H510i Pump recomendations (and other watercooling stuff)

[Louie Friesen]

Hi there, I've been considering (it's about a 50/50) doing a custom loop with my Hackintosh:

 

Gigabyte Z390 AORUS ULTRA

Intel Core i7 9700K

Sapphire NITRO+ Radeon RX 5700 XT SE

32GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB 3600

Corsair H100i RGB Platinum SE

Corsair RM850x

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB

Western Digital Black SN750 500GB

Seagate BarraCuda 4TB

NZXT H510i

 

 

I'd definitely be cooling the CPU, and for the GPU, I'll wait and if the 6900 XT is supported I might buy one and put a waterblock on that, but if it isn't supported, then I'd buy the Alphacool block for my GPU.

 

 

 

The hardware I know I'd use would be:

 

 

EK-Quantum Momentum Aorus Z390 Master D-RGB - Plexi

 

EK-CoolStream SE280 or Corsair Hydro XR5 280 (I'm guessing the EK one is better?)

 

Some soft tubing and fittings from EK and a filter and temperature sensor from Bitspower

 

Distilled water for coolant

 

Probably Corsair ML140 Pro RGB or Noctua NF-A14 chromax.black.swap fans

 

EK air leak tester thingy

 

 

My main question is what pump to use. The EK configurator recommended the EK-Classic Pump Reservoir SPC 160 PWM D-RGB, but my main concern is how I'd fill it, and if it includes hardware to mount it to the reservoir mount built into the case, or if I should spend the extra $90 and get the VTX (BTW, what's the difference between VTX and DDC?) 120mm tall pump/res.

 

Another question I've got is how good Alphacool waterblocks are (if I choose to cool my 5700 XT, otherwise I'd get probably an EK one if I got a 6900 XT that's compatible). Do they leak? 

 

Thanks!

[Chris Loudon]

Hi buddy, have you thought about going down the distro plate route?

 

I decided to try the side (G1) distro plate from EK in my o11 Dynamic and think its an excellent solution.

 

I did notice that the NZXT H510i has peaked the interest of Bitspower so they make a side mounted plate that looks kinda cool and will make running your tubes without too many bends a doddle.

 

I can't comment on Alphacool as I have always gone with EK and never had reason to change.

 

Try your hand at hard tubing if you haven't done it before. Its a bit daunting at first but once you get the hang of it, its pretty easy. I also think its easier to work with, at least when it comes to planning your runs as soft tubing kinks with tight bends. The distro plate will help a lot as they are designed to minimise bends and keep all your lines straight.

[Louie Friesen]

On 10/21/2020 at 1:29 AM, Chris Loudon said:

Hi buddy, have you thought about going down the distro plate route?

 

I decided to try the side (G1) distro plate from EK in my o11 Dynamic and think its an excellent solution.

 

I did notice that the NZXT H510i has peaked the interest of Bitspower so they make a side mounted plate that looks kinda cool and will make running your tubes without too many bends a doddle.

 

I can't comment on Alphacool as I have always gone with EK and never had reason to change.

 

Try your hand at hard tubing if you haven't done it before. Its a bit daunting at first but once you get the hang of it, its pretty easy. I also think its easier to work with, at least when it comes to planning your runs as soft tubing kinks with tight bends. The distro plate will help a lot as they are designed to minimise bends and keep all your lines straight.

I actually am not a big fan of Bitspower's distro plates because they are like halfway in the case.

 

 

You'll see what I mean on these pictures, although I'll still consider it. 

[Louie Friesen]

On 10/21/2020 at 1:29 AM, Chris Loudon said:

Hi buddy, have you thought about going down the distro plate route?

 

I decided to try the side (G1) distro plate from EK in my o11 Dynamic and think its an excellent solution.

 

I did notice that the NZXT H510i has peaked the interest of Bitspower so they make a side mounted plate that looks kinda cool and will make running your tubes without too many bends a doddle.

 

I can't comment on Alphacool as I have always gone with EK and never had reason to change.

 

Try your hand at hard tubing if you haven't done it before. Its a bit daunting at first but once you get the hang of it, its pretty easy. I also think its easier to work with, at least when it comes to planning your runs as soft tubing kinks with tight bends. The distro plate will help a lot as they are designed to minimise bends and keep all your lines straight.

I'm kind of starting to like that distro plate!

 

LOL, I've noticed the same thing like originally I didn't like the look of the EK monoblocks for the Zenith II Extreme and the Maximus XII Formula, but now I kind of like them (especially since Bitwit used the Zenith II one and JayzTwoCents used the Maximus XII one) XD

[Louie Friesen]

On 10/21/2020 at 1:29 AM, Chris Loudon said:

Hi buddy, have you thought about going down the distro plate route?

 

I decided to try the side (G1) distro plate from EK in my o11 Dynamic and think its an excellent solution.

 

I did notice that the NZXT H510i has peaked the interest of Bitspower so they make a side mounted plate that looks kinda cool and will make running your tubes without too many bends a doddle.

 

I can't comment on Alphacool as I have always gone with EK and never had reason to change.

 

Try your hand at hard tubing if you haven't done it before. Its a bit daunting at first but once you get the hang of it, its pretty easy. I also think its easier to work with, at least when it comes to planning your runs as soft tubing kinks with tight bends. The distro plate will help a lot as they are designed to minimise bends and keep all your lines straight.

For the radiators, do I need specific Bitspower Touchaqua ones to line up or can I use ones from EK?

[Chris Loudon]

Now that's a good question which unfortunately I don't have the answer to.

 

I'd imagine any Rad would be ok as water cooling components tend to be mostly cross-manufacturer compatible but I can't say with 100% confidence.

 

If your unsure check to see if BitsPower have a data sheet you can download. I know EK do for all of their kit which includes detailed drawings and dimensions so you can make a comparison.