My first Water Cooling Loop

[RockstarX74]

I'm building a new system from the ground up with the intention of overclocking and water cooling.  Here are the details I have set in stone at the moment:

 

Main Components:

Case: Cooler Master CM Storm Stryker

CPU: Intel Core i7 4770K

RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro Red 

MB: ASUS Maximus VI Formula

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Dual Classified Hydro Copper

SSD: OCZ Vector 120GB

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 3TB

PSU: XFX PRO1000W Ltd Black Edition

 

Cooling:

Water Block: Apogee Drive II

Tubing: PrimoChill PRIMOFLEX™ Advanced LRT™ Crystal Clear 1/2 in 3/4 OD

Fittings: Compression

 

The 3 main components I'll be cooling with this loop will be the CPU, GPU, and MB. 

 

There are a few issues I'm having at the moment:

1 - Go with 2 dual 120mm rads with res and pump built in or go with bare bones rads, pump and res.

2 - Which Rads to get. I'm leaning towards Swiftech but there selection is limited on NCIX and non existent at any other Computer related sites I've found that sell Water cooling components in Canada. I really don't want to have to order out of the US.

3 - Which fans to use for the rads to give the best cooling.

4 - Water coolant I want the best all in one out there. I don't want to have to add a whack-load of additives to prevent issues that can arise.

 

Basically, I'm looking for some experienced recommendations, and hopefully someone out there has done water cooling with the CM Storm Stryker case and can share some tips etc.

 

 

[criso8]

you might want to check this out.

[RockstarX74]

I'm one of the ones mentioned in Linus's video that is very visually oriented... I love the look and features of the Formula so I chose it. I'm well aware that I could achieve the same performance from a cheaper MB.  I just don't care for the looks and features of cheaper MB's.

[Ghost]

There are a few issues I'm having at the moment:

1 - Go with 2 dual 120mm rads with res and pump built in or go with bare bones rads, pump and res.

2 - Which Rads to get. I'm leaning towards Swiftech but there selection is limited on NCIX and non existent at any other Computer related sites I've found that sell Water cooling components in Canada. I really don't want to have to order out of the US.

3 - Which fans to use for the rads to give the best cooling.

4 - Water coolant I want the best all in one out there. I don't want to have to add a whack-load of additives to prevent issues that can arise.

 

Basically, I'm looking for some experienced recommendations, and hopefully someone out there has done water cooling with the CM Storm Stryker case and can share some tips etc.

1- Its always best to separate your components, makes upgrading easier and you tend to get better performance when they are separate.

 

2- No one radiator is better than other radiators. They differ in performance by insignificant amounts. When picking a radiator pick it based on most importantly dimensions, then looks and features. And bear in mind that although more expensive things tend to perform better as a rule of the world in radiators this performance increase is very small.

 

Check what your case can accept and pick the biggest rad you can fit if you want the best performance. By extension of this I will explain FPI. FPI (Fins per inch) is a measure of how many cooling fins there are in a radiator. As a rule of thumb thicker radiators have lower FPI. Low FPI is good because fans can run slower and push the same amount of air through. Slow running fans are quieter but they also mean you can ramp them up if you need it.

 

So pick as thick a radiator as you can get, with features you like, at as low a price as you can get when choosing radiators. 

 

Go to the FAQ for a list of water cooling sites you should be looking to buy from.

 

3 - For low RPMs; Noctua NF F12s. For mid-high RPMs Scythe gentle typhoons. If you're going to run with 480mm of rad space you will be better with the typhoons.

 

4 - EK and XSPC coolants are among the most stable coolants for watercooling. If you want your system to last go with them. Mayhems Pastel range is best in terms of looks but is known to have issues.

[RockstarX74]

1- Its always best to separate your components, makes upgrading easier and you tend to get better performance when they are separate.

 

2- No one radiator is better than other radiators. They differ in performance by insignificant amounts. When picking a radiator pick it based on most importantly dimensions, then looks and features. And bear in mind that although more expensive things tend to perform better as a rule of the world in radiators this performance increase is very small.

 

Check what your case can accept and pick the biggest rad you can fit if you want the best performance. By extension of this I will explain FPI. FPI (Fins per inch) is a measure of how many cooling fins there are in a radiator. As a rule of thumb thicker radiators have lower FPI. Low FPI is good because fans can run slower and push the same amount of air through. Slow running fans are quieter but they also mean you can ramp them up if you need it.

 

So pick as thick a radiator as you can get, with features you like, at as low a price as you can get when choosing radiators. 

 

Go to the FAQ for a list of water cooling sites you should be looking to buy from.

 

3 - For low RPMs; Noctua NF F12s. For mid-high RPMs Scythe gentle typhoons. If you're going to run with 480mm of rad space you will be better with the typhoons.

 

4 - EK and XSPC coolants are among the most stable coolants for watercooling. If you want your system to last go with them. Mayhems Pastel range is best in terms of looks but is known to have issues.

 

Thanks for the input. this helps a lot.  I do have one question atm.  I want to be able to control the fans through my MB software but the gentle typhoons, from what I've read, have an inherent habit of burning out the fan headers on MB's because of their starting amperage being so close to normal MB fan header threshold of 1A.  Is there a way to work around this and still allow the MB to adjust the fan speed according to load?

[Ghost]

Thanks for the input. this helps a lot.  I do have one question atm.  I want to be able to control the fans through my MB software but the gentle typhoons, from what I've read, have an inherent habit of burning out the fan headers on MB's because of their starting amperage being so close to normal MB fan header threshold of 1A.  Is there a way to work around this and still allow the MB to adjust the fan speed according to load?

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=19438698

 

It's 0.36 Amps per fan. i think they explain it quite well in that thread. I would only start to worry if you plug more than 3 into one header.

[felixbearpig]

I'm one of the ones mentioned in Linus's video that is very visually oriented... I love the look and features of the Formula so I chose it. I'm well aware that I could achieve the same performance from a cheaper MB.  I just don't care for the looks and features of cheaper MB's.

i like your style man, the formula is a beautiful board

[RockstarX74]

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?p=19438698

 

It's 0.36 Amps per fan. i think they explain it quite well in that thread. I would only start to worry if you plug more than 3 into one header.

 

Thanks,  The Formula has 8 fan connectors on board so there's no need to connect all 4 fans for the rads into one header.  I can use a couple split connectors and connect 2 to the Main CPU fan header and 2 to the CPU Opt fan header.

[RockstarX74]

i like your style man, the formula is a beautiful board

 

Thanks, That it is!

 

Now if only Cooler Master would come out with a Black and Red case in their CM Storm series I'd be in heaven!

[RockstarX74]

Has anyone ever used the "Silverstone Air Penetrator" fan series in their builds?

[Crion]

Linus has used them for years and swears by them.  I've used them in several builds I've done and they seem to do an ok job while maintaining silence. 

[RockstarX74]

Linus has used them for years and swears by them.  I've used them in several builds I've done and they seem to do an ok job while maintaining silence. 

 

Yeah i seen Linus use them in one of his water cooling vids, kind of the reason I was asking. I like the idea of directed airflow, just not the low rpm. but then again I'm going to using two 240mm rads to cool my cpu and gpu in a single loop and I do recall reading somewhere that the more rad space you have the less rpms needed.