First time water cooler. This thread may turn into a build log. (need help and thoughts)

[Valkyrie743]

hey all. i think this is my first ever thread on here. thought i would post my current build and what i've picked for parts for a custom watercooled loop!!!! i've been wanting to water cool my computer for years but was scared to it and plus i didnt have the $. well the time has come and i broke down and starting to buy parts for it !!!! 

to start, here's the specs of my current build and a picture:
 
 

Intel Core I7 2600K @ 4.5ghz cooled by Prolimatech Megahalems + scythe s flex fan in push)12GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 ram @1600 mhz  (2x4gb 2X2gb dims)EVGA GTX 780 Ti (Cooled by a NZXT X40 140 AIO cooler 140mm fan in pull. with the NZXT G10 bracket) Evga ACX top plate installed to somewhat help with cooling vram and vrm's.ASUS P8P67 Pro (REV 3.1)Corsair Air 540 Corsair RM750 Gold PSUHDD#1 Samsung 840 Pro 128gb SSDHDD#2 Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM 16mb cacheHDD#3 1TB Western Digital Green 7200RPM 32mb cacheLG Sata Blu ray reader.Dell S2340M 23" LED 1920x1080Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bitCorsair K70 MX Blue'sSteelseries SenseiLogitech G230 headsetLogitech Z506 5.1 Speakers

my current idea was to do close if not the same as this user did on overclock.net (pictures of his build are in the thread) i would love to do all angles with fittings and just keep the tubing straight but i dont have the money for all the extra fittings and adapters needed to do that.
http://www.overclock.net/t/1419570/build-log-watercooled-corsair-carbide-air-540-intel-i7-3930k-crossfire-7970


currently these are the parts that i have bought already.

1 x	Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper 360mm	1 x	Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm	1 x	EK-D5 Vario X-RES 140 (incl. pump)	1 x	EK-FC780 GTX Ti - Nickel	1 x	EK-FC780 GTX Ti Reinforcer - Black1 x     EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ - Nickel + Plexi

 
360 will be going in the front of the case and the 240 will go on the top. 
 here are the parts that i need to order

4X Bitspower G1/4 Thread 7/16" ID x 5/8" OD Compression Fitting3X Bitspower G1/4 Thread 7/16" ID x 5/8" OD 45-Degree Rotary Compression Fitting 3X Bitspower G1/4 Thread 7/16" ID x 5/8" OD 90-Degree Rotary Compression Fitting1x Mayhems Pastel Coolant Concentrate - 250mL - Blue Berry (do i need to buy another or 1 should be enough?PrimoChill PrimoFlex Advanced LRT Tubing 7/16"ID x 5/8" OD - 10ft Retail Pack - Clear (again is 10ft enough for what im doing in this case?) parts for bleed valve (will go on bottom of 360 rad in front. 1X Bitspower Rotary Fitting "Q" - 360 Degree Water Cooling Accessory - Black Matte Finish2X Bitspower G1/4" Stop Fitting with O-ring - Black Matte Finish1x Bitspower BP-MVV-BK Mini-Valve - Black Sparkle1x Bitspower G1/4" Matte Black Male to Male Rotary AdapterFans: please read below. either getting Corsair SP120 quiet editions or Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-13 (1150RPM)  getting 5 of either. depending on the noise level and if im able to do pull configs without the fan getting noisy (some fans dont like being in pull configs) 

so here are a few things i need help with.

 

with the coolant being a Concentrate, do i just mix it with distilled water? or do i need to buy a special coolant? being that the Mayhems Pastel Coolant Concentrate has all the aditives, i would think all i need to do is mix it with distilled water right? 

 

as for fans. im not sure on how to configure them. i was going to just do push (or pull) with the front 360 rad but i didnt think that it would be a good idea to have the warm are coming from that rad INTO the case? should i have them intake and have the top rad exhaust? and have the back fan intake? so front and back are intake and top exhaust? what would be best? or should i have the back and top intake and the front 360 rad be the exhaust?  whats your thoughts. i would like to try to keep the rads in a pull config just for easy cleaning and dust removal (if needed) unless someone can convince me that having them in push is a better idea. 
 

IF you guys want to have a visual of how im going to mount the rads and the pump. take a look at the link above that i posted (from the build someone did on overclock.net (here it is again if you are lazy to find that link http://www.overclock.net/t/1419570/build-log-watercooled-corsair-carbide-air-540-intel-i7-3930k-crossfire-7970)  as for fans. what are best. i dont care about looks to much as long as they are quiet, and perform good. and are cheap. granted being that im going all out with bitspower fittings i guess i mind as well go all out on decent fans but would like to not spend over 100 bucks on 5 fans. 

well thats all i can think of right now . sorry for the essay lol. lmk what you guys think of what i picked out. i hope  that rads i bought are Ok for a single loop for my 2600K and 780 TI. i've read that the  FPI on them are 10 which i guess is low but being that im new im not sure if thats a good or bad thing. i've read that low would be good for quiet / low rpm fans (which i want.) but you loose cooling performance. but how much would i be loosing? 

 

 

 

[xToFxREAPER]

hey all. i think this is my first ever thread on here. thought i would post my current build and what i've picked for parts for a custom watercooled loop!!!! i've been wanting to water cool my computer for years but was scared to it and plus i didnt have the $. well the time has come and i broke down and starting to buy parts for it !!!! 

to start, here's the specs of my current build and a picture:

 

 

Intel Core I7 2600K @ 4.5ghz cooled by Prolimatech Megahalems + scythe s flex fan in push)12GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3 ram @1600 mhz  (2x4gb 2X2gb dims)EVGA GTX 780 Ti (Cooled by a NZXT X40 140 AIO cooler 140mm fan in pull. with the NZXT G10 bracket) Evga ACX top plate installed to somewhat help with cooling vram and vrm's.ASUS P8P67 Pro (REV 3.1)Corsair Air 540 Corsair RM750 Gold PSUHDD#1 Samsung 840 Pro 128gb SSDHDD#2 Western Digital 500GB 7200RPM 16mb cacheHDD#3 1TB Western Digital Green 7200RPM 32mb cacheLG Sata Blu ray reader.Dell S2340M 23" LED 1920x1080Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bitCorsair K70 MX Blue'sSteelseries SenseiLogitech G230 headsetLogitech Z506 5.1 Speakers

my current idea was to do close if not the same as this user did on overclock.net (pictures of his build are in the thread) i would love to do all angles with fittings and just keep the tubing straight but i dont have the money for all the extra fittings and adapters needed to do that.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1419570/build-log-watercooled-corsair-carbide-air-540-intel-i7-3930k-crossfire-7970

currently these are the parts that i have bought already.

1 x	Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper 360mm	1 x	Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 Full Copper 240mm	1 x	EK-D5 Vario X-RES 140 (incl. pump)	1 x	EK-FC780 GTX Ti - Nickel	1 x	EK-FC780 GTX Ti Reinforcer - Black1 x     EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ - Nickel + Plexi

 

360 will be going in the front of the case and the 240 will go on the top. 

 here are the parts that i need to order

4X Bitspower G1/4 Thread 7/16" ID x 5/8" OD Compression Fitting3X Bitspower G1/4 Thread 7/16" ID x 5/8" OD 45-Degree Rotary Compression Fitting 3X Bitspower G1/4 Thread 7/16" ID x 5/8" OD 90-Degree Rotary Compression Fitting1x Mayhems Pastel Coolant Concentrate - 250mL - Blue Berry (do i need to buy another or 1 should be enough?PrimoChill PrimoFlex Advanced LRT Tubing 7/16"ID x 5/8" OD - 10ft Retail Pack - Clear (again is 10ft enough for what im doing in this case?) parts for bleed valve (will go on bottom of 360 rad in front. 1X Bitspower Rotary Fitting "Q" - 360 Degree Water Cooling Accessory - Black Matte Finish2X Bitspower G1/4" Stop Fitting with O-ring - Black Matte Finish1x Bitspower BP-MVV-BK Mini-Valve - Black Sparkle1x Bitspower G1/4" Matte Black Male to Male Rotary AdapterFans: please read below. either getting Corsair SP120 quiet editions or Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP-13 (1150RPM)  getting 5 of either. depending on the noise level and if im able to do pull configs without the fan getting noisy (some fans dont like being in pull configs) 

so here are a few things i need help with.

 

with the coolant being a Concentrate, do i just mix it with distilled water? or do i need to buy a special coolant? being that the Mayhems Pastel Coolant Concentrate has all the aditives, i would think all i need to do is mix it with distilled water right? 

 

as for fans. im not sure on how to configure them. i was going to just do push (or pull) with the front 360 rad but i didnt think that it would be a good idea to have the warm are coming from that rad INTO the case? should i have them intake and have the top rad exhaust? and have the back fan intake? so front and back are intake and top exhaust? what would be best? or should i have the back and top intake and the front 360 rad be the exhaust?  whats your thoughts. i would like to try to keep the rads in a pull config just for easy cleaning and dust removal (if needed) unless someone can convince me that having them in push is a better idea. 

 

IF you guys want to have a visual of how im going to mount the rads and the pump. take a look at the link above that i posted (from the build someone did on overclock.net (here it is again if you are lazy to find that link http://www.overclock.net/t/1419570/build-log-watercooled-corsair-carbide-air-540-intel-i7-3930k-crossfire-7970)  as for fans. what are best. i dont care about looks to much as long as they are quiet, and perform good. and are cheap. granted being that im going all out with bitspower fittings i guess i mind as well go all out on decent fans but would like to not spend over 100 bucks on 5 fans. 

well thats all i can think of right now . sorry for the essay lol. lmk what you guys think of what i picked out. i hope  that rads i bought are Ok for a single loop for my 2600K and 780 TI. i've read that the  FPI on them are 10 which i guess is low but being that im new im not sure if thats a good or bad thing. i've read that low would be good for quiet / low rpm fans (which i want.) but you loose cooling performance. but how much would i be loosing? 

For the coolant you get distilled water. you use one bottle of concentrate and fill with distilled water until you have one liter. as for fans the way i have it set up in my air 540 right now is the front and top are intake (filtered) with the rear as an exhaust thus giving positive pressure and near dead silent. as for cooling lost in low fpi rads im not totally sure but from what i have read up on it myself its only a few degrees and unless your doing some seriously heavy overclocks you probably wont care.

[Valkyrie743]

For the coolant you get distilled water. you use one bottle of concentrate and fill with distilled water until you have one liter. as for fans the way i have it set up in my air 540 right now is the front and top are intake (filtered) with the rear as an exhaust thus giving positive pressure and near dead silent. as for cooling lost in low fpi rads im not totally sure but from what i have read up on it myself its only a few degrees and unless your doing some seriously heavy overclocks you probably wont care.

 

 

awesome. i thought i would be loosing 10C or so of cooling potential. as for the coolant, how many liters did you use to fill your set up? do you think i can get by with just 1 liter? 

[xToFxREAPER]

awesome. i thought i would be loosing 10C or so of cooling potential. as for the coolant, how many liters did you use to fill your set up? do you think i can get by with just 1 liter? 

yeah you easily can unless you have a crazy huge res. im running 2 gpu's blocks 2 rads one is extra thick and a smallish res and used about half a litre. i ordered a second liter for later down the road when i want to flush and refill my loop.