Thermochill TA120.2 Dual Radiator - 240 Radiator EK Water Blocks EK-DCP 4,0 (Pump) EK Water Blocks EK-FC580 GTX - Acetal+Nickel Enzotech Water Block Stealth Full Coppernot in stock Phobya 5,25" Bay Reservoir Black Masterkleer tubing PVC 12,7/9,5mm (3/8"ID) clear 3,3m (10ft) Enzotech 10/6,4mm Black Sparkle BCFS-ID1/4-OD3/8 compression fitting G1/4 – knurled This is my first glance into water cooling, so I'm just wondering would all these components be compatible together? I'm pretty sure they are, but hey better safe than sorry. Also is the 240 rad big enough to cool a cpu and a gtx 580 or would I be better of getting a 360? Can anyone recommend some good 120mm fans, I know noctua are fantastically quiet, which is kind of what I'm after, but as fantastic as there fans are, there rather ugly, so I was also looking at gelid wing 120's anybody know if these are any good or any alternatives? If anyone else has any other suggestions for different/better parts etc then please let me know, thanks in advanced for any help anyone may be able to give
I'd get a 360. Noctua fans are crap when used on radiators, Scythe GTs are the ones to get atm. I've seen a few people using Akasa Apaches too, but I don't have any first hand experience on those. Regarding you're CPU block of choice, EK Supreme LT is perfectly capable piece of equipment, there's only a 2-3 °C difference to the best-performing blocks, and it'll save you 40£. Bay reservoirs are typically considered to be a pita. Also, your tubing doesn't match the size of your fittings.
Thanks very much for the advice, any ideas where i can get tubbing that matches the compression fittings? and if bay reservoirs are considered to be such a pita could you suggest any alternatives?
Where are you getting your stuff from? Aquatuning has worked out pretty good for me, but maybe some other UK folks know a better place? Anyways, I'd also recommend you change your fittings to atleast 3/8 ID, or maybe even 1/2. Whatever you choose, just make sure the ID/OD is same on both the tubing and fittings, some compression fittings are especially picky about wall thickness. Tube reservoirs are more practical for bleeding the loop, which is the main problem with bay reservoirs. You might wanna take a look at this for example. It connects directly to your pump, and it'll save you a pair of fittings, too
Thats fantastic, looks really good, and yeah I was getting the parts from aquatunning, do you not need to have the res above the pump though in the loop?
As a rule I always put the res above the pump (where possible) but ALWAYS make sure the res is before the pump in the loop: res > pump > rad > block You can put your block before your rad if it suits you better just as long as the res is before your pump. It might also be worth taking a look at watercoolinguk, they are usually pretty good on prices.
Specialtech are pretty good on price. When you select delivery choose the cheapest option. There's no guarantee but often they'll send it by next day courier instead of Royal mail.
There only need to be enough hydrostatic pressure to ensure the pump gets enough water feed. This is usually done by placing the res above the pump, put as long as the water level is above the pump inlet it'll be sufficient. Therefore the EK res-pump combo will work perfectly well as long as there is enough enough water in the reservoir vessel.
thanks for all the help guys couple of other things i wanted to ask, would the pump I picked be powerful enough for the loop I'm thinking of making, also would it be possible to perhaps use a 240 and a 200 rad would that be sufficent cooling for the parts I'm using? If the 360 has better cooling overall than those two rads then I don't mind going for that but a 240 and a 200 would suit my needs better. What are the noise levels of the scyth gt fans like? and does anybody know what gelid wing fans are like with rads and if there any good generally?
The GTs are very quiet fans for the amount of air they push. At about 1k rpm they are maybe slightly louder than silent eagles, maybe not louder, just a different sound. They are pushing a LOT more air though. The pump should be ok for just a single CPU and gpu setup, though some might suggest a beefier ddc. as for tubing I really like the xspc stuff, 3/8ID, 5/8OD. You can get this from watercooling UK, who I have used quote a few times and always received great service. I prefer the 3/8, 5/8 to larger sizes as it still looks quite chunky and nice but also has a fantastic bend radius, especially the xspc stuff. It makes setting up your loop that much easier, especially if its your first time.
Gentle Typhoons are the second best fans I came accross for water cooling. They don't push a lot of air but they pack a lot of preassure. Airflow drastically decreases when fans push air through a radiator but not the Typhoons. Their pressure keeps the air going, very nice fans. The only better fans I seen is the Feser Triebwerk. They are thicker than the average fan designed specifically for watercooling. Very good fans, pack a lot of pressure for a very low amount of noise. A little bit better than the Typhoons but cost a lot more.
They're also hideously loud and ridiculously expensive. It is also possible to bring the performance of GT's closer to that of Triebwerks by using a fan shroud.
Comparison of the GT1850 and 38mm Triebwerk TK-122 (2000rpm) GT1850 Triebwerk TK-122 About 3 extra cfm for an additional 9dBa Fan Review
Think I'll be going with the scyth gt's then, unless I can found out anything about gelid wing fans when used in conjunction with a rad. Would I use fans on the front of the rad to draw air in then I take it? Also I have a problem with my ram, would it be alright to talk about it in this thread, or would it be better if I started a seperate one?
Generally rads perform better when they are fed cool air, which means using fans as an intake. Ofc this varies somewhat with each setup, but that's the general guideline. Feel free to experiment though - trying out different combinations and finding out what works best for you is a major part of the watercooling hobby.
thanks again for all the help everyone, don't suppose you guys could advise me on a problem i'm having with my motherboard, so I have 6gigs of corsair 1600mhz ddr3 (obviously) but the computer will only read (and use) 2gigs in system information it says 4gigs but only 2 gigs useable, I've tested each stick individually, and the all work, providing I use the slots furthest away from the cpu socket, i'm going to check the cpu is installed correctly and that the cooler has been fitted correctly tomorrow as I've heard these two thing can sometimes be the problem, I've also heard that it is a very common sort of problem for asus boards. and that doing something with the voltages may fix the problem? Oh and I've set the the memory to x.m.p profile, also cpu-z reads all 6gigs, just windows doesn't. If anyone has any ideas with this conundrum I appear to be having it would be most appreciated. as its beginning to get on my nerves!!
Yep, reseating the CPU can help with that. When you have it off, check to make sure none of the pins are damaged or slightly out of alignment.
Also this troubleshooting thread at Corsair is useful http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=82274 In addition setting the latency timings manually can solve the problem.
ooopps, completely forgot that they are one and the same, cpu socket pins/memory slots. Sorry about that, been a long day :|
