help with cpu water cooling

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sololuke16

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let me first say it has been a long time since i posted here or created a thread, normally the search engine answers all my questions.
I searched for what i could about water coolers and I found an awesome closed loop water cooler, the corsair H100i, it is tempting to buy it buy my case has no room to mount it on top of my case. i considered mounting it on my side panel but I think its idiotic to do so.

my cpu is a AMD Phenom 2 x4 955 (pretty old now)
and gpu is GTX 770 4GB

I am unable to upgrade cpu because AM3 socket is obsolete and it is the bottleneck of my system.

I want to mount 2 radiators, one 120mm in the back of my case and one 140mm in the top. I normally use newegg to find parts but I am having trouble finding radiators and componets that I think are compatible with what I want to do. This is the last cpu upgrade I can do so I want to leave room for as big as an overclock that is possible. (Hopefully upto 5GHZ from 3.5) I know some radiators are double thick, I have room for either a double or triple thick radiator for either the 140mm or 120mm but not both i dont think.
i can also mount an additional 3rd radiator (120mm) in the front of my case as an aditional upgrade to acheive more overclock. Looking at threads I discovered some reservoirs have a pump built in. (SWEET!)

I want to ask the community a few things that left me asking questions after finding the following thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/first-water-cooling-nzxt-ekwb,29593.html

1. Where would I traditionally mount the resivoir / pump combo?
2. How many ports should each radiator have? I found a thick one on newegg with 5 ports, what are these for and should i stear clear?
3. what brands are reliable? in the past I have stayed away from brands like coolmaster, asrock, and rosewill. I trust Asus, MSI, Corsair and Silver Stone. i.e. I prefer to pay more for longevity and Q.C.
4. can someone direct me to a site that sells thick radiators?
5. I dont understand how to connect hoses to the parts
6. How exactly do I burp the air our of the system? The tread was vauge at best
7. What should I look for in a cpu block? (how can I tell which is best while browsing?) I have AM3 socket.
8. when making an open loop system does the MOBO controll radiator fan speed or does the pump like in a closed loop system
9. Do I change the hoses and fluid every year or two years? I have heard both
10. Do I buy a soecial coolant? is water mot used in the system?
11. What protocall should I follow to make the best conections possible to avoid leaks?
12. how often should i check for leaks?
13. What should I do If i find a leak?
14. is there a way to illuminate the the fluid inside the tubes? my color scheme is red...
15. Is there any unforeseen problems that anyone else has encountered I should be aware of?

I asked a crap ton of questions, that i know. but it resembles my naive-ness. That is why you guys are the best.
BUDGET: upto $300 (would love to come in at half this but I am not willing to cut any major corners)

Thanks so much for reading and helping!!
 
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sololuke16

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question 16. How do I connect all the components? I read block to radiator to reservoir to pump and back to block...
question 17. how do I know which port on the radiators in intake and which is out feed, does it matter?
 
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sololuke16

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Thanks for those links! I'll give them a thorough read tomorrow evening. Its too late for me tonight. I would be in bed by now but I have been resuscitating goldfish from the brink of death for the last hour and a half. One survived, but the other one i gave cpr to for about 20 or 30 minutes and he just didnt make it through.
 
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Geekwad

Geekwad

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Took the 'toilet ride' eh? :)

No worries. Let me know when you do read through the second one and then can give some input on the retail site. Multiple radiator systems are of course very possible, but best design practices really depend on case and how the water's going to flow (and if you're going to go for 5Ghz gold, you're definitely going to need to water your board's power too).
 
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sololuke16

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I have read trough all of it and have a few questions raised by the information given. my first question is in the radiators fins per inch section. what is a the lower limit for a high high cfm fan when using a radiator with 20-30 fps? the fan i use for my 120mm cpu cooler is max of 76 cfm for reference. And my other question is: is there a disadvantage to getting a pump/ reservoir combo?
Thanks for the help and the links.
 
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sololuke16

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I am now leaning against building an open loop system because of a few people telling stories about reservoirs leaking. The origin of the stories comes from people using acrylic reservoirs but one guy had a pump explode. Even if it was user installation error I am not willing to risk the components in my system with water. With nearly $1000 in mobo and attached components it is indeed high stakes gambling. I will look into some 140mm closed loop systems. Thanks for the help though.
 
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Geekwad

Geekwad

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That sounds good. Definitely something you don't want to do until you feel comfortable.

Keep in mind that AIO's have a lifespan too, and can also leak. Lifespan on a closed pre-filled system is somewhere in the 3-5 year range (typically), and most leaking will either occur initially or at the very end of life (though this not terribly common).

Make sure to do an out-of-box test for 24 hours before you install it, just to make sure. For end of life, just keep an eye on your temps. Most people find out their AIO is gone when the CPU hits its thermal limit and just shuts (or keeps shutting) down.
 
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sololuke16

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when it reaches the end of its lifespan does tat mean the fluid has all leaked out into my case or does that mean its just time to replace it? have you ever heard of one of these failing catastrophically?
 
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Geekwad

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Anything is possible; You could have one fail catastrophically, but it is very unlikely.

https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapc/comments/3snx16/discussion_corsair_hydro_h110i_gtx_leaking_like_a/

Usually what happens is the pump burns out (this is most cases, by far) either because of, or in conjunction with, enough coolant having gummed somewhere or evaporated through a leak small enough that it never appears in your case......but on closer inspection of the unit you see the residue left over from where it was forming moisture on the surface of the hose or whatever, then evaporated before it dripped.

This will cause your CPU, of course, to get very hot and go into thermal protective shutdown......which is when you usually find out. Everything is safe.....and then you just buy another one and repeat. :)

If it's something that really concerns you, these may help set your mind at ease:

http://koolance.com/sen-lk001-water-leak-detector

Or just go with air cooling.

And on that point.......which I couldn't stress enough.......liquid cooling, in almost all cases, is entirely unnecessary with high quality air cooling being more than adequate:

http://www.kitguru.net/components/leo-waldock/air-cooler-challenge-7-way-round-up/

And I would say these offer just short of excellent cooling for all except the high OC runs (which you would probably not be running 24/7 anyway):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA68V21E0640&cm_re=be_quiet!_Dark_Rock_3-_-9SIA68V21E0640-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835856028&cm_re=Deepcool_ASSASSIN_II-_-35-856-028-_-Product



 
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coozie7

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Just butting in... :)

All AIO coolers will lose coolant over time, it very slowly permeates through the hoses, this is not a leak, just a slow diffusion of the coolant through the hoses that takes years to happen.

It's possible to test run a system using one of these: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/xspc-psu-bridging-connector-24-pin-wc-021-ok.html

Yes, it's possible for an AIO to fail but it's very rare-use a bridging connector and run the system to check for leaks/problems-As Geekwad says, it's a good idea to test the system for a while before fully powering in up.

Be aware, some motherboards will need you to disconnect the 4/8 pin EPS plug when using a bridging connector, if you're unsure about this, disconnect it!

A big air cooler like the Dark Rock linked by Geekwad will do the job just as well as most AIO, but bear in mind it's HEAVY! This isn't an issue for a static system but it can cause damage to the motherboard/CPU if the system is moved, particularly if it's shipped over a long distance.
 
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