I would like to build a new PC soon and I would like to use this thread to gather some tips and suggestions.
First, my plan is to build this PC around a 5090 which I would pair with a 9800X3D. Regarding the mainboard, I am still open to suggestions but Wendell has made a convincing argument for the ASUS ProArt X870E in this latest video. (Previously, I wanted to go with MSI but I am not an overly big fan of the big dragon )
That being said, it would be nice to have more than 4 SATA ports since this PC will be used as a NAS once it is decomissioned and a new one takes its place in a few years. (I could use a PCIe add-in card for this purpose though…)
Other than that, I am strongly leaning towards building my first fully custom loop and I would also like to use hardtubing for this purpose. Previously, I would have purchased things from EK but given their recent troubles I would like to stay away from them. I did a bit of googling and Alphacool appears to be offering waterblocks for the 5090 soon so one idea is to go with them. However, here I would be also interested in suggestions / feedback.
I know that /r/watercooling would probably be a more fitting place to ask those questions, but I am more familiar with the crowd here even though I am less active than I used to be. Thus, feedback and input here is very much appreciated.
(I am also not entirely convinced if I should go with a CLC and instead just use watercooling for both the CPU and GPU, so I need to think about that. However, this has been on my mind now for quite a while and therefore I think I should just give it a try at least once.)
Some specific questions I have:
As a case, I will re-use my old Lian Li O11D XL. I wanted to purchase the O11 Evo XL but it is only available in black and white, not in brushed aluminum like the O11D XL I have. Are there any similar cases that could be used and work well together with watercooling in aluminum/silver? (I would also like to use 420mm rads, but I can do without those)
I would like to but the pump in the side chamber of the case. Can I put the pump above the PSU or is this generally not recommended? Thus, should I put the pump at the very bottom?
Should I start purchasing things now or only once I have the GPU since this could take a while?
How so? The video just talks through the board specs and, indirectly, points out the USB power delivery regression from the ProArt X670E and that Asus cares so little about testing the claimed ECC support that the launch BIOS wouldn’t post with ECC DIMMs (hopefully SECDED works in the fixed BIOS but the video doesn’t say one way or the other).
All mobos have tradeoffs. The ProArts’ unique feature is 10 GbE. Question’s whether that’s worth dealing with Asus versus putting in a card or using another manufacturer’s 2.5 or 5 GbE board.
I’d wait to order until the 5090’s cleared the launch window without major issues and some information about available waterblocks has emerged. Unless you’ve had a 9800X3D order in for a while that’s not going to happen quickly either.
I don’t really see a reason not to. Some builders would be quick to point out the additional bends to cross chambers will reduce flow rate but if they’re larger radius with the tubing that should be pretty minor.
3x360 rear intake with the rads exhausting? NeXXoS ST30? Heatkiller-S? I know Lian Li says 65 mm max top and bottom but am not finding the side thickness.
Most folks I know doing loops prefer Alphacool or Watercool parts, though there’s a subset that like Hardware Labs rads and Bykski’s also popular for lower costs. Not sure if EK’s still in business (the website’s still up, anyways) but they’ve been avoid for some years now.
I’d be cautious of what the blocks do with the 12V-2x6 connection. Maybe enough contact can be provided for the block to compensate for the loss of airflow but I’d still plan to put a thermocouple in and be prepared to provide airflow. If a block doesn’t offer a thermal solution there it’s probably a reject.
b850 ai top looks like a very interesting board and should be supposedly quite cheaper than ProArt. Dual 10gig lan, pcie 8+8 to the CPU, 8-layer board (good if we ever get to high speed ram on am5, so that 8000+ on 2:1 becomes justifiable),
Hey, so I think I really would like to go with a full custom loop, which is why I have created a reddit post here.
However, in order to keep this discussion in the forum here as well for those interested I will copy-paste my question:
Hey,
…
Anyway, I was browsing different watercooling manufacturers and at first I wanted to go with Alphacool, but I have fallen in love with Watercool since their stuff just looks amazing. Additionally, I do not want to use a distro plate but a traditional pump set-up since this looks cooler/nicer in my opinion.
Basically, my idea is to use 3 Heatkiller RAD 360 L in the top, bottom and on the side. However, I would very much like to mount the side radiator in the back compartment of my case. Furthermore, I would like to put the pump+reservoir in the side chamber as well, just above (or below?) the PSU. I have drawn inspiration from this video here:
The way the loop works would be that the connectors for the side radiator would be on the bottom and the would connect directly to the bottom radiator, which would have the connectors in the the front. Here I am wondering if I should go with softline tubing since the distance would be very short. Afterwards, from the front connector of the bottom one a hardline tube would go up to my (vertically mounted?) GPU block which would then connect to my CPU block. Then, another hardline tube would got to the top radiator, which would have the connectors on the back. The top radiator would then exit via a softline tube and go to the back of my case, which would be connected to the pump. The pump flow would then exit in a softline tube and go to the side radiators connector on the bottom.
Does this sound good? Am I missing something?
Additionally, I have the following questions:
I know I can mix and match different vendors as long as the material is the same. So, given the radiator linked above is made out of copper I could just as well use Alphacool’s RTX 4090 Waterblock, which is made out of chrome-plated copper. (I am asking since Watercool seems to only have Strix and FE blocks and I do not know which 5090 I will end up with, nor which vendor will have suitable waterblocks)
I would probably need a drain-valve somewhere, any idea on where I should place it? As far as possible at the bottom I would assume. Maybe between the bottom radiator and the side radiator?
Are radiators flow-agnostic? I.e. can I use anything as exit/entry or is this something I have to consider?
Watercool offers D5 and DDC pumps. Some googling yielded that D5s are better, is this still the case?
How valuable are quick connectors? Should I be using them? Are they vendor agnostic, so can I use Watercool quick connectors on an Alphacool waterblock or is this something one has to look into?