First time watercooler - spec + questions

[Damien.]

Never water-cooled before so really after some help and guidance.

Case: Lian Li PC-011D
CPU: 5900x
GPU: 3080FE

Firstly, has anyone else used the side mounted distro plate? would the pump be up to the job of cooling the CPU and GPU?

Secondly, what size and how many radiators would be recommended? Provisionally I have space to have 2, one at the bottom and one at the top.

 

[Damien.]

Them distros come with a pump easily capable of cooling what you have. 2x 360mm thick radiators should fit on your case easily.

Great, thanks. In that case so far I have;

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Lian-Li O11D Distro Plate G1 For High Performance Liquid Cooling Designed by EKWB= £139.99
• 2 x EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream PE 360 (Triple Fan) Radiator= £77.99
• 1 x EK Water Blocks EK-Velocity AMD CPU Water Block - Copper + Acetal= £64.99
• 1 x EK Water Blocks EK-Quantum Vector FE RTX 3080 D-RGB Water Block - Black Special Edition= £249.95

Total: £620.81 (includes shipping: £9.90)​

​

 

[Damien.]

That EK GPU block is a steal isn't it! I mean, it looks great but that is a lot of cash!

The only other option is corsair AFAIK which is far more reasonable but my OCD would like to keep the install uniform

 

[Damien.]

EK do a more traditional block for the FE with the ports on the top instead of the end...

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...-rgb-graphics-card-water-block-wc-a3x-ek.html

Doesn't look like that's compatible with the Founders Edition. Shame, would save me a fortune!

 

[Damien.]

Don't forget your fittings and tubing!

I find it helps to mock something up in paint or similar to get a feel for what the loop will look like and figure out what kind of angled pieces you might need etc.

Also, a drain port is never a bad idea for convenience of maintenance.

Great idea, I'll mock it up this weekend.

Can anyone with this case comment on stagnant air? Does a rad on the bottom and top restrict air flow? The only other place for mounting fans will be taken up by the distro plate.

Also, what sort of temp improvement will I expect going from air to water on the 3080?

 

[Damien.]

You could use a front mounted distro plate and then use fans on the side mount https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...d-rgb-distribution-plate-plexi-wc-9zx-ek.html

I did consider this but need to measure, make sure it doesn't foul with the bottom/top rads with fans mounted.

 

[Damien.]

SNIP

Hi Haz,

Appreciate you're response. It'd be great to bounce ideas and issues off each other.

Do you have a picture of the inside of your machine as it is now?

I haven't started buying kit yet, planning on placing my first order this weekend.

 

[Damien.]

This is mine right now (please excuse the dust). Been making some measurements this evening and going to draft up a watercooled layout.

 

[Damien.]

Ah I see what you mean regarding routing issues. For that reason I am thinking of 2x EK slim 360 rads. According to their configurator they should provide sufficient cooling for my system.

I am hoping to mimic this;

 

[Damien.]

Purchased most of my bits. Delivery scheduled for tomorrow. Looking forward to ripping my machine apart and getting the water components in place.

I have thermal grizzly by the truck load, is this ok for use with water blocks? Or should I just use the compound provided?

 

[Damien.]

I'd stay clear of EK - shockingly bad QC and customer service.

Everything I've bought so far is EK

 

[Damien.]

refuse the order and it will go back. Then you can buy something better.

Had a good look at everything ordered and can’t see any issues. The 3080fe block is magnificent.

Got it all offered up last night so need to order fittings, pipe work and fluid, now that I have an idea of routining etc.

any recommendations for pipe size?

 

[Damien.]

So far I've;

• Case stripped down and cleaned
• CPU block fitted
• Bottom rad cleaned out and fitted
• Bottom fans fitted pulling air through the rad/bottom of the case
• Distro plate fitted

Findings;

• CPU block fitting instructions state "tighten thumb screws until they bottom out" which is a very uncomfortable procedure. It almost feels like somethings going to break with the noise coming from the springs and fixings.
• Read about EK equipment and radiator contamination from now so decided to flush both of mine. Radiators were spotless and nothing came out so feel like this was wasted effort. Maybe their QC has improved?
• I've gone for the lian li uni fans. The fit is really tight and the uni-fan contacts are close to contacting with the radiator fittings. Manual states cover these with insulation tape, just looks a little naf.

Jobs for tonight/the weekend;

• Fit top rad
• Fit top rad fans blowing through rad out through the top of the case
• Fit 3080FE block
• Pipe up
• Fill
• Leak test
• Bench test

I'll post pictures when I get a chance.

 

[Damien.]

So what's the gist of EK? Stay away from their stuff or are their radiators good?

Gone all in on EK for my build. Not found any quality issues so far.

Only gripe is that you have to go looking for the installation manuals online but that takes about 2 minutes.

The only real concern I have is with how hard the blocks clamp down. Instructions state tighten screws until you reach the end of the thread but my cautious side keeps thinking something will break! Probably just a confidence thing.

 

[Damien.]

Pressured my loop up to approx 0.70 bar last night.

Checked this morning and it had dropped approx 0.02 bar over the course of 10 hours.

Is this an acceptable amount? Does anyone know the working pressure of a watercooling loop when in service/filled?

 

[Damien.]

Only photo I have of my build so far;

 

[Damien.]

It has to be the most hideous yet.

Yep, its horrible.

On my hit list to replace with a cablemods cable.

 

[Damien.]

Some progress this evening.



Hit list for not to distant future;

Cablemods gpu power cable
Vertical mount gpu
Custom front plate with more fans

 

[Damien.]

Just filled and fired it up. Played Witcher 3 for an hour and what can I say, blown away.

GPU temp maxed out at 34c where previously it ran at around 70 with an undervolt. CPU sat at a steady 50c which is acceptable for an AMD. Really happy.

 

[Damien.]

Some more testing this eve;

1 hr of Days Gone

CPU MAX: 63c
GPU MAX: 43c

1 hr of Cinebench R20

CPU MAX: 60c

All of this is done with the panels ON.

With that said, I'm pretty sure I've got my CPU block piped up the wrong way round. I was convinced the loop would run top rad, cpu, gpu, bottom rad and round again when infact its the other way round. Not sure how much of an impact this is having on the thermal performance.