Hi, just in the process of planning out my first project build - a mod using the Lian Li PC-8NB. Im going to install a full water cooling loop but due to case size and the fact I want to hide as much away and make it look good, im going to use two seperate loops. Loop 1: CPU and motherboard - single fan/radiator to be roof mounted with a bay mounted reservoir and pump hidden away at the top of the case. Loop 2: Graphics card - possibly RAM - again a single fan/radiator but this one mounted at the bottom/front of cabinet, with a single pump and a cylinder reservoir mounted on the frame. The design sounds cluttered but it actually looks good and and most the Loop 1 is hidden at the top of the case behind the panel. My only concern was that most people seem to be using a double or even tripple radiator. Would my idea still give me good cooling?
Short answer - no. If you're going to use a single 120 radiator for the CPU loop you'd be as well getting a Corsair H70 or H80, or high end air cooling. The reason most people use 240 and 360 rads is because 120 rads suck!
While LennyRhys has a point, I managed to cool an i7 860 OC'd to 4Ghz in an ITX rig on only a single 120mm rad, was a Black Ice Stealth GT, didn't have a brilliant fan on it either. Temps never went above 60*C. Although in your instance I'd say go for the H-Series from Corsair. I only did mine because 1) I had most of the parts, 2) I hadn't seen a custom loop ITX build before I did mine.
Seems a lot of effort to get that kind of OC. The Hyper 212+ EVO should be able to get that kind of OC for just £23. So, either get 240 or 360 or a decent air cooler
Depends on what you're cooling. Unless your motherboard chipset runs hot or you want the bling then there's no need to watercool it. You'd probably get OK temps on the CPU with a single rad similar to a high end air cooling setup. Graphics cards can cope with higher temps but a single rad would probably give you similar temps to the stock cooler, something like a GTX580 might struggle. Edit: Forgot to add that you don't need to watercool the RAM either unless it's for the looks.
Cheers for all the advice I think RAM is a no - it was just a thought and like Big Elf said probably not rquired aside from looks. Again same for the mobo might save some money and give that a miss. Going to see if I can squeeze in a 240 rad - if not, back to the drawing board
