Which order to add components in a water cooling loop

[dominic2005]

Good afternoon.


I will soon be changing my case and adding a full custom wc loop. My question here is what order to add components to the loop? The internet cannot seem to give me a straight answer when looking generally, so I figured asking about my specific requirement might be better.

I will be cooling the following:

CPU
Motherboard (x-chill on Asus Maximus IX Formula) (Not because I need to, simply because it is there)
1 x GPU

I will be setting this up on dual radiators with a separate pump and reservoir. At this point, I won't be looking to add anything else to the loop in the short term.


Thanks in advance

 

[Agathor]

Reservoir then pump, after that the order doesn't really matter.

 

[mcnumpty23]

as said res then pump--ideally the res being higher up than the pump

if top mounting one of your rads i also recommend getting a rad with more than 2 ports--ie 2 on the end and 2 on the top

makes it much easier to fill the loop as can pour the coolant into the highest point in the loop and let gravity help you

and dont forget a drain point--again ideally it should be at the lowest point in the loop

and those extra ports on the top rad also come into play when draining the loop

as once you open the drain valve its possible to get air locks stopping all the coolant coming out

slowly opening the top ports on the top rad prevents this

 

[dominic2005]

From top to bottom, placements will be as follows:

Bottom Rad. Pump. Bottom of res. GPU. Top of Res/cpu and x-chill are all sort of level with each other, then the second rad at the very top...

I was wondering how best to utilize the two rads. IE, pipe through the cpu/x-chill then the 1st rad then the gpu then the second rad....or does that not really matter ?

 

[mcnumpty23]

From top to bottom, placements will be as follows:

Bottom Rad. Pump. Bottom of res. GPU. Top of Res/cpu and x-chill are all sort of level with each other, then the second rad at the very top...

I was wondering how best to utilize the two rads. IE, pipe through the cpu/x-chill then the 1st rad then the gpu then the second rad....or does that not really matter ?

you sending the coolant clockwise?

or anti clockwise?

 

[dominic2005]

No idea yet. This is the purpose of this question, to find the information I am missing to decide how best to approach this.

 

[mcnumpty23]

not sure it matters to be honest

its just i find it easier to picture going clock wise for some reason is all

as already said the order doesnt greatly matter--as long as you put the res before the pump--thats to prevent the pump spinning dry when filling the loop

as even a very short time of spinning dry is really bad news

the other main reason for what order is simply to make it look nicer/tidier

so the bit where the x-chill is would be the main point i would think about

ie--how you going in/out of there

and where to--cpu or rad

or using a T- piece or Y-piece to go to the in port on the x-chill and the cpu from a single pipe/tube

 

[dominic2005]

I am really not sure how best to set this up. It's hard to visualise as this isn't something I've done before.

I will be using the Phanteks Enthoo Primo Full tower: http://www.phanteks.com/Enthoo-Primo.html

 

[mcnumpty23]

a good starting point is the radiators

as they are the least flexible part of the loop regarding where they can go

so with them its just down to what end of the rad you send the tubing to

ie--top rad do you want the tubing to go in nearest the rear of the case?

or the front?

front rad--do you want the tubing to go in nearest the top of the case or bottom?

my front rad the tubing goes in the bottom--this provides a good place to put the drain port then

 

[dominic2005]

Sorry I posted same time as you.

Regarding the x-chill I was thinking the best solution is to go straight there from the CPU, or vice versa, as they are right next to each other placement wise?

 

[mcnumpty23]

had the primo

great case though huge

got the phanteks enthoo luxe now

with the primo you can use a reservoir mounting plate that also hides some of the wiring/cables

if using that then the res has to be on the right hand side of the case--so also a good starting point

then once you know where the rads and res go you can figure out which way the tubing goes best

 

[dominic2005]

Ahh handy you have experience with that case then.

I've just Googled some images of the case and saw one idea which I hadn't thought of, and given the amount of money this is going to cost the extra wouldn't really matter.

One image showed separate loops for the GPU and CPU. With the GPU loops res/pump combo bolted to the inside rear of the case going to a bottom rad and the CPU loop res/pump combo bolted to the mid centre of the case just behind the drive bays going to a top rad.

My thinking so far is to mid-mount a pump/res combo and then head to the GPU first (Simply because it is closest then go to the bottom rad, then from there up to the CPU/x-chill and to the top rad.

My only issue is tube routing...whichever way I go about it I am going to end up with a long route from one of the rads to the next component...separating the loops would solve that (?) or going for a single rad would solve it (not what I want to do)

Could get a migraine thinking about this stuff lol

 

[mcnumpty23]

i have 2 pumps

though not separate loops for cpu and gpu

i considered that but in the end decided i would prefer both pumps but 1 loop

should 1 pump fail the pc wouldnt be out of action as have tested that the 2nd pump still does the job if the other is unplugged

giving me the breathing space to sort it out at my convenience

yes you will have 1 long tube between rads

2 options that still can be done with only 1 loop

first one your res is on the mounting plate top rad ports are at front of case

the out from top rad goes straight in top of reservoir so is actually a short tube not long

this sounds wrong i know as most people go in and out the bottom of the reservoir not in the top

but actually did it in the primo it works fine just as long as enough coolant in the loop

other option you do the long drop from top rad --ports at front of case to bottom rad--ports at bottom of case

also tested that in the primo

and its possible to hide that long tube as long as the res is mounted on that plate/cable cover that comes with the case

 

[mcnumpty23]

will try and show a pic of the primo

but photobucket just started stopping 3rd party images unless you pay and havent yet moved all my photos to some where else

so it may or may not show the picture

if it does--this is one of the first test loops in the primo

also shows its possible to put a rad on the bottom too

 

[mcnumpty23]

thats with a swiftech h240-x at top--but thats just the same as a rad at the top

straight into top of res as mentioned

the second pump is hidden down bottom right

not the tidiest build i know but was experimenting with different ways to do the loop then

edit--that also shows its possible to fit more than 1 res in the primo should you want to

 

[dominic2005]

No the pic doesn't show. I like the idea of a back up pump though...

I've just been making a quick mock up in PS to try and plan it. This is what I've come up with:

Res mounted to the rear of the case. Pump on the plate that sits behind the case where the hidden PSU goes. Top and bottom rads, ports forward facing.

Ok, from the bottom of the res through the case to the pump. Pump to bottom rad. Bottom rad to GPU. GPU to top rad, top rad to cpu, cpu to x-chill, x-chill back to top of res.

Res > Pump > Bottom Rad > GPU > Top Rad > CPU > X-Chill > Res

 

[mcnumpty23]

peculiar i can see the picture

let me try it on a different host

only narrow reservoirs will fit on the rear--my xspc photon wouldnt fit there

can you see the image now?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5vqfv9rtugpWFJJVXpUbExJcDg/view?usp=sharing

http://cubeupload.com/im/iPxLmA.png

 

[dominic2005]

Yup I can see it now. It's handy to actually see a live installation too so I can visualise the space involved etc. Not sure if that makes sense but it does to me.

I've just been looking at an alternative to my res/pump placement, and given the Primo has several 5/12 drive bays, I am thinking about using EK's Drive bay pump/res combo...(I assume it will fit in the drive bays on the Primo). That would certainly simplify things and avoid my space issue with my Strix 1080 as it is quite long.

 

[mcnumpty23]

yes makes perfect sense visualising it in your head is one thing but actually seeing it in the pc case you are going to use another

great thing with the primo is you have the space to consider different options

thats a gtx1070 in there so not a short card by any means

and yes i also did a trial using the 5 1/2 bays lol since havent used dvds in years--that also was do-able

 

[mcnumpty23]

think the rear res in the photo had to be 60mm to fit in

the one on the right--xspc photon is 85mm so couldnt quite make it fit there if i remember right