First time custom AIO

[ZeusXI]

Alright. So I've been building computers for friends and family and myself for a few years now. I've finally gone from a Full ATX case, down to a mini-itx case and absolutely love it. 

But I want to challenge myself a little bit. Never have I done a custom liquid cooling loop, where everything is in the same system hooked up to the same radiator, reservoir, etc.

 

So, my main question, what components do I need to have in order to make all this happen?

As being my first time, I honestly dont have much idea of how to go do this, but I've watched a few LTT and J2C videos about custom loops, and been itching to try it as of recent.

 

Preferred

-quick release valve (think this is what they are called) so I can upgrade the system overtime, or take parts out for dusting, etc

-240mm radiator, slim maybe, or a normal 240mm rad as my computer case only supports 92mm, 120mm, or 240mm

 

Current Build

Case: Ncase M1 v5

Mobo: Asrock Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming ITX/ac

CPU: Ryzen 1600x

GPU: EVGA GTX 1070 Hybrid (if i decide to put the gpu in the loop now, a friend of mine actually said he could trade mine for his founders edition so i can find a cooling block for the gpu)

PSU: Corsair SF600

RAM: 16GB DDR4 2400mhz OC@2993

 

 

[tarfeef101]

2 minutes ago, ZeusXI said:

Alright. So I've been building computers for friends and family and myself for a few years now. I've finally gone from a Full ATX case, down to a mini-itx case and absolutely love it. 

But I want to challenge myself a little bit. Never have I done a custom liquid cooling loop, where everything is in the same system hooked up to the same radiator, reservoir, etc.

 

So, my main question, what components do I need to have in order to make all this happen?

As being my first time, I honestly dont have much idea of how to go do this, but I've watched a few LTT and J2C videos about custom loops, and been itching to try it as of recent.

 

Preferred

-quick release valve (think this is what they are called) so I can upgrade the system overtime, or take parts out for dusting, etc

-240mm radiator, slim maybe, or a normal 240mm rad as my computer case only supports 92mm, 120mm, or 240mm

 

Current Build

Case: Ncase M1 v5

Mobo: Asrock Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming ITX/ac

CPU: Ryzen 1600x

GPU: EVGA GTX 1070 Hybrid (if i decide to put the gpu in the loop now, a friend of mine actually said he could trade mine for his founders edition so i can find a cooling block for the gpu)

PSU: Corsair SF600

RAM: 16GB DDR4 2400mhz OC@2993

 

 

Sounds fun! Warning: working with custom loops in small cases is rewarding, but can be annoying/exhausting. especially if you make a mistake and get lazy (don't disassemble when you really should and start over)

you'll want a small reservoir, pump, fittings, more fittings, when you think you have enough get more, some 90 degree adapters for em (some say other angles are also handy but i dont use em personally), a radiator of the thickness and size you deem needed, fans for that radiator, GPU and CPU water block, tubing (get a bunch, it's cheap and nice to try multiple runs if needed), coolant (i recommend distilled water + liquid utopia from primochill as it has done me solid for years). don't buy stuff til you figure out visually where stuff goes in the case, and make sure it'll fit. finding a spot for the pump and res is often a big part of the challenge in SFF loops. You also need to make sure you remember PSU cables take up space. 

last, it's a custom loop. not AIO. AIO means all in one

[Firewrath9]

A single 240mm slim rad isnt worth it, you’re talking 75$ for cpu block, 150 for pump and res, 70 for rad, 100$ for gpu block, and 30$ for fittings, 10$ for tubes, 10$ for coolant, and thats 420$ without fans for a minimal increase over a 120mm aio for cpu and 120mm aio for gpu, that (the aio+gpu hybrid) will prob be 350$ cheaper.

[ZeusXI]

2 minutes ago, tarfeef101 said:

Sounds fun! Warning: working with custom loops in small cases is rewarding, but can be annoying/exhausting. especially if you make a mistake and get lazy (don't disassemble when you really should and start over)

you'll want a small reservoir, pump, fittings, more fittings, when you think you have enough get more, some 90 degree adapters for em (some say other angles are also handy but i dont use em personally), a radiator of the thickness and size you deem needed, fans for that radiator, GPU and CPU water block, tubing (get a bunch, it's cheap and nice to try multiple runs if needed), coolant (i recommend distilled water + liquid utopia from primochill as it has done me solid for years). don't buy stuff til you figure out visually where stuff goes in the case, and make sure it'll fit. finding a spot for the pump and res is often a big part of the challenge in SFF loops. You also need to make sure you remember PSU cables take up space. 

last, it's a custom loop. not AIO. AIO means all in one

Yeah. im hoping to get tube vs hard tube. Im not sure if I would have enough patience to do hard tube as if something needs to be replaced its harder to take apart from what i have seen.

 

1 minute ago, Firewrath9 said:

A single 240mm slim rad isnt worth it, you’re talking 75$ for cpu block, 150 for pump and res, 70 for rad, 100$ for gpu block, and 30$ for fittings, 10$ for tubes, 10$ for coolant, and thats 420$ without fans for a minimal increase over a 240mm aio for cpu and 120mm aio for gpu, actually, that (the aio+gpu hybrid) will prob outperform a custom loop with a single 240mm slim rad.

well 240slim maybe. i was just putting it out there, but that does make sense. slim arnt worth it. 75$ for cpu block, J2C did a video on cheaper water blocks but I really dont know much about different venders and what is good and what isnt

 

 

 

 

But for anything, what would you guys suggest for blocks, fittings, rads, etc?

[tarfeef101]

2 minutes ago, Firewrath9 said:

A single 240mm slim rad isnt worth it, you’re talking 75$ for cpu block, 150 for pump and res, 70 for rad, 100$ for gpu block, and 30$ for fittings, 10$ for tubes, 10$ for coolant, and thats 420$ without fans for a minimal increase over a 240mm aio for cpu and 120mm aio for gpu, actually, that (the aio+gpu hybrid) will prob outperform a custom loop with a single 240mm slim rad.

Not true. I personally run my server with a single 240, and it works fantastically with an 8 core GPU and 1080ti. All about how you do it.

Also you can get CPU blocks for 15 bucks, pumps for 50, res for like 15, rad for ~50, 100 for GPU, and tbh probably more for fittings. Aliexpress is life (btw that's all in CAD)

The GPU performance will be probably similar cause GPUs are easy to cool, but the VRMs will be better cooled. And quieter. The CPU will actualyl benefit most from this. Slim rads plus good fans are actually very effective. And while I haven't used the Ncase m1 personally, I imagine a 30mm thick rad will probably fit. which is enough to be better than a 120mm AIO, even if also cooling a GPU

[Enderman]

First of all make sure you have the $500+ to build it, and don't cheap out on components unless you enjoy leaks and dead PC parts.

 

Second you should do a lot more research, if you can't choose the parts then you're definitely not ready to make a custom loop.

 

Singularitycomputers, snef, jayztwocents, are all good options to learn from.

[Firewrath9]

On 1/5/2019 at 5:47 PM, ZeusXI said:

Yeah. im hoping to get tube vs hard tube. Im not sure if I would have enough patience to do hard tube as if something needs to be replaced its harder to take apart from what i have seen.

 

well 240slim maybe. i was just putting it out there, but that does make sense. slim arnt worth it. 75$ for cpu block, J2C did a video on cheaper water blocks but I really dont know much about different venders and what is good and what isnt

 

 

 

 

But for anything, what would you guys suggest for blocks, fittings, rads, etc?

Hardwarelabs makes good slim rads, for fans, go with noctua either regular, or chromax/ippc2000 for looks.

 

tubes, the EKWB tubing is good

 

fittings, just find the cheapest thats from a known manufacturer,

 

cpu block, supremecy evo, or any from a know manufacturer

 

gpu block, again know manufacturer, make sure its compatible.

 

As for pump res, go with ekwb, altho it is a bit expensive.

[tarfeef101]

1 minute ago, ZeusXI said:

Yeah. im hoping to get tube vs hard tube. Im not sure if I would have enough patience to do hard tube as if something needs to be replaced its harder to take apart from what i have seen.

 

well 240slim maybe. i was just putting it out there, but that does make sense. slim arnt worth it. 75$ for cpu block, J2C did a video on cheaper water blocks but I really dont know much about different venders and what is good and what isnt

 

 

 

 

But for anything, what would you guys suggest for blocks, fittings, rads, etc?

Yeah measure it out and see how thick you can go (fans are 25mm, btw. standard ones anyways. add a couple mm to that to be safe). 

I would recommend soft tubing in these small builds for ease of installation, but I can't say hard is impossible. I and many others have done it. But it is an exercise in patience. and having lots of tubes to mess up with


If you want suggestions for blocks, etc, lemme know. I'll pm you, most likely. I don't like getting into the flame wars that result when people ask for parts recommendations on forums. You can choose to trust me enough to ask and listen to my opinions or not, but I'm so tired of dealing with the flame wars I really can't be bothered to recommend parts publicly anymore.

[Swes]

If you go with soft tubing which you would endup with a quick release valve anyways then its not too bad to remove a block for example to upgrade the CPU.

 

As long as you plan for being able to drain quick connects are not necessary. They just let you swap stuff in and out easy for example if you are adding and removing a graphics card from your loop like you might on a test bench. It might be useful if you water cool one thing then want to add another components later like GPU then GPU+CPU

[ZeusXI]

2 minutes ago, Swes said:

If you go with soft tubing which you would endup with a quick release valve anyways then its not too bad to remove a block for example to upgrade the CPU.

 

As long as you plan for being able to drain quick connects are not necessary. They just let you swap stuff in and out easy for example if you are adding and removing a graphics card from your loop like you might on a test bench. It might be useful if you water cool one thing then want to add another components later like GPU then GPU+CPU

so you are saying for a small case dont use quick connects?

[For Science!]

16 hours ago, ZeusXI said:

so you are saying for a small case dont use quick connects?

I did a custom loop in the Ncase M1, not easy but definitely doable. With high end components I would say 360 mm radiator space makes it "worth it" otherwise a 240 mm AIO and a normal air-cooled GPU will have similar noise normalized performance.

 

 

240 mm AIO + Aircooled GPU

 

Full custom loop

 

[SolarNova]

Consider an external mounted radiator system, or entire cooling system.

 

M-ITX are great and all but at the very least, if u really want to get Custom loop temps, ur gunna need more than a single 240mm Rad.

 

If i were u, i would mount the pump/res inside to fill out the case and make it look nice, then have the radiator(s) mounted externaly, use some quick disconnects between the case and rads so u can move it easily.

 

Dont bother with QDs between the blocks, future upgrades will require a tear down anyway as ull be needing new blocks.

 

Make sure to build in a drain port othewise it can be a nightmare to maintain.