Custom water loop setup advice and questions for a noob

[FrankGehry]

Custom water loop noob here...

 

Below is a link to a custom loop that I setup using EK's configurator.

 

https://www.ekwb.com/custom-loop-configurator/shared/oW608eeadbab34c

 

My CPU is a 3600x 3900x, and my GPU is a 3090 FE.

 

I want to make sure there will no issues with corrosion and that there are no parts I should be wary of (for instance, is the pump, reservoir combo okay?). I have a couple questions about the loop as well.

 

1. Do I need to use the fans it's suggesting, or can I use the Noctua fans I already have?

2. Do I need to use Cryofuel, or is just water okay? Would distilled water be best?

3. My current power supply is a EVGA P2 850 W 80+ Platinum, and my current power draw according to PC Part Picker is 613W. Would I still have enough to power the pump as well?

[S.Hamed23]

1 minute ago, FrankGehry said:

Custom water loop noob here...

 

Below is a link to a custom loop that I setup using EK's configurator.

 

https://www.ekwb.com/custom-loop-configurator/shared/oW608eeadbab34c

 

My CPU is a 3600x, and my GPU is a 3090 FE.

 

I want to make sure there will no issues with corrosion and that there are no parts I should be wary of (for instance, is the pump, reservoir combo okay?). I have a couple questions about the loop as well.

 

1. Do I need to use the fans it's suggesting, or can I use the Noctua fans I already have?

2. Do I need to use Cryofuel, or is just water okay? Would distilled water be best?

3. My current power supply is a EVGA P2 850 W 80+ Platinum, and my current power draw according to PC Part Picker is 613W. Would I still have enough to power the pump as well?

Going EK isn't a bit expensive? You could upgrade to a better cpu if you used non-EK hardware

[Freakwise]

First of all you can fit your already existing noctua instead of ek vardar they recommend,

Secondly normal distilled water is just fine nothing wrong with that

Also if you're on budget you could try other brand on let's say fitting and tubing 

You may also want to consider this

11 minutes ago, S.Hamed23 said:

Going EK isn't a bit expensive? You could upgrade to a better cpu if you used non-EK hardware

 

[PAPO1990]

1) as long as they are the appropriate size (120mm and 140mm as appropriate) you can use ANY fans, however some fans are better suited to radiators than others, so it depends on what noctua fans you want to use.

 

2) I've used distilled water with just a silver coil without issue for some time now. But you should probably use a concentrated additive instead of a silver coil, as silver will strip the nickel plating off of blocks (this doesn't actually hurt them, but it's ugly AF)

 

3) the PSU should PROBABLY be ok, but the 3090 has me a LITTLE worried there, worst case maybe just lower the power limit on the GPU for a little while and upgrade the PSU later

[FrankGehry]

19 minutes ago, S.Hamed23 said:

Going EK isn't a bit expensive? You could upgrade to a better cpu if you used non-EK hardware

I mis-typed my CPU...it's a 3900x

[FrankGehry]

8 minutes ago, PAPO1990 said:

1) as long as they are the appropriate size (120mm and 140mm as appropriate) you can use ANY fans, however some fans are better suited to radiators than others, so it depends on what noctua fans you want to use.

 

2) I've used distilled water with just a silver coil without issue for some time now. But you should probably use a concentrated additive instead of a silver coil, as silver will strip the nickel plating off of blocks (this doesn't actually hurt them, but it's ugly AF)

 

3) the PSU should PROBABLY be ok, but the 3090 has me a LITTLE worried there, worst case maybe just lower the power limit on the GPU for a little while and upgrade the PSU later

My 120mm fans are Noctua NF-P12 and my 140mm's are Noctua NF-A15

[PAPO1990]

1 hour ago, FrankGehry said:

My 120mm fans are Noctua NF-P12 and my 140mm's are Noctua NF-A15

the P12's should be ok, though maybe not as good as the A12's. However the A15's aren't a square frame, they probably won't work on a radiator (sorry, I forgot to consider non-square framed fans).

[FrankGehry]

10 minutes ago, PAPO1990 said:

the P12's should be ok, though maybe not as good as the A12's. However the A15's aren't a square frame, they probably won't work on a radiator (sorry, I forgot to consider non-square framed fans).

I appreciate your help. I have the A12 fans as well that have the square frame (although I can't remember their model name).

[PAPO1990]

Just now, FrankGehry said:

I appreciate your help. I have the A12-like fans as well that have the square frame (although I can't remember their model name).

then I say use the fans you have initially, then you can always swap them out later. I've got a mix of old (3pin) noctua 120mm fans on a 350mm rad at the moment, and I'll be looking to upgrade to some A12's once they release the black ones in the next few months.

 

Might look into the new 140mm fans they are releasing later in the year to replace my corsair ML fans on my 280mm rads as well, just because the ML's don't seal great onto radiators, probably only a couple of degrees C difference in the end, but I'm hoping to maybe drop my noise levels a little as well with better optimized fans.

[FrankGehry]

1 minute ago, PAPO1990 said:

then I say use the fans you have initially, then you can always swap them out later. I've got a mix of old (3pin) noctua 120mm fans on a 350mm rad at the moment, and I'll be looking to upgrade to some A12's once they release the black ones in the next few months.

 

Might look into the new 140mm fans they are releasing later in the year to replace my corsair ML fans on my 280mm rads as well, just because the ML's don't seal great onto radiators, probably only a couple of degrees C difference in the end, but I'm hoping to maybe drop my noise levels a little as well with better optimized fans.

As far as corrosion goes, EK lists the GPU water block as "The block's base is milled out of a 12 mm thick piece of pure electrolytic copper sourced from Europe, which is then nickel-plated". But then the CPU block is copper, and I'm not sure what type of metal the radiators are made from. Would it be ideal to have each metal element in the loop be as similar as possible?

[PAPO1990]

the EK rads will be copper and brass, which is fine, you just don't want any aluminium in there. Nickel looks pretty and generally helps protect the copper underneath. But Silver and copper aren't a good mix, though it will just strip the nickel off and leave the bare copper, which doesn't sound too bad, but it will likely leave patches of nickel and the patchiness will look bad

 

In simpler terms; Copper, Brass and Nickel all play nice together. Just use distilled water with a few drops of a concentrate biocide/ anti-corrosive agent (I think EK's is Cryofuel concentrate). It's really just a few drops to your loop each time you will it with distilled water. These concentrates come in colours as well if you want.

[FrankGehry]

8 minutes ago, PAPO1990 said:

the EK rads will be copper and brass, which is fine, you just don't want any aluminium in there. Nickel looks pretty and generally helps protect the copper underneath. But Silver and copper aren't a good mix, though it will just strip the nickel off and leave the bare copper, which doesn't sound too bad, but it will likely leave patches of nickel and the patchiness will look bad

 

In simpler terms; Copper, Brass and Nickel all play nice together. Just use distilled water with a few drops of a concentrate biocide/ anti-corrosive agent (I think EK's is Cryofuel concentrate). It's really just a few drops to your loop each time you will it with distilled water. These concentrates come in colours as well if you want.

Okay, thank you for the exaplanation.

 

Is ~$950 a reasonable amount to spend on a water loop? I know about half of that is on the GPU block alone, but I do think EK has the best block for a 3090 FE.

[PAPO1990]

it's a hefty chunk of change, but EK makes quality gear and I trust it.

 

Depending on what is available to you it may be worth looking at different radiators I personally like AlphaCool as they give more inlet/outlet options, which can help for filling and draining. You just need to take some time to flush them out before using them.

 

There's certainly places you could save money, but I'd 100% stick with EK for the Blocks regardless. Though I'm the last person to talk to about cutting costs on a watercooling loop  (2 x 280mm @45mm thick, a 360mm @ 80mm thick, a bunch of 90 degree fittings monoblock, and 5.25" bay res/ pump combo. Probably more in cooling than most people spend on whole PC's... I think I have a problem, please send help  )

[Ravendarat]

If you are comfortable with the price than you are good to go through EK, as someone else mentioned the PSU is a bit concerning, if you are gonna run stock settings than you should be fine but if you are doing any overclocking you should definitely beef that sucker up

[FrankGehry]

10 hours ago, Ravendarat said:

If you are comfortable with the price than you are good to go through EK, as someone else mentioned the PSU is a bit concerning, if you are gonna run stock settings than you should be fine but if you are doing any overclocking you should definitely beef that sucker up

I don't overclock. If anything, I'll undervolt my GPU when mining.