New to Water Cooling - Need Help with Gaming PC

[phalanxs]

Hello Everyone,

I am reaching out to the community here for some assistance with liquid cooled systems. I am not new to building computers, however, when it comes to liquid cooled systems, I am a novice. I have been conducting a lot of research over the last several weeks, mainly on Distilled water with a Silver Coil/and or PTNuke vs. Pre-mixed coolant. Each has their pros and cons, which were argued very well. As being new to the liquid coolant world, I am still undecided with which cooling solution I should use.

The main points that have been argued are:

Distilled Water with Silver Coil/PTNuke

Pros:
■No conductivity, but over time does become conductive
■More efficient in cooling than pre-mixed solution by 1-5 degrees
■Silver Coil/PTNuke is an antimicrobial and helps against growth of algae
■Cheap

Cons:
■Does not help prevent corrosion

Pre-mixed Solution

Pros:
■Helps protect against corrosion and growth of algae

Cons:
■Runs 1-5 degrees hotter than Distilled Water
■High chance to clog blocks
■Ability to cause corrosion if using mixed metals
■More expensive

It seems like a “no-brainer” to go with Distilled Water and Silver Coil/PTNuke. My only concern is my blocks are not protected against corrosion.

I called Koolance to get their opinion on Distilled Water and Silver Coil/PTNuke; since my CPU, GPU, and RAM blocks are Koolance. Surprisingly, the gentleman confirmed the pros and cons for both, but has the concern about the potential corrosion with Distilled Water. In addition, to his concern with corrosion, he said that all brands of distilled water is different, so depending on which brand you buy the results will vary.

He suggested the Koolance LIQ-702 Liquid Coolant Bottle, High-Performance, 700mL (Colorless), not because he works for Koolance, but because of the corrosion prevention additive, and the fact that they make their own distilled water in house (due to all other distilled water being different). He also pointed out that a lot of companies manufacture pre-mixed coolant, but do not conduct tests for the longevity of the system, which in turn gives companies that make a good quality coolant (and the hardware) a bad name.

On a side note, I read somewhere that using Prestone Anitfreeze Coolant for you car is viable for PC cooling. I am not sure that I would want antifreeze in PC!

I am open to all comments and suggestions that any of you may have to help assist me. If I happened to provide incorrect information above, please let me know. Below is my build, as it may help decide which coolant I should use:

General Parts:
Case: Mountain Mods Extended Ascension
Motherboard: EVGA Z77 FTW
Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge 3.5 GHz
Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM (PC3 12800)
HDD: 2 x Kingston HyperX 3K SH103S3/120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1 TB SATA
Media Drive: Samsung 22X DVD Burner
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 690
Power Supply: OCZ Fatal1ty 1000W Individually-Sleeved Modular Gaming 80Plus Gold Power Supply
Case Fan: 25 x CoolerMaster Fan R4-L2R-20AR-R1 120mm Sickle Flow 2000rpm LED Red BlackCurrent

Water Cooling Items:
1 x Koolance CPU-370SI Intel Liquid Cooling CPU Block - (No Fittings)
1 x Koolance VID-NX690 GeForce VGA Liquid Cooling Block (No Fittings)
1 x Koolance RAM-33 Water Block (No Fittings)
1 x Koolance RP-452X2 Dual 5.25" Reservoir Rev 2.0 (Serial or Parallel) w/ Dual Alphacool VPP655 Variable Speed Pump Installed
2 x Black Ice GTX Xtreme 360 Radiator – Black
14 x XSPC G1/4" Thread 1/2" ID x 3/4" OD Low Profile Compression Fitting
2 x Enzotech G1/4" Thread 90-Degree Rotary 1/2" ID x 3/4" OD Compression Fitting
3 x Sliding 180-Degree U Connector (Memory)
2 x Nozzle Single, Swivel/Lock Barb for ID 10mm (3/8in) (Memory)
2 x PrimoChill PrimoFlex PRO LRT 10ft Tubing 1/2"ID 3/4"OD with 1/8" Wall
1 x ArctiClean 1 & 2 (Thermal Material Remover and Surface Purifier) - 60ml Kit
1 x Danger Den Premium Tube Cutter - Designed For 3/4" OD

I am going to run a two-loop system. One loop for RAM and CPU. Second loop for GPU. I am still deciding on how to run the first loop.

Pump/Reservoir -----> RAM -----> CPU -----> RAD -----> Pump/Reservoir
The reason for this design is the RAM heat is going to be very minimal, so carrying it to the CPU should not effect it.

Pump/Reservoir -----> CPU -----> RAM -----> RAD -----> Pump/Reservoir
The reason for this design is the water is the coldest coming from the pump, so cooling the CPU would be beneficial (since Ivy Bridges run hotter than Sandy Bridge), but not sure if I want to transfer the heat to the RAM.

Below are two pictures of my case. The radiators will mount vertically (not horizontal) in the front, due to the space available. One will be on the left, the second one on the right, and three CoolerMaster Fan R4-L2R-20AR-R1 120mm Sickle Flow 2000rpm LED Red BlackCurrent in the middle. The front and back of the case will be the intake for air, and the top will be the exhaust (since heat rises).

Any thoughts for my loop design?

Thanks in advance for all of your assistance with my build.

 

[boiler1990]

My brother was hogging my desktop last night playing his ArmA II Zombie mod, so I never got back to this.

A buddy from work recommended that I use two different types of fans with different static pressures. His reason is:
■ I am using radiators with higher FINs, so I want to use a fan with higher static pressure
■ To provide optimal cooling, the intake of air should be greater than the exhaust

These are correct - you want to make sure you have as much air as possible moving through the rads since that's really what is cooling your components.

With my case he suggests:
■The front 9 fans (which include my two radiators), and the back 5, should have higher static pressure to allow maximum air flow in
■The top 12 fans should have lower static pressure, so the amount of air leaving is low.

Doesn't really matter about the outtake fans as long as your rads are getting enough air through them.

I personally would still have the air flowing from front to rear, since the case is short enough that you'll get conflicting airflow. It will definitely impede flow if you use strong fans in the rear as intakes. It isn't going to be the difference between working and failing, but it is more efficient. You may just have to experiment, because I could be completely wrong and it'll have no effect at all.