K-Sci

FS, Thanks for the tips. I bought a couple inline sensors, one for each of the water block risers (input and output) so I could assess the effectiveness of both the radiator and water block. If I add a flow meter, I'll be able to calculate the power of the transport. P = V * CV * ΔT Where P = power (Watts = Joule/second) V = volumetric flow rate in liters per second (=kg/s for water) CV = specific heat of water (4181.6 J/(kg-K) ΔT = temperature drop Kelvin

For Science, Your advice looks good, and in addition to the built-in chip thermal monitoring there are two places to plug in thermal sensors on the MB on the MB and three more on the ASUS Fan E pander card that came with the MB. How are you adding thermal sensors to monitor fluid temperatures? Are you using an in-tube sensor, such as this one or just insulating a sensor on the surface of the tubing (accepting the lag).

You're right, that is a Koolance Flowmeter, I just received it, and since is is still not opened, based on your advice and your reasoning it, it is going back. Do you see a thermal sensor as being just about as useless? -Keith

Thank you, VD, for your reply. Aesthetically, at least in these mock-ups, I agree that #2 is better-looking, but I have reservations about the appearance of the bulky extenders used as risers from the CPU. #1 allows the tubing to come off the CPU without the bulky fittings. I looked into what it would take to bend nickel-plated brass or copper, but decided that it was a bad idea (tm). Owing to the problem with nickel plating cracking and flaking when bent, I'd have to buy equipment to electro-plate bare copper tubing after bending if I wanted to have more than one bend. I think you're right about not needing 6 fans for cooling, especially with a 60mm 3x120mm radiator that is a top performer in benchmark testing, despite a relatively low low 16fpi count. In the end, I want a high cooling capacity in a case that is very quiet. So one reason is experimentation. The noise from fans increases with the square of the RPM, so I'd like to conduct an experiment to see if six fans at lower RPM in a push-pull stack-up may allow for lower RPM, and potentially be quieter than push or pull alone. K-Sci

As and engineer, I've learned that drawing on the experience of others is a good way to avoid expensive (or embarrassing) mistakes. Thus, I'm asking for opinions on three proposed loop layouts, two using hard tubing, and one using soft The attached images are constructed from online part images, this is not the actual computer. The tubing selections are: Bitspower Pre-bent 90-Degree Brass Hard Tubing OD16MM Silver - Length 220x300MM (2 layouts) PrimoFlex LRT 7/16 ID x 5/8 OD bloodshed red (one layout Major Components shown Lian Li 011D XL case - Case Image is from Lian Li Asus Rampage VI Extreme Encore (E-ATX) (ASUS board image was superimposed on case image with screw holes aligned) Radiator EK-CoolStream XE 360 Triple 3x120mm x 60mm Above radiator is sandwiched between six 120mm x 25mm high-SP fans. The stack-up is 110mm or 4-1/3" mounted on the case side as shown in the images. Swiftech MCP355 Pump Block Swiftech Apogee SKF "Heirloom Series" - superimposed on case image Major Components not shown Graphics card - Generic, to be upgraded to a water cooled card at a future time once I've worked out the first loop. The top radiator and fan are placeholders for a future un-selected GPU water loop to be added down the road. All metal components are copper and nickel, which are galvanically compatible. The vertical extenders are not always determined because I need actual hardware to determine the length of the risers. Sometimes text "Extender" is used as a placeholder. There is a through-hole fill port at the top, and a push-pull drain stop at the bottom. The hard tubing fittings are all Bitspower, with the exception of an EK-AF Angled 2 x 45 G1/4 Fitting atop the pump. The brass tubing is pre-bent. I used a high pressure pump (up to 20mm H2O) because the Swiftech block is known to have a high resistance. A flow meter is located next to the reservoir. A flaw I noticed while posing is that the tubing could interfere with a long graphics card if carelessly placed. Any advise offered or improvements for better function or appearance will be greatly appreciated. Also, which layout do you like most (or hate)? Thanks in advance. K-Sci