Can someone tell me what to buy for a Custom Liquid Cooling System?

[phongle123]

Of course I've looked up a lot of stuff because creating this post. However, I don't want to go wrong anywhere and buy the wrong things, etc.

 

I also have questions like, why is a Custom kit 199.99 and up when you can get a whole case with a built in custom liquid cooler already for 199.99.

 

What I create here I will expect to be using forever, most likely even transfering it over if I intend to create a new build.

 

The things I need to buy (please correct):

1) Watercooling Radiator

2) Fans

3) The Tubing

4) The Tube to put liquid into

5) The CPU Cover

6) The Liquid itself

 

If you could just link me to specific custom parts that would be great, I don't think I will go with kits because I want to customize it. Also I've seen people do it for 125$ while the kits are 199.99+ and I don't want to pay an extra fee while also losing customization.

 

Any additional insight appreciated. Thanks!

[xxmonk]

Forgot the pump... the tube to put liquid into is the reservoir I assume?

EK also have some pretty good kits that are pretty much custom kits already set up that you can expand that make choosing the fittings and tubing easier for you check them out.

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/kits

[phongle123]

3 minutes ago, xxmonk said:

Forgot the pump... the tube to put liquid into is the reservoir I assume?

EK also have some pretty good kits that are pretty much custom kits already set up that you can expand that make choosing the fittings and tubing easier for you check them out.

https://www.ekwb.com/shop/kits

The only ones in stock on their website are the 349.99+ ones and I don't really wanna pay that high of a price tag. Also those kit look to only cool the CPU, I don't know if those can expand to GPU also.

[Enderman]

1) if you only want to spend $125 then you should be buying an AIO, not a custom loop.

Save up until you have $400 or more for a custom loop.

Cheaping out on part is going to cost more in the long run when you need to replace all your parts because of a leak.

 

2) If you cannot chose the parts for a custom loop yourself then you are not ready to build a custom loop.

Go do more research and learn how everything works and which parts are good quality or not.

You will probably have a spill and kill all your parts if you are not ready.

 

3) if you did your research you would know that good quality parts will cost a lot more than  $200

 

4) watercooling kits can be customized, they are called kits because they come with all the parts you need in a single package for people who don't know how to chose parts.

[xxmonk]

They are all designed to be expanded from the L series (even the slim assuming it isn't the 120 radiator) and up would only need a little more tubing and a couple of fittings + the new block if you need to change the ones that might be included with the block. They are all out of stock due to the holidays should be back in stock sometime soon I'd hope though.

 

But yeah as Enderman said they come with everything you need and are made for people who want a custom loop but don't know what to pick for all extensive purposes though they are custom loops. When I said they are designed to be expanded I meant they are designed to support a gpu in the loop as well.

 

 

[atomicus]

Must echo Enderman and say that if your budget is under $200, forget it. Get an air cooler. You can't do a custom loop for CPU and GPU for $200 lol! If you did ANY research you would know this, so I don't know what you've been reading. Unless you are getting mixed up with an AIO, which are far more affordable. However, they really don't offer THAT much over air coolers apart from the aesthetics. They're also not expandable (except for the EK Predator range, but that's expensive).

 

I've also no idea what you're referring to when you say "you can get a whole case with a built in custom liquid cooler already for $199.99." What case is that?? It certainly won't be a custom loop (no such case exists that I'm aware of comes with this, and if it did, it would CRAZY expensive), so it must be some sort of cheap AIO. Whatever it is, it certainly won't be anything amazing in the performance department. Also, no one has ever done a full custom loop for $125. If they did, they did so with crazy cheap seventh hand parts that were probably rusty and leaking. Again, I think you are confusing custom loops with AIOs here.

 

If you want something that looks nice and performs well (not much better than air though), just get an AIO like the NZXT Kraken X62, It's not expandable for a GPU though. The EKWB Predator range I mentioned is worth looking at for expand-ability and it's also zero maintenance, but isn't cheap. None of these meet your 'customisation' requirements though, but I have seen people mod the Predators with custom tubing. The aforementioned EK kits are probably the cheapest route to a custom loop, but are already nearly twice your budget. The EK Configurator is also worth looking at for a more custom breakdown of what you need based on your specific components. If you really don't want to spend this much, just forget this whole venture. Why do you want to watercool in the first place... is it temps, noise levels, overclocking or aesthetics?

 

FYI, it's called a CPU block, not a 'cover'. Again, I question your statement about having "looked up a lot of stuff"... well maybe you did, but it wasn't stuff related to watercooling PC's that's for sure lol!