First Time Looper - setup q's

N

netjack

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 11, 2005
Messages
175
Hi Guys,

First time to water cooling and been searching quite a bit and this is what I've come down to and looking for some feedback.

Current setup:
Case - Lian Li pc-011 dynamic
CPU - 9700K
GPU - EVGA 2080TI FTW3 Hybrid Ultra Gaming


Both the CPU and GPU are currently overclocked pretty aggressively (5GHZ for CPU and 2.1MHZ GPU).

Water cooling Setup:
- CPU Block - EK-Velocity RGB - Nickel + Plexi
- GPU Block - EK-Vector FTW3 RTX 2080 Ti RGB - Plexi + Nickel
- Pump/Reservoir - EK-XRES 100 Revo D5 PWM
- Radiator - HWLabs 360 GTS
- Fittings - EK-ACF x 10 (enough?)
- Tubing - LRT Primochill
- Fans - ML120 Pros
- The EK configurator throws in an EK-ATX Bridging Plug. What purpose does that really serve?


Questions:
- Will I benefit from having 2 radiators vs 1 for both the CPU & GPU?
- Am I over doing it with 360 radiators vs just going 240?
- I'm going to skip the backplate as I hear it's mostly for aesthetics. Thoughts?
- What's the best tool to cut the plastic tubing?
 

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More radiator is pretty much always better than less radiator. I'd suggest adding a second if you have room - my experience with a 9900K and a 2080 Ti is that the big, thick and meaty 480mm radiator I'm using is "enough," but not really overkill. I would guess you'll want more radiators, unless you have some serious fans on that one.

You need two fittings for each component of the coolant circuit. If you have one radiator, one pump/res combo unit, a CPU water jacket and a graphics card water jacket, that's four components, so you'd need eight fittings. If you add a drain valve, you'll need two more.

I say get the backplate. They are mostly for aesthetics, but one thing they accomplish that no one ever seems to talk about is to keep stuff (leaked coolant, stuff you dropped, et cetera) from touching the back of the card and damaging it.

You can use almost anything to cut the tubing. I use a utility knife, but there is a tool that's used for cutting the PETG hard tubing that would work, too.

The "bridging plug" is used to bridge the green wire in the ATX plug to ground, which tells the power supply to run. When you fill the cooling system with the coolant, you'll need to run the pump without powering the system up. You do this by disconnecting the power cables from the motherboard and graphics card, installing that bridging plug on the 24 pin cable, and then turning the power supply kill switch on. You can use a paper clip in lieu of the special tool, but that's a pain.
 
My 2c mostly mirror RazorWind

1.) You always benefit from more radiator, but it does start to complicate the install, as you just start running out of room and tubing going everywhere.
2.) No
3.) Backplates are nice but hardly required. It's the part you're going to see most in a typical ATX tower setup though. It also helps stiffen up the card, which can help keep it from sagging, but it also adds some weight, which can put more pressure on the slot.
4.) Scissors. Plastic tubing is pretty soft. Rigid tubing would need a special tool.
 
Like the other guys said, going with two radiators is not a bad idea. Also, the soft plastic tubing cuts pretty easily with scissors or virtually anything.
 
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Thanks guys. All really helpful. I realized my pic didn't post so I've edited the post.
 
netjack said:
Thanks guys. All really helpful. I realized my pic didn't post so I've edited the post.
Click to expand...
The domain you used to host the picture had issues with injecting code onto our pages, then we get accused with providing malware.
 
The HWLabs 360 GTS is a nice, low profile radiator that I'd imagine would fit well at the top of your case. I like the design of your case, which appears to have plenty of room for a second 360 radiator beside the motherboard and you can locate the ports to minimize additional tubing. Were this my build, I'd try to find a thicker 360 radiator to put in that space eventually. You can probably find something on the FS forum.

EK ACF fittings appear to be available in aluminum versions. Don't use aluminum parts in this loop. The only time you use aluminum is when everything in your loop is aluminum. For this loop, you want copper or brass. Nickel plating is fine. Compression fittings are definitely the way to go. One thing I was initially looking at was ease of installation - the EK fittings don't appear to have a tool groove (like these Barrows, for instance - I wasn't able to find the Monsoons I was thinking of) but after finding a better picture, it looks like the ID is keyed for an allen wrench, so that will work (assuming it comes with the allen wrench, or you already have one the right size.) Pretty expensive though.

Plexiglass can start to frost over, show tiny cracks, become tinted by coolant additives, and just generally be shitty after prolonged use. I prefer Acetal/Copper/nickel blocks where possible.

You may also want to add a fill and/or drain tube to make it easier to make changes/upgrades. I use quick disconnect fittings to separate my CPU and GPU blocks from the rest of the loop, and I have an extra set of quick disconnect fittings and tubing that I use to drain only the CPU/GPU block section when it is removed from the system. If needed, the spare set of fittings can then be attached to the main loop and use to drain it.

I hope the ML fans are good - I'm going to use them very soon. One thing you may want to get is a powered 4-pin PWM splitter (example link) so that you aren't restricted by the number of/location of fan ports on your motherboard. I haven't installed my ML-120 fans yet, but I've tested them, and they are loud at full power. Using a PWM splitter will allow you to power all the fans straight from the PSU, and control all of the fan speeds via one PWM header, which you can hopefully configure in whatever BIOS you're dealing with. (Note that PWM is required to control the ML-series fans; trying to limit their speed with voltage control will mess with the magnetic levitation bearings and cause problems.) One other thing I noticed about the ML fans - the corner pieces with the mounting holes do not sit flush with the fan body. They are designed to be thicker than the fan body in order to isolate motor vibration, but this means that there is an air gap between the fan body and whatever the fan is mounted to, which is bad when using with a radiator. I'd suggest a 3x120 gasket to (mostly) seal up that gap.

Finally, I would also consider adding a second pump in series for more flow and redundancy. It's not necessary - the D5 is very reliable, but EK (you seem to like EK) makes a dual D5 top, although I prefer the older design which was similar to this. Other interesting options for more standard cases with 5.25" bays include the alphacool repack series (on sale for $20?! And the quad DDC version is $32! Holy shit).

Gotta stop now before I start buying more WC gear.
 
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Nicepants42 - thanks so much for such a great write up. I will certainly follow this. I just realized there's going to be a larger version of my case being released in a month or so. In that case, I might go w/ that case so I can afford larger radiators. I also think I'm going to wait for black friday so I have something to look forward to on deals :p
 
netjack said:
Nicepants42 - thanks so much for such a great write up. I will certainly follow this. I just realized there's going to be a larger version of my case being released in a month or so. In that case, I might go w/ that case so I can afford larger radiators. I also think I'm going to wait for black friday so I have something to look forward to on deals :p
Click to expand...
If you're open to changing the case and waiting a few months, you're in a good position to find some good stuff on FS/FT. Black Friday is usually pretty good for general PC hardware and cases (although NAND supposedly increasing due to a power outage at Toshiba a bit ago), but WC is much more niche - I wouldn't sleep on any deals you find on WC gear hoping to do better in November.

Also, I don't really see a reason to get a larger case - your current one can fit two 360s (maybe more) with no problems, and that's into overkill territory. More radiator is always good, but if we're being realistic, that single GTS360 will do the job; adding to it will reduce temps a bit, but probably not to the point where you'll be able to increase your OC, and you certainly don't need 480s to get by. Were I you, I'd first spend on adding a second pump in series to keep running if/when one pump dies, before dropping Lian Li money on a new case.

Having said all that, WC is a hobby, it's your money, more overkill is more [H]ard, and have you seen the 900D? (They have a 1000D also.)

Edit: couple more things:

1) I would use a backplate on the GPU for reasons other have mentioned. It's not like a 2080ti is a budget card.

2) Clean/flush your second hand stuff before you use it. My process for radiators is flush with boiling distilled, fill with white vinegar for ~2-3 minutes, flush 2-3 more times with boiling distilled water. For second hand blocks, I usually fully disassemble and soak the copper base plates in boiling distilled/vinegar as above, scrubbing with a toothbrush where needed. Be certain to keep track of what screws go where (they may look the same, but some may be longer/shorter due to port locations). Do NOT put plexiglass in boiling water - just scrub it with room temperature stuff if needed.
 
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- Will I benefit from having 2 radiators vs 1 for both the CPU & GPU?

Yes. I think a single thin 360 isn't going to be enough for a 9700K and 2080Ti. Add another 240, minimum.

- Am I over doing it with 360 radiators vs just going 240?

No.

- I'm going to skip the backplate as I hear it's mostly for aesthetics. Thoughts?

Don't. Backplates come with thermal pads and use the backplate as a heat spreader. There's a reason they are there.

- What's the best tool to cut the plastic tubing?

One like Kyle linked to. That thing will also cut PETG hard tubing.
 
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You have some really nice blocks and gear, I am telling you you will end up wanting the backplate anyway.
As a few have said that stealth 360 will not be enough if youve overclocked. I would recommend 240 per block total, in wahatever config you want. You could add a single 120 for example. At least get the HWL gtx 360.
 
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