Is water cooling worth it?

[Jauska]

Hi! 

 

Im looking for opinions about water cooling my rig. 

Specs:

Cpu: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X

Cpu Cooler: Noctua nh-d15? 

Gpu: Asus TUF Rtx 3080 non oc variant. 

Motherboard: Asrock X570 Phantom Gaming 4

PSU: 750W 80 Platinum 

Case: Fractal design define r5 

 

I have notices high temps for my Cpu while gaming and have replaced the thermal paste and it didn't help the situation so I am thinking of other ways to cool my rig. 

 

I have never build a custom loop before, so I used ek waterblocks planner to make a configuration. https://www.ekwb.com/custom-loop-configurator/shared/oW600f0956387d5

 

The price blew me away from buying it instantly. Are there any more reasonably priced good vendors for these products. Also what should I be vary of/take into consideration when building the loop? And Should I just Replace the case aswell? 

 

I am based in Finland so parts shipping from inside of the European Union is a plus but not a must. Sorry for the formatting I am on mobile atm. And also sorry for my English. It is not my first language. 

 

 

[Rugg]

It's not really worth it in terms of money spent vs performance gained, but the only real upgrades you could do is buy a 3090. So if you want to spend more on your pc, I'd say its worth it.

[Hy Elijah]

Regardless of thermal performance water cooling itself is sort of an art form. Its a matter of perspective really . I enjoy building and customizing - hence why I did water cool my rig - which came with a learning curve. It's definitely a fun hobby but can be pricey and a bit frustrating if you don't plan a bit. 

[Entropy.]

13 minutes ago, Jauska said:

Hi! 

 

Im looking for opinions about water cooling my rig. 

Specs:

Cpu: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X

Cpu Cooler: Noctua nh-d15? 

Gpu: Asus TUF Rtx 3080 non oc variant. 

Motherboard: Asrock X570 Phantom Gaming 4

PSU: 750W 80 Platinum 

Case: Fractal design define r5 

 

I have notices high temps for my Cpu while gaming and have replaced the thermal paste and it didn't help the situation so I am thinking of other ways to cool my rig. 

 

I have never build a custom loop before, so I used ek waterblocks planner to make a configuration. https://www.ekwb.com/custom-loop-configurator/shared/oW600f0956387d5

 

The price blew me away from buying it instantly. Are there any more reasonably priced good vendors for these products. Also what should I be vary of/take into consideration when building the loop? And Should I just Replace the case aswell? 

 

I am based in Finland so parts shipping from inside of the European Union is a plus but not a must. Sorry for the formatting I am on mobile atm. And also sorry for my English. It is not my first language. 

 

 

How high are the temps? Going custom loop for temps really usually isn't worth it, as them temp reductions you're looking at are usually pretty small coming from the cooling config you have, especially going to just a single 240mm rad (or is it two?). You can get your hands on some more affordable loops, I'd say $400 would be enough for a decent loop minus that GPU block and that distro plate you have. $300 is possible too, but just remember that's without a gpu block, which could be around $100 USD. As for living in Finland, well, that's going to pump up prices even more, most likely
 

[Jauska]

1 hour ago, Brok3n But who cares? said:

How high are the temps? Going custom loop for temps really usually isn't worth it, as them temp reductions you're looking at are usually pretty small coming from the cooling config you have, especially going to just a single 240mm rad (or is it two?). You can get your hands on some more affordable loops, I'd say $400 would be enough for a decent loop minus that GPU block and that distro plate you have. $300 is possible too, but just remember that's without a gpu block, which could be around $100 USD. As for living in Finland, well, that's going to pump up prices even more, most likely
 

During stress test cpu is 83C and the gpu is like 70C. 

In order to get a bigger radiator I would also need the buy a new case if I am not mistaking.

[TetraSky]

If you want things to look pretty, sure.

 

Other than that, not really.

Not only from the maintenance needed, but also from the potential leaks that may or may not happen and dead pumps. Lots of things can go wrong with a custom loop.

 

Personally, I ain't ever looking in my computer case. So I got a D15 from Noctua, massive hunk of metal, but even if the fans were to fail, I know it would still be able to reasonable cool my CPU through the passive air it gets from the other case fans.

[Entropy.]

23 minutes ago, Jauska said:

During stress test cpu is 83C and the gpu is like 70C. 

In order to get a bigger radiator I would also need the buy a new case if I am not mistaking.

Those temps look pretty fine to me. This is after how long? Like 83c and 70c is pretty decent for your hardware. 

[NineEyeRon]

56 minutes ago, Jauska said:

During stress test cpu is 83C and the gpu is like 70C. 

In order to get a bigger radiator I would also need the buy a new case if I am not mistaking.

Is that the temps you are aiming for? They are pretty good.

[AngryBeaver]

2 hours ago, Jauska said:

Hi! 

 

Im looking for opinions about water cooling my rig. 

Specs:

Cpu: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X

Cpu Cooler: Noctua nh-d15? 

Gpu: Asus TUF Rtx 3080 non oc variant. 

Motherboard: Asrock X570 Phantom Gaming 4

PSU: 750W 80 Platinum 

Case: Fractal design define r5 

 

I have notices high temps for my Cpu while gaming and have replaced the thermal paste and it didn't help the situation so I am thinking of other ways to cool my rig. 

 

I have never build a custom loop before, so I used ek waterblocks planner to make a configuration. https://www.ekwb.com/custom-loop-configurator/shared/oW600f0956387d5

 

The price blew me away from buying it instantly. Are there any more reasonably priced good vendors for these products. Also what should I be vary of/take into consideration when building the loop? And Should I just Replace the case aswell? 

 

I am based in Finland so parts shipping from inside of the European Union is a plus but not a must. Sorry for the formatting I am on mobile atm. And also sorry for my English. It is not my first language. 

 

 

For a good loop expect to pay 600-800 ish.

 

If you do decided to go that route then I would strongly consider a new case with better support for it.

 

For those components a single 480mm or 420mm rad would be fine and improve temps... more rad space = less air flow and thus more quiet.

 

In my current setup I am using 1 480 and 1 360 which is overkill, but my temps are mid 50s on a 5900x for all but stress tests which are in the 68-72c range depending on ccx. Now the biggest gains are on my 3080 which top put in the 35-38c range under stress testing conditions.

 

I am using a case friendly to watercooling, p12 fans which are the best bang for thr buck fans you will find (they either tie or beat fans 4x their cost) and running at 1200-1300 rpm inside a glass side case are inaudible.

 

Now if we look at say a 480mm x 60 rad build... then you would spend 150-200 in a good case, 120-150 on the rad, 150 on a d5 pump, 35 bucks on tubing (if soft), 150-200 on gpu block, and 80-150 on a cpu block. Now you will need atleast 8 fittings at 8-12 bucks each. The tubing comes with a premix so if you use that you are looking at less than 2 bucks for a gallon of distilled or about 20bucks per 1000ml if you want a different premix. Then if you go with p12s you can buy a 5 pack for about 30-40 bucks which you will probably need 2.

 

So that means your range is

 

830 - 1070 for case and required items. I mean yes you can go with much cheaper items and probably do it for 300-400 off aliexpress or ebay, but when it comes to water cooling the better components are worth it. My loop basically stays now with the additions of new blocks for new components.

[Jauska]

3 minutes ago, AngryBeaver said:

For a good loop expect to pay 600-800 ish.

 

If you do decided to go that route then I would strongly consider a new case with better support for it.

 

For those components a single 480mm or 420mm rad would be fine and improve temps... more rad space = less air flow and thus more quiet.

 

In my current setup I am using 1 480 and 1 360 which is overkill, but my temps are mid 50s on a 5900x for all but stress tests which are in the 68-72c range depending on ccx. Now the biggest gains are on my 3080 which top put in the 35-38c range under stress testing conditions.

 

I am using a case friendly to watercooling, p12 fans which are the best bang for thr buck fans you will find (they either tie or beat fans 4x their cost) and running at 1200-1300 rpm inside a glass side case are inaudible.

 

Now if we look at say a 480mm x 60 rad build... then you would spend 150-200 in a good case, 120-150 on the rad, 150 on a d5 pump, 35 bucks on tubing (if soft), 150-200 on gpu block, and 80-150 on a cpu block. Now you will need atleast 8 fittings at 8-12 bucks each. The tubing comes with a premix so if you use that you are looking at less than 2 bucks for a gallon of distilled or about 20bucks per 1000ml if you want a different premix. Then if you go with p12s you can buy a 5 pack for about 30-40 bucks which you will probably need 2.

 

So that means your range is

 

830 - 1070 for case and required items. I mean yes you can go with much cheaper items and probably do it for 300-400 off aliexpress or ebay, but when it comes to water cooling the better components are worth it. My loop basically stays now with the additions of new blocks for new components.

Okay. Thanks for that massive infopacket. In that case I will put things on hold and wait for summer when i have more income

[airborne spoon]

Do you want it to look cool?

Do you want it to look cool?

Do you want it to be quiet AF?

Do you have money you're dying to spend?

Then watercooling is for you my friend  

 

I love my watercooled rigs, i use hardline tubing because i think it's cleaner than soft stuff. Also with water cooling you're gonna be running a lot cooler than most average air coolers so your stuff will thank you. Like my memory on the 5700xt, air cooled it runs at 103c, vs on water it hangs out at 63c the core was colder too but i can't remember those numbers offhand.

[Ar558a]

A NH-D15 is the best air cooler out there and outperforms alot of AIO's, so unless you are massively overclocking the CPU that should be enough. If your temps are really high I would suggest checking the rest of your case airflow and ensuring your intakes and exhausts aren't conflicting. 

[Skiiwee29]

Personal experience here. I have had both Air cooled and water cooled systems. (currently using a full custom loop)

 

This is probably my last water cooled system. Yes, the performance gains are nice (Especially in terms of noise and clock speeds, particularly on GPUs) but the cost of everything and complexity of it all far outweigh its advantages I feel.

[Zowy1]

10 minutes ago, Skiiwee29 said:

Personal experience here. I have had both Air cooled and water cooled systems. (currently using a full custom loop)

 

This is probably my last water cooled system. Yes, the performance gains are nice (Especially in terms of noise and clock speeds, particularly on GPUs) but the cost of everything and complexity of it all far outweigh its advantages I feel.

Why complexity ?

[Skiiwee29]

Just now, Zowy1 said:

Why complexity ?

planning the loop, having all the fittings/adapters you need to make the runs properly, efficiently, and clean. Then it leads to more points of failure as each fitting can fail compared to an air cooler. 

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Custom Loop and Exotic Cooling