How much is a decent loop going to cost me?

OcUK has pretty much narrowed down their stocked WC lines to some of the best components on the market - so you can't go wrong really.

If you're planning a change of case (be it one that can house a 360 internally) i'd say the OcUK V12 kit is a pretty good place to start :)
 
WilliamC said:
I seen some people saying the kits weren't amazing? :/
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To that I would ask some people to show me what an amazing Watercooling kit looks like. :)

Watercooling is expensive, with premium fittings and bells and whistles to have what could comparatively be said to be an amazing watercooling loop, you'd be looking at prices far beyond those of available kits from companies such as XSPC, EK and OcUK.

With a Kit, what you're getting is not wow factor, it's the entry level everything you need to get off the ground at a reasonable price, with none of the worry or hassle of - "Oh I forgot X, Y, Z" or "I've bought all these components, will they work together?" or "Did I make a purchasing mistake.". It's not amazing for someone who knows plenty enough to build their own loop straight up, but they can be fantastic for people getting in to watercooling or those who need a solid foundation from which to create their own loop.

I recently bought my first Watercooling setup, and although in the end I didn't go with a Kit, it took me 3 months to feel confident enough with what I knew about watercooling to make that big purchase. And a lot of what I learned was from looking at what was available in kits, and in the end, I still made mistakes that I wouldn't have, had I gone with a kit.

This is entirely my personal opinion, but I believe, the important thing for you will be that you look at the kits available and decide based on the research you'll have done and/or will be continuing to do, whether the Kit will be able to solve your watercooling problem. And the biggest questions with Kits will probably be first, will the Rad(s) be enough to provide cooling to both your CPU, GPU and anything else you may add (if not can you pair enough Rad and matching fittings with the kit to achieve this). Second will the Pump adequately support the size of the loop? Thirdly, how do you want this loop to sound (Pump noise, Fan noise) and how do you want it to look (visual Brand preference may drive you to or away from certain kits).

At that point, when you know what you want, and what the kits can provide, you'll have a good idea of whether or not you want to go with a kit, go with a kit and extras or whether you just want to buy everything separately to suit your specific situation - as soon as you're looking at going beyond an average kit in a lot of watercooling cases, you'll probably come across scenarios with case design and space availability that mean you'll have to design your loop in ways specific to you, that a kit might not account for.
 
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BTW

if you need any convincing as to how efficient W/C can be, the gpu only loop I built last week was idling at 17C, and under load I was hitting 35C. This was with base parts from the V12 kit, only difference being a thicker rad than the EX360.
 
Agree with everyone recommending the V12 kit. A decent 360 radiator is easily enough for your loop of CPU + GPU. The pump is strong enough so that if you wanted to add 2 more high flow blocks to the loop, you can do so. It also come's with some of the best radiator fans!

The only thing you might want to change is the fittings. Using 1/2 " barbs on 7/16" ID tubing is super safe, but as a first timer you might be more confident with compression fittings. Even then, this change is more to make you feel better about putting it together rather than making the loop more reliable.
 
Thank you guys. All the advice has been a great help and I think I will go on and buy one of the kits and start from there that seems the best option anyway.
thanks again.
 
If ya planning on over clocking maybe go 120mm higher than the recommended amount to giv ya a little head room, will help keep you fans run quieter later. And pester the forums for help if ya get stuck. :)
 
Yeah that's what i did :D Got told off for 17 started threads in one month :D

I cant stress enough - go to youtube and watch -all the things-. Look for DazMode videos, his channel is an absolute goldmine of all things watercooled.

Also watch any available unboxings/fillings/drainings of specific parts that you are looking at getting.
 
threedee said:
Yeah that's what i did :D Got told off for 17 started threads in one month :D
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:D

In fairness it was so we could see where you were in planning a little easier, how did you get on btw?

@OP, do as threedee advised, read and watch videos as much as possible, will give you a wealth of influence :)

If you think you're going to get stuck, start a build support thread and no doubt someone will get back to you to point you in the right direction.
 
Going back to original question... I have spent about 500 quid with some change for all custom three block loop.

Brace for wall of text... :D

Mind you i needed some tools, thermal material, then due to me planning for a wallmount build i missed one crucial detail and it cost me some more, mostly due to shipping cost for unplanned parts. The mistake i made was i planned out of the case and didnt take into account needed 90 degree fittings to get piping round power supply. Near had to halt all construction due to videocards being already disassembled for waterblock fitting and mis-measurement of the gap between videocards, where i needed to make a tube loop instead of planned bridge-like short tube. Lesson here - plan to the tiniest detail, every single fitting in the loop, you have to account for every component in the space you need to fit it in.

Also, i nearly lost my cool when i discovered that EK compression fittings nearly unusable on GTX480 Heatkiller x3 blocks, because 2 fittings only fit if i force knurling of both against each other with pliers (absolutely no damage to blocks, too close for about 0.25mm, but made it unscrewable by hand...) Lesson here: Dont assume your parts will fit even if they fit everywhere else...

Did nice case mod to flip over powersupply with intake fan under the case and cable management, cut holes in the bottom and cut up motherboard tray to allow cpu bracket mounting and replacement without taking out whole motherboard, and to hide cables under the tray. Only to be thwarted by the fact that my pump res doesnt really fit because of solid cage. I either have to cut it or move res pump. I planned my rads on the outside, but pump/res on the inside... Didnt happen, had to mount pump/res on the outside... because i almost entirely reassembled and couldnt be bothered to take all out again and cut a piece of the cage out... Lesson here - again, plan your space out, in its entirety.

I also failed to plan for external rad ventilation, which means running power cables to the outside. I soldered an adapter to run all 4 fans off one molex at 7v, but it looks ugly...

My system now looks like Dr. Frankenstein had a go at it. It works like a charm though. Not a single leak (that part was way nerve wracking though :D ). Temps are marvelous due to fat 280x60mm rads and good fans (4x 140mm Silverstone AP141).

I still consider it a stop-gap build before i start rebuilding it to my initially planned wallmount, its just that my wife doesnt like me much now because i caused a small black hole in family budget with my bs and i have to live with my rig the way it is now ... :D

So there...

P.S. Also, i hate my PSU now (OCZ ZX1000w) with its seriously anoying coil whine... Lesson here - GET A QUIET PSU !!!...
 
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