CPU Watercooling Help

[ghostking679]

Hello, I have a somewhat powerful setup, and I'd really like to watercool my cpu, since It's been using stock cooling ever since I've had it. I'm going for a 240 or 360mm radiator size. However, I have a BitFenix Comrade case (Windowed, its a ATX-MID size) which is pretty small and the front ventilation is pretty much nonexistent, (No holes for air to come in). I have every single fan spot filled, two intake at the front and 1 exhaust. Since my case has extremely poor ventilation in the front, so should I wait to get a new case before I buy a watercooling setup? I was going for the Fractal Design Define S if i had to buy a new case. And if I need a new case, would the Define S be able to fit a 360 mm radiator? What fan/radiator setup would you recommend? Watercooling is new to me so input is greatly appreciated. I'll list my specs to you have an idea of my parts. Also, I was not going to do a full loop, unless you think it would fit, I was going to go for the pre-filled, closed loop of just the cpu block and radiator. (A full custom loop would be nice and I can afford it, but not necessary)

Bitfenix Comrade case
Intel I-7 3770
Nvidia Geforce 1060 FE
Asus p8b75-m/csm mobo
Seasonic M1211 Bronze 620 PSU
Seagate 1TB HDD
Two sticks of pretty average RAM, It's not made by a gaming company (no metal shielding)
Stock Heatsink and a 90mm CPU Fan
3X 120mm Fans for intake and exhaust

thats really all the important stuff. It also has to fit a LED bar, gotta love them lights.

Thank you and I hope to hear back soon!

 

[Mikel_4]

i7 3770 isn't that hot, however I recommend expandable AIO such as Alphaccol Eisbaer, EKWB XLC Predator, Swiftech H, and Fractal Design Kelvin.
Problem is https://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/products/chassis/comrade-window#specs Bitfenix Comrade doesn't provide actual Radiator mounting so I assume it does support 240mm radiator on front, you should contact bitfenix to confirm.
Get your video tutorials on how 1st time watercooling setup, with expandible AIO you may replace tube and fittings and maybe add some colored dye on coolant.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

For CPU only, over 240 rad is complete overkill.
Define S can be equipped with:

Front – 360, 280, 240, 140 and 120 mm radiators of all thicknesses
Top – 420, 360, 280, 240, 140 and 120 mm radiators. (A thickness limitation of 55mm for both radiator + fan applies on 420, 280 and 140 mm radiators)
Bottom – 120 mm radiator (Use of radiators in the bottom position limits the PSU length to 165 mm)
Rear – 120 or 140 mm radiator
I recommend to use XFlow rads from alphacool (ST30 XFlow) or HWLabs (GTS XFlow).

Regarding your particular system:
I'd do:
1. get a new water cooling friendly case:
1.1 Fractal Design Define S - love it, use the Nano S myself
1.2 Phanteks Evolv ATX TG - beautiful case, a bit more expensive.
2. Get a CPU only loop (1060 does not worth watercooling).
2.1 CPU Block: one of those https://shop.aquacomputer.de/index.php?cPath=7_11_12_2694&XTCsid=2ia8nvogei09vmu5ibhkiut0lf3tdb8i or the regular EK Supremacy EVO
2.2 D5+Res combo like this https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-xres-140-revo-d5-pwm-incl-sl-pump. available from any manufacturer (Bitspower, alphacool, XSPC, etc.)
3. Radiator - 360 rad mounted on top (i'd not use the 140mm for the top to have more clearance for ram ant VRM heatsinks on MB)
3.1 https://www.alphacool.com/shop/radiators/active-radiators/20474/alphacool-nexxxos-st30-full-copper-x-flow-360mm-radiator?c=20545
3.2 http://hardwarelabs.com/nemesis/gtsxflow/360gts-xflow/
4. Fans: From my experience, Noctua NF-F12 IndustrialPPC (both DC and PWM) is the best thing. with above they can be kept at 500-800RPM range

That will cost you ~400-450$ with tubing and fittings.
The above can be migrated to the next MB/CPU you buy. Later, if and when you buy high end GPU (at least GTX 1070 level) you can simply add a GPU block to it. Adding a bit more radiator surface is (another 240-260) is nice if you add over 200watt TDP GPU to keep things quiet.