O also to clarify I did thumb through the sticky twice
You might want to go back and read through as much as possible to pick up as many details as possible. There are a large number of links, and most of those links also contain a large volume of data. Skimming isn't going to get you very far. That wasn't the idea of the sticky in the first place.
1. Would be amazing if you showed a picture of a gpu block installed. It doesn't replace my air cooling solution on the gpu correct?
Yes, it does replace your normal air cooling. You must remove the stock cooler and install the GPU block (either universal + heatsinks or a full-cover block). Be sure to use new thermal paste and thermal pads/tape as appropriate for your install. These steps are included in GPU block packaging as there may be specific directions for individual blocks.
2. Pump wattage is apparently important spec but not listed when you give your pump overview (in the h220 thread a major point of it only being 6w is made- yet on the sticky i have no comparison wattages)
Pump watts are almost always rated on the manufacturer site, but we rarely make a fuss as 99% of watercooling pumps consume less than 30w. This means at the very worst case scenario, they also dump 15-30w back into your loop. Not substantial, but almost everyone allows for a decent TDP headroom with radiators anyway.
3. the Res and Barb/fitting section would benefit from some installation pictures. Or is everything basically G1/4 at this point?
You screw them in to finger tight, slide the tubing on. That's about it. For compression fittings, instead of applying a clamp over the tubing, you screw down the compression ring (which hopefully you slipped onto the tubing prior to fitting over the barb...)
4. picture of you jumping the PSU would be awesome, the paint image is nice, but putting a paper clip into anything electrical is slightly terrifying for me? Maybe I'm a wimp
There is a picture of the sockets to jump. There isn't anything else to really show...? You can always buy an ATX jumper plug for a couple dollars at most watercooling stores.
5. I think my university's wifi was just acting up on me, because from my apartment all the pages load fine, so I recant that criticism!
Can't help you much with your local ISP access. If I could, I would already have Google Fiber before the rest of the world. The End.
6 My last point would be I still have a very poor idea of the size and amount of radiators my case can hold. Obviously doing each available case is absurd, but maybe listing typical placements of radiators? I can fit a triple on the top of my case and then a single on my back exhaust fan I know, but are there any other placement options?
This is where Googling your <case model> and watercooling can often turn up a lot of ideas. There are far too many cases and different versions out there to even remotely attempt this, but you can easily find a vast majority of the most common cases being modified for use as well as with stock fan/rad placement.
Planning and mapping out your components based on needs, budget and case are some of the most interesting and fun aspects of watercooling. More research and planning will lead to more ideas.
Too many people want cookie cutter answers and sadly miss many of the fun parts of this hobby.
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