Custom water loop advice

[XeonSaga]

Hi all i am looking to invest in water cooling for my rig, this is my first time trying a custom loop. Can the pros out there feedback on the parts that i have chosen? Please let me know if i lack any essential components.

Parts i am ordering:
-XSPC RayStorm CPU WaterBlock for Intel Sockets (Intel)
-Silver Killcoils - Antimicrobial .999 Fine Silver Strip
-Swiftech MCP655 Watercooling Pump - w/ Speed Controller
-Bitspower 5.25in. Acrylic Bay Reservoir with UV Blue O-ring BP-WT525AC-CLUVBL
-XSPC FLX Green UV Tubing 1/2in. ID x 3/4in. OD (19/12.7mm)
-XSPC AX360 Triple Fan Radiator (Silver)
-6x XSPC G1/4in. to 1/2in. ID Hose Barb Fitting (Black Chrome)
-8x hose clamps
-Distilled water for coolant

Am i good to go?

 

[silencer13]

Your fittings? That seems to be missing.

 

[XeonSaga]

Your fittings? That seems to be missing.

Sorry about that, is 6 pcs of XSPC G1/4in. to 1/2in. ID Hose Barb Fitting and 8 pcs of hose clamps enough?

 

[XeonSaga]

Looks fine apart from what casing are you putting it on and the fans you plan to use.
Imo, Cheaper rads will also do as well. 1-3C diff difference from the AX tops.

Mine is a cosair c70, intended to find way to do an external case mount. any other cheaper rads to recommend bro?

 

[XeonSaga]

Block - 2
Res - 2
You can do with 4 actually if you don't plan to change your 655 top as it's a default 1/2" barb but some 655 may have a G 1/4 mount so please check before buying.

Ok i have checked , the 655 comes with a 1/2" barb so 4 barbs will be enough.

 

[XeonSaga]

Something like the XSPC EX360 would do.
Actually. You can do an internal mount with 240MM + 120MM rads and leave everything internal. The top have to have a slim rad like the EX/AX to fit thou.

Ok, i am thinking like to get a EX 240 first, in the future upgrade and add another ex240 on the front by removing my hard disk drive bays. Would the single Ex240 be enough to cool a 2700k @5GHz?

 

[young man's blues]

Are you using a pump top with the mcp 655?

 

[XeonSaga]

Are you using a pump top with the mcp 655?

no, just directly connecting the tube to it, will a pump top help in anyway?

 

[Donten]

hi bro, your first time i would suggest get kit from xspc. what you intend to cool in the first place? their kit quite value for money for decent money. my guideline would be 1 120mm for 1 block would be sufficient if you dont oc. your parts add up to around 3xx(im eyeballing)without pumptop and compression fittings. below kit gives you most bang for buck before you dive deeper into the hobby.

XSPC Raystorm AX240 Universal CPU Water Cooling Kit w/ D5 Variant Pump Included and Free Dead-Water! - FrozenCPU.com

this kit have everything you need already. d5 is exactly the same as mcp655. have checked your casing. can fit 240 x 2 internally. with 480mm(560mm if you can squeeze 120 rad which is not recommended imho for cost/benefit isnt that great at all since 120mm rad for 40bucks for marginally low improvements) of possible raddage is already overkill.

what i would suggest is get the above kit for your cpu block. if you like it can add another 240mm rad for gpu and be done with it. and try not to do external mount. not worth the effort, waste space bother internally and externally and unsightly. you also need provision for rad mounts which might not come cheap.

google around using terms such as corsair c70 watercooled or similar should get you pictures of what others are doing. heres all the advice i can give at the moment. see what you can make of it. have fun and sorry for your wallet.:

 

[Donten]

another is try to go for 3/8 5/8. easier to work with compared to other tube sizes.

 

[syaqattaq90]

^ this
Unless u have specifid parts on ur mind, kits are good and value for money.

 

[XeonSaga]

hi bro, your first time i would suggest get kit from xspc. what you intend to cool in the first place? their kit quite value for money for decent money. my guideline would be 1 120mm for 1 block would be sufficient if you dont oc. your parts add up to around 3xx(im eyeballing)without pumptop and compression fittings. below kit gives you most bang for buck before you dive deeper into the hobby.

XSPC Raystorm AX240 Universal CPU Water Cooling Kit w/ D5 Variant Pump Included and Free Dead-Water! - FrozenCPU.com

this kit have everything you need already. d5 is exactly the same as mcp655. have checked your casing. can fit 240 x 2 internally. with 480mm(560mm if you can squeeze 120 rad which is not recommended imho for cost/benefit isnt that great at all since 120mm rad for 40bucks for marginally low improvements) of possible raddage is already overkill.

what i would suggest is get the above kit for your cpu block. if you like it can add another 240mm rad for gpu and be done with it. and try not to do external mount. not worth the effort, waste space bother internally and externally and unsightly. you also need provision for rad mounts which might not come cheap.

google around using terms such as corsair c70 watercooled or similar should get you pictures of what others are doing. heres all the advice i can give at the moment. see what you can make of it. have fun and sorry for your wallet.:

Hi thanks for the advice, initially i have thought of buying that kit, however the pump/res combo takes up two bay and I only have one free 5.25'' bay available, also I have heard of ppl with the D5 2 bay kit have leaky reservoir.

Btw how is that monster radiator of yours? Is a 240mm 80mm thick alphacool monsta comparable to a ax240?

Also is sidewinder and frozen cpu the best place to buy the kits?

 

[Op_Valkyrie]

in here... to look see and learn too...

 

[garfield82]

in here... to look see and learn too...

if advice needed, garfield here can only give, ihho, don't buy cheap fittings, I threw away my XSPC's and used EK's. XSPC's cuts the tubing from the outside.

 

[Op_Valkyrie]

if advice needed, garfield here can only give, ihho, don't buy cheap fittings, I threw away my XSPC's and used EK's. XSPC's cuts the tubing from the outside.

wow... that's sounds pretty bad... cutting the tube....

my fitting on got BP and monsoon.... safe bet?

 

[congrade07]

Welcome to watercooling community.

Some of my personal opinions which I wish to share with you.

Reservoir
If possible go for tube res, bay res is PITA to bleed. I recommend EK X3 Tube res.

Tubing
Tubing wise, got for 3/8ID 5/8OD. Easier to bend without kinking and easily available (you wont wan to setup halfway, found out running out of tubing and have to import in from US).

Fittings
I personally recommend you using compression fittings. Compression fittings are like barb but with a secure lock ring to tighten. No need any clamps to secure.

And the brand I strongly recommend is Bitspower. Never fail me and is one of the best quality fittings you could get.

Fittings that you would want to get are as followed

- Compression Fittings
- Rotaries (Anti Twist, 90 or 45 Degrees)
- Extenders
- Drain Valve
- D Plugs

I will skip the compression fittings explanation.

Rotaries are use in the situation where you wish to attain a certain angle (tight corners). After fixing the fittings to the component, you could still rotate to the direction you need.

Extenders are fittings to extend the height/ length.

Drain Valve, makes you life to drain the loop easily. There are other ways to do it such as using Quick Disconnect Fittings or just a simple, barb/ coupler/ stop fitting.

D Plugs are like plug. Screw both ends to two different components and to secure just plug them in. Good for tight areas where screwing of fittings are impossible.

I am no spokesman for Bitspower, but after using EK, XSPC, Phobya, Koolance and Bitspower fittings. Bitspower ones hardly tarnish and the rotaries are tight and does not leak on me.

Downside is the price. The price of the fittings is expensive compared to others.

Pros are reliable, good quality, comes in many different colors.

Radiator
AX360 has good reviews, but do consider XSPC RX360/ EK XTX360 or Alphacool Monsta 360 or Alphacool UT60.

for XSPC RX, EK XTX, Alphacool rad's thickness ranges from 60mm to 86mm. These are good rads with good reviews

Anti Bacteria Agents
Personally I dont put in Silver Koil, as my coolant (mayhem pastel and distilled water) has anti bac agent in them. Partly I avoid Silver Koil and PT Nuke is because of the chemicals or reaction between the coolant and blocks might caused some issues. So avoiding them. If you are scare, just use distilled water with one drop of PT nuke.

Pump
As for you D5 pump, do you intend to get a pump top? I recommend you getting a pump top for your D5. It will improves your pump efficiency and also increase the numbers of ports options. I personally is using Bitspower D5 V2 pump top and it works great, you can also get D5 modkit from Bitspower as well.

Blocks
Lastly, I strongly recommend you getting all copper blocks. Copper has no issues with nickel flaking so it will benefit in the long term.

Reference
You can drop by the blue forum which a lot of the projects logs there are working on watercooling setup. You can get more insights and ideas from their work logs. Sorry but sadly here has few project logs for you to reference.

 

[Op_Valkyrie]

Welcome to watercooling community.

Some of my personal opinions which I wish to share with you.

If possible go for tube res, bay res is PITA to bleed. I recommend EK X3 Tube res.

Tubing wise, got for 3/8ID 5/8OD. Easier to bend without kinking and easily available (you wont wan to setup halfway, found out running out of tubing and have to import in from US).

Fittings, I personally recommend you using compression fittings. Compression fittings are like barb but with a secure lock ring to tighten. No need any clamps to secure.

Personally I dont put in Silver Koil, as my coolant (mayhem pastel and distilled water) has anti bac agent in them.

As for you D5 pump, do you intend to get a pump top? I recommend you getting a pump top for your D5. It will improves your pump efficiency and also increase the numbers of ports options. I personally is using Bitspower D5 V2 pump top and it works great, you can also get D5 modkit from Bitspower as well.

Lastly, I strongly recommend you getting all copper blocks. Copper has no issues with nickel flaking so it will benefit in the long term.

You can drop by the blue forum which a lot of the projects logs there are working on watercooling setup. You can get more insights and ideas from their work logs. Sorry but sadly here has few project logs for you to reference.

king of wc lai liao loh..... !!

 

[congrade07]

if advice needed, garfield here can only give, ihho, don't buy cheap fittings, I threw away my XSPC's and used EK's. XSPC's cuts the tubing from the outside.

EK fittings are pc of sh it too.... The angle rotaries are very loose and leaks. Experienced it and avoiding it. Extenders are fine as if they leak then its a big problem haha.

I never like XSPC stuffs. To me their decent stuffs are just their rads. RX rads not bad. others, I am avoiding them totally.

 

[congrade07]

king of wc lai liao loh..... !!

TMD percy,

 

[Donten]

Hi thanks for the advice, initially i have thought of buying that kit, however the pump/res combo takes up two bay and I only have one free 5.25'' bay available, also I have heard of ppl with the D5 2 bay kit have leaky reservoir.

Btw how is that monster radiator of yours? Is a 240mm 80mm thick alphacool monsta comparable to a ax240?

Also is sidewinder and frozen cpu the best place to buy the kits?

Hello again, alphacool rads are very bang for buck. especially the monsta rads. you can look into it. i have since sold mine because i went into a matx build. im currently using a 2500 and 6990 with a 180mm and 120mm. do you have a budget in mind? are you cooling the rig to the right? if so i recommend better products. it seems that above commentator have commented on the fittings which im not aware of. i myself using monsoon fittings and have been quite happy with it.