General questions about water cooling before planning out my own

[RzarEater]

To begin with, this is a theory question that I'm trying for my own knowledge before I start planning a custom water cooling loop.  

 

First question - When considering the size of your reservoir, how much does the amount of water you have in your loop, affect the temperatures of the system?  If you had the space and funds, would going for the largest reservoir you can fit in your case be the best choice?

 

Second question - I know there are a few rules of thumb when determining the minimum amount of radiator space when you have a cpu/gpu in the loop.  However, my question is about how much does adding more radiator space, than the absolute minimum, affect the water temperatures?

 

Third question - What is the best kind of radiator for a silent rig?  Not the brand, but how thick or thin the rad is and the fpi.

 

Edit - Fourth question - When does a 2nd pump become necessary?  Too many rads, or too much water or something else?

 

Thanks ahead of time for any opinions and answers.

Edited January 13, 2014 by RzarEater

[Flyguygamer]

For silence you want a thin/med, low fpi rad. That will me higher temps. Extra rads help with cooling or silence, more reds with quieter fans is good for silence. Go for 2*120 or 3*120 per block with nf-f12's at low rpm.

[Ghost]

For silence you want a thin/med, low fpi rad. That will me higher temps. Extra rads help with cooling or silence, more reds with quieter fans is good for silence. Go for 2*120 or 3*120 per block with nf-f12's at low rpm.

A thicker low fpi rad would probably be a better idea, thin low FPI rads tend to be quite "weak".

[TheNinjaNextDor]

You wont need a second pump unless you have a lot of stuff ib your loop. Like 4 rads and an sli setup. Go for the thickets rads that will fit in your case. The reservoir isnt really that much of a factor for temps. Though in theory more water means more heat dissipation and same goes for rads. More/thicker rads means better temps with lower fan speeds.

[RzarEater]

A thicker low fpi rad would probably be a better idea, thin low FPI rads tend to be quite "weak".

 

You wont need a second pump unless you have a lot of stuff ib your loop. Like 4 rads and an sli setup. Go for the thickets rads that will fit in your case. The reservoir isnt really that much of a factor for temps. Though in theory more water means more heat dissipation and same goes for rads. More/thicker rads means better temps with lower fan speeds.

 

To me, going with a thicker rad for a silence optimized cooling setup seems illogical, as low rpms and more stuff to try to push the air through means less convection.  

 

But I've never dealt with a water cooled system before, so it might just be my inexperience showing.  I figured a single pump would be sufficient for my needs.

 

I just figured that if you had like double the water, the average temps would likely stay a few degrees cooler as opposed to a tiny reservoir.

[Ghost]

To me, going with a thicker rad for a silence optimized cooling setup seems illogical, as low rpms and more stuff to try to push the air through means less convection.  

 

But I've never dealt with a water cooled system before, so it might just be my inexperience showing.  I figured a single pump would be sufficient for my needs.

 

I just figured that if you had like double the water, the average temps would likely stay a few degrees cooler as opposed to a tiny reservoir.

Well a thicker rad allows for a wider range of fan RPMs. So curing full load when you need more cooling power you could turn the fans up slightly so the systems remains cool, but at idle the fans can go back to a low level, using a thin, low FPI rad limits you to low fan RPMs and when you do need more cooling, it won't be able to provide it.

 

Double the water would mean the coolant takes longer to heat up but it will eventually reach the same level, but you have to remember it would also take longer to cool down to it's idle temperature.

 

Q4 - A second pump becomes necessary with more blocks, as they are the most restrictive part of the loop.

[TheNinjaNextDor]

Well a thicker rad allows for a wider range of fan RPMs. So curing full load when you need more cooling power you could turn the fans up slightly so the systems remains cool, but at idle the fans can go back to a low level, using a thin, low FPI rad limits you to low fan RPMs and when you do need more cooling, it won't be able to provide it.

Double the water would mean the coolant takes longer to heat up but it will eventually reach the same level, but you have to remember it would also take longer to cool down to it's idle temperature.

Q4 - A second pump becomes necessary with more blocks, as they are the most restrictive part of the loop.

This. I have a 250mm reservoir and have seen that once you heat the system up then go back to the desktop it takes a while to get back down. On startup I run at 20-23C but during a game I get to about 35-38C. After that it takes about 1-2 mins to get below 30C then never get below 24-25C idle. If I never fully heat up I end up getting to those temps but it takes a long time. What will be in your loop? Do you know what case youll be using?

[Prophet of Entropy]

To me, going with a thicker rad for a silence optimized cooling setup seems illogical, as low rpms and more stuff to try to push the air through means less convection.  

 

 

the reason thick rads work at low rpms work is, generally the thicker the rad the lower the FPI (fins per inch).  lower FPI mean more room for airflow even if the air travels further.  convection adds or takes away so little efficiency in computer water loops its not worth mentioning. convection would be a thing if designing a loop with like 1000 blocks, but 0.1 degrees isn't very important in a personal loop.

[RzarEater]

This. I have a 250mm reservoir and have seen that once you heat the system up then go back to the desktop it takes a while to get back down. On startup I run at 20-23C but during a game I get to about 35-38C. After that it takes about 1-2 mins to get below 30C then never get below 24-25C idle. If I never fully heat up I end up getting to those temps but it takes a long time. What will be in your loop? Do you know what case youll be using?

 

Ideally I'd want to get a Case Labs M8, however out of sheer 'being a college student who can only work 16-18 hours a week' I'll likely have to rethink that option.  I'd be running an i7-4770k @ I'd guess around 4.2Ghz and, if the price ever comes back within reason, a R9 290, but more likely a R9 280X or 770.  

[TheNinjaNextDor]

Ideally I'd want to get a Case Labs M8, however out of sheer 'being a college student who can only work 16-18 hours a week' I'll likely have to rethink that option. I'd be running an i7-4770k @ I'd guess around 4.2Ghz and, if the price ever comes back within reason, a R9 290, but more likely a R9 280X or 770.

Caselabs cases are soo expensive. On water youll be able to get that 4770K to at least 4.5 easily. You may want to try a corsair case or something similar.

[RzarEater]

 

Caselabs cases are soo expensive. On water youll be able to get that 4770K to at least 4.5 easily. You may want to try a corsair case or something similar.

 

The biggest reason I want the M8, is that I really like the double wide form factor of the case.  As you can make the whole case shorter, while putting your PSU, and all drives onto the other side of the motherboard.  I was looking into the Corsair Carbide Air 540 for that reason, but I'm not sure it would not be enough for a proper WC rig.  Currently I'm running with an Antec Eleven Hundred, which is a lousy choice for WCing, but I picked it out long before I had any interest in water cooling.  

[TheNinjaNextDor]

The biggest reason I want the M8, is that I really like the double wide form factor of the case. As you can make the whole case shorter, while putting your PSU, and all drives onto the other side of the motherboard. I was looking into the Corsair Carbide Air 540 for that reason, but I'm not sure it would not be enough for a proper WC rig. Currently I'm running with an Antec Eleven Hundred, which is a lousy choice for WCing, but I picked it out long before I had any interest in water cooling.

I do like that about wide cases. Good luck with your watercooling

[Prophet of Entropy]

you can watercool a fractal ARC XL pretty well, and they only run a little over 100$, but with out knowing how much stuff you want to put in your case...