Water Cooling Questions

[Kruziik_Kel]

I've elected to upgrade my rig with my first liquid cooling set up later in the year (likely November/December) and have begun some basic planning id like to think I have a decent enough knowledge of the components I need but ive come across a few things im not 100% sure about

 

1. Mixing Metals

Now I know this is generally not a good idea particularly with Silver and Nickel or Aluminium and bare Copper or Brass but would there be an issue with Copper and Nickel plated Copper? The reason I ask is I was looking to use an Asus DCII 7970 being that its cheaper than a reference design and use one of EK's blocks but I cant find the Copper based version anywhere only the Nickel plated version would this be fine to use with a Copper CPU Block/Copper Rads?

 

2. EK's Nickel Plating 

And on the subject I know EK had some issues with their Nickel plating a while back from what I understand this has been fixed can anyone confirm this?

 

3. Push Pull or Push

I was planning on using an Alphacool Monsta 240mm in the front of an Arc XL and being so thick I had considered a Push Pull setup using Corsair SP120 Quiet Editions would it be worth it or would Push just as effective?

 

4. Which DDC

I was planning on using an EK Laing DDC X-Res Pump Top with a DDC Pump being that I see anywhere id put a D5 and a Tube Reservoir in the Arc XL without causing obstruction to cable routing and I remember reading that with certain pumps some pump top reservoirs like this may require active cooling is there any truth to this and if so would an MCP350 be fine?

 

5. Quick Disconnects 

I get the idea behind these fittings and have considered using them on the GPU block being the component move likely to be changed to save me having to completely drain and refill the loop but I cant see a G1/4 thread on any of the fittings to connect to the component am I just being blind? 

 

6. Compression vs Barb + Clamp

From what I understand the differences between these 2 types of fitting dont extend much beyond looks though I have heard that Compression fittings hole the tubing better and are less likely to leak particularly with people new to water cooling would this be correct?

 

7. Component Choices 

So I thought I might as well run my list of components as it is now by some people more experienced than I to get some opinions 

 

CPU Block: EK Supremacy Clean CSQ Copper/Acetal or an XSPC Raystorm 

 

GPU Block: EK FC7970 DCII 

 

Reservoir: EK Laing DDC X-Res Pump Top 140

 

Pump: Swiftech MCP350 (Laing DDC)

 

Fittings: Bitspower G1/4" Thread Compression Fitting for 5/8"OD 3/8"ID Tubing and possibly a pair of Koolance Quick Disconnects 

 

Front Radiator: Alphacool NeXXos Monsta 240mm 

 

Top Radiator: Alphacool NeXXos ST30 240mm

 

Fans: Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition or the black NF-F12s if I can get them  

 

Tubing: XSPC 5/8"OD 3/8"ID High Flex Tubing 

 

Coolant: XSPC EC6 Non Conductive Coolant

 

Case: Fractal Design Arc XL

 

 

[Oxide]

1. Copper+Nickel=Mostly Fine http://martinsliquidlab.org/2012/01/24/corrosion-explored/

2. Apparently EK have fixed their Nickel plating issues. Currently have the same DCII nickel block that you're looking at.

3. Not to sure for Monsta. Since its thicker maybe it benefits from push + pull. Check the Watercooling FAQ

4. DDC does run hotter than D5. Some people place heatsinks on it to keep it cool. Should be fine if you have some sort of airflow.

5. Some of the QDCs have threads while some have the barb/compression. http://www.frozencpu.com/products/20106/koo-368/Koolance_QD3_Quick_Disconnect_No-Spill_Coupling_Female_Threaded_G_14_BSPP_-_Black_QD3-FG4-BK.html?tl=g30c405 is an example of a QDC with G 1/4 thread.

6. Read somewhere that barbs are better than compressions. Most guides say compressions are easier.

7. Go with different tubing? Might have plasticiser problems. Not too sure. Other then that it looks fine.

[Kruziik_Kel]

Thanks for the help managed to track down a pair of the new Black QDCs for a fairly reasonable price with the G1/4 on the male and compression on female

So because the EC6 coolant contains inhibitors it should be fine with the mix of copper and nickel which has a low corosion potential to being with? at least that was my interpretation of it

And I'll look further into the tubing as well as the push pull on the Monsta

[R4STABAN]

QDCs with threads are for attaching to bulkhead fittings imo. If you attach qdcs directly to cards you need to be very careful when separating the qdc so as not to damage the pci-e interface

[Kruziik_Kel]

QDCs with threads are for attaching to bulkhead fittings imo. If you attach qdcs directly to cards you need to be very careful when separating the qdc so as not to damage the pci-e interface

 

I will keep that in mind thanks

 

does anyone know the size of the barbs on the Maximus V Formula are? im generally seeing people say 3/8" but nothing conclusive and unless im being blind it is not in the users manual 

 

EDIT

 

Looked some more into issues with the XSPC hose and it looks like the cheap stuff they include with their kits is prone to plasticiser problems while the tubing you can buy separately seems to be ok though ive heard great things about Masterkleer and Durelene any of you have experience with either of these?

[RaphYkun]

Compression fittings shouldn't be any worse than barbs considering that's the technology used on high pressure fuel lines in sports cars. A potential issue people might have (especially newbies) with compression fittings is making sure the outer diameter (OD) is the right size as well (and that they are secured tightly). With Barbs, you can chose wtv hose has the appropriate ID and just run with it.

 

[Kruziik_Kel]

Compression fittings shouldn't be any worse than barbs considering that's the technology used on high pressure fuel lines in sports cars. A potential issue people might have (especially newbies) with compression fittings is making sure the outer diameter (OD) is the right size as well (and that they are secured tightly). With Barbs, you can chose wtv hose has the appropriate ID and just run with it.

 

 

 

I can see a lot of people glossing over that detail considering ive seen people order an intel a CPU and an AMD board before (or the reverse though in saying that ive seen wirse) I have looked at some barbs but as it stands ill probably stick with either Bitspower or Monsoon compression fittings 

 

Anyone have experience with Masterkleer or Durelene? ive heard great things about both and the clear Masterkleer is fairly cheap for some 7/16"ID 5/8" OD (the fittings are a little more but it works out to a similar cost as 3/8"ID 5/8"OD) and I cant seem to find Durelene in the UK

[Vitalius]

I can see a lot of people glossing over that detail considering ive seen people order an intel a CPU and an AMD board before (or the reverse though in saying that ive seen wirse) I have looked at some barbs but as it stands ill probably stick with either Bitspower or Monsoon compression fittings 

 

Anyone have experience with Masterkleer or Durelene? ive heard great things about both and the clear Masterkleer is fairly cheap for some 7/16"ID 5/8" OD (the fittings are a little more but it works out to a similar cost as 3/8"ID 5/8"OD) and I cant seem to find Durelene in the UK

The only danger with Compression fittings is that if you tighten the compression too much, it will cut the tube (thereby making a leak far more likely to happen) and it's hard to tell when that point is.  You want it tight, but not "I can't tighten it anymore with just my hand" tight. You also don't want to under tighten it for the same reason (leaks, not cutting the tube). It's finding the balance that can sometimes be hard.

If the ID and OD are the same with the compression fittings, then everything else is fine as well.

Just tighten them as much as you can with your hand (don't go crazy), then get a cloth or something and a wrench or wtv and give it a quarter turn to finish it off. Put the cloth on the compression and then use the wrench to tighten it. You need the cloth to prevent chipping or messing up the fittings' appearance. Any more and you'd be in the danger area I think.