Is watercooling worth it?

[Louie Friesen]

Hi there,

 

Currently I have my PC/Hackintosh with a 240mm Corsair AIO, and am planning on using it for a build for a friend, so I need to get a new cooling solution for my processor. First of all, here are my system specs:

 

Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra

Intel Core i7 9700K

Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT SE

32GB (2x16GB) G.Skill Trident Z RGB 3600MHz C16

Corsair H100i RGB Platinum SE

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB

Western Digital Black SN750 500GB

Seagate BarraCuda 4TB

Fenvi FV-T919

Corsair RM850x

NZXT H510i

 

I've always wanted to do a custom loop, but am wondering if it is worth it (like are the temps much better).

If I just got a new AIO (a Corsair H115i RGB Platinum), it would cost $245*.

If I got a custom loop, it would cost about $870.

 

*All prices are CAD$

 

 

The parts I would need for the custom loop are:

 

EK-Quantum Momentum Aorus Z390 Master D-RGB - Plexi

Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Plexi GPX-A Radeon 5700 XT Nitro+

Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Backplate GPX-A Radeon RX 5700/5700 XT Nitro+

EK-CoolStream SE 280

Noctua NF-A14 chromax.black.swap

EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE 120 VTX PWM D-RGB - Acetal

EK-DuraClear 9.5/12.7mm 3M

 

Plus Fittings:

 

EK-STC Classic 10/13 - Black (x8)

EK-AF Y-Splitter Rotary 2F-1M G1/4 - Black (x1)

Corsair Hydro X Series XF Fill Port - Black (x1)

Corsair Hydro X Series XF Ball Valve — Black (x1)

Bitspower G1/4" Matt Black Temperature Sensor Stop Fitting (x1)

EK-AF Angled 90° G1/4 - Black (x2)

EK-AF Classic Angled 45° - Black (x1)

EK-PLUG G1/4 Acetal - Black (10 pack) (x1)

 

Total cost: $875

 

Is it worth it?

[For Science!]

2 minutes ago, Louie Friesen said:

 

 

Is it worth it?

Not for performance. For aesthetics, noise, maintainability and therefore potential longevity - maybe.

[Alex Ushigome]

If we are talking purely bang for buck and thermals, no.

 

If we are talking wow factor, personal preference. How much do you value the looks. 

[Guest]

If you are bored and looking for ways to potentially brick something that's working perfectly fine, then yes! It's wonderful.

 

But in all seriousness, the benefits manifest only if it's something you enjoy.

Don't do it if you need 100% uptime and don't have a backup system.

Always remember to factor your own time into cost. Your time has value.

 

 

[Mick Naughty]

Id never do it for just a cpu. Doesnt make much sense to me. But as I put everything on water, its well worth it. Not having to hear these horrid cards that are being made now and struggling to boost and have to oc to make up for such high temps.

Worth it to me to have quite rigs, low temps and way better performance. Price isnt a concern as the pc is already bought and I cant make it better without buying new parts every 6 months.

[vortextech77]

If you want bang for the buck and as much value as possible, no.

 

If you want a quieter rig or you want it for aesthetics, maybe. All depends on cost anyway.

[Swiebertjeee]

Custom loop is not worth it in any means of performance. An AIO can do the same as a custom loop could, but the production on anything custom is always higher. Custom keyboard / custom loop / etc. If you do a custom a loop it could be either for looks or for being an enthusiast (hobby). For me it is pure the enjoyment of creating something amazing and challenging myself to become a better builder

So for me it is worth it, because I gain experience in a field I want to gain that experience in. Also some say if your system looks pretty your frames look pretty, but I can't confirm that myth. 

[starry]

I would never watercool, the chance of it leaking adds an extra factor of things that could go wrong. High end air coolers cost the same or less and perform pretty much the same or sometimes better if you dont overclock. I am a reliability and stability advocate, and I dont think watercooling makes sense.

[Mick Naughty]

2 hours ago, seapriestess said:

I would never watercool, the chance of it leaking adds an extra factor of things that could go wrong. High end air coolers cost the same or less and perform pretty much the same or sometimes better if you dont overclock. I am a reliability and stability advocate, and I dont think watercooling makes sense.

In what world have you seen a tower cooler outperform a custom loop made by someone who actually can read?

[starry]

5 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

In what world have you seen a tower cooler outperform a custom loop made by someone who actually can read?

Talking about very specific AIO/Air cooler comparisons. If I were to watercool it would be an AIO and it would be for noise reasons, I would not do a custom loop, its maintenance hell and I dont value what it brings to the table.

Some of the higher end noctua coolers can outperform certain AIOs, that is what I am referring to.

[SolarNova]

20 hours ago, Louie Friesen said:

Is it worth it?

If you have to ask then the answer is no.

 

Thats the general rule of thumb response to that question.

[AngryBeaver]

23 hours ago, Louie Friesen said:

Hi there,

 

Currently I have my PC/Hackintosh with a 240mm Corsair AIO, and am planning on using it for a build for a friend, so I need to get a new cooling solution for my processor. First of all, here are my system specs:

 

Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra

Intel Core i7 9700K

Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT SE

32GB (2x16GB) G.Skill Trident Z RGB 3600MHz C16

Corsair H100i RGB Platinum SE

Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB

Western Digital Black SN750 500GB

Seagate BarraCuda 4TB

Fenvi FV-T919

Corsair RM850x

NZXT H510i

 

I've always wanted to do a custom loop, but am wondering if it is worth it (like are the temps much better).

If I just got a new AIO (a Corsair H115i RGB Platinum), it would cost $245*.

If I got a custom loop, it would cost about $870.

 

*All prices are CAD$

 

 

The parts I would need for the custom loop are:

 

EK-Quantum Momentum Aorus Z390 Master D-RGB - Plexi

Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Plexi GPX-A Radeon 5700 XT Nitro+

Alphacool Eisblock Aurora Backplate GPX-A Radeon RX 5700/5700 XT Nitro+

EK-CoolStream SE 280

Noctua NF-A14 chromax.black.swap

EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE 120 VTX PWM D-RGB - Acetal

EK-DuraClear 9.5/12.7mm 3M

 

Plus Fittings:

 

EK-STC Classic 10/13 - Black (x8)

EK-AF Y-Splitter Rotary 2F-1M G1/4 - Black (x1)

Corsair Hydro X Series XF Fill Port - Black (x1)

Corsair Hydro X Series XF Ball Valve — Black (x1)

Bitspower G1/4" Matt Black Temperature Sensor Stop Fitting (x1)

EK-AF Angled 90° G1/4 - Black (x2)

EK-AF Classic Angled 45° - Black (x1)

EK-PLUG G1/4 Acetal - Black (10 pack) (x1)

 

Total cost: $875

 

Is it worth it?

For me it is worth it and upgrades are cheap as I don't need much additional water cooling parts.

 

I would say thought that unless you are running a extreme high-end pc (top lf the line parts) then you would get more value out of using that cash to upgrade your build.

[Alphabear1978]

For me water cooling is a hobby.  I have 2 water cooled pc's and one AIO cooled.  The 9900k runs on an AIO and runs idle at 29c, under load around 70c.  I open this one once every couple of months to blow out the dust and that is it.  Time and effort 15 min max.

My 2 other pc's are my 'babies'.  They get an overhaul every 6 months.  I might upgrade one or couple pieces in it, but I love to play around with different ideas for a loop, color scheme, etc.  I look at both cases every day and while some women like new jewelry or some men play golf, I prefer to spend the money on things I use daily and having fun building it.

Are they running faster or cooler or quieter, nope not at all.  So for pure performance you don't need to do it.  Now if you want to learn some new stuff and make it a hobby, go for it.  Once you have build your first pc.  You already thinking on how you can do it better the next time when you drain the fluid and can restart.  And for me it is esthetically more pleasing to look at them.  Also you can do something and brag about it with your friends, as most of them will never be able to take those steps.

[fonzz1e]

IMO it's only worth it if you're putting your GPU into the custom loop

or use thicccboi (raijintek morpheus + 120mm fans)

[The Torrent]

On 8/17/2020 at 5:42 PM, For Science! said:

Not for performance. For aesthetics, noise, maintainability and therefore potential longevity - maybe.

Maintainability and potential longevity? Can you explain this part?

 

if you have decent airflow and temps are cool I can’t understand longevity past maybe a year after 10 years. Also with more pumps and stuff and more stuff to go wrong, pipes to clog up and radiators to corrode, surly it’s nothing but harder to maintain because u have to maintain it more?
 

The only thing reeeaaallly unless ur cooling some super high end build which is super loud is just noise and aesthetics.

 

you could say dust because fans are moving less air through but surely it’s easier to clean your filters more often?

[For Science!]

12 minutes ago, The Torrent said:

Maintainability and potential longevity? Can you explain this part?

 

if you have decent airflow and temps are cool I can’t understand longevity past maybe a year after 10 years. Also with more pumps and stuff and more stuff to go wrong, pipes to clog up and radiators to corrode, surly it’s nothing but harder to maintain because u have to maintain it more?
 

The only thing reeeaaallly unless ur cooling some super high end build which is super loud is just noise and aesthetics.

 

you could say dust because fans are moving less air through but surely it’s easier to clean your filters more often?

Just to make sure, you do get this thread is about AIO vs custom loop, not Air vs Water right?

 

The maintenance-free aspect of an AIO is down to the simple fact that is cannot be maintained even if you wanted to (without destructive modifications). They are assembled typically with a copper cold-plate, an aluminium radiator, and a ethylene/propylene glycol based coolant, soft tubing, and a very weak pump. This combination together with heat will always result in polymerization of the coolant over time leading to the death of the AIO as a whole. This is why an AIO's lifespan is about 5 years on average, and depending on the environment and cooling capacity sometimes much less.

 

A custom loop that isn't maintained at all will "probably" last at least that period of time but the ease at which coolant changes, tubing changes, generally speaking lower fluid temperatures with less air, and more compatible metals and coolants, powerful pumps add to the increased longevity of the liquid cooling system as a whole.

[CometLake]

Every person I know that used water cooling has had some issues in the first 2 years. Some even during the first year. So in my opinion it is not worth it.

 

Liquids and electronic components are not compatible, not to name many other problems of using water cooling.

 

Obviously nowadays centennials want to have a cool setup with RGB and don't want a huge black rock cooler like "Be Quiet" blocking their aesthetics, however they are put at risk their whole setup. With a "Be Quiet" or NOCTUA cooler you are safe for 10 years, at least.

[For Science!]

3 minutes ago, CometLake said:

Every person I know that used water cooling has had some issues in the first 2 years. Some even during the first year. So in my opinion it is not worth it.

 

Liquids and electronic components are not compatible, not to name many other problems of using water cooling.

 

Obviously nowadays centennials want to have a cool setup with RGB and don't want a huge black rock cooler like "Be Quiet" blocking their aesthetics, however they are put at risk their whole setup. With a "Be Quiet" or NOCTUA cooler you are safe for 10 years, at least.

Hello, nice to meet you. I guess I can be your first person who has never had issues with watercooling, 3.5 years and counting

[Mick Naughty]

12 minutes ago, CometLake said:

Every person I know that used water cooling has had some issues in the first 2 years. Some even during the first year. So in my opinion it is not worth it.

 

Liquids and electronic components are not compatible, not to name many other problems of using water cooling.

 

Obviously nowadays centennials want to have a cool setup with RGB and don't want a huge black rock cooler like "Be Quiet" blocking their aesthetics, however they are put at risk their whole setup. With a "Be Quiet" or NOCTUA cooler you are safe for 10 years, at least.

Are we to consider user error a fault of the water cooling components? Even with impropery built systems causing leaks, doesn't mean you will lose hardware.

Ive had all of my cards coated on the back with a puddle while running. Even had fluid between the cpu and pins. Even in the psu. Still using all of that hardware today.

So you either have never done any custom water cooling or just wonna parrot stuff from the web.

[CometLake]

16 minutes ago, For Science! said:

Hello, nice to meet you. I guess I can be your first person who has never had issues with watercooling, 3.5 years and counting

No problems during 3 years in your Corsair Water Cooler, and not maintenance at all during that time? you are definitely lucky. Although you are in the limit of 3 years. It would surprise me if someone says me that he did no maintenance / renewals in his Retail Water Coolers for 5 years and has had no problems at all during that time. That would be a complete surprise.

 

With Air coolers, you can be safe 10 years, at least.

[thrasher_565]

On 8/20/2020 at 10:09 AM, Mick Naughty said:

Are we to consider user error a fault of the water cooling components? Even with impropery built systems causing leaks, doesn't mean you will lose hardware.

Ive had all of my cards coated on the back with a puddle while running. Even had fluid between the cpu and pins. Even in the psu. Still using all of that hardware today.

So you either have never done any custom water cooling or just wonna parrot stuff from the web.

i fried a mb with water on it. i also had water drip in the my case on the the gpu and it sparked and shut down but booted right back up.

[thrasher_565]

On 8/20/2020 at 10:17 AM, CometLake said:

No problems during 3 years in your Corsair Water Cooler, and not maintenance at all during that time? you are definitely lucky. Although you are in the limit of 3 years. It would surprise me if someone says me that he did no maintenance / renewals in his Retail Water Coolers for 5 years and has had no problems at all during that time. That would be a complete surprise.

 

With Air coolers, you can be safe 10 years, at least.

i be leave that some company's like Noctua will even give you a free socket upgrade for your heat sink. so it could last a vary long time...