Help with new Water Cooling set-up.

[BobsleighBishop]

Hi!

So recently my current pump has been playing up. I have the XSPC Dual 750 LPH Res+Pump... (sorry about image size)

..It's about 4 years old now but when I turn my computer on sometimes the pump wont start up and I have to either wait and try my luck after a few hours or just pull the molex power connection in and out and randomly it will start working (I've troubleshooted that maybe it was a power problem and there is power running to the pump but all it seems to be is that the pump is dying?? I'm still unsure on this so if anyone here has more info on this it would be greatly appreciated).

So to the topic at hand. Currently I have the XSPC Dual 750 LPH Res+Pump/AX280 Dual Fan Radiator for a CPU only water cooling loop. I've been planning on upgrading my water cooling system to include my 1080ti and with the problems with my current pump I guess now it the perfect time! My current specs for my system are:

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero
CPU: Intel Core i7 8700K @ 5.0ghz
GPU: nVidia Gigabyte 1080ti
RAM: TEAM GROUP DARK PRO " EDITION" 16GB 3200MHz
OS: Windows 10
NVMe SSD: Samsung 960 EVO 250GB
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Primo Full Tower

I've seen water cooling DIY kits like this https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...-performance-water-cooling-kit-wc-9ex-ek.html but the res seems way to small for the full loop ?? and I've also read that its recommended to have a 360 rad or have a second rad if I was to have a cooling loop which includes both the GPU and CPU, could I get some clarification on this?

I'd like to keep the cost of the new water cooling system around the £300 mark so feel free to recommend parts that would be ideal for me.

I really appreciate anyone putting the time and effort into helping me out with this problem! And of course if you need more information from me just say, I did try and put everything in here that i deemed note worthy.

Luke

 

[Awahwah]

The linked kit is a Ali kit so if you go that route be careful in the future of mixing metals. Also the EK configuration recommends a 240 and 280 for an OC'd 8700k and 1080 Ti in the same loop

I have a very similar setup to you and have gone with the following setup - when it all arrives, purchased a lot second hand:

Alphacool nexxxos st30 360mm Rad in the top - second hand
EK 280 CE in front - second hand
EK 140 D5 Pump\Res - new
EK Supremacy EVO full Nikel - second hand
EK 1080 ti block and back plate - new
New fittings and coolant.

All of that came in for around £250 as I shopped around and purchased second hand (there may be a risk there but depends where you buy I guess). I'm hoping to recover some of that with the sale of my H110i and EVGA Hybrid kit once the loop is all setup.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[BobsleighBishop]

Thanks for the reply Awahwah and thanks for the information.

I can go for a 360 rad on the top of my rig and have a 280 rad on the bottom. It will require a purchase of some new fans and a new 280 rad but i'm sure I can manage that. Just to confirm you have purchased at this res/pump https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-water-blocks-ek-xres-140-revo-d5-pwm-incl.-pump-wc-886-ek.html ??

As for the fans that are being used, can you use the stock fans that come with the case for the rads as I have two 140 fans on the bottom of my rig right now or do I have to change the fans for more suited fans?


Thanks again!

 

[Awahwah]

Yes that is the Pump\res combo I have. As for fans, go for static pressure. I'd expect the case fans you are referring to are air optimized.

For ref, I set my loop up yesterday. Temps ideal are 23ish on the CPU and 27 on the GPU. Load I'm seeing low 50s CPU and 40 GPU. That is nuts, was not expecting them to be that low especially the GPU.

I'm still playing around with fan speeds to get those optimized and I found that my drain port isn't best placed during the two system flushes I preformed, so think about that a little for your loop.

I'm still learning, but feel free to ask me any questions.