New PC Build - First time Watercooling

[Mike_Tech_questions]

Budget (including currency): $2200?

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Adobe Video Editing, Photo Editing, ETC. CREO 3D modeling software. Videogames of all sorts.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

I am building a new PC. I am using it for a few things.

 

1.) I do 3D modeling as a side hustle. However, I don't make enough from it to buy a quadro. So I went with a 3090.

2.) I co-own a financial coaching buisness, also as a side-hobby for the time being. I need the computer for 4k video editing and content creation.

3.) I want to use it to play games, also as a hobby.

4.) I am aiming to "future-proof" my PC so I don't have to build another one for a decade or so. It worked pretty well with my last computer.

 

Here is my current parts list of what I am aiming to but together. It will be my first time putting togeather a watercooled system. Though currently I am only aiming to watercool the CPU.

Anyways here is my current parts list. The CPU is not there currently, I plan on getting the 5950x. Also, I already own the graphics card. So pretend that isn't apart of the cost listed above.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Tessilin/saved/#view=QqrsLk

 

I look forward to everyones input. Though I ask that you be kind. I am still learning and am watching videos from Linus, Jay, Paul, Steve, and Buildzoid to try and make the best educated decision on parts that I can. I do plan on overclocking to educate myself on how to do it, and for fun. Thank you all for your time and patience with me.

 

[Airdragonz]

The distro plate will probably work fine if cooling just a cpu, but if you decide to ever watercool your gpu down the line you might want to consider the version with the ddc 3.2 pump or the d5 front mounted plate.

The motherboard monoblock isn't worth it IMO unless you plan on overclocking quite a bit. A simple heatkiller iv pro or aquacomputer kryos for half the price will cool the cpu just as well, if not better. The motherboard's own VRM heatsink typically does a fine job. 

If you're not watercooling the gpu, having the radiator on top is probably the best idea. Go with a 45mm push/pull or 60mm push depending on radiator and fan performance. Also don't forget about fittings, adapters, tubing, a drain valve, etc.

 

Just a side note, if you're looking for something with the most stability, least maintenance, and good price to performance then just get a noctua d15 or similar. With watercooling, you need to change the coolant out every so often, deal with leak testing and the likes, and ultimately a pump (typically only 50,000 hr MTBF) is a lot more expensive to replace than 2 fans on a heatsink. In other words, custom watercooling isn't necessarily future proofing a pc.

[Bombastinator]

-deleted-  posted to wrong page.  I dunno how that happened.

Edited October 25, 2020 by Bombastinator

[kyn1972]

1 hour ago, Mike_Tech_questions said:

Budget (including currency): $2200?

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Adobe Video Editing, Photo Editing, ETC. CREO 3D modeling software. Videogames of all sorts.

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

I am building a new PC. I am using it for a few things.

 

1.) I do 3D modeling as a side hustle. However, I don't make enough from it to buy a quadro. So I went with a 3090.

2.) I co-own a financial coaching buisness, also as a side-hobby for the time being. I need the computer for 4k video editing and content creation.

3.) I want to use it to play games, also as a hobby.

4.) I am aiming to "future-proof" my PC so I don't have to build another one for a decade or so. It worked pretty well with my last computer.

 

Here is my current parts list of what I am aiming to but together. It will be my first time putting togeather a watercooled system. Though currently I am only aiming to watercool the CPU.

Anyways here is my current parts list. The CPU is not there currently, I plan on getting the 5950x. Also, I already own the graphics card. So pretend that isn't apart of the cost listed above.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Tessilin/saved/#view=QqrsLk

 

I look forward to everyones input. Though I ask that you be kind. I am still learning and am watching videos from Linus, Jay, Paul, Steve, and Buildzoid to try and make the best educated decision on parts that I can. I do plan on overclocking to educate myself on how to do it, and for fun. Thank you all for your time and patience with me.

 

Are you doing it because you are overclocking or because of the looks?

If its because of the looks you should be aware  that Linus did a video and in it he does say its more for the enthusiast like him that do not mind the amount of maintenance it takes to keep the system running.

Its why I went with my Noctua for my system for now as I am unsure if I am ready to take the plunge to doing an AIO let alone a custom water cooling setup.

[Mike_Tech_questions]

11 hours ago, Airdragonz said:

The distro plate will probably work fine if cooling just a cpu, but if you decide to ever watercool your gpu down the line you might want to consider the version with the ddc 3.2 pump or the d5 front mounted plate.

The motherboard monoblock isn't worth it IMO unless you plan on overclocking quite a bit. A simple heatkiller iv pro or aquacomputer kryos for half the price will cool the cpu just as well, if not better. The motherboard's own VRM heatsink typically does a fine job. 

If you're not watercooling the gpu, having the radiator on top is probably the best idea. Go with a 45mm push/pull or 60mm push depending on radiator and fan performance. Also don't forget about fittings, adapters, tubing, a drain valve, etc.

 

Just a side note, if you're looking for something with the most stability, least maintenance, and good price to performance then just get a noctua d15 or similar. With watercooling, you need to change the coolant out every so often, deal with leak testing and the likes, and ultimately a pump (typically only 50,000 hr MTBF) is a lot more expensive to replace than 2 fans on a heatsink. In other words, custom watercooling isn't necessarily future proofing a pc.

The watercooling part of the project is mostly because I have never done it before and it looks interesting. I am still trying to decide if I want to try my hands at hard or soft tubing. Some of the designs I have seen have hard tubing. But, I am not sure what kind of tools are needed to make those kinds of bends.

 

As for the monoblock, I had originally been looking at the formula motherboard, where the heatsinks were already watercooled. But, I didn't see a clean way to get pipes from the CPU to them without making it look like a total mess. Also strangely the HERO + the mono block cost less that the Formula with a waterblock for the CPU.

 

I am looking to see if there are waterblocks avaliable for the 3090 card that I have. Unfortunatly, with how limited the stock is world wide I haven't seen reviews for it yet. So I plan on waiting a while till I hear a few positive reviews for custom waterblocks for the model I have. 

 

I will take a look at the Doctua d15 when I get home. Thanks for the info. If you have more insight I would love to hear it.

[Mike_Tech_questions]

9 hours ago, kyn1972 said:

Are you doing it because you are overclocking or because of the looks?

If its because of the looks you should be aware  that Linus did a video and in it he does say its more for the enthusiast like him that do not mind the amount of maintenance it takes to keep the system running.

Its why I went with my Noctua for my system for now as I am unsure if I am ready to take the plunge to doing an AIO let alone a custom water cooling setup.

Honestly, a bit of both. I want to do overclocking for the fun of it and to learn how far a watercooled system can be overclocked. I also think the system will look pretty cool and that is always a plus.

 

I personally don't mind the maintanance required to take care of the watercooling system. As it stands if I decided to go with just an aircooled system I would need to do monthly maintanence and clean the filters. Out of curiosity, you are the second person to recommend a Noctua. Are there some videos out there talking about it that have people so interested?

[kyn1972]

2 hours ago, Mike_Tech_questions said:

Honestly, a bit of both. I want to do overclocking for the fun of it and to learn how far a watercooled system can be overclocked. I also think the system will look pretty cool and that is always a plus.

 

I personally don't mind the maintanance required to take care of the watercooling system. As it stands if I decided to go with just an aircooled system I would need to do monthly maintanence and clean the filters. Out of curiosity, you are the second person to recommend a Noctua. Are there some videos out there talking about it that have people so interested?

Generally because the Noctua coolers are very good and some perform almost as good as a good AIO but with far fewer risks than AIOs pose.

As to why I made my decision I made it based both on this video by Linus

 

and this review by Gamers Nexus https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3571-arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-cooler-review-benchmark based on the numbers where he shows the air cooler (noctua in this case) to be doing very well.

[Mike_Tech_questions]

On 10/25/2020 at 3:35 PM, kyn1972 said:

Generally because the Noctua coolers are very good and some perform almost as good as a good AIO but with far fewer risks than AIOs pose.

As to why I made my decision I made it based both on this video by Linus

 

and this review by Gamers Nexus https://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3571-arctic-liquid-freezer-ii-cooler-review-benchmark based on the numbers where he shows the air cooler (noctua in this case) to be doing very well.

Ahhh! I had forgotten about watching this video around 6 months back!!! Still on the fence at the moment for what I want to do. Will keep the post updated as I go.