My first custom loop. Help me do a shiny!

[YBS1]

OK I am seriously struggling to figure out how to control these 6 fans. Do I need PWM fans and a PWM fan controller? Or just 3 pin fans and a different kind of fan controller? I read you can damage fans if not controlling them right. The corsair SP120 PWM fans look good to me, but I don't know how to control them. I think corsair commander mini would work, but its not clear to me if it will.

As far as my research found, there is no such thing as a PWM fan controller. Not in the sense that one creates a true PWM signal, the ones that exist simply control PWM fans the same way they handle standard fans, by varying the voltage. You control PWM fans the proper way via the motherboard fan headers. Most recent boards will have a few headers but not enough to control the amount of fans you'll probably be using. To accomplish this you'll need a PWM splitter. Google Swiftech 8 way PWM splitter, there are others as well. Keep in mind the fans you use must properly support signal sharing which it's my understanding those Corsairs do not. Anyway, PWM will allow you to create your own custom fan curve which will vary fan speed based upon CPU load/temp and you can make it as quiet or loud as you wish.

If I'm wrong about those particular Corsair fans hopefully someone will correct me. And yes, I have also heard controlling PWM fans via normal voltage based fan controllers is bad for them.

 

[moonbogg]

As far as my research found, there is no such thing as a PWM fan controller. Not in the sense that one creates a true PWM signal, the ones that exist simply control PWM fans the same way they handle standard fans, by varying the voltage. You control PWM fans the proper way via the motherboard fan headers. Most recent boards will have a few headers but not enough to control the amount of fans you'll probably be using. To accomplish this you'll need a PWM splitter. Google Swiftech 8 way PWM splitter, there are others as well. Keep in mind the fans you use must properly support signal sharing which it's my understanding those Corsairs do not. Anyway, PWM will allow you to create your own custom fan curve which will vary fan speed based upon CPU load/temp and you can make it as quiet or loud as you wish.

If I'm wrong about those particular Corsair fans hopefully someone will correct me. And yes, I have also heard controlling PWM fans via normal voltage based fan controllers is bad for them.

I've read about issues with the PWM corsair fans being used with a PWM splitter as well. They ramp up to 100% and don't report RPM's. They seem to be a complete mess for PWM use. I was hoping for a PWM fan controller, but if it doesn't really exist, then it doesn't exist.
So, would it be better to buy a basic 6+ channel fan controller and use standard 3pin fans? That simply adjusts the voltage, right? I guess I wouldn't have anyway to see the RPM's then. God I feel stupid. This shouldn't be this hard.

 

[guskline]

OK I am seriously struggling to figure out how to control these 6 fans. Do I need PWM fans and a PWM fan controller? Or just 3 pin fans and a different kind of fan controller? I read you can damage fans if not controlling them right. The corsair SP120 PWM fans look good to me, but I don't know how to control them. I think corsair commander mini would work, but its not clear to me if it will.

moonbogg, I used the straight 3 pin fans, even the Corsair SP120s and all work well with the NZXT 6 channel fan controller (or for that matter any decent 3 pin fan controller).

 

[guskline]

moonbogg, relax, we all go though this when doing research. Buy the straight 3 pin fans and buy the 3pin fan controller. Here's a Newegg link to the exact fan controller I use.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2&cm_re=fan_controller-_-11-992-012-_-Product

Just make sure the fans you order are the 3 pin, NOT the 4 pin fans.

Here is the link to the Coolerguys website and the Gentle Typhoons:


I have the 1850 rpm fans.

http://www.coolerguys.com/sgt120.html

 

[MrTeal]

How are you wanting to control the fans? A fan controller will work if you just want to vary the speed, although the simple ones won't give you the ability to set a fan profile using something like Speedfan.

I have a bunch of the Swiftech splitters, and they work great. Essentially all they do is provide ground and 12V from the SATA plug to all the fans, connect the tach of the fan on channel 1 (red cap) to the motherboard header, and pass the PWM signal from the MB to all the fans. I haven't tried them with Corsair fans though. The Corsairs might have an excessively strong pullup on the PWM line that is causing issues with the MB.

Which fans are you looking at using?

 

[moonbogg]

I was trying to find a way to have a fancy software fan profile, but I don't think it will help me much. If I monitor water loop temp and just set the fans to maintain about 10deg delta from ambient under load, then that's about the best I can do. If the CPU is clocked too high and it overwhelms the blocks ability to absorb heat, its going to get hot anyways. It doesn't matter if the fan profile makes the fans kick into high gear if the water loop temp is already pretty low. So I am going with the gentle typhoons and a fan controller and I'll look at getting a loop sensor.

EDIT: Fans purchased.
EDIT: Fan controller purchased (The Guskline version 2 fan controller)

 

[YBS1]

Cool, sometimes simplicity is best. Particularly while being kind of overwhelmed with your first custom loop.

 

[guskline]

Moonbogg, good choice. Though expensive, you WILL NOT regret those Gentle Typhoons. Incredible fans worthy of your dual GTX980TIs!
You can keep your fans cranked down when surfing etc and speed them up when hardcore game. That's what I do.

 

[moonbogg]

I just bought the swiftech D5 pump, a tube res, 12 barbed fittings and blue tubing, as well as two extras hose spring clamps for the pump. I went with barbed and it will look pretty good because they come with those spring clamps. They look nicer than the worm clamps. I surrendered my obsession to make this thing look pimped out and just went with hose clamps and kept it simple. I can't stomach fancy at the moment. I think that's everything. If I'm missing something, I'll find out when I try to put it together.
Crap, I need a way to drain the thing....

I think I can use a simple barb fitting with a hose attached and screw it into the res fill port. Tilt case and let it drain. Yeah? God I'm exhausted.

 

[Grooveriding]

Are these your rads ?

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...riple_120mm_Radiator.html?tl=g30c95s161#blank

Your rad has a drain port.

If so that is the best place to put one part of a quick disconnect pair of fittings on the rad you have at the bottom of your case.

https://www.dazmode.com/store/produ...ct-no-spill-coupling-male-threaded-g-14-bspp/

https://www.dazmode.com/store/product/qd3-f13x19/

I have the male one screwed into the drain port on the radiator in the base of my case and whenever I need to drain the loop I hook a tube on the female end, plug it into that male end, open the cap on my reservoir and my whole loop drains out.

This is the bottom of my case and the male quick disconnect screwed into the drain port. Makes draining so easy whenever I have to change something.

When you build your loop make sure all your tube cuts are straight and they end up flush to your fittings. Make sure everything is nice and tight and secured well and none of your tube runes are under any sort of torque from the way they're attached.

Run the pump with the system offline and have toilet/tissue paper at all your connections and leave it going for 12 hours at least to check for leaks.

I don't really leak test any more, but once you have your loop set and are just changing a couple things you get more confident that it's not going to leak with less verification.

First time though make sure everything is good several times over! Run a long leak test and check everything!

 

[guskline]

Grooveriding makes excellent points. I have even an easier way to make a drain port. You can usually buy a very small on/off valve fitting at Lowes or Home depot. Attach a barb to the extra plug at the lowest point of the radiator. Attach a 12" hunk of tube and put the on/off valve at the other end of the hose. I found a barbed end on/off valve assembly for @$10 and it worked wonders.

 

[guskline]

moonbogg, RELAX and welcome to the wacky world of custom water cooling!:biggrin:

 

[YBS1]

Yep, listen to Grooveriding on the leak testing. I would think anyone who has watercooled long enough has had it happen no matter how careful or thorough they are....That "Oh crap!" moment when they witness water pouring/dribbling out the bottom corner of the case. My last event was very recent. I unhooked the line from the cpu block but left it connected to the radiator fitting, to get the hose out of the way I decided to just turn the fitting a few times. Fast forward to later when it was reassembled and I powered up the pumps to refill, after a couple of minutes I put my hand down on the carpet and it was soaked. Didn't remember until that moment I had twisted that fitting loose.

 

[Grooveriding]

Something else I'll mention in regards to removing the stock 980ti coolers and putting your waterblocks on. The screws nvidia uses on those reference cards are really soft and easily stripped. Use a good high quality bit to remove them and make sure you're using the right bit that fits the screws well.

I stripped a screw on one of my Titan X and could not get it out no matter what I did. I had to drill through the screw to remove it. Something I would not want to find myself doing again as you could slip and destroy the card or grind off some of the PCB if the drill is not going straight through the screw.

 

[moonbogg]

Something else I'll mention in regards to removing the stock 980ti coolers and putting your waterblocks on. The screws nvidia uses on those reference cards are really soft and easily stripped. Use a good high quality bit to remove them and make sure you're using the right bit that fits the screws well.

I stripped a screw on one of my Titan X and could not get it out no matter what I did. I had to drill through the screw to remove it. Something I would not want to find myself doing again as you could slip and destroy the card or grind off some of the PCB if the drill is not going straight through the screw.

I will be paying close attention to this. Thanks.

EDIT: Fans came in. They look really solid and nice. Good quality.

 

[guskline]

Did you see that Nidec who makes the Gentle Typhoon is the fan producer for the Fury XT cooler? Most Likely the 3000 rpm version of the Gentle Typhoon.

 

[moonbogg]

Did you see that Nidec who makes the Gentle Typhoon is the fan producer for the Fury XT cooler? Most Likely the 3000 rpm version of the Gentle Typhoon.

Interesting. Well, I was going to start putting my rads in the case today, but Amazon sent me a damaged case. I mean its really damaged with broken pins, bent steel and everything. Anyway, it will be a week before the new one comes in, and by that time I'll be leaving for Atlanta for a week, so this project just got pushed back a few weeks because of Amazon's busted case.
I had time to take a quick look at one of the GPU water blocks. Looks pretty nice and well made. I'll check the other blocks and inspect the rads later. They are all here. STUPID CASE!

 

[YBS1]

Your thread got me all revved up to push my loop further. Case Labs pedestal is on the way. Still waiting on the video cards I want to become available. I guess I'll order the pump, additional radiators and misc items I need soon. The cards are going to have a Lepa G1600 all to themselves....ridiculous.

I also realized my Rampage has three auxiliary temperature sensor inputs which can be used to control the boards PWM. So I can use water temperature to control the fans while leaving CPU temp/load to control the pumps.

 

[moonbogg]

Your thread got me all revved up to push my loop further. Case Labs pedestal is on the way. Still waiting on the video cards I want to become available. I guess I'll order the pump, additional radiators and misc items I need soon. The cards are going to have a Lepa G1600 all to themselves....ridiculous.

I also realized my Rampage has three auxiliary temperature sensor inputs which can be used to control the boards PWM. So I can use water temperature to control the fans while leaving CPU temp/load to control the pumps.

I like the PWM idea based on temps. I like the automation of it. I had similar thoughts, but I went simple because it was too much to grasp all at once and my head had already exploded. I can do something like this later on, which is good. What kind of cards are you waiting for?

 

[YBS1]

Classified, Lightning, or HOF. I guess whichever I can get with blocks first, preferably the HOF as the white goes with my color scheme. I liked the idea of running the fans off water temp as well, mine is currently set to be very quiet but based off CPU temp you still get that whew whew whew spin up and down effect as CPU load is quick to change while water temp is so gradual.

 

[guskline]

moonbogg, good luck with assembly when the new Thermaltake v71 is delivered.

 

[moonbogg]

moonbogg, good luck with assembly when the new Thermaltake v71 is delivered.

I just inspected the new case. It has a single broken plastic retention pin that holds on the top cover. Other than that, it seems to be in good shape. I think I'll just keep it and super glue that pin, even though the case works fine without it.

I inspected the rads. They look good and I think they will fit, but why are the fins brown? It looks like someone spray painted them black from one side, but didn't paint them from the other angle. It looks brown and rusted in there. Is that normal? They are both like that.

 

[YBS1]

Yes, that's somewhat normal depending upon the brand.

"Note: To maximize the cooling power Alphacool has invented a complicated painting system where only the radiator is painted, the fins only get a very light coating. Therefore the fins are not black but may look a little red. That is not a quality issue but a technical improvement to give you the best cooling power possible."

Probably B.S., but there is your explanation.

 

[moonbogg]

Screw it, I'm returning that case. Its $150 and brand new. I won't accept broken pins on a new item. Maybe the new one gets here by Saturday and I can start building. The first one looked like someone threw it off the roof.

Also, thanks for the info on the rads. I'm just glad they aren't defective or something. I've had bad luck with defective crap lately.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

I want some picture's or this thread is a bust!