Complete water cooling overhall

[gamingguy27]

Hello,

I've got a GTX 295, a Q6600, and an Asus P5k Premium. All wrapped up in a Corsair Obsidian.

The plan is to completely replace the entire current cooling system (fans) with water.

I'm looking at:

EK Supreme SKT775 & GTX 295 Waterblocks

Triple fan 360mm Swiftec Radiator

Small Swiftech resivoir

Swifttech Laing D5 Pump

Fittings preferably compression.

Any advice?

Regards,

Alex.

 

[Tmagic650]

How did the install work out?

 

[EXCellR8]

Considering he hasn't posted back in 3 weeks I'm guessing he ran into problems or is still working on it. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of working w/ water cooled systems... can get so messy if you need to service it. I'm still running a small Swiftech kit with my setup, and it's been good to me for the most part, but I've had to perform some maintenance on it before and it was such a hassle keeping everything dry.

All that aside though he's gonna need a LOT of coolant for all that stuff, especially with a triple fan radiator and 2 main water blocks. Not really out of the ordinary but I cool just my CPU and i'm always surprised as to how much coolant is actually flowing through there haha.

 

[phillipjos]

As for w/c i bought 2 systems and couldnt bring myself to install them,water kills and the minamal gain isnt worth 2-3c vs air,imo

 

[EXCellR8]

depends on what your setup is, a lot of systems can really benefit from liquid cooling systems; some kits are better than others. you also need to take into consideration the amount water blocks are in the loop and what ID tubing you are using. 3/8" is really the perfect size and carries enough coolant through the system. of course there are people who custom build there kits, which is fine, but they don't understand how it works and they end up only getting marginally better temps.

 

[dividebyzero]

Adding my $0.02, I'd have to say if anyone is planning on WC then the final performance needs to be somwhat commensurate with the cost. Not pushing the CPU past rated VID then I really wouldn't bother.
Running GPU waterblocks then it's 1/2" (ID) Tygon tubing- sorry to be the dissenting voice.
Get a good pump with the best head pressure you can buy within budget.
Don't skimp on the radiators. Cheapo rads with slick paint jobs-No. Leave the thick coatings to KFC. Attach fans based on actual ability rather than advertised cfm ratings.
If done right then it's damn easy to see temps that air coolers can't get close to.

Try running this furnace in a low airflow case with a tower cooler...

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@gamingguy27
Note: The D5 normally sits in the bottom chamber of the chassis, although airflow is restricted regardless of placement.
I'd also look to test airflow and cooling efficiency by testing the hottest rig you can assemble/borrow/cobble together using the chassis fan set you intend to use 24/7 - If it passes the "towering inferno" test then you won't facing any bad surprises once the rig is up and running- i.e. chasing down chassis/component hotspots (chipset, mosfets etc..). I'd suggest ditching the crappy rear stock 14cm fan- I use the Scythe Ultra Kaze (14cm) until the Noctua 14cm fan releases here- and reversing airflow to become an intake rather than exhaust. Change the hdd fan also if you can (and add filters to both).

 

[EXCellR8]

1/2" ID tubing is good if you can use it in your case, but 3/8" is fine for almost any GPU if the pump is good enough. with bigger tubing you lose a bit of flow speed because there is more coolant volume that needs to pumped through the loop... either way you should be fine. the radiator and pump are the more important components and i agree you need to buy the good stuff. some radiators are just bad, and you are risking your hardware by going with lousy components. you also need to make sure to bleed the system properly and check the connections every so often for leaks. i had a leaking bung once and it dripped all my video card and a couple of slots on the mobo. no damage done but if i hadn't caught it in time it prob would have fried something. motherboard was a piece of trash anyways but you my point

 

[bryanloss]

waiting to hear how it worked!