new to Custom Water cooling

[chris blackford]

hi looking to upgrade my cooling on main pc thinking of going Custom Water cooling have a few q's


Q1 how do you know what sized tubing you need?

Q2 do all the parts like rads and pump's water blocks come with all the bits you need like screws and the bits to connect to the tubing?

Q3 are there any parts or brands to stay away from?

Q4 what do you need to drain the loop?

Q5 do you need to buy any thing special too clean the loop?

Q6 can you mix parts and brands?

Q7 is it possable to have too meny rads?

 

[Chris Beard]

Q1 how do you know what sized tubing you need?

It depends on which fittings or barbs you use. The fittings and/or barbs must be large enough to form a watertight seal with the tubing.

Q2 do all the parts like rads and pump's water blocks come with all the bits you need like screws and the bits to connect to the tubing?

Nope - they may be missing a pump top, they are unlikely to include fittings and they may not include a reservoir (which is optional, but extremely common)

Q3 are there any parts or brands to stay away from?

Mixing Aluminium and Copper - or Aluminium and any other metal - is something many stay away from to avoid the hassle of galvanic corrosion; although most AIOs have mixed metals so it's not an absolute rule.

Everything I've bought - even banged up radiators off auction sites - have been watertight and worked well. With that said it might be best to stick to known brands such as EK if you're asking for a recommendation.

Q4 what do you need to drain the loop?

A drain ports helps, a lot. I lived without one for years and it is a quality-of-life upgrade I should have done long, long ago. You don't actually need anything other than patience to drain the loop. JayzTwoCents over on YouTube has a couple of vidoes where he drains a loop that might be worth a watch.

Q5 do you need to buy any thing special too clean the loop?

No - there's a recommendation of using something to clean rads before using them; normally people recommend a mix of vinigar and water followed by baking soda and water followed by water. Sometimes I do this, other times I don't bother; depends on where I got the watercooling stuff from. The 1080ti watercooled card I bought on the Memebers Marketplace was so obviously cleaned recently that I just plumbed it directly in (for example).

You can buy special cleaning kits - I think this is more relevant if you have used coloured fluid in the past or you get algea build up.

Q6 can you mix parts and brands?

See note above - but yes. I have EK, barrow, OCUK, Swifttech, monsoon that I can see just looking at my loop now.

Q7 is it possable to have too meny rads?

See these videos - Linus stacks some radiators & Jay builds a very big radiator (but no, no it's not)

 

[chris blackford]

It depends on which fittings or barbs you use. The fittings and/or barbs must be large enough to form a watertight seal with the tubing.



Nope - they may be missing a pump top, they are unlikely to include fittings and they may not include a reservoir (which is optional, but extremely common)



Mixing Aluminium and Copper - or Aluminium and any other metal - is something many stay away from to avoid the hassle of galvanic corrosion; although most AIOs have mixed metals so it's not an absolute rule.

Everything I've bought - even banged up radiators off auction sites - have been watertight and worked well. With that said it might be best to stick to known brands such as EK if you're asking for a recommendation.



A drain ports helps, a lot. I lived without one for years and it is a quality-of-life upgrade I should have done long, long ago. You don't actually need anything other than patience to drain the loop. JayzTwoCents over on YouTube has a couple of vidoes where he drains a loop that might be worth a watch.



No - there's a recommendation of using something to clean rads before using them; normally people recommend a mix of vinigar and water followed by baking soda and water followed by water. Sometimes I do this, other times I don't bother; depends on where I got the watercooling stuff from. The 1080ti watercooled card I bought on the Memebers Marketplace was so obviously cleaned recently that I just plumbed it directly in (for example).

You can buy special cleaning kits - I think this is more relevant if you have used coloured fluid in the past or you get algea build up.



See note above - but yes. I have EK, barrow, OCUK, Swifttech, monsoon that I can see just looking at my loop now.



See these videos - Linus stacks some radiators & Jay builds a very big radiator (but no, no it's not)

Q8 how do you know what fittings or barbs to use ? dose the rad or other part have certain size it needs or are all the in takes and out takes the same?

Q9 is it better to get a separate pump/ reservoir? or is the combo ones just as good?

Q10 are reservoir and Distro Plate the same thing?

 

[Chris Beard]

Q8 how do you know what fittings or barbs to use ? dose the rad or other part have certain size it needs or are all the in takes and out takes the same?

All fittings and barbs used for PC Watercooling have a screw thread that is BSP 1/4" - this is referred to in PC Watercooling circles as G1/4" or just G1/4 for reasons I do not properly understand. As a side note - standard plumbing equipment that is 1/4" BSP does screw into standard PC watercooling equipment. I don't recommend buying standard plumbing supplies however - often they won't have an o-ring or a lip where you need one.

The screw thread is how the fittings or barbs go into the waterblocks, reservoirs, pump, etc. The other part of the fittings or barbs are the bit that connects to the tubing.

To planely answer your question - no - the radiator (as long as it's a normal PC watercooling radiator and not a house radiator or car radiator/heatercore or half of an AIO or some crazy aluminium monstrocity produced by Thermaltake) does not have to be a specific size, they (normally) all take the same diameter screwthread.

Q9 is it better to get a separate pump/ reservoir? or is the combo ones just as good?

Makes no odds - the fashion now-a-days is to get a combo. I've always had them seperate because I'm cheap.

Q10 are reservoir and Distro Plate the same thing?

Yes, for the most part. A distro(bution) plate is a kind of reservoir - but not all reservoirs are distro plates.

The distro plate is typically used with hard tubing and allows for a 'cleaner' build. It has several ports that are designed to align with your GPU and CPU block to keep everything running in straight lines. A reservoir is there to protect your pump from running dry and to remove air bubbles.


//edit:
Q11 to Qn - please see this video from Jay:- Jay explains it all

Just kidding; ask away

//edit 2:
and this video from Jay:- Jay explains fittings

//edit 3:
and this video from Jay:- Jay explains it again, but new

//edit 4:
and this video from Linus:- Linus explains it, but really quickly

//edit 5:
and this forum section:- https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/community/watercooling.133/ (check out the stickies at the top, some are old but mostly still very relevant)

 

[chris blackford]

All fittings and barbs used for PC Watercooling have a screw thread that is BSP 1/4" - this is referred to in PC Watercooling circles as G1/4" or just G1/4 for reasons I do not properly understand. As a side note - standard plumbing equipment that is 1/4" BSP does screw into standard PC watercooling equipment. I don't recommend buying standard plumbing supplies however - often they won't have an o-ring or a lip where you need one.

The screw thread is how the fittings or barbs go into the waterblocks, reservoirs, pump, etc. The other part of the fittings or barbs are the bit that connects to the tubing.

To planely answer your question - no - the radiator (as long as it's a normal PC watercooling radiator and not a house radiator or car radiator/heatercore or half of an AIO or some crazy aluminium monstrocity produced by Thermaltake) does not have to be a specific size, they (normally) all take the same diameter screwthread.



Makes no odds - the fashion now-a-days is to get a combo. I've always had them seperate because I'm cheap.



Yes, for the most part. A distro(bution) plate is a kind of reservoir - but not all reservoirs are distro plates.

The distro plate is typically used with hard tubing and allows for a 'cleaner' build. It has several ports that are designed to align with your GPU and CPU block to keep everything running in straight lines. A reservoir is there to protect your pump from running dry and to remove air bubbles.


//edit:
Q11 to Qn - please see this video from Jay:- Jay explains it all

Just kidding; ask away

//edit 2:
and this video from Jay:- Jay explains fittings

//edit 3:
and this video from Jay:- Jay explains it again, but new

//edit 4:
and this video from Linus:- Linus explains it, but really quickly

ok thanks i did watch a lot of jay's watter cooling vid's dident see them one's tho i will check them out thanks,

Q11 i was just wondering if you got a massive case like the (Lian Li DK-05F) and wanted to use all rads and place's for the one pc would you need more than one pump to get the watter around?

 

[Chris Beard]

Q11 i was just wondering if you got a massive case like the (Lian Li DK-05F) and wanted to use all rads and place's for the one pc would you need more than one pump to get the watter around?

Assuming you have a D5 or DDC (a real one, not a knock off) then I'd be impressed if you need a second pump. I have 3 blocks, 4 radiators, multiple 90 degrees fittings and run my single D5 at 30% without affecting temps.

 

[alexkyriak]

Assuming you have a D5 or DDC (a real one, not a knock off) then I'd be impressed if you need a second pump. I have 3 blocks, 4 radiators, multiple 90 degrees fittings and run my single D5 at 30% without affecting temps.

Wish I’d read this a few months ago! Currently wrestling fine-tuning the acoustics of dual pumps same frequency resonance. Having to run one d5 slower that the other. On a system with slightly fewer components than you.

 

[Chris Beard]

Wish I’d read this a few months ago! Currently wrestling fine-tuning the acoustics of dual pumps same frequency resonance. Having to run one d5 slower that the other. On a system with slightly fewer components than you.

So - I know breaking down the loop is a complete PITA, but have you considered changing to dual loops?

Assuming the pumps are soft mounted and there isn't a short run from the pump to something that will rattle (e.g. CPU/GPU block) this may solve the issue.

 

[SpudMaster]

Wish I’d read this a few months ago! Currently wrestling fine-tuning the acoustics of dual pumps same frequency resonance. Having to run one d5 slower that the other. On a system with slightly fewer components than you.

Whats speeds do you have both pumps running at? If you have a smaller loop than Chris Beard but with 2 pumps cant you just run them bother very low. 30% max?

 

[alexkyriak]

I have been running them very low, 10-30% on a water temp based curve, with a slight offset between the two so one runs slower relative to the other to try to combat the resonance. Only problem has been the high ambient temperatures recently make it hard to judge how well it’s performing overall. Only recently built this pc when the heatwave was still on (note to self: don’t build water loop during heatwave…)

@Chris Beard good suggestion, sort of tempted to give that a go. My system is a soft tube and hard tube combo, but wouldn’t mind going fully soft tube.

 

[Chris Beard]

hard tube

hard tube is hard

 

[chris blackford]

All fittings and barbs used for PC Watercooling have a screw thread that is BSP 1/4" - this is referred to in PC Watercooling circles as G1/4" or just G1/4 for reasons I do not properly understand. As a side note - standard plumbing equipment that is 1/4" BSP does screw into standard PC watercooling equipment. I don't recommend buying standard plumbing supplies however - often they won't have an o-ring or a lip where you need one.

The screw thread is how the fittings or barbs go into the waterblocks, reservoirs, pump, etc. The other part of the fittings or barbs are the bit that connects to the tubing.

To planely answer your question - no - the radiator (as long as it's a normal PC watercooling radiator and not a house radiator or car radiator/heatercore or half of an AIO or some crazy aluminium monstrocity produced by Thermaltake) does not have to be a specific size, they (normally) all take the same diameter screwthread.



Makes no odds - the fashion now-a-days is to get a combo. I've always had them seperate because I'm cheap.



Yes, for the most part. A distro(bution) plate is a kind of reservoir - but not all reservoirs are distro plates.

The distro plate is typically used with hard tubing and allows for a 'cleaner' build. It has several ports that are designed to align with your GPU and CPU block to keep everything running in straight lines. A reservoir is there to protect your pump from running dry and to remove air bubbles.


//edit:
Q11 to Qn - please see this video from Jay:- Jay explains it all

Just kidding; ask away

//edit 2:
and this video from Jay:- Jay explains fittings

//edit 3:
and this video from Jay:- Jay explains it again, but new

//edit 4:
and this video from Linus:- Linus explains it, but really quickly

//edit 5:
and this forum section:- https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/community/watercooling.133/ (check out the stickies at the top, some are old but mostly still very relevant)

thanks for video links thay were very helpful

Q12 where would you put a drain valve on the Lian Li DK-05F Electrical Height Adjustable Desk Case - Black to make life easier to drain system?

 

[Chris Beard]

Q12 where would you put a drain valve on the Lian Li DK-05F Electrical Height Adjustable Desk Case - Black to make life easier to drain system?

This is beyond my knowledge- in my normal case it's just a long length of tube near the bottom of the loop.

 

[chris blackford]

This is beyond my knowledge- in my normal case it's just a long length of tube near the bottom of the loop.

i was thinking of useing 2 pci pass through so the tube is out side the case and put a drain there so i can put bucket under the desk lol but not sure if i'm going to get that desk its a lot lot of money for a case and going to be more than a pain than my coolermaster c700m case i have at mo and that thing is so heavy i have to take side doors to move lol

with a high end part would it be a good idea to watter cool the VRM's and that and ram if it's DDR5? i have a 12900k its why need to move too watter lol

is there anything else you recommend to look up be for i start ordering parts?

 

[Chris Beard]

with a high end part would it be a good idea to watter cool the VRM's and that and ram if it's DDR5? i have a 12900k its why need to move too watter lol

I don't know a lot about DDR5, however memory historically has quite enjoyed being warm to perform well. Now that the controller is on the sticks I can see a possibility where watercooling them is advantageous, albeit I think you're well into diminishing returns here.

VRMs on the other hand like to be cool. For high end parts this is less of an issue as the VRMs tend to be over engineered and well cooled already. For cheaper boards with high end chips I'd argue this is useful, especially as aftermarket blocks for VRMs can be had very cheaply.

 

[chris blackford]

I don't know a lot about DDR5, however memory historically has quite enjoyed being warm to perform well. Now that the controller is on the sticks I can see a possibility where watercooling them is advantageous, albeit I think you're well into diminishing returns here.

VRMs on the other hand like to be cool. For high end parts this is less of an issue as the VRMs tend to be over engineered and well cooled already. For cheaper boards with high end chips I'd argue this is useful, especially as aftermarket blocks for VRMs can be had very cheaply.

hi are thees parts ok do thay fit together

EK-Quantum Surface X480M - Black 2 of them

EK-Quantum Surface X240M - Black​

EK-Quantum Surface X360M - Black 2 of them​

EK-Quantum Velocity² D-RGB - 1700 Full Nickel

EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE 300 D5 PWM D-RGB - Acetal​

EK-CryoFuel Blood Red (Premix 1000mL)​

EK-Loop Hard Tube 12mm 0.5m - Acrylic (2pcs) 4 packs​

EK-Quantum Torque 6-Pack HDC 12 - Nickel 3 packs​

EK-Quantum Torque Color Ring 10-Pack HDC 12 - Nickel 3 packs​

EK-AF T-Splitter 3F G1/4 - Nickel​

EK-Quantum Torque Drain Valve - Nickel​

EK-AF Ball Valve (10mm) G1/4 - Nickel

EK-Quantum Torque Micro Rotary 90° - Nickel 10 of them​

i think thats everything is there any thing else i need and does it all fit together? did i get anything wrong? also is that pump ok laying down in case?

 

[Chris Beard]

hi are thees parts ok do thay fit together

EK-Quantum Surface X480M - Black 2 of them

EK-Quantum Surface X240M - Black​

EK-Quantum Surface X360M - Black 2 of them​

EK-Quantum Velocity² D-RGB - 1700 Full Nickel

EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE 300 D5 PWM D-RGB - Acetal​

EK-CryoFuel Blood Red (Premix 1000mL)​

EK-Loop Hard Tube 12mm 0.5m - Acrylic (2pcs) 4 packs​

EK-Quantum Torque 6-Pack HDC 12 - Nickel 3 packs​

EK-Quantum Torque Color Ring 10-Pack HDC 12 - Nickel 3 packs​

EK-AF T-Splitter 3F G1/4 - Nickel​

EK-Quantum Torque Drain Valve - Nickel​

EK-AF Ball Valve (10mm) G1/4 - Nickel

EK-Quantum Torque Micro Rotary 90° - Nickel 10 of them​

i think thats everything is there any thing else i need and does it all fit together? did i get anything wrong? also is that pump ok laying down in case?

Have you had a look here please?: https://www.ekwb.com/custom-loop-configurator/

 

[Haz123]

hi are thees parts ok do thay fit together

EK-Quantum Surface X480M - Black 2 of them

EK-Quantum Surface X240M - Black​

EK-Quantum Surface X360M - Black 2 of them​

EK-Quantum Velocity² D-RGB - 1700 Full Nickel

EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE 300 D5 PWM D-RGB - Acetal​

EK-CryoFuel Blood Red (Premix 1000mL)​

EK-Loop Hard Tube 12mm 0.5m - Acrylic (2pcs) 4 packs​

EK-Quantum Torque 6-Pack HDC 12 - Nickel 3 packs​

EK-Quantum Torque Color Ring 10-Pack HDC 12 - Nickel 3 packs​

EK-AF T-Splitter 3F G1/4 - Nickel​

EK-Quantum Torque Drain Valve - Nickel​

EK-AF Ball Valve (10mm) G1/4 - Nickel

EK-Quantum Torque Micro Rotary 90° - Nickel 10 of them​

i think thats everything is there any thing else i need and does it all fit together? did i get anything wrong? also is that pump ok laying down in case?

Are you really planning to have 2x480 + 1x240 + 2x360 radiators? What are you cooling , Chernobyl ?

Pump ok laying down? As long as the pump is fully coated in the liquid you will be ok, make sure the attached radiator is full and you should be ok. The pumps use the liquid as lubricent and as coolant so if it runs dry it will eventually fail.

One thing I wish I had put into my loop is a fluid temp sensor. I will add it in the new year when I rejig everything but you may want to think about it now.

 

[chris blackford]

Are you really planning to have 2x480 + 1x240 + 2x360 radiators? What are you cooling , Chernobyl ?

Pump ok laying down? As long as the pump is fully coated in the liquid you will be ok, make sure the attached radiator is full and you should be ok. The pumps use the liquid as lubricent and as coolant so if it runs dry it will eventually fail.

One thing I wish I had put into my loop is a fluid temp sensor. I will add it in the new year when I rejig everything but you may want to think about it now.

lol, in the end i got a lian li DK-05F as found one supper cheap and wont to occupy all the places for rads lol

made a few changes as will need to lift out the pump to fill so swoping to soft tubing

1 X EK Water Blocks EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE 300 D5 PWM D-RGB Pump / Reservoir Combo - Acetal - £174.95
SKU: WC-9WT-EK

---

2 X EK Water Blocks EK-Quantum Surface X480M Quad Fan Radiator - Black - £124.99
SKU: WC-ABL-EK

---

1 X EK Water Blocks EK-Quantum Surface X240M Dual Fan Radiator - Black - £83.99
SKU: WC-ABS-EK

---

2 X EK Water Blocks EK-Quantum Surface X360M Triple Fan Radiator - Black - £104.99
SKU: WC-AAT-EK

---

1 X EK Water Blocks EK-Quantum Velocity² D-RGB CPU Water Block For Intel 1700 - Full Nickel - £149.98
SKU: WC-A7C-EK

---

1 X EK Water Blocks EK-Loop D-RGB 6 Way Splitter Cable - £8.00
SKU: WC-9VX-EK

---

1 X EK Water Blocks EK-Loop Molex to SATA Adapter - £3.49
SKU: WC-A6Z-EK

---

1 X BitFenix Alchemy Molex to SATA Adapter 45 cm - sleeved red/black - £5.99
SKU: CM-209-BX

---

1 X EK Water Blocks EK-HD Tube Reamer - £7.99
SKU: WC-9KB-EK

---

1 X EK Water Blocks Filling Bottle (1000mL) - £6.95
SKU: WC-9EJ-EK

---

1 X EK Water Blocks EK-ATX Bridging Plug (24 pin) - £1.99
SKU: WC-995-EK

---

3 X EK Water Blocks EK-CryoFuel Blood Red 1L Premix Watercooling Fluid - 1 Litre - £7.99
SKU: WC-9PD-EK

---

1 X EK Water Blocks EK-Loop Soft Tube Cutter - £3.95
SKU: WC-9WW-EK

---

4 X EK Water Blocks EK-Duraclear Tubing 16/10 - Clear 3M - £15.95
SKU: WC-9DC-EK

---

10 X EK Water Blocks EK-Quantum Torque STC 10/16mm Soft Tubing Compression Fitting - Nickel - £5.98
SKU: WC-9UM-EK

---

1 X EK Water Blocks EK-Quantum Torque Drain Valve Fitting - Nickel - £17.99
SKU: WC-A35-EK

---

5 X Lian-Li UNI SL120 INF Addressable RGB Black 120mm Fan Triple Pack with Controller - £89.99
SKU: FG-011-LL

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1 X Lian-Li UNI SL120 INF Addressable RGB Black 120mm Fan - £29.99
SKU: FG-00Z-LL

---

10 X XSPC G1/4" 90° Rotary Fitting V2 (Chrome) - £5.99
SKU: WC-212-XS

---

1 X EK Water Blocks EK-AF T-Splitter 3F G14 - Nickel - £7.99
SKU: WC-944-EK

---

 

[chris blackford]

hi i'm useing the testing ek leak tester how much of a drop when testing is ok and safe or can it not drop at all left it for 1 hour there about's it droped 1 dash