Extrememely cheap custom water cooling loop ( Under 80 dollars )

[Balde]

I DO NOT RECOMMEND BUILDING THIS LOOP, THERE ARE BETTER OPTIONS OUT THERE IF YOU JUST WANT CPU COOLING

 

Note :

 

One of the ideas behind this custom loop is that I plan to add a GPU water block to this loop. Being new I wanted to at least start off with a semi standard block with the correct mounting hardware, the prices for GPU water blocks are quite high already and to make things worse my card is a non-reference design so a proper GPU water block was a no-go to me. The main idea behind this loop was to test if these cheapo components would work better than my air cooling gear. It worked so well though that i thought i should share it . My plan from the start was to 3D print a GPU water block holder for this thing, and for obvious reasons hot glue the crap out of it. Hope this explains my reasons for doing this.

 

Ok, with that out the way :

 

Custom water cooling for under 60 quid ( 80 dollars )!

( Or about 100 Canadian rupees )

 

This is just for the CPU. I'll edit soon on how the GPU cooling goes!
This guide assumes you already have two 120mm fans ( LTT edition preferred  ), needle nose pliers, side cutters ( scissors will do ), some long screws and some zip ties

 

Somewhat inspired by the Scrapyard Wars water cooling challenge I set on a quest to water cool my pc, for a cheap as possible. The end result wasn't pretty but it was quiet and effective. Running an i7-4790 non k at full using FurMark's CPU burner got to a max of 52 degrees celsius in a fairly warm room and idles of about 30 degrees.
Using a few spare parts and Amazon I found the cheapest ( new ) parts possible to liquid cool your PC. The prices are all in GBP as I live in the UK.

 

8mm ID x 11mm OD Clear PVC Tubing Pipe Hose 5 Metres - £4.01
Yosoo(TM) SC-300T 12V DC Ultra-Quiet Water Cooling Pump max.300L/h For CPU Cooling System - £16.99
Universal Computer CPU Water Cooling Block Head Radiator and Pagodas 50x50mm Copper Base Cool Inner Channel - £13.75
240mm Multifunction CPU Water Cool SystemAluminum Heat Exchanger Computer Radiator - £20.88

 

That's a grand total of £55.63 including shipping.

 

One problem with this loop is that it's mixed metal so will corrode pretty easily. You'll probably want a biocide or silver coil too so they bump up the cost by about 15 quid or 20 dollars:

 

Mayhems 0609224351037 Mayhems Fine Silver Kill Coil - £9.13

Swiftech HYDRX watercooling Fluid for Anti-corrosive - £6.99

 

Total : £16.12

Grand Total : £71.75

 

A bit more expensive but not exactly breaking the bank.

(Thanks to W-L for pointing this out)

 

 

 

You can generally follow any of linus' water-cooling guides ( well, except whole room ) such as the water cooling parts of this one:

 

 

Keep in mind there are a few caveats as this hardware is not exactly premium:

Spoiler

 

Due to the dubious quality of these components zip ties are a must. Push the tube over the socket as far as it will go. You may need needle nose pliers to stretch out the ends beforehand especially for the CPU water block. Zip tie the ends of the tube.

 

Optional but recommended: Again, due to the dubious quality of these components you may want to go over the joints with hot glue as it cures quickly and is fairly easy to remove if you want to upgrade.

 

Position your pump at the bottom of your case, preferably over or near holes in the base if your case has any. This means if it leaks it will either drain out or rest in a spot away from components. If this isn't possible at least keep it so it is not above the power supply.

 

The radiator does not include mounting hardware for fans. I used four screws that lines up with the radiator, two for each fan.

 

You must install the CPU water block outside the case as it's mounting mechanism involves a nut and bolt along with thumbscrews and springs. Even though modern CPU's are quite robust you should tighten the screws in a cross pattern with close even pressure at all times. You want the block to feel like it's not going anywhere but the springs shouldn't be compressed to their fullest.

 

 

If you've got any questions i'll try to answer them as soon as possible! 

 

Extra pic of the radiator:

 

Spoiler

 

[LittleCarrot]

Is this permanent? 

[W-L]

1 minute ago, Balde said:

-SNIP-

Not bad for <$100 but one very important thing I must mention is you wouldn't want to run that for long if your only using distilled water and a biocide or silver, since you have a mixed metal loop it must have a comptaible mixed metal fluid or the copper block will be corroded away fairly quickly with the aluminum rad. 

[Balde]

Just now, LittleCarrot said:

Is this permanent? 

I plan to use this albeit with some upgrades soon ( such as the GPU ). It's actually a really decent loop for this amount of money.

[Balde]

2 minutes ago, W-L said:

Not bad for <$100 but one very important thing I must mention is you wouldn't want to run that for long if your only using distilled water and a biocide or silver, since you have a mixed metal loop it must have a comptaible mixed metal fluid or the copper block will be corroded away fairly quickly with the aluminum rad. 

Should probably have factored that into the cost  will edit it now.

[Bananasplit_00]

well this is cool, literally. hose clamps would be a better solution to the tightening of the hoses but otherwise its pretty cool. i feel like there is a lot of these cheap water cooling prodjects going around right now

[Enderman]

lol i wonder how many months its gonna last you before the pump dies or it leaks and kills the rest of your PC parts

[Balde]

4 minutes ago, Enderman said:

lol i wonder how many months its gonna last you before the pump dies or it leaks and kills the rest of your PC parts

Exactly why I put it over an unpopulated fan hole. I expect these parts to fail eventually. If its leaks my floor will get a bit wet but no real damage. The worst thing i can imagine is the water block leaking and shorting out my gpu.

[Enderman]

9 minutes ago, Balde said:

Exactly why I put it over an unpopulated fan hole. I expect these parts to fail eventually. If its leaks my floor will get a bit wet but no real damage. The worst thing i can imagine is the water block leaking and shorting out my gpu.

yeah i was referring to that sketchy looking CPU block without even a real o-ring

[Balde]

15 minutes ago, Enderman said:

yeah i was referring to that sketchy looking CPU block without even a real o-ring

I didn't trust it either so there's a nice and sketchy layer of hot glue round all the seams

[Enderman]

21 minutes ago, Balde said:

I didn't trust it either so there's a nice and sketchy layer of hot glue round all the seams

hot glue will not seal a leak...

[KuJoe]

What benefits does something like this offer over say a $60-$90 (USD) Corsair AIO? I see this one has a 240mm fan versus the Corsair AIOs that have only a single or dual 120mm but what kind of impact does that have?

[Curufinwe_wins]

1 hour ago, KuJoe said:

What benefits does something like this offer over say a $60-$90 (USD) Corsair AIO? I see this one has a 240mm fan versus the Corsair AIOs that have only a single or dual 120mm but what kind of impact does that have?

None really...

 

2 hours ago, Balde said:

snip

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

One of the better 240s on the market today for only 63 pounds...

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/enermax-cpu-cooler-elclmr240bs

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00QWZIN92/?tag=pcp0f-21

[Balde]

On 13/03/2016 at 2:22 AM, Curufinwe_wins said:

None really...

 

 

One of the better 240s on the market today for only 63 pounds...

 

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/enermax-cpu-cooler-elclmr240bs

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00QWZIN92/?tag=pcp0f-21

 

On 13/03/2016 at 0:59 AM, KuJoe said:

What benefits does something like this offer over say a $60-$90 (USD) Corsair AIO? I see this one has a 240mm fan versus the Corsair AIOs that have only a single or dual 120mm but what kind of impact does that have?

 

One of the ideas behind this custom loop is that I plan to add a GPU water block to this loop. Being new I wanted to at least start off with a semi standard block with the correct mounting hardware, the prices for GPU water blocks are quite high already and to make things worse my card is a non-reference design so a proper GPU water block was a no-go to me. The main idea behind this loop was to test if these cheapo components would work better than my air cooling gear. It worked so well though that i thought i should share it . My plan from the start was to 3D print a GPU water block holder for this thing, and for obvious reasons hot glue the crap out of it. Hope this explains my reasons for doing this.