Want to open loop cooling

[DylanJM_]

I've read and watched so many guides on this and I'd say I understand mostly. I just want to clear some things up officially since I have seen a lot of different opinions.

First of all, what coolant to buy. I don't understand the amount of variety there are with premixes and all the other things. I just want a coolant that has all the anti-whatever in it and a dye that is compatible with it.

Second of all, I am planning to buy the EK Fluid Gaming A360G and the EVGA hydrocopper waterblock as the EK kit is fairly cheap and the water block is compatible with the graphics card I want to buy (being the EVGA 2070 super hybrid). I also want to get the Barrow Waterway Lian Li PC-011D distribution block and a pump (if someone can recommend a good one) to replace the reservoir. Now the question is, is mixing metals really dangerous like the amount people that freak out about it?

Finally, if it really is a big deal may I be offered a fairly 'cheap' way of watercooling Ryzen 3700x (I want to do watercooling because I'm just interested in it and like the aesthetics so I know it doesn't need a custom loop) and a RTX 2070 super. I can get a different 2070 super probably instead of the hybrid because that thing is like $100+ more expensive so it probably isn't worth it when I think about it carefully and I will just be replacing it anyway.

Thanks!

[W-L]

1 minute ago, DylanJM_ said:

I've read and watched so many guides on this and I'd say I understand mostly. I just want to clear some things up officially since I have seen a lot of different opinions.

First of all, what coolant to buy. I don't understand the amount of variety there are with premixes and all the other things. I just want a coolant that has all the anti-whatever in it and a dye that is compatible with it.

Second of all, I am planning to buy the EK Fluid Gaming A360G and the EVGA hydrocopper waterblock as the EK kit is fairly cheap and the water block is compatible with the graphics card I want to buy (being the EVGA 2070 super hybrid). I also want to get the Barrow Waterway Lian Li PC-011D distribution block and a pump (if someone can recommend a good one) to replace the reservoir. Now the question is, is mixing metals really dangerous like the amount people that freak out about it?

Finally, if it really is a big deal may I be offered a fairly 'cheap' way of watercooling Ryzen 3700x (I want to do watercooling because I'm just interested in it and like the aesthetics so I know it doesn't need a custom loop) and a RTX 2070 super. I can get a different 2070 super probably instead of the hybrid because that thing is like $100+ more expensive so it probably isn't worth it when I think about it carefully and I will just be replacing it anyway.

Thanks!

The fluid gaming series is not be used with copper based GPU blocks you must use the fluid gaming series of hardware and components or risk having galvanic corrosion occur in a mixed metal loop. 

 

If you want to use the Hydro copper blocks you must choose a copper based watercooling systems such as the P series which is a very good based line for building a high quality loop. 

[Semper]

@For Science! has a fairly comprehensive list of what's going on with coolants from an objectively scientific side.

When it comes to coolant, I use straight distilled with Mayhems X1. The less additives you have, the better it's going to perform. Some people swear by distilled and PT Nuke, but in context of this discussion, it's worth nothing that PT Nuke includes no corrosion inhibitors.

When it comes to dyes, I encourage people to consider colored tubing and/or some type of RGB on their res. Dyes introduce complications, specifically the biggest two being fallout/seperation (much more prevalent with opaque coolants) and staining. It's near impossible to remove all dye from a system should you want to change colors at some point.

Using corrosion inhibitors is a method to stave off glavanic corrosion. Your vehicle is very likely running a mixed metal loop, but because of the inhibitors, generally doesn't present issues any time in the life expectancy of the vehicle. It's still best practice to stick to similar metals, however, which is why it's always encouraged.

When it comes to pumps, my go-to is always a D5 Vario.
https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-d5-vario-motor-d5-vario-motor
It's worth noting that a D5 is a D5, they're all rebrands of the same motor with *insert company here* stickers on them.

The more components you add to your loop, the more expensive it's going to be. Adding $100 for the HydroCopper 2070 will likely result in a little savings over going with an aftermarket GPU block. If you decide that you want to skip the GPU block, you can just run a loop over your 3700x, similar to an AIO.

[DylanJM_]

1 hour ago, Semper said:

@For Science! has a fairly comprehensive list of what's going on with coolants from an objectively scientific side.

When it comes to coolant, I use straight distilled with Mayhems X1. The less additives you have, the better it's going to perform. Some people swear by distilled and PT Nuke, but in context of this discussion, it's worth nothing that PT Nuke includes no corrosion inhibitors.

When it comes to dyes, I encourage people to consider colored tubing and/or some type of RGB on their res. Dyes introduce complications, specifically the biggest two being fallout/seperation (much more prevalent with opaque coolants) and staining. It's near impossible to remove all dye from a system should you want to change colors at some point.

Using corrosion inhibitors is a method to stave off glavanic corrosion. Your vehicle is very likely running a mixed metal loop, but because of the inhibitors, generally doesn't present issues any time in the life expectancy of the vehicle. It's still best practice to stick to similar metals, however, which is why it's always encouraged.

When it comes to pumps, my go-to is always a D5 Vario.
https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-d5-vario-motor-d5-vario-motor
It's worth noting that a D5 is a D5, they're all rebrands of the same motor with *insert company here* stickers on them.

The more components you add to your loop, the more expensive it's going to be. Adding $100 for the HydroCopper 2070 will likely result in a little savings over going with an aftermarket GPU block. If you decide that you want to skip the GPU block, you can just run a loop over your 3700x, similar to an AIO.

So the plan is to get the EK-Kit P360, the distribution block and a gpu water block, all copper-based/nickel). Is it possible to have a reservoir as well as the distribution block to use as a pump and I like the ease of filling the system up. The kit comes with EK-Cryofuel which on that list is at the top so I might use that. Do I get any regular distilled water or should I get Mayhems Ultra Pure H20. I may want colour as well and I will put up with the drawbacks with it so I may get the dyed Mayhems X1 to use instead of the cryofuel.

Edit: EK-Quantum Vector Dual Evo I plan to get if I get the ASUS Dual 2070 Super Evo.

[For Science!]

49 minutes ago, DylanJM_ said:

So the plan

Regular distilled water is fine, If you want to have dye and are using CryoFuel, I would recommend using EKWB's Dye set since at least if something were to go wrong at least it's within their ecosystem.

[DylanJM_]

3 minutes ago, For Science! said:

Regular distilled water is fine, If you want to have dye and are using CryoFuel, I would recommend using EKWB's Dye set since at least if something were to go wrong at least it's within their ecosystem.

Yeah that makes sense, so probably go with the 'EK-Cryofuel dye pack' seems to be the only one they have.

[AnonymousGuy]

Maybe confirmation bias, but I've never seen dye not become problematic over a long enough time span.  Stains everything, separates, clogs blocks.