Water cooling on a budget

[britain4]

I’m in this hobby on a tight budget generally as I have plenty of other expensive ones to suck my money away lol. Therefore my current rig I’ve just (re)built roughly resembles a top of the line one from 3-4 years ago. One thing I am into is overclocking but the coolers I have are holding me back.

Now I do have a Corsair H60 for the CPU which is really good for what it is but won’t let me go much higher on voltages than I am now without hitting the 90C mark under full load. The GPU is a reference 780 ti so gets pretty toasty and loud even at stock speeds.

Bearing those two factors in mind I have had 2 ideas for cooling - first one is to upgrade the CPU cooler to a 240mm AIO and fit the H60 to the GPU using the bracket.

Second idea is to pick up a low cost water cooling kit for both CPU and GPU a la the “Glowry” kit available from a well known online retailer

With the first option I would obviously need space for 2 rads which would be a squeeze could be done, and I’m at the mercy of Corsair (or someone) to bring out a new bracket for whatever GPU I upgrade to in the future

Second option would hopefully see me set up with a reasonable loop and 1 rad and would be neater but the very low cost kind of casts doubt in my mind about the quality of the parts? But then again what is there to go wrong more so than a £50 AIO cooler like a Coolermaster Seidon?

Third option is just to get a 240mm AIO for the CPU and get a better air cooler for the GPU but that doesn’t seem worth it on a £100 card if I can’t transfer it when I upgrade it

 

[Methos]

i'd go with your gut on that one... the low cost, especially for the fittings and pump quality, would really put me off

when it comes to liquid cooling, you don't want to scrimp when it comes to the fittings... 90% of the time, if a leak is going to happen, it's going to happen with them.

you'd probably be best going for an AIO to start with, but you could go for something like the Alphacool Esibaer 240 that will allow you to extend it with other radiators / equipment down the line for a more customised loop.

 

[harvey.l12]

I would much rather save up the money to do proper water build with all decent and new parts. Water cooled isn't something you can always do well for cheap unfortunately.

 

[britain4]

i'd go with your gut on that one... the low cost, especially for the fittings and pump quality, would really put me off

when it comes to liquid cooling, you don't want to scrimp when it comes to the fittings... 90% of the time, if a leak is going to happen, it's going to happen with them.

you'd probably be best going for an AIO to start with, but you could go for something like the Alphacool Esibaer 240 that will allow you to extend it with other radiators / equipment down the line for a more customised loop.

Yeah thought so. I could test it out and see how the fittings go on and replace them with better ones if I need to, likewise the pump, and it’d still work out hugely cheaper than getting all “branded” parts... I’m guessing the tubing is much of a muchness but does the quality of the rad/water blocks matter to a huge degree in terms of reliability?

I would much rather save up the money to do proper water build with all decent and new parts. Water cooled isn't something you can always do well for cheap unfortunately.

So would I but if I saved up enough money to do that I’d end up spending it on something else it’s kind of a secondary hobby

If I’m not going down the route of the cheap kit anyone have any suggestions on the best cooling solution for a £100 GPU that is either very cheap or transferable to the next one when I upgrade? (Corsair currently only make brackets for up to the 980 so I don’t fancy relying on that)

Arctic do some nice air coolers but it’s spending £45 on something that’ll only fit what is now a 4 year old card...

 

[harvey.l12]

Not massively familiar with water cooling with GPU... not something I have done myself yet. I'm full water cooling my next build. Sorry bud, there will be others on here that can answer your question though

 

[Methos]

yes, reliability is definitely a factor with blocks

got to think that everywhere there is a screw in for a fitting... between tubes, 2 on the blocks, 2 on the pumps... each one is a possible point of failure or leak

cheap blocks can have quality issues or cheap threading which could lead to leaks more often than more reputable blocks.

when it comes to putting that much liquid in your computer and directly over your CPU / motherboard, paying the extra for decent quality will see you much better in the long run than cheap parts that cut corners to meet the budget

 

[britain4]

Not massively familiar with water cooling with GPU... not something I have done myself yet. I'm full water cooling my next build. Sorry bud, there will be others on here that can answer your question though

No problem thank you anyway!

yes, reliability is definitely a factor with blocks

got to think that everywhere there is a screw in for a fitting... between tubes, 2 on the blocks, 2 on the pumps... each one is a possible point of failure or leak

cheap blocks can have quality issues or cheap threading which could lead to leaks more often than more reputable blocks.

when it comes to putting that much liquid in your computer and directly over your CPU / motherboard, paying the extra for decent quality will see you much better in the long run than cheap parts that cut corners to meet the budget

Fair enough I won’t take the risk then. Idea of full loop is dead in the water then (like my PC if I installed the cheap kit by the sounds of it lol)

If I would need to spend a lot of money I would rather not go with a custom loop as I would rather just put the money towards something else. Then there’s the factor that I don’t have room for more than a 240mm rad and I’m not sure that would really be enough...

 

[trawetSluaP]

Have you considered a kit from EK?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...-performance-water-cooling-kit-wc-9ex-ek.html

IMO the EK stuff is good. In that kit you get everything you need.

You also have the benefit of it being up-gradable should you want to.

 

[Methos]

the EK sets are definitely trustworthy... but you can see the price difference between the EK one and the Glowry one

honestly for budget, i'd go with an AIO or an extendable AIO that you can upgrade down the line

a custom loop is something that you do need to sink some money into... £260 for a kit is pretty much the minimum i'd say for CPU and GPU in one loop... and that doesn't even go into custom fittings, larger reservoir, or larger / extra radiators

 

[britain4]

The EK kits don’t seem like bad value at all... might try pricing that up, don’t think that GPU block will fit on my card...

What puts me off the “Glowry” one apart from anything else is that sounds like one of the generic brand names they put on the super cheap no-name Chinese products rather than an actual company

Maybe I should consider the route of upgrading from the H60 on the CPU and using that on the GPU but then when I upgrade the GPU theres no guarantee I’ll be able to get a bracket so I’ll have a bracket and a H60 I can’t use and a GPU with no water cooling....

I’ll have a look into the EK kits like I say, they seem pretty good value really...

 

[doyll]

If H60 "is really good," then by comparison a top tier air cooler must be extremely good. Google 'TRUE Spirit 140 Power' and see what you find. They can be had for around 50 quid and cool as well as any other top tier cooler .. or Le Grand Macho RT .. or PH-TC14PE for £59.99 .. or NH-U14S for £62.99 .. or NH-D14 for £70.99. If you have a couple of good fans Black Genesis is £59.99.

All are significantly better than H60, and will have a decent used resale value later on.

 

[trawetSluaP]

If H60 "is really good," then by comparison a top tier air cooler must be extremely good. Google 'TRUE Spirit 140 Power' and see what you find. They can be had for around 50 quid and cool as well as any other top tier cooler .. or Le Grand Macho RT .. or PH-TC14PE for £59.99 .. or NH-U14S for £62.99 .. or NH-D14 for £70.99. If you have a couple of good fans Black Genesis is £59.99.

All are significantly better than H60, and will have a decent used resale value later on.

Top Tier air coolers are very good, and I agree that 9 times out of 10 they are or par with AIOs but just keep in mind they tend to be massive. They also won't be able to compete with a custom loop, but then that also can take up a lot of space!

 

[doyll]

Top Tier air coolers are very good, and I agree that 9 times out of 10 they are or par with AIOs but just keep in mind they tend to be massive. They also won't be able to compete with a custom loop, but then that also can take up a lot of space!

Yeah, I hear that a lot, but reality is the area of a radiator, fans and hoses that 'one size fits none' being forced to fit take up just as much if not more cubic cm. Only real difference is cooler fits everything over CPU.

Besides, the space isn't being used by anything else .. maybe RAM interference, but I've see that being a problem with CLC's too.

 

[trawetSluaP]

Yeah, I hear that a lot, but reality is the area of a radiator, fans and hoses that 'one size fits none' being forced to fit take up just as much if not more cubic cm. Only real difference is cooler fits everything over CPU.

Besides, the space isn't being used by anything else .. maybe RAM interference, but I've see that being a problem with CLC's too.

That's exactly where the size issue can come into play. For example, I have tall RAM that leaves most large tower coolers incompatible. Also, some cases may not be wide enough to cater for a tall tower cooler.

I also think AIOs and loops look a lot better than air coolers but that is just down to personal preference.

 

[doyll]

That's exactly where the size issue can come into play. For example, I have tall RAM that leaves most large tower coolers incompatible. Also, some cases may not be wide enough to cater for a tall tower cooler.

I also think AIOs and loops look a lot better than air coolers but that is just down to personal preference.

Sorry, but you are simply rationalizing. NH-U14S, TRUE Spirit 140 Power, NH-D15, NH-D15S, all clear RAM in front and behind CPU. For motherboard with RAM only in front of CPU coolers like R1 Universal, Le Grand Macho, etc. can be added to the list .. and with a little forethought and getting normal height RAM instead of RAM with tall 'foo-foo' fake heat spreaders that some think look nice .. but I don't .. and have RAM a height that isn't an issue fitting under cooler and/or front fan.

I am borderline at hating anything that is CLC, but that is because of their poor quality, noisy pumps that at best sound like there's a big aquarium in the room, etc. That said, I'm using a be quiet! Silent Loop on one of my many systems and like it .. a lot .. and I've heard Swiftech are quiet too. Still, I can just barely hear the pump when it's really quiet in the house.

 

[britain4]

I had considered the air coolers when I first got my H60 but I thought that the comparable performance air coolers looked so obnoxious i went for the H60 for looks rather than having a massive chunk of metal hanging off my motherboard

I’m not that fussy about many things aesthetics wise but the gigantic air coolers aren’t for me sorry! Plus they must put a lot of stress on the board which can’t be good for anything. I can’t hear the pump in my H60 at all even with my head next to it, had to make sure it was definitely running lol.

I’m definitely ready for the performance of a proper watercooling loop now though but I don’t want to throw a lot of money at it and I’m seriously apprehensive about using cheaper parts in such a thing, my PC isn’t worth a lot compared to most on here but I’d be gutted if anything got zapped due to a shonky water cooling system.

 

[trawetSluaP]

You may not like those "foo foo" heat spreaders but I do. I think Corsair Dominator RAM looks a lot better tan you average RAM stick so for me large towers would be incompatible, such as my favourite - the Phanteks unit you use in you sig.

Swiftech do make good coolers as they tend to come with a PWM pump. I won't go near a AIO/CLC if the pump speed isn't controllable.

Good thing about a custom loop is you can buy it over time, for example, if you're happy with the performance the H60 provides for your CPU then why not purchase the required watercooling parts needed to cool your GPU. Then at a late date when you have the funds you can add you CPU to the loop.

 

[britain4]

I quite like the heatspreaders too lol, mainly for aesthetics, never looked into whether or not they do anything for cooling but it would be nice if they did for overclocking purposes

That is an idea just doing the GPU for now... putting the CPU block in would probably end up waiting until the first coolant change lol...

Since the 902 isn't designed with water cooling in mind at all and I'm too tight to buy a new case it would probably end up being a 360mm rad at the back jobbie which I sort of don't mind the look of and it seems better for cooling than putting it inside the case anyway

So what would we advise in my shoes.. get the air cooler for the GPU and eat the £40 cost.. fit the H60 to the GPU and eat the £30 cost of the bracket with no guarantee I'll get a bracket for my next GPU... or just go for a full EK loop (I'm not going any further than that with it cost wise)?

 

[trawetSluaP]

It's your choice at the end of the day.

The question is do you have the funds for a custom loop because ultimately that is what will provide the best cooling and (imo) look the best.

 

[britain4]

It's your choice at the end of the day.

The question is do you have the funds for a custom loop because ultimately that is what will provide the best cooling and (imo) look the best.

Yeah absolutely just curious what others would do in my shoes. I think I might have to just bite the bullet and go for the water cooling. Plus I could reuse and add to a lot of the gear I buy now when I upgrade components rather than it becoming obsolete which is a big thing for me.

I agree on your two points and also it looks like a lot of fun!