Contemplating first WC build...

[jnick]

For about 4 years now I've been contemplating water cooling my system. However, it never goes as planned and I wind up sitting out. I STILL have the WC bug as it'd be my first WC setup. I have the basic concept down, have done a ton of research and have nagged Arcy about this probably more than he can stand . Below is my general parts list and a few questions...

Lian Li PC-G70......Swiftech MCR-320 rad
E6600...................Dtek Fuzion + Nozzles
8800GTX...............Swiftech MCW60
Pump....................D5 (variable)
Res.......................EK or MicroRes
Tubing...................MasterKleer 7/16"
Misc......................Worm clamps, Pentosin G11, Distilled Water

I believe that covers my bases.How does that setup sound? My first goal is universality. While full cover blocks look sexy, I don't want to be dropping $100 every 12-18mos just for a GPU cooler. Part of the reason I'm water cooling is to keep cost down in regards to buying a new HS/F every upgrade.

I have been contemplating on cooling the NB, however since I have the Maximus Formula, if I pop off the heatsink, I might be forced to cool the mofsets via after market cooling. This of course drives cost up, since it'd be $40 for the NB WB, $10 for a SB fan, and then $40 to cool the mofsets...Pretty much, $100 just to cool the northbridge. I don't know if that's really worth it...

My questions mainly surround the process of building the loop. For instance, I know you have to test the look for 24hrs to look for leaks. Often times, in build logs, members post up pictures and they have the entire loop assembled OUTSIDE the case with all the tubing in place. How do you make sure all the tubing is the right length? Do you set it up inside the case then pull everything outside the case or do you blindly cut the tubes and just make it work?

How do you get the bubbles out? Is it just a matter of turning the pump on and off 300 times?

What happens when I upgrade components? I plan on getting the Q9450 in a month or so. When this happens, if I already had water cooling, do I have to drain my entire system? Or do I just remove the block from the motherboard? I'm one that upgrades every 12-18months so I don't know if this process will be a PITA or not...

Any other suggestions are welcome

Thanks!

 

[Matti]

i guess that's about as good as it gets
best bang for buck

 

[javisaman]

No need for Pentosin your not mixing metals (all copper as far as I can tell). You should get PT-Nuke though to kill off those nasty organisms.

Get the Dt-k unisink for the 8800GTX as well to match the MCW60.

No need to cool northbridge, mofsets, southbridge, etc with water. Your already stressing that MCR320 with a GTX and CPU (not so much if its a dual as opposed to a quad core).

After you've cleaned out all of the components (with boiling water and ketchup), build the loop inside the case (everything installed). Fill the loop entirely (might take some effort). Put paper towels everywhere (especially underneath the barbs and blocks). Jump start the power supply (keep it away from any spillage) with the paper clip trick. Immediately look for leaks. If nothing check again in a hour. If still nothing check again in 5 hrs. If nothing then check again overnight. Lastly check 24hrs from the start. An easy way I've found to check for leaks (if your using a UV dye) is to use a UV light on the towels because sometimes the liquid dries off, but you should still be able to see the residue. If you do get a leak, stop the pump, reattach whatever is leaking and start over. If one of your components is wet, carefully dry it out with a paper towel and make sure there is no residue ( you can use a little bit of distilled water and dry off with a hairdryer).

If your using a reservoir bleeding is pretty easy. Most reservoirs have an O-Ring cap that blocks water but lets out air. So after you've leak tested, hold the reservoir to the highest point possible and tilt the case back and forth with the pump running. In about 5-10min all the major bubbles should be gone.

About upgrades: You should be draining and refilling the system every 6 months to begin with. You'll get a lot of crap from organisms and dye So you might as well do it when you upgrade. Also try to replace the tubing every year (more so if your using dye). It really isn't *that* bad.

Hope that helps

 

[jnick]

I was mainly looking at pentosin due to the water color/tint that it creates. I'm a sucker for the aqua blue loops . Can you use PT-Nuke and G11 in the same loop?

About the Unisink...Arcy was telling me about that and I just read up on mounting the MCW60 on it, so I think that's the route I just may go! It would be a lot easier then using all those little ram sinks!

The only reason I mentioned the NB is because on the Maximus, I'm already pushing 47C with a slight OC. From my readings, any temps that are higher cause the board to become unstable...

Hmm...I didn't thank that a CPU and 8800GTX was pushing the MCR320... Is there another rad I should be looking at other than the thermochill? My case has already been moded for a 3x120 rad, however, the cutout is for the standard rad size. From my understanding the thermochill's spacing is larger and therefore, it will not line up with the cut of my case.

So after you've leak tested, hold the reservoir to the highest point possible and tilt the case back and forth with the pump running.

I've heard this before, but I'm kind of confused. Are you saying pick the case up and shake it back and fourth? Or just tip the case from side to side while it's standing up?

Thank you very much for your detailed response!

 

[javisaman]

I was mainly looking at pentosin due to the water color/tint that it creates. I'm a sucker for the aqua blue loops . Can you use PT-Nuke and G11 in the same loop?

Use a UV dye instead like D-Tek's for the same effect without loss of performance. The closer to distilled water the better. Yes you can use PT-Nuke and G11 in the same loop.

Hmm...I didn't thank that a CPU and 8800GTX was pushing the MCR320... Is there another rad I should be looking at other than the thermochill? My case has already been moded for a 3x120 rad, however, the cutout is for the standard rad size. From my understanding the thermochill's spacing is larger and therefore, it will not line up with the cut of my case.

No need for the thermochill. I just meant that you shouldn't be adding anything other then the CPU and 8800GTX. I run a quad at 3.5 and an 8800gts on basically a MCR 320 (there is also an additional 120mm rad) and my temps are perfectly fine.

I've heard this before, but I'm kind of confused. Are you saying pick the case up and shake it back and fourth? Or just tip the case from side to side while it's standing up?

Just tilt the case. No need to pick it up. You should see the large bubbles dislodge. It will take a while for the little bubbles and foam to disappear though.

 

[jnick]

Use a UV dye instead like D-Tek's for the same effect without loss of performance. The closer to distilled water the better. Yes you can use PT-Nuke and G11 in the same loop.

Hmm...actually that wouldn't give the same effect, though. The UV die will make it glow, where as the G11 will give a more transparent blow effect. At least every UV dye I've seen shows up as a blue solid color, not an aqua transparent color .

I've been reading about the CPU block...what is the consensus in regards to the Dtek Fuzion vs the EK Supreme block? Or is the difference negligible?

Thanks!

 

[Gordante]

From what I understood reading into that for my w/c build, it's like this:

Dtek FuZion < EK Supreme < Dtek FuZion with nozzle kit.

But the difference between the stock FuZion and the Supreme is small.

 

[XcaliberZ]

I just built a system with those same exact parts, minus the worm clamps (used zip ties). Working on great so far, will post some pics in the sticky sometime. Q6600 @ 3.6 + 8800gts 512. I used enzotech ramsinks.

 

[javisaman]

I've been reading about the CPU block...what is the consensus in regards to the Dtek Fuzion vs the EK Supreme block? Or is the difference negligible?
Thanks!

The difference between the Fuzion and the Supreme is negligible. Only use the Supreme in a CPU only loop. The pressure drop is almost as bad as a Fuzion with the more aggressive nozzles.

 

[jnick]

Awesome! Thanks for the info! Fuzion it is!

Do you know off hand what type of modding needs to be done to the unisink to get the mcw60 to fit? The thread I was reading earlier at XS actually made it look like none. However, they mentioned drilling holes some place, but they didn't go into very much detail .