Hello all, I'm back, was afk for the holiday, then we were down fro the company move, then my desk didn't network/internet until about an hour ago.  So I am catching up on my threads.
 
First off, Zuhl...

Zuhl3156

Dukman
Since Im far from knowledgeable about this stuff myself, we can hope that Dave, Hallowen or one of the others will stop by and explan the differences between the two better.  But there's nothing wrong with a PWM pump.  To me it comes down to "automatic" vs. "manual". 
 
Like PWM fans the pump allows the motherboard or a controller like the Aquaero to control the speed of the pump.   Non PWM pumps are basically "set it and forget it" with 5 speed settings.
 
The main reason I want a non PWM pump is the "set and forget" ability. 

Hallowen seems like the man with a plan but Dave seems to get OCD with his watercooling performance and is no slouch either. I lowered my pump speed to 80% trying to eliminate the bubbles forming in my res from being churned up by the return flow. No air is entering my loop but I'm thinking about moving it back to 100% just to get better flow through the loop.

First off, that is CDO, which is OCD, alphabetized correctly, next  HEY, I resemble that remark lol.  My GF calls me a hardware snob, cooling snob and a storage snob.... so maybe there is something to that haha.  Does the OCD statement come from my component by component  breakdown of my loops I gave a while back either in this thread or one of the others we spoke in recently?  Also, Hallowen's M.O. will get you better results, AC components, 2 pond pumps and an igloo full of antifreeze  :)
 
As for PWM, imho, it is something that is flat out unnecessary.  I have used D5's for YEARS, mainly used the B model which is non adjustable, I have had the adjustables, but always found cooling was best on max.  PWM is so basically you can use the motherboards fan controller to dial back the the pump or ramp it up based on temps, or to plug it into a PWM controller and control it manually.
For mobo control, it is basically so that you can set a goal temp and keep it as quiet as possible.  Personally, I want it colder not quieter  :)
PWM controller, like a fan controller style I suppose is fine, if you want that extra layer of control, it can also help to bleed all of the air out of the loop a little faster if you have a bay res.  Personally, I just tilted my case forward and kept trickling in more water, then it stopped sucking in small bits of air.
 
In short PWM isn't bad, but to the experienced watercooler, it's like asking Mario Andretti if he NEEDS a backup camera or an autonomous mode in his new car.  To me, it is a needless expense that will not get my hardware any colder.  If it does not get it any colder, or make installation/maintenance/replacement/upgrade any easier than I would prefer not to put money into it.

I prefer dedication, but OCD is likely a b it more accurate  :)
Funny all that work in making something that performs PERFECT, and I still don't have one that is considered presentable by most people, I guess it is all priorities.
 
I hope all here had a very Merry Christmas, other holiday you chose to celebrate, and for those who do not celebrate anything I hope your nonspecial December 25th was great as well.

I had a good Christmas.  My other present to myself was almost all of the parts needed to complete my build.  Plus 32GB of DDR3 2400 memory and an Orico 5 bay external enclosure.
 
Still need fittings.  But I have a pretty good idea of what I'll need.  90% sure I'll go with BitsPower fittings.   At the very least the drain will be BitsPower.

Almost ready to kick this thing off
 
Got the email that my CaseLabs SM8 has been shipped, so it will be here next week.  The only things left is the fittings and the water.   Plus Im not trying to decide if I want to add a little dye to my water.   The only place you'll be able to see anything is the reservoir, but I got to thinking that a little color there wouldn't hurt.    Will have to ponder over that a little more to decide if it would be worth it or not.
 
Other thing I need to do is sit down and diagram out how I want to route the loop so that I can get an idea about what fittings I'll be needing.  Im thinking GPU>CPU>Radiators to keep things tidy.  Everything I've read and watched seemed to indicate that it didn't really make a difference on temps regardless of how you route the loop. 

There are a lot of opinions about how you should run your loop. Many recommend having the flow come from the pump and then to a radiator to cool it before sending the coolant to your video boards or CPU because they claim that the pump also transfers heat to the coolant. I decided I didn't want scalding hot water going to my res/pump combo unit so I send coolant directly from the pump to my video boards before traveling through the Monsta 360. After that the CPU is next in line before going through a 240 mm radiator to get cooled some more before heading back to the reservoir. I tried it both ways and this way gives me a 3 to 4 degree drop in temps. I use Swiftech's coolant concentrate which gives the coolant visible through my dual bay reservoir window a green tint. Using colored coolant generally stains your loop and gunks things up from what I have been told and is why I choose to stay away from it myself. My hoses are all black and the reservoir window is the only place I can see it anyway.

That Monsta 360 gives me a lot of cooling. I used to have my CPU on a Swiftech H220 and a separate loop for my video boards using just the 240 mm radiator and the air coming out of that was hot enough to cause blisters on your hand if you held it under there long enough. Adding the Monsta 360 dropped my temps 10 to 12 degrees minimum and now the air is only warm. Even the window on my reservoir is cool to the touch where it used to be like touching the glass door on my toaster. I went with the parallel terminal block because I was in a hurry and nobody had a serial terminal block in stock. I got better results when I had my video boards in a serial config where both boards had equal temps. Now that I have the parallel terminal on there my bottom video board runs hotter than the top one. I'll have to try and find a serial terminal block and change it out. Maybe I'll splurge and spend the extra money for a plexiglas terminal so I can see my coolant flowing around.

I've been happy with my custom loop using 2 - 120 X 45 X 360 - Alphacool XT45 Rad
 
D5 Pump to bottom 360 Rad to Dual EVGA Titan X GPUs (parallel)
 
Up to CPU, then Up to top 360 Rad, Down to Reservoir and back to pump
 
The Alphacool Rads have 6 - G1/4 threads, this allowed me to incorporate my drain very easily.

I have a drain plug in the bottom of the Monsta 360 radiator that sits at the lowest point in my loop so draining the rad is no problem. I decided to use the two top ports for flow in and out of my EK terminal block so I can take the plug out of the lower side of that and drain the res and video board blocks too.

I tried for both looks and ease of access so I didn't look like an idiot when I was finished. The jury is still out on whether I succeeded or not. I tried to avoid all 90° bends and keep all hoses as short and direct as possible. That port on the lower right side of the EK terminal as a drain was an added bonus for using the top outlet. EK recessed the threads and required an adapter sleeve to use that port but I was in a hurry and rather than wait for an adapter sleeve I clamped my G-1/4 barbed fitting in a vise and filed the points off of the edges. I could still grip it with pliers to tighten it and it isn't leaking so I guess I did a good enough job of improvising. I also added some hard foam blocks between some of the hoses to keep them from making contact with each other. I noticed when I had my H220 when its hoses contacted the video board loop's hoses the temps rose significantly on my CPU so they can pass heat to each other.

Nice case,
 
Hope you get some sleep & not up all night building that beast.
 
Look forward to you updates
 
 

Thanks guys.   
 
This build is actually going to take awhile.  Like several months.   First because I need to completely disassemble and reassemble my current box AmmoCan (aka BMovie) with older parts so that I have a working PC.  That reassembled PC will then get turned into a Steambox and get moved downstairs to the TV when the Beast project is complete.    But before that can happen several things need to get done.   I need to buy a video card(s) for AmmoCan as the ones in it will be going into the WC project.   And I need to sleeve two power supplies.  Well actually, I need to sleeve three.  But the third one can wait.   It will be a slow process mainly because I really don't enjoy sleeving things, but also because I've found that if I hurry, I tend to screw up.   Plus I still need to order more parts.  I still need fittings, at least two fan distribution blocks and a fan controller and more sleeve.  Plus about a half a dozen other things that keep slipping my mind... Like the upper reservoir clamp I keep forgetting about.
 
So I'll be kicking over to the Mods Rigs thread shortly to document the whole over complicated process.  Hopefully I won't disappoint with my lack of mad modding skills.  But I do my best.  

The more things change, the more they don't really stay the same.  
 
Looks like I'm going to need some new GPU water blocks.  

Zuhl3156
You might as well get the best: https://www.ekwb.com/configurator/
 

10% discount till end of the month - with the "secret code"

IDK about the stock backplate but the EK backplate is machined and has thermal pads to help cool the VRAM and VRM. Mine does and it does draw a lot of heat away from the back of the video board.

Dukman
Plus it looks sexier than the stock one.   But I was looking for a way to save 100.00.  

Are those backplates that expensive? I think mine were only around $25 or maybe $35 at the most.