Am I crazy for wanting to sacrifice performance for watercooling?

[iPC]

Hi, Im planning a new build. This is a build that I want to be able to move between places (plane transportable), so I wanted to go with a mITX form factor. I've always really liked the look of the Phanteks Evolv Shift, so I'm kinda attached to the case. My budget is right around 2500-2600. Would I be crazy to downgrade from a 2080S to a 2070S in order to custom watercool the case? I'm also looking at future upgradeability. Here are the two builds. (I could also go with a 2700X in the aircooled build and get an EVGA Hybrid 2080S). All suggestions and comments are welcome!

 

Watercooled:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor	$189.59 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus ROG STRIX X470-I GAMING Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard	$195.00 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$135.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB BLACK GAMING Video Card	$479.99 @ Newegg
Case	Phanteks Evolv Shift Air Mini ITX Tower Case	$105.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair SF 600 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply	$119.05 @ Amazon
Monitor	Dell AW3418DW 34.1" 3440x1440 120 Hz Monitor	$649.99 @ Amazon
Custom	EK Water Blocks EK-Velocity AMD CPU Water Block - Nickel + Acetal	$68.23 @ Amazon
Custom	EX950 2TB	$209.99
Custom	ML140 140mm PWM Premium Magnetic Levitation Fan — Twin Pack	$34.99
Custom	WB 1	$35.49
Custom	WB 2	$35.49
Custom	WB GPU	$123.99
Custom	Pump	$159.99
Custom	Tubing	$17.99
Custom	Fittings (*10)	$69.90
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$2651.65
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$2631.65
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-18 17:16 EST-0500

 

Air Cooled:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 3800X 3.9 GHz 8-Core Processor	$354.90 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	NZXT Kraken M22 Liquid CPU Cooler	$79.98 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte X570 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard	$218.79 @ SuperBiiz
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$135.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	Zotac GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB GAMING Video Card	$709.99 @ Amazon
Case	Phanteks Evolv Shift Air Mini ITX Tower Case	$105.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair SF 600 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply	$119.05 @ Amazon
Monitor	Dell AW3418DW 34.1" 3440x1440 120 Hz Monitor	$649.99 @ Amazon
Custom	EX950 2TB	$209.99
Custom	ML140 140mm PWM Premium Magnetic Levitation Fan — Twin Pack	$34.99
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$2619.65
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-18 17:17 EST-0500

 

 

[NinJake]

If looks matter more than the performance then by all means... it's your money!

[The Torrent]

I bought a corsair h115i platinum for a ryzen 3600 when i could have upgraded to 3700x for that price, just for the rgb.

 

So no, im the one thats crazy.

 

I paid more for my case than my gpu x2 just for rgb...

[iPC]

3 minutes ago, NinJake said:

If looks matter more than the performance then by all means... it's your money!

 

1 minute ago, The Torrent said:

I bought a corsair h115i platinum for a ryzen 3600 when i could have upgraded to 3700x for that price, just for the rgb.

 

So no, im the one thats crazy.

 

I paid more for my case than my gpu x2 just for rgb...

Part of it's because I'm worried about is thermals in the case, I've heard they're not the greatest. And kinda also want the tempered glass side panels, so even worse airflow. Also, for upgradeability, in the next few years I will already have the cooling infrastructure, just new blocks. So I'll just need to buy mobo cpu gpu and some blocks.

[KarathKasun]

Air travel is a no no for watercooling setups.  The vibration and pressure changes can cause premature leaks.

[The Torrent]

Just now, iPC said:

 

Part of it's because I'm worried about is thermals in the case, I've heard they're not the greatest. And kinda also want the tempered glass side panels, so even worse airflow. Also, for upgradeability, in the next few years I will already have the cooling infrastructure, just new blocks. So I'll just need to buy mobo cpu gpu and some blocks.

It depends what your using it for.

 

If your gonna work from it make money do video editing or something obviously go performance as thats gonna increase your productivity. 

 

If its just for you to look at and make you happy and you got money to burn as i did by all means watercool it and post it all over reddit.

[The Torrent]

1 minute ago, KarathKasun said:

Air travel is a no no for watercooling setups.  The vibration and pressure changes can cause premature leaks.

does that include the aio m22 cooler he has used for the 'air cooled' system?

[KarathKasun]

Just now, The Torrent said:

does that include the aio m22 cooler he has used for the 'air cooled' system?

Yes.

[iPC]

2 minutes ago, The Torrent said:

does that include the aio m22 cooler he has used for the 'air cooled' system?

yeah, my bad, kinda misspoke. It's AIO vs custom. 

 

3 minutes ago, The Torrent said:

It depends what your using it for.

 

If your gonna work from it make money do video editing or something obviously go performance as thats gonna increase your productivity. 

 

If its just for you to look at and make you happy and you got money to burn as i did by all means watercool it and post it all over reddit.

I'm probably going to use it for a lot of machine learning and gaming in college, so half half productivity and gaming.

 

6 minutes ago, KarathKasun said:

Air travel is a no no for watercooling setups.  The vibration and pressure changes can cause premature leaks.

Ok. Will AIOs have this problem? And what about cushioning it? I'd have it in a carry on probably.

[KarathKasun]

6 minutes ago, iPC said:

yeah, my bad, kinda misspoke. It's AIO vs custom. 

 

I'm probably going to use it for a lot of machine learning and gaming in college, so half half productivity and gaming.

 

Ok. Will AIOs have this problem? And what about cushioning it? I'd have it in a carry on probably.

Cushioning the system will not improve the situation.  Any rotating joints (where hoses meet the AIO block for example) will see much earlier failure.  You are better off with a relatively low profile cooler, like one that uses a 120mm fan blowing toward the MB rather than across it like on a tower cooler.

[Statik]

This is unrelated, but how is that AW3418DW so cheap? It doesn’t appear to be on sale, but up in Canada I’m about to pay $1,100 for the same monitor? Yet the conversion from your price to CAD is like $850

[iPC]

24 minutes ago, Statik said:

This is unrelated, but how is that AW3418DW so cheap? It doesn’t appear to be on sale, but up in Canada I’m about to pay $1,100 for the same monitor? Yet the conversion from your price to CAD is like $850

Its MSRP is lik 1300 but newegg had it for 650 off. It was insane, so I snatched it up as soon as I could so I didn't miss the deal. Also apparently amazon has it for that now. Shit, couldve avoided tax

[iPC]

 

1 hour ago, KarathKasun said:

Cushioning the system will not improve the situation.  Any rotating joints (where hoses meet the AIO block for example) will see much earlier failure.  You are better off with a relatively low profile cooler, like one that uses a 120mm fan blowing toward the MB rather than across it like on a tower cooler.

Is there no way to transport it through air travel? Draining the loop, disconnecting hoses, etc? 

[Statik]

2 minutes ago, iPC said:

Its MSRP is lik 1300 but newegg had it for 650 off. It was insane, so I snatched it up as soon as I could so I didn't miss the deal. Also apparently amazon has it for that now. Shit, couldve avoided tax

Damn that’s nice. Wish that happened here. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you pay tax on amazon now?

[iPC]

Just now, Statik said:

Damn that’s nice. Wish that happened here. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you pay tax on amazon now?

I honestly don't know. I thought you didn't, but could be wrong.

[Statik]

1 minute ago, iPC said:

I honestly don't know. I thought you didn't, but could be wrong.

I could be wrong too. How long ago did you buy it if it was MSRP at $1300 USD? It kinda concerns me because Newegg has it on for $1400 CAD, and amazon has it for $1,099 reg $1200, and I really don’t want it to jump up to $1400 on amazon

[iPC]

1 minute ago, Statik said:

I could be wrong too. How long ago did you buy it if it was MSRP at $1300 USD? It kinda concerns me because Newegg has it on for $1400 CAD, and amazon has it for $1,099 reg $1200, and I really don’t want it to jump up to $1400 on amazon

2 days ago. Also nvm, dell's website has the price at 999USD now.

[Statik]

1 minute ago, iPC said:

2 days ago. Also nvm, dell's website has the price at 999USD now.

I’ve noticed newegg does that, they’ll put the price of something significantly higher to make the sale look better (I.e in Canada they have the MSI 2080S listed as $2000, but have it for like 50% off, making the sale look godlike, when in reality you’re saving like maybe $20-50.

 

pretty greasy

[iPC]

35 minutes ago, Statik said:

I’ve noticed newegg does that, they’ll put the price of something significantly higher to make the sale look better (I.e in Canada they have the MSI 2080S listed as $2000, but have it for like 50% off, making the sale look godlike, when in reality you’re saving like maybe $20-50.

 

pretty greasy

Yeah, most people do though. It kinda sucks, but it was still a good deal, so

[iPC]

Just now, iPC said:

Yeah, most people do though. It kinda sucks, but it was still a good deal, so

Updated the build slightly based on someone who's done dual rads in the shift before. Do you think this will work?

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/iPC/saved/h9kp8d