Cheap water loop!

[Biggerjaws]

So I'm thinking about make a custom loop for my pc. Here are some of my ideas for it.

 

reservoir and pump: http://www.ebay.com/itm/231473754660?ul_noapp=true

fittings: compression  (I don't mind spending a bit more on it for looks)

radiator : http://www.ebay.ca/itm/240mm-G1-4-Aluminum-Computer-Radiator-Water-Cooling-For-CPU-LED-Heatsink-/121799649880?hash=item1c5bd32a58:g:OW0AAOSwxYxUvKSA

cpu block : not sure yet but it's for Intel 

tubing : soft because I think it's easier for my first loop

i know I would probably need a kill coil or something to stop the algae or whatever

 

Any recommendations or critiques would be very much appreciated. Thank you :3

 

[RichieXtheXboss]

I wouldn't go cheap because you buy something that is cheap and it leaks no company is going to pay for your whole pc especially with ebay

[ForsakenLive]

Stay away from aluminum parts when water cooling. When you mix aluminum with copper galvanic corrosion occurs and it will gunk up the loop. You have to do ALL aluminum, or avoid it, to cool a CPU effectively the desired choice will be copper, so get a copper radiator to go along, they perform better and will not corrode.

I don't know if you care about acoustics (usually people do when WC), but that pump may be more noticeable than the fans regarding noise. If it dies mid operation there isn't much you can do. EK and Phobya sell pumps that are around $40 that actually do a pretty good job for the money and add reliability to the loop.

[LIGISTX]

Never go cheap on water... And like Forsakenlive said, don't use aluminum. Most decent quality stuff is copper and this will lead to serious issues! In all honesty, unless its literally just for fun, stay away from a custom loop unless you plan to spend 200 bucks or more. And, if its just for CPU cooling, in all honest a cheapy (but frikin amazing) hyper 212 evo will do the job more than well, and for 35 bucks you really can't beat it.

 

I do have a loop, but, I probably will never do it again. Its just not very convenient and it wasn't cheap. It is nice, since I can game with almost no noise since all fans are sub 1000 RPM, but... that will also only happen if you spend decent money, or find some great used deals on good quality stuff.

[W-L]

28 minutes ago, Biggerjaws said:

-SNIP-

Unless your doing this just for the fun or want to give it a try, I wouldn't recommend it as a long term solution. You would have a mixed metal loop and run into issues with corrosion unless you use a compatible fluid, not to mention clogging with soft tubing if it's not plasticizer free stuff. 

[ApolloX75]

I would stay away from aluminum rads personally, unless you run a synthetic coolant with a corrosion inhibitor you will end up with issues very quickly if you use a copper waterblock in the same loop. You will also be cycling coolant much more often than a "normal" loop. I've used eBay pumps before and they will work, but not for a long-term solution, and they aren't always set up with the correct barbs for standard tubing.

 

A good balanced CPU-only loop can usually be built for less than $200 (US, almost double that if Canadian). A good D5 series pump will run $50-$70; a decent 240mm rad can run as little as $40 if you hunt and you'll only need a few feet of soft tubing with a couple barb fittings. The CPU block is usually the most expensive part but they go on sale often enough you can usually get an EK block for under $60.

 

If you want to build the eBay loop for fun? All power to ya, enjoy. Just don't build it and trust it as a daily driver.