Have AIOs killed custom loops?

[Beer4Myself]

honestly i dont have any experience with custom watercooling. the thing i like about the aio is just screw stuff in and dont worry what is inside (as long as isn't one of the malfunctioning liquid freezer, enermax aio or one of the cheap cooler master aio). but i am interested in building a custom watercooling system.

 

[ThrashZone]

Why?

Hi,
Temporary cure for boredom

Now days only the gpu needs water cooling
CPU's are already pretty much zapped to max so oc'ing further for 10% maybe isn't worth the expense over a highend air cooler

GPU wise just the noise from fans ramping up and down and shear size of gpu's it's more logical to add a water block on them to save space/ better cooling plus lower noise.

I've always water cooled gpu's anyway so it's nothing different just not on the cpu but I can always do it guess that is the best thing about custom loops.
Try and expand an aio hehe
There used to be expendable aio's but they cost a lot more with the added QDC's but they still had so-so pumps and these like aio's usually die within 3 years was about when mine died
Got the rma replacement and sold it on ebay.

 

[ExcuseMeWtf]

AIOs and custom loops don't have same target audience.
Former are much more accessible for mainstream consumer. Custom loop requires a tinkerer in an enthusiast and deeper pockets as well.

 

[FoulOnWhite]

I have gone back to air from my custom loop. Did not even consider an AIO, not really a fan of them. My pc is just as quiet now as it was with the custom loop, though temps are not quite as magnificent, but not high enough to bother me.

My custom loop cost me £6-700 quid, maybe a bit more, which is a lot, so you need to be sure you really need it, and have the spare moolah.

 

[67Elco]

So, what would be the life expectancy of something like this? https://www.newegg.com/golden-field-liquid-cooling-system/p/13C-00S4-00003

I see a lot of off the cuff remarks about similar products, but when you visit forums and ask actual users about their experiences you don't get any negative feedback.

 

[Massdeth]

I recently purchased an Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420, which cost under £90. I then bought a Threadripper system and, since the LF2 doesn't supper TR (due to its block's coldplate being tiny, which is probably one of the reasons why these coolers are so cheap), had to buy a replacement AIO - the Silverstone ICEGEM 360, which cost £130. The latter has a much larger coldplate but a far smaller rad (360mm @ 30mm thick vs 420mm/40mm for the LF2). This peeved me quite a bit because what I really want is the LF2's radiator, but with the ICEGEM's coldplate. This then led me down the line of considering building my own watercooling loop, which is something I dabbled in once a looong time ago before AIOs became a thing, and then AIOs became a thing and I never really touched custom again because AIOs were Good Enough.

The problem is, watercooling components are really freaking expensive. For example, just the block is £65; the cheapest pump + res combo is £130 and cheapest 420x30mm rad is £80. That's 275 quid before the ancillary-but-necessary bits like tubing and fans - more than I paid for two fully-functional AIOs! Now I know that I can get parts much cheaper - Alphacool seems to be more sanely priced, and Barrow and Bykski are the bargain-basement AliExpress options - but you're still not looking at anything I'd consider "decent value", even considering these parts can be reused across multiple builds over multiple years.

This then got me to wondering, what is the experience of others who have either used, or are using custom watercooling setups. Have you also migrated to AIOs? Have you experienced customer cooling components' prices increasing or decreasing over time? Do you think the custom loop is a dying hobby/art?

And no, I'm not making a poll because I'm not interested in bland yes/no answers - I'm looking for others' experiences. So walls of text away!

Ok, let me say first, Im old and come from the generation of dinosaurs that had kids, where you do everything yourself and i have a natural affliction of wanting to ruin everything by taking it apart to see how it works.... putting it back together goes the way it goes. I have built custom cooled pc's with others for them, but have never went down the path for my stuff cause it is quite a tally at the end dollar wise and you have to be on them all the time. Ive done the silly ass Celerons with heater cores from cars, which does work but the fin stacks are kinda wide on many etc.. and didnt go to AIO's until i put a 980ti hybrid on my 780 and a custom shroud. Worked damn good too. So i went all AIO's on my current build, 10900X, 3090 FTW, 240 EVGA AIO/Hybrid each, and since im a tinkerer and custom destroyer of many things i decided to elaborate on these designs a little and they do very well for what they are. Im not beyond making my own parts if i must. My AIO routine before install is a bit cumbersome for normal people probably but i want good performance and stability. Ive taken a few apart and swapped AIO parts before, so if you want to do that Sim you could pretty easily. This all depends on your DIY ability and perseverance to get things done and how much you like to tinker and break things too.

@67Elco: Id probably skip that one... the rad is super thin, which im sure the pump is very weak too. You def get what you pay for in this space!

 

[DR4G00N]

So, what would be the life expectancy of something like this? https://www.newegg.com/golden-field-liquid-cooling-system/p/13C-00S4-00003

I see a lot of off the cuff remarks about similar products, but when you visit forums and ask actual users about their experiences you don't get any negative feedback.

It's a CoolIT unit so I'd guess around 5 years without service, but if you clean it and change the coolant every 2-3 years it'd probably last a lot longer.
Who knows about warranty though.

 

[DaemonForce]

Exactly, a smart person would have gotten a faster gpu instead of using the money on custom water cooling.

Only exception where it semi makes sense is if you are buying the very best hardware, and then want to overclock it to the max - but that's not what you see in the majority of cases. It's people buying x70 / x80 tier gpus and taking the money that could have gotten them a tier higher gpu and instead spending it on custom water cooling.

Well I'm never water cooling my 580 Red Devil because that is actually stupid. I try to weigh all my current and future options getting out of something before getting into it, just so everything has a functional path since I never seem to sell anything. I weighed the chance of doing this with a RX 7800 XT and decided that while it's outstanding in every way from where I am now, it's not enough to consider marrying a Hellhound to some $125-195ish full cover Bykski block. At that point I'd rather let air cooler go BRRR for a while and then decide if I need more, which is most likely not the case.

 

[AusWolf]

cons- it has the longest fan cables ive ever seen.

That can also be a pro, depending on what chassis you use and where your fan is placed relative to the connector on the motherboard.

 

[ThrashZone]

I have gone back to air from my custom loop. Did not even consider an AIO, not really a fan of them. My pc is just as quiet now as it was with the custom loop, though temps are not quite as magnificent, but not high enough to bother me.

My custom loop cost me £6-700 quid, maybe a bit more, which is a lot, so you need to be sure you really need it, and have the spare moolah.

Hi,
You didn't have a gpu water block either did you ?
Hell I can't remember but yeah that's a lot if not.
GPU blocks are usually around 300.us for newer model gpu's

 

[FoulOnWhite]

Hi,
You didn't have a gpu water block either did you ?
Hell I can't remember but yeah that's a lot if not.
GPU blocks are usually around 300.us for newer model gpu's

I did, an EK block

 

[A Computer Guy]

So what would you do when a conventional air cooler fan failed? The method of cooling is irrelevant.

Same thing is going to happen if CPU overheats regardless of cooling method. Safeguards will kick in and PC will shut down.

These modern CPU will thermal throttle...for water cooling my thought is the CPU would continue to thermal throttle (like 80-90c) and the localized pressure would increase in the CPU block until a leak occurred which is a potential domino effect of damage.

 

[Dragam1337]

So what would you do when a conventional air cooler fan failed? The method of cooling is irrelevant.

Same thing is going to happen if CPU overheats regardless of cooling method. Safeguards will kick in and PC will shut down.

Lol, highend aircoolers have 2 fans, and their performance hardly degrades with 1 vs 2 fans. Even completely passive the large heatsink provides alot of cooling.

If a waterloop on the other hand fails, then it offers zero cooling.

Aircooled setups are alot more safe, for a multitude of reasons - like it or not !

 

[maxfly]

Exactly, a smart person would have gotten a faster gpu instead of using the money on custom water cooling.

Only exception where it semi makes sense is if you are buying the very best hardware, and then want to overclock it to the max - but that's not what you see in the majority of cases. It's people buying x70 / x80 tier gpus and taking the money that could have gotten them a tier higher gpu and instead spending it on custom water cooling.

A smart person wouldn't apply ignorant assumptive logic to someone else's choices based on a made up metric. Watercooling is the ultimate preference...much like everything in PC building LMAO.

These modern CPU will thermal throttle...for water cooling my thought is the CPU would continue to thermal throttle and the localized pressure would increase in the CPU block until a leak occurred which is a potential domino effect of damage.

That's not how it works. The system will simply shut down normally.

Lol, highend aircoolers have 2 fans, and their performance hardly degrades with 1 vs 2 fans. Even completely passive the large heatsink provides alot of cooling.

If a waterloop on the other hand fails, then it offers zero cooling.

Moving the goalposts makes it seem as if you're doing nothing more than trolling. His point is accurate regardless.

You have no idea what your talking about. If a pump fails, the system has plenty of time to safely shut down. Physics still apply, the water stip removes heat until it doesn't. The more you talk the more obvious you make your lack of experience in wcing.

 

[Dragam1337]

A smart person wouldn't apply ignorant assumptive logic to someone else's choices based on a made up metric. Watercooling is the ultimate preference...much like everything in PC building LMAO.


That's not how it works. The system will simply shut down normally.


Moving the goalposts makes it seem as if you're doing nothing more than trolling. His point is accurate regardless.

You have no idea what your talking about. If a pump fails, the system has plenty of time to safely shut down. Physics still apply, the water stip removes heat until it doesn't. The more you talk the more obvious you make your lack of experience in wcing.

The exact kinda person i was talking about...

Enjoy your inferior performance with your fancy cooling.

 

[A Computer Guy]

A smart person wouldn't apply ignorant assumptive logic to someone else's choices based on a made up metric. Watercooling is the ultimate preference...much like everything in PC building LMAO.


That's not how it works. The system will simply shut down normally.


Moving the goalposts makes it seem as if you're doing nothing more than trolling. His point is accurate regardless.

You have no idea what your talking about. If a pump fails, the system has plenty of time to safely shut down. Physics still apply, the water stip removes heat until it doesn't. The more you talk the more obvious you make your lack of experience in wcing.

My point (or rather concern) is the CPU isn't overheating (reaching max temp or shutdown temp) because it's thermally throttling first, which gives it more time to pump heat into the block, perhaps long enough to increase pressure. Probably not enough pressure to blow a gasket but maybe enough to cause a leak.

 

[bonehead123]

Over the past 10+ years or so, I have built rigs for pro/prosumer clients (engineers/CAD/content creators), and when asked about cooling, I always explain the options & let them decide on what they want...most of my clients generally spend between $1500-$4000....

And given the small price delta between air & AIO's, 99% of them ask for the AIO's, for a tad better performance and their simplicity & low maintenance compared to full custom loops.

So I will generally use either Corsair or CoolerMaster in 240/360/480/560mm configurations (unless requested otherwise) mainly because I have used them in many personal rigs and know they are dependable, easy to find, and reasonably priced....

And no, I don't think AIO's have completely overtaken custom loops, but they sure have become more mainstream & common in the past few years

 

[DaemonForce]

When a water pump shuts off or fails, the loop is less heat sink and more heat SOAK. Plenty of time to shut it off. If the CPU block is central to whatever catastrophe, I can clear it very quickly. I can also regress to the fancy Wraith cooler that shipped with my FX.

Custom water cooling was a requirement for my Pentium 4 when I made that initial decision. It's not a permanent choice, it's a preferred one. I've had stupid things happen to my water loop and salvaged each situation fairly quickly. You know what hasn't been fast response? Koolance. I dumped their horrible dual pumps after the 2nd failure and went to some generic SC800 12v pump and put it into the center of the loop to keep it clean. Is that a good idea? Not really. It's an experimental thing, which is what any of this is whether we like it or not.

You do you fam.

 

[67Elco]

The exact kinda person i was talking about...

Enjoy your inferior performance with your fancy cooling.

This is the result you get when you have no communication or social skills...note in his system spec's he is using water cooling while brow beating others for not using air coolers lol.

 

[gurusmi]

If a waterloop on the other hand fails, then it offers zero cooling.

Thats already in the basic physics theme complete wrong. Have you been in school for at least a basiic education?

1. As far as I know the warmer water rises up whilst the cold one falls down. If there is only one pump in the loop and that fails the radiator still works with it fans. So the warm (heated up) water rises up to the radiator and after it gets down to it's lowest point. So one has at least a minimum of cooling.
2. There is a lot of water in a custom loop. Nearby 1Liter or so. That can take a lot of heat and so it takes time ttill the water inside is boiling. One has plenty of time to shutdown the system.
3. If one has 2 pumps then the system still runs and the water is flowing. Might be with a bit less volume but it flows. So the system is cooled anyway.

This thread became a dicsussion on the spring of a local village square where boys are talking about differences between Supercharging and turbocharging. They don't even know the differences.

... he is using water cooling while brow beating others for not using air coolers...

I know you don't mean me. I'm using both. An EKL Alpenfoen Olymp with 2 140mm fans and one custom loop. The second one is quite complicated and i just build it up.

 

[Dragam1337]

Thats already in the basic physics theme complete wrong. Have you been in school for at least a basiic education?

1. As far as I know the warmer water rises up whilst the cold one falls down. If there is only one pump in the loop and that fails the radiator still works with it fans. So the warm (heated up) water rises up to the radiator and after it gets down to it's lowest point. So one has at least a minimum of cooling.
2. There is a lot of water in a custom loop. Nearby 1Liter or so. That can take a lot of heat and so it takes time ttill the water inside is boiling. One has plenty of time to shutdown the system.
3. If one has 2 pumps then the system still runs and the water is flowing. Might be with a bit less volume but it flows. So the system is cooled anyway.

This thread became a dicsussion on the spring of a local village square where boys are talking about differences between Supercharging and turbocharging. They don't even know the differences.

Let's keep the petty insults to ourselfs, shall we.

Obviously the more water, the longer it will take. But it will eventually overheat, where as it's likely to not ever overheat if a fan should die on a highend aircooler (which is infinitely more unlikely to happen in the first place vs a pump dying).

 

[maxfly]

My point (or rather concern) is the CPU isn't overheating (reaching max temp or shutdown temp) because it's thermally throttling first, which gives it more time to pump heat into the block, perhaps long enough to increase pressure. Probably not enough pressure to blow a gasket but maybe enough to cause a leak.

It would only hit it's thermal threshold and shutdown. CPU blocks are sturdy. The clamping force of the top attached to the base literally makes it virtually impossible to blow a gasket/o-ring. The fittings and hoses would easily resist the heat of an overheating CPU. If on the off chance there were a pressure build up the reservoir would likely easily account for it. Leaks due to an overheating component are unheard of in my experience. They're generally caused by defective components and mistakes.

 

[ShrimpBrime]

Really now.

AIO did not "kill custom loops"

It killed air coolers more or less.

 

[maxfly]

The exact kinda person i was talking about...

Enjoy your inferior performance with your fancy cooling.

LMAO, way to show you age and lack of class there ace

 

[BoggledBeagle]

Fun fact: most air coolers are boiling water these days...