First Time Custom Loop...

[DangIt]

Hi All,

 

I know this is a common topic and I would love to get some helpful insight and guidance! 

 

Intro:

First things first, I am very new to custom water cooling, I have been looking into it as I am doing a lot of intensive testing for my work. I noticed that my CPU was reaching 100 degrees when fully utilized and of course my GPU would get pretty high in temps as well. I have been keeping up with Jaytwocents and his water-cooling videos, but his newer stuff mainly talks about EKWB or Corsair. I have heard inconsistency with EKWB and I think they are pretty expensive and I really wouldn't want to drop a load of money if it fails within a year and destroys my equipment... I also do not like Corsair's software as they tend to take a chunk of resources when run in the back... (also have a lot of trouble with their ICUE and I had to switch it out and uninstall it for many reasons). 

 

Specs:

Intel i9-13900k
MSI Z790 MPG Carbon WiFi ATX motherboard

EVGA 3090ti FTW Ultra 

Hyte y60 Case

 

Goal: 

My goal is to find a reliable water block for both my CPU and GPU that can handle intensive loads when doing machine learning tests and of course gaming. I will be going with soft tubing as that is easier and requires less work compared to hard tubing (for noobs such as I). I am debating whether or not to go with a distro plate or a reservoir as the Hyte y60 can utilize the corner glass. As of now, I know that Hyte now sells their distro plate for the case and I am unsure of other reputable sellers. 

 

Thank you for all the help and I look forward to reading some of your advice~

[jaslion]

Basically get a alphacool kit or pick whatever you like from them. They are very pretty great budget/performance wise.

 

Then for the gpu block check ebay or if someone has old stock.

 

Do expect like at the minimum to spend 500$ on this.

 

Btw what cooler do you have now for the 13900k? A undervolt can tame this thing as long as your cooler is good enough.

[DangIt]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

Basically get a alphacool kit or pick whatever you like from them. They are very pretty great budget/performance wise.

 

Then for the gpu block check ebay or if someone has old stock.

 

Do expect like at the minimum to spend 500$ on this.

 

Btw what cooler do you have now for the 13900k? A undervolt can tame this thing as long as your cooler is good enough.

I don't mind spending some money, I just don't want to spend a lot and have it fail within the first year. As for the cooler it was given as a gift which is the nzxt z73 kracken non rgb. I have a bunch of the Lian li uni fans so I hooked it on with the aio and connected it to the aio fan headers to change the speeds alongside the temps. 

 

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, DangIt said:

I don't mind spending some money, I just don't want to spend a lot and have it fail within the first year. As for the cooler it was given as a gift which is the nzxt z73 kracken non rgb. I have a bunch of the Lian li uni fans so I hooked it on with the aio and connected it to the aio fan headers to change the speeds alongside the temps. 

 

The unifans are not great for aio's they don't offer great pressure and this matters a lot. There is a real performance difference from the change of fans.

 

As for the aio have you turned the pump to max in software?

 

Also do you have your fans as intake at the top? This is quite important so your cpu gets proper cooling.

 

3 minutes ago, DangIt said:

I just don't want to spend a lot and have it fail within the first year.

 

I always advice against exotic cooling unless it's a for fun project. It's never easy and does require regular maintenance. Also very costly.

 

With your current setup you can cool a 13900k as long as you put some good fans on the cooler and give the 13900k a slight undervolt as msi does like to pump extra voltage into it making it run a lot hotter than it needs to for MAYBE 0.1% extra performance but usually negative performance because it runs too hot.

 

[DangIt]

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

The unifans are not great for aio's they don't offer great pressure and this matters a lot. There is a real performance difference from the change of fans.

 

As for the aio have you turned the pump to max in software?

 

Also do you have your fans as intake at the top? This is quite important so your cpu gets proper cooling.

 

 

I always advice against exotic cooling unless it's a for fun project. It's never easy and does require regular maintenance. Also very costly.

 

With your current setup you can cool a 13900k as long as you put some good fans on the cooler and give the 13900k a slight undervolt as msi does like to pump extra voltage into it making it run a lot hotter than it needs to for MAYBE 0.1% extra performance but usually negative performance because it runs too hot.

 

 

ah i see, in that case should I put the stock fans back on or should I get some stronger fans for the aio? 

For my configurations for airflow I have the bottom and right side act as intakes while the back and top as outtakes. also yes I have it turned on pretty high and max if needed.

 

as for the undervolting, I do not know too much about how to do that so a guide would be much appreciated. 

 

[jaslion]

6 minutes ago, DangIt said:

ah i see, in that case should I put the stock fans back on or should I get some stronger fans for the aio? 

Most people upgrade it with some arctic p 12/14 fans. Dirt cheap and great performers.

 

6 minutes ago, DangIt said:

back and top as outtakes.

Do the lian li o11 config. ALL intake NO exhaust leave the back open. You'l have a jetstream of air forcing it's way out. By far the best config for these kinds of cases. The back fan is more in the way than doing anything at all as there is simply so much air being forced into the pc already.

 

Bit long winded but it gets the point across. Also does the biggest bestest thing when undervolting AND overclocking at the start. Do a cinebench run, note the score down and then change settings. Easiest way to show if you are losing or gaining performance.

 

I'd start with the undervolt the easiest fix to start with that requires no physical intervention. Except maybe hitting the cmos reset button if you went a little too low

[Tegneren]

13 minutes ago, jaslion said:

With your current setup you can cool a 13900k as long as you put some good fans on the cooler and give the 13900k a slight undervolt as msi does like to pump extra voltage into it making it run a lot hotter than it needs to for MAYBE 0.1% extra performance but usually negative performance because it runs too hot.

Another thing that may help with the temps for a lot less than custom watercooling is a contact frame. The stock retention mechanism can bow the CPU preventin coolers from making proper contact. Contact frames has been shown to help significantly. Just be aware that it may void your warranty.

[jaslion]

1 minute ago, Tegneren said:

Another thing that may help with the temps for a lot less than custom watercooling is a contact frame. The stock retention mechanism can bow the CPU preventin coolers from making proper contact. Contact frames has been shown to help significantly. Just be aware that it may void your warranty.

Correct forgot to mention that as this socket has quite severe inconsistencies in mounting pressure and people have seen 10c+ drops.

[DangIt]

12 minutes ago, jaslion said:

Correct forgot to mention that as this socket has quite severe inconsistencies in mounting pressure and people have seen 10c+ drops.

 

14 minutes ago, Tegneren said:

Another thing that may help with the temps for a lot less than custom watercooling is a contact frame. The stock retention mechanism can bow the CPU preventin coolers from making proper contact. Contact frames has been shown to help significantly. Just be aware that it may void your warranty.

I also forgot to mention that I do have the contact frame installed as well from Thermal Grizzly (bought before I knew about the cheaper alternative thermalright). and thank you for the suggestions, I will try this when I get the chance and hopefully, it will yield better results