Choosing parts for WC

[O762]

Hi guys,

I'm planning on liquid cooling my i5-2500k and so I've been reading a lot of articles and reviews about different rads, resevoirs, pumps, etc., but with all the parts out there, it's a little hard to chose.

This is what I've come up with so far:

Koolance 1x120mm 30fpi rad
XSPC Raystorm waterblock
EKWB Reservoir
PrimoFlex 10ft Tubing
XSPC Compression Fittings
Koolance Pump, PMP-450

Any feedback on the parts above would be much appreciated, as would any other suggestions.
Oh, and will those compression fittings fit with that tubing?

 

[kajabla]

I'm no liquid cooling expert, but I will ask you to think deeply, once more, before going into this. The performance benefit will not be worth the money; I can tell you that. If you do this, be aware that you're doing it for aesthetics. If you're comfortable with that, go for it. If not, get a $50 Scythe Mugen 3 and be fine.

 

[hunter315]

No point doing CPU only WCing with only a single 120mm radiator, if you are going to do that you might as well go with something like the Corsair H100. If you are going to do a water cooled system its going to cost you a lot so you might as well go all out and include the GPU in the loop and have a big enough radiator to actually give you a significant benefit over air cooling.

 

[amuffin]

Have you considered the swiftech h20-220 ultima xt?

 

[O762]

@kajabla, Thanks for the advice but I think I am definitely going the water cooling direction - to be honest I am doing it partially for aesthetics, but also I've recently started overclocking, and from what I've read, liquid cooling can out perform air.

@hunter315 - If a dual radiator will make that much of a difference, I'm all for it - do you have any suggestions? As for adding my GPU to the loop, I currently have an XFX 6850 and it doesn't generate that much heat but I'd definitely like to have the ability to expand if I do upgrade.

@amuffin, I just looked it up now...probably a dumb question but can the rad be mounted inside cases? I have an NZXT Phantom and it has a space for a dual rad. All the pictures I saw were of it outside. For aesthetic reasons I was thinking about getting a cylindric reservoir, but if the Apogee outperforms the Raystorm I'm sure I could compromise.

 

[amuffin]

@kajabla, Thanks for the advice but I think I am definitely going the water cooling direction - to be honest I am doing it partially for aesthetics, but also I've recently started overclocking, and from what I've read, liquid cooling can out perform air.

@hunter315 - If a dual radiator will make that much of a difference, I'm all for it - do you have any suggestions? As for adding my GPU to the loop, I currently have an XFX 6850 and it doesn't generate that much heat but I'd definitely like to have the ability to expand if I do upgrade.

@amuffin, I just looked it up now...probably a dumb question but can the rad be mounted inside cases? I have an NZXT Phantom and it has a space for a dual rad. All the pictures I saw were of it outside. For aesthetic reasons I was thinking about getting a cylindric reservoir, but if the Apogee outperforms the Raystorm I'm sure I could compromise.

It can be mounted in and outside of teh case.

 

[O762]

Best answer selected by O762.