Water Cooling

[ErichB 3,642]

Hi all

I had my first water cooled build about 7 years ago.    Water cooling was relatively new then and obviously, it leaked.    For those who have more modern water cooled solutions, are you happy with it and would you recommend it?

I'm looking at an i7 8770K @4.8 for my next build which comes with a H75 Corsair water cooler.

 

cheers

[vc10man 732]

Great post, Erich, as I too have been contemplating a water-cooled system for my next i7-8086K build.

[shivers9 1,174]

4 hours ago, vc10man said:

Great post, Erich, as I too have been contemplating a water-cooled system for my next i7-8086K build.

+1. I have been thinking of trying the water cooled route also. I am wondering why you guys are looking at going with the 8700 or 8086 and not the new 9700K or 9900K's.

[westman 257]

I dont recomend the H75 its a single 120 rad , you need atleast a H100  or H110/H115 2x140 rad  if you intend to OC the H115 can manage up to 1.35/1.4v vcore on a 8700k that should give you 5.1/5.2ghz with a good cpu.

[vc10man 732]

22 minutes ago, shivers9 said:

you guys are looking at going with the 8700 or 8086 and not the new 9700K or 9900K's. 

Because it was a Limited Anniversary Offer

 

4 minutes ago, westman said:

I dont recomend the H75 its a single 120 rad , you need atleast a H100  or H110/H115 2x140 rad  if you intend to OC the H115 can manage up to 1.35/1.4v vcore on a 8700k that should give you 5.1/5.2ghz with a good cpu.

Thanks. Great info.

[Guest]

13 hours ago, ErichB said:

I had my first water cooled build about 7 years ago.    Water cooling was relatively new then and obviously, it leaked.

"Retail" water cooling for PCs has been around since about 2001 (maybe earlier) ... it was new for the retail scene about 17 years ago.  It has evolved considerably since then.  Water cooling has been around for a long time in the IBM mainframe world ... I used to work for BofA (many decades ago) and audited their data centers, the cooling system was an interesting layout but designed such that leaks wouldn't destroy the electronics (at least in theory anyway).

I've never had a leak from any water cooling solution I've used and they have been extremely reliable, however if there is a problem it can trigger a series of events that could be very costly.  I have encountered leaks during my "no power" tests (just run the PSU to operate the pumps and not the MB) that were a result of a situation(s) I created, specifically:

1.  Screws too long when connecting fans to radiator and puncturing the radiator
2.  Not tightening the radiator fill hole sufficiently
3.  Using the wrong I.D. and O.D. fitting/sleeve that didn't match to the I.D. and O.D. tubing (important for compression fittings)
4.  Using hard line (this stuff is difficult to work with and even more difficult to seal)
5.  Compression fittings where the sleeve or thread was too short such that the fitting sleeve made contact to surface before the seal was actually made
6.  Not using angled and/or swivel fittings in places that need it (sharp turns)

I recommend for anyone working with water cooling (be it custom or all-in-one):

A.  Always test the loop in place with ZERO power to the MB, power to pumps/fans only.
B.  Get the correct type of tubing (I've had great success with this tubing) ... hard-line tubing is difficult to work with and more prone to errors in setup/install. 
C.  Get quality fittings that provide the ability secure fitting and compression sleeve independently (avoid 90 degree if possible and use 60, 45, or straight).
D.  To avoid pressure build up (as heat increases) use a pressure release valve.
E.  Flow meters and coolant Temp sensors are optional but helpful in the event of problems (water pump fails, or blockage) ... a flow meter will also provide a good indication of how much resistance each radiator and/or other device will introduce to the flow in the system.

Cheers, Rob.

EDIT: I prefer custom loops as they are more flexible and usually of higher quality and the only person to blame for leaks would be myself 🙂

 

[vc10man 732]

Great salutary lesson, Rob. Thanks.

[Bob Scott 7,720]

I like water cooling.  I've used custom water loops on my primary sim PC for a decade now.  My answer to potential leaks is to mount most of the cooling loop--pump, radiator(s), reservoir--outside the PC case in a separate enclosure, with the cooling block(s) and their associated connectors as the only potential leak sources in the case.  With careful attention to proper fit and tightening of good quality barbs and clamps, I've never leaked so much as a drop into the case.  In addition to the superior cooling and near dead silence, it's also nice to not have to sweat the fit of a ginormous air cooling fin block atop the motherboard, wondering if it's gonna crowd the RAM or stick out too far for the side cover on the case.

I now also use a Corsair H110i on the 2600K that once was my flight sim box two generations ago, and now serves as my general-use PC.  Haven't had any issues with it, and it's served well for over 3 years now.  But I wouldn't want it mounted over a bunch of expensive new components, factory-sealed or not.

Regards

 

[ErichB 3,642]

13 hours ago, Rob Ainscough said:

"Retail" water cooling for PCs has been around since about 2001 (maybe earlier) ...

Good post Rob, thanks.  You are right, It has been around for yonks, but it was very new to me in 2010 and I was very suspect about the idea of water in my PC unit, no matter how amazing they said it was.

I usually go with a bespoke gaming PC built by Overclockers in the UK.  Need to give it some more thought.  Memories of leaking water in my case still give me the shivers

 

[vortex681 806]

I currently have a Corsair H110i and would highly recommend it. I leave it in "Quiet" mode all the time and get great temperature control with no noticeable noise. AIO coolers have moved on significantly from the early days and are now reliable and quiet. Most leaks tended to be caused by straining the connectors too much when fitting and they are much more resilient now. The current manufacturers have enough faith in their products to give them long warranties (5 years in the case of Corsair). I agree that custom loops are the ultimate (and more flexible) cooling solution but for most of us a good quality AIO is more than enough (and requires no maintenance).

[martin-w 3,235]

On 9/17/2018 at 9:59 AM, ErichB said:

Hi all

I had my first water cooled build about 7 years ago.    Water cooling was relatively new then and obviously, it leaked.    For those who have more modern water cooled solutions, are you happy with it and would you recommend it?

I'm looking at an i7 8770K @4.8 for my next build which comes with a H75 Corsair water cooler.

 

cheers

 

 

I'm an air cooling boy, but I did install an H100i V2 in my daughters PC. It's cooling well, but even on half speed the pump has  a bit of a whine. Not horrendous but definitely audible. Not an issue when gaming of course. I noticed the tubes are Very stiff and not that easy to manipulate. No leaks as yet, although a friends H100 did leak a while back, lucky for him no components damaged. So yes, might be uncommon now but it still does happen.

I would agree with Westman, go for a 240 or 280 rad, or even one of the new 360 AIO's if it will fit in your case.

For me, I get great results with an NH-D15S ( 5 GHz) and have no need for an AIO. If I were to opt for water cooling it wouldn't be because I need the cooling, it would be for the pleasure, sense of achievement and fun. In which case I would go the whole hog and build a rigid tube custom loop. 

[vc10man 732]

On 9/18/2018 at 5:43 PM, martin-w said:

I get great results with an NH-D15S ( 5 GHz)

That's what's my first choice, swayed, by you, Martin.

[martin-w 3,235]

5 hours ago, vc10man said:

That's what's my first choice, swayed, by you, Martin.

 

I should say, if you favour air... Noctua do have a few new versions on the way. Not sure how far away. A single tower cooler that's as good as the twin tower D15 and a new version of the D15 that cools even better.