First Water Cooling build ever

[badb0y]

I just need to get my 240mm rad and I will be ready to set it up. I need comments/suggestions because I am totally new to this:

Tubing 7/16

XSPC Dual bay reservoir with DDC pump

XSPC 120mm Rad

XSPC Rasa Block

6x 1/2 inch barbs
RAM/Mosfet Sinks for the 7970
Hose Clamps

Swiftech MCW80 Universal GPU block

Shim for the 7970 so it makes contact with the GPU block

I got a couple of questions:

First does it matter which way I mount the CPU block? Does the inlet have to be above the outlet or vice versa or does it not matter?

I googled around and people say it doesn't matter how your loop is setup as long as the it goes from reservoir to pump. Is this true?

Lastly due to space constraints I was only able to fit 1 120mm Rad(EX 120) and 1 240mm Rad(EX 240) will that be enough to cool my CPU and GPU?

Thanks in advance for helping me out. I will update with more pictures tomorrow when all my parts are here.

 

[mindwreck]

doesn't matter how your block is orientated. Just get the direction of flow correct. water in through inlet

technically it doesn't matter the order the components, but ideally you want the res before the pump.

 

[Grooveriding]

Your res/pump is a combo, so it's already set up for you, the main thing with that is the pump has to be below the reservoir. Since you are using two rads I think what you want is either the res to outlet to a rad then into your pump then out of pump to a block then a rad then another block and back to res or res to pump into a block, into a rad then another block then a rad then to res.

I found it was much easier to bleed with the rad below the level of the res. For me I put my rad on the top of my case, so I put everything in the case as it would be set up and connected everything - then I removed the rad and put it below the res level and ran the system like that to bleed it.

As others said, make sure you use inlet/outlet correctly on CPU block, I wouldn't put the CPU inlet on top if you orient the block that way.

I had a heck of a time getting mine setup at first, but it was well worth it. Make sure you use a silver coil with distilled water.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

* i have never done this *

some people might ask questions before buying parts, but i like your style

i would arrange parts and ports to be as linear as possible (in bottom, out top or something) to ease bleeding air and draining. when you drain, do you want the block to be full of water or have a hole at the bottom? i'd go for hole at the bottom.

i would only put the reservoir directly prior to the pump. i don't think it's normal for the rez to be pressurized.

i think a 120mmsq rad is good for roughly 150 watts of energy dissipation depending on the fan. that would give you 450w capacity. check out the TDP for the parts you're cooling and add a bit more.

if people have experience with the quick disconnects, how are they?

 

[badb0y]

Thanks for the help guys I will post more pictures tonight!

 

[billyb0b]

What tubing and fittings are you using?

NM... i just saw. Good choice on 1/2" barbs and 7'16" tubing

I'm running that now. No clamps makes for a very clean look.

 

[badb0y]

Tubing is so hard to push in I am putting a lot more force than I feel comfortable with.

 

[Grooveriding]

Tubing is so hard to push in I am putting a lot more force than I feel comfortable with.

Boil some water and dip the end of the tubing into a cup of the boiled water to soften it. Will make life much easier on you.

 

[badb0y]

Boil some water and dip the end of the tubing into a cup of the boiled water to soften it. Will make life much easier on you.

I got fed up and ordered 1/2 inch tubing. Everything else is setup including rads and blocks. Just need to add tubing and water.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Seems like a resurgence of water cooling recently. Like others have said, orientation of cpu block does matter. Other than that just be patient and take your time.

 

[badb0y]

Waiting on tubing, any suggestions to make this setup better?

 

[Grooveriding]

I got fed up and ordered 1/2 inch tubing. Everything else is setup including rads and blocks. Just need to add tubing and water.

That works too. I did the same myself, I wanted to go the slightly too small tubing for fitting size for safety, but read it could be a PITA.

I'm using 1/2ID 3/4OD tubing with the appropriate fittings and everything is nice and snug.

 

[billyb0b]

I got fed up and ordered 1/2 inch tubing. Everything else is setup including rads and blocks. Just need to add tubing and water.

Use hair dryer to warm the end for about 2 minutes, makes it super easy to put on the barb

 

[badb0y]

Use hair dryer to warm the end for about 2 minutes, makes it super easy to put on the barb

Will try it today lol.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

That CPU block orientation will cause air to get stuck in it. You can get most of it out by diligently tipping the case, but its better to orient the block properly in the first place.

Rotate the CPU block so the output port towards the top of the case.

Also, when filling the loop, rotate the case so that the bay res is the highest point of the loop. Although, your res does not have front fill ports... so that is a little disappointing. Getting air out of the top 120mm rad could be an adventure.

Bleeding will be difficult with that loop.

 

[Subyman]

IMO watercooling is a great investment for a serious user. The initial investment in a loop can be kind of high, but in the long run it is well worth it.

Good job on your first cooling build. The small details can be overwhelming to a person doing it for their first time.

 

[badb0y]

Thanks for all the help guys! I am actually going to wait for my 1/2 inch tubing to come in since I already ordered it.

I will re-arrange the block like overlodi said.

Also how tight should the barbs be? All the way using a wrench or tightening all the way with my finger is fine?

Thanks again!

 

[Kenmitch]

Also how tight should the barbs be? All the way using a wrench or tightening all the way with my finger is fine?

They need to be tight but not wrench commando tight at the same time. You need to compress the o-rings to seal the barb. Smashing it will make it leak dependant on the barbs being used as some let the o-rings spread out. They need to be snug but at the same time not twist loose. A short piece of xtra tubing can be used to snug them if you like just don't push it all the way down the barb if the tubing fits really snug.

I don't game anymore but have downloaded some of the benchmark runs just to check for some stability of both cpu and gpu under some pretty heavy overclocks to check my temps. I've come to the conclusion that I have no issues with my temps and overclocks under normal circumstances nor stress testing.

Here is my loop which seems to work pretty good for me. I guess I could have used a larger rad up top to eliminate the smaller one all together but I kinda like the way it looks and works currently. Besides I'm debating on if I wanna pick up the Corsair 500r as my loop looks like it would fit without issues and look alot cleaner. Figure I could mount the upper rad in the lower front of the 500r without any issue other than moving the HDD cage back a little bit....Hmm

Heres a shot of my current rig and a shot of my temps during testing. Don't pay attention to my whimpy score tho

Main thing to see in the below shot is the max cpu and gpu temp as those were generated during the AVP run. I did a couple of others in which the gpu temp did rise about 1-2*c

Only thing diff between the loop shot and the current rig is using a temp motherboard while waiting for my motherboard in sig to get back from rma.

 

[badb0y]

So my videocard and RAM got soaked.

What do?

 

[Kenmitch]

So my videocard and RAM got soaked.

What do?

Dry them off with tissue paper, paper towels for a start.

What happened? Severity of soaking.

Distilled water?

 

[badb0y]

Dry them off with tissue paper, paper towels for a start.

What happened? Severity of soaking.

Distilled water?

Barbs were leaking on my GPU, CPU, and the pump reservoir.

Fixed them up seems good now. By soaking I mean water gradually dripped out of the barbs and fell on the RAM and Graphics card's board.

Yes I was using distilled water. Also there seems to be suds in the pipes is this normal?

 

[Kenmitch]

Make sure you soak up all the water. Were you leak testing and noticed it right away?

Do you mean bubbles in the lines? If so they will go away once all the air is blead out.

 

[badb0y]

Yea I noticed it right away and I pulled out the pipe and more water fell out lol

It got pretty messy.

 

[badb0y]

Leak test take 2 going well for about 3 1/2 hours now

 

[badb0y]

GPU gets hot under Kombuster(Furmark) it topped out at 70 degrees.

The CPU under IBT only got upto 50 degrees though.

I think I need more radiator.