I plan to water cool my system but am fairly new to it all. I want to cool my cpu (i7-4790k) and my gpu (EVGA 970 FTW). I think I want to get an aio and expand it to fit my gpu. I found the waterblock for my gpu (links at bottom) but Im not sure what aio to get that wont break my wallet. I have the nzxt phantom 820 case. I prefer the largest radiator I can fit. Let me know what I should do.
Radiator Support:
Top: 2x 140mm or 3x 120mm
Rear: 1x 140mm or 1x 120mm
Bottom: 2x 140mm or 2x 120mm
Pivot: 1x 140mm or 1x 120mm
GPU block: https://shop.ekwb.com/ek-fc970-gtx-acx-acetal-nickel?SID=dk52tvpts3uqkvmqupr27777r6
Hi , here are some :
- RAIJINTEK Triton
-swiftech h220 x
- ek predator
It all depends if you are going for pure performance or/and for the looks. I imagine that filling and bleeding aios without extra res can be a nightmare .I tried previous swiftech expandable aio and now i use it only to flush my radiators and waterblocks ;/t.Building a full custom loop is often better idea as you can reuse some parts in future builds ( pumps, reservoir, radiators, fittings,sometimes cpu block).
I was thinking about the RAIJINTEK TRITON but once I started reading about it I noticed a lot of people were having issues with it leaking and failing. The ek predator seems really nice but the smallest version starts at $250 which is kinda high. As for switftech, their products are a bit hard to find also.
Go with EK the rest of those expandable loops are a joke and don't have enough pump power to expand anyways. Water cooling isnt cheap and if it is something is wrong.
Edit: the swifttech one isn't too bad but I'd still recommend EK over it
yep , I read few people complaining about leaking tritons. Im on my 4th custom loop , first i got swiftech`s previous expandable aio with the same plan as yours ( ugly motherfucker, decided to use it as temporary solution in the end, before going full loop).About predator now.Filling point is located on the top and once its installed in pc case its difficult to access and check the fluid level , or fill it and bleed it outside the case. Bleeding is important, it means that you get rid off air trapped in the loop.Sometimes it take several days to bleed the system.
I think I might just save up a bit more and go for a full loop using ek stuff.
If so please decide what tubing you are going to use,rigid or flexible, than what tube diameters you are going to use.( read about pros and cons of different diameters of tubing) Fittings can be very expensive because you will need many of them , and remember, there are other brands out there ;p
Predator can be a nice starter but tricky to use and expand, I noticed there is a version with quick disconnect but it looks ugly and is compatible with prefilled waterblocks with same type of quick disconnect.Regular one can be used if you place it at the bottom of the case and make filling point accessible and use proper reservoir.But res has to be located above above the pump so the pump doesnt get dry and die .
Also it turns out that predator has leaking issue too
Good thing I didn't buy it yet, thanks anyway!
What's pivot? is that the side panel? Skip the single 1x140mm or 1x120mm unless you plan on getting it in between the gpu + cpu.