Help me with a custom loop. $1000 limit.

[RavagedOsiris]

I see that doing custom loops require quite a bit of parts, and I'm honestly not too experienced with it. I originally wasn't going to do this, because my graphics card didn't have a waterblock for it, the 980 TI Matrix. But I found this tonight, 980 TI Matrix Waterblock.  Hopefully I can get some input on this block from one of you guys. 

 

So I feel like my price limit is pretty decent for this.  And I'm ready to start trying to delve into it.  

 

The only site I'm really family with is ekwb, so it'd be cool being able to order all from them, unless there's any reason not to in regards to quality.  

 

Hardware: Case is a 750D, i5 6600K, Maximus VIII Hero Alpha, 980 Ti Matrix. 

 

It'd be cool if I could go with a darker them, like black/dark metal colored fittings.  Preferably a matte color if possible.  And glass/hard tubing.  I want whatever reservoir/pump that's best.  I also wouldn't mind going over the budget, but no more than $1500 max.  

 

Any help is greatly appreciated, and sorry if it's a lot to ask, just don't really wanna mess this up. 

[loony979]

4 hours ago, RavagedOsiris said:

 

Iwas in the same position as you and didnt know where to start ,so then i kept looking on youtube and seen that jayztwocents did a review on a kit from ek. it has everything (just about to get started) minus 1 very important thing that's a drain port/tap. i got the Extreme 240 .there is also other kits just make sure you get the one that looks cool and with that said a rad that will fit in the case. watch his vid it got me started . ill even link it.

With this said i now know what to work with and yes it's soft tubing but really at the end of the day soft tubing can also have a nice look to it ,this is where 90 degree fittings will come to play .here is the link.

Or this 1 i got - EXTREME 240 ,i simply got this and was like ok sick now i know things . Hell if you go with a kit you will also have a crap ton of money left to say get better fans nicer looking fans ,for me myself i personally love Bitfenix fans ,many will say YOU MUST use SP fans and not AF fans ,this srsly depends on what you are doing and what you are doing with it and also how YOU want it to be . Build it the way YOU like it to be this is only a Sample of what you can do .So go look around and see for you're self what you like. As i said i love EK stuff so easy to play around with. Makes it better as well when you have a decent big case to play with. So if you need more advice others will help you i can post again all good .I don't mind and yes i am not a Professional . i just went well what the hell - lets do it. i did worked rather well. P.S. can get addictive. lol.

[RavagedOsiris]

2 minutes ago, loony979 said:

Iwas in the same position as you and didnt know where to start ,so then i kept looking on youtube and seen that jayztwocents did a review on a kit from ek. it has everything (just about to get started) minus 1 very important thing that's a drain port/tap. i got the Extreme 240 .there is also other kits just make sure you get the one that looks cool and with that said a rad that will fit in the case. watch his vid it got me started.

Yeah I've seen those kits and they look cool, I'd just want a larger reservoir and go for a hard tubing with everything connected, and wanted to connect the GPU into the loop as well, that kit doesn't really include anything for that part.  Love jay's videos though. 

 

And it's not really about saving money or anything.  I have several EK Vardar FF4 140mm 2500 RPM Fans.  Because when building my computer I accidentally double ordered, just return processes aren't really worth going through.  

 

I think my problem mainly lies with the fittings, it's kinda the whole sizing thing too, since a lot of the fittings have different sizes.  I'm not really sure what I need in terms of fittings and stuff for the tubing to connect to each segment in general. 

 

I probably would go with that kit if I can't get a setup in topic though. 

[Carclis]

Most water cooling parts can easily be mixed an matched as they use G1/4 threads although there are a few metals to look out for as to avoid corrosion (I'm not 100% on that one). As long as you use tubing that matches the size of your fittings you'll be fine also.

 

To get started I'd recommend you pick out the fittings that look best to you. Generally most people prefer compression fittings over barbs because they don't look tacky and they would fit well within your budget. If you're after darker coloured fittings I'd suggest EK's black fittings which have a matte finish https://www.pccasegear.com/products/32393/ek-acf-13-19mm-compression-fitting-black. Alternatively you could go with https://www.pccasegear.com/products/30783/ek-acf-13-19mm-compression-fitting-black-nickel which are more metallic.

 

As for radiators it looks like your case can support a 240/280mm radiator at the front and a 360mm radiator at the top but it would be a good idea to check clearances because you might have to end up cutting your case to make space for the tubing connects. It's up to you what thickness to choose although I would suggest the standard 40mm to maxmise compatibility later.

 

Let us know what parts you're keen on and we can help you from there.

[Limecat86]

EK's stuff is pretty good. But you want to start your first loop with hardline? It's better to start with soft tubing as it easier to play with when routing your loop.

I would suggest this kit: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-kit-p360 and 2 extra fittings for the GPU block (Which one do you have? There are 2 versions of this card).

 

You can always switch to hardline tubing later on.

 

[fehllyy]

okay, If you want an easy one, check out these

You can easily change any parts if desired, and ek-wb is a very good brand from what I know.

 

[RavagedOsiris]

1 hour ago, Limecat86 said:

EK's stuff is pretty good. But you want to start your first loop with hardline? It's better to start with soft tubing as it easier to play with when routing your loop.

I would suggest this kit: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-kit-p360 and 2 extra fittings for the GPU block (Which one do you have? There are 2 versions of this card).

 

You can always switch to hardline tubing later on.

 

This is the card that I have from newegg, 980 ti Matrix , with this waterblock Matrix Waterblock. Shows it should work on the site.  

 

I'll go with soft tubing, because you guys are right, it'd be a lot easier than hard tubing, but not really liking the feel of the kits.  Just not really what I'm looking for.  

 

Was thinking about these parts for the system.

Reservoir

CPU Block

280 Radiator in front of case

420 Radiator in top of case.  I know it should fit in the top where the expansion bays are.  

EK Vardar FF4 Fans I'd just need to pick up one more of these

Compression Fittings I'd need 10 of these, if it's two radiators, CPU, GPU, and reservoir right?

Tubing

 

Would I need tube clamps for this?  Otherwise the only other thing I'd need I believe would be the pump, and I don't really know anything about these.  

 

How does this look to you guys? And what am I missing?

[Limecat86]

Yes, with that card the waterblock should fit.

Fittings and tubing are good too. But you would need 12 fittings (2 extra for pump. Unless you go with a pump res combo)

[RavagedOsiris]

2 minutes ago, Limecat86 said:

Yes, with that card the waterblock should fit.

Fittings and tubing are good too. But you would need 12 fittings (2 extra for pump. Unless you go with a pump res combo)

Alright cool. So two more fittings and a pump and I should be good. 

 

And looked it up. I don't need clamps with compression. Only if I go barb. 

 

What would be your recommendation for a pump? Kinda lost on those. 

[Limecat86]

Forgotten to add in my previous post

 

I would suggest getting a D5 from EK.

Perhaps something like this one: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-xtop-revo-d5-pwm-incl-pump

Or this one so you don't need a reservoir and the 2 extra fittings: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-xres-140-revo-d5-pwm-incl-pump

 

Oh and you might need a mounting bracket. https://www.ekwb.com/shop/pumps/d5-series/holders-brackets

[Lurick]

I wanted to throw in a suggestion as well since I didn't see it mentioned already. As far as tubing goes try to do rough measurements of everything to get an idea of what you'll need and then double that so you have extra. I also didn't see any coolant listed so wasn't sure if you're going for distilled water and adding the chemicals or something different.

[Carclis]

Last thing i would recommend is a drain port to set up at the lowest point in your loop. I'd suggest something like these

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-af-extender-6mm-m-m-black

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-af-ball-valve-10mm-g1-4-black

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-csq-plug-g1-4-for-ek-badge-black

 

This makes it easy to drain your loop when the fluid needs to be changed or if you are adding new hardware.

[RavagedOsiris]

15 minutes ago, Carclis said:

Last thing i would recommend is a drain port to set up at the lowest point in your loop. I'd suggest something like these

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-af-extender-6mm-m-m-black

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-af-ball-valve-10mm-g1-4-black

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-csq-plug-g1-4-for-ek-badge-black

 

This makes it easy to drain your loop when the fluid needs to be changed or if you are adding new hardware.

Thanks! I had completely forgotten about that.  I remember them mentioned and just skipped my mind.  

 

One last question.  Would there be any benefit of going for a monoblock for my board rather than just a CPU block? Hero Alpha Monoblock

 

Edit: Just realized, most people who have my case, they put the Reservoir to the right of the MoBo, but It looks like my Graphics Card extends to where most people put it. I'll probably end up taking out my expansion bays. 

[Carclis]

23 minutes ago, RavagedOsiris said:

Thanks! I had completely forgotten about that.  I remember them mentioned and just skipped my mind.  

 

One last question.  Would there be any benefit of going for a monoblock for my board rather than just a CPU block? Hero Alpha Monoblock

 

Edit: Just realized, most people who have my case, they put the Reservoir to the right of the MoBo, but It looks like my Graphics Card extends to where most people put it. I'll probably end up taking out my expansion bays. 

For the monoblock that is completely up to you. I don't think most high-end motherboards really need to be water cooled even with high overclocks. It came down to aesthetics for me and in the end I preferred the colour scheme of my XPOWER Titanium.

 

As for the reservoir, you would probably need to remove all the HDD cages and ghetto mount the HDD's somewhere in the case. Did you check whether the reservoir fits underneath the 5.25' bays?

 

I would also double check that a 420mm rad will fit at the top of the case as the ports where you attach your fittings extend even further out making it more realistically 450mm or thereabouts.

[RavagedOsiris]

14 minutes ago, Carclis said:

For the monoblock that is completely up to you. I don't think most high-end motherboards really need to be water cooled even with high overclocks. It came down to aesthetics for me and in the end I preferred the colour scheme of my XPOWER Titanium.

 

As for the reservoir, you would probably need to remove all the HDD cages and ghetto mount the HDD's somewhere in the case. Did you check whether the reservoir fits underneath the 5.25' bays?

 

I would also double check that a 420mm rad will fit at the top of the case as the ports where you attach your fittings extend even further out making it more realistically 450mm or thereabouts.

Yeah I'm gonna stick to just the CPU block instead of monoblock.  

 

I can remove the HDD cages and could put the reservoir in their place, then mount a hard drive where the expansion bays are, it'll have the clearance even with the 420mm Radiator up there.  

 

I'll have to do measurements later before I start ordering everything.  But everything should fit without issue.