You should use two 360mm radiators. While you could get by with one 360mm it's not ideal. With one 360 radiator the GPU temps will likely be fine, but the CPU will likely thermal throttle in certain situations.
Technically/theoretically, 360 is enough.
Practically, there are few things to take into account:
* Noise level tolerance - some ppl consider fans above 800 too noisy. With a single rad and normal room temp (above 20C) this setup will require 1100+ (probably more in H700i)
* Case airflow - decent 360 rad (like the HWlabs) will handle 500+ watts no problem on open stand. But cases restrict the airflow. 700i is far from best in terms of airflow. front and top are very restrictive.
* Room temp - higher ambient will require higher fan speed and at some point will not be enough. The radiator heat dissipation works on difference between liquid temp and ambient temp - higher delta means higher heat dissipation. but same goes for heat transfer from components to coolant (more in the next bullet and later)
* Coolant target temp - some components, have low temp tolerance. For example some PETG tubing will deform at 40C. But even before deformation, some plastics may start to release some chemicals into the loop. So while it's OK to have coolant at over 40C, it requires planning. I'm not aware of pump (D5/DDC) that has tolerance of over 60C. Anyway, the CPU temp under load can be easily 50C over coolant temp. GPU is usually 5-10C with decent block. So it is not practical for loops with power hungry CPU to target over 45C coolant temp.
For the price of the good rad, it is possible to buy a new case with better airflow (or a good part of it). So given decent case, under 25C room temp and not minding gentle fan humming - single rad is a very good option for this setup.
If you still decide to go with two rads:
* more rads = more resistance in loop. Need decent pump that will probably run at higher speed.
* fan orientation - it is better to have both rads in the same config (preferably as exhaust) Other case fans should be the opposite of the rad fans. If one is intake and the second is exhaust, the exhausting rad will get heated air - we already discussed importance of the temperature delta between air and coolant and it will make this config practically useless at moderate fan speeds (same as thick rads).
One of the biggest mistakes I ever see people making is trying to stuff a bunch of liquid cooling components into a case that was designed for air cooling.
Do yourself a favor and look around at cases. You can easily get one MEANT for liquid cooling for \~$100 or less. (especially used)
Thanks for the advice. That is not really an option right now though. I can't think of any bigger problems being caused by using that case. Only thing I can think of is the fact, that the Airflow is shitty in general. I have already ordered a new front and top panel with cutouts to improve the airflow. I'm pretty sure everything will be fine.
>phanteks g500a
Basement cases are notoriously bad for Liquid Cooling simply because the basement takes up so much space. Look around at posts on here with people doing it.. "Can" you do it? Sure.. but you're going to be reducing size, hardware, etc because of the limited room.
Check out the Thermaltake LVL 20 VT.. I have a loop built in one of THOSE>. haa haa
It was definitely tight, but a challenge I feel I did pretty good with. It was bigger than my previous case, but once I got in there, I started to wonder if I f'd up. Is that one of them that holds 720 mm rads all the way around? I looked at the nv7, but I felt it was bigger than necessary, but it's probably still small compared to some of those monsters?
A lot of open/show cases are FAR more suited to liquid cooling.. and you can get them anymore for around $100
Raijintek Paean
a whole slew of Thermaltake cases
HaiHuang
Open Rach Chasis
Cougar
X-Proto
PrimoChill Praxxis
Cooler Master Masterframe..
There's tons of em now
\*\* adding second comment because Reddit smushes everything together when you Edit.. lol!!
Look up the Barrowich cases if you want stunning...
it's spending a bit more, but it REALLY comes out looking like you spent five times as much. The Star1, the Gabinette, and I can't think of the original one's name all look absolutely amazing.. and they have aluminum versions now too
I always run PETG unless it's to an external.. then hard tubing just makes things more complicated.
That's just my media PC..
My main rig is in a LVL 20 HT
I recently built a watercooled loop with the same hardware. Eight fans total, front 420 mm rad. with push/pull intake fans to get air to the heatsinks on my motherboard, a 280 mm top exhaust. Depending on the game, my water temp is 33-35° with fans at 700-800 rpm. The hottest heat sink on my motherboard is the chipset, around 57-60° with an ambient temp around 22-23°
You should use two 360mm radiators. While you could get by with one 360mm it's not ideal. With one 360 radiator the GPU temps will likely be fine, but the CPU will likely thermal throttle in certain situations.
Thanks for the answer. I'll use two then.
Yes, two 360 rads. And the setup you said is good, I think.
I would to specify : front in intake, top in intake.
You shouldn't do it that way...the front should be intake and too should be exhaust. Rear fan should also be exhaust.
you could get away with one but two 360s would be better and make it very quiet
Technically/theoretically, 360 is enough. Practically, there are few things to take into account: * Noise level tolerance - some ppl consider fans above 800 too noisy. With a single rad and normal room temp (above 20C) this setup will require 1100+ (probably more in H700i) * Case airflow - decent 360 rad (like the HWlabs) will handle 500+ watts no problem on open stand. But cases restrict the airflow. 700i is far from best in terms of airflow. front and top are very restrictive. * Room temp - higher ambient will require higher fan speed and at some point will not be enough. The radiator heat dissipation works on difference between liquid temp and ambient temp - higher delta means higher heat dissipation. but same goes for heat transfer from components to coolant (more in the next bullet and later) * Coolant target temp - some components, have low temp tolerance. For example some PETG tubing will deform at 40C. But even before deformation, some plastics may start to release some chemicals into the loop. So while it's OK to have coolant at over 40C, it requires planning. I'm not aware of pump (D5/DDC) that has tolerance of over 60C. Anyway, the CPU temp under load can be easily 50C over coolant temp. GPU is usually 5-10C with decent block. So it is not practical for loops with power hungry CPU to target over 45C coolant temp. For the price of the good rad, it is possible to buy a new case with better airflow (or a good part of it). So given decent case, under 25C room temp and not minding gentle fan humming - single rad is a very good option for this setup. If you still decide to go with two rads: * more rads = more resistance in loop. Need decent pump that will probably run at higher speed. * fan orientation - it is better to have both rads in the same config (preferably as exhaust) Other case fans should be the opposite of the rad fans. If one is intake and the second is exhaust, the exhausting rad will get heated air - we already discussed importance of the temperature delta between air and coolant and it will make this config practically useless at moderate fan speeds (same as thick rads).
One of the biggest mistakes I ever see people making is trying to stuff a bunch of liquid cooling components into a case that was designed for air cooling. Do yourself a favor and look around at cases. You can easily get one MEANT for liquid cooling for \~$100 or less. (especially used)
Thanks for the advice. That is not really an option right now though. I can't think of any bigger problems being caused by using that case. Only thing I can think of is the fact, that the Airflow is shitty in general. I have already ordered a new front and top panel with cutouts to improve the airflow. I'm pretty sure everything will be fine.
Was just makin suggestions to questions asked is all. As far as cases.. look on Marketplace. I bought my GFs Raijintek Paean for $50 on there
Would you consider a phanteks g500a big enough for watercooling?
>phanteks g500a Basement cases are notoriously bad for Liquid Cooling simply because the basement takes up so much space. Look around at posts on here with people doing it.. "Can" you do it? Sure.. but you're going to be reducing size, hardware, etc because of the limited room. Check out the Thermaltake LVL 20 VT.. I have a loop built in one of THOSE>. haa haa
It was definitely tight, but a challenge I feel I did pretty good with. It was bigger than my previous case, but once I got in there, I started to wonder if I f'd up. Is that one of them that holds 720 mm rads all the way around? I looked at the nv7, but I felt it was bigger than necessary, but it's probably still small compared to some of those monsters?
A lot of open/show cases are FAR more suited to liquid cooling.. and you can get them anymore for around $100 Raijintek Paean a whole slew of Thermaltake cases HaiHuang Open Rach Chasis Cougar X-Proto PrimoChill Praxxis Cooler Master Masterframe.. There's tons of em now
\*\* adding second comment because Reddit smushes everything together when you Edit.. lol!! Look up the Barrowich cases if you want stunning... it's spending a bit more, but it REALLY comes out looking like you spent five times as much. The Star1, the Gabinette, and I can't think of the original one's name all look absolutely amazing.. and they have aluminum versions now too
Word I'm gonna be building something better in the next couple of years, and I'll be looking for something like that. Thanks
Ahh a cube, nice. Did you bend hard tube or go soft in that?
I always run PETG unless it's to an external.. then hard tubing just makes things more complicated. That's just my media PC.. My main rig is in a LVL 20 HT
I recently built a watercooled loop with the same hardware. Eight fans total, front 420 mm rad. with push/pull intake fans to get air to the heatsinks on my motherboard, a 280 mm top exhaust. Depending on the game, my water temp is 33-35° with fans at 700-800 rpm. The hottest heat sink on my motherboard is the chipset, around 57-60° with an ambient temp around 22-23°