Best loop with least tubing?

[Dimetime35c]

I'm gonna be water cooling my gpu and I need some help with this loop. I'm going for the least amount of tubing possible so the cleanest run is like a requirement. I don't know if a pump radiator combo, pump res combo, or a pump radiator res combo would be best. I kinda want the separate res so I can see the fluid and imo it looks cooler having the res viewable. The case it's going in is the 760t and the rad will be front mounted. Any ideas on the best run with the most straight tubing?

[W-L]

I'm gonna be water cooling my gpu and I need some help with this loop. I'm going for the least amount of tubing possible so the cleanest run is like a requirement. I don't know if a pump radiator combo, pump res combo, or a pump radiator res combo would be best. I kinda want the separate res so I can see the fluid and imo it looks cooler having the res viewable. The case it's going in is the 760t and the rad will be front mounted. Any ideas on the best run with the most straight tubing?

 

If your custom watercooling your GPU it's a good idea to also incorporate your CPU into the loop since in the big scheme of things it's not a lot of added money. For the cleanest look I would say a Pump Res combo would be the best without a lot of extra runs.

[Dimetime35c]

If your custom watercooling your GPU it's a good idea to also incorporate your CPU into the loop since in the big scheme of things it's not a lot of added money. For the cleanest look I would say a Pump Res combo would be the best without a lot of extra runs.

Ehh I've got a corsair H110i that works great for the cpu. Wouldn't it be better having the two seperate as then there would be less heat going into the loop so the rad could cool better? Like wouldn't the GPU heat up a lot more then the cpu so ti would mean the cpu would be getting hotter water if it was on the same loop?

[W-L]

Ehh I've got a corsair H110i that works great for the cpu. Wouldn't it be better having the two seperate as then there would be less heat going into the loop so the rad could cool better? Like wouldn't the GPU heat up a lot more then the cpu so ti would mean the cpu would be getting hotter water if it was on the same loop?

 

Not really as long as you have the proper amount of rad space there isn't a need for say dual custom loops other than looks. The fluid in a watercooling setup moves pretty quick so while it would theoretically warm up the next thing in line marginally it's not something that is really an issue, loop order being not much of a thing to worry about.

[Dimetime35c]

Not really as long as you have the proper amount of rad space there isn't a need for say dual custom loops other than looks. The fluid in a watercooling setup moves pretty quick so while it would theoretically warm up the next thing in line marginally it's not something that is really an issue, loop order being not much of a thing to worry about.

O okay I didn't know that. I assumed that more things in your loop would equal more heat. So would a cleaner loop be top mounted rad, straight down to res pump combo, the straight to gpu? Also if I do straight runs can I use hard tube over soft tube if it's a straight run? Like use hard tube for the rad to res/pump, res to gpu, then use soft for the GPU to cpu and cpu to rad?

[W-L]

O okay I didn't know that. I assumed that more things in your loop would equal more heat. So would a cleaner loop be top mounted rad, straight down to res pump combo, the straight to gpu? Also if I do straight runs can I use hard tube over soft tube if it's a straight run? Like use hard tube for the rad to res/pump, res to gpu, then use soft for the GPU to cpu and cpu to rad?

 

Well you are correct more things in a loop will generate more heat so more radspace is needed to wid in cooling, usually it's recommend to have a minimum of at least one 120mm rad space per component and more if you want silent cooling at load, so for example a CPU and GPU loop a good 360mm rad is a good option.

 

For hardline tubing there will be some bends or mis-alignments so it's not always you'll get perfectly straight runs and it will require bending and the tools for that such as a silicone mandrel, heat guns and a fair bit of patience and time. I usually recommend doing soft tube if it's your first custom loop since it is a fair bit easier.

[Dimetime35c]

Well you are correct more things in a loop will generate more heat so more radspace is needed to wid in cooling, usually it's recommend to have a minimum of at least one 120mm rad space per component and more if you want silent cooling at load, so for example a CPU and GPU loop a good 360mm rad is a good option.

For hardline tubing there will be some bends or mis-alignments so it's not always you'll get perfectly straight runs and it will require bending and the tools for that such as a silicone mandrel, heat guns and a fair bit of patience and time. I usually recommend doing soft tube if it's your first custom loop since it is a fair bit easier.

Okay but for like the points I can get a perfectly straight run can I use hard line? Like even if it's just from the rad down to the pump/res combo? Basically I'm trying to make my run as square as possible so it looks clean and I don't mess with it a bunch of times trying to get the tube perfectly straight. Lol bad ocd when it comes to things like that. Redo my cable routing every other week cause it's not clean enough;)

[spwath]

Okay but for like the points I can get a perfectly straight run can I use hard line? Like even if it's just from the rad down to the pump/res combo? Basically I'm trying to make my run as square as possible so it looks clean and I don't mess with it a bunch of times trying to get the tube perfectly straight. Lol bad ocd when it comes to things like that. Redo my cable routing every other week cause it's not clean enough;)

Well things might not line up.

[Ryoku]

Okay but for like the points I can get a perfectly straight run can I use hard line? Like even if it's just from the rad down to the pump/res combo? Basically I'm trying to make my run as square as possible so it looks clean and I don't mess with it a bunch of times trying to get the tube perfectly straight. Lol bad ocd when it comes to things like that. Redo my cable routing every other week cause it's not clean enough;)

 

If your willing to spend the money you can go mad on fittings and do all the bends with them and just have straight tubing running from fitting to fitting, but that would be very costly.

[W-L]

Okay but for like the points I can get a perfectly straight run can I use hard line? Like even if it's just from the rad down to the pump/res combo? Basically I'm trying to make my run as square as possible so it looks clean and I don't mess with it a bunch of times trying to get the tube perfectly straight. Lol bad ocd when it comes to things like that. Redo my cable routing every other week cause it's not clean enough;)

 

If your going hardline do the whole loop, your gonna need to bend tubing so that's a guarantee so you can do it if you have the time and patience to get it absolutely perfect. 

[SonoDanshi]

The 760t supports 280mm rads at the front and top. If you are cooling both the CPU and GPU together then I would suggest using both spots as 280mm for both components is really the bare minimum.

 

With my loop, I wanted something very clean as well and decided that on the top if I used a cross-flow rad (it has 1 port on opposite ends of the rad instead of both together) then it saved me having to have long runs of pipe across the case.

 

I'm not sure what your expectations are for having the "least tubing" but I personally think mine is quite minimal.

 

[Dimetime35c]

The 760t supports 280mm rads at the front and top. If you are cooling both the CPU and GPU together then I would suggest using both spots as 280mm for both components is really the bare minimum.

With my loop, I wanted something very clean as well and decided that on the top if I used a cross-flow rad (it has 1 port on opposite ends of the rad instead of both together) then it saved me having to have long runs of pipe across the case.

I'm not sure what your expectations are for having the "least tubing" but I personally think mine is quite minimal.

Have to say love the loop! Very clean and very neat! Love the cable sleeving also!

[SonoDanshi]

Have to say love the loop! Very clean and very neat! Love the cable sleeving also!

Thanks a lot. It was my first attempt at watercooling and I'm proud of what I achieved, but I will be draining it in the near future as I don't like the color of the coolant and I want to redo a couple of the pipes.

 

The cables are from cablemods.

[Ryoku]

The 760t supports 280mm rads at the front and top. If you are cooling both the CPU and GPU together then I would suggest using both spots as 280mm for both components is really the bare minimum.

 

With my loop, I wanted something very clean as well and decided that on the top if I used a cross-flow rad (it has 1 port on opposite ends of the rad instead of both together) then it saved me having to have long runs of pipe across the case.

 

I'm not sure what your expectations are for having the "least tubing" but I personally think mine is quite minimal.

 

 

Have to say love the loop! Very clean and very neat! Love the cable sleeving also!

 

I'm in the middle of doing something similar in my Arc Mini R2, Just got my hands on the last parts I needed to finish.

 

[Dimetime35c]

I'm in the middle of doing something similar in my Arc Mini R2, Just got my hands on the last parts I needed to finish.

Might I suggest flipping the top rad around? Looks like if you flipped it you could hide the tube better

[Ryoku]

Might I suggest flipping the top rad around? Looks like if you flipped it you could hide the tube better

 

Its a cross flow 360mm rad (1 port on each end) the gap on the left is for the 3rd NF-F12 which I was waiting for (had to RMA it).  Then the wonky tube run is because the space is to small to do a 90 into a 90 into a 90 was easier to do a 90 into a 180.

[SonoDanshi]

Its a cross flow 360mm rad (1 port on each end) the gap on the left is for the 3rd NF-F12 which I was waiting for (had to RMA it).  Then the wonky tube run is because the space is to small to do a 90 into a 90 into a 90 was easier to do a 90 into a 180.

That's precisely why I went with a 280 on top. I had originally wanted a 360 on top but decided the tube run would get too complicated when using a crossflow configuration, so dropped down to a 280 for the sake of aesthetics.

[Benji_w]

Heres mine. Hidden 360mm on top, 240mm in the front and a dual bay res/pump combo all snug in a Corsair Carbide 500R

 

[Ryoku]

That's precisely why I went with a 280 on top. I had originally wanted a 360 on top but decided the tube run would get too complicated when using a crossflow configuration, so dropped down to a 280 for the sake of aesthetics.

 

Finished my last bit of tubing

 

[Dimetime35c]

Heres mine. Hidden 360mm on top, 240mm in the front and a dual bay res/pump combo all snug in a Corsair Carbide 500R

Me like!!!! Are you using a gpu???? Dont see one in the loop. You could run the mb cooling line into it then down to the second one then back up existing the top card back to the res.

[Dimetime35c]

Its a cross flow 360mm rad (1 port on each end) the gap on the left is for the 3rd NF-F12 which I was waiting for (had to RMA it). Then the wonky tube run is because the space is to small to do a 90 into a 90 into a 90 was easier to do a 90 into a 180.

Yeah I know I mean if you flipped the rad the port would be on the other side so the run would be behind the res. Seems like the tube crosses over itself right now and by flipping it the run would be more back parts to back parts and from Port to front port. See what I'm saying????

[SonoDanshi]

Yeah I know I mean if you flipped the rad the port would be on the other side so the run would be behind the res. Seems like the tube crosses over itself right now and by flipping it the run would be more back parts to back parts and from Port to front port. See what I'm saying????

Crossflows don't work like that as they are symmetrical in their design. So flipping it means the ports remain in exactly the same position.

[Benji_w]

Me like!!!! Are you using a gpu???? Dont see one in the loop. You could run the mb cooling line into it then down to the second one then back up existing the top card back to the res.

 

GPU is on air for now and I'll probably have a tube res and a 360 in the front for the GPU waterblock to look nicer.

[Dimetime35c]

Crossflows don't work like that as they are symmetrical in their design. So flipping it means the ports remain in exactly the same position.

Ooo okay I get it now! I thought it was like if you turned the rad around the port in the back that's closest to the side panel would flip to the furthest on the front. '_, to ,_' see what I'm saying now??