Need Help First Time WC

[Jddason]

So this is my first time making a thread on the forum. Please bare with me if I do something wrong.

 

So I was thinking of getting watercooling for my rig.

I am looking at spending less than $350 on the watercooling (or as less as possible)

 

The parts I HAVE:

Antec 902 V3

Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3

I7 2600K

G.Skill 4x4 1600 (16Gb)

Gigabyte 6870 Windforce

Thermaltake 800W TR2 80+ Bronze

CoolerMaster V8 (scythe Gentle Typhoon upgrade)

3 HDD (3.5)

1 SSD

1 CD Player

 

The Case I NEED for the watercooling:

Corsair 750D - $209

 

 

The Watercooling I WANT:

Phobya Balancer 250 Matte Black - $39

XSPC Raystorm Waterblock - $59

Koolance PMP-450 12V Variable Speed Pump - $99

XSPC EX 240 Radiator - $49

PrimoChill PrimoFlex Advanced LRT Tubing UV Blue 1/2ID 3/4OD 3M - $35

PrimoChill Nylon Hose Clamps 3/4 OD Black - $1 each (Think I need 6) - $6

XSPC G1/4 Glack Chrome 1/2 Barb Fitting $2 each (Think I need 6) - $12

PrimChill AntiBacterial Tube Coil Silver - $9

Corsair SP120 Performance Edition PWM Twin Pack $39

2L Distilled Water From Grocery Store - $1.73 

 

WC = $348.73

 

Watercooling and 750D = $557.73

 

I will be getting the 750D first so I can get used to where to put things and the extra space I will have so I don't have to fiddle around when I have the watercooling.

 

I have had my components listed above for 2 years now.

Once I get this done, except from the cleaning every now an then and the water re-doing. I won't be upgrading the PC for some time until I get money or a part comes out I want.

 

All the prices are from www.pccasegear.com. STRAYA

 

If you have any recommendations on ANY of the parts I will be using for my watercooling PLEASE feel free to tell me or ask any questions that you may need to know to about my plans for my computer. 

[Ghost]

What I recommend you do is draw a diagram of your loop, grab a side on shot of the case and draw in rads and tubing, that is often the most important part of planning a loop. Just a rough version in MSPaint just using rectangles as components is fine.

 

It helps visualise what you plan to do and spot mistakes early.

 

Phobya Balancer 250 Matte Black - A reservoir is just a reservoir, go with what suits your build, there are no "bad" reservoirs. Have a look at the XSPC Photon reservoir if you want a lit up reservoir.

XSPC Raystorm Waterblock- Good water block, you can't really go wrong picking as water block, they all perform roughly the same.

Koolance PMP-450 12V Variable Speed Pump- A good pump, you can't really get a better pump than this.
XSPC EX 240 Radiator- A good radiator, consider a thicker one if you can fit it, but if not, this is perfectly fine.
PrimoChill PrimoFlex Advanced LRT Tubing UV Blue 1/2ID 3/4OD 3M - Good tubing
PrimoChill Nylon Hose Clamps 3/4 OD Black - £1 () each (Think I need 6)
XSPC G1/4 Glack Chrome 1/2 Barb Fitting £1 () each (Think I need 6) - I really recommend going for compression fittings, they make your loop look much better You will also save money on the hose clamps.
PrimChill AntiBacterial Tube Coil Silver - - Can't go wrong here.
Corsair SP120 Performance Edition PWM Twin Pack  - The SP120 PE tend to be quite loud, unbearably loud, in fact for me, consider the Quiet Edition fans or different fans altogether.
2L Distilled Water From Grocery Store - Can't go wrong

 

 

I also recommend you get anti-corrosive for you loop. It's not that expensive and it's just a precaution but it will make your parts last longer if something does go wrong.

[Jddason]

Ok, update before I go to bed.

 

Reservoir: Would like that XSPC Phantom but unfortunately they only sell it as a res/pump combo which makes it a bit above my price.

Rad: Again, the next 240 rad going up in price is $65. So i'd stick with "expect what you pay for."

Fitting: I did choose to decide on switching out the barbs and clamps for the compression fittings, they are $1.50 each more but as you said it will make it look better.

Fans: Thank you for your opinion on the Performance Edition fans to go to the Quiet Edition and that choice was made very quickly .

Corrosive: This is the only corrosive I could find on the website; Primochill Liquid Utopia Clear Additive. http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=207_160_301&products_id=21444

 

Now I did make a image of the watercooling setup and you were right that it would help spot mistakes, I already have one with the pump and res on placement. So if somebody can help that would be awesome!

 

Also these sizes are completely NOT 100% accurate so please ignore the sizes

 

[Ghost]

I think the loop would much cleaner if you used a pump/res drive bay combo. Also, the res is much thicker than you are expecting.

 

If you use liquid utopia then you don't need the silver kill coil.

[Jddason]

Do you think I could somehow mount the pump and res up the top and somehow connect it to the HDD cages? Then the pump wouldn't be so low in the case, or I get a shorter res and do the mount on the side like just explained?

I'm trying to differ from combo's because if one thing goes wrong you only have to replace that thing but not the other. Also because I've seen that a bay res on a 750D does not look nice, even though it would make the build easier.

[TheNinjaNextDor]

In the 750D if you want to keep the hdd bay you need to use a bay res/pump combo. I have a loop in one and my hdd is velcroed to the back of the mobo tray. Otherwise drill some holes in the case and mount a 150mm res attached to a pump as high as you can. You can fit a 240 or 280mm long by 60mm thick in the front (as big as 80mm without the second drive bay) and a 360mm by 45mm in the top. I would recommend noctua NF-F12s. If you have the money adding your gpu is very easy and a big improvement. With just you cpu you only need a 360mm in the top or a 240mm in the front, you should at least get the 360mm with both. I would recommend Alphacool radiators.

[Jddason]

I cannot add the GPU, unfortunately i can't find any 6870 waterblocks for the model, i don't think they made them at all because of the length of this GPU. Also with this GPU there is no way you can overclock to get more than 2fps more average. If I was going to watercool a GPU i'd have to get a whole new one (looking at a 770 or waiting until the new series of GPU's come out).

As for the fans they are $30 each and I don't have the money for 2 Fans at $60 each, i do know they are good, but price is a problem here.

I guess what both of you are saying, the bay/res combo is a must if it needs to look good for a CPU only Watercool.

This is the only bay/res combo in my price range XSPC X20 750 Dual Bay Reservoir and Pump V4. I still have doubts about this with it not looking nice in the 750D, but having the extra $60 to work with getting a better radiator or leaving it as it is and saving for the new GPU so than i can extend to cool that aswell.

I will upload another image of showing the possible loop soon.

OR looking into radiators further and with my original plan I could get a cheap $26 Alphacool Caps Corp Coolplex Pro 10 LT that would be small enough to just fit under my CD cables but still visible from the window. While using the XSPC D5 Vario pump at $100 making watercooling section of the build at exactly $350. Or (yes I know another option, I'd like to see what others would say on the stuff and placement of the parts as this is new) I could opt out of that res and get a bay res (Alphacool Repack Cooling Slot-In Black Resovoir) for $6 more than the tube which then I could put the pump resting on the cage under the res. This would mean not having a CD Drive, which I don't need and would go into the parents computer.

So options in quickly: Bay Res, pump underneath, no CD Drive. Tube Res, Pump underneath connected straight to it (If I can) and a CD Drive still there having the cables go behind the res.

I will now do a quick paint sketch of both options so you can see what I am saying.

[FluffyNuggets]

Your build is almost identical to what I had. Same tubing, same reservoir, same CPU block. My advice having done it, go with smaller tubing and a different reservoir. I switched my balancer out with a EK pump top/reservoir combo and it's just so much better! I went with the 150mm tube on it instead of the 250mm and its a lot easier to find a place for. The problem with 250mm is it's almost too tall and the mounts on that reservoir are extremely wide so trying to find a place to mount it isn't exactly easy. What I did with the EK reservoir is got some 20lb double sided 3M tape at the hardware store and stuck it to the side of the case. This stuff is so strong I couldn't even get the damn thing off to move it. 

 

As for the tubing, it's way too big and very hard to work with. I just went from 1/2"ID 3/4"OD tubing to 13mm acrylic and there's no temp difference that I notice. So I really dont see a point for such big tubing when it's not gonna help with temps. The difference in size between the two is pretty hilarious when you put them next to eachother. You could basically fit 2 tubes of 13mm tubing inside the 1/2" tubing (Exaggeration of course). 

 

I had some Sp120's and switched them out with Noctua NF-P12's and it was a good upgrade. The Sp120's are loud and they do okay with static pressure. The NF-P12's are quieter and seem to do a better job on the pushing air through a 60mm radiator. 

[Jddason]

So, here are the options of the designs so far with the options that I stated above.

 

This is the one I would prefer if I get the sizes pretty much alright there.

 

And then there's the bay res and pump down the bottom option. This one I see that a GPU add in later on will be a bit annyoing

Again please feel free to respond to this on your ideas.

[Jddason]

@FlufflyNuggets I have decided on a smaller tube reservoir or a bay res before your post, but thank you for the opinion and I did try to look for your res/pump combo on the site, but no luck even though it does look like what I need.

As for the tubing would you think going to 7/16 ID and 5/8 OD be better? The fittings only come in the 7/16 and 1/2 sizes at the small price of $4.50 each so I have the option of those 2 sizes.

The fans, unless you know some good $20 fans that are quieter and better static pressure than the SP120's please tell me, as I said in the post 2 above FlufflyNuggets's post the fans are too expensive.

[YouRezz]

Why not watercool the GPU too?

[Jddason]

It is impossible, if you can, find a cooler for a Gigabyte 6870 wind force card, i will congratulate you and buy one if you find one.

[Melt My GPU]

Actually, I just recently built a custom loop and I got noiseblocker's on my rad. I live in straya as well and they're 19 bucks a piece so similar price to the corsairs but DESTROY 'em in terms of silence and perform exceptionally well. Link.

[Jddason]

Thank you very much Melt My GPU, will be getting those

[Melt My GPU]

Thank you very much Melt My GPU, will be getting those

You're welcome mate! Just be sure next time that when you want to reply to someone quote their post otherwise they won't get a notification unless they're following the topic. Good luck and have fun!

[frustratedrocka]

I'd recommend you go with the tube res. That way you can show it off and use less tubing.