AIO's or Custom Loop

[Chaosphenom]

So having upgraded my pc over the last 6-7 months, it is now where I want it to be. I am running a i7-7820x and 2 1080Ti FE cards. The next thing is cooling cause dam does my pc get hot. currently have a AIO on the CPU (Corsair H55 I think) and I am looking to watercool my graphics cards too. But I am not sure what to go for.

I understand that a custom loop would give the best performance but the problem is a) cost. I think when I priced it up it was around £800 to do everything. b) I tend to up grade every 2 years or so. To me that feels too often to have a custom loop as I will forever be taking it apart etc. Where as if I go for aio kits (NZXT X52 for the CPU and 2 EVGA Hybrid Coolers for the 1080's) I'll more than likely be able to use them on the upgraded parts and it will be a lot easier to switch out. plus its about half the price.

 

[AlienALX]

Well first and foremost the H55 is crap. It's an entry level AIO and no better than a 120mm cooler. So yeah, you really want to out that. If you put them on separate loops and use QDC on the GPUs then it should be a piece of cake switching them out. You can always use hybrids, but IMO the 1080Ti needs more than just a 120mm rad. Ideally you want a 240 on each one, or, a good thick triple rad (Mayhem does them for great prices !).

 

[Chaosphenom]

Yea the H55 was just a stop gap for now. You think 240 rad for each one? I mean I can see it tbf they do run hot!

 

[AlienALX]

Yea the H55 was just a stop gap for now. You think 240 rad for each one? I mean I can see it tbf they do run hot!

Well I water cooled my Titan XP (very similar but overclocks like stink so does get hotter than a 1080Ti) and it ran really hot.

Now that is a bloody big 120 rad tbh. You can see the cover on it (with the alien glyphs, IIRC it says "Radiator 1") and how tiny it is compared to the Titan XM Hybrid I made the cover for !

Yet fully stressed during summer time and left on Valley extreme for over two hours? I saw temps of 86c. Not good, and would eventually lead to pump failure. Oh, and I plumped for the back plate with the active cooling too !

Mind you, that was at nearly 2.3ghz. Like I said my card is a beast, and easily took +230 on the core (bringing it up close to 2.3ghz stable) but with the power limits maxed and the temp limits on 90c yeah, it hit 86c.

I lowered the overclock down to +200, reduced the max temp to 63c (so that the pump would never have to reach the maximum coolant temp of 60c) and it then behaved itself. It now runs between 1800-2100 (depending on what is needed from the GPU) and tops out at 56c.

But yeah, 1080Ti founders and Titan XP founders? bad, mmkay. That is one seriously big, meaty and powerful core and the FE cooler just can't cope. Running Valley on mine with the fan on auto? within about ten seconds the fan would simply fly up to 100% and it was driving me nuts.

 

[Chaosphenom]

Yea see thats what my is doing at the mo, CAM was always telling me it exceeded 83c so put a custom profile so the fans ran higher at lower temps. It now hovers between 55c and 75c (depending on room temp) but during the summer between my pc and the miss's pc the room would be like a sauna.

my case has room for a 240mm rad on the top and a 360mm rad on the front so I got the room to do it. Just need to work out what I want to do.

I have overclocked the 1080's and they overclocked really well but I wont run them overclocked especially with the reference blower on it.

 

[AlienALX]

Yea see thats what my is doing at the mo, CAM was always telling me it exceeded 83c so put a custom profile so the fans ran higher at lower temps. It now hovers between 55c and 75c (depending on room temp) but during the summer between my pc and the miss's pc the room would be like a sauna.

my case has room for a 240mm rad on the top and a 360mm rad on the front so I got the room to do it. Just need to work out what I want to do.

I have overclocked the 1080's and they overclocked really well but I wont run them overclocked especially with the reference blower on it.

My advice is try and find fittings on clearout/sale. My last two builds used all Bitspower fittings and they cost me £2.99 each. Rads are cheap. As I said, Mayhems. Pumps can be expensive but it depends on what you want really. I only needed a mini pump for that simple loop.

It really is the fittings that knob you when it comes to cost though.

 

[Chaosphenom]

Yea I'll have to keep my eye open so any deals. Its the plates that cost the most at hat £130 each.

 

[Eddie long]

So having upgraded my pc over the last 6-7 months, it is now where I want it to be. I am running a i7-7820x and 2 1080Ti FE cards. The next thing is cooling cause dam does my pc get hot. currently have a AIO on the CPU (Corsair H55 I think) and I am looking to watercool my graphics cards too. But I am not sure what to go for.

I understand that a custom loop would give the best performance but the problem is a) cost. I think when I priced it up it was around £800 to do everything. b) I tend to up grade every 2 years or so. To me that feels too often to have a custom loop as I will forever be taking it apart etc. Where as if I go for aio kits (NZXT X52 for the CPU and 2 EVGA Hybrid Coolers for the 1080's) I'll more than likely be able to use them on the upgraded parts and it will be a lot easier to switch out. plus its about half the price.

could always look at the ek fluid gaming kit as they now do add on packs , might be a cheaper option , as long as you don't mix it and use all aluminium ,

 

[Kaapstad]

Single loop for the CPU and GPUs.

This is the best solution for efficient use of your rad space. Using separate loops not only pushes up the cost but also wastes rad space.

Some of the PCs I have built can pull 2000 watts and are no problem for a single loop to cool.

As said above quick disconnects are a must as it means components can be swapped in seconds.

Once a good custom waterloop has been put together it will last a very long time and offer good value over a number of years. The only extra costs are when you change a component like a GPU and you need a new block.

 

[Warchild]

Go Single loop with GPU in series.

Parallel works just as fine albeit 1C difference but for simplicity, and bleeding it as well as looks (personal opinion) I would choose serial

Just remember to have a bleed valve in there somewhere. As for rad space a 360 and 240 is more than enough for watt dissipation. If you want to utilise the max space, it will allow you to run your rad fans on a lower speed. If you opt for just the 360, it can cope with 2 GPU and CPU but your fans are going to need to work very hard.

Essential things I would consider

1. quick disconnects if you are a regular early adopter or upgrade gear alot.
2. bleed valve. Essential if you need to drain your loop for any reason
3. placement of components - Reservoir must come before the pump. for obvious reasons. Rest of your loop order does not matter.


And your comment on custom loop would give best performance. This is no longer a fact to be honest. AIO have come a long way and are just as good as a custom loop now. Only limitations are rad space if its even a limitation. It comes down to how much noise you can cope with, and how much space you have in your case.

Bear in mind, AIO purchased does not guarantee compatibility for future generations when upgrading GPU. That being said, same thing applies to blocks for each generation of GPU.

end of the day. Its all down to money

 

[Surfie]

Go Single loop with GPU in series.

Parallel works just as fine albeit 1C difference but for simplicity, and bleeding it as well as looks (personal opinion) I would choose serial

Just remember to have a bleed valve in there somewhere. As for rad space a 360 and 240 is more than enough for watt dissipation. If you want to utilise the max space, it will allow you to run your rad fans on a lower speed. If you opt for just the 360, it can cope with 2 GPU and CPU but your fans are going to need to work very hard.

Essential things I would consider

1. quick disconnects if you are a regular early adopter or upgrade gear alot.
2. bleed valve. Essential if you need to drain your loop for any reason
3. placement of components - Reservoir must come before the pump. for obvious reasons. Rest of your loop order does not matter.


And your comment on custom loop would give best performance. This is no longer a fact to be honest. AIO have come a long way and are just as good as a custom loop now. Only limitations are rad space if its even a limitation. It comes down to how much noise you can cope with, and how much space you have in your case.

Bear in mind, AIO purchased does not guarantee compatibility for future generations when upgrading GPU. That being said, same thing applies to blocks for each generation of GPU.

end of the day. Its all down to money

I agree 100%, with only one note to expand on the performance off custom. You have to remember that any watercooler, be it aio or custom, can only cool the water down to room temperature - at best. The only reason that custom has the potential to perform better, is the ability to add more rad space, which with only a couple of exceptions, can't be done in the aio side.

Is this ability required? It depends on where you are, how fast you want to run the fans, how much cooling is required and a number of other factors.

 

[Chaosphenom]

Thanks for all the advise guys, I think looking at it I will have to go for the custom loop. It should be fun as I've not done one before.

So looking on Overclockers.co.uk for parts I think I am looking at around £750 for the parts going with the 240 & 360 rads and a EK Water Blocks EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 PWM (incl. pump), 2 of EK Water Blocks EK-FC GeForce GTX 1080 / 1080 Ti FE Editions - Nickel + Plexi for the cards and a EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy EVO X99 & X299 - Nickel + Plexi for the CPU.

 

[Tolemac]

I would swap the D5 pwm for a Vario though

 

[Korreborg]

What case are you using? The airflow will have a huge impact on performance.
Meaning that restricted airflow = Higher rpm to force the air.

 

[Chaosphenom]

Currently using a Thermaltake View 27.