Excited about my first build but also overwhelmed, few questions

[shoe416]

Here's my build:

• Corsair 460x case
• Ryzen 3800x
• Gigabyte 5700 xt gaming OC
• 2x m.2 SSDs

It's a beast of a machine, but the noise during load is stupid loud, so building my first loop to incorporate CPU and GPU. I'm a bit restricted in terms of the space inside my case (Corsair 460x), so am thinking of going with one vertically-mounted 360mm rad, 3 fans, and potentially a smaller res/pump mounted to the rad.

A few questions:

• Since the gigabyte isn't a reference board, I ordered a Bykski waterblock that should be 100% compatible over aliexpress (pray for me). I suspect using this will provide me with at least 40mm of front radiator clearance due to the backplate for the Gigabyte heatsink (PCB doesn't actually make up the full length), so the first question is, assuming typical fans are no more than 20mm thick, should I maximize the radiator thickness to best future-proof my loop?
• I get the difference between DDC and D5 pumps, but am unsure what the guidance might be for the proposed setup I'm thinking. Does it all come down to personal preference and maybe cost?
• Was thinking of going with a kit like the alphacool gaming 360, since it has mostly what I need, minus extra fittings for the GPU block. As far as I'm aware, so long as the tubing and fittings all work, it should be fine?
• In some builds, I see tubing going to the rear expansion card slots, but can't see what that would be for? Valve for drainage?

Sorry for the seemingly dumb questions, just trying to learn.

[Hooded]

Hardware Canucks review has some good info about the Corsair 460x

Looks like only slim rads will fit. Only a 240 up top and up to a 360 in the front. This would be the max rad configuration.
Fans are almost always 25mm thick, but you can find some that are 20mm thick. Anything thinner than that will perform poorly on a rad.

D5 can be a quieter pump than DDC, but a Laing DDC 3.1 Quiet 10W Pump ( MCP350, DDC-T1 ) can run off any fan header on your motherboard. All the other D5's and DDC's require a header capable of more than 1 amp.

Not familiar with the Alpha Cool kit, however, Daz has some nice kits with slim rads and best quality pumps Triple Radiator, DDC Pump-Tube Reservoir Combo Complete Watercoling Kit – Rev. 10
Add a 240 slim rad up top, 4 more fittings and 2 more fans and you have it covered. More rad bays gives far better performance over thicker rads. Also, more bays will allow you to run your fans at a lower speed reducing noise.

Tubes running to expansion slots is most like for drainage but could also be used for external rads.

Plan to buy some extra fittings to set up a drain/fill point in your loop. Just makes things a lot easier for overall maintenance.

[shoe416]

Spent the whole afternoon researching and configuring my build and came to the following:

• Heatkiller 4 basic cpu block
• Nexxxos ST30 360mm rad
• D5 barrel 220 res w/pump install
• dazmode protector (just need the one?)
• 3 straight fittings, 5 90 degree
• 3 fans
• 12mm OD hard tubing (1m will ship ok?)
• mandrel kit, 8mm cord, reamerdeburring tool

Am I missing anything from this? Thinking maybe the gasket might be good to have, but other than that, think I've covered the bases here.

[Hooded]

Heatkiller block you can't go wrong.
You may find the 220 res a tough fit in that case. I would go with one of the D5 Barrel 185 combos. Also the D5 Barrel 220 is sold out.
8mm cord is wrong size for 12mm tube. you need the 10mm cord. I would choose the Acrylic tube over the PETG tube. I've bought several 1m pieces from Daz no issue at all with them being shipped (In Canada).
1 bottle of Daz protector will be enough for your loop.

[shoe416]

Great advice, thank you. Agree with the 185, might be just right to either mount above or below the GPU, although it might be just right given the block takes significant length off the card.

I'm a little confused on the drain/fill port. Can you explain that one a bit? Assumed I could fill at the top of the res? But maybe just need a drain at the bottom of the loop somewhere, perhaps between GPU and pump.

[Hooded]

Why and How to Make The Drain Point? - Complete Watercoling Guide - Part 12

This video from Daz explains it all.

[Danny79-Qc]

Hooded pretty much covered it all but just want to say, don't forget to show us your rig once it's done! Have fun building it !

[shoe416]

Ran into a size issue for using the ST30 v1 radiator... those extra port extrusions won't fit in my case. However, when looking for an alternative, found that the ST30 360MM v2 will work, but it appears as though the item is using the 240MM description and specs. And make matters worse, many many other sites online are using the same bad description! Super confusing for a n00b. :-)

[Hooded]

So if you look at the XT45 v2 you see the length is 394.5mm the rest of the measurements will be the same as the ST30 v2 240m rad.

[shoe416]

So they're all wrong? LOL... at least it's consistent then.

On the fill fitting, couldn't I just use the res top or the rad top?

[Hooded]

If you can access them, you can use them.

[shoe416]

Ok, I think I am all set. Need to wait on all parts to come through, but feeling good about this. Thanks for the help!

[Hooded]

Great, looking forward to seeing pictures of the build.
Post a build log & enter the Canadian Amateur Modding Competition for 2020.

[shoe416]

Just getting this all installed and not leaking will be accomplishment enough!

Just got everything and think I am looking good, with the exception of the mounting hardware for the D5 barrel res and pump. Not sure whether I may need some extra hardware to mount the pump to the res. Are there any options for this?

[Hooded]

There are various methods for mounting reservoirs. Daz has several options in the accessories section of the pump/res section of the store.
Mostly those the res that comes with Barrel 185 you simply need to make a custom spacer that can be bolted to res and bolted to case.
There is a plethora of ways to do it. the choice you make will depend on where in the case you wish to mount your res.