Hello people,
 
I am new to water cooling, hence why for starters I chose XSPC RASA 750 RX240 kit. for now it will have to do, in future some parts would get upgraded (pump upgrade as I read is a must), maybe a better cpu block (e.g. Raystorm or Koolance) and maybe loop extension and adding another rad and gpu blocks? you tell me if another rad would be needed (and a stronger pump I think) for adding 2 gpus into the loop. possibilities are endless, however for now my wallet has the last word and the poor guy looks thin nowadays ... anyways I have just ordered this kit, so it will be a few days before it arrives.
 
The RASA RX240 kit comes with (main components):
-res+pump together X20 750
-RASA Black (acetal) CPU block
-RX240 rad with some 2x 1700rpm push fans (plus I add my 2x Scythe S-Flex 1900rpm for pull)
-2m/6ft of clear 7/16'' tubing and 6 barbs G1/4'' 1/2'' OD
 
I made an initial drawing of how my water cooling idea looks alike as visualized in my Thermaltake Armor (VA8000) case, I marked all components so you have a better idea why I picked such component locations and not other.
I prefer not to use rear/outside mounted rad for now (maybe a second one would go there) and keep everything in case.
 

My main question is what else could I add to the loop while keeping the same stock X20 750 pump and RX240 rad that come with the kit, without sacrificing the performance badly? MB chipset and bridge and nothing else?
 
Also, can I use the Koolance Inline Drain on the rad inlet tube without any side effects? I mean this part (brass):
http://www.koolance.com/i...uct&product_id=739
 
Planning to use the system with stock clear tubing (7/16'' on 1/2'' barbs) with distilled water and silver anti-bacterial additive. I am not going for looks now, it just has to do its job efficiently (cooling the 2600k CPU for now, eventually an IVB CPU).
 
Thanks for ideas and opinions! I really appreciate any input.

EVGATech_DaveB

The pump can go with 1-2 more devices, but I really wouldnt trry to add any more in with only a 240 RAD, ESPECIALLY if you plan to overclock.
Would it heat to the point of worrying about damage, no, but you will overload the system and not have the capacity to cool it as well as you want.

 
OK, I see thank you. yes I do plan on overclocking the CPU heavily, not for daily use, but rather for fun. as for daily OC I want to settle at 4.8GHz.
 
so basically I could use it with let's say a chipset+bridge block (1-2 extra components) and that's it in current setup.
if I wanted more (e.g. adding 2x 570 gpus to the loop) I would need to upgrade the pump and probably add another 240 high density rad (e.g. at the back of case, outside), correct?
 
what pump could handle the load of such upgraded setup? I read that Swiftech MCP355 (maybe with 655 top) can fit the XSPC res, am I correct or I misread?
 
can anybody list pumps (with tops if possible) that fit the dual bay XSPC reservoir? I'd like to keep such info for future reference. pump upgrade would the first to go, probably in 6 months, when I drain it for the first time.

Thanks for suggestions hatchetrunner. I looked at those products and they seem great I agree.
However I wanted to keep it under $200 so I went with rasa rx240. I'm planning to upgrade the pump and buy new blocks for cpu and perhaps gpus somewhere down the road when I have more money. Then I could also buy ex240 rad as secondary if its that good.

For now, the rx240 parts are coming in by weekend, but I won't be able to touch it until the next one. Thanks for chiming in.

It is best to go 120mm for every component to get the best cooling.

updated above post with new diagram (future project, not for now) showing 2 rads and 4 blocks in a single loop. Of course the pump would be different a that point even though diagram says it would run the stock 750lph pump, I just forgot to change it.
 
I was thinking about upgrading my stock pump down the road to Alphacool VPP655 (rated at 1500lph vs stock pump 750lph), it should fit the XSPC dual bay res as I see those 2 products installed together, e.g. here:
http://www.heatsinkfactory.com/xspc-vpp655.html
 

jh4db536

How is this priced cmpared to the swiftech kit?

Swiftech 240 or 360 radiator combo block, res and pump will save you fittings, hose, take up less space and is totally expandable, think it comes with the newest apogee hd cpu block too.

Later down the road you could upgrade pump to 35x or add another radiator to the loop or gpu blocks.

 
for the initial setup with RASA cpu block, thick RX240 rad and cheapo 750 pump (includes hoses and fittings too) I paid a total of $174 including Fedex shipping to NJ.
I added a Koolance Inline Drain Valve with matching fittings for a total price of $24 shipped (separately).
 
I don't want to use 360 rads, because they are very long and even though it would fit still inside my case (intake area offers max 360 space when I loose the DVD-RW from there) I would have a problem with reservoir placement, would need to go with Swiftech Micro probably and mount it on the side, not to mention another problem with external pump placement somewhere.

I read that thick RX rads are actually pretty good and I can easily stuff it in the intake area along with dual bay pump+reservoir, rad thickness doesn't matter much over there.
 
same limitation (240 max) goes for the rear mounted rad, 360 would simply stand out very very high from the mounting point above main case exhaust. I also do not want to place the rad horizontally on top of case, because my cat tends to walk over my computer like it was a step on his way towards the open window nearby
When I reach the moment of expanding the loop with a second rad, I'd lean towards using a slimmer EX240 rad in the rear, the RX240 might be too bulky over there ...

thank you! My room ambients are pretty high as for NJ ... in Summer 27-28C is rather normal in my apartment, even with AC on during the day ...
 
I discovered one problem though ... it seems that XSPC RASA CPU backplate will NOT fit the Z68 motherboard ... need to contact FrozenCPU, maybe I will be able to swap this block (paying the difference and shipping only) with Raystorm block which has 100x better backplate ...
 
RASA block backplate, no way it fits Z68:

 
Raystorm block backplate, should fit easily, opening in center is huge:

 
back of EVGA z68 ftw board (not my pic):

loveha

I don't see what the issue is. The back plate normally lays on the CPU Socket retention plate. Unless there is something else I am missing.

 
there are 2 screws in top part of that retention socket and it seems they will be where the "arms" of backplate should be in top portion. the Rasa block backplate has no cutouts for such screws.
on OCN I read that many people could not get this installed on different Z68 boards, because of this backplate problem issue. some resolved it by using Corsair H50 backplate (if they had it) ... some others used dremel to widen the backplate opening (kinda hardcore way to fix it LOL!):
http://www.overclock.net/...240-360-kit-club/11220
 
I actually am working with FrozenCPU on the swap, seems I will be going with Raystorm CPU block after all (while keeping other components same) even though I now have to cover shipping both ways. Raystorm is getting better reviews, anyways, so it might be worth it regardless
 
EDIT:
after I ship Rasa block back to FrozenCPU it will come down to $13 for the cpu block upgrade (vs Raystorm Acetal) plus around another $13 for shipping both ways. Excellent customer service in FrozenCPU!

Need more pics.  Go go!

Good luck with the build! I recently went with the XSPC 360 kit and I'm very happy cooling a 2600K and dual 680's. The ray storm is a great CPU block.

MVanden, that tube going straight down from your GPU's, what is that connected to, if anything?

Ahhh ok cool, thanks for the clarification.

some pics
 
PIC1 system assembled before first fill, only pump connected to psu

 
pic2 rx240 rad mounted in intake area. it's held by foam on left right and bottom sides. on top it's held in place tight by an hdd bay insert (single slot)
 

 
pic3 raystorm water block (I know I am missing 2 zip ties)

 
pic4 res slid out for initial fill and bleeding:

 
pic5 all that's left, about a foot of 7/16'' hose (out of 6ft/2m) and 2 too small zip ties I ordered with Koolance drain valve:

 
took me from 9:30pm to roughly 1:00am to get to this point, now bleeding ever since.

one more question.
 
I ordered 2 extra tube clamps, 1/2'' OD, but of course I took too small ones as I see now. according to some compatibility chart (linked from frozencpu.com) I should have taken 3/4'' OD, is that right?

 
I'd like to pick them up locally in Microcenter tomorrow.
 
my tubing is 7/16'' ID and barbs are G1/4'' to 1/2''.

2 night shots