Help with finalizing my first water cooled set up

Vaexstro

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Mar 24, 2013
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Hey and thanks in advance! :)

So I'm making my first water cooled custom loop and I've read Rubix's guide several times and watched some videos but I still want to make sure I chose the right parts before I finalize my purchase.

I'm planning to cool i7 4930k (buying it soon) in Corsair 900D, I'll add my SLI if this goes well for me.

Alphacool HF D5 Top - Black Acetal w/ Swiftech MCP655-PWM Pump Installed


Tubing - 1/2" ID X 3/4" OD red PVC

EK High Performance CoolStream 360 PE Series Liquid Cooling Radiator (EK-CoolStream PE 360 (Triple))

EK Supremacy EVO Universal CPU Liquid Cooling Block - Acetal + Nickel (EK-Supremacy EVO - Acetal+Nickel)

This is a kill coil, right?

Bitspower Water Tank Z-Multi 150 Inline Reservoir


I'm not finished with picking the fittings yet, however, I'm going with Bitspower G1/4 Compression fittings.

So, my questions are:

1) What do you think about these parts?
For now the loop's purpose is to cool the CPU and possibly adding 2 GPUs later, I know I'll have to buy more components if I decide to do so.

2) The thing that confuses me most is the reservoir, I like it but I'm been looking for information on how to install this reservoir and some people say that the 3 holes should go to the bottom and the one hole should be the inlet (top) while other people say the exact contrary.

I would also like to know if people use the fill port as an inlet.

I want to put my pump next to the PSU, below the reservoir so I'm not really sure how do I fill it from below.

From what I read, you fill the res until it gets to the pump and only then turn the pump on.
If that's how you do it, how can I possibly fill the res from below? There's nothing to push the water to the pump if I fill it from below.

3) Any advice on the loop order? I read it doesn't matter that much except having the Res outlet go to the pump's inlet but I'd like to reassure.

4) Can I attach to the radiator 3 SP fans to each side or would that prove useless?

5) Do I need in my loop drain port and fill port? I didn't see too much about that in any of the water cooling guides afaik, and if I do need it, is it necessary to drill into the case for the drain port as I saw some people do? I'm pretty sure that if I use a res I don't need drain/fill ports.

6) It's a little off topic but do you reckon it's better to get the i7 4930k and water cool that instead of getting a new mobo,ram, and CPU? I would keep the i7 4930k between 2-3 years so by then DDR4 would give more performance for the buck.

Guys, thank you for everything, I'm sorry for the stupid questions I'm still new to this great hobby.

Any help is welcome =].

P.S.

One last question, I'm looking for fittings now and I'm not sure how to choose them properly.

It seems like 90 degrees fittings are the best choice all the time with my loop. I'm very sure that's not true. I read the Fitting and Tubing part of the sticky again and I'm still a little confused as to when is best to use a compression G1/4 and when I use ones with 90/45 degrees.

I'd assume installing the loop with 90 degrees fittings attached to the res would be good and since the pump is next to the PSU I would need 90 fittings there too, but I'm not sure when I do I need it on the water block or the res.

Thanks again, I appreciate all the help I can get :D.

 
Solution
1) What do you think about these parts?
Those parts should be fine but if you're considering putting SLI cards in the loop, maybe consider going with a 480 RAD.
Also, that is not a kill coil, that is a coil used to prevent vortexes in your reservoir. A silver kill coil is literally a little chunk of raw silver and is unmistakable for what it is.

2) The thing that confuses me most is the reservoir,...
It seems like it can work either way but it looks like the hole with the little tube extending into the reservoir should be used as the inlet. If you put the three ports on the bottom, it won't matter too much but if you put the three ports on top, the tubed-inlet will extend down below the waterline and prevent the...

Ellis_D

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Jul 20, 2014
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1) What do you think about these parts?
Those parts should be fine but if you're considering putting SLI cards in the loop, maybe consider going with a 480 RAD.
Also, that is not a kill coil, that is a coil used to prevent vortexes in your reservoir. A silver kill coil is literally a little chunk of raw silver and is unmistakable for what it is.

2) The thing that confuses me most is the reservoir,...
It seems like it can work either way but it looks like the hole with the little tube extending into the reservoir should be used as the inlet. If you put the three ports on the bottom, it won't matter too much but if you put the three ports on top, the tubed-inlet will extend down below the waterline and prevent the "waterfall effect", which can put air in your loop and it will also help keep air from backing up into your loop when you turn the pump off.

Also, the fill port should always be on the top. If you mount the reservoir with the three holes at the bottom, you would want to make the inlet and outlets attach to the bottom and use the single top hole as a fill/drain, whereas, if you mount the reservoir with the three holes on top, you'd use the bottom hole as an outlet and then you could use the top hole with the little tube as the inlet and one of the other two holes as a fill.

I would also like to know if people use the fill port as an inlet.
Typically not. The inlet should contain water pressure at all time so it would be ill advised to disconnect it for the sake of draining/filling. The fill port should be separate.

I want to put my pump next to the PSU, below the reservoir ...There's nothing to push the water to the pump if I fill it from below.
You would not want to fill it from below and this is why you will want the fill port at the top of your reservoir so there is always water pressure going to the pump.

3) Any advice on the loop order?
The only rule you need to follow is to have the reservoir above the pump so gravity will maintain water pressure to the pump.

4) Can I attach to the radiator 3 SP fans to each side or would that prove useless?
You won't get twice the cooling but it will provide more cooling than if you just had fans on one side of the radiator. Usually, the biggest obstacle with this configuration is if you have enough room for this amount of hardware. since you have the 900D, you should be fine.

5) Do I need in my loop drain port and fill port?
You need to factor in how you're going to drain and fill your loop, yes, but you don't need a "fill port" per-say and people drilling dedicated ports are only doing that to be fancy. Typically, you'd use your reservoir to fill your loop. You will fill your reservoir and it should fill down to your pump and once you fill up your reservoir, you briefly run the pump to move the water farther into the loop. Repeat that process until the entire loop is filled with water.

As for draining your loop, this is a lot trickier. The best way to do this is to use a dedicated drain port but the drain can be integrated with other components. The best drain port is located at the lowest point on your loop so gravity will aid in draining the port. For example, I use my fill port on the top of my reservoir to drain my system. I attach a long hose to the top of my reservoir and then turn my entire computer onto its back and that port turns into the lowest point of the loop.
http://oi62.tinypic.com/akiero.jpg

To effectively drain your system, you also need a "bleed" port at the highest point of your loop to allow air into the system. otherwise, you'll experience a suction, similar to how a syringe works and your system will drain extremely slowly, if at all.

6) It's a little off topic but do you reckon it's better to get the i7 4930k and water cool that instead of...
That's up to you really. If you have the money, go for it but the i7 4930k is still a good CPU and the the x99 platform is still very expensive just for the fact that you're using cutting edge technology.


One last question, I'm looking for fittings now and I'm not sure how to choose them properly.
Fittings are best chosen once you know how the run is going to work. If you want to draw a mockup for what you want to do, I could help give you pointers.
 
Solution

Vaexstro

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Mar 24, 2013
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Thank you for the very in depth answer, I'm gonna sketch a mock up now, shall I PM it to you or post it here? I was reluctant to do it yesterday because it was gonna look pretty bad :p.

I'm gonna reread your comment in a bit I just got home, and see if I have few more questions if that's okay.

Thank you a lot!

 

Ellis_D

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Jul 20, 2014
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Feel free to ask away.

And some more info on fittings:
The only fittings you specifically need are the ones that attach your tubes to each component (either barb fittings or compression fittings) as well as any plugs to close off unused ports. Its completely possible to build your loop without using angle fittings.

The reason you would want to use angle fittings is to connect each component in the most direct way possible. If the outlet of one component is directly facing the inlet of the next component, there is very little reason to use angle fittings but the two components are in completely different planes you would have to bend the tube to get it from one to another. The problem with this that too sharp of a bend will cause your tube to kink. To avoid a kink, you would have to compensate by using a long run of tube minimize the bend but this would at the same time maximize the clutter.

To get around this, you can use an angle fitting to change the direction of the inlet/outlet so it goes in a direction that would directly attach to the next component.
 

Vaexstro

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Mar 24, 2013
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Alright, I'm gonna TRY to do a mockup with paint on a 900D layout but it will probably look hideous.
Hopefully it'll show you the big picture.

I appreciate everything, you've been really helpful :D.

By the way, if you don't understand me thoroughly, let me know since English is not my native language.