First custom waterloop

[Alesek]

Hey everyone! 

So I finally decided to to build my first custom waterloop (damn you Jay) mainly for the fun factor of building it. I am planning on overclocking as much as it will go while keeping it dead quiet. I have Fractal Design Define S, i7-6700k, Gigabyte GTX 1080 G1 Gaming. I am thinking of buying the EK-KIT X360 and the EK waterblock for my GPU, however I have two questions:

 

1. is the thick 360 rad gonna be able to cool both overclocked 6700k and gtx 1080? If not, I can add another rad, however I would have to open the top of the case and that looks fugly (plus i use my pc as a night stand too and i dont want to drop anything in there  ) or I could leave my nh-d15 on it as it is currectly @4.7ghz and it doesnt go over 60 degrees and 50% fans in AIDA.

2. are the EK fans and pump included in the kit silent or should I buy it separately and get different fans/pump?

 

In the future, I am planning on expanding this loop - adding one more gtx 1080, adding one more big rad, and hopefully make it my DIY wallmounted build. But that is not going to happen for some time.

 

 

 

 

 

[atomicus]

You will not have a silent system with the one rad. It's enough to cool it, but the fans won't be running at a low enough speed to make it quiet. Best to get another 360 rad if you can.

[Alesek]

5 minutes ago, atomicus said:

You will not have a silent system with the one rad. It's enough to cool it, but the fans won't be running at a low enough speed to make it quiet. Best to get another 360 rad if you can.

Okay, that's what I thought. I am guessing one 140 rad in the back won't help much, is it? I really don't feel like opening the top of not necessary but seems like I will have to.

 

Is the pump included in the kit enough for the whole loop with 2 rads?

Do you know how good(quiet) are the EK fans? Too many questions

[atomicus]

A 140 won't really be enough no... better, but not enough if you want quiet.

 

The pump is enough yes.

 

The fans are very good fans and quiet, but not silent.. ultimately it's somewhat of a subjective thing as to what level of noise is acceptable to you, but with 6 of them in your system on x2 rads, you should be able to have them running at a low enough RPM to be satisfied.

[Curufinwe_wins]

33 minutes ago, atomicus said:

You will not have a silent system with the one rad. It's enough to cool it, but the fans won't be running at a low enough speed to make it quiet. Best to get another 360 rad if you can.

I don't know where you are getting that from as I have previously commented with you. I have two 980ti's running bios modded and a 5820k significantly overclocked and on only a med 280 and thin 420 rad, and I can keep all my fans below 600 rpm even under load. A single one of my 980tis consumes more power than a 6700k and 1080 would combined. A 360 rad should be perfectly good enough to get low speed if temps around 60C are acceptable.

23 minutes ago, Alesek said:

Okay, that's what I thought. I am guessing one 140 rad in the back won't help much, is it? I really don't feel like opening the top of not necessary but seems like I will have to.

 

Is the pump included in the kit enough for the whole loop with 2 rads?

Do you know how good(quiet) are the EK fans? Too many questions

I am using your same case, you can take a look at what I did in my sig if you want, but honestly it isn't needed.

 

The EK vardar fans are arguably the best on the market at perf per noise when used with rads, although I should let you know a 280 rad is often as good or better performance than a 360 rad while being notably more quiet (because only a 10% surface area difference and a very large improvement in fans moving up to 140mm).

[atomicus]

50 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

I don't know where you are getting that from as I have previously commented with you. I have two 980ti's running bios modded and a 5820k significantly overclocked and on only a med 280 and thin 420 rad, and I can keep all my fans below 600 rpm even under load. A single one of my 980tis consumes more power than a 6700k and 1080 would combined. A 360 rad should be perfectly good enough to get low speed if temps around 60C are acceptable.

I am using your same case, you can take a look at what I did in my sig if you want, but honestly it isn't needed.

 

You have a 280 AND a 420? So x5 140mm fans? That's quite a different scenario to OPs initial proposal of only x3 120mm fans.

 

[Curufinwe_wins]

5 minutes ago, atomicus said:

 

You have a 280 AND a 420? So x5 140mm fans? That's quite a different scenario to OPs initial proposal of only x3 120mm fans.

 

A thin 420, and that is for a 750W+ thermal load. Not a 250-300W thermal load that a 6700k and a 1080 would push. As I explicitly stated, ONE of my 980tis in their current state requires more cooling power than the entire loop he is proposing.

[atomicus]

8 minutes ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

A thin 420, and that is for a 750W+ thermal load. Not a 250-300W thermal load that a 6700k and a 1080 would push. As I explicitly stated, ONE of my 980tis in their current state requires more cooling power than the entire loop he is proposing.

 

But he doesn't have a thin rad. If he's getting the X360 kit that has a thick 64mm EK-CoolStream XE 360 rad in there, which WON'T take kindly to running only 3 fans at very low RPM speeds (not for good temps on any CPU+GPU loop). If he only wanted one rad, he would fair better with a thinner rad optimised for low RPM fan speeds. He'll still be better off with x2 rads though, it will enable the lowest fan speeds for the best temps, and if he's expanding in the future with another GPU, it would be necessary then anyway, so best to do it now just for ease and overall performance.

[Curufinwe_wins]

30 minutes ago, atomicus said:

 

But he doesn't have a thin rad. If he's getting the X360 kit that has a thick 64mm EK-CoolStream XE 360 rad in there, which WON'T take kindly to running only 3 fans at very low RPM speeds (not for good temps on any CPU+GPU loop). If he only wanted one rad, he would fair better with a thinner rad optimised for low RPM fan speeds. He'll still be better off with x2 rads though, it will enable the lowest fan speeds for the best temps, and if he's expanding in the future with another GPU, it would be necessary then anyway, so best to do it now just for ease and overall performance.

Thin rad = less cooling capacity. Q is proportional to SA which is proportional to thickness.

 

That isn't how it works. That is FPI not thickness.

[Alesek]

7 hours ago, atomicus said:

snip

 

6 hours ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

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so after finding some reviews, i saw that the thing XE 360 will perform a bit worse than its smaller buddy PE 360. Then I think it would be better to get the EK-KIT L360, which is cheaper and I can use that money to get Alphacool nexxxos st30 420mm for the top of the case. Only thing is that the pump in L360 kit is worse but I cannot find any reviews about it. Do you know if the pump is quiet? 

[atomicus]

7 hours ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Thin rad = less cooling capacity. Q is proportional to SA which is proportional to thickness.

 

That isn't how it works. That is FPI not thickness.

 

Yes, I'm aware thicker rads dissipate more heat, but it's still fan dependent, and ultimately if he wants the most QUIET system he will want thinner rads with higher FPI therefore allowing for better heat dissipation at lower fan speeds. His temps may be a tad higher (not by much though), but he'll have less noise coming from the fans. OP, I suggest you take a look at xtremerigs.net... they have excellent rad reviews and comparisons there so you can see the advantages/disadvantages of pretty much every rad on the market and how they work with all fan configs. This whole fan/rad thing can get quite complicated and long winded.

 

26 minutes ago, Alesek said:

 

so after finding some reviews, i saw that the thing XE 360 will perform a bit worse than its smaller buddy PE 360. Then I think it would be better to get the EK-KIT L360, which is cheaper and I can use that money to get Alphacool nexxxos st30 420mm for the top of the case. Only thing is that the pump in L360 kit is worse but I cannot find any reviews about it. Do you know if the pump is quiet? 

 

I have not used that pump myself, but with PWM you'll be able to keep it at an acceptable noise level. You can also get anti vibration mats which I've seen people use. The D5 is generally a more highly regarded pump, and I understand is quieter, but the DDC is still solid and a good peformer. Out of curiosity, is there a reason you're going for a kit? Is it simply an economy thing? Because I think you could do better buying bits separately... you could get superior rads and pump for a start. plus clear tubing if you want to add some colour to the loop. I've personally never been a fan of black tubing, but that's just me.

 

[Alesek]

11 minutes ago, atomicus said:

snip

yes, it is mainly a price thing. When I try to pick up the parts myself, I end up with pretty much the same thing as found in the kits, just for way higher price. So I dont think there is a reason to pay more for the same thing

[atomicus]

3 minutes ago, Alesek said:

yes, it is mainly a price thing. When I try to pick up the parts myself, I end up with pretty much the same thing as found in the kits, just for way higher price. So I dont think there is a reason to pay more for the same thing

 

It depends on your personal view. Some people would argue there isn't a reason to pay more for water cooling in the first place over air LOL! I would disagree of course, but for me a large reason for going custom is the aesthetic and achieving top end performance... and I am willing to spend a bit more for that and don't want to compromise. That's very much a personal decision though.

 

Ultimately there's nothing wrong with that kit, and if that frees up a bit more money to get yourself a 420 rad for the top, that's great.

 

[Alesek]

2 minutes ago, atomicus said:

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if I would decide for the kit, I would definitely buy clear tubing with it as it costs just couple euros. But it depends on how loud/quiet the cheaper pump is because thats the most important thing for me. I guess I will have to google a lot and hope I can find a legit comparison review. oh and I also need to decide on the fans. I wish I would be sponsored, then I wouldn't have to choose anything 

[atomicus]

1 minute ago, Alesek said:

if I would decide for the kit, I would definitely buy clear tubing with it as it costs just couple euros. But it depends on how loud/quiet the cheaper pump is because thats the most important thing for me. I guess I will have to google a lot and hope I can find a legit comparison review. oh and I also need to decide on the fans. I wish I would be sponsored, then I wouldn't have to choose anything 

 

Yes, do some research on the pump... it's definitely louder than a D5, but to what extent with PWM I am not sure. Bound to be some direct comparison reviews out there though. The EK Vardar fans are very good, you should be fine with those. Unfortunately no one is going to sponsor you for your first build haha!  That's hard enough for someone who's built a dozen systems lol!

[Alesek]

1 hour ago, atomicus said:

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haha one can always dream. Shall I then get the EK Vardar fans or are noctua/corsair fans better? If I am gonna spend so much money on it, I might as well pay a little bit extra for better fans

[atomicus]

15 minutes ago, Alesek said:

haha one can always dream. Shall I then get the EK Vardar fans or are noctua/corsair fans better? If I am gonna spend so much money on it, I might as well pay a little bit extra for better fans

 

Check out some reviews, but I'd say the Vardars are your best bet for overall performance/air flow/static pressure. The Corsair ML120's are supposed to be very good, although personally I was not overly impressed with their noise profile. Reviews don't tell you everything... the dB levels aren't an indication of the actual 'tone' of a fan, and sometimes that's just not very pleasant to the ear, even if it is quiet.

[Alesek]

45 minutes ago, atomicus said:

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will do, thank you for your help!  

[Mick Naughty]

supposedly this new stuff runs cooler. I have an old rig on one 360x40~ rad. With swiftech fans that are pretty quiet at max. The card and gpu barely break 50's. Also found out one of the fans came unplugged, so could have had better results.  Id says its easily done and would do it again except with a thicker rad with lower fpi so I can run the fans even lower.

[aberdie]

19 hours ago, Alesek said:

 

so after finding some reviews, i saw that the thing XE 360 will perform a bit worse than its smaller buddy PE 360. Then I think it would be better to get the EK-KIT L360, which is cheaper and I can use that money to get Alphacool nexxxos st30 420mm for the top of the case. Only thing is that the pump in L360 kit is worse but I cannot find any reviews about it. Do you know if the pump is quiet? 

Where did you find that info?  From everything I've seen, the EKWB XE 360mm is one of the best radiators available right now.

 

http://www.xtremerigs.net/2015/05/31/ek-coolstream-xe-360mm-radiator-review/6/

 

I also was contemplating a single 360x60mm from EK for a 6700k/GTX 1080 FTW.

[Walshy690]

12 hours ago, Berd said:

Where did you find that info?  From everything I've seen, the EKWB XE 360mm is one of the best radiators available right now.

 

http://www.xtremerigs.net/2015/05/31/ek-coolstream-xe-360mm-radiator-review/6/

 

I also was contemplating a single 360x60mm from EK for a 6700k/GTX 1080 FTW.

Small world that is exactly the build I'm going for and I'm going for the EK-KIT X360. I can post updates and stats when I have built it but it wont be for a few weeks yet.

[aberdie]

2 hours ago, Walshy690 said:

Small world that is exactly the build I'm going for and I'm going for the EK-KIT X360. I can post updates and stats when I have built it but it wont be for a few weeks yet.

Let me know how it goes! I was also contemplating to run a parallel loop with that configuration.  I think it looks better, but not sure in the difference in temps would be.

[Alesek]

On 11/14/2016 at 7:20 AM, Berd said:

Where did you find that info?  From everything I've seen, the EKWB XE 360mm is one of the best radiators available right now.

 

http://www.xtremerigs.net/2015/05/31/ek-coolstream-xe-360mm-radiator-review/6/

 

I also was contemplating a single 360x60mm from EK for a 6700k/GTX 1080 FTW.

http://www.xtremerigs.net/2015/02/11/radiator-round-2015/5/

 

at 750rpm, PE 360 performed better than XE 360 and I am not planning on running the fans at higher speeds than that nor doing push/pull. 

 

Got so swamped at work atm that watercooling will have to wait for now

[atomicus]

4 hours ago, Alesek said:

http://www.xtremerigs.net/2015/02/11/radiator-round-2015/5/

 

at 750rpm, PE 360 performed better than XE 360 and I am not planning on running the fans at higher speeds than that nor doing push/pull. 

 

Got so swamped at work atm that watercooling will have to wait for now

 

Indeed, and that's the question... what speed you will run fans at. The Hardware Labs 360 GTS is better still, and that would be my personal choice for a radiator on which I wanted to run fans at the lowest speed. I used x2 of them in my recent build and they are excellent.