Water Cooling: It's better down where it's wetter

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Serious Hardware/Software Crap > Water Cooling: It's better down where it's wetter

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

So where do I get pipe like that? Sorry to storm in, but I loosely follow the thread after water cooling decades ago and want to know what pipe can be heated up and bent like that. It�s very cool, great job man!

# ¿ Jul 27, 2022 22:44

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 11:51

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

Awesome, thx!

# ¿ Jul 27, 2022 23:14

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

KodiakRS posted:

Well that was fun:

There are a few things I would do differently next time but for the most part I'm pretty pleased with how it all came out. I'm really glad I decided to get a huge case. Even under sustained GPU/CPU load all of my components remain at reasonable temperatures with almost no noise so I guess the fan orientation works well. Total build time was about 12 hours. Plus about 2 hours cleaning up the mess:

Very nice

# ¿ May 25, 2023 05:01

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

So is there a good list of the minimum stuff I�d need to grab in order to watercool a new cpu?
I water cooled in the past by buying a thermaltake kit and following the instructions to build it. For background, I got it for a steal from a CompUSA stores� going out of business sale, so it�s been a while lol. It was separate components, not an aio which didn�t exist yet. The tubing was flexible which made things easier. I was super impressed with the results back then.
I�m considering getting a intel 13900k which puts out quite a bit of heat and considered trying to watercool again. I could just grab a AIO, but where�s the fun in that?
I have a big Antec case, plenty of fans, and a shameless disregard for electronics in general.
I live close to microcenter and would want to get almost everything from them.
Any tips would be appreciated, sorry if this was rambley

# ¿ Jun 18, 2023 17:09

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

This has to be the most comprehensive and best amount of info and help I�ve ever got from kramering into a thread� thanks so much to you all!

The price went up on the bundle I was going to buy which got me angry, but I�ll eventually buy it and let you all know how I get on

# ¿ Jun 21, 2023 14:32

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

Old Balls McGee posted:

First water cooling ever. All done

This took a while, between figuring out what to order, my work schedule and the silly mistakes I had to deal with. I am not sure I'd do this again. I'd probably just go with a good AIO for the i9 and maybe the MSi Suprim AIO vchard.

The tube bending wasn't too bad and I only had one bad fitting, an offset. Somehow didn't get all the screws tight for the contact plate so the memory wouldn't show up even though I had tested and installed winders before the water stuff with an air cooler. First PSU couldn't handle any games even though it was A tier on the CPU Cultist list. I had to file down some standoffs for the vertical mount as the factory ones were too high and the vchard wouldn't seat fully because of them. Also, the Lian Li vertical mount didn't clear the fans, so I have the EKWB.

I know I could have done a little more in the way of cable management but honestly I was just done.

Also, thanks again to the goon for the windows key

Oh yeah, temps are where you think they would be for this cpu.

Looks super nice! Sorry if this is a dumb question, but What radiator(s) is that?

# ¿ Aug 28, 2023 14:22

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

Another maybe dumb question:
Do people reuse the component parts of AIO�s? Like I�m sure that people would say it�s a bad idea, but why? At the very least, the radiator and fans could be reused right?
2 reasons I�m curious:
1) buying all the components separately seems way more expensive, even factoring in stuff like not being able to reuse AIO blocks and water pumps.
2) if I understand correctly, AIOs have a life expectancy of like 6 years or so due to permeability? Throwing it out at that point seems wasteful as all hell

# ¿ Sep 9, 2023 04:17

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

Ok, the dissimilar metals argument makes sense. Is there any reason not to buy used custom loop stuff? Like if a radiator has been drained after being used is it no longer good due to corrosion or termites or something?

# ¿ Sep 9, 2023 15:29

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

Indiana_Krom posted:

I don't see why not.

In the worst case I think in dissolving out a bit of corrosion from a used radiator shouldn't be too much of a problem when done in moderation. Obviously a good cleaning and flush is the best practice before installing used components, gotta get all the old fluids and any potential debris out.

Cool, thx.

I used to run a custom loop 15 years ago and loved it. But I got that as a complete kit from a CompUSA liquidation. Looking at prices now is a bit of a shock, especially as someone who likes to tinker and would much rather cobble together something Frankenstein style. But the dissimilar metals thing is a real hurdle. Tough to find radiators that aren�t aluminum from anywhere other than the pc liquid cooling niche market and that have a high cost as such.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2023 16:09

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

pnumoman posted:

you're running a stupid hot CPU like a 13900k or something. And even then, it's not really THAT much better.

This is what I'm about to pull the trigger on. I'm a software dev and can use all of the cores I can get. I was looking at grabbing a 360mm AIO and since I had custom loop experience in the past, figured I'd look back into it. Was pretty surprised at the prices... I mean I have no problem spending money, especially on professional equipment which this is, but spending so much on some of the pieces when "a radiator is a radiator and a pump is a pump" just didn't look to make sense. I realize now that I wasn't thinking about the different metals thing.

Funny enough, I should have known: I actually remember a BMW engine having problems with corrosion because they used Magnesium as part of the variable valve setup, IIRC... not mine thankfully, but one of the different models/engines.

Indiana_Krom posted:

Yeah, a big expensive custom loop may not significantly outperform high end air coolers on temperatures

This is the only other thing I can't believe (tbc, I do believe it, it's just surprising). When I ran mine years ago it brought down temps like crazy. Now I get it, processors put out a lot more heat nowadays, but dang man. I would think moving from air to Liquid Cooling would have a HUGE impact. I guess I was wrong

thanks for the help/sanity check everybody.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2023 18:38

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

I�m not yet cool enough to have a custom loop, although I did have one at one point� but I do have an AIO. It�s a thermaltake 420mm and I have it hooked up to a 14900k. If anyone can help out with some questions I�d be grateful.

Should I power the AIO pump using PWM or DC or it really doesn�t matter?
The AIO has 3x140mm fans pushing air through the radiator. If I wanted some more performance, would adding fans on the back pulling air be advantageous?

I�m using a completely open case� rack mounted in an open sided rack. Is this causing me huge issues? Should I be ducting the air away somehow? I have no idea how I�d manage that, but figured I�d ask since it�s far from a standard case.

Using prime95, I can peg the cpu to where it will hit 100C. I can�t tell if it�s throttling very much or not but I�m just using hwmonitor. Any recommendations on better software for monitoring and control?

# ¿ Jan 10, 2024 07:11

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 11:51

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

Indiana_Krom posted:

99% certain you would use PWM.

spunkshui posted:

<dust filter stuff that was a great idea>
I have my fans staying at 35% until the water hits 35� then it ramps all the way to 100% fan at 40 C.

I keep the pump on the highest setting.

Thanks so much for the info. The AIO plugged right into a MoBo fan header labeled AIO_pump. Even the RGB had a connector on the motherboard� I feel dumb that I didn�t even consider installing software for the AIO. I�ll see if there�s any that might provide value

# ¿ Jan 12, 2024 14:22

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