Worth getting a custom loop?

[Minibeau]

Hi, i've been wondering for a while nos if its worth getting a custom loop for my pc. Currently running a 5950x with the be quiet AIO 280mm and a 3060ti. Would it be worth getting everything i need for a custom loop and running it with only a 5950x at first until i can get a gpu that can be watercooled or is it better to just keep it as is right now? My current temps under load arent above 70 with a pretty extreme pbo 2 curve, on linux while gaming

[Chronified]

20 minutes ago, Minibeau said:

My current temps under load arent above 70 with a pretty extreme pbo 2 curve

You kinda answered your own question. You don't really "need" it unless you plan on doing more extreme overclocks as your current setup is sufficient. 

[suedseefrucht]

34 minutes ago, Minibeau said:

i've been wondering for a while nos if its worth getting a custom loop for my pc

Me too.

 

Here are my thoughts:

 

What do we need to enable max. performance?

We need to keep the CPU temperature below 95-100°C and the graphics card low enough to let it reach it's max. clock speed. Maybe 70-80°C.

We can reach max. perfomance with a cpu air cooler and a well ventilated graphics card.

 

What do we need to get as low noise as possible?
Big cpu air coolers can be very quiet. 3 radiator fans can run slower than 1-2 air cooler fans, but there is also additional pump noise. So I guess it's quiet equal.
But watercooling is harder to maintain, because you may have to brush all the components every once in a while.
There can be leaks and it's much more expensive than air cooling.

Graphics card fans can be loud, but with a triple fan card or the nocture RTX 3070 from ASUS, it should be pretty quiet.

How to get the cleanest look?

if you have nice RAM and you want to be able to see it, watercooling might be your choice.
But in my opinion, soft tubing looks ugly compared to air cooling. Only hard tubing looks pretty good.

But with hard tubing it gets really hard to replace components, the PC becomes pretty heavy from all the water and like I said before, cleaning the components is hard work.

 

Summary:
Air cooling is awesome for performance and low CPU cooler noise.

Custom watercooling with hard tubing can be equally good or even better for the graphics card and have a cleaner look, but it comes with the price of a lot of money and a lot of work.

 

For a next build I would go for air cooling with the fractal design torrent series.
It supports a big low noise ATX power supply, a big quiet CPU cooler, a big 3 fan graphics card without wasting any space and it still has a lot of airflow.

If you go for the torrent compact, you can even put two 180mm, two 140mm or three 120mm fans in the bottom to force ventilate the graphics card. I can't imagine anything better for the graphics card

[fonzz1e]

On 2/17/2022 at 3:31 PM, Minibeau said:

5950x with the be quiet AIO 280mm and a 3060ti

well your AIO is doing good work there

 

IMO better save your $ for better GPU then only decide if it goes above 70c

 

i went watercool due to my ambient temps being 32c & also it's a hobby for me 

[Mick Naughty]

Its always worth it. Its just money and if its a hobby, it should always be done at least once.