Picking a Waterblock, Afraid of Getting It Wrong

[Noctua Fan Fan]

Hey guys,

 

So tomorrow I'm getting a 2080TI Founder's Edition card and I'm hyped I can afford it thanks to the 30 series.

 

I currently use all HydroX stuff in my loop, but I've seen bad reviews on their waterblocks for GPUs. So here I am, trying to find one, but afraid of mixing metals or the wrong metals and so on.

 

The items in the build right now are:

 

CPU block: Nickel plated copper plate

D5 Pump

Radiator: Copper core

Fittings: Corsair/Bitspower

Tubing: 10ID 13OD

 

What would be an aeshetically pleasing GPU block to mount vertically that would fit my fittings and not pollute the loop?

 

Thanks!

 

[Noctua Fan Fan]

The fluid is Corsair's too, Says "Long lasting pre-mixed performance coolant. Protects copper, brass and nickel with advanced non-toxic anti-corrosion inhibitors and anti-bacterial growth suppressors.

[Trik'Stari]

In my experience, as long as you stick to copper and nickel plated copper you will be fine. I've been running the same for years now. I just change my coolant at least once a year, and always use some kind of biocide to prevent algae growth.

 

Heatkiller is a spectacular brand, or so I've been told. I'm currently using an XSPC block on my 1080ti.

[Mick Naughty]

Vertically mounting, I think the heat killer block is the best looking. But I always prefer a more industrial look compared to something the Corsair block. 
But if I wanted it to match, like I always do I’d just get theirs. Shouldn’t be an issue if you apply proper water cooling practices. 

[Noctua Fan Fan]

2 hours ago, Trik'Stari said:

In my experience, as long as you stick to copper and nickel plated copper you will be fine. I've been running the same for years now. I just change my coolant at least once a year, and always use some kind of biocide to prevent algae growth.

 

Heatkiller is a spectacular brand, or so I've been told. I'm currently using an XSPC block on my 1080ti.

This the one? It looks stunning!

[Trik'Stari]

5 hours ago, A Gassy Gnome said:

-Snip

This the one? It looks stunning!

When I built my current system, they had the best performance for 1080ti's. Not sure if that continues for 2000 series onwards. Check reviews. Gamers Nexus probably has one along with a complete teardown.

[Noctua Fan Fan]

2 hours ago, Trik'Stari said:

When I built my current system, they had the best performance for 1080ti's. Not sure if that continues for 2000 series onwards. Check reviews. Gamers Nexus probably has one along with a complete teardown.

GN is always my first port of call And Jay.

 

Stupid question, do I need to be vigilant of what fittings I use on the card? Are there different size fittings for the adapter end, not the tubing end?

[Inelastic]

4 hours ago, A Gassy Gnome said:

GN is always my first port of call And Jay.

 

Stupid question, do I need to be vigilant of what fittings I use on the card? Are there different size fittings for the adapter end, not the tubing end?

They've all standardized that to the G1/4 size, so they're all the same.

[HM-2]

Another vote for Heatkilker. Here's my RTX 2080 in black/nickel/acrylic

 

[Trik'Stari]

7 hours ago, A Gassy Gnome said:

GN is always my first port of call And Jay.

 

Stupid question, do I need to be vigilant of what fittings I use on the card? Are there different size fittings for the adapter end, not the tubing end?

If you use soft tubing, not really. Hard tubing has different sizes for the tubing itself, but all the threaded ports on your CPU block, GPU block, radiator, etc, should be the same size.

 

As for material, anything nickel plated or copper is okay. I like Monsoon fittings that have silver plating because they act as kill coils. I've never had even a hint of algae in my loop in the 3 years I've been running it. I only ran tap water through it to flush it out the first time then I've run only distilled since then.

 

I'd recommend you avoid those fancy looking shampoo effect fluids. Most of them are not meant for long term use and can really gum up the fins in your GPU and CPU blocks. I use straight distilled water with biocide and some dye for color.

[Noctua Fan Fan]

16 hours ago, Trik'Stari said:

If you use soft tubing, not really. Hard tubing has different sizes for the tubing itself, but all the threaded ports on your CPU block, GPU block, radiator, etc, should be the same size.

 

As for material, anything nickel plated or copper is okay. I like Monsoon fittings that have silver plating because they act as kill coils. I've never had even a hint of algae in my loop in the 3 years I've been running it. I only ran tap water through it to flush it out the first time then I've run only distilled since then.

 

I'd recommend you avoid those fancy looking shampoo effect fluids. Most of them are not meant for long term use and can really gum up the fins in your GPU and CPU blocks. I use straight distilled water with biocide and some dye for color.

I'm on soft tubing so I should be safe with any block then, which is relieving!

 

I'm going to stick with the clear pre-mixed fluid from Corsair. But will probably run red through it for Christmas because... Christmas. Im not going to be able to go to any Christmas Faires this year in all likelihood.

 

I've not heard of Monsoon fittings, but I'll definitely take a look.

[HM-2]

18 hours ago, A Gassy Gnome said:

I've not heard of Monsoon fittings, but I'll definitely take a look.

Worth noting that Monsoon availability is very patchy depending on where in the world you are. 

[Noctua Fan Fan]

7 hours ago, HM-2 said:

Worth noting that Monsoon availability is very patchy depending on where in the world you are. 

I live in UK. Will I need someone in the US or NL or something to help out?

[HM-2]

3 hours ago, A Gassy Gnome said:

I live in UK. Will I need someone in the US or NL or something to help out?

I'd probably look at another supplier. I've gone with Barrow for my build as they've got a huge range, pretty decent build quality, are are half the price of BitsPower and readily available.