Liquid Cooling checklist+Help

vsams14

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Hello!

I am thinking about water cooling my PC. I know very little about the subject, so I want to make sure that I have selected compatible parts, and that everything makes sense!
(for future reference, I will be using w/c instead of water cooling to shorten the wording)

So, out of my computer, I really only want to w/c my CPU (FX-8120, Possibly will o/c), and my GPU/VGA (Radeon HD 6870)
I am open to cooling my Northbridge, but I feel that the heat sinks on my motherboard (Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3) are more than sufficient to take care of the heat (correct me if I'm wrong!)

I have noticed that Koolance has a wide variety of supplies and parts for liquid cooling. If this is not the best priced corporation, please let me know, b/c I want to keep price down as much as possible!

If I go with koolance, I'm thinking that I will use the CPU-370SA for my CPU, and the GPU-210 on my VGA. I know the 210 is not a full plate, and will only contact the actual GPU, not the VRM/RAM. I hope this is an ok solution, since my stock cooler only contacts the GPU as well. Also, the full cover plates seem to be out of stock and expensive!

Other than those two items (CPU-370SA and GPU-210), I'm not entirely sure what I will be needing. I'm thinking a 2x120mm Radiator will be large enough. Which, btw, yes, I DO want to integrate this into my case if possible - Azza Orion.

I am unsure about what reservoir size I will need, and which pump to get. Also, all of Koolance parts state that they have no nozzles. I know nothing about the required nozzles, so if Someone can tell me which ones and how many I need, that would be great! (I know that they should be Standard G BSP 1/4 threaded). Tubing is also an unknown variable here!

I think that's everything that needs to be in a w/c system, but if I missed anything, or any of the parts will be incompatible with each other, please let me know. If suggesting a part, please try to find one that does the job well for the lowest price. I do not have a set budget, but anything over 300$ is probably not going to work for me.

Thanks for your time!
vsams14

tl;dr : There is not tl;dr. If you are too lazy to read, and will not be paying attention to details, I'm not sure if your advice will help or hinder. That will be all.
 

vsams14

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Just noticed it, was reading. Still want to keep this so i can get people's opinions though. I don't want to decide something and then find out that it sucks.
 
Please read through the sticky at the top of the WC Forum - it will address many (if not all) of your questions if you read through the links and digest it over a day or two.

Edit: thread updated before I refreshed and posted. Sorry for the redundancy
 

vsams14

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YES, YES, ALRIGHT. I'll read the sticky. If you still want to hep me DESPITE the fact that I did not read the sticky before starting the discussion, feel free to go ahead!

Sorry, not being offensive or anything. I already said that I'm reading the sticky, so...
 

vsams14

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Thanks! Really, I could get a better air cooler for my cpu (if I don't overclock). I really want to w/c my gpu though. Is it possible to take a cpu w/c kit (like the corsair hydro h80, or something else) and modify it to work with the gpu-210 block?

Sticky says that XSPC Rasa is an excellent kit. Would this come with the cpu block attached to the tubes, like the h80, or would it be separate, allowing for a custom water block?

Thanks for your help!
 

HugoStiglitz

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Look at a PIC of the XSPC Rasa kit, its all seperate. it however DOES NOT include a GPU block.

a full gpu block is going to set u back between $100 and $150. as it was said before you are going to really struggle to do GPU and CPU water cooling for under $300. and ur going to need a minimum of a 240 Radiator for the GPU and 120 for the CPU but remember thats the minimum you would need.

i would check if your 6870 is a reference design. If its not I would not bother as i dont think the generic gpu blocks are worth the bother.
 

vsams14

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I have indeed done some research since my last post. I was advised by multiple people that there is no point in w/c my processor, since I'm not doing any heavy o/c'ing right now anyways. I think that I am going to get a XSPC Rasa 750 RX240 and get a gpu block. I realize that a full block would be much more effective than a generic block; however, the full blocks are out of stock/no longer being produced, and I do not want to shop e-Bay.

Assuming that I can find a full water block for my card, how will I know if it is reference design?

Also, if anyone has done something similar to this before, can I be informed of how efficient the cooling will be, and if it will be worth the 223$ or so (Rasa+gpu-210)?
 

vsams14

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If after that people still do not understand, I am no longer planning on w/c my CPU. I will get a Cooler Master 212+ and be perfectly fine.
 

HugoStiglitz

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The universal blocks actually work quite well. I switched from full covers to uni's since I upgrade more often (in the process of moving my block from my 560Ti to a 670), and haven't noticed much of a difference in performance. The newer blocks aren't as restrictive as the older models so the cooling is much better than it used to be.

You also don't have to use just Koolance parts - as long as your parts are all copper, nickel, or brass you're fine (do NOT get parts with aluminum touching the coolant).

You can mod a CPU cooler to fit a GPU but it's not always effective.

As for the Rasa kit, you'll have to assemble it yourself, but it comes with all the parts. I believe there's a shop online that has GPU kits (might be EK or Swiftech, maybe on FrozenCPU as well) which have a GPU block instead of a CPU block.
 

vsams14

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It's a "I'm paranoid about temperatures over 60C" thing, but noise as well. I'm planning on eventually switching to a fully w/c system eventually, just not in my budget right now. Plus, I WANT to try liquid cooling it may be difficult and somewhat expensive, but I want to challenge myself!

I might look into the VGA fan that you suggested though. It looks sweet!
 

vsams14

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Ok. So let's say I get the Rasa 750 RX240 and a gpu block compatible with my card. If in the future I want to add my CPU to the items being cooled, and add a 3x120 radiator (which my case doesn't even have space for!!), will the pump/res and other stuff in the kit still be sufficient? (I want this to be at least sort of future proof!)
 

HugoStiglitz

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90% of people will start with watercooling their CPU. as generally you can get much better performance increases with a good CPU overclock.

the RASA kits are a good starting point and if ur looking to get into it I would start with that. if u love it and willing to put more money in you look at adding more blocks (motherboard, video card, ram) and radiators from there. but fair warning its quite a money pit. once you start on the custom cooling route it burns through cash very quickly.

the percentage of people who water cool 99.999% of them dont NEED it, they fall into the following categories.

Most people will do it for better overclocking/benchmarking results
Others will do it as they like a very quite computer
Custom Modding (custom case mods & etc)
or a mixture of the above.

60 degrees is quite common. even when watercooling. the biggest thing you remove when WCing is temp spikes as the water in the loop keeps temps very even and alot slower changing.
 


The pump is pretty decent. At some point you may want to upgrade it anyway, but it should be able to run it all. I had the Rasa pump unit in my loop for quite some time when I first built my loop.

60 degrees is quite common. even when watercooling. the biggest thing you remove when WCing is temp spikes as the water in the loop keeps temps very even and alot slower changing

If built properly, a custom loop shouldn't get close to 60C. Even with a 2500K and 2x6950s, the warmest my GPUs got was 45C.

the percentage of people who water cool 99.999% of them dont NEED it, they fall into the following categories.

We can't really say what is necessary and unnecessary for each person who wants to watercool - each individual needs/wants something different than the next person.

We can, however, help them determine what is practical or impractical.
 
Wow, lots of responses as I slept hehe,
and they cover most of the points I raised,
I'm happy to see you've checked out the sticky too, sorry if it seems like a common reply but we do like people to help themselves as well as offer our assistance
if you just want Gpu for now then yes, Rx240 kit and a universal Gpu block will be your best option, then add a larger rad later, if you keep the block from the rasa kit you can obviously use that then
Moto
 

vsams14

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Have a couple more questions:

1. What size rads do you guys have, so I know what e/c enthusiasts use, and what are your average temps?

2. As far as coolant goes, do I have to buy something fancy like, for example, "PrimoChill ICE Non-Conductive Liquid Cooling Fluid"? I know that distilled water is an option, in which case, can I somehow color the water? Are food dies safe to use, or will they corrode my system? - Also, is antifreeze any good?

3. I have decided to get the Rasa RX360, and http://bit.ly/Kbrd7P as my gpu block. Will these two be compatible? What are the temperatures I should expect with this setup and my current system?

4. If I plan on upgrading to a Nvidia 670GTX, will the gpu block be compatible, and what temps should I expect from it?

Thanks so much!
 
1. What size rads do you guys have, so I know what e/c enthusiasts use, and what are your average temps?
I use a 360 + 120 rad and get pretty decent temps. My 560Ti ran at ~35C under load with low-speed fans, and my 2x6950 setup would run at 45C with high speed fans.

2. As far as coolant goes, do I have to buy something fancy like, for example, "PrimoChill ICE Non-Conductive Liquid Cooling Fluid"? I know that distilled water is an option, in which case, can I somehow color the water? Are food dies safe to use, or will they corrode my system? - Also, is antifreeze any good?
Distilled + Silver Killcoil is generally the way to go. There are some good colored tubes, but if that doesn't work there's always food coloring. Most coolants will usually precipitate out and the dyes/additives will clog the blocks. Antifreeze isn't really necessary unless you're trying to prevent corrosion.

3. I have decided to get the Rasa RX360, and http://bit.ly/Kbrd7P as my gpu block. Will these two be compatible? What are the temperatures I should expect with this setup and my current system?
As long as the block fits your GPU and the tubing connects the block to the rest of the loop, you're good ;)

4. If I plan on upgrading to a Nvidia 670GTX, will the gpu block be compatible, and what temps should I expect from it?
You should be good on compatibility. Swiftech is saying to use the older G80 (8800GT) mounting kits on the GTX 670, so it should be the same with the XSPC block. As far as temps go, I'm not done installing my MCW82 on my new 670, so I'll have to get back to you on that one.