Custom Loop Cooling Question

chrisloudon

Hi all,

As this is my first outing to custom water cooling, I thought it best to get clarification on a few things before I start cutting, bending and fitting pipes.

The setup will include an MSI MEG Z390 Ace, Lian Li O11 Dynamic Razer Edition, RTX 2080ti, i7-8086k, EKWB Vector CPU and GPU Blocks, EKWB 140 REVO Pump / Res combo, 2 x 360 Rads and 9 Corsair RGB LL120 RGB Fans.

Firstly, while pretty much all my research has led me to believe that loop order doesn’t seem to matter, can anyone here confirm this in a dual rad / dual block layout?

In my head, CPU > Rad1 > GPU > Rad2 back to CPU with the pump / res somewhere in the middle looks like the best option but my research would tell me that it doesn’t matter. Any advice on this would be helpful.

Another issue I am having is finding a suitable location for the pump & res. While the O11 does boast multi rad support, getting 2 x 360s in required me to use the regular EK one at the top but the slim version for the side. This also required me to have the slim rad fixed inside the main case compartment with the fans mounted in front of the rad in pull / exhaust configuration. The question I have is, is there a pump mounting solution that can be secured to a 120mm fan? Alternatively, I could mount the pump horizontally at the bottom of the case but that would hinder my fresh air intake capacity.

lastly and slightly off topic, can anyone advise on the best and neatest way to control 9 x Corsair RGB fans? Each set of 3 comes with its own control boxes but I though it worth asking if there was a better way of doing it as I would like to keep things as neat and tidy as possible. Also, I would like to minimise the amount of different hardware monitoring / RGB control software installations required to avoid any conflicts.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

C

C0XIE

EKWB produce a variety of solutions. Mounting Mechanisms - Accessories, Spare Parts & Upgrades - Reservoirs  – EK Webshop
Alternatively, Overclockers or similar will have solutions in their stores.
And as an aside, it may be worth looking at "Singularity Computers", they have some wonderful solutions for OLC.
You are quite correct that loop order matters little once the coolant has been heat-soaked, but when I build dual rad systems I generally build: pump>Straightest run to the first component (could be rad or a block)>then alternate rad/block as you suggest before closing the loop in the res.
One final comment ("YAY!!" I hear you say!), with the Lian Li O11 Dynamic, there are a number of people producing a distribution plate which I really like the look of. A quick google should bring this up for you. And I must confess that if I was planning a build in this case, this would be a route that I would seriously consider.
Keep us updated with your build!

woppy101

I have done about 10 loops over the years and the only thing that makes a difference is the res must come before the pump other than that which ever is easier and more aesthetically pleasing

Greg Hook

Mine goes pump/res - GPU - cpu - radiator - back to pump/res

woppy101

My current loop goes res/pump-cpu-rad-gpu-rad-res/pump

rubbertatti

Loop order doesn’t matter as long as it’s res to pump and the res is higher than the pump. after the pump pipe it up whichever  way suits you.

Res above and before pump because the pump doesn’t self prime and the coolent is the pumps lubricant,