Water Cooling, HAF-X, Virgin

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kjriot

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As the topic states i'm A) a water cooling virgin (H100 dont count). B) using the Cooler Master HAF-X pc case.

I've tried randomly searching boards and vids for what I need to do and such but i always run into the problem of, it's over-detailed, or not detailed enough. I'm an idiot. An idiot who just spent around 4000$ on a PC, and wanting to spend a little more. My set up
Cooler Master HAF-X
i7-2600k @ 4.6 Ghz
SLI (2) GTX 580 3GB
Asus Maximus IV Extreme-Z
Samsung 820 series 256gb SSD
Seagate 750 GB SSHD (HDD)

So, my biggest problem at the moment is figuring out, piece by piece, what i'm going to need to water cool this machine. I meen fittings, Radiator(s), Pump(s) e.t.c. I was hoping at first to not get rid of the H100 and just cool the gpu's but it looks like it would be easier to just replace the H100 and do the CPU and GPU with the same loop or w/e. If i'm wrong feel free to correct me. Not really caring about HDD cooling. Even mounting options seem horrible, especially if i dont remove the h100. So if anyone would be kind enough to help yet another board cluttering noob with these specific details, it would be much appriciated, thanks.
 
Solution
To be perfectly honest, you aren't going to be able to tell performance differences between almost all CPU blocks and GPU blocks by well-known brands, so most of the selection will be personal preference and budget. There is really only 2-5C difference in performance across the board and in many instances, it's give/take on which is better in each category. Radiators are a little bit more distinguishable (but not a lot), but Skinnee has most of those covered in his radiator reviews. Most 360 rads will dissipate 525-600 watts or so on average with 1200-1500 rpm fans; even more with higher speed/static pressure fans.

gbkinum1

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I really liked the water cooling sticky in these forums.. and it will really be worth your time to spend the time to read the "over-detailed" guides. You can really lose the advantage of water cooling by trying to rush through it as fast as possible.. there are just a million things that go into it, the more you know the better your loop will turn out.

I will however mention a few things that come to mind and weren't immediately obvious to me:
- alot of people recommend the RX 360 radiator (good performance w/ low speed fans), although for all you are trying to cool.. you may need additional rad space, perhaps an RX 240 or a second RX 360 to keep the temps down where you want them.
- when you choose fittings, barbs really perform just about the same as compression fittings, you really open up the wallet for the asthetics of compression fittings
- when you fill up your loop, use just plain old distilled water + PT nuke or a silvercoil (to kill algae). I only mention this because there was so much bad information out there recommending pre-mixed solutions and dyes etc, it was hard to sift through it all to really figure out what was best

So overall you'll be buying a cpu waterblock + 2 gpu blocks (you may want to do a little reading over full cover vs universal blocks), pump (there are a couple that people recommend.. I can't remember the names off the top of my head), reservoir, radiator(s), fittings, and tubing. Obviously also the distilled water & PT nuke/silver coil that I already mentioned. Good luck and I hope you spend the time doing the proper research before throwing it together!
 

kjriot

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I'm still researching ^^. Kinda like when i built this rig last xmas, i didnt know anything bout parts, researched for like 2 weeks before i even started filling my cart, then another 2 cross examining and comparing. Only dif here is the fact that so many guides have different advice. Was hoping some one here might have already water cooled a HAF-X and could give me a good guide line. Even the waterblocks which i thought would be simple, 2 EVGA hydro copper 2 water blocks, seems complicated as their are other i guess. And as you said for what im trying to cool, i thot cooling the cpu + 2-4 gpu was the common practice.
 

gbkinum1

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It is difficult when the guides conflict.. but I'd highly recommend the guide stickied at the top of these forums.. it has alot of good stuff + links to more good stuff.

As far as the HAF-X case, I'm actually using that myself.
http://i39.tinypic.com/9bkehl.jpg

There is room for a thick 360 rad to fit inside, but it is a little tight. I tried to fit 3 120mm fans below it pushing air through, but RAM is just slightly blocking the middle fan. I know it's possible to take out the HDD cage to mount another smaller radiator internally (rx 240 in the build that I saw), but that may or may not be necessary for you. It is pretty commonplace to cool cpu + multiple gpus, but so is multiple radiators. You'll just need to take a look at the TDP of every part in the loop you are trying to cool, then find someone who's done some testing on different rads (skinnee labs is a great source) to figure out how much heat they can dissipate depending on fan speeds and water flow. You can take a look at the RX 360 here. You'll then need to figure out what kind of delta C you are looking for.. which is all covered in the water cooling guide sticked at the top of these forums. There are alot of helpful people (and far more knowledgeable than myself) on these forums, but they are unlikely to really help with questions addressed in the guide.
 
One thing to keep an eye on when reading guides is the hardware they are cooling, if someone is reviewing xxx cpu block for a prescott chip, you know that its way, way wa...Hay out of date,
The sticky here is great, and I also recommend you to spend a good while reading it,
I would second the rad calculation too, RX360 and RX240 will cover you, although more is never bad hehe
and the EX series are almost as good as the RX ones, but slimmer, the same size as the RS so that middle fan may not be an issue for you at least, Gbk, have you tried a slimmer set of fans btw?
http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g36/c15/s972/list/p1/Fans-12_Volt_Fans-120mm_x_12mm_Fans-Page1.html are slightly thinner and may give you that fan back (I did mean to ask you about that in the other thread :p)

Moto
 

gbkinum1

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:O I didn't know they made 12mm thick fans! Too bad it's a sleeve bearing.. but I'll probably end up ordering one (or maybe 3 so they match.. not really sure if that matters) Thanks for the great idea! :D
 

kjriot

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your case is so tidyi had to take off the lil air duct and the lil wire hider thing by the PSU, i got a Pro 1250W XFX Black Edition, and the cords are so stiff, and seem kinda short that the only way i could run the cords was straight from PSU to GPU, the motherboard 24(?) pin power connector was barely able to go thru the back of the case. I'm gonna try and read the sticky again it's just alil much to comprehend for me since i dont know the lingo. I did see a video on metacafe from toms hardware, or some one who posts here, who posted how to cool an entire system including the HDD's, but it was crazy. Anyways, thanks for the help, ill select a best awnser in a tad bit ^^
 

kjriot

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Upon re-reading the sticky, and several of the links provided i have come to the conclusion, there isn't enough aspirin in the world to facilitate the head ache i am enduring right now. I though building my rig to be the best for my budget was a head ache, this is far worse. The problem is that theres so much information, and so much to know I can't seem to process it. PSI's, GPM's, Rad Sizes and the FPI, Pumps, i still cant figure out what a fittings fits. I dream of taking full advantage of the machine i built, but with my lack of tech knowledge and comprehension I think water cooling is beyond my capability to design. :(.
 

rubix_1011

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First, what questions do you want us to decipher for you, specifically? Maybe this would help to know what you are wanting to find out and we could go with a specific approach for your build. Give us 2-3 questions to start off and let's see what we can answer for you...once you get the fundamentals, the rest is just budget. :)
 

kjriot

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I'm wracking my my brain trying to even figure out what to ask that would help me now. I'm going to try and do a little bit more on my own and see what comes of it, perhaps when i'm done with this process, i can come back here post, what i have chosen, and we can go from there.

 

rubix_1011

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Watercooling is much more a hobby than anything...it captures your interest, you get started with some intro components and if you get into it, you start to make it more and more of your daily thought process.

I tried this with golf years ago, but no matter what I did, I always ended up frustrated. With watercooling, it just gets better and better the more time you spend on it.
 

kjriot

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well i decided to give myself a budget of somewhere around 500$. However like my PC that had a budget of 2500$ quickly became a 4300$ build once i started adding extra's. So I'm trying to take this in a different direction now rather then trying to eat so much info. at one time i have went part by part. So heres what I've done so far

Pump:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2128/ex-pmp-27/Swiftech_MCP655-B_12v_Water_Pump_w_38_Conversion_Kit_317_GPH.html

Radiator: Everything i read about the HAF-X in general, and the RAD i'll need to cool the CPU and 2 GTX 580 lead me to this. Any info. would be appriciated. Dimensions and the reliability/performance of this rad and others seems to be highly dif in peoples eyes.
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/14266/ex-rad-298/Aquacomputer_Airplex_Modularity_System_360_Radiator_-_Aluminum_Fins_-_Dual_Circuit_33017.html

Rad. Fans: 3 of.
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/10029/fan-642/Scythe_Gentle_Typhoon_120mm_x_25mm_Fan_-_1150_RPM_D1225C12B3AP-13.html

Resovoir: No clue here.
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/xsacdu5refor1.html

CPU Block: Only saw 3 that even fit the 1155 on the site, i chose this.
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/14214/ex-blc-977/Heatkiller_Rev_30_11551156_CPU_Liquid_Cooling_Block_-_Nickel_Black_14014.html?tl=g30c85s139

GPU Blocka:
Not a Clue nothing I find has any real awnser for the GTX 580's.

Obviously i didn't mention hoses or fitting as I don't know what i would need. maybe we can go from here, make changes or add, what not.
 

rubix_1011

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AquaComputers are pretty pricey and their radiators are a bit more restrictive than most other brands...this is due to AC using smaller channels and design for lower flow rates on their components...in Europe, this is the norm, in the US, we go for higher flow. It isn't better one way or another- it's just a difference in cooling design principles.

You are looking at a lot of cooling-
CPU TDP = 95 watts (@stock speed)
GTX 580 TDP = 244 watts (@stock speed) (x2)

You could barely get by (only at stock speeds, mind you) on a single, thick, high-performing 360 rad, but you'll likely need the equivalent of a 240 and 360 for this loop (either thick or thin) or even two 360's depending on how much overclocking you intend to do.

 

JustAnotherNoob

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Welcome to your new hobby.
Now with the components you are going to cool i would consider an external radiator. 1 internal 360 rad is not enough for an overclocked CPU + 2 high-powered GPUs.
That is if you want a silent system. If you don't care about the noise you can use an internal 360 rad, slap on the fastest fans you can find and buy some good ear protection for the money you saved.

Your GTX 580s need to be cooled by a fullcover block, GPU only is usually not enough for high-end cards.

Heatkiller and DangerDan make some very nice fullcover GPU blocks, their CPU blocks are also very good.

For pumps i would suggest one of the "classics" - Laing/Swiftech. They are easy to get, easy to maintain, you can get various covers to suit your style, and they are very widely used, to it should be easy to find help if you run into any problems.

Barbs/clamps and tubing are really a matter of personal preference, any tube with an ID of 3/8" (~10mm) or greater is good, thicker walls allow tighter bends without kinking.
Nearly all fittings and components have G1/4" threads, only some old and outdated ones might use G1/8", and some exotic modern ones use G3/8". If you want to avoid hunting for exotic/special parts and using converters you will want to stick with G1/4".
 
I'd argue that you don't need a full cover block at all. It is preferable to be sure, but you save $50 or more per GPU by getting a solid universal block and some VRAM/VRM heat sinks. If the case has good air flow it shouldn't be a big issue. Especially if you can get a Silverstone Penetrator pointing right at them.
 

kjriot

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So if i go dual RAD, a 360 top, cud i put a second 360 on the back thats not the same, or smaller? such as the 1 above and this 1:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/4283/ex-rad-88/Black_Ice_GT_Stealth_360_Radiator_-_Black.html?tl=g30c95s161
or should i get a smaller rad, or the same size as the 1 i chose to top mount?
Also will i need 2 pumps to do this?


I suppose I should state my intentions are heavy over-clocking, best I really get with air is 880 Mhz. and I would like to take these babies as high as i can, at least 930-950 Mhz
 

kjriot

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what u mean BIX rad? i was just lookin for a cheaper RAD otherwise im lookin at 1000$ by the time im done here. I'm starting to think that maybe i can just do 1 rear exterior 360 Rad for the GPU's and keep the H100 for my CPU, it seems to do its job very well it just isnt flashy and pretty.
 

rubix_1011

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Black Ice Extreme = BIX

I know it's actually a GT, but almost the same exact rad.

Unprecedented Ultra-high 30 FPI (Fins Per Inch) fin density providing dramatically increased heat transfer surface area

Vs. 7-12 FPI for most other radiators.

$1000? How do come up with those figures? You really should be looking at around $600-$700 range...(just off the top of my head).
 

kjriot

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i maya added something up wrong, but it was
2 360 RAD (180$ each)
2 GTX 580 waterblocks (150$ each)
1 CPU block (90$)
2 Pumps (90$ each)
3 scythe fans (16$ each)

thats 978$ and thats without adding tubing, fittings, and coolant.

So i'm doing something wrong or buying stuff i dont need, or rather, buying far more expensive then needed. Which is more-or-less why i came here to the forums, being it the only 1 i trust. For help designing my water cooling system.
 
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