New configuration dilemma

[iNF3rN0]

Okay, so heres what I want on water:
i7-950
2x evga gtx460 1gb's

If i dont modify my 800D, then Im thinkin one loop, single tfc 3x120mm rad on top. Im just worried about my order of flow. I was gonna run both the vid cards with the ek blocks that use the sli bridge for a clean parallel flow. Should I go rad > cpu > vid cards > pump? or would I be better off with stacking 2 switech mcr 320 qp's? in which case ide go rad > cpu > rad > vid cards > pump

thnx

[Church]

In general, stacking rads=bad.
single 3x120 imho is insufficient rad area for mentioned hardware, at least if you still want good temps and silent cooling. Two 3x120 with separate air sounds much more like it, problem is where to put 2nd of those.
Imho to put it in bottom of case requires too much modding, much simplier is to mount it externally on back of case, especially when you've specified that you don't want to mod case.

[iNF3rN0]

I forgot to specify that i do not want anything hanging outside my case. I lan and transport my computer way to much. Its not that I dont wanna mod the case because I wanna resell it later, Its more that I dont want to make it look ty, this is such a nice case, I would feel bad cutting it up. But the hard drive bay in the bottom of the case I will never use so I might as well just delete that, cut a hole in the bottom and mount a 2x120mm rad down there or even another 3x120mm. If I can avoid this somehow, I will. I would like some more input on this though.

[Conumdrum]

I forgot to specify that i do not want anything hanging outside my case. I lan and transport my computer way to much. Its not that I dont wanna mod the case because I wanna resell it later, Its more that I dont want to make it look ty, this is such a nice case, I would feel bad cutting it up. But the hard drive bay in the bottom of the case I will never use so I might as well just delete that, cut a hole in the bottom and mount a 2x120mm rad down there or even another 3x120mm. If I can avoid this somehow, I will. I would like some more input on this though.

Physics needs xx to cool xx. It doesn't care what size your case is or your personal wishes.

Work at it till you and your case is happy, don't forget physics. You know ANYTHING about radiator abilities, the different brands, the different capabilities of rads, Or how much the right choice of fans matters?

Guess not. Start here.

http://www.overclockers.com/guide-deltat-water-cooling/

And here, since your so new..........

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/s...96&postcount=3

[MrBean]

Mate,
TFC 360 will work well with above hardware.

Go " -> pump -> rad -> cpu -> gpu1 -> gpu2 -> res -> " - in reality, any order will be fine, as long as pump suction is from the reservoir - generally the best for reasons of flow.....

Have a good one, and keep us posted

[SoulsCollective]

A single thick TFC 360 will be able to handle all that, providing you aren't pushing for a monster OC on your 950. Heat output of i7s at very high clocks and voltages is just scary.

As for loop order, irrelevant, providing res is before pump (and even that's not a hard-and-fast rule, it just makes filling and bleeding easier). I'd go with serial over parallel - EK makes a serial bridge, and in my experience I've always had better results with serial.

[Cookiesowns]

Go for what looks best, trust me, that 2 hours less spent would go better than that .5c saved on a specific loop order. Learned from experience, and the loop below is my first time too. Just remember to triple-check and read multiple reviews and how-tos as some may be older or biased.

I believe that a triple could work fine, or maybe mount a double outside? The Koolance rad bracket works perfect. I have 2 quads, one up top and one on the outside

Hope this helps

[iNF3rN0]

Thanks a lot guys. I'm not new to watercooling. I just have not been as Xtreme as Ive wanted to be in the past. Ive had a block on my cpus since my athalon xp 2500-m Ive been using switech blocks and rads since then. I just want to really think this case through. Its a great case but the more I think about it, I'm pretty sure Im gonna go ahead and just start cutting. Ill keep you guys posted. Will also start a work log.

Thanks again guys for the great POSITIVE feedback.

[terramir]

In general, stacking rads=bad.
single 3x120 imho is insufficient rad area for mentioned hardware, at least if you still want good temps and silent cooling. Two 3x120 with separate air sounds much more like it, problem is where to put 2nd of those.
Imho to put it in bottom of case requires too much modding, much simplier is to mount it externally on back of case, especially when you've specified that you don't want to mod case.

well hmm I agree this case is a pos in the first place (letme hide behind ) but I disagree unless he's pushing the cpu to the max it should not be a problem maybe one solution since he mentioned that he wants to take to lan often (quick connects with a extra cooling tower for pushing it at home) and maybe an extra 120 mm rad for when he takes it to lan parties so when @ home 3 rads and on the road 2 (that case has outlets for WC) The PSU saving design goes against atx airflow so unless you want a bunch of fans being loud you can't push the mem too much unless it's wc'ed as well.

Physics needs xx to cool xx. It doesn't care what size your case is or your personal wishes.

True, but physics is on the wc'ers side all the way. the more heat you dump in the higher the delta T the higher the delta T the less airflow/ surface area you need to cool it stable.
I.e. @ 200W and 20C room and 30C water you need more airflow over the same surface area than you need @ 35C water temp with everything else staying the same. of course higher water temp means higher cpu/ gpu temps it's all a balance, slap it together if it's not enough with your OC very simple add a 120 mm rad and try again.
good luck
terramir

[mingbogo]

well hmm I agree this case is a pos in the first place (letme hide behind ) but I disagree unless he's pushing the cpu to the max it should not be a problem maybe one solution since he mentioned that he wants to take to lan often (quick connects with a extra cooling tower for pushing it at home) and maybe an extra 120 mm rad for when he takes it to lan parties so when @ home 3 rads and on the road 2 (that case has outlets for WC) The PSU saving design goes against atx airflow so unless you want a bunch of fans being loud you can't push the mem too much unless it's wc'ed as well.


True, but physics is on the wc'ers side all the way. the more heat you dump in the higher the delta T the higher the delta T the less airflow/ surface area you need to cool it stable.
I.e. @ 200W and 20C room and 30C water you need more airflow over the same surface area than you need @ 35C water temp with everything else staying the same. of course higher water temp means higher cpu/ gpu temps it's all a balance, slap it together if it's not enough with your OC very simple add a 120 mm rad and try again.
good luck
terramir

If he takes his rig to LAN party all the time then perhaps he should not be using a case this big to begin with, don't you think. I just cannot imagine carrying a case this big around all the time, especially with a full blown WC setup inside. It is unbeliveable the extra weight added to the case by those copper blocks! I agree that a triple is sufficient for cooling most setups that include the CPU and GPU. Since we are in an EXTREME forum, most of stuff we see here are overkill anyway.

[Cookiesowns]

If he takes his rig to LAN party all the time then perhaps he should not be using a case this big to begin with, don't you think. I just cannot imagine carrying a case this big around all the time, especially with a full blown WC setup inside. It is unbeliveable the extra weight added to the case by those copper blocks! I agree that a triple is sufficient for cooling most setups that include the CPU and GPU. Since we are in an EXTREME forum, most of stuff we see here are overkill anyway.

I would have to agree with you. I wanted to bring my rig to the intel Lan fest, but It's heavy, I would have to say at least 40 pounds.
Maybe even more, I hurt my back trying to move it from my workbench to my desk, haha.

@iNF3rN0
Anyways dude, Just get opinions from us here, but most important follow your heart on what you want to do, you can only get so far with contemplation, but the that matters the most is action. I'd say just go for it with triple 120, you might not get the best possible temps, but surely enough IT WILL be better than going on air.

[iNF3rN0]

Thanks again guys. I'm getting a 3x120 rad on top. Also gonna put an existing 2x120 rad on the bottom. Could someone tell me why running the vid cards in serial instead of parallel is better?

Btw I really dont care about the weight. it could be 100lb< no big deal. As long as I'm able to lift it properly i dont care. What I do hate is having a rad sticking out of my case, and I have a hard time grabbing a sturdy point of my case. Maybe next time ill just get a MM case and not have to worry about placement of rads. I will seriously have a work log going for my build though. Ive never done that before and think it would be fun.

[terramir]

Thanks again guys. I'm getting a 3x120 rad on top. Also gonna put an existing 2x120 rad on the bottom. Could someone tell me why running the vid cards in serial instead of parallel is better?

Btw I really dont care about the weight. it could be 100lb< no big deal. As long as I'm able to lift it properly i dont care. What I do hate is having a rad sticking out of my case, and I have a hard time grabbing a sturdy point of my case. Maybe next time ill just get a MM case and not have to worry about placement of rads. I will seriously have a work log going for my build though. Ive never done that before and think it would be fun.

:p 100 lbs , hmm the case I'm building I'mma shooting for 30min-40 max, that's with 2 hd 2 ssd and a tec water-cooling setup. But then again the whole case will be made out of aluminum tread-plating as for leaving the video cards in serial vs parallel, all depends on your water-flow, if your pump runs well and you have good water-flow serial will do because the heat from the 1st gpu won't have as much time to heat up the water and fry the second card. but if your pumps flow low, because of other restrictions and the splitter to the two video-cards is one of those restrictions then I'd say go for the splitter cause won't be good for your second video card in serial. high flow vs low flow it's always a pain.
GL
terramir

[iNF3rN0]

Well I was planning on having just one MCP-350 pump in this system with a custom top using 1/2"ID tubing. From what ive read, maybe I shold run the cards in paralel then. unless I get a second pump.

[Conumdrum]

Yea, a 350 is pretty low head pressure. GPUs in parellel would help. Might be enuff, only your temps will tell.

[penguins]

I've got 2 loops with mcp350's i have supreme HF plate #1 + mcr 120, and 2 8800gtx DD full covers with a mcr240 in ... whatever

out
|
||
.|
in
nm the . : )

is and get ~.3 GPM less on martin's flow estimator for the vid cards. and with the non scientific eye meter, I was surprised how fast the CPU loop went while bleeding the small turbulence bubbles out, but more surprised than that, I watched the gpu loop go almost as fast, man it was quick!

in otherwords, you would have to have multiple blocks other than the gpus to really ever need to have 2 pumps in one loop, most people only use multiple pumps in a single loop for redundancy

[terramir]

Well I was planning on having just one MCP-350 pump in this system with a custom top using 1/2"ID tubing. From what ive read, maybe I shold run the cards in paralel then. unless I get a second pump.

An mcp-350 should be fast enough for either, but it's a trade-off if you run in parallel you will lose just a tiny little bit of speed, in series the second vid card might be a few C higher. There comes a point in any loop where water speed will not matter anymore with a mcp-350 and the hardware you got I would have probably gone for the 2x120 you already had and a 1x 120 for porta
The catch with any water-cooling loop is to find the optimal balance between water-flow and temps, cause eventually higher flow-rates won't do anymore than waste electricity and actually dump more heat from the pump into the cooling loop. So you might want to adjust the voltage of your pump as an experiment from like the minimum starting voltage of the pump to the max and look at the temps. When you see no more reduction when you turn it higher that's when you dial it back to the last notch and measure the voltage. but then again if you dun have a PWM circuit that is highly efficient your just creating heat with a voltage regulator. If you can max out the pump and the temps still go down then you might want to look into a stronger pump, unless your satisfied with the temps.
good luck
terramir