Tired of wasting money, help me pick a Reservoir please!

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine WC'ing my system to be this expensive. It's not the parts themselves, it's all the mistakes. I've gone through 2 different cases, 2 different reservoirs (want to buy my third right now), 4 different radiators, lots and lots of tygon tubing, and an insane amount of barbs, and all of this because I didn't properly plan/do my homework beforehand. So here I am. My current Res (XSPC Dual Bay/D5) is a PITA to bleed so I want to move to a nice tube res setup. My new 6990 (EK'd) just came in so now I'm ready to re-do my loop... again.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/9240/800dpc.jpg

This is more or less what my system looks like right now. Now, this is what I want to do:

-Replace my bay res with a tube/pump combo res.
-Move the rear 120mm radiator to the bottom of the case (I don't mean the PSU compartment, I mean above the fan that's already there).

First question, do you guys see anything wrong with this layout? I'd like to slide my case further into my desk and closer to the wall, and the radiator/tubes get in the way of that with their current positioning.

Second question, do you guys think the following reserver will work?

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=29829

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=29836

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=29831

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=29833

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=26481

I'm leaning heavily towards this, as it was linked to me in another thread. I'm just worried of spending another $100+ and have something not fit right, lol. I'm going to go with 2 tubes (120mm and 50mm) with the linked coupler, and have one of the nozzles in the coupler be the water inlet into the res. I also want to drill a hole in the top of my case and make use of the fillport on the top of the reservoir. My main concern is space within my case. I don't want the res to be too tall once it's setup, and I also dont want something to be too wide. I've seen people use this setup inside an 800D so I don't anticipate any problems, but I would still like advice. Especially if anyone here has actually used any of these parts before :)

Anywho, I appreciate any input and suggestions.

none of your links work bud

Oops, thanks for catching that! Fixed them :)

If you really want to keep bleeding performance really good, you should consider a separate reservoir and separate pump. Most pump/res combos are a bit of a compromise in bleeding performance in exchange for space convenience.

You could use the parts you've selected, but you'll just need to add in the reservoir base:
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=29830

You won't need the adapter or the coupler with that base. I haven't tried the above base (or any 80mm res for that matter), but it does have an anti-vortex plate and 80mm is quite a mass of water that should bleed pretty easily. When it comes to bleeding, large reservoirs work well. I have a couple of 3"x20" ABS test reservoirs I made myself for testing for that very reason (Instant bleeding)

Separate pump/res also allows you to decouple the pump and fix the tube res to the case for better noise control. I would mount the tube res in back and put the pump on the case floor floating on a decoupling pad of some sort.

Awesome, thanks for the reply, I will keep that in mind!

I did actually think about saying screw it to all the bling and going back to a basic Swiftech MicroRes, but I decided against it. I think I can get this to work. My motherboard (R3F) isn't as wide as other X58 board's so I think I shouldn't have too many space issues within my case. If it does then I'll just end breaking up the res/pump combo and going with the one you linked. I ordered the stuff already. Gosh let's hope I don't end up having to shell more money because I screwed something up, lol -_-

Mmm MCRES v2 is ugly but bleeds in about 20 seconds when full

I have had two of those Koolance setups in both the D5 and the DDC versions, they bleed very easily because of the extra part that you put in there for the return. If you really want to make it easy, just do like Naekuh did on his and add a small tube section before the return:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...22&postcount=2

I really liked how they fill also, just unscrew the top and add water. The other option you could consider is a separate bay res, like this:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=22698

They bleed very easy also due to the amount of liquid you can put in them, but I still prefer the tube res.

If you want to go with a tube reservoir, I'd strongly recommend the iandh StealthRes. I've got mine set up with a side inlet and a bottom outlet and it bleeds just fine. Mounting is a snap, too.

Hi,

I run top-bottom and rear rads with the Swiftech micro and works
great as to purging the setup from air.

Takes about half an hour to get it setup as to only adding water
without having to play with the pump.

Res setup helps as to priming and making sure pump never runs dry.
Top mount rads hard to clear on air but with this res setup works
great.

Add small amount of water for about 5 or 6 startups after that and res
level never moves and no air bubbles out the outlet port into the res
after that.

Have had to do this about 4 times, My fault, as to fitting leaks.
All cured now.!!

Pic

Later

Danger Den Monsoon bleeds very easily !

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Utnorris

I have had two of those Koolance setups in both the D5 and the DDC versions, they bleed very easily because of the extra part that you put in there for the return. If you really want to make it easy, just do like Naekuh did on his and add a small tube section before the return:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...22&postcount=2

I really liked how they fill also, just unscrew the top and add water. The other option you could consider is a separate bay res, like this:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=22698

They bleed very easy also due to the amount of liquid you can put in them, but I still prefer the tube res.

---

Yep, that's actually exactly what I went for.

He mentioned it (and even posted a pic) in this thread:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=269945

The only thing I'm wondering is what's that little tube spiral looking thing plugged into his fillport top?

But yeah I went with a 120mm tube, and a 50mm tube with a dual nozzle coupler. I'm super excited about re-doing this with my new video card! I also purchased Rev2 of the Apogee XT top so I'm going to be installing that also :)

Thanks for all the recommendations everyone!

I did look at the Monsoon also, but honestly the experience with the XSPC res left me a bit jaded and wanting to try something different. Hopefully this tube res is the last cooling-related change (upgrade?) I make to my PC for a long time, haha.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Irocing

Hi,

I run top-bottom and rear rads with the Swiftech micro and works
great as to purging the setup from air.

Takes about half an hour to get it setup as to only adding water
without having to play with the pump.

Res setup helps as to priming and making sure pump never runs dry.
Top mount rads hard to clear on air but with this res setup works
great.

Add small amount of water for about 5 or 6 startups after that and res
level never moves and no air bubbles out the outlet port into the res
after that.

Have had to do this about 4 times, My fault, as to fitting leaks.
All cured now.!!

Pic

Later

---

Nice setup! How many pumps are you running? And is a single D5 good enough to run a setup similar to yours? It seems like it would be more strain on a pump going from a reservoir on the bottom of the case, to one of the top of the case. Or am I just completely wrong here?

Took a picture of the inside of my case last night and noticed something disturbing... looks like I wont be able to install the tube res setup I ordered because of space constraints (see picture below). My new video card is just as long, if not longer. There is no way I'll be able to setup the 80mm tube reservoir setup vertically in that little area. It wont fit between the end of my video card, and the SATA port board the 800D has.

http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/3972/casefail.jpg

BIG FAIL! Looks like I'm going to have to cancel the order and just go with a basic (ugh) MicroRes from Swiftech and avoid all of these problems. I'll lose some bling but at least I'll be functional.

I'm just glad I caught this before PPC shipped out my order. I'll go ahead and call them up tomorrow and have them cancel the order immediately. I'm glad I made this thread, and subsequently checked my case tonight. If not I would have been disappointed as this is the EXACT type of thing I wanted to avoid in the first place LOL FML -_-

Just remove the cover. It should fit. I have two EK 250mm v 2 reservoirs with a dual loop top in that exact space with a 3-way SLI setup in front of it. Apologies for the horribly dark picture, but I don't have anything else handy at the moment. I can try to get a better one in 10 hours when I get home :)

http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...h_DSC00023.jpg

You should have no issues with fitting a ek 250 60mm diameter reservoir with an mcp 355. So just go with the koolance reservoir with 60 mm diameter and choose a length that will allow you to add inserts and route your tubing.

Yep those XSPC restops can be PITA to bleed.. All you need is a long, flat and bendy piece of plastic etc to help it bleed and its fast and easy ;)
Just stick something into the res that blocks direct water flow from the inlet pipe to the pump and voila it bleeds in minutes. Ive used a ~20cm piece of 10mm sleeve to help my DDC restop to bleed and works just fine. Atleast from pics Ive seen it should work the same way in the D5 version.

Alright, cool, I hope you're right. Especially since I had called Performace-PC's and wasn't able to cancel my order because they wanted to charge me a 20% restocking, despite the fact the order STILL HADN'T LEFT THEIR BUILDING!

Words cannot express how upset I am at that company right now. It's a shame too because I love ordering from their. I feel their prices are good (except their shipping prices are rather outrageous) and I don't get charged sales tax, but this experience has left a very sour taste in my mouth and I will probably never ever order from them again. The sad part is no one at PPC cares that they are losing a customer over a stupid policy. It's not even as though I'm asking them to bend over backwards for me, all I wanted was a refund on my order. They were going to be out ZERO money! But no, if you wanted store credit they would refund you 100% of your money. Sorry, I'm done ranting, I'm just pretty upset about it is all.

Now, I hope the res setup I got actually works because I have no choice but to keep it :/

I found Thermaltake bleeds REALLY well . . .bleeds coolant all over your GPUS from your cracked Thermaltake CPU block. guess that gets out the air bubbles as well?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mackintosh

Just remove the cover. It should fit. I have two EK 250mm v 2 reservoirs with a dual loop top in that exact space with a 3-way SLI setup in front of it. Apologies for the horribly dark picture, but I don't have anything else handy at the moment. I can try to get a better one in 10 hours when I get home :)

http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...h_DSC00023.jpg

---

Thanks for the picture! What's the diameter of your reservoir? I'm going to be using 80mm Koolance tubes. Not sure how I'm going to fit it, but I'm crossing my fingers that it fits.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vulcZ

But yeah I went with a 120mm tube, and a 50mm tube with a dual nozzle coupler.

---

lol sounds like a koolance tube.

They are great... ive been using one for while.

They do cyclone so unless u got height on the res, u will need some form of cyclone blocker.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...o/IMG_0771.jpg

Hey NaeKuh!

As sad as it's made me, I had to change my order and go with an MCRes v2 :( Sadly I don't think an 80mm tube res will fit where I want it to go, especially since I plan on moving that thick ass 120mm radiator to sit above that bottom case fan. Shame too because I really wanted a bling bling tube res. At this point though I'm just looking for something that's for sure going to work, and I know an MCRes will fit the bill, even though it's not very appealing to the eyes 8)

http://www.koolance.com/water-coolin...p?cPath=57_112 ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vulcZ

Hey NaeKuh!

As sad as it's made me, I had to change my order and go with an MCRes v2 :(

---

i absolutely love that little res.

I dont care what people say.

At its price point, it is the best bleeding res.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vulcZ

Thanks for the picture! What's the diameter of your reservoir? I'm going to be using 80mm Koolance tubes. Not sure how I'm going to fit it, but I'm crossing my fingers that it fits.

---

Unfortunately the EK v2 res is "only" 60mm. 80mm might be a very, very tight fit. My pair is a tight fit at 60mm, but that's mostly due to there being two of them, the dual top and the fact that I needed to make room for fittings and tubing going from the top as well. Maybe a single larger res will fit in there.

Good luck! :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by vulcZ

Nice setup! How many pumps are you running? And is a single D5 good enough to run a setup similar to yours? It seems like it would be more strain on a pump going from a reservoir on the bottom of the case, to one of the top of the case. Or am I just completely wrong here?

---

Hi,

I'm running a single 355 pushing thru the three rads but about two months ago
the pump would not start up ocasionally.

Past 30 day warranty with PC and went to Gabe at Swiftech and still waiting to hear from him on warrantee.
Sent him pics he requested but no comment yet.

Worked great for about three months and don't know if 355 can't cut it, but
from what I've researched shouldn't be a problem

Up and runnin great with replacement 355 pump although tach lead not
working on new one:rolleyes:

Clear side panel and Res in plain sight all I depend on anyway.

Gentle tubing bends as short as possible and res as high above pump as
can get it are what I went for.
My recommendations.:)

Later:D