Beginner Water Cooling Question about Quick Disconnects

[pwnerman]

Hello,

I have never done a custom water cooling loop and I'm thinking about taking advantage of all the space in my CaseLabs Mercury S8 when it arrives. I know EKWB makes a kit for that case specifically but I don't really like the looks of it. But what I'm looking to do is get a pump/res combo and maybe two 360 rads to cool my CPU and my G1 Gaming 970 (maybe the motherboard if I spring for one with the fittings but I don't really need a 300+ dollar motherboard for gaming. So you know I've been researching parts and all that but my one main issue with having a custom water cooling loop is that you have to drain it if you want to change anything.

As I see it right now with just the CPU and GPU card cooled I'm going to need 10 fittings. 2 on the CPU, 2 on the GPU block, 2 on the pump and 4 on the rads (2 for in and out and 2 to connect them together).

If all that is right here is my question.

I want the ability to easily take parts in and out of my system. Is it possible to build an entire water cooling loop out of quick disconnects? I've seen some videos on Youtube where the guys just pop the hoses off and hes good. I just want to know if their are any downsides to doing this. I know for around 8 pairs of male and female Koolance qdc's would be around 160 bucks but if it's possible that's worth it to me.

 

[DarkSable]

Hello,

I have never done a custom water cooling loop and I'm thinking about taking advantage of all the space in my CaseLabs Mercury S8 when it arrives. I know EKWB makes a kit for that case specifically but I don't really like the looks of it. But what I'm looking to do is get a pump/res combo and maybe two 360 rads to cool my CPU and my G1 Gaming 970 (maybe the motherboard if I spring for one with the fittings but I don't really need a 300+ dollar motherboard for gaming. So you know I've been researching parts and all that but my one main issue with having a custom water cooling loop is that you have to drain it if you want to change anything.

As I see it right now with just the CPU and GPU card cooled I'm going to need 10 fittings. 2 on the CPU, 2 on the GPU block, 2 on the pump and 4 on the rads (2 for in and out and 2 to connect them together).

If all that is right here is my question.

I want the ability to easily take parts in and out of my system. Is it possible to build an entire water cooling loop out of quick disconnects? I've seen some videos on Youtube where the guys just pop the hoses off and hes good. I just want to know if their are any downsides to doing this. I know for around 8 pairs of male and female Koolance qdc's would be around 160 bucks but if it's possible that's worth it to me.

The downside is money.

That and space. Quick disconnects stick out a ways from the block, which could be problematic. (Although you have a HUGE case, so you're just fine.) In a SFF case, it's simply not an option.

One other thing to note is that I strongly recommend 2x140mm radiators over 3x120mm ones. They have basically the same cooling area, and the 140mm fans are WAY quieter and far more pleasant to listen to even at full speed.

 

[pwnerman]

Hello,

I have never done a custom water cooling loop and I'm thinking about taking advantage of all the space in my CaseLabs Mercury S8 when it arrives. I know EKWB makes a kit for that case specifically but I don't really like the looks of it. But what I'm looking to do is get a pump/res combo and maybe two 360 rads to cool my CPU and my G1 Gaming 970 (maybe the motherboard if I spring for one with the fittings but I don't really need a 300+ dollar motherboard for gaming. So you know I've been researching parts and all that but my one main issue with having a custom water cooling loop is that you have to drain it if you want to change anything.

As I see it right now with just the CPU and GPU card cooled I'm going to need 10 fittings. 2 on the CPU, 2 on the GPU block, 2 on the pump and 4 on the rads (2 for in and out and 2 to connect them together).

If all that is right here is my question.

I want the ability to easily take parts in and out of my system. Is it possible to build an entire water cooling loop out of quick disconnects? I've seen some videos on Youtube where the guys just pop the hoses off and hes good. I just want to know if their are any downsides to doing this. I know for around 8 pairs of male and female Koolance qdc's would be around 160 bucks but if it's possible that's worth it to me.

The downside is money.

That and space. Quick disconnects stick out a ways from the block, which could be problematic. (Although you have a HUGE case, so you're just fine.) In a SFF case, it's simply not an option.

One other thing to note is that I strongly recommend 2x140mm radiators over 3x120mm ones. They have basically the same cooling area, and the 140mm fans are WAY quieter and far more pleasant to listen to even at full speed.

You know it seems huge but by dimensions it actually really isn't. I mean its only about 1/2 inch taller, its about 1 1/2 inch less deep and its about 5 inches wider. That is compared to my Fractal R4 I have currently doesn't feel as big a difference to me. Now I know it prob will seem that way because its wider and will take up a bigger footprint and I'll have to move it to the floor but the idea of a full size ATX horizontal motherboard case intrigues me and they make the best one out of the few that exist. Also the fact that empty it weights NINE POUNDS less then the R4 I'm excited. Heck even with all that water cooling gear in it I have a whole 9 pounds to make up the difference on an empty R4. That's crazy.

Also talking about clearance you are correct. That case can hold like 60mm rads in push and pull at the top which is like 110mm and then you have another 6 inches before the motherboard.

But just to clarify you don't see anything wrong with my reasoning besides the suggestion of a dual 140mm radiator? Now I have read that quick disconnects restrict water flow. How exactly do you calculate how much power your pump(s) need? I

 

[DarkSable]

Heh, that's true, I suppose. 😛

I built in a S6 before, though, and compared to anything actually small form factor, it makes a big difference. (The extreme support for watercooling is awfully nice, though.)

Quick disconnects will restrict water flow, yes, but not nearly so much as something like a tight bend will - you don't have to start worrying about flow until you've got five or six blocks in a row all connected 6 inches apart around 70 degree angles. As long as you get a good quality pump (swiftech makes a PWM controlled one which is very good, but might be hard to find now that frozen CPU had that meltdown), you'll be in perfectly good shape.

And yeah, I think that you're going to be just fine. That case might even fit a triple 140, if you want - it just makes a huge difference to the acoustics, especially when blowing through a radiator.