Help with custom liquid cooling?

[PCnooberson]

Unfortunately, i have realised that if i want to run 2 or 3 way sli, as well as overclocking, i will need a custom liquid cooling system to keep them cool.

I Never really wanted to do custom loops because im afraid of spills. Like TERRIBLY afraid.

Just how safe are custom loops? Keep in mind that i am a big noob when it comes to pc stuff, so im afraid i might not even install it right, or end up breaking something...

Also, i cant cheap out here, because if i do, it can cost me my entire rig. What are the best ways to go? Coolents? Tubing? kits? Etc? I honestly needs you ncie people to tell me as much as you can.

Whats the most expensive? cheapest? differences? Whats the most important part? What is the best way to prevent spills?

What about radiators? Arents custom loop radiators like super thick?

Could you point me to some high quality custom loops, raditors, or maybe even whole kits? Thanks in advance.

My case is the CM Storm Stryker by the way.

 

[toolmaker_03]

the temps after several hours of game play



I think that it seems to work fine I did need two pumps to keep the flow rate up on the system but other than that small change in the configuration of the system, it works great

 

[PCnooberson]

the temps after several hours of game play



I think that it seems to work fine I did need two pumps to keep the flow rate up on the system but other than that small change in the configuration of the system, it works great

After some thinking, I really don't want to run 2 seperate loops, because I feel like one isn't getting enough cooling.

What are the disadvantages and advantages of running 1 vs 2 loops?

Because generally, with a single loops, the order doesn't matter too much, and all components are pretty much sharing all the radiators.

http://www.swiftech.com/mcp35x2pump.aspx
MCP35X2

Ive been looking at this pump, because supposedly its "extreme" and is supposed to be used with things like quad sli. I know its 200, but really, its the same as having 2 mcp655. However, it didnt say how many radiators it can handle. I know this is a matter of pressure, but the radiators and everything never specify how much restriction it adds.

Im really confused on this psi stuff.

The MCP655 says it has a maximum PSI of 50 (3.5)bar while the "extreme" pump, the MCP35x2 has a maximum psi of only 22, but (1.5 bar)

What does bar mean? Is the pressure on the MCP35x2 really better? How can i calculate how much restriction, or how much pressure i need to efficiently run my loop over the 1.0 gpm....(if i did my research right)

 

[toolmaker_03]

I have always tried to work out how to make systems work better, I had intended on running 3 loops on this rig but after many nights of dreaming about this setup I decided top try one loop for all the hardware. this idea did work but it did take a lot of fittings to make it in such a way that the flows through the system would not be restricted. I have a total system flow of 6200RPM or 6.2 LPM if I had not paralleled this system the way I did that high of a flow rate would not be possible. so the advantage of running a 2 or 3 loop system would be the ease of configuration, it could be all in piped serial with each other. what is the fun in that, I like a good challenge so the difficulty in figuring out the right configuration for my hardware was a lot of fun for me, but really there is no advantage to doing things the way I did the results would had been the same as far as temps go I do not believe that one way works better over the other, only differently.

 

[PCnooberson]

Pressure wise, how do you know how much you need to get a good flow rate? Is there like a universal calculation kind of thing? Like size, thickness, and fpi. How would i know how much pressure i need to run through it good?

When i look at pumps and their psi, they have the measurement, and BAR in parenthesis. What is bar?

Im a real noob when it comes to this stuff, so if you could give me all the info i need, i would really appreciate it.

 

[toolmaker_03]

well I know that a single MPC655 pump will produce 50psi and that is enough for two components and one radiator in series or in parallel it can handle two components and two radiators. any more than that the system will need two pumps. I have one pump before the radiators and the second is right after the radiators. the same setup would apply to a serial system you would want the pumps as far apart from each other as possible, having both the pumps right next to each other does not do much good for the system, but if they are a half loop apart from each other, the system will benefit from the second pump regardless if it is serial or parallel, because it will provide that extra bit of pressure to the loop. keeping a good flow for the system.

a good flow for a serial system would be 2200RPM's or 2.2LPM

a good flow for a two way parallel setup would be 4400RPM's or 4.4LPM

a good flow for a three way parallel setup would be 6600RPM's or 6.6LPM

if you have noticed throughout my builds I have always tried to achieve these numbers even though it is not possible, getting close is, and will give you the best results.

I hope this helps

I went with a parallel setup for two reasons one I did not like the idea of running hot water from one component to the next, the second reason is for the fun factor, and being able to say hay my system runs at 6200RPM's it jest sounds so cool. :lol:

but really, I think that if I had run 3 separate loops for this system the temps would had been about the same.

 

[toolmaker_03]

I do not play the army games much, but I do like colors, lots of colors, here is how my system runs the type of games that I do like to play and to be honest these games will get the system hotter than BF3 or others of the same sort Darksiders 1 & 2 will heat any system up to benchmark temps at times during gameplay.

 

[oajarmeh95]

Why you don't use a sealed water cooling kit like corsair h100i or cooler master seidon 240 if you worried about the custom cooling kit it's more safe, stable, and no need a lot of space (I use it in my case and it's look more tidy).

by the way if you really want a custom water cooling kit you should EK waterblocks or XSPC i think they the best but for the price EK is more expensive than XSPC.

Now here are some part you can buy them from performance-pcs.com :

Water block: XSPC Raystorm

Radiator*: EK-CoolStream RAD XT (240) OR XSPC AX240 Dual-Fan Radiator

Tubing: PrimoFlex Advanced LRT and for more safety you should use anti-kink coils

Fittings**: You can choose it either from EK or XSPC. (I prefer EK) .

Reservoir: This is your choice too, it counted on what parts are water cooled then you determine the volume.

pump: EK-DCP 4.0 (12V DC Water Pump) OR XSPC DDC-1T Plus 3.2 (18W) Pump


***************************
* these radiators for extreme performance, if you want to save more money you can choose a lower quality than these rads from the same brands.

**use of compression fittings and O-rings is more safety.

-for the tubing thick it depends on the case space and the cooled parts, of course the fittings size will be chosen to fit in the tubing.

I hope that would Help !!!

 

[PCnooberson]

well I know that a single MPC655 pump will produce 50psi and that is enough for two components and one radiator in series or in parallel it can handle two components and two radiators. any more than that the system will need two pumps. I have one pump before the radiators and the second is right after the radiators. the same setup would apply to a serial system you would want the pumps as far apart from each other as possible, having both the pumps right next to each other does not do much good for the system, but if they are a half loop apart from each other, the system will benefit from the second pump regardless if it is serial or parallel, because it will provide that extra bit of pressure to the loop. keeping a good flow for the system.

a good flow for a serial system would be 2200RPM's or 2.2LPM

a good flow for a two way parallel setup would be 4400RPM's or 4.4LPM

a good flow for a three way parallel setup would be 6600RPM's or 6.6LPM

if you have noticed throughout my builds I have always tried to achieve these numbers even though it is not possible, getting close is, and will give you the best results.

I hope this helps

I went with a parallel setup for two reasons one I did not like the idea of running hot water from one component to the next, the second reason is for the fun factor, and being able to say hay my system runs at 6200RPM's it jest sounds so cool. :lol:

but really, I think that if I had run 3 separate loops for this system the temps would had been about the same.

But how do i get that good flow rate?
I will run in parallel, for better cooling
also run through the cpu
and im going to have 4 radiators. Does thickness and size matter restriction wise?
Plus, its is going to be a pretty lengthy journey for the water, considering that i will be having an external rad, and radiators pretty much on all ends of the chassis.

How do i know how much PSI a pump needs for this? And whats the deal with bar? whats that mean? The supposed "extreme" mcp35x2 is for cpu+multiple radiator+triple/quad sli. But its PSI is 22. Isnt that lower than the mcp655? but the bar on the mcp35x2 is 3.5 while the 655 is 1.5. What does bar mean?

 

[toolmaker_03]

with your setup I would have a two radiators in parallel with the other two radiators place one pump before the radiators and the other pump after the radiators.

how many components do you plan to cool?

the type of blocks that you buy will matter to the final configuration of your build.

look for blocks that have a pin or grove matrix inside of them that the water is forced to pass through.

 

[PCnooberson]

What do you mean by having the radiators in parallel?

These are the items i was planning on getting:

Waterblocks:
Apogee HD (fin/pin matrix)
http://www.swiftech.com/ApogeeHD.aspx

EK-FC780 GTX Ti - Acetal (didnt see anything regarding the matrix)
http://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-fc780-gtx-ti-acetal.html

EK-FC Bridge TRIPLE Paralle
http://www.ekwb.com/shop/blocks/vga-blocks/multiple-block-connectivity/fc-bridges-links/ek-fc-bridge-triple-parallel.html

EK-FC Terminal TRIPLE Parallel
http://www.ekwb.com/shop/blocks/vga-blocks/multiple-block-connectivity/fc-terminals/ek-fc-terminal-triple-parallel.html

Im not sure what the difference is between the bridge and terminal, and what is a blank? do i need that? Do the parallel things need the pin matrix design too?



Radiators:
Black Ice® GTX Gen Two Xtreme 480 Highest Performance Radiator (480mm-54mm thick- 20 FPI)
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=20985

EK-CoolStream RAD XTX (240) (240mm-64mm thick-11 FPI)
http://www.ekwb.com/shop/radiators-fans-accessories/radiators/120mm-series/ek-coolstream-rad-xtx-240.html

MCRx40-QP "Quiet Power" 280mm Radiator (280mm-34mm thick-12 FPI)
http://www.swiftech.com/mcrx40-qp-radiator-series.aspx

MCRx20-XP "eXtreme Performance" Radiator Series (120mm-34mm thick- 20 FPI)
http://www.swiftech.com/mcrx20-xp-radiator-series-1.aspx

So this is all for 3 cards and CPU. no motherboard or ram or harddrive or whatever else.

As for the pump, I was planning on
MCP35X2
http://www.swiftech.com/mcp35x2pump.aspx

because it is "extreme" and meant to "provide extreme flow rates in loops that include multiple devices, for example multiple radiators and triple or quad SLI/Crossfire liquid cooled graphics cards"

The PSI is 22 PSI (1.5 BAR), and i would really appreciate it if you told me what BAR means.

It has a "max nominal discharge" of ~ 4.17 GPM (15.8 LPM)

Would it be better to run one of these (if it is enough) or 2 MCP655s? (price is the same)

And keep in mind that the water has a long way to travel to get around everything.

Thanks for the help too.

 

[toolmaker_03]

the MPC35x2 seems to put out about the same as two MPC655 placed right next to each other, but I would rather have my pumps as far apart from each other in the loop as possible. so I would use two separate pumps for that reason, but if space was a issue, then I would opt for the MPC35X2 as a solution to that problem.

 

[toolmaker_03]

http://imageshack.com/a/img35/8895/modular004.jpg

this is how I was cooling my GPU's I had two radiators in parallel with each other one pump one reservoir and then both the video cards where in parallel with each other.

 

[PCnooberson]

What is the difference between a bridge and a terminal. How do you set up a parallel on for the GPUs?

 

[toolmaker_03]

i used two sli bridges between the cards this placed the cards in a parallel configuration with each other

i have als paralleled a CPU and video card this setup turned out well to for you rig i was thinking that the same type of configuratuion would apply place two video cards in parallel with each other than in series with the third video card that will be in parallel with the CPU.

will upload some pics later to try and help

 

[PCnooberson]

i used two sli bridges between the cards this placed the cards in a parallel configuration with each other

i have als paralleled a CPU and video card this setup turned out well to for you rig i was thinking that the same type of configuratuion would apply place two video cards in parallel with each other than in series with the third video card that will be in parallel with the CPU.

will upload some pics later to try and help

But first off, whats the difference between a terminal and a bridge.
On the EK site, when i was looking for sli connectors, they have 2 options, bridges and terminals. Whats the difference? How do i know which one is the right one for me?

 

[vmem]

PCnooberson, you want a bridge block which has everything set up for you to run parallel

the terminal is basically like any other terminal (telephone, train, etc etc), it has a bunch of connectors, and isn't made just for running SLI. it's versatile, but more difficult to use

 

[PCnooberson]

PCnooberson, you want a bridge block which has everything set up for you to run parallel

the terminal is basically like any other terminal (telephone, train, etc etc), it has a bunch of connectors, and isn't made just for running SLI. it's versatile, but more difficult to use

But can i use a terminal just the same and just as efficient?
Why i ask this is because i want to use this graet looking copper block: EK-FC780 GTX Ti - Acetal
http://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-fc780-gtx-ti-acetal.html

But in the description, it says it is not campatible with the bridges and link systems that from EK, no mention on whether or not OTHER brands work. However, it does say that you can use up to 4 (quad sli) waterblocks by using on of their terminals.

So...what am i to do?

Do terminals work just as well?