Water Cooling for 5820K

[Lepton87]

My system is in the sig below. It's going to be my first water cooler, I have never done that before and I'm a complete noob when it comes to watercooling. So, could you help me choose all the necessary parts? At first I want to just water-cool the CPU but I want to be able to add graphics cards to the loop as well, about 2 to three of them, so I probably need a good pump. As for Radiators, I can always add additional one down the line road? Unlike in the US water-cooling parts are quite scare where I live. I would like you guys to choose proper parts for me from this site:

https://www.cooling.pl/

I think I chose a good block:

https://www.cooling.pl/ek-water-blocks-ek-supremacy-evo-plexi-nickel,produkt,554786.html

Are there better ones for similar money? What about that TIM Gelid GC-Extreme 1.5g?
Do I need to change it? How does it compare to IC DIAMOND? I'm currently using it but I ran out of it and the only TIM I have is Noctua NH D1 but it's quite old and I'm not sure if it didn't degrade a bit. Unfortunately that Noctua NH-D14 doesn't cut it. 🙁

 

[BonzaiDuck]

My system is in the sig below. It's going to be my first water cooler, I have never done that before and I'm a complete noob when it comes to watercooling. So, could you help me choose all the necessary parts? At first I want to just water-cool the CPU but I want to be able to add graphics cards to the loop as well, about 2 to three of them, so I probably need a good pump. As for Radiators, I can always add additional one down the line road? Unlike in the US water-cooling parts are quite scare where I live. I would like you guys to choose proper parts for me from this site:

https://www.cooling.pl/

I think I chose a good block:

https://www.cooling.pl/ek-water-blocks-ek-supremacy-evo-plexi-nickel,produkt,554786.html

Are there better ones for similar money? What about that TIM Gelid GC-Extreme 1.5g?
Do I need to change it? How does it compare to IC DIAMOND? I'm currently using it but I ran out of it and the only TIM I have is Noctua NH D1 but it's quite old and I'm not sure if it didn't degrade a bit. Unfortunately that Noctua NH-D14 doesn't cut it. 🙁

I almost thought you were bent on continuing with the D14!!

I'm not a great source of experience for the water-cooling, but I'd been posting here for a couple months or so to get ideas exactly -- EX-ACT-LY! -- for the same build you've executed already.

Of course your best source of info is the forum guru -- AigoMorla. He hasn't attacked me yet, though, about my proposition that the essential choices are the radiator(s) and the case wherein you plan to fit them.

Further, serial use of two radiators seems to be an established practice for some folks. The strategy may pair the radiators (in series) to dual water-pumps. There is a particular clear-plastic reservoir that fits in the 5.25" drive cage, and provides for two D5 Laing pumps -- one which flows into the reservoir, and one which flows out of it. This apparently creates greater "head pressure" and improves flow-rate. It also provides a backup in case a pump fails.

This is what I gleaned from the threads and posts earlier. Others -- like Aigo -- can correct me if I'm wrong about it.

On the TIM. It is simply a matter of the thermal resistance of materials. Diamond offers the lowest thermal resistance of all except the Liquid metal (CLU) or Indigo metal pads. Some of the other formulations use Aluminum Oxide particles or other ingredients, but they can't beat nano-diamond particles for heat-transfer. The diamond paste seems tedious and troublesome to apply, but it just .. . works . . . better. It's even re-useable, unlike other formulations. But I may have said this already in exchanges we had on other threads. It's hard to remember everything I posted last week, last month -- whatever.

If you want better cooling than AiO coolers offer, find radiators in size and thickness which promise greater effectiveness than any given AiO. I also believe that you can go "over-board" with excessive cooling capacity. "Excessive" is fine, but below a certain thermal level, you won't get higher clock speeds or even much in the way of lower voltage for a particular speed target.

I can't offer advice about particular radiators, and it would depend on your case choices. I think the preference is copper versus aluminum.

 

[Lepton87]

Unfortunately Noctua proved to be insufficient 🙁 My CPU heats up to almost 100C which is too much for comfort and it limits OC. As for the case I have Fractal Design but it doesn't matter much because I don't intend to fit everything in the case anyway. With so many drives the cables already made it impossible to close the back side of the case so I can have radiators externally and reservoir too.

Here is how the backside looks, and not even all drives are connected in the back.



ps. there are lots of those liquid metal solutions:

http://www.skapiec.pl/cat/3018/1.8


which one is the best? are there many differences between them?
Liquid pro. Liquid ultra or those pads? What is the best?

 

[exar333]

I really like IC7 too, but apparently it invalidates the Intel replacement policy. I figured it was worth the $25 to be able to replace, no questions asked, if I screwed-up or if it was a horrible overclocker.

As for the radiators, stick with all copper. I preferred the Alphacool over the Swiftech because of build quality. Nice additions like metal flaps to prevent screws from damaging fins/rad tubes is a nice touch. Honestly, I almost did that in my initial build. The 60mm alphacool I got also had fitting ports in 3 locations, which really helps with positioning. I definitely recommend them.

Take my advice accordingly. Just built a rig, but not a WC 'expert'. 🙂

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

EK blocks are good. I have an EK Supreme LT I'm about to configure in a loop.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I really like IC7 too, but apparently it invalidates the Intel replacement policy. I figured it was worth the $25 to be able to replace, no questions asked, if I screwed-up or if it was a horrible overclocker.

As for the radiators, stick with all copper. I preferred the Alphacool over the Swiftech because of build quality. Nice additions like metal flaps to prevent screws from damaging fins/rad tubes is a nice touch. Honestly, I almost did that in my initial build. The 60mm alphacool I got also had fitting ports in 3 locations, which really helps with positioning. I definitely recommend them.

Take my advice accordingly. Just built a rig, but not a WC 'expert'. 🙂

Can you substantiate that from reliable sources? I cannot understand how that would be the case. It isn't going to erase the print and nickel-plate on the processor -- or shouldn't, and a lot of TIM products include abrasive particles. How would Intel "know" you had used a particular TIM, anyway, if it did not appear that the nickel-plate and printed info had been abraded beyond recognition?

The rest of your points on the radiators seems to be supported by others here -- regarding the AlphaCool rads.

I can see where Lepton87 may be headed with this, and I was poking into the same possibilities:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2399880

Lep! If the topic in the thread piques your interest, pay attention to the issues in the linked thread. "Are 'round' water channels in a radiator more or less effective than flat ones?" "Do you need 9 120mm fans, or can you get ample cooling with 180's or 200's, making it less troublesome to wire and power the fans?" "Should you use fans on both sides, or fans on one side?" "Should you run the 12V wiring from the internal PSU, or provide a small separate power-transformer for the fans which is "switchable?"

If you don't mind the umbilical hose connections and "mobility" problem, the external radiator idea may work for you. Frankly, I had been thinking much earlier that the appropriate no-leak quick-release connections might make it possible to have a smaller radiator inside the case, while allowing the assembly to be coupled to an MO RA3; the idea being -- you could move the computer after selecting a different overclock profile in BIOS, and later re-connect it to the external rad. The internal-plus-external seems to have been chosen by one of the thread respondents, but I doubt he made it possible to de-couple the external and allow the computer's continued function with the internal radiator. So my idea may likely be a dumb one.

 

[exar333]

Can you substantiate that from reliable sources? I cannot understand how that would be the case. It isn't going to erase the print and nickel-plate on the processor -- or shouldn't, and a lot of TIM products include abrasive particles. How would Intel "know" you had used a particular TIM, anyway, if it did not appear that the nickel-plate and printed info had been abraded beyond recognition?

The rest of your points on the radiators seems to be supported by others here -- regarding the AlphaCool rads.

I can see where Lepton87 may be headed with this, and I was poking into the same possibilities:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2399880

Lep! If the topic in the thread piques your interest, pay attention to the issues in the linked thread. "Are 'round' water channels in a radiator more or less effective than flat ones?" "Do you need 9 120mm fans, or can you get ample cooling with 180's or 200's, making it less troublesome to wire and power the fans?" "Should you use fans on both sides, or fans on one side?" "Should you run the 12V wiring from the internal PSU, or provide a small separate power-transformer for the fans which is "switchable?"

If you don't mind the umbilical hose connections and "mobility" problem, the external radiator idea may work for you. Frankly, I had been thinking much earlier that the appropriate no-leak quick-release connections might make it possible to have a smaller radiator inside the case, while allowing the assembly to be coupled to an MO RA3; the idea being -- you could move the computer after selecting a different overclock profile in BIOS, and later re-connect it to the external rad. The internal-plus-external seems to have been chosen by one of the thread respondents, but I doubt he made it possible to de-couple the external and allow the computer's continued function with the internal radiator. So my idea may likely be a dumb one.

I definitely trust IDK knowledge; post 8. This was news to when I read it...

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2403418&highlight=tim

 

[njdevilsfan87]

If you looking to build to a nice water cooled system, you should consider moving those drives to NAS so you can open up a lot of rad space.

Watercooling manufacturers are also pretty much equal these days. Just go with what you think will look best in your system. But do flush out your rads before installing them. I have XSPC rads and CPU block, EK GPU blocks and dual pump stand + res, two Alphacool D5 pumps, Switchtech and Monsoon fittings, Primochill tubing, etc. So I've got pretty things from everyone. And it looks great! 🙂

Just make sure you avoid Aluminum anything.

 

[Lepton87]

My PC won't be moved at all, so I don't intend to keep radiators inside the case. The first time I tried to build a water-cooler was back in the Athlon XP days, over 10 years ago. I bought a water block and I had a car radiator but the diameter of the houses didn't match the intake and outlet on the radiator and I couldn't buy an adapter. I also couldn't build my own, I didn't have the necessary tools, skills and materials. I'm still thinking about using a car radiator but what about those houses and input/output holes of the radiator? Are there any commercial adaptors available to buy? It's been my guess that a car radiator with even light airflow should outperform those computer radiators significantly, but what I don't have a solution for what went wrong for the first time. What do you guys think about using a car radiator for water-cooling? Is it feasible? Is it hard to buy/build an adapter?

Just make sure you avoid Aluminum anything.

why? It's really hard to find a non-aluminum car radiator.
is brass a good choice?

http://www.sklep.atmp.pl/pl/p/Chlodnica-miedziana-3-kanaliki-C-330-C330-kranik-gratis/985

How does it compare to computer radiators?

62cmx40cmx10 but the hoses are 42nm in diameter, the whole radiator is made with copper. If I could make some adapters it should be easily better than PC radiators, am I right? What are the dimensions of PC radiators in the 100$(actually about 80$) range as this one is.
How much would I have to pay for a radiator of comparable size for a PC?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I definitely trust IDK knowledge; post 8. This was news to when I read it...

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2403418&highlight=tim

I also trust IDK's authority. But a lot of TIMs use abrasive particles. I wonder -- if the IC Diamond didn't make the identifiers on the processor cap illegible, would Intel give it a second thought?

And it's sort of a paradox. They're giving us processors that seem harder to cool. Both the liquid metal and nano-diamond pick up a couple extra degrees cooling as part of a strategy.

But even so. I hadn't hesitated to lap my processor caps to bare copper for many years! I rely on the warranty as a measure of processor reliability, and if I overclock it resulting in damage, I'd swallow the cost.

It's not so bad with the 5820K: it's in the usual processor price range. The 5930K and 5960X -- those would certainly give me pause.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

My PC won't be moved at all, so I don't intend to keep radiators inside the case. The first time I tried to build a water-cooler was back in the Athlon XP days, over 10 years ago. I bought a water block and I had a car radiator but the diameter of the houses didn't match the intake and outlet on the radiator and I couldn't buy an adapter. I also couldn't build my own, I didn't have the necessary tools, skills and materials. I'm still thinking about using a car radiator but what about those houses and input/output holes of the radiator? Are there any commercial adaptors available to buy? It's been my guess that a car radiator with even light airflow should outperform those computer radiators significantly, but what I don't have a solution for what went wrong for the first time. What do you guys think about using a car radiator for water-cooling? Is it feasible? Is it hard to buy/build an adapter?


why? It's really hard to find a non-aluminum car radiator.

Gee. I thought automobile radiators were copper. They always LOOKED like brass or copper! I'm SURE they were brass or copper!!

These DIY possibilities offered promise -- like you said -- if you have the right tools. AigoMorla had done things like that.

Consider the price of the MO RA3 (just one option). About $170+ if you can find it available, or willing to pay for shipping (aren't you in Poland, Lepton?)

Whether it was AlphaCool or some other outfit, there's at least another option -- free-standing, external radiator -- like the RA3. Also, you might want to look at Phobya. My memory is a little stale about that thread I linked, even if it's recent.

 

[exar333]

My PC won't be moved at all, so I don't intend to keep radiators inside the case. The first time I tried to build a water-cooler was back in the Athlon XP days, over 10 years ago. I bought a water block and I had a car radiator but the diameter of the houses didn't match the intake and outlet on the radiator and I couldn't buy an adapter. I also couldn't build my own, I didn't have the necessary tools, skills and materials. I'm still thinking about using a car radiator but what about those houses and input/output holes of the radiator? Are there any commercial adaptors available to buy? It's been my guess that a car radiator with even light airflow should outperform those computer radiators significantly, but what I don't have a solution for what went wrong for the first time. What do you guys think about using a car radiator for water-cooling? Is it feasible? Is it hard to buy/build an adapter?


why? It's really hard to find a non-aluminum car radiator.
is brass a good choice?

Copper + aluminum = galvanic corrosion.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Copper + aluminum = galvanic corrosion.

That's absolutely true. But I've never seen an automobile radiator that wasn't brass or copper. Am I suffering under some misconception?

I think another option, as opposed to a radiator from an automobile main cooling system, is the heater-core which is part of -- fed by -- that system. But there's the problem with the fittings.

You could go to a machine-shop and have them make it work for you -- probably at some expense.

 

[exar333]

​

That's absolutely true. But I've never seen an automobile radiator that wasn't brass or copper. Am I suffering under some misconception?

I think another option, as opposed to a radiator from an automobile main cooling system, is the heater-core which is part of -- fed by -- that system. But there's the problem with the fittings.

You could go to a machine-shop and have them make it work for you -- probably at some expense.

Most modern car radiators are aluminum now. This is becaus they design most cars for use with a variety of aluminum parts, and mixing metals is obviously bad. Plus, aluminum radiators are generally much cheaper now too. You could get a big, beefy copper/brass auto rad and it would probably do great. 🙂

 

[Lepton87]

Yes most Car Radiators have aluminum fins with copper tubing but I found a copper only radiator from a tractor.

http://www.sklep.atmp.pl/pl/p/Chlodnica-miedziana-3-kanaliki-C-330-C330-kranik-gratis/985

This is a radiator for a tractor URSUS coincidentally I live in Ursus which is a district of Warsaw in Poland 😉

Consider the price of the MO RA3 (just one option). About $170+ if you can find it available, or willing to pay for shipping (aren't you in Poland, Lepton?)

Yes, Poland. That MO RA3 costs 800PLN where I live while the Radiator I linked earlier costs 310PLN so that's as much as 2.5X more expensive, that's massive. I can build a whole water-cooling for the price of that MO RA3.


As for the dimensions:

475,5 x 65 x 430 mm For MO RA3 vs 620x400x100x so the Tractor Radiator is significantly bigger it's : 13276mm3 vs 24800mm3 so the tractor radiator is almost 2 times bigger. Did I make those measurement correct? They are relatively correct but I'm not sure about absolute value. What question remains, how do I put the hoses in the tractor radiator? The hose diameter is 42nm

 

[OlyAR15]

I don't have a ton of watercooling experience (this is only my 3rd attempt) but my system is similar to yours, apart from the number of hard drives.

My WC system is composed of a Koolance CPU-380 block for the CPU, EK blocks for the GTX980s, Swiftech MCP35X pump, Swiftech Micro-Res, Alphacool 420mm rad, and Koolance 140mm rad. This is all housed in a Phanteks Enthoo Pro case. Tubing is a mixture of 3/8" and 1/2" ID Tygon.

I have it plumbed in parallel, with the 140mm rad in series after the CPU before it joins back just before the 420mm radiator. I wasn't sure whether a single 420mm rad would be sufficient to cool the entire system, given the reviews I've read about overclocking the Haswell-e and the temps it can reach. In retrospect, I probably would have been fine without that extra 140mm rad, since my CPU temps don't go higher than around 60C and my GPUs don't go much above 50.

As far as thermal compound, I just used some leftover Arctic Silver (several years old) and whatever compound EK provides with their waterblocks.

Unless you are going for record cold temps, you really aren't going to gain much from going with automotive radiators.

 

[Tweakin]

I'm going to jump in here.

As someone already stated, the rad is the most important piece of gear in my opinion as it will determine the thermal capacity you can throw at it. I would also like to point out that all rads ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL! The deciding factor for a rad is the FPI ratio, which stands for fins per inch. The lower the number, the easier air will flow through the rad. This will make for a nice silent system, however...it limits the surface area so it may impead the total capicity of the rad for cooling.

One to the next item...pumps. Pumps vary in specs wildly between vendors. Swiftech has been a staple for me for several years, however they are now sealed units meaning if you remove the stock cover, you just lost your warrenty. The current mcp35x is a variable pwm motor that has good volume and great head pressure, and it comes in a dual package.

The res is another item often overlooked. I like to have the volume of the res match or exceed the total volume of all the rads combined, this is just a personal observation from my own experience and it slows the delta change when hammering the system.

As for thermal material, I have been using Artic Silver for 20+ years and see no reason to change. I have no doubt that some might gain me an extra c here or there, but in a water system I just don't worry about it much. I don't hammer my i5 very hard, 4.2Ghz @ 1.25vCore and the thermas never break 70 under synthetic tests and in real life usage hardly break 50. This is a personal choice as I see it.

So, my system uses a mcp35x the flows through two Alphacool watblocks riding on GTX-760's in series. From there it flows through a XSPC RayStorm black and out to the fist rad which is an alphacool ST-30. This then continues into another alphacool XT-45 rad and then back into a Bitspower Z-Line 250ml res and back to the pump. I don't run dual pumps and I only use Distilled water with a silver coil and biocide.

My pump idels down to 30% (rougly .75GPM) during normal use and up to 100% upon full demand. It is also decoupled from the system by soft Tygen tubing to keep the noise down and suspended for cooling reasons (they do get hot!). My fans are all low rpm eloop items that run at 500rpm or so, and will go full-boar at 60c, all controlled by the bios. All my tubing is 3/18 ID 5/8 OD. I've used bigger tubing and never noticied any difference in cooling efficiency.

I would also like to recommend that you visit Martins Liquid Lab, lots of good reviews and information to consume.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lepton87]

Unless you are going for record cold temps, you really aren't going to gain much from going with automotive radiators.

Temperature wasn't the only criterion, the other was price as automotive radiators are much cheaper, the one
I found is an automotive rad that is all copper and it's available for 2.5x lower prices than MO RA3 while also being 2 times bigger. The only problem is how am I going to connect it to the pump and water-block? Anyone has any idea?

 

[OlyAR15]

Temperature wasn't the only criterion, the other was price as automotive radiators are much cheaper, the one
I found is an automotive rad that is all copper and it's available for 2.5x lower prices than MO RA3 while also being 2 times bigger. The only problem is how am I going to connect it to the pump and water-block? Anyone has any idea?

That MO RA3 rad is complete overkill for your system, so I can imagine that the car radiator is even more overkill. However, if you already have it, the easiest way is to bring it to an auto shop and have them weld the openings to the radiator closed, then drill and tap G1/4" BSP openings that will allow you to use any of the common watercooling fittings. You might even be able to do it yourself by just epoxying plate copper over the openings and drilling and expoxying the appropriate fittings.

I wonder, though, whether any cost savings would be lost with having to get an appropriate size pump to move the water through the rad and back into your pc. Not to mention a fan large enough for the automotive radiator.

 

[Lepton87]

That MO RA3 rad is complete overkill for your system, so I can imagine that the car radiator is even more overkill. However, if you already have it, the easiest way is to bring it to an auto shop and have them weld the openings to the radiator closed, then drill and tap G1/4" BSP openings that will allow you to use any of the common watercooling fittings. You might even be able to do it yourself by just epoxying plate copper over the openings and drilling and expoxying the appropriate fittings.

I wonder, though, whether any cost savings would be lost with having to get an appropriate size pump to move the water through the rad and back into your pc. Not to mention a fan large enough for the automotive radiator.

I have neither but that automotive is 2.5x cheaper and I want to add GF cards into the loop, maybe even more than two in the future.

 

[OlyAR15]

I have neither but that automotive is 2.5x cheaper and I want to add GF cards into the loop, maybe even more than two in the future.

Again, I have 1 CPU and 2 GPU blocks being cooled, 1 140mm rad and 1 420 (3x140mm) rad and my temps are more than cool enough. I'm an overclocking newb so I haven't pushed either my CPU or GPU to their limits (I have my GPUs o/c to 1400MHz but they can probably go higher). So I have about 78,400mm2 of radiator surface (both rads are 30mm thick) and I can easily cool another GPU with it. In fact, I can probably cool the CPU and 3 GPU on just the 420mm rad. Temps may not be the best but they will probably be better than air. Also, my pump is only running at about 3000 RPM so it isn't even maxed out, and my fans are running less than 900 RPM.

Again, there is nothing wrong with using an automotive radiator. It should be more than enough for just about any cooling needs you may encounter. Just be sure that the total cost of everything ends up being cheaper. You need to take into account the resistances of the rad, both to air and water, in order to choose the correct fan(s) and pump(s) which can eat into any savings from buying an auto rad. Then there is the noise factor. I don't know how important noise is to you.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Just an additional note. I'm retired, and we don't buy new cars. I have a mechanic I can trust and a '95 SUV that we maybe run 10 to 20 miles per week. My hands-on experience with cars informed my assumption that the radiators were all brass or copper.

But -- maybe it was Lepton -- someone noted that the auto radiators have copper/brass tubes and aluminum fins? Nothing wrong with that! It's the innards contacting the coolant that matter. Am I wrong about that?!

Also. I proposed earlier on this forum that you could clamp your temperatures on the processor to within 10C of idle. You could even use a bong cooler to bring it below ambient and above dew-point. But once you reduce load temperatures of any kind to within the normal operating expectations of the CPU's manufacturer, there shouldn't be any thermally-caused electrical noise to upset your stability.

So I'm thinking that the water-cooling solution would only need to keep the core average-of-maximums to 70C. The TCASE spec for these E chips is 66. Under all other operating conditions, I can't see the temperatures above 50C if you can achieve that.

With this in mind, I myself would hold the MO RA3 or equivalent external solutions as options while seeking to get the radiators to fit within the case, and in such a way that the other components are no less accessible than what you'd normally expect. So I might look for a reasonably large square radiator that would fit next to the left side-panel on a hinged frame and latch assembly -- like the plastic frame you find in a CM Stacker midtower. You'd probably want the hoses connected to the radiator closest to the hinge, or you'd want slightly longer lengths of hose.

There's only the tedium and trouble of the case mod and hinges. That's a good deal of trouble right there, but once done -- "it's done." You'd simply have to account for the width of the radiator plus the fans, and use a vented side-panel (like my HAFs or the Stacker I mentioned.)

Of course, with an idea like that, it's the minutiae of measurement that reveals obstacles. The rad and fans need still to provide clearance to fit your graphics cards. . .

 

[Lepton87]

Just an additional note. I'm retired, and we don't buy new cars. I have a mechanic I can trust and a '95 SUV that we maybe run 10 to 20 miles per week. My hands-on experience with cars informed my assumption that the radiators were all brass or copper.

But -- maybe it was Lepton -- someone noted that the auto radiators have copper/brass tubes and aluminum fins? Nothing wrong with that! It's the innards contacting the coolant that matter. Am I wrong about that?!

Yes that was me, in most cases only the fins are made from aluminum and it makes perfect sense, the tubing is made from copper as that's the optimal uses of resources and weight. I bet that both a radiator with aluminum fins and copper tubing and an all copper radiator can cool the water to the same temperature at least until we get to crazy wattage in which case the difference will only be a few degrees. There was an all copper thermal right XP90C cooler and compared to the standard version it was only a few degrees better, but it was a cooler not a radiator whose only rose is to the cool water, with radiator it's far more economical to just increase the size slightly. Few people know that even though copper conducts heat about two times better than aluminum it also has a lower heat capacitance that's why barring the point of contact it's not significantly better than aluminum for radiator's surface. Back to the topic the only problem I see with that car radiator is the matter of connecting it all together. How am I going to connect the hoses to that radiator I don't see any adapters for sale and I don't know how to make them. Any advices? Also what WC block is the best choice not only for performance but future-proofing. I want to have a water block that has a high chance of getting a new retention when a new socket arrives even at the expense of 1-3C.



Look at the XP90 and at the XP90C an all-copper version of that cooler, but with a water radiator it just makes more sense to make it a bit bigger ale achieve the same cooling capacity for much lower cost unless you want to keep it inside the case, then the only downside to copper is its weight not to mention cost.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Yes that was me, in most cases only the fins are made from aluminum and it makes perfect sense, the tubing is made from copper as that's the optimal uses of resources and weight. I bet that both a radiator with aluminum fins and copper tubing and an all copper radiator can cool the water to the same temperature at least until we get to crazy wattage in which case the difference will only be a few degrees. There was an all copper thermal right XP90C cooler and compared to the standard version it was only a few degrees better, but it was a cooler not a radiator whose only rose is to the cool water, with radiator it's far more economical to just increase the size slightly. Few people know that even though copper conducts heat about two times better than aluminum it also has a lower heat capacitance that's why barring the point of contact it's not significantly better than aluminum for radiator's surface. Back to the topic the only problem I see with that car radiator is the matter of connecting it all together. How am I going to connect the hoses to that radiator I don't see any adapters for sale and I don't know how to make them. Any advices? Also what WC block is the best choice not only for performance but future-proofing. I want to have a water block that has a high chance of getting a new retention when a new socket arrives even at the expense of 1-3C.



Look at the XP90 and at the XP90C an all-copper version of that cooler, but with a water radiator it just makes more sense to make it a bit bigger ale achieve the same cooling capacity for much lower cost unless you want to keep it inside the case, then the only downside to copper is its weight not to mention cost.

Yeah! The weight! The only reason I would discount system weight for myself: I've got my cases on 2.5" double-wheeled and braked casters!

I cannot advise (yet) about waterblocks. That's a lesser concern in my own plans and preparations, and I'll be asking around as you are doing now.

If you want to use a car radiator, maybe AigoMorla can chime in here about the logistical details. But if I were preparing to do it, I would find a small independent machine-shop or a specialist automotive radiator shop (some only do work with radiators and heater-cores). They would be likely able to add the threads and fittings to the radiator you need to install standard water-cooling fittings. They'd likely also be able to leak-test it for you.

Of course, you'll have to pay them. So you'll be replacing at least part of one cost or cost-saving with another.

 

[guskline]

Interesting thread. Have a MO RA3-420 coupled with a XSPC RX360 and enjoy it. Too bad the price is so high in Poland. MO RAs are made next door in Germany.