I ended up in the same boat when doing my original DA2 loop—ordered one set of fittings, and quickly realized it just wasn't going to work (an intersection of the actual fitting size, the difficulty of using compression fittings with ZMT, and general quality problems). I had to re-order everything, and invest in quite a few 90-degree options, as well as three pairs of QDCs.
Some folx are able to draft stuff in 3D, but the best I could do was some measurements, and some diagramming (
packing,
loop order).
If you have more questions about loop planning or the NR200, specifically, let me know.
(Psst! Keep an eye on
this thread for a great alternative to Alphacool's DC-LT options!)
Thanks for the tip about the pump/block! I've been following the Freeflo, but that project seems to have stalled a bit (probably too much else to do for its creators). This looks much closer to becoming a reality - if I had spotted it while beta orders were open, I would have gone for one, though I guess it'll be good to get whatever tweaks are made after beta testing included from the get-go. Of course with this I'd have to start researching good, quiet DDC pumps, but that can't be
that hard, and the total price would likely be cheaper than the LT Solo + DC-LT + Eisstation 40 res/top.
I'll make sure to ask if I have any questions, for now I need to start planning the loop. It'll mostly stay theoretical for a while yet, as I'll be waiting for Zen 3 CPUs and RDNA 2 to arrive before deciding on anything.
It's also great to hear I'm not the only one who has struggled with compression fittings and ZMT tubing! A couple of my fittings still have something like 1mm of threads still visible simply because tightening them further isn't possible. I'm considering going back to barbs this time around, as I have a bunch of those lying around - I switched to compression mainly for peace of mind + to not have to deal with hose clamps, but I'm reconsidering that decision - getting some worm gear hose clamps might be the best solution still.
Are you happy with your QDCs, by the way? It certainly looks like they fit decently on your end. I would want my GPU removable too, just for the sake of troubleshooting, future upgrades, etc., - with your loop, would there be room for another QDC somewhere along the line connecting the GPU to the bottom rad? Or would it interfere with side panels or something else? I'm thinking one of those 90° ones could fit on the bottom rad, though I guess the connecting part might interfere with the fans, GPU or something. Given that I want a 280 I'd also likely need to loop the second tube from my GPU all the way around to the front of the case, which raises the question of reordering the loop to avoid overlong tubing.
I've sketched out two different loop orders, most likely I'll have to figure out which works the best when I have the parts on hand. And, of course, getting 5 QDCs (I want a spare for filling/draining and the like) is going to cost a pretty penny.
Oh, and how much room for tubing is there between your side rad and the PSU? Would there be room for 25mm fans and a 30mm rad with ZMT tubing still squeezing past?
). I'm planning to get one of these, move my current EK PE 240mm to the bottom of the case (with slim fans) and replace the current 120mm rad I have with a 280 in the side. Also replacing my current EK pump/res combo with an Eisbaer LT Solo, possibly sticking a second Alphacool DC-LT 2600 somewhere else in the loop for some increased pressure. Getting the EK rotary terminal is definitely great advice, as is just seeing how it all comes together. I also now have two seemingly good options for getting some QDCs in there, which is greatly appreciated. I'll also definitely need to plan this out well to figure out what new fittings I need to get - the last time around I had to order new fittings twice, which caused me quite the delay. Do people draw this out on graph paper or make scale-accurate 3D models to figure this out? Or do they just have a million different fittings lying around?
