I finally found an EK full coverage water block for one of my MSI GTX-980 Gaming 4G video boards. I only have room for my single 240mm radiator as far as I can see right now. What's the best way to route the flow from the pump? CPU to rad then video board sending the hot water to the reservoir or CPU to GPU then rad to res? By the time I can afford a water block for my other 980 I might be able to figure out how to squeeze a 120 rad where my air exhausts the upper rear of my case. After that I think I can ideally send water to the CPU, 120 rad, video boards, 240 rad and back to the res.

I'm starting to think it might not matter since the coolant temp is probably uniform throughout the loop. I'm gonna shoot it straight into the CPU then into the GPU. After that I'll go into the rad and back into the res. I might even spring for the second waterblock on Monday. Nobody stocks the backplate which troubles me a little bit. IDK if the boards will start to sag from the weight without it. What I find encouraging is this build where he is doing all of his cooling with just a 120mm radiator: http://forums.evga.com/hi-x99-build-with-4-titian-m2361827.aspx
I have a 240mm radiator and only two GTX-980s. http://www.ncixus.com/products/?sku=106134&vpn=3831109830413&manufacture=EK%20Water%20Blocks
When my RMA replacement video board gets here Thursday along with at least one waterblock I'll be able to really crank out some Folding points. Woohoooo! Sorry, I get giddy just thinking about it!!

You have come to the correct conclusion component placement with in a loop matters little once temps normalize. However I'd be more concerned about air flow through rads and flow rate/restrictions which can make all the difference in the world in terms of how well a loop performs. One without the other will results with an unsatisfactory outcome.
 
Water blocks, fittings, tubing, and length of loop all play a role with restriction. 90 degree fitting being the most restrictive but so too are flow rate indicators and even some reservoirs. Some say loop flow going through a rad slower has a beneficial effect, I say hogwash because it it also lingering in that restrictive block where the source of heat is, hence building more heat that needs dissipated, plus it causes the pump to work harder, which is another source of heat in a loop, working harder equals more heat. Bottom line IMHO best flow rate you can get makes for a happy camper.   
 
Type of fans and how they are attenuated and filtered, if carefully selected and implemented, make a huge difference. If you have excellent coolant flow rate loop and are not getting rid of the heat because there isn't enough air flowing over the radiator fins, which is what dissipates the heat, you've accomplished Nada. So again I say one is as important as the other.
 

The Swiftech is good with little to no pressure, and Noctuas are good, but there are better fans out there, however with this setup I do not see an issue at all, this should run well.
 
Now to what Owcraftsman said he is right on the money.  If you are going for absolute best numbers, I have seen 1-3c drop on a component by messing with the order of things, but largely it is all the same.  The fan is just as important as the restriction level, having a fan that is not paired well to the radiator, like the old Feser Monsta, that thing was HUGE, and I have seen them in action with top notch fans, however I kept seeing "reviews" showing terrible performance, then you look at the fan and you have a CM R4 on it, no static pressure at all.  Restrictions are killers so is not enough airflow/pressure through your rads, as with everything, it's all about balance.

I decided to keep the CPU on the Swiftech H220 and make a separate loop for the video boards hoping for better results.
Step #1 was to stuff the 240mm radiator in the bottom of my case and it was a chore. The lighting didn't let me take a really good pic:
 

 
One video board down and one to go whenever NCIX's shipment gets here:
 

 

 

 
 
 

It looks like I got a reprieve until Tuesday since my coils didn't arrive today as scheduled. That's what I hate about Performance PCs. Their shipping is way overpriced and slower than snailsnot.

hallowen

Zuhl3156
It looks like I got a reprieve until Tuesday since my coils didn't arrive today as scheduled. That's what I hate about Performance PCs. Their shipping is way overpriced and slower than snailsnot.

 
I used to like dealing with Frozenpc.com before They got all messed up. It's getting hard to find/buy any aftermarket products anymore at the remaining sites that still offer fair pricing/shipping for their services.

Amazon is starting to carry some more specialty watercooling parts. That's where I got my Swiftech pump/res combo, radiator, hoses and clamps. I had a bunch of links to parts at FrozenCPU but never ordered anything and then suddenly everyone was telling horror stories about them. There is a new site I think it's called MyMods in NY but they're new so I went with Performance PCs. I've had this project hanging for 7 weeks because MSI sent me a bum video board. This is the stuff that Freddy Krueger movies are made of.
 
EDIT: Amazon has these now and their Prime eligible. http://www.amazon.com/PrimoChill-Anti-Kink-Coils-4in-Pearl/dp/B000ZEICBA/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1440863796&sr=8-20&keywords=anti-kink+coils
 

Amazons coils are Prime eligible. I would have had them a week ago but they didn't have them in stock last week. OMG, every time I look in my PC I think of Beetlejuice!
Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice!!!

Zuhl3156
Performance PCs does it again. Not only did they send the wrong size but the wrong color too. I ordered the 3/4" and got the 5/8" on the left. I reordered the 3/4" so I wouldn't have to wait and they sent 1/2" shown on the right. Performance PCs will never see another nickel from me. If anyone here is dumb enough to buy from them you'll get what you deserve not what you ordered.
 

 

I have never had an issue with them.... I didn't have issues with aquacomputer and after multiple complaints, AC corrected their issue and the whole time Performance was there to help.

I am sorry to hear your aren't having good luck with them.

They will get back to you I have no doubt just be patient but that's the one thing I hate about them when they make a mistake they make you pay for it. I've made many many orders over the years from them and occasionally rare really they make a mistake and make you pay to return it. When it 's a $5 part it's hardly worth it and you are basically forced to eat it and reorder. They really need to change that policy. I've almost swore them off a few times but I can use there cheapest shipping method USPS and still have it in no more than 2 days since I'm not to far away (150 miles) which keeps me coming back for more. 

WOW, that's rough.  I have had a few problems with them, had to go back and forth 3 times to get them to understand "I ordered waterblocks for EVGA E758/E768 motherboard, here is the invoice that states this, you sent me blocks for a E760/770 Classified, these a re wrong"  they kept telling me I did it wrong and ordered the wrong item.  After several days, they got it fixed.  Honestly I have ordered a LOT through them over the years, and their mistake rate is low, but when they screw up it all  "NOPE, you did it wrong we aren't covering you" kinda crap. The worst was actually I had a BitsPower Rotary fitting leak like crazy out of the box, leaked form the rotary portion.  I still rave about those, had one bad item in YEARS of components, but BitsPower said oh sorry, work with the vendor and get it replaced, PerformancePCs said no go through BitsPower...... had to email both BitsPower said go through them, then PPC wanted me to pay for shipping.  In the end 99% of what I ordered was without issue.
Honestly I had WAY more problems with some others, likely shouldn't say in public as I am a company rep here, no reply for weeks at a time, tons of emails, finally sent an ANGRY email, still professional, but rather angry as they were sitting on several hundred dollars, all I got was "wow, that was quite a rant.  TLDR, whats the problem?" 
 
Aside from Amazon, where else are you looking for your WC gear at?  The market has thinned in that area quite a bit over the last few years, so I am always onm the lookout for the next new shop to get all my stuff from.

OK, here we go again...
Finally got the right anti-kink coils from Amazon yesterday. Still nothing from Performance PCs in the mail today. The moral of the story is if you want something and need your parts in a timely fashion do NOT get them from Performance PCs. It actually took longer getting the coils on the hoses than assembling the rest of the loop. The radiator was already installed in the bottom of my case.
 
1) Here are my video boards with the EK waterblocks attached and the Swiftech pump/res unit trembling in fear waiting for me to get around to installing them...
 

 

3) Here we have everything assembled waiting for me to muster up enough courage to fire it up and hope there aren't any leaks...
 

 

5) Here is the finished result with no leaks and everything purring like a kitten...
 

 

hallowen
 
Have you had a chance to run any Games/Benches and check any temps under load yet?

I just ran my benchmarks again. I used the 355.82 drivers and ramped my voltage as high as I could in Afterburner at +87v for a total of 1.262v at full load. I gained 26 MHz on my core clock without changing anything else. I'm sure I can get higher overclocks now. I just got my best scores yet with temps in Firestrike peaking at 42°C and 3DMark11 temps peaking at 47°C with core clocks boosting to 1526 MHz. That's better than a 30° decrease on my primary board. I just updated my Mods/Rigs page with the latest scores. There was no throttling at all like I was getting on air. I know my scores will go up even higher if I use k-boost.