EKWB vs Corsair.

[Luke Murtagh]

Hello everyone,

 

Following a recent thread I posted on here a few days ago I am actually considering doing my very first open loop watercooled build but first I have one specific question - which manufacturer is better? EKWB and Corsair are the two of the more notable brands it seems when it comes to open loops, but, since I have no experience with open loops at all, I was wondering if there were any significant advantages or disadvantages to either. My initial instinct was to go with EKWB as they seem more specialised in open loop watercooling, whereas Corsair is much more broad in what it manufactures and sells. Still, as noted, this is just my initial observation, and any thoughts would be very welcome.

 

Thanks for reading!

[SolarNova]

Corsair is new the scene and they have a few issues to sort out, especially with their GPU blocks.

 

Out of the 2, EKWB is the better bet.

 

However dont limit urself just to EK, there are plenty of other manufacturers , like Hardware Labs, they make arguably the best radiators. And Bitspower who arguably make some of the best fittings, and Barrow and Bykski whom make some very good budget waterblocks (i use a Barrow one myself for my 1080ti, and a EK block for my CPU).

[Luke Murtagh]

Thanks for the response.

 

To be honest I only mentioned Corsair and EK because they are two of the brands commonly sold in the UK by both Overclockers and Scan. 

 

Can you mix and match components? I realise getting a CPU block from one brand and a radiator from another shouldn't cause any issues, but is that true of every component of an open loop?

[Grabhanem]

2 minutes ago, Luke Murtagh said:

Thanks for the response.

 

To be honest I only mentioned Corsair and EK because they are two of the brands commonly sold in the UK by both Overclockers and Scan. 

 

Can you mix and match components? I realise getting a CPU block from one brand and a radiator from another shouldn't cause any issues, but is that true of every component of an open loop?

It should be fine as long as you don't mix copper and aluminum parts.

[Luke Murtagh]

1 minute ago, Grabhanem said:

It should be fine as long as you don't mix copper and aluminum parts.

I presume thats because of erosion?

[SolarNova]

15 minutes ago, Luke Murtagh said:

Thanks for the response.

 

To be honest I only mentioned Corsair and EK because they are two of the brands commonly sold in the UK by both Overclockers and Scan. 

 

Can you mix and match components? I realise getting a CPU block from one brand and a radiator from another shouldn't cause any issues, but is that true of every component of an open loop?

Yes, the only time u have to worry about mix and match in terms of manufacturers is when going with hardline tubing, as manufacturing tolerances can cause fittings and tube from different manufacturers to not be perfectly snug,

 

Also mix and matching aluminium and copper is a big no no ..so dont do that. (Galvanic corrosion)

 

Im also in the UK, u can try the following sites.

 

Overclockers.co.uk

Scan.co.uk

Aria.co.uk

Novatech.co.uk

Ebuyer.com

Amazon.co.uk

Watercoolinguk.co.uk

aquatuning.co.uk

CCLonline.com

 

Can also check out aliexpress if u dont mind going that route, also ebay.

 

TIP: check ebay for the above websites 'stores' as they can sometimes have cheaper prices. I have had this happen with Scan for example.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/scancomputersoutlet

[Luke Murtagh]

Brill, thanks for the help.

 

One other tangential question - how many radiators should I have? I'm thinking of going for either an i9-10900k or similar AMD CPU when they release later this year and a 3080TI when it releases as well. My case will probably be a Fractal Design Define 7XL and I was thinking of having a 480mm rad at the top and a 360 at the front. Would adding a bottom rad help as well or would it be such a minor difference it wouldn't be worth it?  

[SolarNova]

1 minute ago, Luke Murtagh said:

Brill, thanks for the help.

 

One other tangential question - how many radiators should I have? I'm thinking of going for either an i9-10900k or similar AMD CPU when they release later this year and a 3080TI when it releases as well. My case will probably be a Fractal Design Define 7XL and I was thinking of having a 480mm rad at the top and a 360 at the front. Would adding a bottom rad help as well or would it be such a minor difference it wouldn't be worth it?  

The more the merrier if u have the budget. But do try to setup ur airflow so ur not re-using warmed air, it reduces the efficiency of the rads using that warm air.

 

Ideally have each rad using 'clean' air. So in that case i personally would go with a 480mm in the top and a 280mm in the bottom and use the front for clean air intake.

Cant say im a fan of the case though, if u want big rad space i would go with something with more options. Like the cheaper priced Thermaltake Core X71. A 360mm rad in the top fed by front intake and a 360mm rad in the bottom with its own intake.

 

 

[Luke Murtagh]

Good point on airflow. I'll have to do some more thinking on my case choice. Thanks for all the help!

[Dissitesuxba11s]

I just want to bring this up since it will eventually come up. If you are considering Corsair, I would wait until they release a revision or something. That said, this is a worst case scenario and as Jay showed, it takes a lot of force to cause the problem.