First water cooling build!

[elwindace]

Was told it may be better to post my questions  here!

 

Budget (including currency):  < $3500 USD Pref,  can go high as 4k.

Country:  USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for:  Gaming, Mostly MMO's. Have cyberpunk, but current PC don't play it well.

Other details First time going custom water cooling ( soft tubing) . Got the basics figured out just trying to iron it out, before I buy  next month.

 

Current only i7 7700k, with 2080 super

 

 

Current items so far... https://newegg.io/acc1933

I7-13700k

MSI pro z790a-wifi

Corsair vengeance RBG 32 (2x16) DDR 6200

Sesonce 850 80+plat (a bit overkill ya)

planning on  cable extensions from cable mod

 

CPU block: Hydro X Series XC8 RGB PRO CPU Water Block — JayzTwoCents Edition

Pump/res: CORSAIR Hydro X Series XD5 RGB Pump/Reservoir Combo 

360 rad with -Corsair SP120 rgb elite performance

280 ran with Corsaid SP140

 

Caste: HYTE Y60

 

GPU: pending prices in a month

Wanted to do with 4070 TI, but does not seem like anyone makes blocks for them.

Maybe 3080ti range, would need a block as well.  

 

 

SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2 2280 1TB PCI-Express Gen 4.0 x4

SAMSUNG 980 PRO Heatsink M.2 2280 2TB PCI-Express 4.0 x4

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*** fittings not listed, purchased 2nd hand

 

Questions I have, do the blocks and what not come with plugs, or do I need to get those separately? 

For drain value. I would just need a 3 way splitter, then have one with a ball valve and plug?

 

Coolant: good ole question, water vs other stuff? What would I need with either, for stuff to add to it (anti xxx stuff) . I would like it colored liquid. 

[Zando_]

49 minutes ago, elwindace said:

I7-13700k

I'd advise dropping to a 13600K to save some $, no noticeable difference between it and the i7 in games.

51 minutes ago, elwindace said:

do the blocks and what not come with plugs, or do I need to get those separately? 

Plugs? Often do to keep dust out, you then remove those and use fittings. They don't usually include fittings, you will need to buy those separately.

52 minutes ago, elwindace said:

For drain value. I would just need a 3 way splitter, then have one with a ball valve and plug?

Yep, just make sure to put it at the lowest possible point in your loop.

52 minutes ago, elwindace said:

Coolant: good ole question, water vs other stuff? What would I need with either, for stuff to add to it (anti xxx stuff) . I would like it colored liquid. 

I use EK Cryofuel Clear, I get the premix because it's easy. I wouldn't advise colored liquid as the dyes usually cause issues (y'know, dying things that shouldn't be, sometimes gumming up the loop - especially pastel coolants) and fade after a while. If you're dead set on it, I'd stick with EK Cryofuel and get one of the colored versions.

[elwindace]

Thanks.  Can't figure out how to do those fancy quote replies  xD

  For the GPU. Think I found my answer in a old  Jayztwo cents video 7:05 

   Looks like they come with it....

Assuming pump would be the same  since it had muiti ports

 

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Will look into that CPU swap, thanks for that input.

Will look into the coolant you suggested.

 

Now just to figure out the GPU and water block combos. Hopefully prices come down a bit in the next few weeks. 

[Zando_]

10 minutes ago, elwindace said:

Can't figure out how to do those fancy quote replies  xD

You can highlight specific text and then click the "quote selection" popup that happens when you do so. Or quote the full post with the arrows underneath it (quote and multiquote if you hover over them, multiquote is for grabbing multiple posts).

[andrewmp6]

Colored coolant is a bad idea,It will stain all your clear parts of the loop or cause worse problems.Go clear coolant and use rgb lighting to add color to it.

[Neggy-Z]

1 hour ago, andrewmp6 said:

Colored coolant is a bad idea,It will stain all your clear parts of the loop or cause worse problems.Go clear coolant and use rgb lighting to add color to it.

I've never had EK coolants stain my clear plexi or acrylic parts, mind you i've never used yellow or red and they seem to be the worst for staining, mostly used blue and purple both transparent and pastel variants.

I've had staining/buildup on nickel blocks where there is minimal flow, next to orings or where the nickel is up against acrylic.

The only time i've had major staining was in a second system using some Thermaltake transparent green coolant, that stuff is horrible and stained pretty much every surface it touched.

On 2/25/2023 at 1:02 PM, elwindace said:

Now just to figure out the GPU and water block combos. Hopefully prices come down a bit in the next few weeks. 

Maybe checkout Bykski for a 4070 ti block, they currently have blocks for 5 different 4070 ti's

https://www.bykski.com/page86?product_category=210&brd=1

[andrewmp6]

20 hours ago, Neggy-Z said:

I've never had EK coolants stain my clear plexi or acrylic parts, mind you i've never used yellow or red and they seem to be the worst for staining, mostly used blue and purple both transparent and pastel variants.

I've had staining/buildup on nickel blocks where there is minimal flow, next to orings or where the nickel is up against acrylic.

The only time i've had major staining was in a second system using some Thermaltake transparent green coolant, that stuff is horrible and stained pretty much every surface it touched.

Maybe checkout Bykski for a 4070 ti block, they currently have blocks for 5 different 4070 ti's

https://www.bykski.com/page86?product_category=210&brd=1

I don't trust ek nickel platting,I have seen it come off with standard known brand coolants.While any other brands nickel stays looking new with the same coolant.

[Sir Beregond]

On 2/24/2023 at 6:48 PM, elwindace said:

CPU block: Hydro X Series XC8 RGB PRO CPU Water Block — JayzTwoCents Edition

Pump/res: CORSAIR Hydro X Series XD5 RGB Pump/Reservoir Combo 

360 rad with -Corsair SP120 rgb elite performance

280 ran with Corsaid SP140

Why? You can do much better than Hydro X pump/res for the money. They are cheap and plasticy for the price. You could do much better with say an Ultitube from Aquacompuer which is both much higher quality and much cheaper. Heatkiller is nice too, though admittedly a bit more of an industrial aesthetic.

 

Did you specifically want the J2C block? Otherwise I would say again that you could do much better performance wise for the money. Heatkiller IV Pro comes to mind. I've seen people gain double digit better temperatures in 12th and 13th gen parts switching off Corsair blocks to EK, Heatkiller and such. Optimus and TechN make good blocks as well, but have heard Optimus may not have the optimum (lol) mounting for LGA 1700.

 

You didn't specify rads, so I'll assume its Corsair again. Corsair radiators are rebrands of the Hardware Labs L-series radiators with a price markup and a sailboat logo slapped on. You'd be much better just buying the Hardware Labs Nemesis rads which are a step up and often the same price as these Corsair rads in the US. Alphacool is also good. Both rads are filthy out of the box, so remember to clean/prep the loop. The problem with these Techtubers is they never show this. Get a Mayhems Blitz Pro kit.

 

Quote

Questions I have, do the blocks and what not come with plugs, or do I need to get those separately? 

For drain value. I would just need a 3 way splitter, then have one with a ball valve and plug?

They don't come with fittings, no.

 

Yeah could do that for the drain valve and then try to have it at the lowest point in the loop.

 

Quote

Coolant: good ole question, water vs other stuff? What would I need with either, for stuff to add to it (anti xxx stuff) . I would like it colored liquid. 

First loop, I get it, but you'll soon learn colored coolant aint worth it. The opaque stuff/solids are a maintenance nightmare, not to mention they can be damaging to nickel plating over time. 

 

Clear that's been dyed is better, but can stain components/tubing over time as well. Don't always but they can and often do.

 

If you do water, add biocide and inhibitor additives to them, but be careful what you use. Copper sulfate based additives and nickel don't always play nice and the nickel can stain. If you get a premix, definitely go for a clear. I will go against the grain of this thread and say avoid EK Cryofuel. For a history lesson, when it very first came out, it was a Mayhems rebrand of X1. At some point they switched suppliers and now nobody knows what it is. But I can say, since that switch, I've seen my fair share of problems with it gunning up people's loops, even the clear. Many don't have problems at all. I call it the EK standard operating procedure, you never know what you are going to get with them.

 

For clear premixes, I recommend Mayhems X1, Koolance 702, Aquacomputer DP Ultra, or ModMyMods Mod Water if you are in the US.