New to WC please advise

[Supergroover]

Hi there,

Im new to watercooling, so please correct me if I say anything stupid or do something that is inappropriate. I have read the forum rules and a lot of posts here and in other forums, but you guys seem to be the guru’s and I’d like to learn from the best.

I will try to explain what my goal is, what I have figured out myself and then I would like to hear your comments, improvements, etc.

I am looking for:
- a silent computer, looks are less important, but that doesn’t mean it has to be ugly
- a new project: after aircooling, Watercooling seems to be the next fun timepassing
therefore I would like to cool my CPU and GPU
- enough room for future upgrades. I don’t want to be forced into buying a complete WC setup when I upgrade my mainbord, CPU and GPU.

My current system:
Case: Enermax Pandora CA3030
Mainboard: ASUS M2N32 SLI deluxe
CPU: AMD X2 6000+ (3.1GHz versie)
GPU: Sapphire HD4770
PSU: Coolermaster SilentPro 600W

Planned Future upgrades:
Short term: CPU replacement by a Phenom-II 940BE. Although maybe I will skip this since my money is probably going into the WC-setup.
Long term: Upgrade of Mainboard, CPU and GPU. Possibly i5 or i7 and HD5870
In both cases (long and short term) I would like to reuse as much of my WC-setup as possible.

The WC set I had in mind:
- pump: MCP655 (with original top, maybe I will get a custom top as an upgrade)
- radiator: either the Black Ice GT Stealth 360 or the XSPC RX360
- Fans for the rad: 3 x Nexus 120mm Real Silent 1000 RPM (are these OK?)
- Reservoir: Swiftech MCRes-Micro Rev2
- CPU-block: either D-Tek FuZion Universal v2 or Swiftech Apogee GTZ
- VGA block: Swiftech MCW60-R Universal
- RAM coolers GPU: Swiftech MC14 RAM heatsinks (are these necessary?)
- fittings: What fittings to use? I have found short and long fittings, from different companies, which do you prefer and why?
- tubing: Masterkleer ½ ID. How much do I need?
- hose clamps: I am completely blank on these ones, what are the easiest and safest clamps I can get
- Cooling fluid: 2 litres of Feser One Cooling Fluid

Important questions:
- I have read things on electrical corrosion, will these parts work together? Or am I sour in a few months time?
- Will this work? Will this be silent?
- Am I overshooting my goal? Can I reduce costs somewhere and still get good results (silence).

OK thats it, I am open to suggestions and looking forward to your opinions on the questions I have. Please tell me why some things can be done differently or better, so I can learn.

~ Supergroover

[century child]

My suggestions are as follows:

Definitely go with the RX360 rad as it will allow for more heat dissipation later down the road. For fans, consider the Gentle Typhoons. They are quiet and one of the best for radiator usage. Go with the most powerful ones then use a fan controller to dial them down a bit if they are too loud for you at full speed. This is definitely the way to go as you can always reduce speed if necessary.

I would recommend the Apogee GTZ over the FuZion v2 for its superior mounting system and performance.

As a general rule for tubing, buy twice the length you think you'll need. Fittings are totally a matter of taste. Barbs or compressions is the main decision to make. Choose whichever you like the looks of best. Bitspower fittings are generally considered the best available but they are also expensive. If you use compression fittings you won't need clamps.

The cooling fluid you listed has corrosion inhibitors so you should be ok there and it will also protect against algae growth.

Only other thing you might consider would be the Primochill Typhoon III reservoir. It makes for a nice clean install and allows for some great expansion options down the road should you choose to do so. Do note however that the use of Feser Fluid is not recommended with these res's and will void the warranty.

[millertime359]

A Swiftech MCR320-QP is a great radiator for the money. If you are looking to save some money, that is a great place to do so. As for the silent issue. You want to stay away from the Black Ice. It is designed for high speed (noisy) fans. Gentle Typhoon 1850s get my vote. It seems the should be back in stock in another month or 2.

Another great place to cut costs is the Feser 1. Distilled Water and a silver killcoil is a better way to go. It is safer and cheaper. You won't have to worry about corrosion in your loop.

Depending on how soon you wish to upgrade to I5 or I7. I might recommend a HK3.0 as it is the best all around block for them atm. If cost is a concern, the Enzotech Sapphire is a great block for the price from what I have heard.

I would just get 10 ft of tubing. It will be more than plenty for your build and allow you to have some room to play with your loop setup. Bp Fatboy barbs are great. The extra thickness gives a little extra security. Worm drive clamps are all you need. You can get those from local hardware store.

Make certian you get the speed control version of the 655. The non-vario does have a whine that you will notice in a silent machine after a while.

[Caoder]

the ram sinks are necessary.. but even more importantly you will need pwm sinks.. and you don't need clamps if you get the 7/16 tubing to go over 1/2 barbs. But most people would still recommend clamps. Don't need the cooling fluid go with normal distilled also look into a Primochill typhoon 3 resevoir.. it will give you a lot more exapandability in the future because it can support 2 sub looks with one pump in case you want to add another video card or other blocks. 1 went with 12 feet of tubing n i had about 3 feet or so left over in my build but i think my tubing system requires much more tubing compared to yours o.o;;

[Supergroover]

Thanks guys for the reply's.

I did not tell you guys yet that I wanted to try to lower the costs a little.
I have this from your advise:

radiator: XSPC RX360 (€ 85) is the choice to go for or maybe the Swiftech MCR320-QP (€ 60) but definitely not a Blackice, as that is for a noisy build
I like the price of the swiftech better. maybe I must look into this a bit more.

fans: High RPM Gentle Typhoons (1850) with a fan controller (3 fans = € 42 ; 1 controller = € 38, total € 80).
I think this is a bit too muchfor my budget. I will keep the Nexus 120mm Real Silent 1000 RPM unless you guys can convince me these will not do.

CPU block: Apogee GTZ or HK3.0 in case I will upgrade to i5 / i7 soon or Enzotech Sapphire in case of budget concerns
I will not upgrade too soon I think, so I will focus on the Apogee GTZ. Maybe I'll even skip the i5 and i7 and aim for the next generation CPU's, so I think I dont want the CPU block for i5/i7 while I'm still on AM2.

Cooling fluid: feser1 will do nice, but Distilled Water and a silver killcoil is probably cheaper.
I think the price difference is not so much in the fluid. I like the premix, so I'll keep that, as long as it does not eat away my cooling system .

tubing and fittings: You recommend the Bitspower fittings. 10 ft of tubing will be OK. Also Bp Fatboy barbs and wormdrives will work nicely or 7/16 tubing over 1/2 barbs with clamps. I think I will go for the 1/2 tubing with bitspower fittings and TFC clamps.
I dont like the barbs fittings so I think I will go for these: "Bitspower G1/4 Black Sparkle 1/2 Fitting Real Hi-Flow" With 4 m (12ft) Masterkleer 1/2 tubing and TFC herbie clips.

ram sinks
I will go for the Swiftech Ram sinks.

pwm sinks for the HD4770, Which ones should I take for the Sapphire HD4770?

pump: speed control version of the 655 is better for noise control,
But the 655 vario is € 125 and the 655 non vario is € 85. So I will stick with the non vario.

reservoir: Primochill Typhoon III reservoir will have a lot for future improvements, but also is very much more expensive than the Swiftech Microres rev 2. So I'll stick with the Swiftech.

That leaves only a couple of questions to answer:
- XSPC RX360 or Swiftech MCR320-QP
- will the Nexus 120mm Real Silent 1000 RPM do or do I need more cooling power?
- What pwm sinks do I need for the HD4770?

~Supergroover

[millertime359]

If you are overseas, take a look at the magicools. From what I understand they are made overseas and are comparable to Swiftech's rads.

I would spend the money and get the speed control D5 pump. I got the non-vario thinking the same thing you are. I am now changing out for the speed control D5. It has a high pitch noise that you may notice when the room is quiet. It's starting to bug me.

Just stick with the fans you have now and upgrade to the GTs when you have extra money. they should be fine for the time being.

[eRazorzEDGE]

No offense to anyone here, but the Black Ice rads work just as well (if not better in some cases) as the Swiftech and XSPC rads with fans at 1500rpm. 1500rpm to me is fairly well quite. 1000rpm is definitely silent but you start getting into the whole "how little airflow is too little" scenario. However, I do agree (and it's been proven) that the lower Fin Per Inch rads dissipate more heat at lower (below 1500rpm) than higher FPI rads. As for whether to get the XSPC or the Swiftech rad, go with whichever is cheaper. The difference in water temperature will be negligible, on the order of 1 or 2°C and certainly won't affect the operation or overclock of your PC.

The D5 non-vario is a very reliable and quiet pump, at least for me. I have two D5 vario's and one D5 non-vario and at least in my instance, the two make roughly the same amount of noise, which is to say that they're quiet as hell. Your fans will definitely make more noise than the pumps.

The higher the rpm of the fan you use, the more heat will be dissipated from your radiator, no matter which one you get. I prefer high speed fans, like the Panaflo U1 115cfm fans, on a fan controller to dial in the speed/quietness I desire. However, since price is a concern, using the fans you have now will work and will allow you to judge the system at that noise level/fan speed and allow you to determine if higher speed fans will benefit you.

The heat sinks I use are from Swiftech, the MC 14's for the ram and the MC 21's for the MOSFET's. In some cases, the sinks interfere with the tubing that goes into the GPU block. In that instance, I'd go with some lower profile sinks like the ones by Enzotech.

[zanzabar]

the d5 non vario is stuck on 4, but i would get a 355 and an EK delryn top, if u mount it correctly it dosnt make more noise than the 655 and u have to get right on it to hear it unless u mount it wrong so it can vibrate or have the xspc rez top that makes it noisy. the 355 with top has more pressure than the 655 by a good 20%, it helps to make sure that u will get optimum flow over restrictive and multiple blocks

and i wouldent bother with liquid on the 4770 they run cool and since u would most likely want a full cover block when u upgrade getting something like a trad or hr03 would be better IMO

[WeeMaan]

If you wan't silence DDC 3.1 is your weapon of choice.

[Supergroover]

Now we're talking, those are some great pieces of advice, thanks guys.

So I could get the Swiftech 360QP instead of the XSPC RX360. And they will both work good enough with the Nexus Real Silent 1000RPM. And then I can upgrade later to the Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1850s with a fan controller.

Do you all agree that the 355 and an EK delryn top is better than a 655?
And what of the DDC3.1? Will it have enough punch for future upgrades (CPU and 2xGPU). If these guys can do the trick and are quieter and cheaper then I will definitely go for one of these.

As for future upgrades, I am planning to do the CPU first, (next month) but will probably add the GPU when money becomes available again. (In two - three months).

I plan to upgrade my Motherboard and CPU somewhere next year. And even later I may add another 4770 for crossfire, or get a DX11 card (depending on price and performance).

Thanks again for the information. It does not make it much easier too choose, but at least I will look at the right information .

[zanzabar]

the 350 (ddc3.1) is nice u can mod it to the full 18W if u need to and with the ek top it runs about the same as a non vario d5

[Supergroover]

And the DDC3.1 is the same as the 350?
In what respect is this different from the 355?

[zanzabar]

Originally Posted by Supergroover

And the DDC3.1 is the same as the 350?
In what respect is this different from the 355?

the 3.1 and 3.2 (350 and 355) are the same mechanically but the electronics on the 3.1 feed the motor 9W and the 3.2 is 18W, but u can mod a solder point and make the 3.1 the same as the 3.2 by connecting 2 points. the 350 dose not vibrate and its a great choice if u arnt sure on what u want and dont want to deal with finding how to isolate the mounting but want the option of more power latter