Custom Loop Advice

[JLR]

Hi all,
I may have a potentially new build coming up and I was thinking of going down the custom loop route for it. Main reason being its something I have always wanted to do but never had the courage to do it .

Anyway, after visiting Insomnia 61 this year and seeing the various systems running water cooling setups I have decided to give it a go. I have been doing my research and looking at the different tubing on the market.

I really like the look that PETG Tubing has but from what I have read PETG / Acrylic is more awkward to set up because of the bending requirements etc.

My question is as a newbie to custom cooling is it a good idea to start with this type of tubing or would the flexi tubing be a better road to go down? Also, should I just start with cooling the CPU to get the practice or should I go full throttle and get the graphics card involved as well.

Im not in any rush as I want to take my time, just want to see / hear of other people experiences with custom loop setups.

Thanks,
JLR.

 

[tinytomlogan]

Its really down to how confident you are with your own abilities dude, if you work through stuff methodically and logically and steer clear from the common myths like block-rad-block-rad is a must then its not impossible to do

The only thing I would say is flexible tubing is easier and cheaper to redo because loop order and keeping things tidy is probably the hardest thing to learn

 

[JLR]

Hi Tom,
Yeah, this is why i was asking because I have never done anything like this before. Maybe I will just buy some bits to practice with to see how I get on.

I have read in some places for every block you should have a rad, I wasn't sure about that myself.

I am a bit of a clean freak for keeping my rig clean so like you suggested maybe I will have a better experience with the flexible tubing.

Whatever happens, I will post on here .

Thanks.

 

[Korreborg]

I have tried both, and wont say that PETG is that hard. If you are generally an okay DIY guy, then it wont be a problem. BUT don't do it in a small case. I did it in my friends Thermaltake core p5, and it wasn't too hard. But it helps to be two, one to hold the heatgun and one to bend.

And go with 2x120mm per component. If you only do the CPU then 2 120mm rads or 1 240mm rad. If both CPU and GPU then a 480mm or a combination depending on case.
This will ensure that you get a quiet pc

I went flexible for my own build, as its quite cramped. Fist in a mITX case, but the airflow was terrible, så moved to a bigger case. I have a 240 and a 280 rad, but would like to have more. The 1080 ti puts out a TON of heat.

And as Tom says, the only thing that matters is that the pump takes water from the res.

 

[tolagarf]

I haven't done hard tubing yet, and I probably won't. I kinda feel it's been hyped a bit too much in the water cooling community just like RGB has. Not saying that isn't cool and all, but most don't consider the maintenance issues that can creep up on you later, not to mention the headache of making decent bends on your first attempts.

However if someone who's done it before could help you, I'd say go for it. Else I would highly recommend soft tubing from either Primochill or EK's Zero Maintenance rubber tubing.

Edit: Typo

 

[JLR]

Thanks for the replies guys, a lot of information here. I'm not too worried about the case, I have a Corsair 780T (I should have mentioned this before) so its a fair size.

I might just buy both types of tube and have a play around with my current setup just to get a feel for it. If I find hard tubing is a bit out of my reach then I will look at the soft tubing option.

I have been looking at EK mainly for components such as water block, rad, pump etc. Can anyone recommend a particular make for any of the components or are they all on a level playing field?

 

[tinytomlogan]

Just make sure you have a laptop or can survive on your phone so you dont have to rush the build

Also make sure you log everything here!

 

[Tolemac]

I would start with soft tubing "so you get a feel for it" then see if you want to progress to hard tubing, The fittings are stupid expensive and you will need different fittings for the two different sorts of tubing and that becomes costly but a good learning curve

 

[JLR]

Just make sure you have a laptop or can survive on your phone so you dont have to rush the build

Also make sure you log everything here!

Ha ha yeah, I've got a few laptops going and another PC so it's all good on that front . When I go ahead I will make sure everything is logged here .

I would start with soft tubing "so you get a feel for it" then see if you want to progress to hard tubing, The fittings are stupid expensive and you will need different fittings for the two different sorts of tubing and that becomes costly but a good learning curve

Hi Tolemac, thanks for the tip. I might just do that to see how things get on .

 

[Bartacus]

JLR: be aware that if you go soft tube first, and then get hard-tube-horny later on, it'll cost you quite a bit, as mentioned above. Fittings are not cheap. If you've peeked at some build logs, and REALLY like the look of hard tubing, I'd hit the ground running and go hard tube right away. Only consider soft tube if you're "on the fence" about hard tube.

Soft tube is much easier to work with, much less chance of leaks and other issues, etc. It's a great starting point, but will cost you more in the end if you switch to hard tube later on in the game.

 

[JLR]

JLR: be aware that if you go soft tube first, and then get hard-tube-horny later on, it'll cost you quite a bit, as mentioned above. Fittings are not cheap. If you've peeked at some build logs, and REALLY like the look of hard tubing, I'd hit the ground running and go hard tube right away. Only consider soft tube if you're "on the fence" about hard tube.

Soft tube is much easier to work with, much less chance of leaks and other issues, etc. It's a great starting point, but will cost you more in the end if you switch to hard tube later on in the game.

Hi Bartacus, thanks for the advice. I am pretty much on the fence. I may have a practice with soft tubing first on my current setup and when the time comes for the new setup look in to the possibility of hard tubes based on the experience .

My current setup will end up getting re-used as a replacement PC for my wife, so it wont be wasted.

 

[AlienALX]

1. Get a Dr Drop.
2. Get a Dr Drop.
3. Get a Dr Drop.

Repeat ad nauseum.

http://www.aquatuning.co.uk/water-c...ter-dr.-drop-druckpruefgeraet-incl.-luftpumpe

 

[JLR]

1. Get a Dr Drop.
2. Get a Dr Drop.
3. Get a Dr Drop.

Repeat ad nauseum.

http://www.aquatuning.co.uk/water-c...ter-dr.-drop-druckpruefgeraet-incl.-luftpumpe

Ha ha dont worry, I have already been looking in to this .

 

[AlienALX]

Ha ha dont worry, I have already been looking in to this .

You can't go wrong if you have one of those. Well you can, but it will just fart air and not drop coolant all over the place

If you are going with hose then just make sure they are tight. Like, take your skin off tight. Thinner tube is much easier to work with, especially doing up the fittings so for god's sake don't pick 18mm for your first build. Better fittings will negate the loss of skin effect.

I think about the best fittings I have used are Monsoon Chainguns. About the worst were some that were £1 each. They needed doing up all the way before they would seal and that took King Kong strength. Bitspower are very nice but unless you find them in clearance like I have be prepared to pay. I think the best middle ground is EK and XSPC. The latter are very good fittings. Stay away from Alphacool their stuff is just Phobya tosh with a logo on.

 

[JLR]

You can't go wrong if you have one of those. Well you can, but it will just fart air and not drop coolant all over the place

If you are going with hose then just make sure they are tight. Like, take your skin off tight. Thinner tube is much easier to work with, especially doing up the fittings so for god's sake don't pick 18mm for your first build. Better fittings will negate the loss of skin effect.

I think about the best fittings I have used are Monsoon Chainguns. About the worst were some that were £1 each. They needed doing up all the way before they would seal and that took King Kong strength. Bitspower are very nice but unless you find them in clearance like I have be prepared to pay. I think the best middle ground is EK and XSPC. The latter are very good fittings. Stay away from Alphacool their stuff is just Phobya tosh with a logo on.

Awesome, thanks for the advice, yeah I gathered you get pretty much what you pay for, especially with fittings.

I was always under the impression that alphacool were pretty good, but I have read that the rads tend to contain debris from the factory, but thought this would have been the case with any other make, only heard about it with alphacool though.

I once bought a Phobya LED Strip, I never used it because when I took it out of the packaging the smell was like an awful chemical smell, had to bin it.

 

[Warchild]

Awesome, thanks for the advice, yeah I gathered you get pretty much what you pay for, especially with fittings.

I was always under the impression that alphacool were pretty good, but I have read that the rads tend to contain debris from the factory, but thought this would have been the case with any other make, only heard about it with alphacool though.

I once bought a Phobya LED Strip, I never used it because when I took it out of the packaging the smell was like an awful chemical smell, had to bin it.

I dont care what the manufacturer states. All rads contain flux even if a small amount. Best practise is to always flush them first. Even EK and Bistpower rads have them.

Nothing wrong with 99% of the watercooling brands on the market. Barrow for example are a cheap brand but still provide good quality fittings that are plated on par with bitspower. Even the Gnurled grip on the rotaries is strong.

 

[JLR]

I dont care what the manufacturer states. All rads contain flux even if a small amount. Best practise is to always flush them first. Even EK and Bistpower rads have them.

Nothing wrong with 99% of the watercooling brands on the market. Barrow for example are a cheap brand but still provide good quality fittings that are plated on par with bitspower. Even the Gnurled grip on the rotaries is strong.

Yeah, I will probably do a flush before they are installed anyway no matter what brand I decide to go with.

So many choices of fittings out there, its probably going to be a while before I decide what I want

 

[Warchild]

Yeah, I will probably do a flush before they are installed anyway no matter what brand I decide to go with.

So many choices of fittings out there, its probably going to be a while before I decide what I want

If you are on a budget though, and like bitspower design I would give Barrow a consider. They look eerily similar. I'm actually surprised BP hasnt said anything about it.
Yet barrow are much cheaper.

EK are the most common, but even those are susceptible to leaky rotaries etc. I don't think you can really go wrong with your choice. It is all about aesthetics and which fittings you feel will make your case stand out the most. (with a small consideration on pricing )

I have always used BP mainly because of a good working relationship with Lilly in customer service.

 

[JLR]

If you are on a budget though, and like bitspower design I would give Barrow a consider. They look eerily similar. I'm actually surprised BP hasnt said anything about it.
Yet barrow are much cheaper.

EK are the most common, but even those are susceptible to leaky rotaries etc. I don't think you can really go wrong with your choice. It is all about aesthetics and which fittings you feel will make your case stand out the most. (with a small consideration on pricing )

I have always used BP mainly because of a good working relationship with Lilly in customer service.

Thanks Warchild I will keep Barrow in mind when looking at fittings. So much choice, hard to choose .

It's looking more like I am going to go down the soft tubing route. I think I have decided on Barbs over compression fittings. I have watched Tom's Watercooling for beginners video and found it very informative. He recommends 7/16" ID Tubing with 1/2" Barbs as they will hold just as tight as what clips would do. I am assuming that this is still the case?

 

[AlienALX]

Yeah I forgot Barrow. Awesome stuff !