New build watercooling help! Making purchase in 24hrs!

[xt4c33]

Hey everyone!! I just got my build finalized with everything but cooling. I want to do watercooling as i like the idea of the more quiet setup as well as the ability to keep temps low. On top of that it just looks cool.

My problem that im having is im sort of confused. I have read through the sticky and have checked out skinnelabs and several other websites and forums. However im still completely lost. I have the understanding of how the watercooling system works and how to put it together (i have done this 2 times before). I have not however ever picked the parts and brands. Every forum i go to its bashing of one brand or another or constant arguments on why this or that is better. I have also looked at charts myself and most of the time the things that im seeing are within 1-2c apart.

Basically what i want to know if you wouldnt mind is what setup i would need to have to cool a 3770k and 2 7970s. I have read and seen setups that have 2 radiatiors but from what i can tell the 7970s only put out around 425-450tdp(i may be wrong) and i dont think that the 3770k puts out enough to justify 2 rads. I have the switch 810 case and i want to keep everything as internal as possible. So what rads show i go with as well as what pump and blocks. The fittings and the tubes ill find on my own. I want to try and keep it around 500-600 dollars if possible. I dont want to spend more money than is neccasary. If cant do it on this budget please let me know so i can stop daydreaming and actually be realistic!

Thanks for looking guys and i cant wait to see what you all come up with!

 

[inzone]

$500-$600 is a bit low for a budget on water cooling , you may be able to do it if you got inexpensive parts but for a custom water cooling system the thing you don't want to do is go cheap on it , you also don't have to go expensive either and get top quality parts but somewhere inbetween.

Cpu block $89.95
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_971_498_495&products_id=34854

Pump $79.95
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_201&products_id=33678

gpu block $229.90
2x http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_971_240_578&products_id=34865

Radiator $84.95
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_457_667_671&products_id=25389

Resivoir $31.50
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_318_998&products_id=30676

This comes to $516.25 and it does't include the fittings , tubing , fluid and fans. So you can see that it will go over the $600 and your budget should actually be $600 to $800.

 

[xt4c33]

Thanks for the reply inzone! That's what I figured. I really want to watercool so I guess the best option is not to skimp. In the budget range you were speaking of what would you get? I wouldn't mind dropping a little more I just thought if I set it at 500 most people would be reasonable. If you post a huge budget people go crazy and just throw out the best without regard to what is actually needed. Thanks for taking the time to reply!

 

[rubix_1011]

You are going to purchase a loop within the next 24 hrs without any research or understanding of what you need to look for? Most people spend a few weeks at minimum learning how to calculate what they actually need.

I very STRONGLY suggest reading and learning as much as possible and wait to purchase until you have a complete understanding from start to finish on what you need, how to build it and test it and how to support it long term.

 

[inzone]

There are a numer of things that are helpful to putting a water cooling system together and experience is at the top of the list along with a good understanding of how it's put together and works. There are also helpful little tricks that come in handy like running the loop witout power to the board or components and keeping dry cloths handy and inside the case near where the fittings are in case of leaks also double checking the connectios before running the pump. You can't read enough and finding out about all the fittings and parts , plus drawing out the loop ahead of time so your not wasteful with tubing and then come up short.

 

[inzone]

Those parts that I posted are for the most part what I have or what I would get. I do have that pump and resivoir but a different cpu block (Kryos Silver Edition) and I have Nvidia instead of AMD so my video blocks are the EVGA Hydro Copper Classified.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_971_498_497&products_id=32014

 

[xt4c33]

I have read and I have researched a fair amount. I have also put together 2 water cooling setups. All of this I stated before. The questions that I have are questions that I feel are best answered from people with experience with certain products. I have looked as I stated before at skinnelabs and other websites and have seen the charts. However there is a lot more to owning a product than just the charts. I'm more worried about the quality or the product and finding a straight answer when it comes to that is difficult. Fanboys ruin forums by blindly supporting a product without firm evidence. This is why I posted. I want to know what brand I should go with that will be most cost effective yet productive and is a solid product. My other question was in regards to a dual rad. I again cannot find any advice on which size I should go or if it's needed. Some charts show some rads able to handle up to 650tdp. I just want to know of you had a similar build what you would use and why.

 

[rubix_1011]

7970 TDP 210w (x2)
3770k TDP ~95w
515w total at stock

You could easily estimate around 500w. This would be just fine on the RX360 you listed above, but if you plan on overclocking any components, I would strongly suggest more rad space.

 

[inzone]

As far as what parts to use and what I have had experience with is this, the pump I list for you before I have and I have two , the resivoir is connected to one of my loops the other parts are good quality and I have used the brands before. For fittings I stay mainly with Bitspower because the quality is good and the selection is the best of all the brands and I do like to keep the same brand going through the system. I have found Tygon clear tubing to be good and I have that in both loops. I have had XSPC radiators and found them to be very good quality and I just replaced a 360mm XSPC with a ALPHA Cool Monsta 360 because I wanted to try a thicker radiator and not because the XSPC that I had was bad but I did want to see if going from 58mm to 86mm made any difference.
If you have a question about specific parts then I will give you the best answer I can and if I don't have any experience with it I'll tell you and recomend a similar part that I have had experience with.

 

[scopey86]

500 watts on an RX360 is pushing it isn't it? Using a Monsta would be more reasonable, but you're going to want some fairly high powered fans to dissipate that heat load.

 

[rubix_1011]

No, but it depends on the fans used. For 1500-1800rpm fans and 1.0-1.5gpm flow, this should net you around a 10C delta and approx 575-600w of dissipation. For lower flow and fan speeds you obviously net a lower overall dissipation factor and an increase in delta.

 

[xt4c33]

Ok so i was just able to play on 2 similar setups to mine. One with 7970s and the other 670s and i must say i enjoyed the 670s more. To me the gameplay seemed smoother and just talking with the owner of the 7970s about the driver issues i think im going to go the 670 route. I know that the 7970s may perform a little better but the heat and power consumption is not worth it for a few frames here or there. Not to mention to get the fps that he had the cards were overclocked a fair amount more than the 670s. That being said i have come up with a watercooling set up that appeals to me. Its within my price range and i really like the look. The only thing that im hesitant about is the brand xspc. I have read online and a lot of people seem to like them. Anyway to the setup:

3x120 Rad: EX360
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/14328/ex-rad-316/XSPC_EX360_Triple_120mm_Low_Profile_Split_Fin_Radiator.html

2x120 Rad: EX240
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/14327/ex-rad-315/XSPC_EX240_Dual_120mm_Low_Profile_Split_Fin_Radiator.html

Cpu Block: XSPC Raystorm High Performance acetal block
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/14186/ex-blc-971/XSPC_RayStorm_High_Performance_Acetal_CPU_Liquid_Cooling_Block_-_Intel_Sockets_LGA_775_1155_1156_1366_2011.html

Gpu Blocks: XSPC Razor Full Coverage blocks
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/16701/ex-blc-1190/XSPC_Razor_nVidia_GTX_670_Full_Coverage_VGA_Block_-_Reference_Design.html

Pump/Res Combo: XSPC Dual Bay Clear w/D5 variant pump
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/13884/ex-res-300/XSPC_Dual_525_Bay_Clear_Reservoir_-_w_D5_Variant_Pump_Installed.html

Total:$545.86

Again i really like the brushed look of the blocks and the EX rads are supposed to have similar performance to the RX.

A few more questions:

1. Do you think that one pump will be ok?

2. Any fan recomendations? I went with low profile rads so that i could fit it in the swtich 810 top without having to not use the first bay.

Thanks again for the suggestions and let me know what you think!

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Yup, the D5 is one of the most recommended pumps out, I own an Rx240 and two Ex360's so for the Rx go for a lower speed fan, 1250-1500 on a controller, and the Ex's like faster fans so feel free to up those to 2k units,
Xspc is a decent brand, the only two things I wouldn't touch of theirs is the X20 pump and the ramblocks, but thats purely because ram cooling is pretty pointless these days
Moto

 

[inzone]

You can save a few bucks by picking up those parts at performancepcs.com thier prices are a little lower than Frozencpu.com. I shop at both and when one doesn't have an item the other will.