Liquid Cooling

[OG buckshot jr]

So... I'm buying a 780Ti today. Found a good deal, and sealed. I'm gonna start liquid cooling my entire rig, and I'm starting by buying a block for my 780 and will get other shit after.

Anyone know where I can get Koolance gear in Canada? I'm not really interested in getting raped from an American seller, plus shipping, and then waiting 2+ weeks to get my stuff.

I'm looking for the Koolance VID-NXTTN2 as it fits reference 780Ti's, and mine is the Asus (reference-based) 780Ti.

I know $alvador posted about a shop in Oakville that can get it, but I can't find it...

Thanks!

 

[Leroy]

I've installed a liquid cooler before, dead easy, but made me nervous as fuck because it's a closed system. Tides go in, tides go out kinda deal, nobody knows how it works. At least with passive/active cooling systems, you can watch the fucking fan spin.

Second rig I had it installed by NCIX and they did a bang up job, but I honestly didn't notice a significant drop in temps, but then again, I don't overclock.

Might not be worth the headache, BRA

 

[OG buckshot jr]

You're all wrong mate lol
Closed-loop are easy, they're sealed and that's what I have for my CPU only. What I want to do is build a custom loop; pump, resevoir, tubing to cpu, then to gpu and finally north-bridge. My first buy will be this water block for the GPU, and I'm looking at Koolance because they have a good reputation and great fits, so I'm wondering where to get this shit without having to go all online, pay shipping etc...

 

[Leroy]

yeah, but the first time you turn it on, you have no idea if the fucking thing is circulating or not, and if you're going to melt your high priced chip through your high priced mobo.

You can't explain tides, BRA

 

[OG buckshot jr]

Clear tubing bro :)

Plus, I'll need to run it for 3 seconds->turn it off, fill it a bit. Rinse and repeat until the loop is full and constant. Only then can I be sure (and by watching the tubes as it runs for the first few minutes to ensure most air bubbles are out). I've been reading up on this shit for the last year as I've long wanted to do it. Now that I've purchased a long-term card, I'd like to do it.

 

[MetalLobster]

They don't have Koolance, but they have just about everything you need, including a plate for your 780ti.

http://www.ncix.com/category/water-cooling-8c-1165.htm

 

[$alvador]

So... I'm buying a 780Ti today. Found a good deal, and sealed. I'm gonna start liquid cooling my entire rig, and I'm starting by buying a block for my 780 and will get other shit after.

Anyone know where I can get Koolance gear in Canada? I'm not really interested in getting raped from an American seller, plus shipping, and then waiting 2+ weeks to get my stuff.

I'm looking for the Koolance VID-NXTTN2 as it fits reference 780Ti's, and mine is the Asus (reference-based) 780Ti.

I know $alvador posted about a shop in Oakville that can get it, but I can't find it...

Thanks!

Dazmode is the shop, but the owner only operates via mail order so there's no local pickup option AFAIK.

TBPH, Koolance is the very last company I would ever buy watercooling gear from. I haven't looked at any of their recent stuff, but they've always been known for producing garbage that has low compatibility with fittings from other brands (a ploy to get you to buy more of their shit) and that really kills it for me when I want to use a custom fitting only to find out the block is using some non-standard threading.

EK, in general, produces the highest-quality parts. Admitedly, their faulty nickel-plated block batches stirred a huge fiasco but in the end the company owned up and continued to produce quality gear (personally, I think plated blocks suck, but I think it's a necessary evil to prevent copper corrosion when using coolant dyes). The long and the short of it is that the EK brand is the hallmark of a quality-made product with good QC, regardless of whether it's blocks or pumps or rads you're buying.

For blocks, I personally have really been satisfied with Swiftech because of their modularity. I was able to mix and match blocks and covers from different generation blocks and retrofit them to two radically different sockets and even a GPU thanks to the variety of adapters. When you add up the costs of a custom loop ($200 is pretty much the starting point), it means a lot to be able to save a few dollars retrofitting blocks and the Swiftech block design has one of the highest surface areas for maximum thermal transfer.

 

[OG buckshot jr]

Dazmode is the shop, but the owner only operates via mail order so there's no local pickup option AFAIK.

TBPH, Koolance is the very last company I would ever buy watercooling gear from. I haven't looked at any of their recent stuff, but they've always been known for producing garbage that has low compatibility with fittings from other brands (a ploy to get you to buy more of their shit) and that really kills it for me when I want to use a custom fitting only to find out the block is using some non-standard threading.

EK, in general, produces the highest-quality parts. Admitedly, their faulty nickel-plated block batches stirred a huge fiasco but in the end the company owned up and continued to produce quality gear (personally, I think plated blocks suck, but I think it's a necessary evil to prevent copper corrosion when using coolant dyes). The long and the short of it is that the EK brand is the hallmark of a quality-made product with good QC, regardless of whether it's blocks or pumps or rads you're buying.

For blocks, I personally have really been satisfied with Swiftech because of their modularity. I was able to mix and match blocks and covers from different generation blocks and retrofit them to two radically different sockets and even a GPU thanks to the variety of adapters. When you add up the costs of a custom loop ($200 is pretty much the starting point), it means a lot to be able to save a few dollars retrofitting blocks and the Swiftech block design has one of the highest surface areas for maximum thermal transfer.

This is exactly the feedback I was looking for, and I knew you could provide it to me. Thank you! Ok, so may I ask your preference when shopping for things like blocks, pumps, fittings etc. I realize I want to go Monsoon/quick-disconnect fittings, unless you have any issues here? Obviously the quality of the connection will depend on how straight I can cut the tubes, and I plan on taking a lot of time and buying the proper gear - no quick install here. Sorry for picking your brain, but you seem to have a lot of experience here.

Thanks all!

EDIT: So I've decided on an EK block because they cover the entire card, including the all RAM chips (and VRMs!!!) which means no farting around for a solution on that, and because they offer numerous asthetic options (I'm opting to go with a clear block so when I use a dye, my entire GPU will light up

Oh, I'm going to have a lot of fun with this. I'll document the whole thing, review the parts etc. for the front page Darkly news section

 

[$alvador]

right on, no worries i love getting chances to talk about water cooling I dont have any personal experience with compression fittings but tube inside and outside diameter are both important whereas classic barb nipples just care about inner diameter. Quick connect fittings are a different beast, those are prone to leakage on high-pressure loops and work better on smaller-diameter tubing, but it's still dependent on flow rate and resistance. When it comes to tubes you need twice as much as you think you'll need unless you're confident you can cut perfect lengths on the first try.

For pumps you don't want to overshoot the minimum head (pressure) requirement of your loop but a higher flowrate is always advantageous. 3m of head should be all you need for a CPU + GPU loop with one rad, but if you start adding in fancy things like a VRM block than 3m might not cut it.

Dye is a personal choice but there are a few different types and it's not going to be as maintenance-free as using pure distilled water (which is nice cuz you can spill a bit without frying your parts).

 

[Glocky]

Some inspiration from one of the guys I play BF4 with:

I've PM'd you the link to his rig / rig build post.