Advice needed on liquid cooling project

[Ad190]

I am about to move my pc into a thermaltake p3 case and i want to replace my stock amd cooler for a open loop system. Does anyone have any kit/parts they would recommend?

 

My budget is prefferably under 400$

[Statik]

Maybe you can start by listing your specs 

[Touch My Hamm]

Are you looking for a all in one kit where it comes with everything you need for CPU cooling or a list to buy for separate parts? Both have their ups and downs. If your starting out there is nothing wrong with buying a kit where everything is included. An example of a kit https://www.newegg.com/p/37B-000B-002H4. There are many kits this is just 1 example and prob not the best for everyone's setup.

[Ad190]

Just now, Statik said:

Maybe you can start by listing your specs 

3600x, looking to upgraade to 3950x, msi b450 a pro, evga 1080ti sc black, 2 sticks corsair ram, and a thermaltake p3 case.

[Ad190]

2 minutes ago, GodSeph said:

Are you looking for a all in one kit where it comes with everything you need for CPU cooling or a list to buy for separate parts? Both have their ups and downs. If your starting out there is nothing wrong with buying a kit where everything is included. An example of a kit https://www.newegg.com/p/37B-000B-002H4. There are many kits this is just 1 example and prob not the best for everyone's setup.

Im looking for a list of parts or a kit. I wouldnt mind buying the parts separately. 

[Touch My Hamm]

8 minutes ago, Ad190 said:

3600x, looking to upgraade to 3950x, msi b450 a pro, evga 1080ti sc black, 2 sticks corsair ram, and a thermaltake p3 case.

Nice build. I would love to go one of those cases but they would be a dust magnet. Should practice and get some nice hardline tubbings or do straight hardlines with sweet 90 degree angle fittings. It would be more pricey but so cool. 

 

Maybe a kit like this: https://www.newegg.com/p/37B-000B-001G8 since it has CPU and GPU. it is compatible with 1080ti. and has AM4 socket and is good price for starting out. 

[Ad190]

1 minute ago, GodSeph said:

Nice build. I would love to go one of those cases but they would be a dust magnet. Should practice and get some nice hardline tubbings or do straight hardlines with sweet 90 degree angle fittings. It would be more pricey but so cool. 

Yeah, i figured id have to air blast it quite regularly, i am thinking of doing hardline. It just looks far better than soft tubing

[Statik]

2 minutes ago, Ad190 said:

Yeah, i figured id have to air blast it quite regularly, i am thinking of doing hardline. It just looks far better than soft tubing

IMO soft tubing looks really poor. Hardline is the way to go.

[Touch My Hamm]

2 minutes ago, Ad190 said:

Yeah, i figured id have to air blast it quite regularly, i am thinking of doing hardline. It just looks far better than soft tubing

I dont mind either. It depends on the look you are going for. I miss the days of old with Frankenstein tubing with weird colored boards and strange PCI cards. 

[Ad190]

Whats your guys opinion on opaque coolants. The theme of my build is purple and white and im looking at an opaque white coolant. Should i buy premixed opaque coolant or make it myself

[For Science!]

8 minutes ago, Ad190 said:

Whats your guys opinion on opaque coolants. The theme of my build is purple and white and im looking at an opaque white coolant. Should i buy premixed opaque coolant or make it myself

If you must do opaque fluid, I would definitely recommend buying a premix (or at a minimum, concentrate). This would also rule out any aluminium components/kits, since they are not compatible with opaque fluids.

[Ad190]

3 minutes ago, For Science! said:

If you must do opaque fluid, I would definitely recommend buying a premix (or at a minimum, concentrate). This would also rule out any aluminium components/kits, since they are not compatible with opaque fluids.

Ok, thx for informing me, would u reccomend any parts or mixes

[For Science!]

Just now, Ad190 said:

Ok, thx for informing me, would u reccomend any parts or mixes

This is just  for the CPU right? 

 

AS for fluid, if you must use opaque, then I think Mayhems series (anything but Aurora) is the one to go. Corsair Opaque is supposedly by Mayhems too so it might be okay.

[Ad190]

2 minutes ago, For Science! said:

This is just  for the CPU right? 

 

AS for fluid, if you must use opaque, then I think Mayhems series (anything but Aurora) is the one to go. Corsair Opaque is supposedly by Mayhems too so it might be okay.

Yeah just for cpu rn, i will buy a gpu waterblock down the line

[For Science!]

9 minutes ago, Ad190 said:

Yeah just for cpu rn, i will buy a gpu waterblock down the line

Do you have a preferred online retailer? I could have a look directly there.

Also do you know what tube thickness you want, it doesn't affect performance, just looks.

[Ad190]

11 minutes ago, For Science! said:

Do you have a preferred online retailer? I could have a look directly there.

Also do you know what tube thickness you want, it doesn't affect performance, just looks.

I would preferably buy from amazon. Im undecided on tube fitness

[For Science!]

11 minutes ago, Ad190 said:

Yeah just for cpu rn, i will buy a gpu waterblock down the line

Anyway, this is a list that you will need as a recommended minimum:

 

D5 pump/res combo

420 mm radiator, probably 40-60 mm thick (since you might as well prepare for when you incoorporate the GPU)

6 hardline fittings

tubing appropriate for above fittings

tubing cutter and silicon insert

heat gun

 

optional but HEAVILY recommended:

2x male-to-male fitting

T- or four way splitter

2-pin temperature probe

ball valve

stop plug

1 soft tube fitting

soft tubing

 

even more optional but also recommended:

90 or 2x45 degree fittings

[For Science!]

1 hour ago, Ad190 said:

I would preferably buy from amazon. Im undecided on tube fitness

Products to avoid at all cost: Thermaltake Radiators (most of them are aluminium), Mayhems Aurora (degrades over time), Primochill Vue (degrades over time), All Thermaltake coolants.

 

CPU blocks ($60-75 ish): performance between blocks are fairly comparable, my recommendation is HeatKiller IV Pro Nickel, I think it looks gorgeous. Other options: EK-Velocity, EK-Supremacy, Corsair XC7, etc etc

 

Radiators: Personal recommendation, HWlabs GTX or GTR. EKWB XE series are also pretty good. I would recommend you go for the thickest and biggest radiator you can fit, this will lower noise, temperatures, and generally make the build look better. I think the P3 can fit a fairly beefy radiator, so the 54-60 mm thickness should be fine, I think.

 

Pump/res combo: D5 pump variant. Many brands have their respective pump res combo, choose based on looks. DDC is also an option, but I think the noise is not worth the savings made. Personal favorite looker is watercool heatkiller, but EKWB looks good too. 

 

Fittings and tubing: anything from a reputable brand is good, I use EKWB (both old HTC and new Torque) both are fine. Some people swear by Bitspower fittings, they are proabbyl better quality but a lot more expensive. Budget people go for brands like barrow or bykski, I would not go any cheaper than these though. Tubing should be bought from the same company as the fitting to maximize compatibility

 

Coolant: I don't like opaque fluids, but among them, I believe anecdotally Mayhems Pastel is the one I would recommend.

[Ad190]

48 minutes ago, For Science! said:

Products to avoid at all cost: Thermaltake Radiators (most of them are aluminium), Mayhems Aurora (degrades over time), Primochill Vue (degrades over time), All Thermaltake coolants.

 

CPU blocks ($60-75 ish): performance between blocks are fairly comparable, my recommendation is HeatKiller IV Pro Nickel, I think it looks gorgeous. Other options: EK-Velocity, EK-Supremacy, Corsair XC7, etc etc

 

Radiators: Personal recommendation, HWlabs GTX or GTR. EKWB XE series are also pretty good. I would recommend you go for the thickest and biggest radiator you can fit, this will lower noise, temperatures, and generally make the build look better. I think the P3 can fit a fairly beefy radiator, so the 54-60 mm thickness should be fine, I think.

 

Pump/res combo: D5 pump variant. Many brands have their respective pump res combo, choose based on looks. DDC is also an option, but I think the noise is not worth the savings made. Personal favorite looker is watercool heatkiller, but EKWB looks good too. 

 

Fittings and tubing: anything from a reputable brand is good, I use EKWB (both old HTC and new Torque) both are fine. Some people swear by Bitspower fittings, they are proabbyl better quality but a lot more expensive. Budget people go for brands like barrow or bykski, I would not go any cheaper than these though. Tubing should be bought from the same company as the fitting to maximize compatibility

 

Coolant: I don't like opaque fluids, but among them, I believe anecdotally Mayhems Pastel is the one I would recommend.

Thank you, this helps a ton

[Ravendarat]

Im currently running a Thermaltake p5 case myself. I use a Primochill rad and its been solid. I order Bykski fittings because I needed a ton of fittings (I think 27 total) and they seemed to be good for the money. Ive had mine running since July and its been trouble free besides the coolant losing color. I am also running a Bykski cpu block on my 3600 and its ok but its a bit gaudy and oversized so I might switch it out, I only got it because it had the coolant temp built in. For coolant I would avoid opaque at all costs, its known for gumming up loops, far harder to keep the system operating optimally and requires far more regular maintenance.