4U CPU+GPU Liquid Cooling

[IcanHaz]

Hello all, this will be my first (non-AIO) liquid cooling build and I have come for some hand-holding. I am cooling a ~3.8-4.0GHz 6950X and 1x EVGA 1080 Ti FE (not overclocked). I fully understand that a different case would be preferable, but that is not an option. I also want to avoid modding the case if at all possible as I want to keep this simple as far as the number of hours I will spend screwing things up. Lastly, the reservoir needs to be inside the case.

 

I have to use a 4U chassis for this build, so I am restricted to 2x 120mm fan setup in the front of the case. The case arrives in a few days, but presumably I need to stick to 120x240mm radiators. Based on the Water Cooling 101 sticky, it appears that I have ~490-520Ws of heat to deal with (1.15-1.2v on the CPU). 

 

Questions:

1. The LC 101 sticky says "A full cover block will not give you better GPU temps but will help keep your card more stable at higher clock speeds." What? How could a full cover not provide greatly improved temps? I had assumed I wanted a full cover block for my 1080 Ti. Should I instead get a universal block and separate MOSFET & VRM cooling?

2. Taking #1 into account, what do you think of my rough parts list? Recommendations? Advice?

3. What about the details? What fittings would I need for such a setup? Do I want the 1/4" ID Barb option for the MCS220 that FrozenCPIU offers?

4. Is this water OK? Where does the silver coil go exactly? Into any tube?

5. This build be will be transported around quite a bit. Does soft vs hard tubing make a difference in regards to rough handling?

6. What other questions should I be asking?

 

 

I'm not married to this hardware list in any way, but I was thinking an EK GTX FE block (The EVGA 1080 Ti FE appears to have a backplate, do I need the EK add-on?), Swiftech Apogee Drive II, and a MCR220 rad/res combo, along with a silver kill coil.

 

After that I need what? Tubing, liquid, antibacterial agent, fittings, and what else? Thanks!

[Marinatall_Ironside]

The EK-FC GeForce GTX FE blocks are not compatible with the factory backplate. You need to use their backplate (~USD $34.99-$49.99) if you want to have one.

 

I'd rather recommend against the coolant you have in mind. Try the Mayhems X1 clear coolant (concentrate or pre-mixed (I recommend the former for more coolant when mixed)); it has all the biocides and anti-microbial and anti-corrosive solutions already mixed in by them. The anti-corrosives however does not make any water-cooling system immune to corrosion when you mix aluminum and copper (all copper or all aluminum components only, copper and brass are fine).

 

For soft or hard tubing, it doesn't make a difference for rough handling. When you secure your computer and drive safely (and not drive fast over potholes or speedbumps), you shouldn't have any issues at all.

 

A good kit to add is the EK-KIT S240 Liquid Cooling Kit. It's got absolutely everything to get your water-cooling loop up and running. If you don't want a kit, I can part up a water-cooling list for you 

[IcanHaz]

Thanks for the reply! OK, so I need the EK backplate as well. That's no problem. 

 

Sure, I can use a different liquid. I was going by the LC 101 sticky that suggested DI water as it is non-conductive.

 

As far as the kit you linked--I need the reservoir to be inside the case and firmly secured. It looks like that kit would not allow that, right?

 

If not, then I would love a list! ;p I don't want to over-spend, but I don't mind if this costs $500 so long as it is robust and able to keep these components cool without blocking any other PCI-e slots. I don't care about aesthetics either--this is purely function.

[pelark]

14 minutes ago, JurunceNK said:

 

 

Just now, IcanHaz said:

Thanks for the reply! OK, so I need the EK backplate as well. That's no problem. 

 

As far as the kit you linked--I need the reservoir to be inside the case and firmly secured. It looks like that kit would not allow that, right?

 

If not, then I would love a list! ;p I don't want to over-spend, but I don't mind if this costs $500 so long as it is robust and able to keep these components cool without blocking any other PCI-e slots. I don't care about aesthetics either--this is purely function.

I see youre new to the forums, welcome! Remember to quote the people who reply to your thread, else they won't get a notification that you reply

[Marinatall_Ironside]

6 minutes ago, IcanHaz said:

Thanks for the reply! OK, so I need the EK backplate as well. That's no problem. 

 

Sure, I can use a different liquid. I was going by the LC 101 sticky that suggested DI water as it is non-conductive.

 

As far as the kit you linked--I need the reservoir to be inside the case and firmly secured. It looks like that kit would not allow that, right?

 

If not, then I would love a list! ;p I don't want to over-spend, but I don't mind if this costs $500 so long as it is robust and able to keep these components cool without blocking any other PCI-e slots. I don't care about aesthetics either--this is purely function.

Even with non-conductive coolant, it will become conductive due to the coolant picking up the ions in the metals it interacts with. It is like a matter of 15 or so minutes the coolant needs to be in the loop for the coolant to become conductive.

 

For the reservoir (I installed an EK-KIT S360 before, difference is radiator and fans it comes included), you can use the reservoir mounting bracket (which mounts to a 120mm fan) as the template to drill out four holes onto the floor of the rackmount chassis to mount the reservoir. It is a very simple mod, all it takes is a power drill with a metal cutting drill bit (the brass-colored ones).

 

If you need pictures of how I mounted the reservoir, I'll provide one (or two) to show you how I did it.

 

If you have a budget of USD $500 for the custom loop, I'll get to parting one out.

Edited June 3, 2017 by JurunceNK

[IcanHaz]

2 minutes ago, JurunceNK said:

Even with non-conductive coolant, it will become conductive due to the coolant picking up the ions in the metals it interacts with. It is like a matter of 15 or so minutes the coolant needs to be in the loop for the coolant to become conductive.

 

For the reservoir (I installed an EK-KIT S360 before, difference is radiator and fans it comes included), you can use the reservoir mounting bracket (which mounts to a 120mm fan) as the template to drill out four holes onto the floor of the rackmount chassis to mount the reservoir. It is a very simple mod, all it takes is a power drill with a metal cutting drill bit (the brass-colored ones).

 

If you need pictures of how I mounted the reservoir, I'll provide one (or two) to show you how I did it. 

Got it--I will use that coolant.

Do you know the dimensions on that reservoir? A 4U chassis has just under 7" of internal vertical clearance, but yes, if the reservoir was modestly sized then I could perhaps shove it between the 5.25" bay and the PSU. 

 

I would love a picture if possible.
 

[Marinatall_Ironside]

16 minutes ago, IcanHaz said:

Got it--I will use that coolant.

Do you know the dimensions on that reservoir? A 4U chassis has just under 7" of internal vertical clearance, but yes, if the reservoir was modestly sized then I could perhaps shove it between the 5.25" bay and the PSU. 

 

I would love a picture if possible.
 

The reservoir stands at 138mm in height (or 5.42 inches), so yes, it will fit in a 4U rackmount case. For the EK-Supremacy MX that comes with the EK-KIT S240, you may need to purchase the EK-Supremacy EVO PreciseMount hardware to mount the block to an LGA2011-3 board that does not have its holes protruding through the board.

 

Here's two pictures of how I mounted it.

I just used the EK UNI mount that came with the kit as the template.

Edited June 3, 2017 by JurunceNK