Three AIO's in one system

[milk_toad]

So I have a Phantom 410 case (white, if you care), and am looking to water cool inside of it.  I have an AMD FX 8350 Black Edition, and 2 HIS 7870's.   Because water blocks for 7870's are expensive and not really worth it for a couple of cards I'll be replacing within the next couple of years, really, I've come up with a way to avoid having to get them.

 

My plan is to get three cpu AIO coolers and two of those NZXT Kraken G10 brackets and attach two of the coolers to my GPU's. 

 

In doing this, I hope to :

A) Save some money

B) Spend the money I spend over a long period of time, thus reducing the financial hit

C) Leave myself open to upgrade more freely, as the G10 brackets fit a LOT of cards

D) Have an interesting setup, because that shit'll be tight (hopefully)

 

Questions for the forum:

1) Do you think this is a good idea?

2) What config do you think I should get? (I'm thinking a dual rad for the cpu and two singles of the gpu's)

3) Are there any modifications to this plan that you would like to suggest.

 

Thanks a bunch, guys.

(BTW, this is my first time posting on here so if I'm breaking some unwritten rule, please let me know)

[Trav_X]

I think it would look pretty dope. Practical, well, it's cheaper than getting a full custom loop, and probably less errors. But aesthetics wise, it would probably not look as cool as a full loop, and I don't know if the shit ton of tubes will clock up some space, but I think it would work. 

 

Maybe a 240 on CPU and two 120's on the GPU's? Or just a 120 on the CPU and dual 240's for each GPU? 

[79wjd]

If it were me personally I would upgrade the hardware instead of water cooling it, but if you want to do it for the hell of water cooling, then so be it -- I would do a 240/280 for the cpu and 120/140s on the gpus. 

[givegomezthegun]

Are 2 7870 waterblocks more expensive than 2 aio coolers and 2 brackets?

 

Depending on when you are planning upgrades, it might be better to just save your money and invest it into the actual upgrades later on.  I generally don't recommend unnecessary water cooling until you have the best hardware, because to me it makes more sense to spend the money on the performance.. 

 

Anyway.. however you want it to happen, I would definitely get a cooler with a 240/280 or bigger rad for your cpu.. the gpu's could use 120/140 each.  I'm not familiar with your case so I can't say that they would all fit, or fit in locations that you could actually use them, so you'll want to make sure that works out as well.

[milk_toad]

1 hour ago, Trav_X said:

Maybe a 240 on CPU and two 120's on the GPU's? Or just a 120 on the CPU and dual 240's for each GPU? 

When you say 240, do you mean a 120 with a thick rad?  Because I'm not sure I've heard of 240 mm fans. 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, djdwosk97 said:

If it were me personally I would upgrade the hardware instead of water cooling it, but if you want to do it for the hell of water cooling, then so be it -- I would do a 240/280 for the cpu and 120/140s on the gpus. 

Well the second 7870 WAS the upgrade. You see, during summer I work in a steel factory, and don't get much money weekly, right?  Also, I am putting money away to keep paying for college.  So it takes me a long time to save up enough to get bangin' shit, so I'm trying to get all of the "little" optimizations/upgrades out of the way first.  Also, I really love working on my computer, as I'm sure we all do, and this way I get to install stuff on three separate occasions. 

 

However, I'm curios, what would you suggest I upgrade? 

[Trav_X]

5 minutes ago, milk_toad said:

When you say 240, do you mean a 120 with a thick rad?  Because I'm not sure I've heard of 240 mm fans. 

 

 

No, it's two 120mm fans next to each other. They usually have a lot better cooling capacity than 120 alone, but 120's are still good.

[milk_toad]

7 minutes ago, givegomezthegun said:

Are 2 7870 waterblocks more expensive than 2 aio coolers and 2 brackets?

Well, the most common price I find for a 7870 block is 100, right?  

I have found acceptable coolers (used because I am a laboring peasant) for around 30, and the bracket is 30.

 

Also, the bracket/cooler combo can be reused, so if I get a new card/cards, I won't have to buy a new block. 

Another thing is, if I get a new card and choose to do a custom loop with that one, I can use the old setup in a computer I'm building for my dad.