Should I custom loop?

[WillBlake]

I currently run a m-itx system with i5-7600K (watercooled with Corsair H80i V2 on push-pull @ 1400 RPM) and a Zotac GTX1070 Mini. Now the temps of the cpu is very good: 100% load at max 60C (140F) during summer (room temp = 30-35C / 86-95F), and 100% load max 45-50C (113-122F) during winter (room temp = 20-25C / 68-77F). So you see there's a lot of head room. The reason I'm considering custom loop is because the GPU temps are quite high (100% load at max 80-85C / 176-185F during summer and 50-60C / 122-140F during winter). Let's suppose I have a waterblock for the GPU, will a single 120 x 40mm rad (https://www.ekwb.com/shop/ek-coolstream-pe-120-single) on push-pull @ 1400 RPM be enough to cool both the CPU and GPU? My justification is to sacrifice some headroom in the CPU to bring the GPU down to ~60-70C during summer.

 

I read in this post (http://www.overclock.net/t/1457426/radiator-size-estimator) that bigger and smaller rads at the same configuration provide similar cooling performances, and since the post was made 4 years ago and GPU and CPU are so much more efficient now hence my my question of whether I should custom loop my system.

 

Some recap of the data above:

Summer (room temp = 30-35C / 86-95F)

CPU @ 100% load: 60C (140F)

GPU @ 100% load: 80-85C (176-185F)

 

Winter (room temp = 20-25C / 68-77F)

CPU @ 100% load: 45-50C (113-122F)

GPU @ 100% load: 50-60C (122-140F)

 

Plan:

Sacrifice CPU headroom to bring GPU temp down to ~60-70C during summer using a single 120x40mm EK radiator on push-pull @ 1400 RPM.

 

Assumptions:

1. If this plan is feasible, I will have a full cover waterblock for the GPU.

2. I don't plan to overclock the CPU or GPU since I'm currently satisfied with the performance.

 

Thanks!

[andrewmp6]

Use this https://www.ekwb.com/custom-loop-configurator/

Enter in your pc parts it will tell you what size radiator you need and what water blocks you can use.I wouldn't use a 120mm radiator in push pull it will be loud and you'd need a super thick one to cool both on one radiator.If you go to a 360 radiator if your case will fit it you can run a thinner one and slower rpm fans and have it quieter.

[FloRolf]

What case are you using? Because honestly you should get at least a 240 rad. 

And 80°C isn't too bad on the GPU. 

[WillBlake]

1 hour ago, andrewmp6 said:

Use this https://www.ekwb.com/custom-loop-configurator/

Enter in your pc parts it will tell you what size radiator you need and what water blocks you can use.I wouldn't use a 120mm radiator in push pull it will be loud and you'd need a super thick one to cool both on one radiator.If you go to a 360 radiator if your case will fit it you can run a thinner one and slower rpm fans and have it quieter.

Thx. I checked it out and they didn't have itx chasis to select so I just selected sth random. I can't use a 360mm rad (though I wish I could) coz of clearance issue (chasis is sg13 and I already have a 3.5" hdd on top so can't use 240mm either). I don't really care about noise since the pc is in another room anyways haha. I tried to select only one 120mm radiator in EK's PE series (40mm thickness) and it gave an estimate of 45C liquid temp (37C if I selected performance over silence) and I quote: Your selected radiator will sufficiently cool your hardware but temperatures will be higher. Dose that means it could run with good temps? I am quite confused of what the liquid temps means.

 

1 hour ago, FloRolf said:

What case are you using? Because honestly you should get at least a 240 rad. 

And 80°C isn't too bad on the GPU. 

I'm using sg13 by silverstone. I honestly want to use a 240mm rad too but I already have a 3.5" hdd on top so I can't. Maybe there would be enough clearance for the hdd right next to the GPU if I put a waterblock on it but I'm not sure. I just want to cool it further so the max load temp is lower to leave some headroom for the future.

[FloRolf]

23 minutes ago, WillBlake said:

I'm using sg13 by silverstone. I honestly want to use a 240mm rad too but I already have a 3.5" hdd on top so I can't. Maybe there would be enough clearance for the hdd right next to the GPU if I put a waterblock on it but I'm not sure. I just want to cool it further so the max load temp is lower to leave some headroom for the future

but what will happen in the future? I don't see ny scenario where that would help, lol

[WillBlake]

7 minutes ago, FloRolf said:

but what will happen in the future? I don't see ny scenario where that would help, lol

lol my reasoning behind this is that if I could bring the GPU temp lower I could then overclock it if I saw the need to without hitting temps like 90C in the summer.

[andrewmp6]

With a case that small can you even fit that thick of a rad with push pull fans ?

[WillBlake]

1 hour ago, andrewmp6 said:

With a case that small can you even fit that thick of a rad with push pull fans ?

Yes. I'm currently using the Corsair H80i v2 on push pull. That's a 48mm rad (thicker than the one I'm proposing to use).

[andrewmp6]

Since you can only use one rad id go as thick as you can use,And where can you mount a res and pump at ?The smallest pump/res i know of is http://www.xs-pc.com/water-pumps/ion-pumpreservoir

Its 60 bucks and comes in 3 colors red,black and white.

[ErickS89]

The real question is your budget, and what case do you currently have?  As that's going to decide the quality of your loop.

 

But a good rule of thumb is use as little fittings as possible as each connection is 2 fittings.

 

Res to pump, pump to cpu, cpu, to radiator, radiator back to res.

 

That should be the simplest loop you can do, and if you add your GPU it's best to also add another radiator as I usually have 1 radiator per component as I like to keep things as cool as possible and if you do add your gpu I would also do a dual loop if that is all possible. 

[WillBlake]

5 hours ago, andrewmp6 said:

Since you can only use one rad id go as thick as you can use,And where can you mount a res and pump at ?The smallest pump/res i know of is http://www.xs-pc.com/water-pumps/ion-pumpreservoir

Its 60 bucks and comes in 3 colors red,black and white.

I'm thinking to use one of these (http://www.swiftech.com/ApogeeDrive2.aspx), its basically a pump on the cpu similar to an aio configuration. It's similarly priced as an EK CPU block and it has a pump on it. Either that or I could just re-purpose the pump on my current aio so nothing extra is needed (and this rad is actually thicker than the EK rad too). I was also hoping to not install a res as well by installing a T-junction at the highest point for fillings (I lost the tiny shroud for the GPU mounting point so rn I have a hole on the case anyway), and make all sides of the case removable using clear acrylic panels. Which option do you think is better? Buy new or re-purpose?

 

5 hours ago, ErickS89 said:

The real question is your budget, and what case do you currently have?  As that's going to decide the quality of your loop.

 

But a good rule of thumb is use as little fittings as possible as each connection is 2 fittings.

 

Res to pump, pump to cpu, cpu, to radiator, radiator back to res.

 

That should be the simplest loop you can do, and if you add your GPU it's best to also add another radiator as I usually have 1 radiator per component as I like to keep things as cool as possible and if you do add your gpu I would also do a dual loop if that is all possible. 

Well I have ~USD$500 for all the parts, and sg13 by silverstone is my case. I would do a 2 rad config as well but unfortunately the case only supports 1x120mm/140mm rad and I already have a 3.5" hdd on top so I can't use a 140mm rad. I'm hoping to not install a res at all as mentioned above. It's going to get louder, but at least the GPU temps could be lower and more stable.