Watercooling questions

[fringie]

Hi,

 

I have a few questions which is why I have a vague title, I intend on adding in questions and putting UPDATED [date] in the title (if possible).

 

 

Current question(s):

 

 

 

Does anyone know what the thickest 280mm radiator you can fit in the roof of a Fractal Define r4? (P.S. suggestions for a good rad, I think medium to high density would be good as I will be making this the only intentional way for air to escape). I only intend on having the r2 140mm fans that come with the case pulling air.

.

Thoughts on this radiator for the front of my R4? http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/p/Alphacool-NexXxoS-Monsta-280mm-Radiator_37055.html (I'm going to remove my HDD cage and buy another SSD to replace my HDD, I'm also going to see if I can fit a 280mm in there with the top 4 screws or bottom 4 depending on how testing the slim 280mm rad goes then duck taping the other end [duck tape is awesome]). Also, whats with all the extra holes (not sure what word to use)? I thought there would only be one hole for intake water and one hole for out take water? Would I get plugs with the rad to close the holes I'm not using?

 

Thoughts on this pump/res combo? http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/p/XSPC-Dual-750lph-Bay-Pump-Reservoir-V4-Black_35511.html I am aware some pumps are loud, I want a quiet pump (preferably combo unit). My computer is in a quiet environment so when my music is turned of I can hear the GPU fan spinning away when idling to put it into perspective for you. 

 

 

 

Answered:

 

Radiator GPU and CPU order- Does the order matter? If not I believe I'll be able to make my loop look much neater. TTL said it doesn't matter much at all and some people that look like they are in they know state so too but it seems hard to believe, can someone explain this to me?

See Freaky_spiders comment

 

Thanks.

[Freaky_spider]

the water moves so fast that it makes little contact with a rad before it is out of the rad.

 

This means that the temperature of your loop will be the same over your whole loop with a maximum delta of maybe 2 degrees...

 

So the total surface area is alot more important than the order of your rads

 

Only thing you gotta worry about is what order will look best

[fringie]

the water moves so fast that it makes little contact with a rad before it is out of the rad.

 

This means that the temperature of your loop will be the same over your whole loop with a maximum delta of maybe 2 degrees...

 

So the total surface area is alot more important than the order of your rads

 

Only thing you gotta worry about is what order will look best

Ah, thanks for the explanation.

[fringie]

Bump?

[Ghost]

In terms of the pump, you should consider a Laing pump over the one you picked. It will be more expensive but has a much higher MTBF.

 

In terms of choosing a Laing pump. Any Laing pump is great. They come in two variants. The DDC and the DC. These also have different models. The DDC is smaller but runs hotter so generally the D5 is chosen but the DDC is still a great pump. Both have a MTBF of 5 years and have countless accessories such a pump tops and reservoir tops and cases for aesthetics.

 

 

They also come in varaints that include RPM sensors (which you plug into your CPU header so the system will automatically turn off if your pump stops working) and some have PWM control so you can automatically turn down the pump while your CPU is cool. A custom (3rd-party) pump top is not needed but recommended as it allows you to use your own fittings (and by extension tube sizes) on the pump because they are threaded with G1/4 threads for fittings.

 

 

------

 

The extra ports in the radiator is to have an option for mount and you can choose where the I/O of the radiator will be. They do come with plugs. In terms of the rad you chose; it's the thickest rad you can get. Make sure it will fit. If so it's a great rad.

------

 

For your other questions, you will have to wait for a R4 owner.

[fringie]

In terms of the pump, you should consider a Laing pump over the one you picked. It will be more expensive but has a much higher MTBF.

 

In terms of choosing a Laing pump. Any Laing pump is great. They come in two variants. The DDC and the DC. These also have different models. The DDC is smaller but runs hotter so generally the D5 is chosen but the DDC is still a great pump. Both have a MTBF of 5 years and have countless accessories such a pump tops and reservoir tops and cases for aesthetics.

 

 

They also come in varaints that include RPM sensors (which you plug into your CPU header so the system will automatically turn off if your pump stops working) and some have PWM control so you can automatically turn down the pump while your CPU is cool. A custom (3rd-party) pump top is not needed but recommended as it allows you to use your own fittings (and by extension tube sizes) on the pump because they are threaded with G1/4 threads for fittings.

 

 

------

 

The extra ports in the radiator is to have an option for mount and you can choose where the I/O of the radiator will be. They do come with plugs. In terms of the rad you chose; it's the thickest rad you can get. Make sure it will fit. If so it's a great rad.

------

 

For your other questions, you will have to wait for a R4 owner.

Thanks for the response .

Do you have any suggestions? I'm not sure what good ones are . I'd rather quieter pumps over loud really good pumps but I'm sure I can turn the voltage down if necessary. The d5 ones seem to be in my ideal price range and I think I'd want the responsive pump setting one, maybe the one that plug into the CPU header is a good idea too but does that cost a lot more?

 

Ah, I see that's a pretty nice feature.

 

As you seem like you're in the know can you answer another question for me please? I heard with thicker radiators you get a humming noise, I'm not sure if my h80 does that at 7v (it's really hard to distinguish), is that a possible problem? If so do you think 4 140mm fans @ 3v would cut it?

[Ghost]

Do you have any suggestions? I'm not sure what good ones are . I'd rather quieter pumps over loud really good pumps but I'm sure I can turn the voltage down if necessary. The d5 ones seem to be in my ideal price range and I think I'd want the responsive pump setting one, maybe the one that plug into the CPU header is a good idea too but does that cost a lot more?

 

Ah, I see that's a pretty nice feature.

 

As you seem like you're in the know can you answer another question for me please? I heard with thicker radiators you get a humming noise, I'm not sure if my h80 does that at 7v (it's really hard to distinguish), is that a possible problem? If so do you think 4 140mm fans @ 3v would cut it?

• The D5 is considered "better" by most. Just go to a retailers site and check prices yourself as they can vary a lot.
• Radiators should not produce any noise, it is most likely your fans just not liking 7V.
• Most fans won't run at 3V, look for PWM fans.

[airdeano]

Hi,

Does anyone know what the thickest 280mm radiator you can fit in the roof of a Fractal Define r4? (P.S. suggestions for a good rad, I think medium to high density would be good as I will be making this the only intentional way for air to escape). I only intend on having the r2 140mm fans that come with the case pulling air.

 

Thanks.

 

you can fit the Alphacool Monsta 280, but half of the system will be obscured by the thick of a radiator.

 

 

hope that helps

[fringie]

you can fit the Alphacool Monsta 280, but half of the system will be obscured by the thick of a radiator.

 

 

hope that helps

Damn! I didn't even know you could fit that thickness in the roof. It feels (stuck my hand in my case) like I'll have clearance issues with the RAM, I'll have to measure it tomorrow.

 

May I ask how you mounted the front rad as natively the case doesn't support 280's in the front. Well, when the doors on you won't really be able to see the radiator so I'm not to fussed about the size. What temps do you get with that? It must be insane. P.S. I'm stealing how you did your tubing, I was going to top rad > CPU > GPU > front rad > res > top rad

[airdeano]

Damn! I didn't even know you could fit that thickness in the roof. It feels (stuck my hand in my case) like I'll have clearance issues with the RAM, I'll have to measure it tomorrow.

 

May I ask how you mounted the front rad as natively the case doesn't support 280's in the front. Well, when the doors on you won't really be able to see the radiator so I'm not to fussed about the size. What temps do you get with that? It must be insane. P.S. I'm stealing how you did your tubing, I was going to top rad > CPU > GPU > front rad > res > top rad

 

this is not my rig, but another members build: failwheeldrive here is the build-log: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/38233-arc-under-water-bitspower-ek-and-alphacool-deliciousness/