Finally! Help me with my first w/c setup!

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jamsomito

2[H]4U
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I've been saving for 2 years (tight budget, setbacks from SSD and PSU), and I finally have enough in my hobby money to get my long-awaited water cooling setup. Since it takes me so long to make these "big" purchases, I wanted to run it by the [H] first, so let me know what you think.

As of a year ago I've been eyeballing the XSPC RX360 Raystorm kit. Is this still a good buy? Eventually I want to add another 240 rad and a GPU block, but those are lower cost additions that will come with time.

My only hesitancy of the RX360 kit is that I'd like a cylinder res eventually too, and it looks like I'd also have to buy a D5 pump top if I went that route too (which negates the savings I'd get from going with the kit in the first place).

So what do you think? Kit or no? Does anything w/c ever go on sale? I'll be buying in the next month or so, so no rush.
 
Performance-PCs regularly gives out coupon codes during the holidays, in fact there's one for Halloween right now. However, savings are mediocre, ranging from 5-8% depending on how much you spend. Best way to save on watercooling is to buy used parts. FrozenCPU also has a constantly running 5% discount code.

Since you have a Switch 810, I would suggest you do a custom build. The RX360 kit is still good, but you should go with a 3x140 radiator in the Switch 810. I would recommend the Alphacool UT60 420 if you can afford it. Raystorm is still a top of the line block.

If you do decide to go with the kit route, I have a stock D5 top that I could sell to you that I'm no longer using.
 
Ok, well even 5% is good for me.

I have one of the original Switch 810's, before they added the slots to accept both 15mm and 20mm spacing rads, and I don't remember which mine is fitted for so I'd have to do some research there for a 420 rad. Also, I can't find the post now because the thread is so huge, but according to IT Diva here, a 360 is the easiest way to go. (push back if you feel otherwise)

I guess I'll have to dig around and get some pricing on pump/top/res combos to see if I can fit it in my budget if I don't go with the kit.
 
If it's the original Switch 810, it has 20mm spacing, which would limit you to Black Ice radiators. Black Ice radiators are good as well, for your situation I would suggest the Black Ice SR1 420.
 
I kind of had my heart set on a 3x120 rad, but now I'm seeing the XSPC RX360 isn't offered at either Performance PC's or FrozenCPU. Sidewinder has it though. Is this one being phased out or something? Can you recommend any other 60mm thick 3x120mm rads with low fin density?

Also, if I buy all my own parts and go straight for the cylinder reservoir, any suggestions here? I'd like to mount it vertically to my mobo tray. I see there is significant savings to be had by going acrylic instead of glass, but is there more risk that way too?
 
Alphacool UT60 series or Black Ice SR1 series are both thick low FPI radiators. UT60 as its name suggest is 60mm thick, while the SR1 is 55mm. The SR1 420 I mentioned above is a thick low FPI 3x140 radiator. The UT60 420 is as well, but uses 15mm fan spacing.

I don't know if the RX360 kit is being phased out, if so, this would be the first time I'm hearing about it.
The RX360 kit is available on FrozenCPU, and I'm fairly sure it's available on Performance-PCs as well.
RX360 kit
 
Cool, thanks for the link. I was referring to the standalone radiators though.

These kits are interesting... seems every retailer has their own twist on them. the one from FrozenCPU you linked doesn't have tubing, fittings, or kill-coil. The one I remember from a while back had all that included for a total of ~$300. That was a while ago though, maybe it's different now.
 
Thoughts?

0kqb.jpg
 
I cant tell from the photo, but if that pump is a g 1/4 threaded pump, you will need two more fittings I believe.If it is stock, the the stock size is 3/8th I believe which would mean either you switch all your fittings and tubing to 3/8 inch or switch pumps to a threaded one. Also, 1/4th inch thick tubing tends to kink in tight turns so I tend to use 1/8th inch tubing (3/8th x 1/2 personally) but if you wont have any short pieces of tubing this shouldnt matter. Looks good otherwise!
 
Thanks. That's the pump with 1/2" barbs from PPC's.

Also, I just realized I don't have any clamps on this list... I'm assuming that's a necessity?
 
Twist ties can do the job also. Or run down to your local hardware store. They arent needed in an order unless you want them to look "great" because they will cost quite a bit more then your local hardware store :p
 
Ok. I've only got $309 in my budget (and that's very strict, including shipping). So, the next time a 5%+ coupon code rolls around I'm pulling the trigger on this stuff unless someone else says otherwise. I added a kill coil, but kept the clamps off in favor of some I can find (hopefully) at home depot with the change from my car seats :cool:

Thanks for the help everyone! I'll post pics :)
 
I believe clamps from sidewinder are cheaper than clamps from home depot.
 
Even cheaper still are zip ties. In my first loop I used zip ties instead of any kind of clamps and they're pretty simple. Just get them started by hand then grab the tail with a pair of pliers and start twisting (so the tail starts wrapping around the pliers) until they're good and tight. Lasted me a long time with no issues

EDIT:

Just found a bunch of old pics of my watercooling setup showing the use of zip ties on a D5 to secure tubing. Not sure why past me zip tied only 1 of the 3 barbs on that T-line. I apologize for the grainy photo, this was back in the days when my digital camera was a potato:

IMGP1130.jpg


(A64 3000+ and X800XT on MSI K8N Neo something or other)
 
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Ahhh, those were the days. Sad it's taken me this long to be able to engage in this hobby. My old Athlon XP 2800+ really could have benefited from the extra cooling!

Well, I'd still have to go buy the zip ties, and they don't fully contact the tubing all the way around which would make me nervous (if even for no reason). Sidewinder has 10x plastic clamps for $8 including shipping, so I should be able to swing that. If I'm spending this much on it too, I'd really like it to look a bit better than frankenstein (though Frank-N-Stein would be pretty sweet...not going to happen).

Thx for the suggestion and the pic.
 
^^I respect that, just curious what you meant by this though:

jamsomito said:
they don't fully contact the tubing all the way around which would make me nervous
Click to expand...

They do contact the tubing all the way around. I assume you mean the "lock" part of the zip tie, but once the whole thing is really tight it compresses the tubing all the way around.

If you get color-matched (or as close as you can get to color matched) ties/tubing they don't have to be noticeable at all, plus zip ties are cheap as hell. Sure, they're not going to look at good as $10+/ea bitspower compressions, but back when I did this everyone was using those stupid worm-drive metal clamps, and plastic hose clamps aren't winning any awards either... not that I need to defend my cheapo WC setup from 8+ years ago :p That watercooling setup got my overclock rocking!
 
You hit the nail on the head. I was concerned about the connector fitting bending the other end of the tie away from the tubing. If you can vouch for it, I'll take your word for it.

And yeah... as an engineer I respect the functionality of the worm clamps, but I'd like to stay away from those for obvious reasons. :)
 
jamsomito said:
You hit the nail on the head. I was concerned about the connector fitting bending the other end of the tie away from the tubing. If you can vouch for it, I'll take your word for it.

And yeah... as an engineer I respect the functionality of the worm clamps, but I'd like to stay away from those for obvious reasons. :)
Click to expand...
The clamps (metal and plastic alike) definitely have an advantage because they're much easier to remove when you're done with them. The zip ties have to be cut off and it can be a pain.
 
I tend to be satisfied with Herbie Clip. Tighten proper ofc.
 
Ok, thanks for the input everyone. I think I've got the clamps squared away.

What about drains? Is it worth it to get another fitting and a valve to drain my loop? How else would you do it? I'm planning on upgrading my loop over time, so I'll have several foreseen drains/refills.
 
I recently integrated a T-line with a fill port into my loop to act as a drain (the fill port is just basically just a stop fitting). This can be done very cheaply with a plastic/nylon T-line fitting and any old stop fitting (I think mine is an enzotech with a G1/4" fitting that I got for $6). Before I had this I had to cut the tubing, being careful to have a container there to catch all the water. Not a massive hassle, but the drain is simpler.

Other options would be quick disconnect fittings. Basically get an extra fitting and put some extra tubing onto it, disconnect your QDC pair, hook the extra fitting/tube onto it and drain that way. I will probably switch to that when I add a second GPU/radiator into my loop. Fancier, but definitely more expensive
 
So my res and rad will have extra ports. You're saying when it comes time to drain I can just pull one of the stoppers, attach another barb and some tubing and tip to drain, or will there be too much pressure, etc and be risky?

I'd REALLY like to run an extra line to the bottom of the case with a stopper (simple mod), but that'll have to come later.
 
More like: hook a barb and some extra tubing to an extra port, then put a stopper into that length of tubing. Sure, if you just pull the stopper out of your rad or res it'll drain, but it'll go everywhere. Having the length of tubing would help direct it into a container before you pull the plug. If you have a place to tuck the tubing, you wouldn't need to do any mods. Mine is just sitting there tucked behind the mobo tray through a wire routing grommit. Using a cheap T-line just allows you to put it in the middle of a tubing run. You'll want to put your drain at a low point in your loop to maximize the amount of water you drain
 
Another question. The Phobya res in the snapshot of my cart above is apparently made of brass (I'm assuming painted brass), and the plugs are nickel plated (not sure what underneath).

The rad and CPU block are all copper. Will these metals cause any issues in the same loop? Should I be particularly careful with anything painted or plated not to expose the metal underneath?

EDIT: Oh, and the barbs I have picked out are brass with "shiny silver" plating (not sure what that means... they can't be actual silver) as well.
 
They're close enough in electrical characteristics and far enough physically that it shouldn't really pose any problems.
 
Alright, I was doing some more shopping around this morning (still no coupon code for Performance PCs :( Their prices really are the lowest on a lot of things like the pump and CPU block).

Does anyone think it's worth it to get the 60mm thick rad over the 45mm? Is the extra cost worth it? The only reason I ask is because in the Switch 810, some motherboards interfere with a second set of fans for push/pull on a 60mm thick rad. I'm pretty sure my motherboard will have this problem because there are heatsinks that go the full extent to the top of the board. See here.

With that being said, due to budget concerns I will be using a hodge-podge mixture of 120mm fans from my closet until I can afford a matching, good set. Not too worried about it right away because I only have a CPU on the 360 rad. I could probably run this thing passive for a while and be fine...

EDIT: And can anyone vouch for cheaper barbs?
 
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They will probably have a coupon code come Thanksgiving, I can let you know if I get the codes in the email.

I don't have the Switch 810, so I can't tell you too much about fitting.

If you're talking about comparing the UT60 and the XT45, the XT45 will probably outperform the UT60 in push/pull vs push or pull only. Exactly how much space is there?
 
That's a great question actually... don't know why it never crossed my mind to measure :rolleyes: I'll do it soon and post in here for reference.

I have plenty of space for radiators (planning a 360 and a 240/280 with only a CPU and GPU... MAYBE 2 GPU's but highly unlikely with my budget), so I'd like to use that to my advantage and build something with noise in mind. Would the XT45 require louder fans to move air though?
 
No, it wouldn't, if anything, the UT60 requires higher speed fans to move the same amount of air through. The UT60 and XT45 have the same FPI, just different thickness. The higher thickness of the UT60 restricts airflow more than the XT45, though not by much.

If you're planning on doing push/pull with high static pressure fans (like the Gentle Typhoons), a higher FPI radiator (like the Black Ice GTX) might be better suited than the low FPI Alphacool radiators.
 
You can still get them, and they're still being manufactured. It's just that the most popular ones, the AP-15 models, are always sold out.
 
Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm x 25mm Fan - 1850 RPM (D1225C12B5AP-15)
Frozen Cpu has 106 in stock atm.
 
Yeah, I kind of envisioned my build with the AP-15's when I first started saving up a couple years ago, that's awesome that they're still around!

I've also heard good things about the new Corsair SP line... seem to be a decent value for the money. Can anyone vouch for these?
 
I've got 3 Corsair SP120 PWM's on my radiator and have no complaints. At full blast they're definitely loud, though its kind of the whooshing roar you might expect from high volumes of air passing through a rad and some fan grates, rather than any kind of high requency noise. I'd say its very tolerable even at max blast. Lower speeds and they can be downright silent while still moving decent volume. I have never owned any AP-15's before so I really can't compare the two directly.
 
I"ll propably be builiding my first WC setup soon, so to avoid creation of the same topics over and over, I'll ask here:

As my Antec 1200 is not too much WC friendly, I'll be switching to 540 Air (as I love its looks). It can hold 2 2x120 radiators, from what I get - will it be enough to cool 2500k and 290 (with possibility of adding 2nd 290)?

Right now, due to the money issue, I'd be first doing the WC cooling of the card, while keeping the CPU on air, but next month I'll go for full water. So, as I'll be using two radiators, should I build two different loops, or just connect those rads, GPU and CPU to one loop?

And a very noobish question, do I need push/pull fan system on the rads, or is it possible to just use only push or only pull? One rad will go top while the other will be in front.

Now for the parts: 2x Switech MC240 rads, Phobya DC12-400 pump, along with EK 290X and EK Supreme LTX blocks (or should I go for supremacy clean?)
 
MorgothPl said:
I"ll propably be builiding my first WC setup soon, so to avoid creation of the same topics over and over, I'll ask here:

As my Antec 1200 is not too much WC friendly, I'll be switching to 540 Air (as I love its looks). It can hold 2 2x120 radiators, from what I get - will it be enough to cool 2500k and 290 (with possibility of adding 2nd 290)?

Right now, due to the money issue, I'd be first doing the WC cooling of the card, while keeping the CPU on air, but next month I'll go for full water. So, as I'll be using two radiators, should I build two different loops, or just connect those rads, GPU and CPU to one loop?

And a very noobish question, do I need push/pull fan system on the rads, or is it possible to just use only push or only pull? One rad will go top while the other will be in front.

Now for the parts: 2x Switech MC240 rads, Phobya DC12-400 pump, along with EK 290X and EK Supreme LTX blocks (or should I go for supremacy clean?)
Click to expand...

For future reference, it's better to make your own thread. Gets more attention that way, and doesn't mix things up.

One loop if you want to save money. Two loops are done mostly for aesthetic reasons, as there are minimal performance benefits to having two loops unless you're going over the top (i.e. one 480 radiator per component, etc).

2 240 radiators should be enough to cool your entire system with crossfire.

Don't know anything about that pump. If you're buying new, I would consider one of the Laing D5 variants instead.

I would suggest avoiding EK due to their past business practices. The XSPC Raystorm provides great bang/buck, and I would recommend Alphacool or Heatkiller for the GPU blocks.
 
Any word from Performance PCs on coupon codes? I signed up for the newsletter and haven't gotten anything yet. I'm chompin' at the bit here... so excited.

Meanwhile, is there anything else you can think of that I'm missing?
 
It's usually the week before the holiday that they send out coupons. So you're looking at around the end of next week.

Make sure you have the silver killcoil, enough tubing and enough fittings. It would suck to have to pay extra shipping for those things.
 
Cool. Got the kill coil on the list. Is 10 ft of tubing enough? I figured I'd have a few feet of slack...

Fittings:
2x rad
2x cpu block
2x pump
2x res
----------------
8 barbs total. 2 included on pump, 2 included with CPU block (is this true with the Raystorm?). Ordering 4.

I think everything's all set unless someone see issues with my counts.
 
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