Water cooling noob

NaDavid · June 24, 2017

I've watched hours upon hours of water cooling videos, checked out all the sites, hundreds of products on amazon/performancepc/ekwb/etc. etc. yet I'm still stuck not really knowing what to get...

CPU Block

GPU

Found these two that matched with a white and black color scheme so I looked into a custom loop setup.

Case

Looking to have a 360 radiator in the front.

Radiator?

Cylinder reservoir, soft white tubing, with distilled water and PTnuke. Unless somebody has a clear tube with white fluid alternative? Hard to tell when the random review about clogs/buildup/particles are a result of the product.

Thermaltake D5 Reservoir+Pump? Though I do kind of like the appearance of tubes bridging components so maybe a separate res and pump?

Compression Fittings?

Tube?

For Science! · June 24, 2017

Hello! As much as the Fractal Define C is a wonderful case, just be aware that it is super duper crammed inside. In particular, I can't imagine you being able to fit that large reservoir inside it if you have the rad and fans in front. See picture below just to appreciate how little space there is in the front once you put in a GPU, 360 mm rad, and standard fan.

Edit: I guess if you planned on having it on its side and under a single GPU that is fairly high up in terms of PCIe slots, that will also probably be okay...

For Science! · June 24, 2017

My personal recommendation would be to go for a pre-mix coolant as well since there are anti-corrosion factors as well as biocides and it may save you an headache or two. Here are some clear ones so that you don't have to worry about dyes or pastels settling.

As a concentrate

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-cryofuel-clear-concentrate-100-ml

or as a premix

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-cryofuel-clear-premix-900-ml

All your other components look okay, but you haven't planned out (at least not on the list) for a drain-port which may be helpful for maintenance - While strictly not necessary I

would recommend you to get one.

Another thing that may be nice to have is a 2-pin temperature probe as a stop plug so that you can keep track of your water temperatures as well.

While the radiator is a great choice (I use HWlabs too!) since the Fractal Define C is such a compact case the insides can heat up quite a lot with a 360 mm rad intake under load. If I was going to re-do a system in this case with a total of 360mm worth of radiator (I have a 360 + 240, so was ultimately limited by that decision), I would have considered having a 240 mm exhaust on the top and 120 mm exhaust in the rear and maintain 2 unobstructed intakes in the front so that the incoming air is cold.