Anyone else regret going full water ?

[Dirk Diggler]

I'm going to be putting my EVGA 1080ti FE under water for sure, but after reading this thread I'm going to design the loop so that if there's a leak then all I risk is a wet carpet.

 

[haszek]

WC saves me some money as it's too much hassle to upgrade otherwise, I would've probably already swapped to 1080ti

 

[Techen]

I bought evgas new hybird kit for my 1080ti. No mess, plug and play. Under 60c and no noise. Works for me.

 

[kindai]

Having had to replace 4 dead graphics cards, going hardline has been an absolute bitch. I would probably cry if needed to remove the CPU block.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Having had to replace 4 dead graphics cards, going hardline has been an absolute bitch. I would probably cry if needed to remove the CPU block.

I'm not going to bother with my CPU in my upcoming loop. The HSF doesn't make any more noise than the rad fans and I'm happy with 4.4Ghz with temperatures below 70C on air as I won't be pushing for any more.

It's the GPU that needs the liquid cooling, and I wouldn't touch AIO coolers. I think I'll add a facility to swap the GPU easily too, because as soon as Nvidia come up with the next best thing I'll be on it!

 

[kindai]

This is the current state while another dead titan is off to RMA:

 

[Jay794]

I've been running under water for a few years now, currently I'm quite happy with it, but I do go through stints of regret, like every 6 months, when I dismantle everything, clean it, and replace the piping. I am slowly taking steps to make this less labour intensive e.g. drainage port. but it's still an arse and it leaves me without a computer for at least a day because I never plan well enough in advance to order new tubing

 

[VKleita]

This is the current state while another dead titan is off to RMA:

Another dead Titan?

There a story I missed ? they having a lot of failures?

 

[Avathar77]

Been under water for nearly 7 years and recently went Air. Because I upgraded to a 1070 from 290. To my surprise it is actually less noise than water cooled!
Admittedly I had 2 x D5 pumps, which were not de coupled as I would have liked, which kind of made a vibration off the case.
Currently CPU is cooled by K2 mount doom and strix stock air cooler is silent on load as well. Ideal temps are about 2c high load about 5c high on CPU and 15c on GPU(GPU gets to 60c on full load but that is well with in the range) - so far I am impressed by air cooling. Mount doom is not exactly a "small" cooler though. Still keeping the same GT1450 fans(3x on top and 2 x in front) in the case.

Air is a temp measure anyway, till I resort a full cover block for 1070 strix I will properly mount the pumps next time so that they don't touch the case or any other component. In my previous case(TJ07) I had a single D5 "floating from tubing which kind of absorbed the vibrations and did not make any sound.
In other words; no I do not regreat it and will do again, but that's just because I can and have almost all the parts, high end air when done properly makes the same results.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

To my surprise it is actually less noise than water cooled!

As mentioned a few posts up, I'm really starting to realise that a decent air cooler on the CPU will be just as good as a custom loop for gaming systems. In systems that will push the CPU 100% for extended periods or systems that are heavily overclocked then water will make a difference, but for mild OC'd gaming rig it's unnecessary.

GPU's are totally different. I'm a big fan of the Gigabyte Windforce cooler, but even that will be put in it's place with a full cover block within a custom loop (AIO on GPU's are a waste of time IMO).

 

[tyler_jrb]

As mentioned a few posts up, I'm really starting to realise that a decent air cooler on the CPU will be just as good as a custom loop for gaming systems. In systems that will push the CPU 100% for extended periods or systems that are heavily overclocked then water will make a difference, but for mild OC'd gaming rig it's unnecessary.

GPU's are totally different. I'm a big fan of the Gigabyte Windforce cooler, but even that will be put in it's place with a full cover block within a custom loop (AIO on GPU's are a waste of time IMO).

+1
I'm getting the same temps and clocks with an AIO than I was with a custom loop.

GPU blocks are good at keeping them cool and the clocks up. But my ref Ti's had horrid whine so in the end was louder than the original blower.

Can't fault my Air cooled Gaming X. Quiet as my custom loop and maintains 2025mhz 24/7. 25mhz lost over custom loop. Minimal whine too.

 

[craarc]

ive been on water since the days of the first thermaltake all in one water systems and wouldnt go back thru choice. i just find it more fun to build systems with custom stuff than run of the mill options.
i like big external loops outside of the box. yes its more fidlly when you make changes to your system but thats part of the build fun imo.

 

[hrockh]

an alternative would be to go fanless. not cheap by any means and you sacrifice GPU performance.
but hey, silent pc.

 

[RyanF]

I'm going back to "air", AIO CPU and aftermarket GPU. Have had multiple EK 90deg fittings fail on me, fortunately none of which took any hardware with them. I've come into some money so upgrading a few bits and going back to air for the mean time.

Will definitely revisit custom loops in the coming years once I completely upgrade to a new build, so no regrets.

 

[VKleita]

I'm going back to "air", Have had multiple EK 90deg fittings fail on me.

Woah EK really are getting a kicking recently.

That's 4 people I've seen posts by with issues some EK Predator, Failing rad , Dodgy GPU Block and now fittings.

Wouldn't wanna be their RMA department..

 

[mattyg]

Any of you guys running samsung smartthings.

They do a moisture sensor that you could put in your case which would warn of increased humidity or moisture as an early warning.

I've been considering watercooling. But only really for the nice tidy look inside the case.

I've noticed that a few posters have said about dismantalling and cleaning every 6 months.....Is that because of OCD or do you actually have too.

 

[pastymuncher]

You don't need to and I think it's just overkill. I have gone two and a half years between drainings and suffered no ill effects. Most premix fluids these days are recommended to be replaced every 12 months but if everything is ok I usually string it out to 18 months or so.

 

[Aberfala]

Woah EK really are getting a kicking recently.

That's 4 people I've seen posts by with issues some EK Predator, Failing rad , Dodgy GPU Block and now fittings.

Wouldn't wanna be their RMA department..

It does need to be looked at in perspective, they are one of if not the biggest name these days in watercooling so I'd expect to see more problems with their kit than other brands.

I've bought dozens of different EK parts over the years and only had problems with a very small number of them.

The level of problems I've had hasn't stopped me buying more of their kit since and probably won't in the future either.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

I'm going to be using some 90 degree EK fittings in my next build. Seeing as there's a few tales of failure here, could I ask are these fittings failing after passing leak tests? Or, are they failing during leak test?

My concern is that I'm putting something together that will be failing after a period of time, which gives me no chance of predicting.

I'm still able to return my 1080ti block and back plate but would rather keep.

 

[RyanF]

My loop is entirely EK, blocks, fittings, res the whole shebang. I've only had issues with 2 90 degree fittings, post leak test. There's 7 of them in my build that I've been running for 2 years now so take from that what you will.