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Custom Water Cooling Loop?

Viator
Level 7
I've seen some guys on the forum have "custom water loop" in their pc specs.. What is this and what is the best brand for this product.. does it have an advantage over a h100i?
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16 REPLIES 16

Krindor
Level 11
It's a water loop you build yourself, with buying separate parts and putting the loop together yourself. The custom loop has better cooling capability compared to a closed loop like h100, it also has the option to water cool the GPU as well, it is also very personal and there are very few that looks the same. There are also some downsides to custom loop, the biggest one being that it is addictive and expensive as **** so your wallet will take a big hit.
| Chassi: Phantom Fulltower White Edition | Mobo: Maximus V Extreme | CPU: i7 3770k
| Memory: 2x8gb G.Skill Trident X 2400mhz | GPU: PNY Geforce GTX 670 | PSU: NZXT Hale 90 750w
| SSD: Intel 120gb 330 series (OS) | Intel 120gb 330 series (Games n stuff)
| Monitor: LG 29EA93 | Cooling: Custom Loop

Viator
Level 7
aahahahahaha well i could do with a hyper 212 evo and get one maybe after saving for a 256gb ssd? could you give me names of parts and stuff? and do i need a special type of gpu to support this type of cooling?

Krindor
Level 11
For the GPU, no you don't really need any special type, though some work and some doesn't, all high-end reference PCB GPUs have water blocks, while certain custom PCB might or might not have, Asus DCII usually have blocks made by EKWB. The lowest price for a decent custom loop kit with only a CPU block is around 250$.

I personally don't really like to give company names for some parts of the custom loop as it is personal and you should be the one to choose your parts, I will give you a list as well as a more detailed introduction in 1-2 hours, if nobody else has answered.
| Chassi: Phantom Fulltower White Edition | Mobo: Maximus V Extreme | CPU: i7 3770k
| Memory: 2x8gb G.Skill Trident X 2400mhz | GPU: PNY Geforce GTX 670 | PSU: NZXT Hale 90 750w
| SSD: Intel 120gb 330 series (OS) | Intel 120gb 330 series (Games n stuff)
| Monitor: LG 29EA93 | Cooling: Custom Loop

Viator
Level 7
alright thanks and the graphics card im getting is an asus gtx 770 anyway.

Krindor
Level 11
To begin, I'll be using Aquatuning to link parts to as it is one of the best watercooling retailers in Europe and they have quite a lot of stuff. To avoid writing custom loop and closed loop all the time I will use "CLC" for custom loop and "AIO" for closed loop

Aight, now let's start with an introduction to custom loop water cooling. Try not to fall asleep 😄
CLC is a way to cool the hardware by using water, the basics aren't that different from a AIO as the AIO is just a cheaper and safer version of CLC. Unlike an AIO a CLC is open, and can also be called an open loop as it is possible to mix and match most parts. A normal CLC consists of:
Needed parts:
One or more Radiator/s to disperse heat from the water using fans.
One or more Pump/s to circulate the water in the loop
One or more block/s to cool the hardware
Tubing to connect the different parts
Fittings to connect the tubing to different parts
Fans to mount on the radiator
A liquid, either distilled water or a water cooling coolant
Optional parts:
A reservoir to ease filling and bleeding the water loop. (This is common in most kits and is recommended as it allows for a much easier and safer way to fill the loop)
A pump top for the pump to improve it as well as to allow different fittings.
Different kinds of measuring instruments.

Before I go deeper I will start a list with pros/cons vs a AIO

Pros:
Usually better at cooling
Easy to make quiet ones
Is able to cool close to anything that can cause heat
Personal

Cons:
Expensive
Addictive
Chance of leaking
Maintenance
Might brake warranty (Most GPUs are only warranted to their own blocks not aftermarket ones)

Now to start of with the parts.

The radiator: A radiator comes in a lot of different sizes, the most usual being 120mm ones which usually have the sizes, 1x120mm, 2x120mm, 3x120mm and 4x120mm. For comparison the H100 is a 2x120mm, meaning it can mount 2x2 fans. They also have different thickness. The usual ones being 30, 45 and 60mm thick. The first thing to check before buying a radiator is if it will fit in the case, and thickness and size is the ones to look for. After that if the case you picked is able to handle any thickness and a size of 3x120mm the type of thickness depends on what you want, a quiet radiator works well with a 30mm thick one, a performance radiator works well with a 60mm thick one. For radiators the best company is Alphacoolers nexxxos series based on benchmarks, the ST30, 30mm thick and quiet and the UT60, 60mm thick performance.

There are 2/4 pumps on the market that are the most used and best performing. The Laing DDC 3.2X, Swiftech got their own PWM version of this.
The other type is the Laing D5 pump, Swiftech also got their own PWM version of this one as well.
The difference between the D5 and DDC is that the D5 is big and not the best looking but pumps more water while the DDC is smaller and can fit in most places and is weaker than the D5.
The base top used by both are inbuilt barbed fittings and if you want bigger or other fittings a aftermarket top is recommended and will most likely increase performance as well, there are two types of tops, normal aftermarket tops that just replaces the top and there are reservoir tops which is a top with a reservoir making a pump/reservoir combo.

Now for the blocks, there are about as many water blocks as there are type of hardware, the most common type of blocks being CPU and GPU blocks. For CPU blocks please take a look at Stren's water block roundup and look for a CPU to your liking, either by looks or performance, or both 😄
For the GPU blocks this one is the one that works with Asus 770 cards.

When it comes to tubing I recommend colored ones from either Masterkleer or Primochill tubing, tubing have different diameters, the thicker the more water is pushed through and the lower the temps but need more power, not a problem with a DDC or D5 pump with 1 CPU and 2 GPUs.

As for fittings, there are two major different types, barbed and compression fittings. Barbed is a bit harder to work with and requires a hose clamp, the compression has two parts, a fitting and a ring which is put down instead of the need of a hose clamp, the barbed has slightly better flow in comparison to compression and the compression loosens easier if the case is moved around a lot. There are also quick disconnection fittings which is used to easily remove the tubing without the water flowing out, I have personally not worked with these and it seems most quick disconnection fittings aren't working well, there are some that work as intended but other members with experience of those will have to recommend the ones that work.

The most important part of the water cooling, the water. There are two common types, distilled water and coolant, coolant is usually colored and have biocide and anti ionizer added. My personal recommendation is non colored distilled water with a biocide, the reason is due to the coolant being more expensive and they can quickly discolor the tubing, and most stores have distilled water while coolants are only sold in computer stores that have water cooling supplies.

As for fans there are a lot of different ones out there in different colors and performance, quiet fans that work well with the ST30 are fans with around 600-1000 rpm. Performance fans that work well with the UT60 are fans with 1400-3000rpm fans.

The last part is the reservoir, this as I mentioned is not needed but is hugely recommended as it will help quite a lot with filling and bleeding the loop, it also looks nice. As mentioned earlier there are reservoir/pump-top combos that works well, some works better than just a pump top. The reservoir can be found in different shapes, the most common is the cylinder formed ones and the rectangular 5.25 bay reservoirs. The cylinder ones usually requires screwing holes into the case to stick it to the case, there are also other ways to stick it to the case.

The construction of a CLC system consist of different stages.
Planning, here you will plan on what parts to get as well as design how the loop will look.
Flushing, most parts come with some crap after the manufacturing process which will be needed to get rid off, most importantly the radiator need to be flushed, it is almost certain to have quite a lot of crap that you don't want in your loop.
Building, here you will build together the whole system
Leak testing, as the system is built together by fittings there are some chances of there being some part that wasn't correctly seated and is leaking, we don't want water on hardware that got electricity going through its circuits, to leak test without the hardware on we jump the PSU so that only the loop is on and check for the leaks by placing paper towels at parts where a leak might occur a leak test should be watched for the first 1 hour, if no major leaks are found you can just leave it on for the night and check if there has been any small leaking.
Bleeding, after the leak test there will be air trapped inside the loop that you will want to get rid of, most of it disappears during the leak test but some are hard to get rid of.
And lastly maintenance, this can be done every 6 months, every year or every 2nd year depending on how long you are planning to use the water cooling parts.

This is a "short" introduction to water cooling, if you are still interested in building a custom loop here are more in depth guides on the internet.
| Chassi: Phantom Fulltower White Edition | Mobo: Maximus V Extreme | CPU: i7 3770k
| Memory: 2x8gb G.Skill Trident X 2400mhz | GPU: PNY Geforce GTX 670 | PSU: NZXT Hale 90 750w
| SSD: Intel 120gb 330 series (OS) | Intel 120gb 330 series (Games n stuff)
| Monitor: LG 29EA93 | Cooling: Custom Loop

Krindor wrote:
To begin, I'll be using Aquatuning to link parts to as it is one of the best watercooling retailers in Europe and they have quite a lot of stuff. To avoid writing custom loop and closed loop all the time I will use "CLC" for custom loop and "AIO" for closed loop

Aight, now let's start with an introduction to custom loop water cooling. Try not to fall asleep 😄

lots of informative text


I want one! Man that sounds so fun to try. Where do you live? When I am ready to get into this aspect (wich will be towards the end of this year) I want to pick your brain a lot lol.

Viator
Level 7
Well holy s*** xd, I think I'm just gonna buy a h100i...

Krindor
Level 11
Custom Loop Cooling is a hobby by itself and works the best if you have time+money 😄
| Chassi: Phantom Fulltower White Edition | Mobo: Maximus V Extreme | CPU: i7 3770k
| Memory: 2x8gb G.Skill Trident X 2400mhz | GPU: PNY Geforce GTX 670 | PSU: NZXT Hale 90 750w
| SSD: Intel 120gb 330 series (OS) | Intel 120gb 330 series (Games n stuff)
| Monitor: LG 29EA93 | Cooling: Custom Loop

Zeruel
Level 7
Parts to water cooling...

CPU Block: Cools cpu
GPU Block: Cools graphics card
Tubing: Runs the coolant
Reservoir: Contains excess water and distributes water into the loop system
Radiators: Cools the waters to low temps
Fans: Cools the radiators
Fittings: G 1/4 are the standard, you can them to fit different tubes. G 1/4 is the size of the fitting itself, but there is a secondary number which defines tubing size 3/8 IN(inner diameter) 1/2 OD(outer diameter).
FanController: Controls fans if you have ALOT.
Coolant: Can just be distilled water or a premixed coolant with colors and stuff.

I just made an order for a $800 water cooling system...IT IS EXPENSIVE!!!

EDIT: $1000 considering I'll need more Fans and I didnt factor in my fancontroller.
Cruel Angel
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Custom Water Cooling