My liquid cooling plan

[Daniel Z.]

I really wanted to try some watercooling for my pc. I know it isn't very cost effective but my PC is more of a learning project than a performance gaming rig. I will probably get a Bitfenix Aegis Core because I found a really good deal on it. I want a 240 rad and here is my current part list for it. I was wondering where to mount a pump.

[Daniel Z.]

Here are the parts.

 

[Enderman]

Buy an AIO or save up the $500+ for a proper quality full loop.

Don't do something in between.

[Daniel Z.]

Just now, Enderman said:

Buy an AIO or save up the $500+ for a proper quality full loop.

Don't do something in between.

why? the fluid gaming is pretty good

[cj09beira]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

Buy an AIO or save up the $500+ for a proper quality full loop.

Don't do something in between.

he can always grow in the future

[Enderman]

2 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

why? the fluid gaming is pretty good

Just now, cj09beira said:

he can always grow in the future

No, not really.

It's made of aluminum.

You can't mix it with actually good quality components made of copper unless you replace almost everything in the future.

Also when building a custom loop, there are different brands that are better at different parts, having everything EK in that loop isn't very good.

[Daniel Z.]

Just now, Enderman said:

No, not really.

It's made of aluminum.

You can't mix it with actually good quality components made of copper unless you replace almost everything in the future.

Also when building a custom loop, there are different brands that are better at different parts, having everything EK in that loop isn't very good.

alumium has been shown to have almost same performance. I won't ever get sli or stuff like that because my PC runs everything I play well. War thunder is my main game but i play minecraft, tf2, and battlefront 2015. It runs war thunder, tf2, and minecraft at 60FPS 1440p max and battlefront is max settings 30fps or medium/low 60fps.

[cj09beira]

4 minutes ago, Enderman said:

No, not really.

It's made of aluminum.

You can't mix it with actually good quality components made of copper unless you replace almost everything in the future.

Also when building a custom loop, there are different brands that are better at different parts, having everything EK in that loop isn't very good.

ek is making expansion packs though with 240 and 360 rads, it does lock him into ek i will give you that one

 

[Daniel Z.]

Just now, cj09beira said:

ek is making expansion packs though with 240 and 360 rads, it does lock him into ek i will give you that one

 

the aluminum ek stuff is pretty good and cheap. Only some dazmodes are cheaper

[cj09beira]

i might one myself but only after ryzen+ comes out

[Enderman]

2 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

alumium has been shown to have almost same performance. I won't ever get sli or stuff like that because my PC runs everything I play well. War thunder is my main game but i play minecraft, tf2, and battlefront 2015. It runs war thunder, tf2, and minecraft at 60FPS 1440p max and battlefront is max settings 30fps or medium/low 60fps.

No, aluminum is worse, both in the rads and in the waterblocks, look at the benchmarks.

It also prevents you from using good quality fittings (like bitspower) so you're stuck with the crappy EK aluminum ones.

You basically limit yourself to crappy components only, which is fine if you never plan on upgrading the loop.

 

As I said, there are things that you DON'T want to get from EK because there are brands that do it better.

For example fittings, which EK has a ton of problems with, you should buy from bitspower.

With radiators, something from black ice is better, or a few other brands.

 

So yeah, by buying the crappy aluminum stuff you're pretty much locked in to the EK ecosystem unless you replace the entire loop.

[Daniel Z.]

Just now, Enderman said:

No, aluminum is worse, both in the rads and in the waterblocks, look at the benchmarks.

It also prevents you from using good quality fittings (like bitspower) so you're stuck with the crappy EK aluminum ones.

You basically limit yourself to crappy components only, which is fine if you never plan on upgrading the loop.

 

As I said, there are things that you DON'T want to get from EK because there are brands that do it better.

For example fittings, which EK has a ton of problems with, you should buy from bitspower.

With radiators, something from black ice is better, or a few other brands.

 

So yeah, by buying the crappy aluminum stuff you're pretty much locked in to the EK ecosystem unless you replace the entire loop.

I don't ever plan to upgrade

[Enderman]

Just now, Daniel Z. said:

I don't ever plan to upgrade

Then why not just buy an AIO...

The point of a custom loop is to upgrade it and to DIY something yourself.

Buying this is basically just an overpriced AIO.

[Daniel Z.]

1 hour ago, Enderman said:

Then why not just buy an AIO...

The point of a custom loop is to upgrade it and to DIY something yourself.

Buying this is basically just an overpriced AIO.

I want to learn. As I have said before, this is a project to me to learn how to watercool. If I needed cooling, my intel stock cooler stays fairly quiet at 70c for hours of folding.

 

Actually 70-80.

 

[Enderman]

3 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

I want to learn. As I have said before, this is a project to me to learn how to watercool. If I needed cooling, my intel stock cooler stays fairly quiet at 70c for hours of folding.

Maybe you can learn more about watercooling by researching why it's not a good idea to buy all the components from one brand, or why certain metals can't be mixed, or why EK fittings leak so much.

[Daniel Z.]

Just now, Enderman said:

Maybe you can learn more about watercooling by researching why it's not a good idea to buy all the components from one brand, or why certain metals can't be mixed, or why EK fittings leak so much.

I know why mixing metals is bad lol, I am not stupid. I know that many companies are better than ek for some components. There have been many reviews, and they say that the fluid gaming is good.

[Enderman]

Just now, Daniel Z. said:

I know why mixing metals is bad lol, I am not stupid. I know that many companies are better than ek for some components. There have been many reviews, and they say that the fluid gaming is good.

Ok well, if you have a leak then that's your problem, so do as you wish.

[Daniel Z.]

1 minute ago, Enderman said:

Ok well, if you have a leak then that's your problem, so do as you wish.

the vast majority of people that use EK fittings have no problem. I am looking for part change recommendations etc. not people saying I am stupid and need to get and AIO or $500+ loops.

[Enderman]

12 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

the vast majority of people that use EK fittings have no problem. I am looking for part change recommendations etc. not people saying I am stupid and need to get and AIO or $500+ loops.

Clearly you haven't seen the huge amount of EK fitting leaks.

Even linus and jayz2cents had leaks from EK fittings.

As I mentioned earlier, the "parts recommendations" for what you should use are from several different brands, not all from EK, which is why I said you shouldn't get an all-EK aluminum loop.

 

$500 is about the average cost for a good quality loop, if you can't afford it you should stick to an AIO which has a lower chance of leaks.

Most people have enough sense to know that you should go with the best quality possible when putting liquid inside an expensive computer.

Not everyone listens to advice though, so it's up to you if you want to take the risk.

[Daniel Z.]

Just now, Enderman said:

Clearly you haven't seen the huge amount of EK fitting leaks.

Even linus and jayz2cents had leaks from EK fittings.

As I mentioned earlier, the "parts recommendations" for what you should use are from several different brands, not all from EK, which is why I said you shouldn't get an all-EK aluminum loop.

 

$500 is about the average cost for a good quality loop, if you can't afford it you should stick to an AIO which has a lower chance of leaks.

Most people have enough sense to know that you should go with the best quality possible when putting liquid inside an expensive computer.

Not everyone listens to advice though, so it's up to you if you want to take the risk.

thanks for the input. can you link a few videos of said leaks? i have seen jay's leak video btw

[Enderman]

4 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

thanks for the input. can you link a few videos of said leaks? i have seen jay's leak video btw

In this video linus mentions they had a bunch of crap in the radiators that they spent hours trying to flush out (near the end of the video)

 

Here there is another EK fitting leak:

 

You can also search on google and find dozens of cases of EK fittings leaking, which is why bitspower is always the recommended brand for fittings.

[andrewmp6]

Honestly i would piece together a custom loop vs buying a kit like that.And spend the money get copper blocks and either copper or brass rads its worth the money.And yes fittings matter some brands are known for leaking more often then other brands.

[PPCs-Matt]

If you're looking for the simplicity of a kit, feel free to check out the many options that we have! Kits definitely make the learning experience a little easier, but I'm also happy to help answer any questions you might have about watercooling  

http://www.performance-pcs.com/complete-kits

[Daniel Z.]

1 hour ago, PPCs-Matt said:

If you're looking for the simplicity of a kit, feel free to check out the many options that we have! Kits definitely make the learning experience a little easier, but I'm also happy to help answer any questions you might have about watercooling  

http://www.performance-pcs.com/complete-kits

How are the xspc ion kits? Also, do u ship to Canada

[Simon771]

I would just like to pitch in ... I did spend around 500€ on watercooling with only EKWB parts.

Also experienced leak from fitting after around 10 months.

 

Sold all watercooling components for 200€ in the end

 

That cheap EKWB aluminum kits are good for learning on how to do water loop. But I wouldn't trust it in the long run.

Then again, I will never go back to water cooling because I would always be afraid to come home and find out that there was a leak in my PC, and components died because of that.