First Water Cooled Build; Planning Custom Case

Spaztic One · Aug 5, 2014

Hey all, been reading around trying to figure out what my case is going to be built around. I've got some 3D models that I've been playing with trying to find a design I want, but I need to make sure that my water gear is going to be sufficient for my hardware. My goals are primarily cooler temps, secondarily semi-quiet, and tertiary good looks (I'm building it myself, might as well make it look somewhat decent. I'm a hacker at heart, function over fashion all the time). My components are:

Asus Crosshair V Formula-Z
AMD 9370 (runs hot, my Corsair H100i barely keeps up with it under load)
2x ATI HD 7950 Crossfire (uses 7950 reference PCB)
G.Skill Ripjaw Z series
and powered by EVGA SuperNOVA 1300 watt PSU

Given that my 9370 is using a CLC with a 240 mm rad, it gets up to 52-55c pretty regularly with just gaming (Planetary Annihilation for example), and OCCT will have it hit 61 before I have the test auto-terminate (supposed max safe temp for this chip is circa 62c). I'm at 25c ambient as reported by my phone battery which I haven't touched in 2.5 hours since I got home from work, and my processor is at 45-48c just having Steam update games, VLC play music, and a 33 MB sketchup file open (my draft of my future case, pictured below). Now that Steam is done, I'm at 37c.

I am wary of a 240mm rad being enough given that is what is on it (though the H100i is a slimmer rad), despite the "rule of thumb" that a 120mm should be sufficient per component.
That being said, I'm also wanting to water cool my video cards which reportedly also dump around 200-250 watts of heat. How much rad space will I need for all of this? Would 2x 360s (120x3) be enough, or should I go 2x 420s (140x3), or am I way off (high/low)?

Regarding the loop, I'm currently looking at
XSPC Photon 170 Tube Res
XSPC Raystorm
Swiftech MCP355
EK-FC 7950 waterblock
barb fittings for hidden spots and comp fittings for visible (if I deem the coin worth the appearance)
tubing, obviously
regular distilled water with PT nuke or some equivalent, no color goop in my loop. (hey, that rhymed)
Debating using a NB/VRM waterblock (is it worth it?)
and radiators...
XSPC RX360 (thicker)
XSPC EX360 (thinner, but also 2/3 the price)
or XSPC EX420 (larger, but thin, and middle price of the three. Would have to wait for it to be restocked though.)

Couple pics of what I have designed so far (and yes, I know some of the components don't align perfectly with what I have, but they are similar). Forum won't let me attach pictures for some reason, even though I've verified my email. :\

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h66/MavericFSO/casedesign1.png
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h66/MavericFSO/casedesign2.png

Side note, mods, if this is in the wrong area, don't hesitate to move it for me.

toolmaker_03 · Aug 5, 2014

I do not know who said 120mm per component is good, but as you have seen even a 240mm per component is only ok under stock conditions, and it does not stand up under overclocking that component at all.

I have a 360mm per component and can only hold a small overclock on my components with temps that I find acceptable.

here have a look.
https://imageshack.com/i/mvb6v2j
https://imageshack.com/i/mhznt3j
https://imageshack.com/i/ns710qj
https://imageshack.com/i/j5kch7j

now the processor is at 4.0Ghz and the video cards are at 850Mhz and the temps

https://imageshack.com/i/0ib40nj

so even with this much cooling and a little clock things get hot quick.

Spaztic One · Aug 5, 2014

I forget where all I've seen it (multiple places, I think in posts here too) but the main article I've seen mentioning it was http://www.techspot.com/community/topics/the-watercooling-guide-from-a-to-z.180876/

Wouldn't you get better temps if you ran things in series, for example starting with the CPU then to the 1st and then 2nd GPU? I am by no means claiming to know better than you or anyone else for that matter, simply asking as you would have higher flow rate in each individual component pulling the heat away faster, although providing less time for any given particle of water to absorb heat. Thermodynamic juggling act anybody? Also, if anyone knows for a fact which would be better, please speak up.

Back to the topic though, how much radiator space at what thickness would I need to maintain a delta of no more than 20c? While 55c running isn't bad I want to get it down to more like 45c, allowing higher tolerances during benching/burn tests. Heck, if I could keep it at peak 55c under any given burn test, I'd be satisfied (albeit, not happy).

Keep in mind I'm building a custom case to house all of this, so size isn't so much a limiting factor as it would be for other builds, or trying to fit it in my Thor V2, even if I heavily modified it.

toolmaker_03 · Aug 6, 2014

I have been doing this for some time now and have tried many different configurations for my rig, every thing from serial, to multiple loops, always looking for that perfect setup for how I run my systems.
let me explain, if I where only trying to clock my CPU only I would build a monster rig dedicated to cooling the CPU only.
if I liked to clock the video cards, to get insane frame rates, I would do the same, but dedicate it to the GPU,s only.
Now I build my systems, then clock them as necessary to keep up with new programming, so it slowly gets clocked higher and higher over time, until the system breaks, or I need new hardware. With that stated I needed a cooling system that could keep everything cool, not only for today's clocks, but for tomorrows clocks as well.
I hope this helps let me know.

Spaztic One · Aug 6, 2014

I understand your set up better now, yes. However, I still don't have a very good gauge of what kind of radiator sizing I need for my rig, or if my pump/blocks are going to be sufficient. I also just realized that your 3930k only has a TDP of 130w, and you have a 360 per component... Given that the AMD 9370 has a TDP of 220w, about 70% higher, I would need 5x120mm radiator space just for my CPU. That can't be right, that's ridiculous, unless I'm missing something. If that really is the case, I'm going to basically just stick with my current tower and have a dedicated "tower" for radiators with some quick disconnect fittings so that I can more easily move my set up.

I wonder if my initial post was too long and people lost interest before even finishing the read. (Not trying to sound ungrateful toolmaker, just wanting more than one person's feedback)

toolmaker_03 · Aug 6, 2014

I have three computers total, and I know that Intel says that the 2011 socket is 130W, but it gets as hot as any FX8350 220W socket or 4790K 220W socket, it should be cooler, and out of all of them at stock clocks it is, and it does run at room temps with water cooling under a load, but at 4Ghz it gets hot, just like the rest of them.

https://imageshack.com/i/f7ervgj
https://imageshack.com/i/120plbJ

here is a look at the AMD system I have, My plan is to add another monstra 360 off the back, I am not happy with the temps that I am getting now on this system, Plus I plan to add a GTX690 or TitanX to the build, and at that point the one radiator will not be enough to cool the system down.

https://imageshack.com/i/npuzs7j

the temps on that build

rubix_1011 · Aug 6, 2014

I built a custom case before...it was fun, but it quickly can get large if you don't do a lot of detailed planning ahead of time. Also, it depends what materials you are building it out of. Wood is simple and cheap, but it's bulky size isn't great for precise builds. If you have access to metalworking tools, this is where you could really have some fun.

Spaztic One · Aug 6, 2014

So I want to say that I misunderstood Delta-T. In my reading of thread after thread, guide after guide, I got mixed up and thought Delta-T was the delta between ambient and the processor being cooled, not ambient to water temp. My delta from running OCCT before I have the test terminate is about 15c (ambient to water as reported by my H100i). It was hitting about 38-40 before my processor hit 61 and the test stopped, ambient still right around 25c. Having the Raystorm, will my processor be closer to the water temp, is it more efficient than the H100i waterblock? Also, will it be hard to get a delta lower than 15, or pretty easy with a properly set up custom loop?

Regarding the actual building of a case, yeah, I expect it will be fun! I'm going to be getting a 3D printer (hopefully) in December ( https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cobblebot/cobblebot-3d-printer ) so I'll be able to make brackets and some stuff, but otherwise, yes, it will be wood. Eventually I will get a welder and some metalworking tools and I'll make another case (and lots of other things I'm sure) out of metal then, but for now, wood. I am working on a model I like, though I need a firm number/size of radiators before I start finalizing with screws, brackets, hoses, and wires. The thread http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/277130-29-read-first-watercooling-sticky is itself over 2 years old, and some of the sites/articles referenced are even older. For example, the XSPC RX360 v3 is supposedly a decent bit ahead of the v2.

toolmaker_03 · Aug 7, 2014

I have the raystorm CPU block on two builds, and a swiftech block on the other, all of them work well. Bitspower, and Aquacomputer CPU blocks are also good blocks to look at.
I like swiftech, aquacomputer, and alphacool for radiators,
For fittings and reservoir, bitspower is the only one I would trust.
For pumps the D5 is the only one I have ever bought.
I hope this helps, and yes I have tried all the other fittings out there, and have gotten upset with all of them.

Spaztic One · Aug 10, 2014

Alright, first off, this is going to take the back seat for a couple months probably. Still going to design my custom case around things and iron out any kinks I may find, but my motorcycle needs some work, probably $300 worth of parts plus labor because I don't care to do more work on it right now, I just want to get back to riding. So there goes almost half my budget for my PC build.

Anyway, I have revised my shopping list.
Same:
XSPC Photon 170 Tube Res
XSPC Raystorm
EK-FC 7950 waterblock Or should I go with a generic GPU water block? Would the VRMs overheat once I start overclocking?

Different:
Alphacool VPP655 - G1/4 IG complete with D5 HF Top
Bitspower black sparkle barb (ATM, not considering comp fittings due to cost)
Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 360 x2, unless you guys think that 1 will suffice
tubing, probably green. Either this or this. Thinking about calling my new tower the Borg
regular distilled water with PT nuke or some equivalent.

Still debating using a NB/VRM waterblock. Is it worth it? I don't want to burn out my mobo VRMs, esp with as power hungry as the 9370 is, and if I try and push it further (though that will be determined by the luck of the lotto).

Feedback? Mainly is 1 360 rad going to be enough, or do I need two?

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First Water Cooled Build; Planning Custom Case

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