Hardline Watercooling

[_Hiro_]

Don't hate me for what I'm trying to do. I want to hard line water cool an AMD PC. 

Here are my specs: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/bPHM8K

My case is pretty beat up, so in the near future I might replace my case for an S340 and redo the tubing. Basically what I'm looking for is a lower priced water block and hard line tubing that is compatible with it. I will also need a 120mm radiator that will work with the other parts and any reservoir that would work in an S340. No I don't have an S340, yes I will get one before I watercool my PC. Hopefully my dad upgrades to Zen FX and I can get his 32GB ram and an FX8370

[_Hiro_]

I'm also going to put it out here now:

 

If you aren't here to recommend anything, don't post anything at all. I would also like specific recommendations if possible, just a brand isn't very helpful either.

[Zyndo]

What is your budget? What are you cooling in this build? CPU? GPU? SLI/CF? Motherboard? RAM? You can cool pretty much anything.

 

Also, it would be considerably more affordable to just get a AIO cooler if you're going to cool only your CPU. If you still want hardline setup, I can try to recommend items, but you seem like you're on a tight budget, so you may want to keep that in mind. If you're going to watercool more than just a CPU, then you will definitely need more than just a 120 radiator.

[_Hiro_]

In the future, if and probably when they release a waterblock for an RX480, I'll probably upgrade my GTX960 to that and do a hardline cooling solution between my GPU and CPU. I also know for a fact that, with my current case, I couldn't do a 240 or 360mm radiator. Any other case recommendations? If I ditch the idea of getting a laptop for my birthday and refuse christmas presents and ask for money (cause I'm that kinda person), i could probably go up to 250 at most, but I'd like to keep it under 200

[_Hiro_]

I understand it might not be possible with that budget, but I'm okay with used parts and clear water. Would food coloring work to color water in something like what I'm going for?

[Enderman]

1) all water is clear, unless you live in some far away village and its brown

 

2) you cannot just use plain tap water if thats what you meant, it will corrode your parts and turn green

 

3) if you use deionised/distilled water, you need to add a biocide, a kill coil, and preferably an anti-corrosive as well

 

4) its easier to just use premixed fluid, or a concentrate

 

5) no you cannot use food colouring unless you want your waterblocks to get clogged up over time, if you want colour buy PC watercooling dye concentrate or premixed coloured fluid

 

6) $200 is really low even for just a CPU loop, not including the GPU waterblock

with that budget you should be looking at AiOs and air coolers

 

7) you *can* make a CPU+GPU watercooling loop for $200, and you can also leak water all over your PC and kill all your parts

which will end up costing you more than $200 when you need to replace everything

 

8) i would recommend you save up a bit more, preferably $300+ for a CPU loop or $400+ for CPU+GPU

 

9) you also need to add the cost of tools to that budget

a heat gun + tube bending kit + sandpaper + some other small stuff you need for hardline

[Zyndo]

42 minutes ago, _Hiro_ said:

I understand it might not be possible with that budget, but I'm okay with used parts and clear water. Would food coloring work to color water in something like what I'm going for?

It would... but you're also going to have to take things like anti-mircrobials and anti-corrosives into account. If these are not present in whatever cooling solution you end up using, you can get gunk build up in your radiators, blocks, and fluid which severely reduces their effectiveness, and can cause blockages if your pump of choice doesn't have enough pressure.

 

250 bucks Isn't really enough to get a new hard line loop. And by the sounds of it you haven't done enough research to be able to buy compatible used parts and make your own rig from that (and companies that use identical measurements can often have SLIGHT discrepencies in their manufacturing processes, so mixing brands, especially when it comes to tubing and fittings, can sometimes result in leaks if you're not extremely careful). These sort of rigs also come with maintenance that need to be tended to. Its not all that much, but its the sort of thing you need to be prepared for going forward.

 

Lastly, there isn't any good performance reason to spend this sort of money on that sort of system. I still HIGHLY recommend getting a AIO

 

EKWB

Pump/res: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-xres-100-spc-60-mx-pwm-incl-pump

Rad: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-coolstream-ce-280-dual

Fittings: (You will need at least 6 of these) https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-hdc-fitting-12mm-g1-4-nickel

Tubing: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-hd-petg-tube-10-12mm-500mm-2pcs

CPU Block: https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-supremacy-mx-amd-acetal

 

This takes you to a little over 250 bucks. This does not include a bending kit or heat gun. This does not include extra tubing in case you screw up your measurements. This does not include additional fittings if you want to do your bends with fittings instead of heat/bending. This includes the cheapest pump and reservoir unit that EKWB sells, along with the cheapest CPU block. This does not include the cost of fans to go on the radiators (I went with a 280 since that's the largest a S340 can hold). This does not include the cost of coolant, or the cost of replacing the coolant periodically. This does not include any plans for mounting in your S340 (although its probable the pump/res kit will come with something). This does not include the cost of fittings or block or tubing for a GPU either

 

 

Now, EKWB is not the cheapest watercooling on the market, but they're not THAT much more expensive than the competition. I used them to show you what a cooling system like yours could cost at the base level. If you dont get a 480 + custom loop, you could spend about the same amount of money on a AIO cpu cooler and a 1070.