So I'm looking into building myself a new rig, and I thought I'd try installing a WC loop for the CPU and GPU. I'll be getting an i7930 and a HD5870, so that's the kind of heat output that I'll want to be cooling. This will be my first foray into this whole WC thing, so could use a helpful push in the right direction. Was looking at either the Cooler Master CM 690 II or the Xigmatek Utgard as the case to house this all in, and I know that these both have room for a 120mmx2 radiator block. However, will that sized radiator be sufficient to cool both the CPU and GPU in a single loop, or would I have to consider a dual loop or larger radiator to deal with both the 930 and the 5870? If so, recommendations for a good case would be appreciated. Something relatively affordable (sub £130 or so) would be preferred.
You'll want to fit a triple radiator to cool those, with some 1850RPM Gentle typoon fans. Cases like the Coolermaster Cosmos S can take a triple radiator in the roof and don't cost that much. The Corsair 800D can also fit a triple radiator in the roof plus a double in the bottom, but its £200. However, you could use the triple for the CPU loop and the double for the graphics card and your temperatures would be slightly better than that of a single loop. For the loop, I recommend ; the Apogee XT for the CPU, the EK FC5870 Acetal for the graphics card, a swiftech MCP 655, and a thick triple or double radiator like a Thermochill pa120.3 or pa120.2.
The HAF 932 can take a Thriple rad at the top, 2 double rads on the side pannel and a 140 rad at the back Its £103 on ebuyer http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148685?utm_source=google&utm_medium=products
How about two dual-rads? Those would be easier to fit to a bit smaller cases (one to the roof, one to the 5,25" bays). The Cosmos/800D/HAF932 are all ginormous.
+1 for the CM 690 II and dual rads. I'm building wc loop in one myself, and it's really a great case for the price & size. Here's a pic of my build as it is atm, still lots of stuff to do. I only got cpu and one rad in the loop, planning to add another and the gpu later. Here is an interesting worklog for watercooling the same case, a bit different approach to component selection & placing than mine.
Cheers for all the input. Seeing SlowMotionSuicide's set up and that in the thread he linked, I'm feeling pretty sold on two rads in the CM 960 II case. Looks pretty doable, space-wise. Decent price for the HAF 932 and Cosmos S, but not too fond of how they look, and Jipa's point on the case size is also a consideration.
The problem with the 620 II is it'll be fairly cramped, so it may be a massive challenge for a first timer to watercool, doubly so if your running dual loops. Just something to bare in mind Do you prefer more clean lines and surfaces then? If so the ATCS 840 may be worth a look, its £147 inc vat and if you get 20 posts you get free delivery with CCL. Its one of the best cases on the market too Linky
Fair point to make, larger case would definitely make it easier on me. That's definitely the kind of styling I prefer to see, and that price isn't too bad either. Will have to get out the tape measure though, see just how much room that beast would take up
A few questions for SlowMotionSuicide if I may: 1) Does the PC panic if there is no CPU fan attached? Or have you just connected a case fan to the CPU fan 'bit'? 2) Same question as 1) but for GPUs. Do they shut down if no fan is detected or do they carry on regardless? 3) Which are better: compression fittings or barbs? 4) Is it possible to build a watercooling loop that (bar topping up every once in a while) can be run maintenance free for, say, five years?
1) Pretty sure this depends on a mb. I have a case fan connected to the cpu_fan header so the board is happy, but there's also option in the P55-GD65's BIOS to turn off cpu fan fail alarm. 2) Haven't really got down with the gfx card yet, tbh honest this is my first attempt at setting up wc loop Plenty of more experienced folk in these forums though. 3) There's a camp for both. Personally I prefer compression fittings, they make setting up the tubing pretty straightforward. Some people claim that barbs with proper clamps (worm drives) are the most secure option. 4) It is generally recommended to change the coolant at least once a year. Also, tubing needs to be changed from time to time. Using colored coolants typically require even more attention to the loop. Also, to the OP. If you can stretch your budget to ATCS 840 or similar large case, definitely go for it. It took me literally hours of research, measuring and planning to come up with the setup that would fit in the 690 II, and as you can see, there ain't a lot of space to work in either.
Thanks for sharing you experience with the case. I'm leaning to spending the extra for the ATCS 840. Might be an extra £60, but from the sounds of it it'll be worth it for the easier installation.
Its an amazing case too. Everything is where you expect it to be and it has the best removable motherboard tray I've ever seen I keep tormenting myself with one, doubly so as my best mate has one, but I'm happy with my HAF
