Strange question about Arctic Liquid Freezer II

[BTGbullseye]

Before anyone gets weirded out, I'm not actually planning this yet, just wondering if it's plausible.

 

So, I have an Arctic Liquid Freezer II 120 AIO, and I was curious how hard it would be to modify it to be usable in a custom loop. Basically, keep the radiator and CPU block, but add a 240mm radiator and supplemental pump. It could save me quite a bit of money if that was possible, and I decide to put a waterblock on my 6800XT when I get it.

[For Science!]

Aluminium radiator, so the usual caveats apply. Not sure about the fittings on that particular model.

 

Would i recommend it? Nope

Is it possible to so, probably.

[Analog]

I used to have exactly the same cooler. Well, I still have it but moved to a completely completely customer liquid cooling solution. Still, I was thinking the exact same thing as you before going all out. The reason why I decided against it are several. Firstly, the rad is aluminum, the block is copper and the all of the other radiators which were available to me at the time were copper as well. I checked about what can happen when mixing metals in a loop and decided against it. Simply wasn't worth it considering the money that I would be saving by doing so. Secondly, the pump is pretty weak. Yeah, it is good enough for an AIO, but if you start expanding the loop it wouldn't have enough power to cycle the water at a high enough speed. You said you want to add a supplemental pump, which is actually a good idea. However, by the time you add a pump-res combo, which is usually one of the most expensive things in a loop, at least if you get a quality unit, not only will you be spending quite a bit of cash, the pump that is integrated in the block will be bottlenecking you in terms of flow. It will most likely act as a restrictor and impede water flow. Now you will need to get also a new water block for the CPU. See where I am going with this... Thirdly - I really didn't want to use barb fittings and unfortunately, if I wanted to use the existing radiator from the AIO that needed to be done. Not only do barb fittings look funky to me, they also tend to leak more often in comparison to the compression fittings. 

 

I ended up buying all things from EK directly. Got a 120mm rad and also a 360mm rad. Got fittings, and CPU block for AM4. For the pump-res combo, because those are quite expensive, I went through the classifieds and found an unused, still in the original packaging XSPC D5 Photon 270 reservoir/pump combo unit for 1/6 of the price when it was new. You will be surprised how reasonable the entire custom loop ended up being. I strongly recommend doing something similar, instead of butchering a perfectly good AIO. Just sell it and put the money into the custom loop.

[BTGbullseye]

3 hours ago, Analog said:

the pump that is integrated in the block will be bottlenecking you in terms of flow.

Not if I were to use a bypass so that the CPU block+pump simply sucks whatever water it needs from the loop, but the rest of the loop remains operating however it needs to. All it would take is a pair of T fittings and a tesla valve to do. (one next to the reservoir that splits between the 120 rad and the CPU, and one between the CPU and rad, both T's connected with a tesla valve for 1-way to the rad) Would at least save me the price of a CPU block to do it like this. Besides, my motherboard actually needs the extra VRM cooling from the fan on the block. Also, the tesla valve would look really cool in the system.

3 hours ago, Analog said:

I really didn't want to use barb fittings and unfortunately, if I wanted to use the existing radiator from the AIO that needed to be done.

Why is that? Is there some reason that compression fittings can't be attached?

3 hours ago, Analog said:

mixing metals

I already considered that. And though it is a concern, it isn't a significant one if I build it right. And I can always just go with an extra copper 120 if I need to.

3 hours ago, Analog said:

Just sell it and put the money into the custom loop.

I'm weird... I can't bring myself to sell any of my PC hardware to anyone that isn't family, and they wouldn't buy/use it if it was available. Besides, I wasn't actually considering doing this sort of thing until it was already running out of fluid. (so several years from now)

[Analog]

5 hours ago, BTGbullseye said:

Why is that? Is there some reason that compression fittings can't be attached?

The existing tubing of the Arctic Freezer II uses non standard sizes outer: 12.4 mm, Inner: 6.0 mm. You will not be able to fit it any normal fittings, let alone compression fittings. Therefore, you will need to remove it completely. Both the rad and the block of the AIO use barb fittings that are non removable (bot are welded). Considering the inner size of the original tube and also the fact that standard tubing is sized inner 10mm, outer 13mm it would make it exceptionally hard for you to make everything snug and ensure no leaks, because the barbs on these components are very small. 

 

Also, the AsRock X570M Pro4 is a pretty decent board which should have no issues running your Ryzen 3600 even when overclocked without overheating its VRM, especially with soem decent airflow in your case. If you had an overclocked 3900XT or 3950XT, then maybe you could have a something to be worried about. 

[BTGbullseye]

3 hours ago, Analog said:

Also, the AsRock X570M Pro4 is a pretty decent board which should have no issues running your Ryzen 3600 even when overclocked without overheating its VRM, especially with soem decent airflow in your case. If you had an overclocked 3900XT or 3950XT, then maybe you could have a something to be worried about. 

Well, I am going to be buying a 5800X in the next couple hours here, so it's not sticking with the 3600.

3 hours ago, Analog said:

The existing tubing of the Arctic Freezer II uses non standard sizes outer: 12.4 mm, Inner: 6.0 mm. You will not be able to fit it any normal fittings, let alone compression fittings. Therefore, you will need to remove it completely. Both the rad and the block of the AIO use barb fittings that are non removable (bot are welded). Considering the inner size of the original tube and also the fact that standard tubing is sized inner 10mm, outer 13mm it would make it exceptionally hard for you to make everything snug and ensure no leaks, because the barbs on these components are very small.

What if I were to use the existing tubing going to the T junctions, and standard for everything else? Wouldn't have to do anything to the block at all then, just use a step-down fitting on the T, and compression fittings everywhere else. (the step downs can even allow for a compression fitting of that size to be attached)

[Analog]

1 hour ago, BTGbullseye said:

What if I were to use the existing tubing going to the T junctions, and standard for everything else? Wouldn't have to do anything to the block at all then, just use a step-down fitting on the T, and compression fittings everywhere else. (the step downs can even allow for a compression fitting of that size to be attached)

You seem quite adamant about using the AIO in your loop. If you use a step down whenever necessary and T-junctions can work, not going to look pretty though. Still, it is up to you. 

[BTGbullseye]

11 minutes ago, Analog said:

You seem quite adamant about using the AIO in your loop.

I like jank.

12 minutes ago, Analog said:

If you use a step down whenever necessary and T-junctions can work, not going to look pretty though.

It will have a an aesthetic that I personally enjoy, so... I'm not an RGB freak. I might do UV though.

[kAmMa_CZ]

@BTGbullseyehello, were you able to accomplish what you intended to do ?

i ask, because i also would like to use parts from my ALF II 360 for my custom loop and i don't want to break it, before i know, its possible.

most important question is, how to connect 10/13 tubes to radiator/water block.

 

thanks

[BTGbullseye]

5 hours ago, kAmMa_CZ said:

@BTGbullseyehello, were you able to accomplish what you intended to do ?

i ask, because i also would like to use parts from my ALF II 360 for my custom loop and i don't want to break it, before i know, its possible.

most important question is, how to connect 10/13 tubes to radiator/water block.

 

thanks

I haven't bothered trying. I'm still waiting for a new GPU first. (much higher priority than altering the rest of the cooling right now)

 

As for the connection, there should be an adapter somewhere, it's just a matter of finding it, and determining if it will mess up the loop or not.

[zyarra]

Hey guys

Did any of you actually try and do this?
Buying a block+second radiator etc is out of my budget now. But im not sure if it makes any sense do try and combine with my gpu loop over just leaving them separate... ?

 

[BTGbullseye]

On 3/30/2024 at 10:04 PM, zyarra said:

Hey guys

Did any of you actually try and do this?
Buying a block+second radiator etc is out of my budget now. But im not sure if it makes any sense do try and combine with my gpu loop over just leaving them separate... ?

 

Still haven't gotten around to trying. Covid hit me hard, so I wasn't able to afford to do anything with my system yet.