New to WC; Prebuild upgrade

TnBDelta · 24 May 2021 at 21:35

Hi all complete novice here,

I would like to premise my request for advice with some background information.

Usually, I would build my own AIO WC PCs, however as you can probably imagine I went with a prebuild this time around and here are the specifications:

CASE: Lian-Li PC-O11 Dynamic XL

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X - 12-Core 3.70GHz, 4.8GHz Turbo

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken Z73 360mm

FANS: 6x Corsair SP120 (Bottom intake, top exhaust on rad).

MEMORY: 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4/3600mhz Dual Channel Memory

MOTHERBOARD: MSI MPG X570 Carbon wifi

PSU: Corsair HX850 850W

GPU: MSI GeForce® RTX 3080 SUPRIM X

My original idea was to buy the PC through ************ and have them install the Lian-Li loop shown on their site with this configuration, but due to a 4 month wait on 3080’s I went ahead with a different vendor. Originally I would have purchase the WC pre-installed in this configuration

Radiators: EK-CoolStream PE 360 X2

Pump + Reservoir: EK-011D Distro Plate G1

CPU Block: EK-Velocity – Nickel + Plexi

GPU Block: EK Vector

Clear, hard line tubing (16mm/??)

Liquid: EK-Cryofuel Blue

I’m not entirely happy with how loud the system is with the fans often ramping up to 100% due to the 5900X; I’ve been tweaking the fan curves in CAM and checking temps in HWInfo and I’m wondering if aside from a quieter build what the temps would be like and if its even worth a custom loop considering the Z73 is 360mm already. I’ve never custom WC’d before but its always been something I’ve wanted to do and with the introduction of the EK-011D I figured if I was going to try it would be for this build.

The 5900X temps are anywhere between 50c-60c idle and under load 80-85c, The GPU when rendering (Octane) for around 20/25 minutes is around 60-75c. It’s a shame OcUK doesn’t sell a kit with the Lian-li distro plate for noobs like me but I figured this is the best place to ask for advice.

So my questions are the following:

Does anyone a water-cooled similar configuration to mine and what kind of temps are you reading from the 5900X?
Based off what I would have ended buying from ************ is there any recommended item list for the O11 XL (Given it has been quite popular)?
Should I stick with the EK-011D or should to the PC-011D XL D5?
Links:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian...iquid-cooling-designed-by-ekwb-wc-001-ll.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...d-rgb-distribution-plate-plexi-wc-9yn-ek.html
4. Is switching the EK-CoolStream PE 360’s (38mm) to the (60mm) worthwhile? (Currently out of stock)
Aside from a heat-gun what size tubing and fittings would be recommended for a newbie like me to use? I would like to hard-line tube it, even though I know how difficult its probably going to end up being for somebody new to it!

Shopping List:

Radiators:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...eam-pe-360-triple-fan-radiator-wc-488-ek.html (X2)

Pump/Res:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...d-rgb-distribution-plate-plexi-wc-9yn-ek.html

GPU Block:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...d-rgb-water-block-nickel-plexi-wc-a2k-ek.html

CPU Block:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...4-cpu-water-block-nickel-plexi-wc-9xp-ek.html

Tubing:

Fittings:

Liquid:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...mix-watercooling-fluid-1-litre-wc-9pb-ek.html

Thanks for any advice.

MikeTimbers · 25 May 2021 at 09:24

On the components you've linked to, nothing wrong with those. personally I like to overspecify the rads and use cheaper lower power fans.

As for your existing temperatures and noise, the SP120 fans can be loud. Your fans are ramping because your temps are quite high IMO. 50C at idle seems a hell of a lot. But then I know Ryzen can be quite toasty. I don't have any but it's worth checking your BIOS settings are right as I believe there are tricks to get idle temps down and also boost voltage.

But don't be surprised if your pre-built wasn't done very well. Can you feel the air coming out the top? Is it hot? Do you have any pics?

TnBDelta · 25 May 2021 at 10:19

MikeTimbers said:
On the components you've linked to, nothing wrong with those. personally I like to overspecify the rads and use cheaper lower power fans.

As for your existing temperatures and noise, the SP120 fans can be loud. Your fans are ramping because your temps are quite high IMO. 50C at idle seems a hell of a lot. But then I know Ryzen can be quite toasty. I don't have any but it's worth checking your BIOS settings are right as I believe there are tricks to get idle temps down and also boost voltage.

But don't be surprised if your pre-built wasn't done very well. Can you feel the air coming out the top? Is it hot? Do you have any pics?

Hi Mike,

Regarding the WC Components would it be easier to use 90 degree fittings to avoid tube bending as much as possible? I know the case can handle 60mm top/bot radiators so I'll probably wait until they come back in stock.

The prebuild is definitely pushing out a lot of hot air; especially because I was running it without the XL's top on (exposing the top dust filter) no pics because I'm @ work right now. I had it under my desk and under load it acts as a mini-heater lol.

First thing I did since it was delivered was go through a basic inspection of the rig and did fix a missing Z73 locking screw. I've had multiple missing things delivered; The cable management bar for the case and the original x3 Z73 fans.

It certainly is much toastier than my 1800X which after 2 years of neglect still idles at 32c.

MikeTimbers · 25 May 2021 at 11:12

When planning fittings and tube runs think very carefully about where you need to go from and to for each one. Having some rotatable 90 and 45 degree connectors is always handy. 90 degree bends at the end of a tube are hard to get right I believe and that's where having options for the fittings will help.

TnBDelta · 25 May 2021 at 17:40

MikeTimbers said:
When planning fittings and tube runs think very carefully about where you need to go from and to for each one. Having some rotatable 90 and 45 degree connectors is always handy. 90 degree bends at the end of a tube are hard to get right I believe and that's where having options for the fittings will help.

Thanks for your advice; I figured I'd go mostly 90 degree connectors. The idea being to keep it as simple as possible; ideally matching this:

https://lian-li.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/g1-03.jpg

** Do Not Hotlink Images **

TnBDelta · 25 May 2021 at 22:21

Hardware wise, what would be the ideal tubing size?

MikeTimbers · 25 May 2021 at 22:52

whatever fits your eye. Most hardline is 14mm I think.

Drumroll · 26 May 2021 at 20:12

Particularly, I would go triple rad, and pump/reservoir combo with a quiet yet efficient D5 pump.
My fans never going past 40%, and delta, including the heat from the backplate of the 3090, which is quite a lot, still haven't passed 6C over ambient, MEASURED, before someone assume is guesswork.
I'm using the cooler 3900x, but I think your temperatures, even if fine, could improve.
For 3000 series Ryzen, usually an offset voltage is the easy way to shave quite a lot of degrees, while keeping performance.
For 5000 series, users familiar with them, seems to recommend a curve.
Distro they look nice, but I tried for one day and decided to get a third rad. The fact that the side distro doesn't cover the whole gap, OCD here, didn't cut for me.
The DDC supplied isn't the strongest, unless ordering straight from EKWB, o at least as the case (3.1 Vs 3.2). The need for a heatsink and some active cooling to keep the temperature of the pump under control, another thing that put me off DDC.
As you're going hardline, a distro would make things easier, true, but more often than not people struggle to get truly straight parallel lines.
Would be easier with the front distro, and some time ago was one B-stock slightly over 200, which isn't that bad, considering the size of it, the looks and the pump used.

sepulchre · 28 May 2021 at 00:58

I built a pretty similar rig to the one in your spec in an 011D-XL with EK G1 distro during lockdown and updated it to a 5900x from a 3900x and 3090FE from a 1080Ti just two weeks ago.

The 5900x idles around 35-38C, 3090 FE at 27C while the loop sits at 28C, under load these hit 70C and 47C respectively and the loop will go up to 36C, around 14C delta from air temp - not the best I know but good enough for me, a 3rd rad would improve this a little but then I think you would struggle to use a distro. The 5900x runs quite a bit warmer than my last 3900x but I also introduced the 3090 to the loop at the same time I updated to the 5900x so I cant conclusively say this is 100% down to the CPU as the GPU produces a lot of heat although my memory is now at a max of 68C where as it would easily hit 100C when cooled by air, I've not touched curves etc yet but I want to bring the CPU temp down a little if I can.

If your going the distro route and don't want to bend tubes then look into the pre-bent 90s, these should allow you to get it setup without too much difficulty or needing lots of fittings. I did this (lazy I know!) and saved a few quid on all the bending kit, heat gun etc. If you do get the G1 go for the DDC 3.2 variant, I wish I had!

Tubing wise I like the look of the 16mm Acrylic with EK torque fittings, but that's what I went for so I'm biased

Regarding the gap that @Drumroll mentions, this is true but you can fill the gaps above and below the distro by using the removable side covers which you take off to install the distro, in the bottom one of these covers fits without any modification (distro location depending) but at the top you would need to cut it to size - something I've yet to do!

One point to note with the rads you have chosen (I also have 2 x 360 PE's) emptying the loop is a pain in the a$$! Lots of tilting involved and even then you will struggle to get all the coolant out, but maybe you will be better at it than I am so YMMV. Maybe consider multi-port rads so you can put a drain at the very lowest part of the loop, ideally passing through the base of the case.

I would recommend getting an EK leak tester, especially if its your first time water cooling as it was for me, this saved me a lot of worry and did help me find one fitting which wasn't quite forming a seal, make sure you read the instructions though - full loop test is only 0.3 bar, don't push it into the green section on the dial as that's over pressure for a full loop.

HTH

D1craig · 30 May 2021 at 19:54

i have found with all software (and i mean all software - CAM, motherboard vendor specific software etc etc) for fans they ramp up to very high rpm every now and then even when your temps have reached close to your set 100% temperature. i try my hardest now to use the BIOS for fans but many vendors fan curve customisation in the BIOS leaves a lot to be desired.

TnBDelta · 27 Jul 2021 at 10:08

I've finally got around to actually starting purchasing some of the parts for this build update. Will buy two of the PE 360's today.

@sepulchre; Are you referring to this leak tool? (https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-water-blocks-ek-leak-presure-testing-tool-wc-9vu-ek.html).

Also there appears to be a 4.2 DDC pump on the EKWB website, is this what was being referred to?
https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-classic-dp-side-pc-o11d-g1-d-rgb-ddc-4-2-pwm

Or would it be the reflection?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...d-rgb-distribution-plate-plexi-wc-9yn-ek.html

Edit:

This is a bit random but giving the tube pathways to the G1 Res, has anyone tried using a custom front plate to see if they can fit a single front-intake in the middle of the top/bottom reservoir inlets? I've not measured it but it doesn't look like they'd be enough clearance.

sepulchre · 27 Jul 2021 at 12:08

@TnBDelta yes that's the leak tester.

Regarding the pumps, if your going for the G1 distro EK make two variants, one with the DD 3.1 pump and one with the 3.2 pump, I've not checked to see if they make a further version with the 4.2 pump. Note the 4.2 is the same as the 3.2 but they updated to fully sleeved black cables and sata power connector. Reflection is a different distro and uses a D5 pump as far as I recall.

I jsut took a look at my 16mm tuning, you could fit a custom front plate in there with a 120mm fan, not sure why you would want to though as this wouldn't be very good for the airflow which for me enters via the bottom of the case and exits at the top with a further exhaust in the rear

TnBDelta · 29 Jul 2021 at 03:23

@sepulchre Do you have any links to the 3.2 variant?

TnBDelta · 5 Aug 2021 at 18:21

Small update, this is what I've bought/ordered so far:

EK Water Blocks EK-CoolStream PE 360 (Triple Fan) Radiator (2)
EK Water Blocks EK-HD PETG Tube 12/16mm 1000mm (2pcs) - Clear
EK Water Blocks EK-CryoFuel Solid Azure Blue 1L Premix Watercooling Fluid - 1 Litre
EK Water Blocks EK-Loop Modulus Hard Tube Bending Tool - 16mm
EK Water Blocks EK-HD Tube Reamer
Monsoon Hardline Pro Heatgun UK Version
EK Water Blocks EK Leak / Presure Testing Tool
EK Water Blocks Filling Bottle (1000mL)
IFIXIT Essential Electronics ToolKit V2
EK Water Blocks EK-Quantum Torque HTC 16mm Hard Tubing Fitting - Black (X14) - Might have bought a couple too many here, but i figured it might be useful to have a couple spare.
EK Quantum Vector GPU Block (And backplate)
EK-QUANTUM MAGNITUDE D-RGB AM4 CPU WATER BLOCK - NICKEL + PLEXI
Bitspower Hard Tube Silicone Bending for ID 12mm for 16mm Tubing

Left to buy:

PUMP / RESS Combo

TnBDelta · 11 Aug 2021 at 22:06

I'm still undecided as to what to do about the pump / combo res, stuck between either the side (G1) or the front distro plate, not entirely too keen on the front-end due to price!

Additionally I'm considering vertically mounting the GPU. There are two riser/mount options on the OcUK store, is the only difference Gen3 vs Gen4? Would it be worth spending the extra £20 for Gen4?

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian...ket-kit-for-pc-o11d-rog-series-ca-77p-ll.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/lian...d-pc-slot-cover-pcie-4.0-black-ca-793-ll.html

Finally, any ideas which 90 degree / rotatory fittings would look / fit alright with my 16mm HTC compression fittings?

Haz123 · 12 Aug 2021 at 00:43

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...angled-90-rotary-fitting-black-wc-9v9-ek.html

Those are a match to the fittings you have and I have them in Satin Titanium in my system, very happy with how they look. Depending on your ram and the heatsinks they have on them you may need some 7mm or 14mm extenders to help clear the ram so you can get straight tubes. My pipes are actually touching the corsair ram rgb strips even with a 7mm extender, very tight fit.

Not easy to take good pic with side window on but you can just see how they look.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...rotary-offset-14-fitting-black-wc-a67-ek.html - These are also very helpful.

Until you have mobo+cpu block + gpu vertically mounted with block on, rads in place and Distro plate/pump+res in position you will not really know what you need. Once they are in place have a good look and think and then order the other things you need. I would not order any more fittings until you have most things in position so you can measure and see what you will need.

The vertical mount brackets only differ in the riser cables and price, get the PCIE 4 version imo. You may need to fiddle with BIOS settings to get them to work, with my Asus X570 mobo the pcie x16 slot was set to auto and would work with either pcie 3 or 4 riser cable. I would check the riser cables all work with gpu and mobo before you build the entire loop

Distro plates. Yes the front mounted distro plate is very expensive, it does come with a D5 pump that most people prefer to a DDC pump. I have the G1 side distro plate and I am very happy with how it looks but it is a DDC 3.1 pump that has annoying squeal and I am ordering the 4.2 version pump to replace it. OCUK do not stock this pump afaik and you have linked a place where it can be purchased from. Go for the distro plate you like the look of, if you do go with the front one then not only is it more expensive you also have a large gap at the side to fill with rad or fans.

I have single 360x60mm rad and my 5900x idles under 40 degrees, gets upto 60-65 when gaming but I am tinkering with the loop and need new pump so not sure totally sure where temps will be in the end. I have -10/-15 undervolt on cpu, no gpu undervolt yet. Low temps are not my priority but I do want semi silent pc in the end.

Oh yeah do not forget a drain port. https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ek-w...rque-drain-valve-fitting-black-wc-a37-ek.html - Took me awhile to work out how it works but it is useful because it can fit into tight spots and no handle so easier to fit in small spaces. Make sure properly closed when you do pressure and leak tests. Of course other drain ports available if you prefer the look of them.

TnBDelta · 18 Aug 2021 at 02:35

Hmm, thanks for the advice. It is a shame that OcUK doesn't stock the latest version of the distro, I did send in a WebNote asking if/when they would stock it. In the mean-time, I think I'll just get the PCIE Riser + some extra fittings until I hear some feedback; I don't really want to pay 20-40% customs fees ordering it directly from EKWB after all the idea is choosing it was to save money!

Haz123 · 18 Aug 2021 at 17:18

I did not get charged a customs fee because my order was under £150. I got 4.2 pump + heatsink. The new pump does not have the electronic squeal so much happier. The flow rate was visibly better when I was filling the loop and the convenience of the sata power connector is also nice.

Hopefully you can source the newer version in UK soon. You could use the 3.1 for now and if not happy just order different pump from EK

Temps , with single 360x60 rad the CPU idles @35 and goes up to 60ish when gaming. I use fan expert 4 to have pump on 10% when doing office work and Lian Li fans on 800rpm. When gaming I manually change pump to 30% and fans on 1350rpm. Fans are not the quietest so cannot hear pump.

TnBDelta · 22 Feb 2022 at 09:03

Hi all,

Finally getting around to having time to install all these parts. The only remaining things I've got to order are some extra tubing. Edit: Do I need to get some EK plugs for the unused fill port when I've filled the ress?

MikeTimbers · 22 Feb 2022 at 09:37

yes, you need to plug all the holes. You can run the loop with the top holes of a res open but I wouldn't recommend it for longer than while you leak-test. One day you'll find a bubble and shake the case and water will come out that hole if not firmly sealed. How many do you need?