Custom watercooling loop

[IRSHunter]

Hey guys, i was hoping someone could help me create an ideal loop for as cheap as possible, my system specs as on now are:
. TUF MK II Z270 mobo
. i7 6700K - (not overclocked just yet as i've just fitted the new board)
. 1x Gigabyte G1 gaming GTX 1070, with another going to be added eventually
. Corsair 400C case, which i'd maybe change for the newer one, Corsair Crystal 460X RGB Midi Tower

My main concern is price, the cheaper the better, i don't have a set budget as of yet but something under £300 would be ideal, look is a big factor though, my system has to look good, otherwise how am i suppose to play good?

 

[Doug2507]

Cheapest solution, get an ocuk aio for cpu and leave gpu on air.

What size of rads can your case accommodate? Is there room for pump/res in the case or does it need to be bay mounted?

 

[Brizzles]

My main concern is price, the cheaper the better, i don't have a set budget as of yet but something under £300 would be ideal, look is a big factor though, my system has to look good, otherwise how am i suppose to play good?

Under £300 is not an option i'm afraid.

£450 for a single card loop, rising to near £600 when you get your 2nd graphics card

 

[IRSHunter]

Under £300 is not an option i'm afraid.

£450 for a single card loop, rising to near £600 when you get your 2nd graphics card

That looks decent, i have a couple of questions though, would i suffer with a duel rad instead of a triple? Is there much difference if i go for the pump/res in my basket instead? And is a backplate needed? I have experience building machines, just none with full water loops

 

[IRSHunter]

Cheapest solution, get an ocuk aio for cpu and leave gpu on air.

What size of rads can your case accommodate? Is there room for pump/res in the case or does it need to be bay mounted?

I have a CPU water cooler already and want to get a full system in, a res will fit with a bit of editing to the case, but from what i can work out, only a duel will fit, it will be a very tight fit with a triple

 

[Legend]

Cheapest solution, get an ocuk aio for cpu and leave gpu on air.

Which is really just pointless, he might as well get a top end air cooler which would be better than a cheap AIO, or any other for that matter, and certainly better value.

I have a CPU water cooler already and want to get a full system in, a res will fit with a bit of editing to the case, but from what i can work out, only a duel will fit, it will be a very tight fit with a triple

Looking at both the 400C or 460X case (if you opt for that one), you can get a 360 up front and a 240 up top. A 360 seems to have height limit of 395mm in the 460X though, but the XSPC EX360 is that size. You'd need two rads for a GPU+CPU loop, more so with SLI. Two 360's would be better, but that's not an option in either of those cases. You might be able to mount a res/pump combo to the front rad.

£300 is never going to happen though, unless you did a CPU only loop, but that's a bit overkill really. If you want silence and overall great temps, you'll want to WC the GPUs also.

 

[IRSHunter]

I don't think i'll fit in a triple up front as my hard-drive bays are there but i like the idea of two duels, that should be plenty of area for heat to escape from right? I think i'm going to stick with the 400C for now as i can't justify spending another £150 on a case. Yeah after looking i don't think £300 is do-able but i'll only include the single GPU for now to cut down on costs until i can afford it all, i do like the idea of mounting the res to the front rad, something i could do, my only problem is working with limited space in that case

 

[Disco_P]

I did a 240 + 360 rad, cpu gpu loop for about £300 a couple of years ago. Admittedly I used a second hand gpu block and backplate plus a £30 cpu block. Mostly used barbs over compression fittings and cheap rads (including a £20 one second hand). I did splurge on a D5 pump res combo and bought plenty of tubing and mayhems coolant but it is possible.

 

[Legend]

I don't think i'll fit in a triple up front as my hard-drive bays are there but i like the idea of two duels, that should be plenty of area for heat to escape from right? I think i'm going to stick with the 400C for now as i can't justify spending another £150 on a case. Yeah after looking i don't think £300 is do-able but i'll only include the single GPU for now to cut down on costs until i can afford it all, i do like the idea of mounting the res to the front rad, something i could do, my only problem is working with limited space in that case

Ah OK, drive bays may exclude that then. Maybe a 280 would go, not sure, you'd have to check. Two 240's would be OK, but pushing it for SLI.

I did a 240 + 360 rad, cpu gpu loop for about £300 a couple of years ago. Admittedly I used a second hand gpu block and backplate plus a £30 cpu block. Mostly used barbs over compression fittings and cheap rads (including a £20 one second hand). I did splurge on a D5 pump res combo and bought plenty of tubing and mayhems coolant but it is possible.

Well yes, but as you say, you went second hand and cut some corners. If OP is willing to do that and gets lucky, fair enough, but buying new, then no, not possible, especially as prices have gone up in last couple of years.

 

[IRSHunter]

I think if i went for a 280 plus a 240 up front that could work, i'm happy to shop around and grab some second hand parts, but would rather get as much new as possible, so there is less chance of it going wrong and creating one very sad guy in the future i can look about getting a new case which offers more room for rads etc. Cheers for the help so far guys, i'm around 85% sure on what i'm getting when payday arrives

 

[Doug2507]

You've obviously tested them all yourself then legend. Another fool that just judges on price alone. If you want to make a statement like that, go show me your testing of the asetek vs air coolers. You must have tested a few back to back before you can make that statement.

 

[Legend]

You've obviously tested them all yourself then legend. Another fool that just judges on price alone. If you want to make a statement like that, go show me your testing of the asetek vs air coolers. You must have tested a few back to back before you can make that statement.

LOL, you're suggesting a cheap AIO is better performance and value than a Noctua D15 or Dark Rock Pro 3? Benchmarks please. Kindly do not call me a fool without some evidence to backup your claims. Plenty of benchmarks out there supporting mine and I am not casting aspersions your way.

 

[r7slayer]

Ive owned a Asetek 360 AIO and it was good but they fool you. Them temps seem great at first but as the liquid warms up in the AIO temps don't seem so great. After a hour and half of gaming which taxes the cpu you'll see what i mean. Water takes a lot longer to heat up compared to metals such as copper for example. But at the same time it takes longer to cool water. AIO have very slow flow rates, smaller heat dissipation compared to a custom loop. Air coolers tend to heat up quicker so looks like your hitting at higher temp at first but depending on your fan speed you'll not see your temps rise much more. A AIO will get there eventually.