Are components easily accessible with hard tubes?

[PolishGod]

If I build a custom loop with gpu and hard tubes, is it easy to replace  cpu, ram, gpu and even motherboard? Are these things normally built so the tubes aren’t in the way for most components?

[Shimejii]

No they arent easy. The whole point of doing that watercooling is doing it with components you WONT be replacing for a long enough time to make it worth your time and money. If you are worried about this, dont do it just get a good quality AIO and be done with it. 

 

You can certainly make your tubes to go high enough so you can get the ram out, but if you have to do anything with CPU and GPU and they are apart of the loop, you are gonna have to drain it and take it apart in that section. That is the life of Custom cooled PC. Plus you will have to drain it yearly and occasionally take it apart to do proper cleaning if you use certain fluids.

[Hinjima]

5 minutes ago, PolishGod said:

If I build a custom loop with gpu and hard tubes, is it easy to replace  cpu, ram, gpu and even motherboard? Are these things normally built so the tubes aren’t in the way for most components?

Depends on your loop and your tubing, where your radiators are and reservoir.  Usually you have to drain the entire loop and remove the tubes / fittings on some parts of the system to make changes. It can be a lot of work! Hours.  There are quick disconnect fittings that makes this a lot easier however.

[RONOTHAN##]

Depends on how it's built. It can be designed and setup in such a way where you can easily replace hardware if say you have quick disconnects setup everywhere, but most of the time the only thing that's really accessible to replace is the RAM (even this can be a challenge with how you route tubing). 

 

If you really care about the ability to swap hardware, you want to go soft tubing. 

[matt0725]

the CPU+GPU cant be removed without draining the system. Some people can maybe get their CPU out if needed without draining using the bit of flex in the tubing, but you wont be able to clean and reapply thermal paste without removing tubing, therefore needing draining.

 

You can replace ram if you leave yourself clearance and dont run your tube directly over them.

 

You also cannot change motherboards usually unless for the same exact model, as the CPU doesnt sit exactly in the same spot on many boards, and with hardline tubing, there is no wiggle room to move over 5mm or whatever the distance may be. Even if changing for the same model, you would likely need to reapply thermal paste because you cant get your CPU into the new mobo without loosening the cooler, so once again, youll need to drain to clean off the old paste.

 

That all being said, the fluid in a loop is supposed to be replaced every year or 2, so unless you plan on hardware failures or upgrades more often than that, its not very likely to be a problem.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Itll be a massive PITA to swap most things in a hardtube custom loop, sure it may look aesthetically pleasing but makes maintenence and component swaps so much harder, id go soft tube instead since hardline is done to death and has reached the status of boring af just like rgb puke

 

if you got a few hundred $ to waste on overpriced custom loop stuff then thats a few hundred $ you can use to get better components, and if you already got the best components then that can be used to build a phase change cooler for subzero or an absolute behemoth of a ghetto loop with a giant car radiator for overclocking shenanigans and constantly low temps even under full load (maybe not on a 13900ks though)

[PolishGod]

12 hours ago, Shimejii said:

No they arent easy. The whole point of doing that watercooling is doing it with components you WONT be replacing for a long enough time to make it worth your time and money. If you are worried about this, dont do it just get a good quality AIO and be done with it. 

 

You can certainly make your tubes to go high enough so you can get the ram out, but if you have to do anything with CPU and GPU and they are apart of the loop, you are gonna have to drain it and take it apart in that section. That is the life of Custom cooled PC. Plus you will have to drain it yearly and occasionally take it apart to do proper cleaning if you use certain fluids.

Let’s remember there are soft tubes, it should be fine if they are long enough.

[thrasher_565]

hard lines if done right most of the water should all come out but you still have to remove all the tubing.

soft with qdc can be way simpler but qdc cost alot...

if you had 2 loops that could make say swapping just the gpu out easier

i thought about using on/off instead of qdc but i could not find enough of them and tried buying t and y but they never shipped...