Custom cooling Supernoob

[Agonizel]

Hey community,

 

I intend to save money in order to buy the components for my custom loop. 

My research is quite limited: I learned how to bend tubes properly, I learned about the different type of fittings and tubes, I learned about the pumps and I learned to plan a valve for an eventual drain.

 

Still I have questions:

 

- What are the requirements for a quality radiator? How can I know if they're good?

- I saw different style of custom loops:

   - One where the tube goes from the gpu directly in the cpu then in the radiator. 

   - Then one where the tubing splits into the cpu and gpu seperately and rejoins before going the radiator. trough a single tube

   - Finally I saw one where the tube goes trough the gpu, then trough a radiator (top), through the cpu, then trough a second radiator (front)

  So what is the best setup? Is one 360mm radiator enough for one GPU (GTX 1080 - 1080ti) and one CPU (i7 8700K OC@~4.2ghz)

- What are the requirements for a good cooling fluid and how can I know if it's gonna keep it's color for a long period of time?
- How is the pump powered?
- Finally, how much power consumption do I have to plan in?

 

I think that should be it! If you have any suggestions or any advice, it is most welcome!

 

...

 

TUNNELBEAR IS THE FREE VPN APP (...)

 

[For Science!]

8 minutes ago, HappyDog_420 said:

-

Radiator quality, like any other product, I would recommend you to look at a comparative review. Generally speaking, you want an all copper radiator that has a FPI that is suitable for your needs (silence vs performance). http://www.xtremerigs.net/2015/02/11/radiator-round-2015/

 

Different style loops can be categorized into 2 types: serial and parallel. Your option 1 and 3 are serial configurations whereas number 2 is an parallel configuration. Serial configurations are all equivalent since the water moves quickly through the loop and therefore the component order does not matter. Parallel is theoretically a little bit inferior in terms of flow distribution because the flow that a sub-loop receives depends on the resistance of the subloop. If they are the same its fine, but in the description the CPU would receive less flow than the GPU subloop since CPU blocks are more restrictive. While not ideal, it's mostly fine, and your PC will unlikely to excessive to heat up (its just theoretically less good).

 

More radiators are better, also depends on the thickness of the said rads. 360 mm with thin rads (30 mm thick) are an absolute minimum for the 8700K + 1080Ti combo. Look at my Ncase M1 build log for more details.

 

Cooling fluids should contain anti-corrosives, biocidals, and a dye. Also depends on whether you want opaque or clear fluids. I would recommend EK-cryofuel for clear fluids, and Mayhems Pastel for opaque fluids. They should be changed every year or so, but usually go for longer time periods too. In my opinion home-brew solution (killcoils, PT-nuke, etc) are out-dated and should be replaced with tested liquids.

Pump is powered typically by molex connection

 

The actual loop itself is fairly minor contributing, so I wouldn't consider it as many watts. 

[Agonizel]

4 minutes ago, For Science! said:

. 

Exquisite information thanks! I'll make a serial configuration with 2 thin radiators; top 360mm & front 280mm.

 

You think that if I get the H500P Mesh, that the front radiator can be cooled "passively" by the front 200mm radiator fans? That would be around 3cm (1 inch) distance

And last question, can I put any fans on the radiators?

[PrimeSonic]

2 hours ago, HappyDog_420 said:

And last question, can I put any fans on the radiators?

In a sense, yes, radiators are designed around the standard 120mm and 140mm fan sizes.

If you get a radiator with a low FPI count, you can pretty much use any fan you want on it as long as you have the space.

But as you go higher in FPI count in a radiator, the fins begin to add more and more resistance to the air. For these, you'll want to use static pressure optimized fans.

2 hours ago, HappyDog_420 said:

You think that if I get the H500P Mesh, that the front radiator can be cooled "passively" by the front 200mm radiator fans?

You'll get some cooling out of this but the when under a bigger heat load it's likely that the other radiator will have to pick up the slack.

If at all possible, add a set of fans to both radiators.

Heck, if space permits, keep the 200mm fans and put a set of 140mm fans on the other side of the front radiator.

The fans won't have to spin very fast to give you good cooling performance even at load.

[Agonizel]

1 hour ago, PrimeSonic said:

In a sense, yes, radiators are designed around the standard 120mm and 140mm fan sizes.

If you get a radiator with a low FPI count, you can pretty much use any fan you want on it as long as you have the space.

But as you go higher in FPI count in a radiator, the fins begin to add more and more resistance to the air. For these, you'll want to use static pressure optimized fans.

You'll get some cooling out of this but the when under a bigger heat load it's likely that the other radiator will have to pick up the slack.

If at all possible, add a set of fans to both radiators.

Heck, if space permits, keep the 200mm fans and put a set of 140mm fans on the other side of the front radiator.

The fans won't have to spin very fast to give you good cooling performance even at load.

Alright, thanks I got it! If the space isn't sufficient, what I can do is install the gpu vertically to make enough clearance for a pull config on the front rad and the pump/reservoir combo. In this case obviously, a vertical GPU does not affect my cooling performance.

[andrewmp6]

Push pull is only really needed for a thick rad like 60mm or thicker.The old days before static pressure fans we had to run push pull.Today with those static pressure fans just push or pull is enough for most set ups.A tool you can play with https://www.ekwb.com/custom-loop-configurator/

It will show what size rad you need but you can always double it