Need Water Cooling Calculation Help

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TW93

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I need to assemble a water cooler for my system. The air cooling isn't cutting it. I've read the forums and stuff, but still don't fully understand. If someone could help me with the calculation and tell me how they got the results and help me find what pump, reservoir, and radiator I need, I would be very grateful.

I need to go with a Radbox because of my case size. I will be using 1/2" tubing with minimal lengths.

My components are:
900W PSU (air cool)
4 sticks DDR3 (air cool)
1 SATA HDD (air cool)
1 Fan Control (n/a)
1 GeForce GTX 580 (liquid cool)
1 AMD FX8350 4GHz (liquid cool)
AMD 970 Northbridge (liquid cool)

I need to be able to cool a 2nd GPU at a later time, so the system must be able to accommodate that. And yes, I do want to cool the northbridge, as the factory heatsink does not dissipate enough (tested with thermometer, runs a bit hot).

So what is my thermal wattage that the LCS has to compensate for (how did you calculate)? What radiator specs will I need to look for to dissipate that? What pump will be strong enough for the loop (and how can I tell in the future)? How do you know (so I can learn)? Does the type of reservoir matter or is that preference?

I understand the setup, (pump on bottom, reservoir before pump, etc.) and only need help finding the proper parts. I can find the water blocks with no problem.

Also, what solution? I want anti-corrosion and anti-algae for prolonged life.

Thanks a TON guys. (Please don't send links to tutorials and calculators as I've read and used many). I just want a walkthrough/example (answering the question will be best).

Again, thanks.
 
Solution
manofchalk
Yup, 240,360 and 480 are all just multiples of 120mm.
Monsoon Compressions, they look different? Any fittings will do fine, its just a matter of aesthetics and cost.
Not sure TBH beyond the obvious differences of colours and brands. I know that you have to buy the male and female ends separately, but that's about it.
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manofchalk

manofchalk

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Find the TDP (power draw) of the components your water-cooling (for the North Bridge, I would assume 50W) under load. That is how much heat their going to be pumping out in a worst case scenario.
Read reviews on the rads your looking at, and see if their combined TDP dissipation is more than what your components can pump out. If it is, your good.

Pump strength, TBH it is really a bit of a gut thing. For that loop, I would say your fine for something like a D5 pump.

Reservoir doesn't matter to performance at all unless your looking for very quick CPU validations on big overclocks. Get one that looks good or otherwise suits your loop.

Corrosion if you pick your parts right shouldnt be an issue, stick within the general water-cooling metals (Copper, Nickel, Brass. Avoid like the plague if it says Aluminium).
Algae, there are two main options. A Silver Kill-coil or a Biocide like PT-Nuke or Deadwater. Either one will do the job just fine, I prefer kill-coils as its the easier solution.

 
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TW93

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How do I find the TDP for the components under load? I mean, I can find normal conditions, but not OC. And doesn't a kill-coil corrode nickel? Also, please explain what a D5 means. I would like to know the difference from other pumps. As for the solution, I know distilled water is fine, but should I avoid others? E.g. Non-conductive, system cleaning, dyed, etc. Just in case I see the need, I want to know it's safe for the system.

Thanks.
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

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TDP of components under load, review sites will often have them though rated values from manufacturer pages show its maximum TDP (so at max load) at stock clocks. For CPU overclocking there is a formula for figuring out TDP (located in the water-cooling sticky), GPU's are a bit more of a guess. I just look at their rated TDP's and add an extra 50W.

Nope, though you could argue that of the typpical water-cooling metals they are the most galvanically dissimilar. If your really concerned you could always use a Biocide, or a more exotic solution like UV light.

A Laing D5 is a type of pump, as is the Laing DDC. They are the most common types of water-cooling pumps, there are a few others like Eheim or Jingway, though its pretty hard to find those now.
In general terms, a D5 has a higher flow than a DDC, with the DDC offering better head pressure. A DDC is smaller, but runs into heat issues as it isn't cooled by water flowing through it like a D5. I personally think the D5 is a better choice for that reason.

Pre-bottled coolants arent necessary.
Non-conductive may be true while its still in the bottle, but within 20s of hitting your loop its not going to stay that way. uS is a measure of electrical conductivity.
http://martinsliquidlab.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/waterquality08.jpg?w=614&h=646
http://martinsliquidlab.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/waterquality09.jpg?w=614&h=738
Dyes you generally just want to avoid, it will eventually fade from your water and build up in all manner of places you will have to clean out. Unless your willing to deal with the significant increase in maintenance, just go with coloured tubing.

Also don't think that you have to buy "premium" distilled water, whatever is available at your supermarket cleaning aisle will do just fine.
 
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TW93

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Ok, so if one block is copper and another is nickel and another is something else (not aluminum) it won't they won't corrode each-other? Finally, before I try to calculate at least, compression or barb & clamp? I know the main fight is compression is nicer but you need to tighten and barb you do not. But will the tubing eventually stop shrinking where I no longer need to tighten the compression fittings? Or is it a permanent frequent maintenance?
Thanks again. I know I bugged you about water cooling in another thread but I can't find it.
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

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Galvanic Corrosion occurs when galvanically dissimilar metals are in electrical contact with each other, which they are going to be inside a water-loop. The more dissimilar they are, the greater the potential for corrosion. The typical metals are within .1 of each other in the Galvanic Index, so pose a low risk of corrosion, while something Aluminium is way out and poses a far greater risk.
Some good reading on the topic.
http://martinsliquidlab.org/2012/01/24/corrosion-explored/


Barb and Clamp fittings versus or Compression fittings, both do the same job just well as each other. Compressions just cost a bit more and look better.
With either one you shouldn't have to adjust it at all after you'v set it all up, the tubing shrinking if anything means that it will have an even tighter seal.

Special Mod powers activate!
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1761670/modular-liquid-cooling.html
Is this your thread?
 
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TW93

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Ha! Yup, that was it. You're good. Ok, so I've run my numbers, this is what I have:

CPU FX 8350: Max TDP: 125W OC TDP ~175W OC
GPU GTX 580: Max TDP: 244W OC TDP ~300W OC (x2)
N.B. AMD 970: Max TDP: 13.6W N/A

Total TDP: ~790W

Look good? I hate to make you look up the TDP's to double check, but I'll be your best friend if you do! :)
 
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TW93

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So I'm looking at radiators and I learned that a general rule of thumb is that you can use one segment per component being cooled. So if I get a radiator using 120mm fans, I would need a quad. One segment for CPU, one for NB, one for GPU, and one for future GPU. Is that right?
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

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If you have a very good rad/fans and no intention to overclock, the 120mm per heat source works out. If your planning on overclocking or getting rads that arent that high up on the performance scale, 240mm per heat source is a better rule of thumb.
Though usually that means CPU and GPU's. The North bridge I think would be fine to just throw in.
 
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TW93

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Ok. I have to see the size of the radbox when it gets here. Does two 120mm = one 240mm? Also, what's the benefit of Monsoon compression over others? One more, and I think I'm set after this, what's the difference between different series of quick-connects? There are a lot of choices here
 
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manofchalk

manofchalk

Glorious
May 11, 2012
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Yup, 240,360 and 480 are all just multiples of 120mm.
Monsoon Compressions, they look different? Any fittings will do fine, its just a matter of aesthetics and cost.
Not sure TBH beyond the obvious differences of colours and brands. I know that you have to buy the male and female ends separately, but that's about it.
 
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