Moving away from watercooling!
- Thread starter Mr Mcgoo
- Start date
So my gpu block was another reason i gave up watercooling. After draining my loop and taking it apart for alphacool's photo inspection 5 times and them refusing to see an issue with my temps, 70c/80c hotspot, or vram thermal pad thickness issue. 2 of the vram thermal pads where almost twice as thick as the other one but that was not an issue so they refused replacement or refund. Thanks to the e-tailer i used contacting alphacool on my behalf they still refused my refund and instead agreed to send out the correct pads for the vram. I will wait for the replacement pads hoping they are the correct ones and i might go back to my custom loop again but it wouldn't be for a while.
I do fear alphacool is likely to send out the same pads as before and them being too thick at which point i can request a refund. However, credit to the other e-tailer for doing there part.
I do fear alphacool is likely to send out the same pads as before and them being too thick at which point i can request a refund. However, credit to the other e-tailer for doing there part.
Those were the good old days of enthusiastic development. Who remembers the 'bong' coolers or Danger Den releasing a new improved design every couple of months?
Yeah it's the same for me. Most of anything I have done to the loop is because I wanted to mess with it. If you avoid pastel colours and set it up properly, I've found things to be pretty much maintenance free beyond the occasional dusting. And because I run the fans slow, it doesn't get particularly dusty anyway.
Is it worth the cost of setting up a loop now? No, not really, not for performance anyway. But it is fun to mess around with, and I do enjoy the quiet!
Associate
Those evaporative water methods of water cooling were really effective. The only way to get sub ambient water temps with out the use of an additional cooler. But jees.... the humidity in the room
didnt continue with it for more than a few days.And Dan gerDen ( as I used to call it lol) with the regular release of new design "jet impingement" blocks, could never get hold of them though. So made a lot of my own blocks back in the day. 2004 was the first block I made it has been adapted to fit many a cpu, gpu. Actually not long took it off my 1080Ti when I finally gave in and bought an EK for my 4080.
Soldato
I am considering going the opposite way! I currently have air, but with some recent games I had to under-volt the CPU to keep those temps down, and the next generation is probably going to be worse.
I like air cooling, but....
I like air cooling, but....
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Associate
Maintainance! I'm a fit and forget type of guy haha. Used ekwb clear premixed coolant when I got the ichill frostbite 4090 and it's been fine ever since.
Saying that, it's been just over a year in the loop and needs an ever so slight top up on coolant.
Saying that, it's been just over a year in the loop and needs an ever so slight top up on coolant.
Man of Honour
It wasn't maintenance that caused me to switch back to air after over 17 years on water, it was the fact that it's become pretty much pointless unless you have a stupidly hot running cpu such as the 14900k which can be tamed by a much cheaper AIO anyway. Overclocking is as good as dead which was one of the main reasons to go with water. Yes, you will see lower temps but air coolers are not that far off these days for a tiny fraction of the price. Then there's the cost, over £100 for a gpu block everytime you change cards. Want the latest cpu block, that's £80+ for the best blocks, rads aren't too bad these days but pump and top or pump and res is well over £100 now. Unless you go second hand then you won't get much change from £500 for a decent set up all for a few extra degrees less. What's the point when a £30-40 air cooler gives very good temps?
How quiet it is and just the fun of messing around with it, making something "your own". You're not wrong though, if I was looking to get into it now I wouldn't bother but once you have all the parts it's not so bad staying in.
Associate
Been considering going back to air or an AIO. I decided to watercool my 5900x and 3090 when they first came out as it was something I always wanted to have. As much as I like the look of it, I don't enjoy the maintenance and the extra effort to swap out hardware.
Through the wonders of 3d printing I've managed to keep a D-Tek Fuzion going through into AM4....saved having to replace a block and don't need to worry about eeking out that 3-4C improvement with the trend of undervolting CPU's to gain better performance.
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Man of Honour
Undervolting is more to do with lowering power draw than lowering temps, that's just a bonus.
I switched from a full custom loop back to an AIO and really, the only thing I miss is the aesthetic of it. On the other hand, I don't miss burning through money to achieve that look 
My gaming experience is exactly the same. Noise levels are slightly higher but really only noticeable in a really quiet room. Temps on the CPU about the same, GPU is higher.
I certainly don't miss draining the loop either - I wouldn't go back.
My gaming experience is exactly the same. Noise levels are slightly higher but really only noticeable in a really quiet room. Temps on the CPU about the same, GPU is higher.
I certainly don't miss draining the loop either - I wouldn't go back.
Associate
If you consider the need to change cpu or gpu while planning the loop, you can easily drain it.
I just swapped GPUs in less than 30min with part drain, fit and refill.
Of course, that's not like 3min for swap of the gpu without wc, but I'd still consider it pretty convenient.
I just swapped GPUs in less than 30min with part drain, fit and refill.
Of course, that's not like 3min for swap of the gpu without wc, but I'd still consider it pretty convenient.
Having just done an upgrade from AM4 to AM5, I have started to feel this pain. A simple mobo, RAM and CPU swap is turned into a 5-6 hour ordeal. Getting the heavy arse rig on the operating table; drain the loop; flush the loop; clean everything up; remove old components; install new components.
New components' socket isn't in the same spot... Curse repeatedly at how much longer this is now going to take. You've got it all in now and don't want something DOA. Cart the rig back to your desk for a test POST because you don't want to build and fill the whole loop only to have to remove and drain it again.
The new components are all good. You tell the missus that nothing is DOA and you can finish the job. "You're still not finished?" She remarks. She knows nothing of your pain. Cry deeply inside.
Migrate the rig back to the operating table. Time to make two new tubes from a limited amount of leftover tubing giving you a handful of goes at the perfect bend despite having not done it in 4 years. Totally **** the first bend (call it a warm up). Nail the second and third bends, cut the tubes down to approximate size. Measure them accurately and cut to size. Ream the ends; test fit; prepare to cheer or cry as the moment approaches. Clench your arse cheeks as you force fittings onto the tubing you have so expertly crafted. The moment of truth. Push in place and tighten down... Success. They fit perfectly. Enjoy this small victory by having a drink and loosening your sphincters.
Fill the pump, activate the pump, stop pump. This is now the mantra of your life. Rinse and repeat over and until she stops gargling. Pick up your stupid heavy, filled with water rig, give it a tilt and shake. She gargles some more. Question all of your life's choices whilst you're shaking a 20kg computer around like an orangutan with a big rock. Cry deeply inside again, but this time, harrowingly weep to the sounds of the air bubbles escaping your apparatus of plastic and silicon. Put the heavy thing down.
"I should leak test this for 12-24 hours." You don't have the time for that crap; you've got other things to do. Tell yourself you're a fool for still having a loop in 2024 - you could've easily done this on air by now, eaten dinner, and watched at least 5 episodes of Taskmaster. Sell all of this junk to some other computer alchemy practitioner living in the ways of old. Buy an AIO like everyone else on the Internet and say ZeRO mAiNTeNaNce to yourself repeatedly. Continue to question what you have become and why you are still doing this to yourself. Nonetheless, you're in too deep now.
Run it for 5 minutes. No leaks. "If it's going to leak, it would've leaked already!" Move the stupid heavy, filled with water rig upstairs back to your desk. Power her on and plug in your army of peripherals loathingly.
Start messing around with BIOS settings and getting the lowest fan curve known only to the secret society of custom water loops in 2024. Bask in this long forgotten knowledge of old times that you are privy to. Listen to the sweet nothings of silence serenading you as your fans don't even turn. Was it worth it?
It always is.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
New components' socket isn't in the same spot... Curse repeatedly at how much longer this is now going to take. You've got it all in now and don't want something DOA. Cart the rig back to your desk for a test POST because you don't want to build and fill the whole loop only to have to remove and drain it again.
The new components are all good. You tell the missus that nothing is DOA and you can finish the job. "You're still not finished?" She remarks. She knows nothing of your pain. Cry deeply inside.
Migrate the rig back to the operating table. Time to make two new tubes from a limited amount of leftover tubing giving you a handful of goes at the perfect bend despite having not done it in 4 years. Totally **** the first bend (call it a warm up). Nail the second and third bends, cut the tubes down to approximate size. Measure them accurately and cut to size. Ream the ends; test fit; prepare to cheer or cry as the moment approaches. Clench your arse cheeks as you force fittings onto the tubing you have so expertly crafted. The moment of truth. Push in place and tighten down... Success. They fit perfectly. Enjoy this small victory by having a drink and loosening your sphincters.
Fill the pump, activate the pump, stop pump. This is now the mantra of your life. Rinse and repeat over and until she stops gargling. Pick up your stupid heavy, filled with water rig, give it a tilt and shake. She gargles some more. Question all of your life's choices whilst you're shaking a 20kg computer around like an orangutan with a big rock. Cry deeply inside again, but this time, harrowingly weep to the sounds of the air bubbles escaping your apparatus of plastic and silicon. Put the heavy thing down.
"I should leak test this for 12-24 hours." You don't have the time for that crap; you've got other things to do. Tell yourself you're a fool for still having a loop in 2024 - you could've easily done this on air by now, eaten dinner, and watched at least 5 episodes of Taskmaster. Sell all of this junk to some other computer alchemy practitioner living in the ways of old. Buy an AIO like everyone else on the Internet and say ZeRO mAiNTeNaNce to yourself repeatedly. Continue to question what you have become and why you are still doing this to yourself. Nonetheless, you're in too deep now.
Run it for 5 minutes. No leaks. "If it's going to leak, it would've leaked already!" Move the stupid heavy, filled with water rig upstairs back to your desk. Power her on and plug in your army of peripherals loathingly.
Start messing around with BIOS settings and getting the lowest fan curve known only to the secret society of custom water loops in 2024. Bask in this long forgotten knowledge of old times that you are privy to. Listen to the sweet nothings of silence serenading you as your fans don't even turn. Was it worth it?
It always is.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
Man of Honour
Anyone would think that air cooling is really noisey. It isn't, the days of Delta fans are long gone. I hardly ever hear my fans ramp up. I have a pair of 200mm intake fans blowing across the case to a pair of 200mm exhaust fans. These four fans run at a silent 420rpm all of the time. I fitted a third fan to my Thermalright Peerless Assassin PA120SE and all three are set to the silent profile in the bios so they hardly ever ramp up and when they do it's just a little bit. The highest temp I have seen on my 7800x3d so far has been 58 degrees C. My gpu has it's stock cooler which is very good and I haven't felt the need to alter the fan curves. That hardly ever ramps up, in fact most of the time it's in passive mode. Yes it does ramp up a little when I am playing a particularly taxing game but it's not loud at all. I have the psu set to run it's fan all of the time to maintain airflow through it at all times due to it's positioning in my pc. That is silent and never spins the fan up. Most psu's that people can hear ramping up are because they have the fan set to semi-passive mode so that when the psu hits the temperature threshold the fans kick in all of a sudden at a higher speed to get the temps back down again. Air cooling can be made silent with a bit of effort and minimal expense.
Associate
What case did you fit this to?
Man of Honour
I built a modular desk and the case is one of the modules. It has two tiers, the bottom housing the psu and souncard on a riser along with all the cables while the top tier has the motherboard lying horizontally for maximum cooling of everything. I found that the combination of the gpu and cpu cooler was cooking the M2 drives leading to thermal throttling on the Gen 4 drive. To get around this I put the gpu on a riser and built a shroud for it to sit in so the only way the hot air can go id down the shroud to the exhaust fan. Problem solved. In the pics it would normally have a glass window over the top but it was removed for cleaning when I took the pics.
