Custoom Loop Check & Advice

For Science! · April 9, 2017

Dear LinusTechTips Community,

I am planning to put together a custom watercooled loop for the first time and would like to hear you opinions about this planned set up. In particular I would love to see if people have opinions on the restrictiveness of the Nemesis GTS Series and whether they would consider going for a XFLOW instead (as mentioned in this review: http://www.xtremerigs.net/2016/02/15/hardware-labs-nemesis-280gts-radiator-review/6/)

CPU Block (Monoblock): EK-FB ASUS Z270E Strix RGB Monoblock - Nickel

GPU Block 1: Bitspower ASUS Turbo GTX 1080 Acrylic (Clear)

GPU Block 2: Bitspower ASUS Turbo GTX 1080 Acrylic (Clear)

Pump & Reservoir: EK-XRES 100 Revo D5 PWM (incl. pump)

Radiator 1: Hardware Labs - Black Ice Nemesis Radiator GTS 240 (or XFLOW?)

Radiator 2: Hardware Labs - Black Ice Nemesis Radiator GTS 360 (or XFLOW?)

Fans: Noctua NF F12 industrialPPC-2000 PWM

Case: Fractal Define C

Tubing: EK-HD Tube 12/16mm

Coolant: EK-CryoFuel Navy Blue

I think its going to be a fairly tight squeeze, but the measurements would suggest it (pump reservoir, in particular) should fit.

Thanks in advance

airdeano · April 9, 2017

welcome to the Linus Tech Tips fourms!

i'd never recommend any cross-flow radiator for any build for performance.

for congruence, i'd opt for the ek GPU blocks. just a looks thing.

you could easily use 2x 240 or the 360/240 selection.

you'd have enough room to use 45mm rads and the D5 revo with no issues. routing might get a bit wonky with hard tubing (use soft for first time), but it'd be fine.

For Science! · April 10, 2017

Thanks for your input, it is much appreciated. I will proceed with the normal radiators. although I would have like to get EK GPU blocks they do not design them for the ASUS turbo 1080 hence I am going with Bitspower.

PrimeSonic · April 10, 2017

I will also add that you should only be looking into the X-flow style rads if you absolutely need it because otherwise the tube runs wouldn't be possible.

If you can use the normal (U-Flow) radiators, go for it.

Hardware Labs makes some good radiators and in plenty of variety so get the longest (and thickest) you can fit into your case and your budget.

A few tips:

Be ready to have things not turn out quite as planned. You may have an idea for how you'll be doing your tube runs (and you should have a plan) but be prepared to improvise a bit here and there when things don't quite fit as expected. This especially when you're working in a "tight squeeze" case.

Another tip, you can often save yourself a few bucks on a fan controller by using fan splitters and driving 2 or 3 fans off the same motherboard header.

That's what I did.

Make sure you get enough fittings for everything. If you can buy several fittings together at a bulk price, go for it. Having a few extra just in case isn't a bad thing.

For Science! · May 3, 2017

Just a little update and thanks: some things didn't work to plan (I had to split the pump/res combo due to clearance) but I did manage to set up my first custom watercooled loop!