Full System Cooling w/240mm Radiator

[921ninja]

So I am looking at creating a high-end gaming computer with liquid cooling with these components:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3CQ1L

When first built it won't be liquid cooled but I plan on doing so. When setup the liquid cooling I plan on it to mainly rely on a massive external radiator:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/19812/ex-rad-600/Watercool_MO-RA3_360_PRO_9_x_120mm_4_x_180mm_Extreme_Radiator_-_Stainless_Steel_25022.html#blank

as well as a small internal radiator:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/23897/ex-rad-685/Black_Ice_Nemesis_GT_Stealth_240_Radiator_-_Black.html

I know this radiator setup is overkill for cooling the CPU, 2 GPU's, the motherboard, and MAYBE the RAM. However the reason for the internal radiator is to allow some cooling for a mobile event such as a LAN party or to show off to my cousin during a vacation. So my question is: If needed to, would the small 240mm radiator be enough to cool these components to an extent where I could run them at 75% of their stock speed or have only one GPU running.

 

[adamtron]

You shouldnt have a problem with running them at stock(though I wouldnt overclock too much). But personally, I would just pull out some of the extra drive cages and put a second 240 on the front and ditch the external radiator. Honestly though, if you want to watercool I wouldnt use that case, CM cases arent my favouite, but the HAF X or the HAF 932 allow for a triple-120 on the top and, with a little modding, a dual in the front. Here is some recommendations I gave to another person, they are a bit pricier that what you have, but I think they are reasonable in a $3000 computer.

 

[ssddx]

how many inlets and outlets are there in that big radiator?

if it is one big radiator... that will NOT work out well at all.

why? if its one big radiator you will have all of your heat producing elements in a row which will be very poor for cooling performance.

however... if it could be used as 3 seperate radiators with seperate inlets and outlets... then you could space it between the components and it would actually work out fairly well.

how it is designed would either make or break your ideas.

the most ideal setup is of course seperate loops however thats not very practical cost wise. the next best thing would be having radiators in between your components to cool the liquid back down so that it is more ideal for cooling the next component in a line.

for instance CPU->RAD->GPU->RAD->GPU->RAD-> is better than CPU->SMALLRAD->GPU->GPU->BIGRAD->

quick disconnecting the big rad would be a pain even with quick disconnects. you would need to reroute hoses for it to work properly each time.

also... a single 240mm radiator is nowhere near enough for an i7 and two 780 ti. not even in the same ballpark.

reducing clockspeed will kill performance and removing a card is going to be a pain.

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my suggestion if you wanted to move the case around would be to buy a better case more suited for watercooling and mount some decent radiators inside.

or, if you wanted it to stay in one location figure out how that big radiator is setup. if it acts as 2 or 3 seperate radiators then that idea has potential. if it doesnt then you may as well scrap that idea.

 

[921ninja]

OIC, Ideally I did want a 80mm x 240mm rad as well as 2 35mm x 240mm rad's and if needed an external 480mm rad that I would mount somewhere on the side of my desk or something like that however one of my "has-to-have"'s is a bay drive with dual variable-speed pumps(I want low noise when I am not gaming) however that would leave me with only one 5.25 in. bay which has t have a dvd or bluray drive in there. I am not sure if there will be room to mod some hdd/ssd mounts somewhere else. BTW I do not like the HAF X. The only cases I like(in order) are the Silverstone Raven RV01(this has horrible cooling compatibility and the later models are gross), the CM Storm Trooper(good balance of looks and cooling compatibility, awesome interface), the corsair 750D(really good cooling compatibility, rather bland, the Rosewill thor V2 without window(can fit a square 480mm rad as well as 2 240's, however no window and the interface isn't as cool as the storm trooper), Aerocool GTS(pretty cool, not very much radiator support) corsair 900d(WAAAY TO BIG, insane cooling, rather bland)

P.S. I like cases that are very agressive/"edgy" if you can suggest any full tower cases like this that have good radiator support then I would love suggestions. I don't want to spend more than 250 but I can stretch to 350 if it is worth it.
P.P.S. By interface I mean the built in power buttons and fan controllers, etc.

 

[921ninja]

I have also estimated that I will need about 875 watts(with only the cpu overclocked) to be cooled with the radiators. and the monster radiator itself is rated for 670w. In addition the 9x120mm radiator I had linked does have 6 g1/4 ports so If I should be able to set it up between each water blocks( I was thinking Res->240 slim->Mobo->CPU-> 9x120->GPU->9x120->GPU 2-> 9x120-> Res. the case should have enough PCI ports to place liquid I/O ports though I could always make a hole or run the tubes through the 140mm rear fan port.

 

[ssddx]

well, for cases there is always the cooler master cosmos II.... but thats a bit excessive. likewise the magnum m8 is truley awesome for watercooling but is too big and expensive. i saw the 900d in person and it was certainly pretty nice but also not too easy for transport.

i own a 750d myself and while a bit bland its also a very nice case. it can support front, top and bottom radiators perfectly fine. if you want to use ssd drives you can get rid of all the internal hdd bays so the bottom and front are all open. for that. you can probably fit enough radiators in there to cool your hardware. perhaps not as many as you would like but enough to be sufficient if you put decent fans on them.

Radiator and fan compatibility compatibility:
Top: 3 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm
Front: 2 x 140mm or 2 x 120mm (2 x 140mm included)
Bottom: 2 x 120mm
Rear: 1 x 140mm or 120mm (140mm included)

another option would be the cm stacker. while i dont have much experience with them you could perhaps use a large one for your pc and a small one for just some more radiator mounts. not really my style but worth noting.
http://us.coolermaster.com/en/product/Detail/case/full-tower-haf-series/haf935.html

for lanparties though.... small cases are easier to lug around. perhaps wc & modding a smaller case would be more ideal? also you mentioned taking one gpu out. if you dont need two gpus then it would be easy to build a small lanbox. however, if this would only be "every so often" and not a regular thing.... then theres no point in worrying about it much.

(this is if you can use the big rad)
if you decide to use the big external rad like i discuss below... i'd use the corsair 750d since its got some nice looks, decent build quality and good air cooling for your non wc components. i would get the black large rad and get the feet. i think it should look like this? http://www.abload.de/res/imgs/403.gif
the two would compliment eachother nicely. in the rear for your passthroughs i would get some pci slot watercooling passthrough plates and put your quick disconnects there.
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if the big radiator can be used as 3 seperate rads then yes it would work and likely rather well.

you could even use it for lanparties if you wanted provided you used some non-leak quick disconnect fittings betwen it and your case
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHNFu3MM0PA

assuming of course that it can be used in this manner (as 3 individual rads).... with it you can probably totally eliminate any internal radiators as it would be duplicating effort. let me explain. you list:
Res->240 slim->Mobo->CPU-> 9x120->GPU->9x120->GPU 2-> 9x120-> Res.
but if you look at it in another way thats the same as ->RAD->RES->RAD-> which is a bit pointless considering the rather large size of your radiators.

as for fan power cables you could put some quick disconnects for them as well. instead of hooking up individual connectors you could probably use a large 24pin or other large end connector and manually wire it so that it works for your fans with the inside of the case part hooking up to your psu molex(s) or fan controller (ideal)

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anyways... just a few ideas... and also a few notes on what i would personally do IF (its on you to verify that you can do this) the big rad can be used as 3 individuals or not.

 

[921ninja]

I think I should go with the Storm Trooper and buy a HAFX Stacker to house 2 360mm rads giving me about 1200 watts of cooling(idk how to express that properly) with quick disconnects. Obviously It won't stack but I dont need to to, If all else fails I can put it below the PC. This way I can have alot of cooling capacity while keeping it mobile enough should I want to bring it somewhere(not gonna be a common occurence but still) However the most cost effective option would be this:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/20978/cst-1435/Corsair_Obsidian_Series_900D_Full_Tower_Chassis_-_Custom_Dual_480_Edition_CC-9011022-WW.html?tl=g1c7s532#blank

That has good rads for hardly more than the case's MSRP its an awesome deal, however it is both bland and will not be able to be transport without renting a crane.

 

[921ninja]

So Returning to this build, I think I can fit a 240x80mm rad with 4 fans and a 240x30mm radiator with 2 fans. Will that be enough without an external radiator? there is still room for a 140mm radiator but I would prefer to keep that vent open to remove hot air(there will also be 2x120mm fans in the front to remove hot air). Also I am considering dual pumps for a high flow rate, my question for that is does higher flow rate equal faster cooling? I can see why it would but at the same time it comes to mind that radiator fans can only remove so much hot air per minute.