Would one 360 rad enough for water-cooling Ryzen 5 5600x and ASUS Tuf 3080.

[Bipandeep]

Hey guys,

Would one 360 rad enough for water-cooling Ryzen 5 5600x and ASUS Tuf 3080. 

 -I have Phanteks P500A D-RGB black case, have enough space for 2 rads. If one rad would work without great performance lost Ima put, just one.

 -I am Planning to buy All Corsair Hydro x series for water colling component. 

 -Are Cooler master MF120 Fans good with rads??? better suggestion Appreciated

[RONOTHAN##]

It'll be barely enough. A 3080 needs a 240 rad at minimum just for that card, with a 360 being preferred. A 5600X doesn't really pull much power though, so it would be more equivalent to running a 3080 on a 280mm rad. 

 

That said, it does somewhat defeat the purpose of getting a custom water cooling though to just run a single 360 for everything. The biggest advantage of modern day water cooling is that you can run all the fans at very low RPMs while keeping everything very cold. Running a single 360 would mean that you won't be able to have the fans barely spinning under full load (they won't have to be at 100%, but I'd expect at least 60-70%). Radiators aren't that expensive, for overkill sake (again, one of the big reasons to water cool a PC) I would want to have at least dual 240s for a system like this, with a 360 and a 240 being a great config for a system like this. 

 

11 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

 -Are corsair MF120 Fans good with rads??? better suggestion Appreciated

Do you mean Cooler Master MF120s or Corsair ML120s. Both would do OK, the corsair fans are very good but the corsair option is extremely expensive for the performance you get out of them (Noctua fans are better and half the price). Arctic P12 RGBs are a good option to look at, they're better than the Cooler Master fans and a little cheaper.

[Bipandeep]

@RONOTHAN## 

So, I have decided to go for a 360 in front which will be connected to gpu. 

-In case of CPU, as I have lesser tdp cpu, I'II go for 280 rad then??

-And what would be preferable fan layouts? (Inputs and outputs of air). 

-For the back fan, if I went with a 140 mm fan, it will be fine with airflow, right?? as I be using 120mm for radiators. 

 

 

Thank you!!! for making things clearer 

 

[RONOTHAN##]

1 minute ago, Bipandeep said:

@RONOTHAN## 

So, I have decided to go for a 360 in front which will be connected to gpu. 

-In case of CPU, as I have lesser tdp cpu, I'II go for 280 rad then??

-And what would be preferable fan layouts? (Inputs and outputs of air). 

-For the back fan, if I went with a 140 mm fan, it will be fine with airflow, right?? as I be using 120mm for radiators. 

 

 

Thank you!!! for making things clearer 

 

When I said you need a 360mm for a 3080, I meant that as in you need that much capacity. It doesn't mean that the GPU needs to be exclusively plumbed to that radiator or anything, you can just do one big loop for everything with a 360's worth for the GPU plus whatever the CPU would need under full load (240 is plenty). You might've meant that, I just wanted to be sure. 

 

The CPU really needs very little cooling, the 5600X just uses so little power. A 120mm radiator should be plenty, even with PBO enabled, though if you want to go for overkill and given radiator prices (last I checked anyway), a 240mm rad will be just great for this. 

 

As for the fan on the back, that would be fine, though I'd actually have that as an intake. That will bring in more fresh air to be put over the top rad and should much better than if you had it as an exhaust. 

[mike_seps]

2 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

As for the fan on the back, that would be fine, though I'd actually have that as an intake. That will bring in more fresh air to be put over the top rad and should much better than if you had it as an exhaust. 

I feel like have front and rear intakes will be fighting each other and create some stale air pockets in the case.  Might work well for the VRMs as they are right there, but other parts of the mobo and ram wouldn't have much cooling and temps may get a little warmer.

[RONOTHAN##]

4 hours ago, mike_seps said:

I feel like have front and rear intakes will be fighting each other and create some stale air pockets in the case.  Might work well for the VRMs as they are right there, but other parts of the mobo and ram wouldn't have much cooling and temps may get a little warmer.

It'll get immediately exhausted by the top exhaust though, so they really won't be fighting each other much at all.

[Bipandeep]

OHHHH now I get it @mike_seps @RONOTHAN##

So, Ima go for 360 rad in front as intake which attaches to GPU and CPU. For rear and top I will go for exhaust. I guess that will be perfect then. 

 

Or what If I do back and Rad on top as exhaust, as the case already have intake in front. 

Edited July 8, 2022 by Bipandeep

[RONOTHAN##]

36 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

OHHHH now I get it @mike_seps @RONOTHAN##

So, Ima go for 360 rad in front as intake which attaches to GPU and CPU. For rear and top I will go for exhaust. I guess that will be perfect then. 

 

Or what If I do back and Rad on top as exhaust, as the case already have intake in front. 

I would still have 2 rads in the system if you're planning on running a high end 30 series card though, a slim 360 is fine for just the GPU, for a GPU and CPU it's barely enough. An extra 240mm rad in addition to the 360mm rad will result in a much more sensible radiator setup. If you just want to have a single rad though, a thick 360 will be better. 

[Bipandeep]

@RONOTHAN##Okay so I Go with One 240 on top (Exhaust) Just to help 360 in front (Intake). One fan on Back of case (Exhaust). 

-There will be sum total of 6 fans which I am planning to control with CORSAIR iCUE COMMANDER CORE XT. 

-And what are some tips while buying a good liquid for loop. 

-I was going to use CORSAIR, Hydro X Series, XT Hardline, Satin, 14mm, Tubing

As I have a Black case, I am tempted to go with green color liquid, but is it possible If I make the loop with transparent liquid first and then add green color in it afterwards without draining all liquid out??

I might keep it transparent if it looked nice with just green rgb or otherwise I'll add color if it's possible. 

[Bipandeep]

@RONOTHAN##Just a random thought would It be wise to just water cool 3080 as its much more heat producer (Note: I currently have Cooler Master Hyper 212 on my cpu -5600x)

[RONOTHAN##]

28 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

@RONOTHAN##Just a random thought would It be wise to just water cool 3080 as its much more heat producer (Note: I currently have Cooler Master Hyper 212 on my cpu -5600x)

That's not a terrible idea. The 5600X really doesn't need much more than a Hyper 212, a 3080 on the other hand is really hot. If you're just gonna water cool one, I would make it the GPU. 

 

Personally, If I were going through the effort to water cool a system, I'd want to water cool everything, both CPU and GPU, but only the GPU would really benefit from it anyway. 

 

46 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

Okay so I Go with One 240 on top (Exhaust) Just to help 360 in front (Intake). One fan on Back of case (Exhaust). 

OK, this is the plan I'd go with. I'd test temps with the back case fan both as intake and exhaust, I'd expect intake to perform a little better but it's worth testing both. 

 

47 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

-And what are some tips while buying a good liquid for loop. 

I've always just done distilled water with a kill coil and/or a couple drops of PT Nuke. It's the best performing, it's cheap, and it doesn't have any issues like you can get with pastel or other colored fluids. 

 

51 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

-I was going to use CORSAIR, Hydro X Series, XT Hardline, Satin, 14mm, Tubing

Not a bad idea, but you can usually save a bit of money by buying all the parts individually and mixing/matching brand. In my personal loop I've got EKWB res and pump, Heatkiller CPU block, Bykski GPU block, XSPC radiator, another different generic radiator I got used 6 years ago, EK ZMT tubing (if you go soft tubing this stuff is awesome), and Bitspower fittings. Still, if you don't wanna have to think about making sure you got everything or that you accidentally bought the wrong size fittings for the tubing, one of those kits is a decent idea. 

 

1 hour ago, Bipandeep said:

As I have a Black case, I am tempted to go with green color liquid, but is it possible If I make the loop with transparent liquid first and then add green color in it afterwards without draining all liquid out??

Yeah that's possible, assuming you don't want Pastel fluids (don't recommend them anyway, especially for a beginner). Just get a pack of green dye and add in a couple drops to the reservoir. Just be warned that if you add colored fluid to a loop, those parts have a tendency to stay that color long after you want to change it. Green is one of the ones that doesn't stain that much (red is terrible), but just keep it in mind. 

 

I'd just keep it transparent personally, but it's up to you. 

[Bipandeep]

@RONOTHAN##

Hey man, thank you sooo much this far, I see things clear.

I was researching about different parts and gone into Static vs airflow fans on radiator Rabit hole.

-I think any good recent fans will be fine with rads, right???

- does Static have any Major advantage over Airflow?

-  if there is really couple of degrees difference, I rather choose any great options as artic you suggested, Corsair or others as I don't worry about temps that much coz, they will be definitely better than air-cooling. 

[RONOTHAN##]

5 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

-I think any good recent fans will be fine with rads, right???

 

Pretty much. I've got Pure Wings 2 in my system, but mostly because I got them cheap. Just get some good value fans. 

 

6 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

- does Static have any Major advantage over Airflow?

Static optimized fans are better on radiators since radiators have a lot of restriction. Most fans nowadays are good on radiators, though. 

 

8 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

-  if there is really couple of degrees difference, I rather choose any great options as artic you suggested, Corsair or others as I don't worry about temps that much coz, they will be definitely better than air-cooling. 

If you wanna save a bit of money, the Arctic P12s are a really good option, 5 pack for $30. That said, the difference between a weaker fan nowadays and the best fan (Noctua NF-A12x25) is ~2C

[Bipandeep]

@RONOTHAN##

Okay so I saw Lian li Al 120 those looks nice I'll buy those hehe.

I will be using a Corsair Hydro X Series XD5 RGB reservoir in the system, would I have to work around with 2 controllers then. 

- I will surely use Uni HUB controller for AL 120 which is first controller

- reservoir and CPU water block is both corsairs hydro x series, I will buy Commander core XT for them. it will be second controller.  

Then I have to install both icue and L connect to control reservoir and CPU block separate and all the lian li fans separate, right????

[RONOTHAN##]

5 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

@RONOTHAN##

Okay so I saw Lian li Al 120 those looks nice I'll buy those hehe.

I will be using a Corsair Hydro X Series XD5 RGB reservoir in the system, would I have to work around with 2 controllers then. 

- I will surely use Uni HUB controller for AL 120 which is first controller

- reservoir and CPU water block is both corsairs hydro x series, I will buy Commander core XT for them. it will be second controller.  

Then I have to install both icue and L connect to control reservoir and CPU block separate and all the lian li fans separate, right????

My main issue with the AL120s is the price, you'll end up spending almost $200 just for fans for this system if you buy those. That's $200 that could've gone towards a bigger radiator, a better CPU, etc. If you're fine with that, OK, but personally if I were gonna be spending that much in fans I'd want to get either Phanteks T30s or Noctua NF-A12x25s since they are better performance fans. Granted, the reason I overclock is for silence and to push very aggressive overclocks (right now I daily a power limits disabled 6900XT that realistically needs to be on water to get the best performance and not run the fans at 100% constantly). 

 

I'm not great with RGB so I can't really comment on how you'd have to deal with all the controllers, for the most part I've just left it off or did BIOS control of the LEDs (the X570 Taichi I used to daily had LED control available in both OS and BIOS). From what I understand that's all you'll need to do, but this isn't my wheel house. I'm good with motherboards, CPUs, GPUs, RAM, and cooling methods, everything else I either am just competent enough to give basic recommendations or don't really know anything about. 

[Bipandeep]

@RONOTHAN##Hey bro So I have gathered every stuff for starting except coolant, I searched a lot, saw videos, but confused in the end.

I am Using all Corsair Hydro X fittings and rads, but the only difference is EK gpu water block (EKWB EK-Quantum Vector TUF RTX 3080/3090 GPU Water Block, D-RGB, Nickel/Plexi). 

--CPU BLOCK have- Nickel-Plated Copper Cold Plate

--GPU BLOCK have -Nickel/Plex and copper cold plate

--Rads have- copper

--Fittings have- copper/brass

 

-I want to go with clear fluid and learned that distilled water is best with some Biocide and anti-corrosive additive. If that's true, how do I make it, what should I buy. 

-Any other suggestion of coolant???

 

I heard Jaystwocent in a video Distilled water and some biocide is good, how much is some?? is there any proportion to how much goes in 1 liter or any other measurement. 

 

[RONOTHAN##]

13 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

-I want to go with clear fluid and learned that distilled water is best with some Biocide and anti-corrosive additive. If that's true, how do I make it, what should I buy. 

Go to the drug store, buy some distilled water, and buy some PT nuke (biocide). You don't need a corrosive additive since you're not really mixing metals (this is only needed if you're mixing copper and aluminum). 

 

15 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

I heard Jaystwocent in a video Distilled water and some biocide is good, how much is some?? is there any proportion to how much goes in 1 liter or any other measurement. 

Make the whole loop then put 3-4 drops in the reservoir, that's all you really need. 

[Bipandeep]

ohhhh Nice, and what do U use personally as coolant?

[Bipandeep]

Is corsair XL8 clear any good??

[RONOTHAN##]

5 hours ago, Bipandeep said:

ohhhh Nice, and what do U use personally as coolant?

Distilled water I get at the local CVS with some PT nuke. 

 

4 hours ago, Bipandeep said:

Is corsair XL8 clear any good??

It's fine, but I don't see any reason to use it over Distilled water and PT nuke. It's more expensive with no real advantages. If it comes with the kit you're buying, sure use it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it. 

[fonzz1e]

On 7/19/2022 at 10:19 AM, Bipandeep said:

Is corsair XL8 clear any good??

it's ok, i have used cryofuel for 9 months until white powdery substance starts to appear on top of my res (i have no idea why)

now i'm using 40% ethylene glycol + 60% distilled water (dw is cheap in my country)

 

i'm using 360 + 280 rad in my 5000d

[Ttnuagmada]

I've run a similar setup and can offer some insight:

 

Had a 5800X and 3080FE crammed in a Silverstone GD08 for about a year and a half (actually moved it all to an o11d mini and added a 280 rad just last week) It's not designed for water cooling, but I was able to fit an EK 360XE in P/P in it after some minor mods.

 

Basically, with a 20C ambient, I could keep fans at 1k RPM or so (Corsair ML120's),  and with a GPU undervolt I could keep the GPU in the low 50's during a heavy gaming session (this is on an LG C1 at 4k120hz,  so the GPU is pretty much always maxed).  the undervolt more or less got me 1900-1950mhz at 950mv.  Had PBO at 127/75/110 (i think) and a -25 offset on most of the CPU cores. CPU would maybe occasionally go over 80C, but not very often. 

 

Keep in mind the GD08 does not have airflow that's conducive to water cooling, plus the case was crammed to the absolute gills. Would have no doubt gotten better results with a case that had better airflow. Switching to the 011D and adding a 280 definitely improved things, but not by an absolutely massive amount (everything runs about 10C cooler). 

 

Anywho.  My opinion is that a thick 360 rad in good conditions can definitely handle that setup, just be sure to undervolt the GPU/CPU

[Bipandeep]

@Ttnuagmada @RONOTHAN##alright, i see all the scenario u tried making thank you for insught and as I am using p500A, is pretty big case should I use a 360 thick or regular 

***Note: now I have a asus tuf 3080 ti from my other pc.***

 

-So i ordered mayhem biocide from ebay and i guess i would have to add 3 drops in 1L of Distilled h2o.

 

- I had bought an male to male 1/4 adapter for ball valve. It says to be made up of stainless steel/copper. Would it go well with nickel/copper in other components.

- my taste in liquid are kinda lamei don't like those colored liquid, they got tons of problems, I have seen some clear loops and thats why going with Distilled water with biocide. Ethylene glycol @Ttnuagmadarecommended what benefits it would give for my config which mainly have copper/nickel/plexi(gpu block)/stainless steel. 

 

 

[RONOTHAN##]

11 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

is pretty big case should I use a 360 thick or regular 

I'd stick to slim rads, the P500A is big but it's not that big, and if you want dual rads, slim are your best option (plus it makes it easier to install). 

 

12 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

So i ordered mayhem biocide from ebay and i guess i would have to add 3 drops in 1L of Distilled h2o.

Exactly

 

12 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

I had bought an male to male 1/4 adapter for ball valve. It says to be made up of stainless steel/copper. Would it go well with nickel/copper in other components.

You only need to worry if there's copper and Aluminum in the same loop, as long as it's just one or the other there's not really anything you need to worry about. That should work nicely.

 

14 minutes ago, Bipandeep said:

Ethylene glycol @Ttnuagmadarecommended what benefits it would give for my config which mainly have copper/nickel/plexi(gpu block)/stainless steel. 

Would not recommend that. The main benefits Ethylene glycol (antifreeze) has is that it has a massive temperature range and is usually better at preventing galvanic corrosion, with everything else it's a downgrade from distilled water. It's still conductive, it's got lower thermal capacity, and it has the potential to eat away at certain types of tubing (pretty sure PETG) and cause leaks. 

[Bipandeep]

@Ttnuagmada

@RONOTHAN##

@fonzz1e

Hey, I had set up the water loop and going to fill it today and testing leaks.

Thank you sooo much with every detail, appreciate your help alot.