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Water Loop Build

QrazyQuadQore
Level 7
Iv been thinking about building a water loop and have 2 Ideas with drawings attached on post of what I want to do. One is external and the other internal. The (external build) one is how Im closest setup now, and would be cheaper to an extent, I already have a H110 for my CPU and would add a separate loop for 2X 290X MSI Cards. The (internal build) is get rid of H110 and put a RAD in the top of the case in its place and buy a CPU waterblock.

The only things im concidering right now:

Id like to stay with a single bay res/pump combo.(So I can keep my hot swap bay, cd drive, and junk box( only 3 bays can be filled with the large RAD) Minimum DVD Drive and Res/Pump)
Id like to avoid sending preheated water to anything, and keep cooling even (youll see in the drawing.)

One question/info:

I know the H110 is a 25mm thick dual 140mm RAD: SO if I had a tripple 140mm RAD and it was 60MM thick, double the H110 thickness, that would be equivilant displacment of 3 H110's right...... So If one H110 can keep a 220TDP CPU at 65C at full power, this 60MM Radiator should be able to handle 220TDP CPU, and 2 240ishTDP GPU's right?

Fans Im going to use are BitFenix 140MM Fans, and are rated at 120CFM and I think 3mmH2O, and will be in pull config, clearance issues with them in a push config. Case is NZXT Switch 810. Radiator is Alphacool NexXxos UT60 Full Copper 3X 140MM. GPU Water Blocks are most likly Heatkiller X3. CPU waterblock Swiftech Apogee XL Acetal(internal build)

Other thoughts: The only other thing I have some issue with choosing is the pump res combo, and tubing sizes. The 300$ koolance thing with fan/pump/temp/controller looks cool on frozen cpu but 300$ 😮
If you have your own idea for sure lemme know.
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3 REPLIES 3

jab383
Level 13
Hi

You're right in theory that 1.5x area and >2x thickness will triple the fin area of a radiator and triple the heat exchange power for the same temperature, water flow and air flow. There will also be an increase in water flow at the CPU with better pump and waterblock of the internal loop. Check the density of fins on the Alphacool UT60 - less fins per inch means the total area might not triple. Another practical drawback is that overall loop water flow may be lower when CPU and GPU blocks are all included. I recommend a pump with at least D5 level of pressure and flow. In my testbench build, I've gone to a PMP-500 for a Koolance 380 on the CPU and a GPU block on one R9 290X.

I must say that I like your internal choice better than the external. The Swiftech Apogee or a Koolance 380 will do markedly better than any all-in-one at CPU cooling. I like the choice of radiator and I'm using Bitfenix Specte Pro PWM 140mm fans extensively in two builds, so I like that choice, too.

One comment about the internal loop - water flow order is shown as res/pump > radiator > blocks > reservoir. That's the opposite order from that used in most loops that cool the water in the radiator before the reservoir. The radiator is intended to take preheated water and the reservoir adds no heat.

In all the tubing comparisons I've seen, there's no practical difference in performance of 3/8 vs 1/2 inch (10mm or 13mm) tubing. 3/8 (10mm) is more flexible and easier to route around an internal loop. 1/4 inch (6mm) tubing has measurably more restriction and should be used only for low flow branches or in extremely tight quarters. I use 3/8 (10mm) tubing except on stock D5 pumps that have only 1/2 inch (13mm) fittings.

My 24/7 systemI uses a dual bay res with D5 pump installed. Mine is by EK, but there are others at FrozenCPU. There are also single bay combos with DDC pump built in. DDC pumps have good power, but run hot and make more noise than D5.

With adequate water flow, there's no sense using CPU temperature to control radiator fans. Water temperature changes very slowly and holds CPU and GPU temperatures down for short times regardless of fan speed. The right driver for radiator fan speed is water temperature. Dedicated controllers like the Koolance you mention are okay for that, but as you point out, they're expensive. As long as your motherboard has at least one external temperature sensor input, usually labeled OPT_TEMP on ASUS boards, an OPT_FAN header can be controlled by the motherboard BIOS. That's how I have my 24/7 rig with an M6F. There are several 10K standard G1/4 temperature sensors at FrozenCPU by Phobya or NZXT. I suggest putting such a sensor at the radiator inlet to have the warmest water temperature control radiator fan speed.

These are all my own opinions, of course. Hope they help.

Jeff

QrazyQuadQore
Level 7
To Jeff:

Ok thanks for the awesome reply! My thoughts back to you are:

Flow order should be:
RES/Pump > CPU/VGA Blocks> RAD > RES/Pump
What about splitting lines off to keep preheated water down?
Dual bay res/pump with dual pumps? I like the backup plan...

Tubing size :
Is the 3/8 you mention internal diameter or outer? And what kind of fittings do I use, I know they use a G1/4 for example and then 3/8 would be the tubing inside size? Hows that work? I know I also DONT want compression fittings, so what would be secure with a clamp or something? What about quick disconnects for if I want to remove a GPU if it craps out, or hook up a drain tube to flush water every once in a bit.

Whats a good water to use that has all the anti living stuff inside it.
Whats D5 pressure? I seen head pressure like the koolance is 7..XX inches or bar or whatever it is.
I usually leave my fans at full speed, I'm not big on automatic anything. Although with a radiator the heat generated is centralized in one spot and is easyer to get rid of and more effectively.

jab383
Level 13
I have found that water moves through the loop fast enough that it's heated only a fraction of a degree in each block. In effect, the whole supply of water shares the heat carrying load. It has to do with the particularly high specific heat of water. The net power dumped into the water compared to the net power radiated determines the water temperature rise - rise of the whole water supply. The advantages of ordering the waterblocks according to importance - CPU, GPU, RAM, PCH, VRM etc. - are finite but small.

Splitting parts of the loop into parallel branches works sometimes. Each branch gets only part of the flow. If the waterblock works well with lower flow, splitting is okay. Most CPU and GPU blocks work best with higher flow, which argues for a single path through those. On my testbench, I plan to split RAMs into parallel paths because RAM doesn't dump much power and can stand the lower flow in each branch. The set of RAM branches is still downstream from the CPU and GPU.

Tubing sizes are spec'd and spoken of by their inside diameter, whether inch or mm. I don't like compression fittings either. I use Koolance barbs to match the tubing ID that can swivel to avoid tubing twist unscrewing the barb. Each Koolance barb comes with a clamp. Note that the clamps have to contend with the tube's outside diameter. The standard is 3/8 ID and 1/2 OD, but some 3/8 tubing has 5/8 OD. The ID has to match the barb and the OD has to match the clamp. This page has barbs and compression fittings:
http://koolance.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=62_63_99_161

Quick disconnects work well to let you remove a component or add a drain tube. They shut off water flow with only a drop or two leakage.

I use distilled water from the grocery store - about US$ 1 per gallon (3.7liters). I add copper sulfate solution, about 1 drop per liter. That's marketed under the name "Dead-Water" at FrozenCPU.

Slowing the fans when the water is cool cuts down the noise. That's the sort of personal preference we each decide for ourselves.

I have found that pump pressure is spec'd in whatever units the writer felt like that day. Conversion is a pain, but necessary for comparison or calculating expected flow.

1 psi = 27.68 in of water = 0.703 meters of water.

See the Koolance page for their version of the D5. They call it PMP-450. (Mine still have the Laing label plus Koolance's rebranding.) Their pressure is in meters of water. The real fun happens when pump and block pressures are mixed between psi, inH2O, mH2O and flow rates are mixed between liters per hour, liters per minute, gallons per minute etc. Excel spreadsheets are my friend.

Jeff