Out of watercooling for over a decade, what brands are the meta now?

[Grifftech]

Hi, guys and gals! So I need some brand recommendations for loop components. The last time I did a custom water loop was in 2012 so I am sure a lot has changed.
My brother came to me wanting help with building a PC with water loop for some parts he bought 3 years ago, and good lord did he go all out.
These have been sitting in original boxes never used and I can't believe what we has to build this with.
Mobo: ASUS ROG Z690 Extreme Glacial https://rog.asus.com/us/motherboards/rog-maximus/rog-maximus-z690-extreme-glacial-model/
GPU: Gigabyte AORUS GeForce RTX 3090 Xtreme Waterforce https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N3090AORUSX-WB-24GD#kf
CPU: Core i9-13900K PSUS: ASUS ROG Thor 1600W Platinum
Case: ASUS ROG STRIX Helios EVA Edition https://rog.asus.com/us/cases/rog-strix-helios-eva-edition-model/

So I am making a list of Memory and NVME drives for it I am just nto sure what brand is the goto these days for reservoir, fittings, radiators and what RGB fans would have decent static pressure for the rads?

Thanks for any tips

[OddOod]

EK is slow motion imploding. Bykski has been treating me pretty well. I find TitanRig to be a pretty decent storefront. 
Get a D5, still the GOAT. Distro plates make for easier builds, but you have to find ones specifically for your case, which exist but seem to only come with the Bykski DCC knockoff rather than a D5

[Grifftech]

3 minutes ago, OddOod said:

EK is slow motion imploding. Bykski has been treating me pretty well. I find TitanRig to be a pretty decent storefront. 
Get a D5, still the GOAT. Distro plates make for easier builds, but you have to find ones specifically for your case, which exist but seem to only come with the Bykski DCC knockoff rather than a D5

When you say I need to find a distro plate made for the case, is that because of mounting hole alignment? I am pretty deep into 3D printing and if thats the case I could easily make up an adapter mounting plate if need be

[OddOod]

1 minute ago, Grifftech said:

When you say I need to find a distro plate made for the case, is that because of mounting hole alignment? 

That and physical dimensions/geometry. 
But a 3D printing an adapter kit sounds RAD. Especially if you can come close to color matching the sweet weeb case

[ChrisLoudon]

On 4/17/2025 at 2:30 PM, Grifftech said:

So I need some brand recommendations for loop components. The last time I did a custom water loop was in 2012 so I am sure a lot has changed.

EKWB was always the daddy in this space but its recent fall from grace is causing them some supply issues (at least here in the UK). I can still buy pretty much everything on their stock list but both Scan and OCUK show all items as 'pre-order' and delivery is almost always around 14 days which is annoying. Now, that's not to say you can't / shouldn't continue to buy EK but if they do 'implode' then you could be left high and dry if you're missing that one final item that is no longer available.

 

Because of this, I think my next build (whenever that might be) will probably be using Alphacool components. They've been around for years but recently seemed to have beaten the competition to market for the 50xx series blocks which is always a good sign for the future.

 

The 2 major irritations with the possible loss of EK would be they have a great range of 'chunky' fittings called Quantum Torque. I love them as they help 'fill-out' a build, especially in larger cases where things can look a little 'lost'. I've yet to find a suitable alternative so any suggestions would be welcome.

 

Another thing EK were great at are the case specific Distro Plates. They simplify the loop and usually ensure no more than a single 90 bend is required per length and can make some build look great.

 

Heatkiller and Bykski would be a couple of others to consider.

 

 

[silk186]

Alphacool seems pretty good for mid-range, Bykski for budget. Barrow for cheap fittings, and Bitspower if you want to pay more. 

I'm doing a build with Bykski rads and GPU block, alphacool CPU block and pump res combo with Barrow fittings.

[ScaryFatKidGT]

Not EK…

 

Corsair, Bits power…

 

I forget the knew ones Jay has talked about… 1 Amazon brand and one US brand from Chicago…