My First Custom Water Loop, Have I Got Everything?

[euphoria4949]

Hi everyone, first off sorry for the long post and thank you to all that read it.

Well here I am, about to take the plunge into water cooling for the first time, *Scared Face*.
I have meticulously measured and mapped out where everything will go in my build and after a few weeks of measuring I think I've got it..... hopefully!
But as this is my first time I was really hoping that a some water cooling veterans could give my set up the once over to see if I've missed something.

The problem I have is I've just emigrated to Eastern Europe from the UK, and over here PC tech is way, WAY behind the UK, USA and everywhere else. I've tried asking about parts for water cooling in all the big PC superstores over here, but when I asked them they look at me like I'm Doctor Evil asking for parts to build a Volcano super lair! :lol: They just didn't know what I was talking about.
So I'm going to have to order the parts from the UK and have them shipped over, which is gonna cost.... a lot! So I have to get the order spot on, if I've missed something out, I'm stuck. I won't be able to order anything else for a few months :-\

So if a few of you could please have a good look at my proposed set up and let me know if I've forgotten/missed something, or just cocked up in general, I would be eternally grateful =)

My loop would be: Pump>>Rad>>Block>>Res>>Pump again, with a T-Fitting between the Pump and Rad for a ball valve and drainage tube.

Here is the list of parts I was going to order with a rough map of where the parts would go.
Thanks guys, really really appreciate it.

Block - XSPC RayStorm CPU WaterBlock (Intel) [x1]
Rad - XSPC AX240 Dual Fan Radiator (Black) [x1]
Pump - EK DCP 4.0 Pump (12v) [x1]
Res - FrozenQ Liquid Fusion V Series 160mm - Blue [x1]
Hose - XSPC HighFlex Hose 1/2" ID, 3/4" OD, 19/12.7mm, 2m, Blue/UV Blue [1x2m]
Fittings - XSPC G1/4" T Fitting (Black Chrome) [x1]
XSPC G1/4" to 1/2" ID, 3/4" OD Compression Fitting (Black Chrome) [x14]
XSPC G1/4" 45° Rotary Fitting (Black Chrome) [x4]
XSPC G1/4" 5mm Male to Male Fitting (Black Chrome) [x4]
XSPC G1/4" Plug (Black Chrome) [x4]
Aqua Computer Ball Valve Female Thread G 1/4 without Fittings [x1]
Extras - Mayhems Biocide 10ml With PH Testing Kit [x1]
Mayhems Fine Silver Kill Coil [x1]
Bitspower O-Ring Set - 50pcs - Black [x1]

 

[Buzz247]

Looks pretty good. 2 suggestions:

Biocide or killcoil. No need for both. Serve same purpose.

Flip pump direction. Tubing path is fine, but ideally res> pump> cpu> rad> res. What you have will work, just suggested for a bit better efficiency.

Do you have thermal material already? Fans already? Plans for fill tube?

 

[euphoria4949]

Looks pretty good. 2 suggestions:

Biocide or killcoil. No need for both. Serve same purpose.

Flip pump direction. Tubing path is fine, but ideally res> pump> cpu> rad> res. What you have will work, just suggested for a bit better efficiency.

Do you have thermal material already? Fans already? Plans for fill tube?

Thanks for your reply, really appreciate the advice, some really helpful stuff there thank you.

As for TIM I was going to buy some Coollabratory Liquid Ultra when I order my parts, plus I have a few normal TIMs as well.

Fans yes already have them, going to be using AP-31's (Sycthe GT 5400rpm) on the rad.

Fill tube no, I hadn't planned for one. I thought one just filled the res?!? It will have a drainage tube but I thought that was the only thing needed :-\

 

[manofchalk]

I'm pretty sure there are several online water-cooling retailers based in Europe, particularly out of Germany.
Here are some retailers I could find, mainly found looking through reseller lists on XSPC and Swiftechs site, no doubt if you looked through EK's, Alphacool's or Aqua Computer's you would find more.
http://shop.watercool.de/epages/WatercooleK.sf/en_GB/?ViewObjectID=296668 (Germany, also the manufacturer of Heatkiller products)
http://www.aquatuning.de/manufacturers.php/manufac/46/manufacname/XSPC.html (Germany)
http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/XSPC:.:182.html (Germany)
http://www.highflow.nl/ (Netherlands)
http://www.coolerkit.se/shop/search-1.html?keyword=XSPC (Denmark and Sweden)
http://www.cooling.pl/ (Poland)

Pump I think I have expressed doubts on before to you, if I were you would go for a more "known" pump. The lack of reviews on that pump means you don't really know if it can handle say the GPU you will (its pretty much set in stone ) eventually add to the loop.

XSPC tubing isnt the best, I find it quite stiff and tough to work with. Go for a different brand, I use PrimoChill Primoflex Advanced LRT.

Agree with Buzz, how are you going to fill the loop? Most tube reservoirs have a port on top for doing this, but by having it so high up the case I think you wont be able to access it. Maybe shift its position in the case (which is what BTW, dont recognize the case, Corsair?).

Dont need both a Killcoil and Biocide, but that being said having both wont lead to any negative effects. If you want them, get both, but it isn't necessary.

The loop order is fine IMO.

 

[amuffin]

Hardware store tubing will work fine and is cheaper (make sure you get the right kind), though PrimoChill stuff is "cooler."

 

[euphoria4949]

I'm pretty sure there are several online water-cooling retailers based in Europe, particularly out of Germany.
Here are some retailers I could find, mainly found looking through reseller lists on XSPC and Swiftechs site, no doubt if you looked through EK's, Alphacool's or Aqua Computer's you would find more.
http://shop.watercool.de/epages/WatercooleK.sf/en_GB/?ViewObjectID=296668 (Germany, also the manufacturer of Heatkiller products)
http://www.aquatuning.de/manufacturers.php/manufac/46/manufacname/XSPC.html (Germany)
http://www.caseking.de/shop/catalog/XSPC:.:182.html (Germany)
http://www.highflow.nl/ (Netherlands)
http://www.coolerkit.se/shop/search-1.html?keyword=XSPC (Denmark and Sweden)
http://www.cooling.pl/ (Poland)

Pump I think I have expressed doubts on before to you, if I were you would go for a more "known" pump. The lack of reviews on that pump means you don't really know if it can handle say the GPU you will (its pretty much set in stone ) eventually add to the loop.

XSPC tubing isnt the best, I find it quite stiff and tough to work with. Go for a different brand, I use PrimoChill Primoflex Advanced LRT.

Agree with Buzz, how are you going to fill the loop? Most tube reservoirs have a port on top for doing this, but by having it so high up the case I think you wont be able to access it. Maybe shift its position in the case (which is what BTW, dont recognize the case, Corsair?).

Dont need both a Killcoil and Biocide, but that being said having both wont lead to any negative effects. If you want them, get both, but it isn't necessary.

The loop order is fine IMO.

This is why I posted on here before ordering =) Such a simple thing as filling the res but I completely over looked it
Well I've been measuring again and the only places the res can go are the place I had originally planned, or at the top but on the opposite side behind the 5.25" bays. This way would change to config to either: Pump>>Rad>>Res>>Block or Pump>>Block>>Res>>Rad. But it would be tough to mount it there as there isn't anything wide enough to fix the mountings to, plus I have an extra long device in one of the 5.25" bays so it would be tight.
I think the best option would to to leave it in the original place but as my case, (Antec 1100 by the way), has a 200mm fan with 1cm airflow holes directly above where the res would go, I'm thinking a slight increase in 1 or 2 of the holes above it would allow me to slide some tubing through to connect to the res. Here's a picture to show where I mean.

Regarding the pump, I know it's not as good as a Laing but I had read a few good reviews about it on OCN and a couple of other sites. And yes you are definitely right, I will be cooling my GPU/s in the near future but when it comes to that I was going to add a completely separate loop with another pump.

Thank you for all the links, I'm having a look through them now to see if it would work out cheaper from any of them.

I have dropped the killcoil as a few of you said that I don't need both, so that's a few quid saved, thank you =)

And as for the tubing, I have just read up on the Primochill stuff and a lot of people recommend it over XSPC stuff, so again big thanks I'll edit my order to the Primochill Primoflex Advanced LRT tubing.

Also I meant to ask in my OP, what do you guys think about the AX240 rad, is it worth nearly double the price of the EX240??? I've read that the models go in this order: (worst=RS>EX>RX>AX=best). But is it going to be noticeable, or will it realistically be just 1 or 2 degrees???

Thanks again

 

[manofchalk]

Externally mounted reservoir?

But yes, your idea of just cutting a fill-port in the top fan mount will probably work fine. From there just have a line going up from the reservoir, a stop fitting and maybe a large washer to conceal the cut and you'l have yourself an integrated fill-port.

When it comes to radiator space, from what I know its a question for whether it can dissipate enough heat or not. If it can, then getting something better wont improve performance. If it cant, then you will be running higher Delta's (water temp) and in that situation a better radiator will lead to a performance difference.
I reckon for a CPU, an EX240 would be plenty. Spend the extra on angled adapters and such, they just make the loop look so much cleaner.

 

[euphoria4949]

Externally mounted reservoir?

But yes, your idea of just cutting a fill-port in the top fan mount will probably work fine. From there just have a line going up from the reservoir, a stop fitting and maybe a large washer to conceal the cut and you'l have yourself an integrated fill-port.

When it comes to radiator space, from what I know its a question for whether it can dissipate enough heat or not. If it can, then getting something better wont improve performance. If it cant, then you will be running higher Delta's (water temp) and in that situation a better radiator will lead to a performance difference.
I reckon for a CPU, an EX240 would be plenty. Spend the extra on angled adapters and such, they just make the loop look so much cleaner.

Yeah I had toyed with the idea of it being mounted externally as I had thought about an external rad to save on some severe case modding, but I really wanted to keep everything internal so I decided against it in the end, so I think the hole in the top would be my best option.

Regarding the rad. Well I've been trying to find decent testing and comparison of the EX vs AX, but I couldn't really find anything :-\ But I did manage to find a lot of posts about the EX vs RX and it seems most people recommend the RX if you want slow rpm and/or quiet fans, but if you don't mind a bit of extra noise with higher rpm fans the EX is more than enough for just a CPU loop. So as I'm gonna be using really high rpm fans (Scythe GT's 5400rpm) as noise isn't a problem I'm gonna go with your recommendation and save some cash by going for the EX240 and get some extra fittings.

If you don't mind I would like to ask you something else.
I was going to go with a Push>Pull set up on the rad, but I don't have 4 identical fans. I was going to use: 2 Scythe GT's 5400rpm as Push, and 2 Scythe GT's 1850rpm as Pull. But now I'm thinking this might have an adverse effect, causing back pressure or something like that. What would your opinion be this???

Thanks again

 

[manofchalk]

I'v done push/pull with dissimilar fans, didnt notice any adverse effects. If something does arise, you can always just take them off.

 

[euphoria4949]

Oh yeah I give them all a try and see what gives the best results.

Thanks