all fans off at idle will result in an acceptable noise output.

 

A bigger concern I have is under load. Will 4 Noiseblocker Pl-1's be able to cool the system with only one 480x60mm rad? Or should I step up to the PL-2? I even have 3 Corsair Sp120 laying around which I also could use.

[ManWithBeard1990]

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

 

First of all, about the tubing. I'm open to everything as long as it looks polished and smooth. My problem is that I live in Norway and I don't really know any places to get "non-watercooling tubing". We have a very limited choise of water cooling shops in the first place (Like two. Both very small and both online).

I expect a bit of wasted tubing as it will be my first time working with rigid tubing. But it looks so amazing that I just HAVE TO. I might start of with soft tubing and then go over to rigid once i upgrade the rest of the system to ddr4. To minimize waste.

 

Fittings: http://digitalimpuls.no/Search.aspx?q=monsoon

These are the only monsoon fittings available at the store I'm using. They have a better range of Bitspower and EK. So it does not seem like I can get 16mm outer monsoon fittings from my store. Perhaps I could get these from abroad. It is a bit of a hassle and I'd have to pay import taxes, but is it still worth it?

 

Passive cooling: I will have 1x 480mmx60mm rad in the top. Will not this be enough for the warm water to flow up to it?

I've heard about people passively cooling 4770k with monster Noctua's and using speedfan to turn the fan on when the CPU passes 55-ish degrees c.

I'll most likely use internal usb connected fan controllers as I don't want to expose the front of the case with a display. They will be setup to control all system fans and the pwm pump. I'll have all fans shut off until the CPU reaches a certain temperature. My hope is of course that the CPU never will reach this kind of temperature when idle.

I will experiment with the pump. I understand that having the pump completely off might be a problem, but I'll give it a try. Having the pump on the lowest possible setting with all fans off at idle will result in an acceptable noise output.

 

A bigger concern I have is under load. Will 4 Noiseblocker Pl-1's be able to cool the system with only one 480x60mm rad? Or should I step up to the PL-2? I even have 3 Corsair Sp120 laying around which I also could use.

For the thermosyphon effect to work well, the higher the rad is above the heat producing components, the better. I have some doubts the PL1s will be good enough though. To be honest with you though the 900D doesn't lend itself well to this kind of setup. What it does do well though, although perhaps with some modding, is passive cooling on the rads, still with an active (but slow) pump. The pump shouldn't be very loud at all so I wouldn't worry about it. The tall stature of a 900D will maximise the chimney effect, or stack effect, if you like, that a pair of bottom-mounted rads will experience. The rads will heat up air coming into the case from the bottom, and it being lighter than ambient air will cause it to rise and pull more air through.

[WaterKewl]

I don't have any experience with the PL 1s, but the Corsair SP series fans are fantastic for radiator cooling. Yes, they can get noisy at high RPM, but if everything is set up correctly, there isn't any reason they should. I would also recommend Noctua fans for radiators. The industrial series fans are fantastic, and look great to boot, even if a bit expensive. Knowing that you are in Norway, almost everything presents a problem though as I don't know your availability.

 

I think that it's a great idea that you experiment with the passive cooling, and low pump speeds/0 fan RPM. Let us know the results! I'm interested. I have a 420mm rad at the top of my case, and I was able to run my machine with the pump on speed 5 (D5 vario) and the fans off for about 30mins at full load before the CPU hit 80C. This was unintentional mind you, but it was cool either way.

[Suhr]

Interesting!

I have mixed feeligns about the Sp120, I think they look good and perform well, but they are a bit too loud for my taste, but they might work out if I set a RPM ceiling at about 1100-1200 under load.

I did think about the noctua industrials as they are available for me. But they are very very very expensive and that might be a deal breaker for me. I'm also concerned about the noise of these and I don't know if it makes sense to buy these fans and run them under 1000rpm.

Also, buying 8 of this fan is going to put a huge dent to my bank account, lol.

 

I have read a couple of tests of the Pl-1 and it gets praised for it's noise/performance ratio, but then again, those tests are a couple of years old.

I think they would work great in a 2x480x60mm setup, but I'm just not sure if they'll work with only 1x480x60mm.

I'm going to have to think a bit more about fan choice.

After all, if I run the Pl-2/sp120/noctua with a fan controller they are all going to produce a noise level of my choise, but with a slightly workse noise/performance level.

[Benji_w]

Interesting!

I have mixed feeligns about the Sp120, I think they look good and perform well, but they are a bit too loud for my taste, but they might work out if I set a RPM ceiling at about 1100-1200 under load.

I did think about the noctua industrials as they are available for me. But they are very very very expensive and that might be a deal breaker for me. I'm also concerned about the noise of these and I don't know if it makes sense to buy these fans and run them under 1000rpm.

Also, buying 8 of this fan is going to put a huge dent to my bank account, lol.

 

I have read a couple of tests of the Pl-1 and it gets praised for it's noise/performance ratio, but then again, those tests are a couple of years old.

I think they would work great in a 2x480x60mm setup, but I'm just not sure if they'll work with only 1x480x60mm.

I'm going to have to think a bit more about fan choice.

After all, if I run the Pl-2/sp120/noctua with a fan controller they are all going to produce a noise level of my choise, but with a slightly workse noise/performance level.

Did you not watch the video I posted? they are SP120s and his rig is silent....

[Suhr]

Yes, I saw it and liked it

 

Problem is that "silent" is a definition strongly influenced by personal preference. But I absolutely think that doing it this way might be viable.

[Benji_w]

Yes, I saw it and liked it

 

Problem is that "silent" is a definition strongly influenced by personal preference. But I absolutely think that doing it this way might be viable.

 

If you do what he did then your PC will be silent, he turned the mic up by 400% and you can barely hear it, I understand your desire for silence, trust me I do but considering how silent his rig is and he himself says that he is picky I'd try and replicate what he has done.

[Suhr]

Hehe, I guess I have some trust issues I've heard people say that they're picky about silence and them showing me a build that I can hear 3 meters away at idle, no no, not impressed hehe

 

It'll be a fun project. I hope I can make something that satisfies my over the top expectations. 

[Lays]

I have used lots of "high end" fans, ranging from NF-F12, to Gentle Typhoons (1450rpm model) and SP120 quiet editions, and I'd rank them in this order.

 

Quietest to loudest IN MY EXPERIENCE:

 

Gentle Typhoon

Sp120 = NF-F12

 

More in depth:

The GT 1450 rpm model is quieter at 7 volts than the NF-F12 at 5 volts

The NF-F12 is quieter at 7 volts than the SP120 at 7 volts(marginally), but the SP120 is quieter than the NF-F12 at both 12 volts, and 5 volts.

The Sp120 aren't completely dead silent at 5 volts, but they are very close to it.

The GT's definitely are dead silent at 5 volts, I used to have 8 in my Custom loop in my 900D, totally silent, even with my ear pressed up against the case.

NF-F12 aren't silent at 5 volts, they have a slight hum to them, it drove me insane.

 

(you should be able to run your fans at 5 volts in a custom loop in a 900D if you have 2 480mms, that's what I had and it worked nicely)

 

 

 

Some fan tests done by a guy that does TONS of fan/watercooling reviews:

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1389355/fan-testing-round-12-begins-thanks-to-cpachris-and-prymus-nb-e-loop-sp120-nf-f12-cougar-vortex-pwm-vortex-red-led-pirahna-ap-45

[coalminer071]

https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/1502371_10205876154362083_2360420701928777407_o.jpg
thats how big a 250mm would fit in 900D, I dont suggest 400 unlesss your building a desk

Dont use mayhems. they die out way too fast and cleaning your waterblocks is going to be a pain.

[Benji_w]

https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/1502371_10205876154362083_2360420701928777407_o.jpg

thats how big a 250mm would fit in 900D, I dont suggest 400 unlesss your building a desk

Dont use mayhems. they die out way too fast and cleaning your waterblocks is going to be a pain.

 

The aurora coolant it literally just a quick usage coolant for taking pics, you're not supposed to run it for everyday use.

[Suhr]

Fans:

Oh yes, the legendary Gentle Typhoons. I don't know why I forgot to think about them. The price is basically the same as for the Sp 120 where I live and I understand that they're also a nudge better on radiator performance, is that correct?

That basically means that the GT will be both more quiet and better performing than SP 120. That means I only have to consider GT 1450 vs PL-2. They're both really quiet, but the GT may perform a nudge better. Some people say that the type of sound coming from GT is a bit different from other fans and might be considered as annoying by some.

 

Res:

Thanks for that picture. Looks ideal. I'll drop the 400ml and go for 250ml.

 

Coolant:

Ok, so aurora is for flash and short term only. But Mayhems in general is the bomb right? I'm hooked on singularity and he seems to be an expert in the field and he sticks to Mayhems Pastel (?) exclusivly.