Noob Liquid Cooling

[Oddeofreq]

I have never done liquid cooling before and i would like to get some more confidence before trying to actually upgrade my system.   what recommendations do you guys have of where i should start?

[airdeano]

welcome to the Linus Tech Tips forums!

 

are you looking for a custom build or a pre-built AIO (All-In-One) watercooling system?

what is your system build?

what case?

what budget?

what location?

[Enderman]

buy an AIO

they are simple and easy to use

[Oddeofreq]

Mouse	Razer	Mamba Chroma
DVD-RW	Asus	DRW-24B3ST/BLK/G/AS
CPU/Cooler	AMD	A10-7890K w/ Wraith Cooler
BD-ROM	Asus	BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS
Case	Rosewill	WolfAlloy
Keyboard	Razer	Blackwidow Chroma
Fan (case)	Cougar	CF-D14HB-R
Motherboard	ASUS	ROF Crossblade Ranger
RAM	Corsair	Vengeance Pro CMY32GX3M4B2133C11
HHD	Western Digital	Black Series WD1003FZEX
Video Card	MSI	R9 380 GAMING 4G
Video Card	MSI	R9 380 GAMING 4G
Power Supply	EVGA	220-PS-1000-V1
Sound Card	Creative Labs	Sound Blaster Zx 70SB150600000
Thermal Compound	Arctic Silver	AS5-3.5G
Operating System	Microsoft	Windows 8.1 64-bit OEM
Wireless NIC	ASUS	PCE-AC56
SSD	Samsung	850 EVO MZ-75E1T0B/AM
Speakers	Logitech	Z506
Headset	Astro	3AS50-MSW9G-377

 

i would like to see what my options are for cheapest and my options for most efficient. 

 

what i mean by efficient makes the biggest difference with as little as possible.
 

 

2 hours ago, Enderman said:

buy an AIO

they are simple and easy to use

i dont want to just use AIO becuase that is like learning to draw only by tracing or using stencils.   not gonna teach me anything much.  no real XP gain.

 

[KE2012]

1 minute ago, Oddeofreq said:

what i mean by efficient makes the biggest difference with as little as possible.
 

are you after a full custom loop or aio? 

[Oddeofreq]

1 minute ago, KE2012 said:

are you after a full custom loop or aio? 

full custom preferably

 

[KE2012]

1 minute ago, Oddeofreq said:

full custom preferably

 

Okay. what budget are you looking at? 

[Oddeofreq]

2 hours ago, KE2012 said:

Okay. what budget are you looking at? 

i want to see the cheapest and a separate mid-expensive option

 

 

i have always been scared about doing it because i heard that the seals need monthly maintenance.  i am a fraid of not being able to do it and then i get a leak.

 

[KE2012]

1 minute ago, Oddeofreq said:

i want to see the cheapest and a separate mid-expensive option

 

Alrighty then if your not wanting to kill your pc through leaks dont go cheap, go medium price point. so for brands like XSPC. two thing I would spend a bit more on though is a D5 pump, its powerful, lacks the need for external cooling and quite quiet - i cant hear mine when its on. The other thing i would spend a bit more on is fittings.

 

3 minutes ago, Oddeofreq said:

i have always been scared about doing it because i heard that the seals need monthly maintenance.  i am a fraid of not being able to do it and then i get a leak.

 

Monthly maintenance? naa. Maybe every 6 months. 

[Oddeofreq]

1 minute ago, KE2012 said:

Alrighty then if your not wanting to kill your pc through leaks dont go cheap, go medium price point. so for brands like XSPC. two thing I would spend a bit more on though is a D5 pump, its powerful, lacks the need for external cooling and quite quiet - i cant hear mine when its on. The other thing i would spend a bit more on is fittings.

 

Monthly maintenance? naa. Maybe every 6 months. 

How do i know what size hose to get?  what is the difference if i go with a fatter tube vs a thinner tube?  what good sites can i get the parts to do it?   is it possible to test a loop before i put it in my computer?  Is that a good idea?  What is teh difference aside from the appearance of hard tube vs soft tube?

[KE2012]

12 minutes ago, Oddeofreq said:

How do i know what size hose to get?  what is the difference if i go with a fatter tube vs a thinner tube?  what good sites can i get the parts to do it?   is it possible to test a loop before i put it in my computer?  Is that a good idea?  What is teh difference aside from the appearance of hard tube vs soft tube?

You buy your tube depending upon your fitting size (they need to match) and the size of the tube doesn't really make much difference to temps unless you go really really thin, so stick with the medium sized tubes and your fine (So the likes of 16/10). The only real difference between tube sizes is that thinner tubes can make tighter bends without kinking, and tubes with greater inner diameter (ID) to outer diameter (OD) ratio is less likely to kink too.    (E.g 16/10 is less likely to kink over 16/11)

Sites I only know for the UK, so unless your from here sorry can't help there. 

Yes you can test your loop outside of the computer, not a bad idea to do if its your first time doing it all. (I did the same). Just don't try to put it in your computer once the water is inside. 

 

Only difference between hard tubing and soft tubing is the type of fitting that is required - that is it.  

 

Edited June 1, 2016 by KE2012
Expanded answer to make something clearer

[Mobby Dick]

6 minutes ago, Oddeofreq said:

What is teh difference aside from the appearance of hard tube vs soft tube?

Soft tube has less resistance for the pump, but it doesn't make that much of a difference. Also soft tube is much easier to build but changes color to your fluids color, or even with non-colored water the tubes get kind of milky. But that doesn't really affect cooling performance, it just looks ugly.

[xgn]

If you're on a budget go for AIO. Else go custom its more fun and looks better. Also potentially performs better.

Then you need a specific case. First you need to figure out what you want to do. Then get a case which allows for big enough radiators.

[Enderman]

45 minutes ago, Oddeofreq said:

i dont want to just use AIO becuase that is like learning to draw only by tracing or using stencils.   not gonna teach me anything much.  no real XP gain.

 

then go watch singularitycomputers on youtube and learn everything before trying to build a loop

[Mobby Dick]

42 minutes ago, Enderman said:

then go watch singularitycomputers on youtube and learn everything before trying to build a loop

or Jayztwocents

[Enderman]

1 minute ago, Mobby Dick said:

or Jayztwocents

singularitycomputers knows WAY more stuff about watercooling than jay

[Mobby Dick]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

singularitycomputers knows WAY more stuff about watercooling than jay

I know, but I found jay easier to understand and follow when I came into watercooling first

[Enderman]

1 minute ago, Mobby Dick said:

I know, but I found jay easier to understand and follow when I came into watercooling first

yeah thats cause singularitycomputers is extremely thorough in explaining everything perfectly and in depth

thats where you wanna go if you want to learn about how to put acrylic tube between two fittings that are touching

[xgn]

15 minutes ago, Enderman said:

yeah thats cause singularitycomputers is extremely thorough in explaining everything perfectly and in depth

thats where you wanna go if you want to learn about how to put acrylic tube between two fittings that are touching

I like watching him hes a real proffesional

[xentropa]

18 hours ago, Oddeofreq said:

How do i know what size hose to get?  what is the difference if i go with a fatter tube vs a thinner tube?  what good sites can i get the parts to do it?   is it possible to test a loop before i put it in my computer?  Is that a good idea?  What is teh difference aside from the appearance of hard tube vs soft tube?

How do I know what size hose to get?

 

-This is a personal preference.  Fatter hose means less resistance and possibly more water flow.  But fatter hose requires larger fittings which may not fit on all components.  For example, my CPU block can only support ID 3/8 OD 5/8 fittings or smaller.  I would choose a common hose size such as ID 3/8 OD 5/8 because there will be more choices (and possibly cheaper) for parts.

 

-is it possible to test a loop before i put it in my computer?

 

One way I can think of testing your loop after everything is put inside the PC is like this.  Disconnect your ATX power cable from your motherboard as well as all HDDs, SSDs.  Look for the green wire on the ATX power cable and short it to ground using a wire or paperclip.  This will turn on the power supply without needing to connect it to your motherboard and pushing the on button on your case.  This should provide power through all the connectors on your power supply and run your loop without turning on anything else.

 

 

 

 

All in all, water cooling isn't cheap.  If you are only concerned with the bare minimum for CPU cooling, the cheapest kits out there (or getting enough parts to start off) will require a minimum of 300 dollars or so.  While it is possible to expand a custom loop to later accommodate other parts, costs can really add up fast and creep into the 1000 dollar range.  As for brand though, I use XSPC parts.  They are the "cheapest" option custom cooling loop parts that I am aware of at least, and they haven't leaked........ yet.

 

There are quite a lot of sizes and shapes for tubing, fittings, radiators, cooling blocks etc, and etc.  It's a headache since you probably won't have an opportunity to see any parts before purchasing them and whether a particular radiator will fit in your case, or whether you ordered enough tubing can be hard to tell on a whim.  I guess if you take pictures of your case, and show us which parts you are going to add, we might be able to sort of help you determine whether it will fit or not.