Water cooling for n00bs

[AhmedIlyas]

So I am planning on taking the plunge and potentially do a water cooling for a potential i9 10980xe CPU.

For a n00b who is used to just good fan cooling, what should I be aware of and know about water cooling?

 

How easy or difficult is it to set one up that is sufficient and provides good cooling for such a CPU?

Is everything provided in the 1 product?

Which ones would you recommend that is easy to setup and use that does an excellent job at cooling?

 

Thank you

[Zando_]

For a custom loop you'll want to assemble it yourself. There are kits, but for a 10980XE you'll want a proper beefy loop. What case and GPU/GPUs will you be using? And what kind of look are you going for on your loop? Some people like hardline, some like clear blocks, I personally prefer black soft tubing with Acetal blocks. 

[bazookapanda]

soft tubing is probably best to start EK and Corsair have configurators to help pick parts and i think they also have pre put together kits of varying nature last think maybe get some kind of biocide so prohibit growth.

[AhmedIlyas]

Wish things were not complicated these days

 

I will be using the Fractal Design Define 7 XL case.

GPU I have is the GForce 1050Ti i will be using

 

I want something that is clean (don't care about looks as I am a practical person)

[SolarNova]

44 minutes ago, AhmedIlyas said:

~Snip~

Is everything provided in the 1 product?

~~Snip~~

I get the feeling u might be referring to AIO water cooling. In which case its about a simple as ur normal air cooler, not that i would overly recommend them tbh, not unless u get a 360mm AIO.

 

If u do mean a custom loop however, then the easiest solution is to buy a kit, it will be soft tubed which makes things simple, and have everything u need. EK do some, though do try to stear clear of any Aluminium based kits, they can potentially be a PITA to expand upon as most non kit parts are predominantly copper.

[Zando_]

11 minutes ago, AhmedIlyas said:

Wish things were not complicated these days

 

I will be using the Fractal Design Define 7 XL case.

GPU I have is the GForce 1050Ti i will be using

 

I want something that is clean (don't care about looks as I am a practical person)

I'd reccomend ZMT then. It's more practical since you can move hardware and reach around stuff without having to drain the loop and remove tubing runs, and it's very reliable as well. You can use compression fittings or barbs with zip ties on them, both work fine, just depends on which you like more or how much you're willing to spend. 
 

What's the use case for the build? Will you be overclocking at all? Also, will you be using the 3.5" HDD mounts in that case or no? Whether or not you use them effects what radiators you can fit, and where. I assume you have a CPU heavy workload given you're keeping a 1050 Ti (which wouldn't be worth water cooling, so you're looking at a CPU only loop). Though to be honest, if you aren't OCing at all, a 280-360mm AIO or beefy air cooler should be able to handle the 10980XE. I believe a 360mm AIO kept @Den-Fi's 7980XE below throttle/unsafe temps before he moved to a loop, and that's a slightly hotter running CPU. 

[AhmedIlyas]

@Zando Bob - thanks.

No OC on my part. Just heavy workload with VM's and also being a software developer and doing enterprise solutions. 

I will be using the 3.5" mounts for HDD's (and SSD's). I'll be plugging in around 8-10 drives in the thing. 

[AhmedIlyas]

BTW, any videos or tut's to follow for n00bs on this stuff?

[Zando_]

23 minutes ago, AhmedIlyas said:

@Zando Bob - thanks.

No OC on my part. Just heavy workload with VM's and also being a software developer and doing enterprise solutions. 

I will be using the 3.5" mounts for HDD's (and SSD's). I'll be plugging in around 8-10 drives in the thing. 

That case has a ton of mounting options. Even if you leave all the drive cages in, you can still fit a 480mm rad (which is m a s s i v e) in the front:

If you go for a 360mm AIO (or a 480mm one if they exist and you can find one) it'll fit just fine. If you decide to stick with a custom loop, you'll probably want to put the pump/res combo (I'd recommend getting the combo for simplicity) in the bottom, you'll still have that whole massive front section to mount HDDs. If you go with a 360mm rad instead of a 480, you can also keep the 5.25" bays in case you need those:

These are from the manual btw, which you can grab here: https://www.fractal-design.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Define_7_XL_Manual-V2.pdf. 

Since you'll be running stock, you don't need a stupid amount of rad space. A single 360mm will be plenty when custom watercooling, a 360mm AIO isn't too far behind that. Either should keep it at safe temps (which are well into the 80s when running stock). Then EK-ZMT tubing, it's plain black rubber (EPDM or something IIRC). Very clean, but more importantly, super easy to work with and basically never leaks (you'd have to leave a fitting loose for that to happen). For fittings, I'd get barbs and then use zip ties or hose clamps to remove any risk of even the possibility of slipping, or good compressions (which do the same thing but are bulkier and cost more). If you don't mind cost, you can even get quick release fittings, which let you easily remove blocks (or if you had a GPU in the loop, remove that too) without spilling any fluid or having tubing dangling in the way. These are bulky and cost a lot though. 

For blocks, my personal preference is Watercool's Heatkiller line, they're amazing. HardwareLabs makes some of the best rads out there, so I'd recommend those (I use two slim ones in my build right now). For fittings and pumps I'm a basic bitch, I just use an EK D5 pump/res combo (just always get a D5, they chug along and basically never have issues or make much noise at all) and EK stubby fittings with zip ties. Have some additional stuff from Bitspower and some other peeps for drain plugs and the like. Which you'll need to account for on a custom loop, since they need to be drained, flushed, then refilled once a year or so (more often if you use fancy pastel coolants and stuff like that, since they can muck up your blocks). 

 

34 minutes ago, AhmedIlyas said:

BTW, any videos or tut's to follow for n00bs on this stuff?

JayzTwoCents has a ton of videos on watercooling, he's been doing it for years. I don't know many others, watching his stuff + googling and asking around on here is mostly how I got my start on watercooling. @Damascus may have more resources, and is himself a resource. He's the guy who got me into custom loops uh... late 2017 or so when I built a loop for a friend.

[StarsMars]

8 hours ago, AhmedIlyas said:

How easy or difficult is it to set one up that is sufficient and provides good cooling for such a CPU?

Is everything provided in the 1 product?

Which ones would you recommend that is easy to setup and use that does an excellent job at cooling?

If you want good and simple, Arctic Liquid Freezer ii  either in 280 or 360. The fans are all set up and ready to go, one wire to plug in. Supposed to be the top AIO right now.

 

What made you choose the 10980xe though?

[AhmedIlyas]

@StarsMars - if I can get a hold of the CPU... just down to perf and again, being loyal to intel and on a mature platform. For me, it's almost time for an upgrade from the i7 core extreme 990x that I have and its been awesome for the last 5-6 years I have had it/built it.

Has more business value for me as well than say, AMD. And I trust Intel although lately... it is becoming questionable given the delays etc...

[StarsMars]

4 minutes ago, AhmedIlyas said:

@StarsMars - if I can get a hold of the CPU... just down to perf and again, being loyal to intel and on a mature platform. For me, it's almost time for an upgrade from the i7 core extreme 990x that I have and its been awesome for the last 5-6 years I have had it/built it.

Has more business value for me as well than say, AMD. And I trust Intel although lately... it is becoming questionable given the delays etc...

I can't argue that. I switched to a 3700x and it's been a little finicky, but otherwise I'm satisfied.

Hope they come in stock soon, let us know how it works out.

[AhmedIlyas]

I'll try to figure out the recommended water color you provided (how to install it/get it to work etc...) but do you think that should be enough? I won't be O/C but would like to make sure that even in heavy load, that it remains its cool

 

It will be on 24/7 but wont be doing heavy load all that time.

 

A quick search of the Arctic Liquid Freezer ii  looks like it is not easily available

[Zando_]

9 hours ago, AhmedIlyas said:

@StarsMars - if I can get a hold of the CPU... just down to perf and again, being loyal to intel and on a mature platform. For me, it's almost time for an upgrade from the i7 core extreme 990x that I have and its been awesome for the last 5-6 years I have had it/built it.

Has more business value for me as well than say, AMD. And I trust Intel although lately... it is becoming questionable given the delays etc...

For HEDT, AMD's current gen (3000 series) platform has been super stable, hasn't suffered from any of the issues the earlier generations did, had a smooth af launch too. So on that front they seem to be as solid as Intel's HEDT stuff (X58 was amazing, X79 is solid, but X99 had massive issues - now fixed though - at launch, X299 is solid though VROC/RAID is a bit funky with the key thing) from everything I've seen and read, buut even the 3960X at MSRP is more than a 10980XE + $300 board so it is quite an expensive platform to get into. Much higher core count options than Intel currently has though. But being familiar with hardware is certainly a big draw, even if AMD's HEDT platform is stable, if you don't feel comfortable on it or know your way around the BIOS, that kinda nerfs the value. Something a lot of people seem to forget, performance/$ isn't the only deciding factor for hardware purchases. 

[AhmedIlyas]

So please educate me.

 

What is this used for and why is it/not better? What benefit does it provide?

 

https://www.newegg.com/corsair-cx-9040002-ww-pump-reservoir-combo/p/N82E16835181173?item=N82E16835181173&source=region&nm_mc=knc-googleadwords-pc&cm_mmc=knc-googleadwords-pc-_-pla-_-diy+cooling-_-N82E16835181173&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-_j1BRDkARIsAJcfmTECYwe6MH-vdqFSIG7hcY4AlPKwgUTMH36bPy92aip_VeBE9WKa0kEaAumqEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

What I mean specifically is... the pump/reservoir. What is the benefit of that than say the kit for the Arctic Liquid Freezer II? 

 

And also, is thermal paste required for any type of cooler on the CPU?

[StarsMars]

14 minutes ago, AhmedIlyas said:

So please educate me.

 

What is this used for and why is it/not better? What benefit does it provide?

 

https://www.newegg.com/corsair-cx-9040002-ww-pump-reservoir-combo/p/N82E16835181173?item=N82E16835181173&source=region&nm_mc=knc-googleadwords-pc&cm_mmc=knc-googleadwords-pc-_-pla-_-diy+cooling-_-N82E16835181173&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-_j1BRDkARIsAJcfmTECYwe6MH-vdqFSIG7hcY4AlPKwgUTMH36bPy92aip_VeBE9WKa0kEaAumqEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

What I mean specifically is... the pump/reservoir. What is the benefit of that than say the kit for the Arctic Liquid Freezer II? 

 

And also, is thermal paste required for any type of cooler on the CPU?

That is a pump and reservoir combo, it is for custom water cooling.

Custom Water cooling is when you take individual components and build your own loop.

 

You would need to buy a radiator, pump, reservoir, fittings, cpu block, tubing, anti growth and corrosive mix. Make sure everything is the right size, and no warranty.

You will have to drain the loop, and flush the system once a year.

It's more for the enthusiast. It's much more expensive.

 

The Arctic liquid freezer ii is an AIO or "All in one" liquid cooler. Everything in attached in the one unit.

The benefit is that it's simple. It comes with a warranty and an installation guide.

 

Read this AIO vs Custom water cooling

 

 

[AhmedIlyas]

@StarsMars - if I decide to overclock the CPU (Ive never OC'd anything ever), will the AIO still be good enough or would I need to do custom cooling?

[StarsMars]

4 hours ago, AhmedIlyas said:

@StarsMars - if I decide to overclock the CPU (Ive never OC'd anything ever), will the AIO still be good enough or would I need to do custom cooling?

You should have some headroom, if you're planning on overclocking a 10980xe make sure you have a decent power supply.