watercooling Quite unsure what to fall for...

[SatoFuji]

Hi guys,

 

So I've been a computer nerd for 13 years now and I've always been mostly limited by money when it comes to builds. This year, way less than I used to be.
I already have a pretty decent build; 8700k OC @4.7 (higher seemed just dumb consumption/performance ratio) cooled by a Noctua NH-U12S working quite remarkably. And a nice 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio alongside.

 

As a geek and always trying to do better, more and different just for the sake of building it more than using it, i wanted to try a watercooled system. SO a month ago I started to watch / rewatch Jayztwocents vids, LTT's ones as well and first things first, hard tubing seems to be a pain. Unless told that's it's REALLY good, it will be a no no.

That being said, I'm unsure that it would be THAT expensive today; Here's the actual project :

 

I like Bequiet! so I've set my mind to get a Silentbase 801 to fit a 9900k and an MSI seahawk EK X on an MSI gaming edge AC

My first question is; will the top of this case be enough to dissipate the heat from any radiator (if I don't go full custom WC loop i'll go for an AIO anyway) with these air vents?

Second one will be.. what to buy? Here's why: I read the guides, the Q&A and I'm still a bit confused. EK has been doing kits that might be great but IDK if going full custom wouldn't be better anyway. Not to mention that kits usually includes GPU kits that I won't need with this card, which is also a reason why I'd go full loop.
Also, would it be worth it to get like 2 radiators? I believe an OCed 9900k would probably need a whole 280mm for himself, so if I were to include the seahawk with it...

Anyway, any advice would be appreciated. Any thoughts on the build, case, GPU are welcomed anyway.

Cheers!

[RayMurr]

If you want to build your own custom loop, I'd recommend going to EKs website and going through the configurator.

Then add a few extra tubes for the seahawk 

[SatoFuji]

I've done it and following the guide thread on this forum made me expect around 160watts of TDP on the CPU. There's also this written behind the results of their configurator ; *Temperatures are calculated based on assumptions that the system is based in an environment of 22°C and there's no overclocking option applied.

I'm pretty sure it will be undersized to cool an OCed 9900k AND a RTX 2080 Ti that i would OC as well w/ afterburner.

[Taswell]

if you have never done a watercooled loop just go get a kit from xspc or EK and go from there 

[SatoFuji]

1 minute ago, Taswell said:

if you have never done a watercooled loop just go get a kit from xspc or EK and go from there 

Part of the goal here IS to do an at least partially custom loop. Again, EK kits might be undersized, hence why i'm wondering if a dual radiator setup wouldn't be a better idea.

 

Once again, OCed 2080 Ti / 9900k to expect. Higher TDP than what a 360mm rad would be able to dissipate I believe. Correct me if i'm wrong.

[For Science!]

23 minutes ago, SatoFuji said:

-han what a 360mm rad would be able to dissipate I believe. Correct me if i'm wrong.

I've found a 30 mm thick 360 mm long radiator is what I would personally class as minimal required for an 8700K and 1080Ti. Given that your components will be hotter, I would prefer more radiator space if the case allows for it. 

 

PS The Seahawk X card is for custom loops only (i.e. it has no cooling unless you somehow get water to go through it).

[SatoFuji]

12 minutes ago, For Science! said:

I've found a 30 mm thick 360 mm long radiator is what I would personally class as minimal required for an 8700K and 1080Ti. Given that your components will be hotter, I would prefer more radiator space if the case allows for it. 

 

PS The Seahawk X card is for custom loops only (i.e. it has no cooling unless you somehow get water to go through it).

Sorry, my bad! I wanted to say will NOT be able to dissipate. At least not properly, and especially not if overclocked.

Yep, i know about the card. It's what it interesting price wise, because then I wouldn't have to buy (and install) the block.

What I really need is to know whether a dual radiator loop would be efficient (the case case fit at least a 280 and a 360). If the answer is yes, which kind of water flow should i need from the pump (and then, is a res / pump 2 in 1 will be able to deliver such a flow in general).
Also, I'd naturally go for pump (combo or draining from the res) => CPU block => GPU block => radiator, am I wrong?

[For Science!]

1 minute ago, SatoFuji said:

=

More radiators will improve the efficiency of heat dissipation (up to a certain point, anyway) and yes, 360 mm vs 280 + 360 mm you will likely see good improvements. Radiators are not very restrictive usually and a single DDC or D5 pump will be more than sufficient for a CPU+GPU loop. Personally I would recommend a D5 pump/res combo since it has a far superior noise profile

[SatoFuji]

1 minute ago, For Science! said:

More radiators will improve the efficiency of heat dissipation (up to a certain point, anyway) and yes, 360 mm vs 280 + 360 mm you will likely see good improvements. Radiators are not very restrictive usually and a single DDC or D5 pump will be more than sufficient for a CPU+GPU loop. Personally I would recommend a D5 pump/res combo since it has a far superior noise profile

That's what i thought. You'd still go for EK? DDC and D5 are EK references, right?

[For Science!]

Just now, SatoFuji said:

That's what i thought. You'd still go for EK? DDC and D5 are EK references, right?

Not necessarily, DDC and D5 are the pumps themselves and are made by Laing/Xylem, different companies produce housing for these pumps and sell them as a combo. The EK ones are fine though.

[SatoFuji]

Noted. Well thanks for the reply, I'll just look around on what would fit my ideas of it and I'll probably update the topic or ask stuff again anyway. Thanks for now, at least.