Is a custom loop worth the effort?

[nanowatt]

So the thing is simple.I am wondering if building a custom loop is worth the effort.why i ask this?Because it will be my first attempt and i don't know what pump to get what rads,tubing,fittings,blocks and it will take a while to do the research.To mention even if now i have only 1 gpu in near future i will add a second one so if you want to recommend me something remember this.The case is a cosmos 2 so is able to fit anything inside.Any help is welcome

 

[Anthony10]

Well I mean people don't do custom watercooling for price/performance if that's what you're asking...

[Trik'Stari]

Entirely

 

 

So the thing is simple.I am wondering if building a custom loop is worth the effort.why i ask this?Because it will be my first attempt and i don't know what pump to get what rads,tubing,fittings,blocks and it will take a while to do the research.To mention even if now i have only 1 gpu in near future i will add a second one so if you want to recommend me something remember this.The case is a cosmos 2 so is able to fit anything inside.Any help is welcome

If it's your first, I would recommend starting with an H220-X. It's an all in one that's meant to be expandable and moddable, which is cool.

[Scouten]

is water cooling worth it? up to you

 

is it better than air cooling? in most cases yes

[loccilucas]

Its worth it if you do it right and put lots of money into it IMO, If you do a cheap job however its a waste of time.

 

For most people though its not worth it, all the benefit is that you get really cool performance and it is the quietest form of cooling, its basically a 1 up from good aircooling but also looks amazing

[nanowatt]

Well I mean people don't do custom watercooling for price/performance if that's what you're asking...

 

Its worth it if you do it right and put lots of money into it IMO, If you do a cheap job however its a waste of time.

 

For most people though its not worth it, all the benefit is that you get really cool performance and it is the quietest form of cooling, its basically a 1 up from good aircooling but also looks amazing

The money are not the problem.The problem is that i don't know here to start or what to buy and if there is a reason why i want to do it is to oc the gpu and cpu and beside in summer time here can be madness

[nj4ck]

The money are not the problem.The problem is that i don't know here to start or what to buy and if there is a reason why i want to do it is to oc the gpu and cpu and beside in summer time here can be madness

What's your current hardware?

[loccilucas]

The money are not the problem.The problem is that i don't know here to start or what to buy and if there is a reason why i want to do it is to oc the gpu and cpu and beside in summer time here can be madness

Ok well its actually pretty simple, 

CPU & GPU blocks = get whatever you think looks best 

 

Radiators = check what thickness your case will allow, then fill your case with as much radiator space as possible (thats the whole point of water cooling)

 

Pump = get a swift tech MCP-655 

 

reservoir = Get whatever looks the best

 

Fittings = ask the forum once you have decided on everything else

 

tubing= primochill advanced LRT tubing if you want soft tubing, if you want hard tubing quite a few companies make acrylic tubing and its all good quality.

[Polyvalent]

Theres some really nice water cooling all-in-one kits that include all the stuff you need to start off, and usually come with a pump, res, rad, cpu block, etc.  they're really good places to start.  I know jayz2cents has some reviews of them on his channel.

[nanowatt]

What's your current hardware?

cpu:i7-4790K

gpu:R9 290X LIGHTNING

motheboard:MSI Z97 XPOWER

psu:SeaSonic Platinum 1000W

[C_Mike]

From my experience, I feel that custom loops are really only worth the effort if you're in it for the aesthetics. Nowadays you can get some really good AIO watercooling kits, that perform better than air coolers, for a farily decent price ( my favorite AIO atm is the swiftech h220x)

 

I spent over £250 on my WC loop, which is only a pretty basic single gpu-cpu loop, and tbh probably doesn't perform as well as some AIO, but I love the way it looks

 

Before I bought it, I had no idea about custom loops, and I spent quite a long time browsing various online shops and forums to find exactly what I needed.

 

If you really don't want an AIO though, and fancy a "partly-custom" loop, you can get some kits which have all the parts you may need(cpu block, fittings tubing, pump, radiator, resevoir, fans etc.) then if you want to expand the loop - to cool a gpu for example - you can any extra blocks/fittings etc. you may need.

 

Example of a kit

http://www.watercoolinguk.co.uk/p/Alphacool-NexXxoS-Cool-Answer-240-LTST-Full-Kit_30211.html

[nj4ck]

cpu:i7-4790K

gpu:R9 290X LIGHTNING

motheboard:MSI Z97 XPOWER

psu:SeaSonic Platinum 1000W

In that case, I'd say go for it. The rig linked in my signature was my very first watercooled one and I had no problems building it. As long as you don't end up spending more on the loop than on the hardware and you're willing to go through the process of planning and building a loop, I don't see any reason not to.

[BaSkA]

You should definitely study about it. Read a ton of reviews and videos.

Everybody here is gonna give you advice on what to buy and etc but also do your homework...

[aduman]

Ok well its actually pretty simple, 

CPU & GPU blocks = get whatever you think looks best 

 

Radiators = check what thickness your case will allow, then fill your case with as much radiator space as possible (thats the whole point of water cooling)

 

Pump = get a swift tech MCP-655 

 

reservoir = Get whatever looks the best

 

Fittings = ask the forum once you have decided on everything else

 

tubing= primochill advanced LRT tubing if you want soft tubing, if you want hard tubing quite a few companies make acrylic tubing and its all good quality.

THIS.

[Captain_Slow]

Custom loops are a massive waste of money,

 

 

looks fantastic thou

[BaSkA]

Just so I don't sound like a cunt, I've helped a friend do it once and it was a total disaster. Fortunately, we saw the leaks on time and avoided losing a lotta money but if only (he)we had done our homework, we would've had less trouble.

 

It really looks amazing and I love how my friend's computer tubing glows in the dark.

[Real_PhillBert]

If you look at it based on a pure financial level, its almost certainly not worth it.

 

But if it is going to make you giggle like a school girl every time you see it, then yes, it is worth it.