Watercooling setup up - suggestions?

[wolfram23]

I'm looking into watercooling. Probably won't be buying for a couple months but it's good to get a start on it. I'll be cooling an i5 750, and two 5850s in an Antec 902.

The plan:

-Primochill Typhoon Split Window Single Bay Single Loop Delrin Reservoir with Front Window - Blue ($100) mounted in my top 5.25" bay into a
-Swiftech MCP655 12V Industrial Water Cooling Pump 1/2IN Barbs ($80) mounted in middle bay.
-Swiftech APOGEE XT LGA1366 CPU Water Block G1/4 Chrome HI-FLOW 1/2IN Eurostyle Barb Fittings ($70). The output will then split into two 1/4" lines for
-Two Ek Water Blocks EK-FC 5850 Nickel Plated Full Cover Radeon HD 5850 GPU Block G1/4 ($240). Output lines will reconnect into 1/2" and travel outside the rear of the case (only 2 holes) and up top where it will split again into 1/4" lines for the
-Two Swiftech MCR320-QP Quiet Power radiator 1/4" ($102). Lines will reconnect into 1/2" and return into case and over to resevoir
-Tubing: Primochill Primoflex Pro LRT UV Red 1/2IN ID 3/4IN OD Tubing (10 Feet) ($17)
-Fittings: Not sure, will need at least 4 1/2" to 1/4" Y connectors
-Fans: Scythe S-Flex ($90 for 6) or maybe Gentle Typhoon or Slip Stream Slim

I'm wondering where I might be able to save some cash, as the total here is $699 plus fittings. A little pricey... If the MCR220 rads will be sufficient then I can save some cash (and possibly mount inside the case, but not a big deal)

Other than that, any suggestions on maybe an alternate set up or something would be nice.

I'm in Canada so I priced this out between Newegg.ca and NCIX.com.

 

[lowriderflow]

Just out of curiousity... why are you going liquid cooling? Typically people that 'money is no object' do watercooling b/c they dont care about throwing $700 at a $3000 system.

Obviously you're doign this on a budget like most of us folk... I gotta ask why you wouldnt just spend the $700 on a 5970? or even sell the two 5850's plus the $700 and buy two GTX480s?

 

[wolfram23]

Well for one, two 5850s already max out any game so there's no need to do that

As for why watercooling, there's a few reasons... For one, I have reference coolers on my 5850s, which I took one off recently and noticed that they actually insulate the VRAM. I then looked into aftermarket GPU coolers but they're all too big. If it was possible to buy, say, the Vapor-X or TwinFrozr coolers that come with those cards then I'd do it but as it is, the only available aftermarket air VGA coolers are too big for my set up.
Secondly, I have everything overclocked and it would be great to bring the temps down for either more OCing or at the very least, help with longevity.
And thirdly, because it's damn awesome =P

But yeah, at $700 it's hard to swallow but I'll save up and see what happens.

 

[AMW1011]

What case do you have? We need to start there as there is a lot of work to be done here...

 

[lowriderflow]

I agreed its damn awesome! but you kind of contradicted yourself a little bit there... saying your crossfire 5850 already maxes out every game available... so then why do you need to liquid cool them and overclock them more?

Just playing devils advocate I suppose...

 

[wolfram23]

Not so much to OC them more but to bring temps down hopefully for longevity, they can get a bit hot even with a fairly aggressive fan profile, and it's also quite loud.

AMW1011: It's an Antec 902. Sorry, I had it in the post and then my stupid PC at work decided to go "back" a page (some sort of button combination that I don't know) and when I hit "forward" I lost my original post... so yeah, thought it was in there. But there you go.

I don't think I'll be able to mount any rads inside the case, they're just too big and there won't be enough room for all the tubing. I don't mind mounting them either behind or on top tho, I can use maybe some L brackets and suspend the rads above the large top fan. I'm just hoping I can get the pump to mount inside the middle bay, which is currently empty.

 

[delluser1]

A. 2 seperate loops ( means another pump and res )
B. Seperate the rads in a single loop ( res>pump>rad>cpu>rad>gpu1>gpu2 ) and use the same .5" tubing throughout.

Read the sticky, you say you're not buying for a couple of months, that will give you plenty of time to read it and many of it's associated links.

 

[wolfram23]

delluser1: The problem with that is both space and hose constraints. If I have to place the rads outside the case, then running 4 lines outside the case becomes extremely difficult. I'd probably have to cut my case, which I don't really want to do. On the other hand, I could maybe put a 120.2 rad inside the case and a 120.3 outside.