New to WC, looking for advice

T

thatguyX

n00b
Joined
Jun 7, 2004
Messages
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Sorry for another noob thread, but here it goes. I've read through the WC FAQ thread and determined a few things, but I still have some questions. My goal is to build a system that is very quiet to silent (~25dBA) and then later mild overclocking later.

Components:
Intel i7 920 @ 2.667Ghz (no OCing, yet)
Asus P6T Deluxe V2
Corsair Dominator 6GB (3x2) DDR31600
eVGA GTX 285 SC (675Mhz)
Zalman ZM1000-HP PSU
Lian Li PC-60FWB

According to the PSU Wattage calculator with my pump (Liang MCP350):
GTX285 (no OC/no SLI) 150W
GTX285 (w/ OC/no SLI) 210W
i7 920 (no OC) 200W
i7 920 (~3GHZ OC) 300W (guessed at the Vcore no idea really)

WC Parts:
CPU Block: EK Supreme
GPU Block: EK GTX285 (EK-FC285 GTX - Nickel)
Rad: Swiftech MCR320 "Quiet power" possibly with an addition 120 or 220 Rad
Pump/Res: XSPC Laing DDC Res with MCP-350
Fans: 3x Either Noctua or Scythe low to medium fans.
Tubing: 3/8"
Fittings: see below

I was planning on ordering all the WC parts from frozencpu.com with their 3/8" ID Compression fittings installed on everything. According to Wattage calculator, the full loop should be at 425W (? seems really high). However, I might want to run 2 loops (if i SLI down the line) so I can keep everything relatively quiet to silent.

Big Loop plan Res>Pump>Rad(320)>CPU>Rad(120)>GPU
2 Loop plan Res>Pump>Rad>CPU and Res>Pump>Rad>GPU1>GPU2

Does this sound about right? The Lian Li I have now is a standard midtower, which is why I would like to run one loop (top mounted rad for space). However if I could manage two loops, I could run the fans slower since each radiator has less overall heat to kill. (goal is less noise then overclock) Does it make sense to start with the GPU only, that's the thing that drives me nuts the most right now? The Zalman is working OK--but not as quiet as my older rig. Would I be able to cool the CPU and 1 GPU with just this 320 rad and still maintain lower noise (25dBA) and acceptable temps?
 
Before you buy,things look good BTW, take a look at Sidewindercomputers.com, the guy has great prices on watercooling suplies and ships fast.
 
You're gonna need another rad in addition to the 320 if you're doing both an i7 and a 285. Or, you could get away with one of the thick triple variety (Thermochill/Feser/XSPC).
 
First off, to answer your question, yes it does make sense to start with the GPU only if that's all you want to cool for the moment. This is your rig and you can do with it what you want and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. But do go ahead and get the tripple rad so that you can add other components later if and when you decide to do so. If you are not planning on overvolting your CPU, one tripple rad will probably be enough if you have adequate airflow. For fans, I can highly recommend the Scythe S-Flex 1600 rmps. They provide a nice mix of airflow and low noise. The Yate Loons are also very popular because they provide very good bang for the buck. Also, consider the Watercool Heatkiller Rev.3.0 for your CPU block. They are less restrictive than the EK Supreme and have been shown to perform better with i7's.
 
Is it possible to cool just the i7 or just the GTX285 with a 220 rad and quiet fans? I was thinking if I do this in steps, I could use a 220 rad (mounted on the back with a radbox) to cool the GPU at first. If I were to move up to SLI or possibly GTX300 (whenever it comes out), I could use a triple rad for GPU loop and the double rad for the CPU loop. There are some reviews floating around the Acool (?) which is a single 120 rad that seems to cool the i7 reasonably although it seems louder than I'm aiming for... so would a 220 rad with low dBA fans work?
 
how well does the swiftech stackables work? I've seen it and considered it, but I wasn't sure about how I'd mount it. I decided against it as I have no idea how well that setup would perform? Would it be like a quad 120 rad or more like would be more like 3 in just a smaller space?

:edit
So from what I've read, Swiftech rads are meant to be used with medium speed fans which I'm not sure I want to use. The Thermochill and Fessers are able to use low speed fans. Would it be possible to cool 1 GTX 285 with a 120 Fesser/Thermochill or the Swiftech stackable 120mm rads (2 of them)? If i had two and SLI'd them would it be possible with a 240mm rad or the Stackable swiftechs? (2 x 120mm)?

I'm leaning towards doing this GPU Loop first and then an i7 loop or one big loop later. Would it be possible to cool the eVGA GTX285 SC with a single 120 Feser with 1x1350RPM fan or maybe 2x1350RPM fans in push-pull config?
 
From my experience while frozencpu has pretty much everything you could want they are also usually more expensive than the rest. I would look at petrastechshop.com, sidewinders, performance-pcs, etc just to see the prices.

As for your parts good list however I would probably go with a different block. The EK Supreme is really restrictive and the pump you picked is extremely quiet but it is also not the strongest. Just my $.02.
 
that CPU block is uber restrictive, it'll starve your other blocks in the loop and slow down the flow

either change your cpu block or do another loop for your other components
 
I would go with 2 seperate loops since the i7's run hot and so does most high-end gaming cards on the market these days.

I depends on your funds, I would get:

(2) XSPC Laing DDC top with MCP355
(2) Feser 120mm Rads
(2) Bitspower 5.25" Bay Res
(2) Noctua Fans
Koolance 350 CPU block
EK GPU block
1/2" ID 3/4" OD Tubing and Barbs
(2) Drain/Fill port
(2) Dangerden T squares

And for fluid I prefer the Innovatek Protekt IP

If you want to save yourself some cash the Dangerden GT Rads aren't bad. Also you can opt to use Swiftech MCR in replacement to the Bitspower Bay Res but I think it's just easier to mount the bay res and easier to track your fluid levels.
 
Hypothetically speaking, Some people are saying 360+120 for thin/cheaper rads, others are saying that a thick/high performance 240 is enough. Does anyone really know what's the TDP put out by a 920 and GTX285 and stock and moderate OC's? And secondly, what's the amount of dissipation of a 360 feser compared to a thinner rad? I'm thinking of doing the same kind of build myself, and also leaving the option of 285 SLI without adding too much to the loop.
 
If you're going to go SLI, defintely keep it on separate loops. I remember seeing that an i7 on a 240 was possible but not recommended. If you really wanted to go extreme, get a quad rad. I mean you for sure could try just a high end 360 like an RX360 or a thermo/feser and see how it handles the load. Add more later.

From what I've read, the standard TDP changes drastically once you start OCing. So it's hard to provide a good estimate.
 
ohms said:
I would go with 2 seperate loops since the i7's run hot and so does most high-end gaming cards on the market these days.

I depends on your funds, I would get:

(2) XSPC Laing DDC top with MCP355
(2) Feser 120mm Rads
(2) Bitspower 5.25" Bay Res
(2) Noctua Fans
Koolance 350 CPU block
EK GPU block
1/2" ID 3/4" OD Tubing and Barbs
(2) Drain/Fill port
(2) Dangerden T squares

And for fluid I prefer the Innovatek Protekt IP

If you want to save yourself some cash the Dangerden GT Rads aren't bad. Also you can opt to use Swiftech MCR in replacement to the Bitspower Bay Res but I think it's just easier to mount the bay res and easier to track your fluid levels.
Click to expand...

Don't use Innovatek stuff. It's garbage. So are their blocks. Go with just straight distilled + silver kill coils or PTnuke.

IF you want to wait, you can wait for the incoming Typhoon III from Thermochill. It's one hell of a piece of work. Makes setting up dual loops easy and painless. Also eliminates the needs for fill ports and shit cuz it makes filling/draining your loop SUPER easy.

http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=4741

I'd wait. I'm probably going to redo my loop soon as these become available and sell off my old MCP355+XSPC res top and finally put my 4870x2 under water with some stackable MCR320 rads running S-Flex F's at around 800 RPM.
 
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