Mock-ups?

[DHR]

I've had an itch to do a water cooled build for years, simply because I've never done it. I've never had an AIO either so it's totally new to me.

Is there any way of planning and mocking up a watercooled build visually?

I'm still scratching the surface, considering flex vs hard pipe work etc. but from a layout and aesthetics perspective, it'd be nice to be able to mock something up. Can't lie people saying its too expensive these days are putting me off a little! I presume pre-owned blocks etc are a bad idea too.

I don't game on a PC much anymore but when I do it's nice having something there that'll do what I want, although great, my 6600k is starting to suffer from a bit of old age now and lack of Win11 support is starting to grate a little. My plan was to go down the pre-owed route but buy some new water cooling gear so if I trash components, I trash them - lesson learnt I've got it out of my system!

 

[SirConfused]

It depends how crafty you are and if you have the case you're going to use already. I've only ever gone as far as getting a picture of the case and using paint to draw the component locations in to try and figure out tubing runs, but if you're really keen (and have the case) then you could make cardboard cutouts or something to fit things in place and see how much space it takes up etc.

First time out, I would recommend soft tubing as it's far more forgiving.

Pre-owned blocks from the MM here are probably going to be fine. If you went as far as fleabay or gumtree then you'd be taking more of a risk imo. Getting a block to fit a 6600k might be difficult though as the mounting mechanism might be hard to track down if someone doesn't happen to have one lying about unused already!

As for Win11, I wouldn't bother with it just yet... you're not missing out on anything and it still has the occasional issue come up which makes me regret moving to it .

 

[DHR]

Thanks @SirConfused yeah I was going to replace the board and CPU as part of this.

I may go down the route of an AIO given some of the threads on here of late, does take some of the fun and risk out of it all though!

Just always had that dream of a purple/green/UV setup

Edit - Already have a case ready to go, just nothing else.

 

[SirConfused]

If you want to go into it for the aesthetics and you have the budget, then absolutely go nuts. There are plenty of people on this form and further afield that have some absolutely beautiful builds to inspire your project.

If you just want the performance and quiet of water and you only want to cool the CPU without the option of adding your GPU to the loop at some point in the future, then an AIO will absolutely do the job.

Having tried the UV stuff back in the day, I can confirm that it absolutely does work (and imo, looked great), however for me it only lasted maybe ~4-6 months before the fluid lost its shine. It's entirely possible to just change the fluid every few months, but be aware that you might end up in that situation.

 

[dave28]

imagination or drawing it i guess, how can you mock up what you dont have.

the case is the annoying part, i have two watercooling systems ( yes i get bored lol ) and i modified both cases.

i have always used quality soft tubing and compression fitting because they have never once leaked in my systems so i stick with it.

 

[Mcnumpty2323]

Go to ek configurator
Input your cpu,gpu,motherboard and pc case etc
It tells you what you need
Think it tells you what position for rads
Might even give a diagram not used it for a while
Also look in the watercooled gallery forum section
For builds with your pc case

But yes from scratch with no parts
Laying around you can reuse
It's most definitely expensive
Especially if you care about the aesthetics of it
Example would be fittings
Some nice ek quantum torque fittings
For my last build averaged around £8 each
X20 fittings you start to get the idea
A nice distro and d5 pump several hundred quid
Some nice radiators
Several hundred quid more
Gpu block anywhere from 100 if you're lucky
To several hundred for some of the new ek ones
On so on

Second hand blocks
Shouldn't be an issue
Cracked acrylic or blocked micro fins
Would be only worries really
The micro fins can be cleaned out

If you just want the cooling aspect
And don't care what it looks like
MM you could pick up the bits at a fraction
Of the cost of new stuff
Though it may not all match lookwise

 

[Drumroll]

Search your case + custom loop. Most will be hard tubing, as people tend to like them more.
You can always change things for your taste, but knowing what others have managed to do with the same blank canvas you got, is a start.
Tight space/overpopulated cases may look cool but not advised for a first build.
The hardest part is ordering fittings. More specifically angled fittings, as you should have a clear idea of how you will do your run. But you can always return any surplus, as ok g you don’t damage them.
As the main offender in my build is the GPU, I tend to use top exhaust (radiator) just after the GPU, just an example.
Watercooling on and off for 15+ years, never bothered with hard tubing. They do look good, and are almost a “necessity” if using a distro plate, for the looks, but personally, nothing beats the ZMT and some nickel fittings. Or if you want so see the coolant, some clear tubing from Maybems or EK is fine. Never had issues with yellowing, but some of them may require replacement if using coloured coolant, as they may get stained.
In the past some tubing would cause issues with plasticizer. Not so common now.
Solid coolant looks cool, but every now and then some dodgy batch may split. Used EL solid either, no issue. RGB is good with solid white. Used some mayhems solid white and taking apart a bay reservoir, all blocks and flush the radiators wasn’t fun. They discontinued it shortly after.
At the moment using air as I’m happy with the performance and noise.
The weak link was the GPU, but the 4080 is much better than the 3080 I used before. Oversized cooler, less power, cooler and quieter.

 

[DHR]

I hear you on fittings.

Even at the age I am now, bucket list learnings desired... committing how to understand pipe, plumbing, tube dimensions from memory.

Drives me mental!!!

 

[Drumroll]

I’ve always used 10/16.
Worked for me because the smallest case I’ve ever used for watercooling was the O11D Evo. Other cases: Lancool 3, O11D XL, Corsair 7000d, Enthoo Primo and a custom desk.

 

[cavemanoc]

PC building simulator is surprisingly good for this if you are using a case they have. Effectively lets you do exactly what you want, even using parts of your choice.

 

[SirConfused]

PC building simulator is surprisingly good for this if you are using a case they have. Effectively lets you do exactly what you want, even using parts of your choice.

Does it let you use a dremel though?

 

[cavemanoc]

It is a real shame that the free build mode doesn't seem to have much freedom - I tried to do the mock up for my wall build in it and gave up in frustration (had to use PowerPoint of all things in the end!) - It could be such a fantastic tool if they opened up the free play a bit more.