Exactly how hard is it to water cool your CPU and GPU?

[V F]

You mention the Corsair kits, have you seen the one specifically for their 5000 series cases? Not particularly cheap (£1k), but its everything you'd need, and while it is hardline, its pre-bent/cut and even includes the GPU line if you want to add in a GPU block.

I happen to like the 5000D Airflow, and im also fairly apprehensive about going to hardline so it seemed like it got me what i wanted, for the price of what it'd cost individually anyway, without the stress of f'ing up bends etc. I built a WC PC with soft tube around 2005 and then went back to air then AIO, i was never happy with the soft tube results. Now i want to try something different and hardline builds just look more spectacular, more like an artform when done well, and thats what im hoping for in my next build.

However having looked further afield than Corsair, and seeing things i like much more, im now leaning towards an apparently WELL travelled path with the O11 & EK route sorry guys.
Theres every chance i'll join the list of people unknowingly doing it badly though but im planning on spending plenty of time figuring our what i need to do it right, but yeah its fairly daunting but theres so much expertise out there to get advice from, it doesnt have to be a lonely solo journey.

That was the reason I never went with soft tubing. While some builds when done right with soft, that gradual slope of tubing never sat right for me. It felt like a fancier AIO but it still left that feeling of, you're looking at the PC day in/day out and then wishing you went hard tubing.

All the builds on GGF's Youtube was what made me go hardline. After all, it's why they call it exotic cooling. It's supposed to look sleek.

Buy some extra tubing and practice some bends and watch some you time videos too.
Pay particular attention to deburring the tubes once you've cut them, the last thing you want is damaging the o rings in the fittings with tubing that still had some sharp edges.

 

[PaulC2K]

That was the reason I never went with soft tubing. While some builds when done right with soft, that gradual slope of tubing never sat right for me. It felt like a fancier AIO but it still left that feeling of, you're looking at the PC day in/day out and then wishing you went hard tubing.

All the builds on GGF's Youtube was what made me go hardline. After all, it's why they call it exotic cooling. It's supposed to look sleek.

Yeah, its the (perhaps an incorrect assumption) that you're always stuck with bent/curved pieces.
At the time it served its purpose for cooling and was a fun experiment, but as soon as i tried an AIO it never felt like it was something i needed to revisit, due to cost and marginal benefits if any. Hardline makes things a bit more expensive, but aesthetically its much nicer.

I also took the time to look into what was being said about people doing things wrongly/poorly, and i think it makes sense to me now having seen EKs Matrix7 press release.
Is the correct way to do it, from a perfectionist PoV, to use the EK extenders so that they line up for the distro plate, and then only require straight tubing from block to distro? or is there something more to the comments that im missing, because if im using extenders and 90' angle fittings, what am i bending? Is this just a difference of opinion on what looks nice, or are we simply talking about trying to create organised lines of tubing, running parallel to each other, rather than at wonky angles? I hadnt anticipated adding any fittings other than a regular type and doing all the 90' angles with a heatgun. Maybe if theres connections so close it makes sense to only use fittings, but basically the plan would be to keep it simple and attempt to do it right, rather than settle for 1st attempt bends etc.

I went through the EK custom loop configurator last night and that felt like it helped to a degree, despite being told the case it never offered me their distro, but otherwise its like of components made sense.

Custom Cooling Configurator | Custom Loop Configurator

www.ekwb.com

- O11XL Distro instead of the 360 one.
- Lian Li SL-INF fans instead of the EK ones (cos pretty) and wouldnt need the Y-splitters.
- Need to add a tube kit, leak tester, heat gun etc.

Is there a hardline diameter size thats recommended over others for a traditional tower sized case? I picked 16mm as its what i remember from soft-tube days, but EK dont have a kit for that size (only 10/12mm) and 10/12/14mm seems more common on OCUKs tools list too.

 

[Haz123]

This is getting to be a complicated thread now. Would be better to open a fresh one in watercooling with your thougths and pic of the type of build you want to achieve. I will try to answer your questions and highlight the many many mistakes I made when doing my build.

Now my build is in O11 Dynamic with Corsair cpu block, Alphacool rad , Lian Li fans, Phanteks gpu block and EK distro plate. I originally planned to use an EK cpu block and Alphacool 16mm fitting but because they were not designed to go together the fitting just would not work with the cpu block. Now because I have a Frankenstein selection of manufacturers nothing actually lines up and I had to be creative to make my runs paralell. To make it worse I wanted the gpu to be vertical but I also wanted fans at the bottom of the case and the Dynamic is not designed for that so more mad scientist tinkering was needed.
It was a horrendous mix up and made my job so much harder because nothign was designed to work together.

Because of this mix I ended up having to use this amount of extra fittings.



Now this may be some peoples idea of hell but it does have its own factory chic and the tubes are paralell because of it. The link at the top right was a real pain.

Bottom line is plan well and if you are going with EK fitting stick with EK tubes , if corsair fitting then corsair tubes. I woul dsya go with 14mm fitting , it gives you a little more room in tight spots.

I have this view of the PC everyday and I am happy with it. Will tinker and swap stuff around when I rejig it but no rush once it is all up and running.




Tips I would give are. Stick to a single manufacturer for the vast majority of parts. Get a D5 not a DDC pump. 14mm fittings. Plan well , make new thread and post a pic of what you would like to achieve

 

[Trustdesa]

It's not really the case that it's hard because it really isn't. It's the fact that it is stupidly expensive to do these days. It's a hell of a lot of money for minimal performance gains as overclocking is largely a waste of time these days as everything is already almost maxxed out from the factory. Gone are the days of 50-100% overclocks on cpu's and this time around I didn't even buy a K series cpu. From water cooling you should have better temps and possibly silence if you carefully choose the fans and the speed you run them at, anything else is a bonus. One thing I would suggest should be a part of any water loop is a inline temp sensor so that you can keep a eye on the loop water temp. I already had the majority of my loop as I have been watercooling for almost 15 years now so only had to buy the gpu block which I could have done without because my gpu's stock cooler was very effective and quiet anyway. If I was looking at cooling my pc for the first time right now I would be leaning more towards high end air cooling as there are some very good coolers available now for reasonable prices (always worth looking at the b-grade section for air coolers at very reduced prices) and a lot of todays gpu's have excellent coolers as well.

I was thinking the same, it is literally just a daylight robbery so despite I am really keen due of never having done one is so so many years of PC Building it is nothing less than a scam. a KIT costing £550 from Corsair when you can get a decent AIO for that, if @ £550 they included the GPU maybe different.

Still on the fence, it is just way too much asking price for no reason whatsoever, those materials aren't as expensive and in case of EK are made in Hungary (or Slovakia) so super cheap to move around Europe, EK kit was even more than Corsair.

Still browsing personally, there are some up and coming brands however nothing easy to find in UK.

 

[METEORIC]

I agree, stupidly expensive nowadays.

I think back in the day I could get a full loop for around £350 or less, for example:

• 2x 2nd Hand 240mm - £50
• 1x 2nd Hand D5 - £50
• 1x D5 Top - £20
• 1x 150mm Reservoir - £10
• 10x 16/10mm Compression Fittings - £40
• 1x Ball Valve - £5
• 1x T-Splitter - £5
• 1x Temp. Sensor - £5
• 4x G1/4 Water Stop Plug - £5
• 1x Water Leak Test - £20
• 2x 3m ZMT 16/10mm Tubing - £30
• 1x CPU Waterblock - £50
• 1x GPU Waterblock - £60

Additionally, you could probably do it for a bit less if you buy parts from China and are willing to wait.

Nowadays, it'll cost at least £400 and the price of the pound does not help with buying from abroad as well, such a shame.

 

[von Humboldt]

Are there any brands that should be avoided when buying parts? The EK blocks look gorgeous but damn they're pricey.

 

[V F]

Are there any brands that should be avoided when buying parts? The EK blocks look gorgeous but damn they're pricey.

Watercool Heatkiller IV beats out EK's latest Velocity 2 blocks and they're below £100. Usually anything from £72 - £104. Even their Heatkiller V GPU blocks are very good performers. Even Bykski are good blocks.

I agree, stupidly expensive nowadays.

I think back in the day I could get a full loop for around £350 or less, for example:

• 2x 2nd Hand 240mm - £50
• 1x 2nd Hand D5 - £50
• 1x D5 Top - £20
• 1x 150mm Reservoir - £10
• 10x 16/10mm Compression Fittings - £40
• 1x Ball Valve - £5
• 1x T-Splitter - £5
• 1x Temp. Sensor - £5
• 4x G1/4 Water Stop Plug - £5
• 1x Water Leak Test - £20
• 2x 3m ZMT 16/10mm Tubing - £30
• 1x CPU Waterblock - £50
• 1x GPU Waterblock - £60

Additionally, you could probably do it for a bit less if you buy parts from China and are willing to wait.

Nowadays, it'll cost at least £400 and the price of the pound does not help with buying from abroad as well, such a shame.

Funny looking at that list and thinking of the EK Torque drain valve, that alone is £17 - £19.

 

[PaulC2K]

I was thinking the same, it is literally just a daylight robbery so despite I am really keen due of never having done one is so so many years of PC Building it is nothing less than a scam. a KIT costing £550 from Corsair when you can get a decent AIO for that, if @ £550 they included the GPU maybe different.

Still on the fence, it is just way too much asking price for no reason whatsoever, those materials aren't as expensive and in case of EK are made in Hungary (or Slovakia) so super cheap to move around Europe, EK kit was even more than Corsair.

Still browsing personally, there are some up and coming brands however nothing easy to find in UK.

You dont even have to leave the OCUK domain to find watercooling kits for less than £550! They have 240mm sets from £210, 360 from £240. Buy one of each, and its still £100 cheaper than your £550 figure.
NZXT has an AIO at £300, does that make it fair to blanket statement AIOs as costing £300? More than an entry level 360mm custom loop? No, cos its disingenuous attempt to misrepresent the reality.

They have a Corsair kit for £460 - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...o-360mm-cpu-custom-cooling-kit-wc-03k-cs.html

Its less of a "scam" when you use actual figures, and dont use top-tier prices as if that is the cost of entry. Its like trying to buy a form of transportation, and comparing a moped to a car by using a Ferrari as your baseline for car prices.

 

[Haz123]

The cost of buying into watercooling can be very high but once you have the components they are mostly reuseable for many many years. Yes it is expensive but no one is forcing you to go this route and if an AIO or tower cooler better suits a persons needs then they are free to go buy them and use them instead.

When I get a new gpu I will be buying a new gpu block to go onto it and also buying another rad and integrating them into my loop. I am not happy that the gpu block will be as expensive as it is but it will be my choice to buy it or not. It is not a scam it is a choice.

 

[METEORIC]

Watercool Heatkiller IV beats out EK's latest Velocity 2 blocks and they're below £100. Usually anything from £72 - £104. Even their Heatkiller V GPU blocks are very good performers. Even Bykski are good blocks.



Funny looking at that list and thinking of the EK Torque drain valve, that alone is £17 - £19.

I have an EK version I bought back in 2020 for £13, it's barely any different from the cheap Bykski one, both are running fine in their respective loops as is.

At present the best you can do is £7.50 for a no-name valve. Probably best to go the used route and try get one on the cheap.

The 2nd hand resale value of watercooling equipment is not that good, which is great for people who know the difference between copper and aluminium, and for people who know how to change o-rings.

 

[UkayJ]

I've been doing it a long time, constantly chopping and changing my loop as I've always been on a budget.
Only ever used soft tubing (budget) with compression fittings and never had a leak, I don't leak test or anything. Just nip up the fittings by hand and make sure none come loose when you're tightening down the compression ring, shouldn't have a problem. Put kitchen roll on gpu incase cpu block leaks and on any other exposed electrics.

I recommend going for a budget build, as everyone says, it's not a cheap hobby.
Then when you've done it and succeeded and you want to do more, you upgrade!

 

[Trustdesa]

They have a Corsair kit for £460 - https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cors...o-360mm-cpu-custom-cooling-kit-wc-03k-cs.html

Read not a single nice review about that pump, apparently is very noisy and so so quality I was looking at it, not in the kit as I prefer soft tubing which Corsair decided not to bundle.

 

[V F]

Read not a single nice review about that pump, apparently is very noisy and so so quality I was looking at it, not in the kit as I prefer soft tubing which Corsair decided not to bundle.

Plus Corsair's stuff is all plastic. There's been numerous reports on Reddit for the past year about the LED part shorting out near the cap for their reservoirs.

 

[Trustdesa]

Plus Corsair's stuff is all plastic. There's been numerous reports on Reddit for the past year about the LED part shorting out near the cap for their reservoirs.

They are not bad product but look, I just bought a 4000D to replace (for now as I will keep it due of not being in production anymore) my excellent NZXT H400, the quality isn't comparable, the PSU shroud is super super thin metal compared with my NZXT. Overall the case isn't bad at all by all means but clearly Corsair does not mean all around quality.

That pump has some horrible review, I really wanted the kit however I may get EK parts for similar price here on OC UK, minus fittings as can get Alphacool still have time until I can get a 13th Gen. Also that pump is not even a D5 whilst EK offers a D5 for the same money.

Not sure why that was linked as "being a good deal" when it is not, even tubing they offer acrylics...it is okay-ish if one does not want to bother to study a bit what parts are needed I guess.

 

[OC2000]

A decent custom water-cooled system will probably cost you more than the computer components itself and that includes an RTX 4090