Help me build a good loop

[Jeffro64]

Alrighty then.... not sure what the best components are or what all really needs to be cooled and what don't for a good benching rig. I'll most likely start it on air to make sure everything works and then jump into water before going to DICE and LN2. I want to play with it all and learn along the way... and hopefully put up some nice scores. Haven't really set in stone on the system yet but i'm leaning towards i7 on a Rampage II setup on a HSPC Top Deck Tech Station and I know i'm gonna want the CPU and GPU/GPU's in the loop for sure.... Anything beyond that would be by recommendation.

[DrNip]

From personal experience skip the water cooling. Water cooling is great if you have a case, play video games and pretty much just show and tell. Stick with a TRUE heatsink and a pot. Practice on the heatsink and then use the pot when you want to get extreme. Water cooling was a waste of my time and money and I went thru many of water part changes and what not. It wasn't for me. Heatsink to pot is a quick change unlike water setup to pot. Some will tell you water this and that but muh. Trust me. Don't get me wrong now, there are some sweet water setups out there that cool better than a TRUE but it is at least going to take a triple rad as my double rad didn't beet my TRUE.

[Kal-EL]

From personal experience skip the water cooling. Water cooling is great if you have a case, play video games and pretty much just show and tell. Stick with a TRUE heatsink and a pot. Practice on the heatsink and then use the pot when you want to get extreme. Water cooling was a waste of my time and money and I went thru many of water part changes and what not. It wasn't for me. Heatsink to pot is a quick change unlike water setup to pot. Some will tell you water this and that but muh. Trust me. Don't get me wrong now, there are some sweet water setups out there that cool better than a TRUE but it is at least going to take a triple rad as my double rad didn't beet my TRUE.


I'd have to agree with nip. Especially with the performance of today's air h/s coolers, water on the cpu doesn't seem to be all that cracked up.

Water on the gpu's however is another story. Go ahead and find waterblocks for ur gpus, most perform on par with each other and availability varies from card to card. Still, most cards have a certain amount of headroom for overclocking on air. The principals still apply regarding level of overclock vs heat output. So if you master air overclocking, extreme cold is pretty much just a major leap down the scale of temps management.

[Jeffro64]

Hmmm..... well, this is mostly gonna be just for the experience and the fun just playing around. Whatever water setup I get and use will end up in my 24/7 everyday use rig most likely which is in a case.... so it's a win win for me I guess you could say. It will be an expensive part of the hobby but it will be fun for sure.... more of a want for the hell of it than a need you could say LOL.

I do want a big or multi rad setup though.

[hellcamino]

Well if you want to watercool and bench than you will want to run 2 loops so you can pull the cpu block and put a pot on it to bench while keeping your gpu's and chipset (if you want) on water. If you just want to watercool a rig it will be cheaper.

I need to know your budget, parts to be cooled and case this will be in/attached to.

[Jeffro64]

Well... It will start out in benching first while i'm working my way to the pots. It will end up in a Cosmos S case when i'm done benching with it and on pots exclusively.... down the road. I did figure it would be best with two loops though.

Budget isn't a real problem because it will be done over time.... shouldn't take long but i'm not rich enough to buy it all at once LOL. I do want to get good parts though... and like I said before i'm really not sure of what all needs cooled and what really doesn't. I've read both sides and it can be confusing at times.

As far as parts go... i7, ASUS Rampage II Extreme and I haven't decided on the GPU's as of yet.

[Kal-EL]

Lemme get you started with the online websites that carry water-cooling gear first off:

ArticMod.com (http://www.arcticmod.com/)
Crazy PC (http://www.crazypc.com/)
D-TEK (http://www.dtekcustoms.com/index.asp)
Danger Den (http://www.dangerden.com/)
EK (http://www.ekwaterblocks.com/)
Frozen CPU (http://www.frozencpu.com/)
HighSpeed PC (http://www.highspeedpc.com/)
Koolance (http://www.koolance.com/default.php)
JabTech (http://www.jab-tech.com/)
Performance PC's (http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php)
Petra's Tech Shop (http://www.petrastechshop.com/)
Sidewinder Computers (http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/)
Swiftech (http://www.swiftnets.com/)
ViperJohn's Pro Mods (http://imageevent.com/marginjohn/viperjohn)

[Jeffro64]

That will be a big help Supes...thanks bro!

[hellcamino]

Do you want your loops to be inside the case or out? What video cards? Seriously give me a budget to work with or I will just give you sticker shock. I have over $1500 in parts being used in my currently configured lcs, give me a budget so I can help you pick out something that fits your needs without being over the top.

[Jeffro64]

Do you want your loops to be inside the case or out? What video cards? Seriously give me a budget to work with or I will just give you sticker shock. I have over $1500 in parts being used in my currently configured lcs, give me a budget so I can help you pick out something that fits your needs without being over the top.

$1500-$2000 Would be OK, But if it can be done with the good stuff for less thats always better. Did $1500 get you all the stuff you really wanted or did you have to settle for less on a couple of things? I only ask cause I have never reall priced this stuff and I have no idea how expensive it can get. I just want to go with the stuff thats proven to work right and last. The loops would be great inside once I put them in a case but if they have to be outside to get better cooling then that is fine, Just want it to be as cool as it can be. BTW.... Thank You for offering your help on this!!

OH.... As far as Vids, I haven't set that in stone yet. Don't know if the 2xGTX285HydroCoppers or maybe 3x are good enough or if I should go the 2xGTX295 route with my own blocks. I'm even considering going to the red side.:eek:

We can start working with the rads and other stuff until I can make up my mind on the vids LOL.... Unless you need to know before hand to put the whole thing together?

[Chuchnit]

Rads aren't that hard to figure out once you know how many of what cards you are going to get. My guess Frank is going to tell you to buy Feser or Black Ice Xtreme rads, but that's just a guess. ;)

[Jeffro64]

Yeah, I've heard a lot of good about those. I was looking at some Feser rads last night and they aren't as bad on price as I thought they would be.

[Chuchnit]

Yeah, I've heard a lot of good about those. I was looking at some Feser rads last night and they aren't as bad on price as I thought they would be.

If I remember correctly, the black ice rads can remove more watts of heat but at the cost of faster/louder fans. The Feser is almost equal in heat removal with wider spacing to allow for lower speed fans and ultimitaly a quiter PC. Both have excellent flow.

[Jeffro64]

Noise really won't bother me while benching.... but if I eventually put it all in a case I might want it a bit more quiet. I'm in my own room with the puters so fan noise really isn't an issue at any time so I won't complain either way.

[hellcamino]

Knowing what all parts are to be cooled would make a difference in parts chosen to cool your build.

[Jeffro64]

I guess on the GPU's I will probably just stick with the GTX295 but if you want to pick a part for the top ATi card also until I make the final decision then that will give me a look at both. I'm guessing that going with either of those that i'll only be able to use 2 cards so we'll stick on that.

Other than those things and the CPU I have no idea what else really needs to be cooled.... chipset, mosfets? Thats where i'll really need your help on if those things being cooled would make a big difference or not. If you think it would then i'm all for it... but your the pro on that so i'll trust you on if it's needed or not.

It will be used on a HSPC Tech Station so room isn't an issue. If I do put it all in a case later down the road it will most likely be a MountainMod U2-UFO Horizon or Ascension and not the Cosmos S like I was thinking before... So plenty of room. But it all doesn't have to fit inside if that helps at all.

So here is where i'm at on hardware....

ASUS Rampage II Extreme - (chipset, mosfets?)
Core i7 either 965 or (975 if they hurry up with it.)
2xGTX295's or 2xTop ATi Cards

Anything else i'm missing?

[hellcamino]

Sorry I've been really busy the last few days and kinda forgot about you =P , If you are going to use a cosmos S case then you will be a little bit limited on what fits inside. IIRC you can fit a 3x120 up top under the stock grill and a second 3x120 in the front inside (measure before buying). Those two would be massive overkill for your cooling needs so low speed fans will work nicely (good guess John), I would go with feser 360's if they will both fit.

For pumps I would use a pair of DDC3.2's with either xspc or Ek tops and 1/2" fittings or barbs and 7/16" hose (tighter fit and easier to work with).

2 feser 360's if they fit or can be made to fit and 6 Panaflo ultra high speed 120x38mm fans to go with them.

CPU block is a bit open since it will be the only thing on the loop, I like the Dtek V2 but an xspc block would be very nice in this setup as well and John called it....Swiftech can lick me where I pee.

As I haven't put together an i7 yet I can't speak to whether or not they need aftermarket cooling on their chipsets but I would suspect that they would. I would use the koolance chipset blocks most likely, for fit-n-finish they really can't be beat and they do work well.

For gpu's (the 4870X2's that you should be buying), I would use koolance blocks. They have good machining and consistent results.

The reservoirs are kind of up to you, I use a pair of Ek cylindrical res's and they work well and are made well.

For coolant you will want to use distilled water and a bit of anti-splooge or a 10% anti freeze mix with the exclusion of Dex-cool.

[Jeffro64]

Sorry I've been really busy the last few days and kinda forgot about you =P , If you are going to use a cosmos S case then you will be a little bit limited on what fits inside. IIRC you can fit a 3x120 up top under the stock grill and a second 3x120 in the front inside (measure before buying). Those two would be massive overkill for your cooling needs so low speed fans will work nicely (good guess John), I would go with feser 360's if they will both fit.

For pumps I would use a pair of DDC3.2's with either xspc or Ek tops and 1/2" fittings or barbs and 7/16" hose (tighter fit and easier to work with).

2 feser 360's if they fit or can be made to fit and 6 Panaflo ultra high speed 120x38mm fans to go with them.

CPU block is a bit open since it will be the only thing on the loop, I like the Dtek V2 but an xspc block would be very nice in this setup as well and John called it....Swiftech can lick me where I pee.

As I haven't put together an i7 yet I can't speak to whether or not they need aftermarket cooling on their chipsets but I would suspect that they would. I would use the koolance chipset blocks most likely, for fit-n-finish they really can't be beat and they do work well.

For gpu's (the 4870X2's that you should be buying), I would use koolance blocks. They have good machining and consistent results.

The reservoirs are kind of up to you, I use a pair of Ek cylindrical res's and they work well and are made well.

For coolant you will want to use distilled water and a bit of anti-splooge or a 10% anti freeze mix with the exclusion of Dex-cool.


Kewl thanks for the help!! Not a problem at all...I know how busy goes LOL! That will give me a good head start on what to look for thats been proven to work well.

Those Koolance blocks for the chipset... does that cover everything mosfets and all? Or do I need to worry about the mosfets? If it has mosfets that is... I haven't looked that close LMAO!


If I go Nvidia should I still go with Koolance for those? And i'm not sure about the 4870 x2's but I have seen that BFG has released a GTX295 with a block already... Are the manufactured cards made well or should I stick with putting my own blocks on?

As far as space inside the case... If I do ever put it in a case I decided to go with the Mountain Mods case so room shouldn't be an issue. If so I can mount the rads outside....no biggie.:cool:

Thanks Again!!

[Jeffro64]

Oh.... What happened with Swiftech??

[hellcamino]

I would air cool the mosfets and the swiftech story is too long, if we get a vent I'll tell you about it but for now all you need to know is that Gabe the "CEO" of Swiftech is a lying douche.

The koolance gpu blocks are typically very nice and I think they have gotten the use of aluminum out of their systems finally so I would go with them regardless of card vendor even though I know you are smart enough to buy a pair of 4870X2's.

[Jeffro64]

Gotcha.... So I'm guessing the parts you recommended are as good or better than Swiftech? I mean I really haven't seen any reviews to compair, just asking cause I have no idea. What do they make for air cooling the mosfets or would that part stay on the board separate from the chipset stock coolers? Sorry to sound so dumb about all this but i'm an ultra noob to all of this.

LOL... Again trying to pull me to the red side. Maybe i'll get both and have fun compairing... But like I said in the other thread, if they release the 4890 x2 I probably will for sure.

[hellcamino]

Well if your board has seperated or seperatable heatpipes I would use those on the mosfets. All of the parts I recommended to you are of much higher quality than anything by swiftech.

[Jeffro64]

Kewl....works for me!!


PM to you.

[Chuchnit]

Don't listen to Frank. He'll have you a loop that it almost silent with fans hardwired at 5v and cools like a banshee :rofl Nah Frank is speaking the truth. Swiftech is cheap and works pretty good as far as rads. There are much better out there and I think with your use Frank has you on the right track.

[Jeffro64]

Yeah... He has put together some nice parts and the prices aren't bad at all either, I was expecting a lot higher for all of that. So thats a good thing!

[Jeffro64]

Doh! I can't find the feser 360's anywhere in stock... everyone is out! But I can get the Monsta's.

[Jeffro64]

Got some parts in for the CPU loop. :D

I broke down and got the Monsta, and let me just say they aren't exaggerating as the thing is F'n HUGE. For the CPU block I got the Heat Killer and it looks like it will handle the job quite nicely. Also got the DDC pump Frank told me about with a XSPC res top, 3 Panaflow fans with Feaser shrouds and tubing. The screws for the fans and shrouds should be here tomorrow... I had to order those because Feaser don't include screws for 38mm fans and I couldn't find any M4 screws long enough local. So I hope to have it all together by this weekend if I can just find the time!

[Kal-EL]

Got some parts in for the CPU loop. :D

I broke down and got the Monsta, and let me just say they aren't exaggerating as the thing is F'n HUGE. For the CPU block I got the Heat Killer and it looks like it will handle the job quite nicely. Also got the DDC pump Frank told me about with a XSPC res top, 3 Panaflow fans with Feaser shrouds and tubing. The screws for the fans and shrouds should be here tomorrow... I had to order those because Feaser don't include screws for 38mm fans and I couldn't find any M4 screws long enough local. So I hope to have it all together by this weekend if I can just find the time!

Now thats F'n Rad! (yes, a corny reference to the monster radiator)

Jeff, ur sick bro, u just can't stop can u? :rofl It's all G, we're all suffering the same affliction :D Hardware Pron Pics?

[hellcamino]

That radiator is only slightly overkill for a cpu only loop but I bet you get good temps out of it!

[Chuchnit]

That radiator is only slightly overkill for a cpu only loop but I bet you get good temps out of it!

Understatement of the year, lol


Jeffro, your progression in this disease is moving very fast. It is fun though, right? :D Watercooling is a very satisfying thing. Especially since you got some uber quality parts.

[Jeffro64]

It's got a good grip on me for sure LOL! I only got the Monsta cause everyone was out of the 360 and as usual I was in a hurry. :D I'm having a blast with this!

[Chuchnit]

Meh.... you still have a killer setup. I just can't believe how fast the disease has progressed. It's worse than cancer....