Why don't you custom water-cool your PC?

[db87]

I use a custom water cooling system since 2007. Replaced the tubes twice and I'm on my second waterblock but it's a flawless and cheap solution for me. Q6600, Q9650, i7 920, Xeon X5675 and currently a 8700K have all been cooled with this setup. I use 20% automotive coolant and 80% distilled water. I use regular barb Fittings, those never failed on me and never had a water leak.

 

[mashie]

I did my first water cooling in 2001, a few more after that but after some fried hardware thanks to leakage I'm happy to be air-cooled using Noctua hardware ever since. Did try some AIO cooling for a while but it was noisier than the Noctuas for not much benefit as I don't OC.

 

[Minus Infinity]

I've never been a heavy OC'er so air coolers like Noctua are more than enough and now using a 3700X there's even less need for a large air cooler let alone water cooling. Apart from the lack of need, I have always worried about a malfunction destroying my rig.

 

[Deleted member 205776]

No point, because my NH-D15 hasn't given me a reason to replace it yet. Too high maintenance.

 

[Mussels]

Price.

As a beginner i'd need a full kit to make sure i dont miss something obvious and leave my system in a non working state because i missed one connector, and those kits are $500+ Au here.

 

[bobbybluz]

Too expensive and too much work for the return. I'm old & lazy now, always take the easy way out with AIO's.

 

[MachineLearning]

Long-term reliability. And, I don't want to spend time maintaining something which I (personally) could so easily mess up. A nice big air cooler for me please

 

[Palladium]

Too expensive and too much work for the return. I'm old & lazy now, always take the easy way out with AIO's.

Had a Corsair 240mm back in 2014, it was such a PITA to install and the thermal performance wasn't even that great over air towers. Never again, especially now that CPUs are so transistor dense that they are mostly heat transfer limited regardless of cooling solution.

 

[bobbybluz]

Had a Corsair 240mm back in 2014, it was such a PITA to install and the thermal performance wasn't even that great over air towers. Never again, especially now that CPUs are so transistor dense that they are mostly heat transfer limited regardless of cooling solution.

I've installed hundreds of AIO's, they're easy (especially with the right cases). I was getting 5+Ghz overclocks with them 10 years ago. Air coolers couldn't even come close. To each their own, some folks like driving a Prius and others a Ferrari.

 

[BigMack70]

It's just not worth it to me. A good case, investment into extra fans, and use of AIOs gets 90% of the performance both in terms of temps and acoustics, for half (or less) of the price and 10% or less of the work.

I've spent most of the past 5 years just running both CPU and GPU on an AIO and I don't see why I should spend a huge amount of extra money and effort to go custom loop.

The only reason I'd ever consider full custom loop would be aesthetics. You can make some amazing looking builds with hard tubing. But I've never been motivated to spend the relatively considerable amount of time required to do that.

 

[dirtyferret]

you need another option for all the above (outside of already do) or allow multiple votes

for me personally; price, lack of benefit to me, time consuming, why even bring in the chance of a leak when you don't need to.

 

[SamuelL]

I already do.

For a long time I was afraid of the added complexity and cost, of leaks, and of my own inexperience. When I finally built a full custom hardline setup, it was such a feeling of accomplishment. Temps in the upper 40s under full load, it’s completely silent, and it looks great.

The only pain is maintenance and it really should be done yearly (at least). I should also mention - you have to want to do this. It’s easy to get sucked into the idea of a custom loop... you see show-off threads with amazing loops - these often betray the crazy amount of diligence, planning, and time that goes into such builds. If you’re just into gaming and only want a fast pc OR if you’re only curious because of pictures showing RGB vomit, dick-measuring builds... then custom watercooling may not be for you. On the other hand, if you are a true hardware nerd who is willing to put in the time and effort, you’re going to have a blast with custom water cooling

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

Price probably limits it's use, followed by complexity and the possibility of issues.
I have been watercooling a while now and ATM am eyeballs deep in a watercooling issue (in loop obstruction somewhere), it can be a pain in the ass and definitely isn't as user friendly.

(Funk in CPU block!! Cleared all good)

 

[Aquinus]

Now that I have the money to do such a thing, it's more about the time to build and maintain, particularly since I can do most of what I need off my laptop. If I build another machine though, I'd probably do a liquid loop. It's just that I don't have a need for a new machine at this time.

 

[arbiter]

This IMO is one those polls that its not just 1 answer its many for most people. Of the 8 choices i would pick least 5 of them and it would be "price, leaks, time-consuming, case size, and benefits not worth it". A custom water cooling setup def every one those. Really could take 8 outta there so its 7, noise isn't really any different IMO and skills is more down to patience to do it. There is a ton of air coolers now that gotten to near same performance levels and far cheaper with almost 0 of the headaches if you gotta replace hardware cause of something dying.

 

[hat]

I voted "price". If I'm going to put custom water in my PC, I'm not only going to need the whole kit, but a new case as well, and I'm not going to stop there for such an endeavor. My video cards would be getting watercooled, too. This would be expensive... or, I could spend $55 on a 120mm AIO that will fit in the case I already have. Or get a new full tower case for maybe a hundred bucks or so and spend $60 or so on a 240mm. I'm not too worried about the mechanical aspects of it. I might make a thread here just to make sure I'm on the up and up and not missing anything, but I'm sure I could handle it.

 

[dgianstefani]

I've said it before and i'll say it again. For performance, the only reason to go custom water is extreme high end, or in ITX cases.

Unless your CPU is pulling 200W+ and you also need silence, air is better.

Saying this as owner of a £600 custom loop.

95% of AIOs are trash with a 5 year average lifespan (lifetime of coolant anticorrosives), Alphacool and Swiftech make some decent ones with no mixed metals.

High end air or custom water the only real options imo.

Low end air almost pointless because it only makes sense on budget CPUs, and if you're using a budget CPU just go with integrated cooler and put money into parts. AIO stupid long term because they just corrode/slowly lower performance, and they aren't really maintainable.

As for my own system I have comfortable 50-60c temps on a heavily tuned 5950x, in a 13 litre case that's almost inaudible (perforated side panels).

 

[olstyle]

My last air cooled GPU was an Nvidia 7800GT. My last air cooled CPU an Athlon 64 X2 3800+.
Most of the stuff is a one time investment and don't have to be new. I never owned a new Radiator for example. I am also still on the second pump (original DDC with black rotor). Not sure I would start it again these days, but once you have enough Radiators etc., updating the GPU-Cooler for the next Generation is really the only investment there is.

 

[GerKNG]

a decent AIO for the CPU?
Absolutely...
Custom Loops for the price of a second RTX 3080? Absolutely not...

 

[ColinB123]

We're wondering what's holding you back from getting into watercooling, custom-watercooling, specifically.

Watercooling, like your own choice of CPU or GPU manufacturer, is simply a technology choice like all the others. If there were no alternative, I'd understand the question with it's implication that "getting into" is a progressive choice, rather than a straight technology choice. Of course there are attractions to watercooling: it has higher thermal density, and results in a smaller component at the extraction site - it looks better - "cooler"!! Does a 65w processor need that density? No.

Was a watercooled RTX3070 (240w) offered on launch? No. Is there a variant available yet for my version? No. Do I need it, when the fans keep everything below 65C? No. Would I prefer to build one from scratch, over, say, buying a 2TB mvne? You get the picture....

Would I like to buy one to make my case look really pretty? Ahhh: there you've got me!

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

Watercooling, like your own choice of CPU or GPU manufacturer, is simply a technology choice like all the others. If there were no alternative, I'd understand the question with it's implication that "getting into" is a progressive choice, rather than a straight technology choice. Of course there are attractions to watercooling: it has higher thermal density, and results in a smaller component at the extraction site - it looks better - "cooler"!! Does a 65w processor need that density? No.

Was a watercooled RTX3070 (240w) offered on launch? No. Is there a variant available yet for my version? No. Do I need it, when the fans keep everything below 65C? No. Would I prefer to build one from scratch, over, say, buying a 2TB mvne? You get the picture....

Would I like to buy one to make my case look really pretty? Ahhh: there you've got me!

Look for the last three main GPU I bought I bought a block, and looks were not considered , the fact I could tune them to just about the silicon's limit(obv ln2 excluded) then run it at that speed 24/7 365 folding etc without massive noise was what pushed the effort.
If you're pc had been used flat out for many years it becomes the go to option IMHO.
Not everyone will see this but look at miner's the mining rig is normally in another room , basement etc for thermals perhaps but mostly to move the racket elsewhere.

 

[ColinB123]

Look for the last three main GPU I bought I bought a block, and looks were not considered , the fact I could tune them to just about the silicon's limit(obv ln2 excluded) then run it at that speed 24/7 365 folding etc without massive noise was what pushed the effort.
If you're pc had been used flat out for many years it becomes the go to option IMHO.
Not everyone will see this but look at miner's the mining rig is normally in another room , basement etc for thermals perhaps but mostly to move the racket elsewhere.

Agreed, but I think you have exceptional needs that require an optimal solution. I'd just prefer the 2TB mvne!

 

[micropage7]

although it's much safer now but leaking is the common issue of liquid cooling. so for now i stick on air cooling since it still meet what i need

 

[Animalpak]

Its a niche thing always been. I do full custom watercooling since 2005 from Q6600 to today 9900KS, benefits are worth it the problem as usual is the price.

Pro :

- You can overclock to the highest levels
- You increase the lifespan of your components especially GPU's ( and this while overcloking them )
- If you choose the right amount of radiators and silent high performance fan's you get a truly quiet setup with the overclock you desire
- Looks cool
- Maintenance is necessary but minimal if you use clear waters you can do in seasons change like before summer

Cons :

- Expensive
- Expensive
- Risk of leaks if you bought cheap watercooling components or you build it for improper assembly
- Maintenance often require you to dismantle all the components and theres a risk of leak on other components while you doing it

 

[the54thvoid]

I used custom loops for the hell of it and realised pretty quick that the sound was far superior. A fully stressed gfx card with almost no fan noise (in the HD6970 and GTX780 days) was pretty awesome. But, a custom loop gets filthy, often without you knowing it. I've gone back to air; I don't miss the maintenance and worry but I do miss the silence.

On another note, custom loops can be made to look really cool. I think these days it's an aesthetic more than a practicality. It's not a waste of time if its time the hobbyist enjoys.