Watercooling Diagram - PLS REVIEW

[>:() - Tiki Man]

This is a diagram of my prospective watercooling setup. I wanted to submit it for review. I have cleaned up the loop quite a bit, but i would like to hear some second opinions. Thanks


http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/7311/scan0004co1.jpg

[Mr.Ferrari]

Lets first clear this up.

-What size are those radiators? (2 fan or 3 fan)
-Im assuming 1 and 2 are pumps, what make and model?
-I see a CPU block clearly, but everything else is not labeled. I see a double block, is that for the 7950GX2 or is it for SLI'ed cards?
-Those two other blocks are northbridge/southbridge blocks?

Two radiators are not neccesarily better then one. You add a area for some serious pressure drop and trying to compensate by adding two pumps will not always solve the problem. Two pumps in series will double the head pressure, but the flowrate will remain the same.

Cooling efficiency is also not doubled by using two radiators. My suggestion is getting one big 3 fan radiator. Like the Thermochill PA120.3.

And you would always prefer to have the water cooled by the radiator to flow directly into the first block in the series if possible.

With dual loops you would be best served by either separating them with another resevoir, or running everything in a single line. Like have the water flow into both radiators at once and run through all the blocks at once. And route one pump directly to another to get the head pressure boost. Since this is a closed loop, you shouldn't notice more then 1c difference between the water flowing in and out of the blocks.

It would help if you told us the full specification of the components your using.

[>:() - Tiki Man]

The pumps in the drawing are 2 swiftech mcp350s, the two rads are both swiftech 220 QPs with 2 enermax marathon 120mm fans each, the thingy with the two circles near it is the northbridge cooler, the other set of 2 adjacent rectangles near by are two koolance ram waterblocks, the two rectangles below the cpu are two 8800 gtx/s coolers (not for sure yet, but definitely 2), the cpu block itself is a swiftech apogee gtx, and the res is actually a 100mm long aluminum finned passive res. Hope this helps / tnx.

[Mr.Ferrari]

Thats gonna be one heck of loop.

I would get rid of the aluminum components. Even with a good anti-corrosive agent (anti-freeze), you will notice corrosion over time. Those being the Koolance ram block and the Passive Res. I highly suggest you buy a Swiftech Mcres Micro or Eddy Ek's Cyclone resevoirs (latter available at www.ekwaterblocks.com)

Just wondering, have these components already been bought? Or are you just in planning stage?

One way you could do it is this:
pump1>pump2>cpu block>northbridge>gpu1>gpu2>rad1>rad2>res

Or you could create a dual loop separated. Buy 2 resevoirs, leave the cpu block and northbridge with its own pump and radiator. Leave the two video cards with its own radiator and pump. This would probably yield the best temperatures. Just make sure you have the reservoir right before the pump.

And are you sure you need a northbridge block? I mean unless your doing heavy overclocking, you could get by fine with a passive heatsink.

[>:() - Tiki Man]

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2234/ex-res-89/XSPC_Passive_150mm_Reservoir_-_SILVER.html?tl=g30c97s167#blank

thats the res...

http://www.koolance.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=29_56&products_id=251

thats the ram...

[>:() - Tiki Man]

nothing has been bought yet, btw, still planning. . .

[Mr.Ferrari]

Yes you get galvanic corrosion when you mix two metals far apart in the galvanic series. In this case Copper components (most of your blocks, your radiator) with those aluminum ones like the resevoir and the ram.

You'll end up corroding the aluminum parts.

So stick with all copper.

Since you haven't bought these components, I highly suggest you swap out for a single 3 fan radiator. The ThermoChill PA120.3 (http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=200&products_id=3944) (Select 1/2'' fittings) would be your best bet. This way you can simplify your loop. You can still buy two pumps. And get one of these reservoirs instead: http://www.petrastechshop.com/reservoirs.html. I suggest the EK or the Swiftech Micro.

As for the pump, I assume you've already worked out buying a top for them? Since they are natively 3/8'', and the rest of your components are 1/2'' (barbs). This is a nice one: Pump w/Top (http://www.petrastechshop.com/laddcwpeddto.html), top alone (http://www.petrastechshop.com/peddcudeddcp.html).

[>:() - Tiki Man]

http://jab-tech.com/Black-Ice-GTX-480-Radiator-pr-3614.html

is that worth the extra 10$ over the thermochill triple?

[Mr.Ferrari]

Not in my opinion no.

[>:() - Tiki Man]

ok, so if i opt for a single thermochill triple rad, 2 mcp350s w/tops (are 2 of thos better than swiftech's 550?), and cut the ram block, whats the most efficient loop look like?

[Mr.Ferrari]

Do you mean swiftech's MCP655? The MCP350 (18w edition) with the top is more powerful then the MCP655. Its also quieter and runs a bit cooler. And having 2 MCP655 will take up alot more space.

A example of good loop order would be one of these...
Pump1>Pump2>Radiator>Cpu Block>Northbridge and Video Card blocks>Reservoir
or
Pump1>Pump2>Cpu Block>Northbridge and VideoCard Blocks>Radiator>Reservoir.

Don't worry about it too much. Just do whatever will give you the least amount of tubing and bends. Only rules you should really keep in mind is to keep the reservoir right before the first pump, I.E the reservoir outlet should flow into the pump1's inlet. And to keep the two pump's in series. Meaning, Pump1 should flow directly into Pump2.

[>:() - Tiki Man]

the two pumps im getting, off ebay, are both mcp 350s (9W), not mcp 355s (18W). are 2 of the 9W (with the tops) sufficient for my proposed watercooling setup? / is there a more economical option?

[Mr.Ferrari]

Ah sorry, my bad for not realizing that you were talking about the 9w.

They would probably be sufficient. But if they're gonna cost you the same price as the MCP655, I would probably opt for the 655 due to better performance. But once again, these pumps are quite a bit bulkier..space might be an issue..they're also kinda loud to some ears.

But, if I were in your place, I would buy one MCP355 w/Top. As long as your GPU blocks and Northbridge blocks are not crazy restrictive, one 355 would probably handle them fine. You can always add another one in the future..

[>:() - Tiki Man]

ok, thanks. instead of bidding on the 350s, i think im just gonna go for a 655 - which is cheaper than the 355 w/top. space isnt really a prob in my server case :D - and i plan to buy some of that sound dampening stuff anyways for my 9+ case fans, lawl.

[Mr.Ferrari]

And this is just a suggestion, but if you do buy a nort bridge block, I would buy a MCW30. Its basically just a flat base and should cool adequately. You will get better temps if you keep unnecessary restriction out of your loop. Another decent one is the DangerDen Maze4 chipset block.

Good luck though, sounds like a crazy project. :D