Watercooling a build for tinkering with

[PANZER4]

Hi
I'm thinking about going water cooled with a build that I'm going to tinker and play around with. For now ill only be watercooling the CPU, but may expand later on. For now though, I'm not worried about future proofing with a more powerful pump.
my to-be specs are
FX-8320-I know that intel would probably be better, and the money spent on watercooling could get me an i7... But I fell like supportin' the little guy, and I doubt I'll notice the difference.

For my motherboard, I chose the AsRock 990FX extreme4-seems to be a good board for the money to me, and looks like it'll hold up to overclocking fairly well

As for the case, I'm considering either the HAF X, or the HAF 932-Which one of these would be better? Or should I be looking at a different case entirely?

As for the loop, I think I'll go overkill with the radiator initially, so I chose the XSPC raystorm 750 RX360 kit-us this a good starter cooler? Us there anything it doesn't have? I know it comes with everything that I would probably need, but is there anything else I should buy separately? Thermal paste? Tubing?
And as for coolant, the general consensus seems to be to use distiller water from a supermarket. Is this correct? Just checking

And there you have it!
Thanks for the advice guys
BTW I have done tons of research (at least by my standards) and read the sticky already

 

[giltyler]

HAF X is what I would do if I did not already have my 600T white.
You can get the XSPC Raystorm kit with a D5 pump and that is all the pump you will need. I just finished my loop tonight and having some angled rotary fitings helps.
8320 should be a good processor to play with. We are all spoiled with what we have available today.

 

[PANZER4]

Great! So the D5 is worth the extra ~100$ over the normal 750? It seems like a good idea if I ever wanted to expand...

And with the rotary fittings, if they're that useful, then maybe I will get some.. Which ones are good? Will any rotary/angled fitting work? And what's the most useful fitting, 45° or 90°?
Also, now that I think about it, would some type of valve to drain the watercooling loop for maintenance be useful? It seems to me that it would be a pain to drain if there wasn't some sort of part for this.
And concerning maintenance, if I'm only using distiller water and a kill coil/antibacterial chemical, would a yearly clean out be suitable?

 

[Lutfij]

1| welcome to the dark side I meant that cos once the bug bites in the a$$ you'll probably have the PSU under water too
2| following up on prev comment, purposely blocking your future upgradeability path isn't the best option for a rig or any venture. I say get the D5, this should help you get a 1080 rad and a crossfire full cover block setup in the works
3| case is very subjective as is what the color of a room should be...I need to get myself to do include cases in the writeup of the sticky.
4| if you've read the watercooling sticky already, you should've been at the finish line by now.
5| yearly clean out maybe pushing it, thas your hardware. But 6 months should be the least on ur maintenance amplitude.
6| as a word of caution, If you intend to use mayhems dyes/concentrates - stay away from the raystorm kits bay res.
7| there are others here who have purchase from PCCG. might want to look at the watercooling gallery thread as well the build logs thread for some inspiration/guide to cases, loop order and parts - but the sticky should've helped that already.

 

[PANZER4]

1| welcome to the dark side I meant that cos once the bug bites in the a$$ you'll probably have the PSU under water too

I'd read about that...

2| following up on prev comment, purposely blocking your future upgradeability path isn't the best option for a rig or any venture. I say get the D5, this should help you get a 1080 rad and a crossfire full cover block setup in the works

Thanks! D5 it is then

3| case is very subjective as is what the color of a room should be...I need to get myself to do include cases in the writeup of the sticky.

Ok. In that case (pun not intended) I think I'll go for the HAF X, which manofchalk seems to have, and he seems happy with it for his WC'ing.

4| if you've read the watercooling sticky already, you should've been at the finish line by now.

I know, but...everyone wants to make sure there is NOTHING wrong with there setup for WC, and that includes me so I, well, just wanted to make sure

5| yearly clean out maybe pushing it, thas your hardware. But 6 months should be the least on ur maintenance amplitude.

^^ that's one of the things I wanted to make absolutely sure about, so I think I'll make it a regular 6 monthly clean out, one around Christmas, and around the winter (here in Australia anyway) holidays (I'm 14)

6| as a word of caution, If you intend to use mayhems dyes/concentrates - stay away from the raystorm kits bay res.

No, I don't think I'll be using dies, as per doctors instructions I'll just use some regular distiller water from our local supermarket

7| there are others here who have purchase from PCCG. might want to look at the watercooling gallery thread as well the build logs thread for some inspiration/guide to cases, loop order and parts - but the sticky should've helped that already.

Heh heh, I've noticed a few people who live in Australia and buy from PCCG thanks for that little tidbit, I'll go have a look at the gallery

Great! Thanks for all of your advice, and sorry to be a nag, but is there anything special I should get if I want to drain the loop? And should I get some 45°/90° rotary fittings?
So many questions come popping in my head ...

Any way, that'll do for now, and thanks guys

 

[Lutfij]

Ok. In that case (pun not intended) I think I'll go for the HAF X, which manofchalk seems to have, and he seems happy with it for his WC'ing.

just because it works for one person, doesn't mean it'll work the same for you. I mean taste/use wise.

here are a few shout outs for case recommendations:
NZXT Switch
corsair 600T
corsair carbide 300/400/500R
bitfenix shinobi XL
corsair 600D

to name a few...

erm, you sure you need angled fittings? I mean't, Is it really necessary? have you planned out your loop?

 

[bigcyco1]

For 100% safety and performance, distilled + ptnuke is the way to go.

 

[PANZER4]

Ok. In that case (pun not intended) I think I'll go for the HAF X, which manofchalk seems to have, and he seems happy with it for his WC'ing.

just because it works for one person, doesn't mean it'll work the same for you. I mean taste/use wise.

here are a few shout outs for case recommendations:
NZXT Switch
corsair 600T
corsair carbide 300/400/500R
bitfenix shinobi XL
corsair 600D

to name a few...

erm, you sure you need angled fittings? I mean't, Is it really necessary? have you planned out your loop?

Well, I've got an idea of how it would go in my head, but since I don't have the case in front of me, it's kinda hard to plan exactly. To me, it doesn't seem to complicated the way it would go, just put the radiator up top, the pump/reservoir in the drive bays and the CPU block under them.
Something like
Rad>res/pump>CPU block>rad again (obviously), there's no other way it could go, at least until/if I add a GPU block

Also, The main reason I Was thinking about angled fittings is because that guy above suggested them..should I get any, if only to have them handy just in case?

 

[PANZER4]

For 100% safety and performance, distilled + ptnuke is the way to go.

Where I'm buying stuff from (pccasegear), I can't seem to find anything called PTnuke. The only stuff there is liquid utopia and kill coils. Would he liquid utopia and/or the kill coil work?

 

[Lutfij]

Also, The main reason I Was thinking about angled fittings is because that guy above suggested them..should I get any, if only to have them handy just in case?

thick walled tubing can take bends nicely unless you'd want it to take 90 bend a a very sharp corner - then you're asking for trouble and a tubing popping off somewhere

When I mean't planning, I mean't the sort of bends/angles you'll want to negotiate when setting up your watercooling hardware.

Google's your friend here regarding case decision.
* tip: google: "case"+watercooling - should throw out some fancy ideas.

 

[PANZER4]

Also, The main reason I Was thinking about angled fittings is because that guy above suggested them..should I get any, if only to have them handy just in case?

thick walled tubing can take bends nicely unless you'd want it to take 90 bend a a very sharp corner - then you're asking for trouble and a tubing popping off somewhere

When I mean't planning, I mean't the sort of bends/angles you'll want to negotiate when setting up your watercooling hardware.

Google's your friend here regarding case decision.
* tip: google: "case"+watercooling - should throw out some fancy ideas.

I googled "HAF X and RX360" and I found this picture in one of the links.

This seems like pretty much what I should do minus all the stuff below the CPU waterblock and res
Think if I did the stuff in that picture it would work?
EDIT: now that I look at that picture again, the fans come pretty damn close to the motherboard, maybe I should check if there anything to watch out for on my mobo..:S

 

[bigcyco1]

a silver kill coil would work as well

 

[Lutfij]

well you could've also googled : HAFX watercooling

now that I look at that picture again, the fans come pretty damn close to the motherboard, maybe I should check if there anything to watch out for on my mobo..:S

you've already begun to tickle those information antennas atop your head.

 

[PANZER4]

a silver kill coil would work as well

Great, so a kill coil will work fine by itself? I know, I know, but I'm just checking to make sure

 

[PANZER4]

well you could've also googled : HAFX watercooling

now that I look at that picture again, the fans come pretty damn close to the motherboard, maybe I should check if there anything to watch out for on my mobo..:S

you've already begun to tickle those information antennas atop your head.

What do you mean
EDIT: Double damn, I'm not so sure ill be able to use a RX anymore, the rad would cover my EPS 12V connector
EDIT #2: would the EX compare favourably to the RX? Ahh whatever, it's 1 in the morning here, be back in a few hours, I need some sleep.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Mount the RX above your Pc, on the roof,
You could use the EX but they like faster fans to get near the performance of the RX at slower, quieter speeds,
I have both EX and RX on my build and the RX on my roof has never needed go above minimum fanspeed, the EX's in my radbox like to be revved up though
Moto

 

[PANZER4]

Mount the RX above your Pc, on the roof,
You could use the EX but they like faster fans to get near the performance of the RX at slower, quieter speeds,
I have both EX and RX on my build and the RX on my roof has never needed go above minimum fanspeed, the EX's in my radbox like to be revved up though
Moto

I know this is a little vain of me, but I think I would prefer to have the rad in the case..too bad there's no such thing as super thin fans then I could fit the rad in the case so it doesn't cover the EPS 12V connector

Anyways, I'll be back later, gotta go to a family thing right now, so I'm in a hurry

 

[giltyler]

There are very slim fans available they are just not very good for pushing air through a radiator.
http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g36/c15/s972/list/p1/Fans-12_Volt_Fans-120mm_x_12mm_Fans-Page1.html?id=6XiW2qQe

This is 1/2 as thick as most common fans 12mm thick.

 

[PANZER4]

I had a look, maybe I could get just one of thes "slim" fans, and put it in the middle so it doesn't cover that spot. But from what I know, you need a high static pressure for rads, and those fans don't look the best for that..but the RX360 is a low FPI rad, so maybe.. What do you guys think, a RX360 with 2 normal and 1 slim, or EX360 with 3 normals?

 

[amuffin]

EX360.

 

[PANZER4]

EX360.

Thanks, I'll go for the ex360 D5 then for my build
Now here Is my new salvo of questions
Anything else that I might have missed before I order the parts round Christmas?
Should I get different tubing?
Should I get an aftermarket heat paste, or is the K2 stuff sufficient? (I can't seem to find anything on google strangely)

Thanks for the help guys

 

[amuffin]

Personally, I wouldn't go with a kit.

 

[PANZER4]

What, so with the ~270 on the kit I should go custom?

 

[Lutfij]

xspc kits are actually the bomb in terms of kit pricing/value. But if you went custom, it'd benefit you by helping you understand your loop much better. BTW, be very careful about your fan choice and setup. I had to learn the hard way without reading the sticky that fans look great in advertising but are a real butt pincher in reality/real world applications.

You'rr trying to make things fit inside your case and you expect the temps to remain unchanged as though the temp gradient will follow your commands(much like an X-men). Might want to re-invest in an external rad mount idea. Modo mentioned this in his sig - every watercooling setup isn't your "out of the box and boom you're up" deals, each build has it problems and each build has their own solutions.

How you solve these problems is the real learning curve.

 

[PANZER4]

Ok, so if I say, bought the RX and mounted it on the roof, I would just have to run the lines through the back? I guess my main prob with an external rad is I'm 14 (friends..nuff said) and it just looks more aesthetically pleasing to have the rad on the inside
But maybe I can compromise for now, after all, I'm only cooling the CPU, if I ever add the GPU, maybe then I'll change it up.
But I have a question, would it affect temps to have the rad on the outside? If it made a descent difference, then maybe. I'm still only cooling the CPU though, and for that any 360 rad is overkill, right?