You will be fine using the rad support and the fan shroud. Contrary to Codisha's ramblings the rad support
supports the radiator (surprised?) while the shroud gives seperation between the rad fins and the fan.
In this pic for instance you would mount the shroud between fans and rad in a pull configuration. You also have the options of:
1. Mounting the rad support to the lower fan position (raises radiator higher)
2. Mounting the rad support to the upper fan position (lowers radiator)- not much of a problem since the GPU's wont be exhausing hot air into the rad, although it could make for more tricky cable/connection changes .
3. Using a 120mm or 240mm fan shroud (depending on where the rad support is mounted) and three more fans on the other side of the rad (push-pull) increasing the air flow and providing better cooling performance. Likely this would negate the need for further radiators if you decide to try for max overclocking. The Koolance rad support may support having a shroud (as well as fan) where it attaches to the radiator-but from
memory I think that the rad support mounting mechanism might that you can mount a fan only (or with a thick/multiple
vibration damper acting as shroud). A quick email to FrozenCPU or Koolance will confirm this if you want to look at a 6-fan push-pull arrangement.
the rad mounting bracket and the rad shroud essentially do the same thing. i am not sure why you picked both?
Just for the record,the plexi isn't designed to handle the stress of having to support the radiator, coolant and fans. It will eventually crack
the single tri-rad will be ok for decent cooling. if you want to achieve good or very good temps you will need more rad. i would at least consider to add a dual rad to the loop.
Not necessary unless Trillionsin is going for max overclocking.
Would any one recommend this res/pump over my above config?
No. Simply because it's just an expensive reservoir- the pump isn't included.
if you are interested in the koolance bay res here is some in depth information and it shows you the product in detail. you will need different pumps for it.
Wrong. The link plainly says that the PMP450 and 450S are recommended. The PMP450/450S are also known as the Laing D5 and D5 Vario....which are also known as the Swiftech MCP655 and MCP655-B.
the cpu block you picked is very good and would have been my choice as well but you should go with a nickel version block. the EK HF comes in nickel as well. since your gpu blocks are nickel you should use nickel throughout your loop unless you plan to separate them.
mixing metals is a no no.
And the hits keep on coming...
The EK blocks are full copper with nickel plating
on the outside to negate the negate the oxidisation that long-term exposure to air induces. The nickel plating is for aesthetic reasons (i.e. it keeps the blocks looking nice and shiny!). The GPU waterblocks are full copper with nickel plating
on the outside (see edit) for the same reasons. EDIT: I was looking at the wrong tabs I had open (
Danger Den and
Aquacomputer)
Compression fitting, these are easier remove and attach? but restrict water flow? How many of these will I need for the above configuration? (and any recommended alterations)
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/62...409s1033#blank
You can either use
hose clamps or compression fittings. Clamps are cheaper but can be difficult to fit (especially in close proximity to one another such as multi GPU fittings) and to some people look messy. Personally I prefer compression fittings- more expensive and easier to fit as well as a much cleaner looking build. You can also, obviously, use a combination of both.
As for quantity you will need 10 barbs and 10 clamps/compression fittings. The pump has barbs and clamps included (plastic so as not to damage the pump). You will need 2 barbs/fittings for the rad, 4 for the GPU blocks, 2 for the CPU block and 2 for the reservoir. Frozen CPU give you the option of ordering the fittings required on each of the relevant product pages. All the barbs need to be 1/2" OD and all the clamps/compression fittings need to be 1/2" inside diameter (ID) and 5/8" outside diameter.
You've linked to 1/2" ID -5/8" OD fittings so I'm guessing you are looking at getting the most from the system (wise choice IMO). With compression fittings you must get a good grade of tubing that has consistantly good tolerance since the compression fittings are designed to cinch down to the exact outside diameter (OD) measurement that they are rated for. If the tubing is slightly fatter the fitting will probably not be able to be fitted, if the tubing is too narrow then the fitting will leak -hence the note in my original post about not skimping on the tubing.
Talking of which, add in the Tygon tubing I linked to earlier. If you want to add bling then add UV dye to the coolant. Having solid colour/non-transparent tubing makes bleeding the loop somewhat harder -especially for a someone using watercooling for the first time. Once you have changed and bled the system a few times you'll know more instinctively where air bubbles are likely to occur for a given system. With transparent tubing you will be able to see small air bubbles in the loop and can gently tap the tubing in that area to dislodge them if they persist. Tygon tubing in general is smooth enough internally that air bubbles don't usually have enough purchase to stick around in the loop.
EDIT: Trillionsin as per your PM
here's a splitter that will do the job (you will need two + 2 extra clamps/fittings) and I would definitely go with 1/2" tubing as opposed to 3/8".
