New to water cooling - now I've got the water-cooling bug!

[MackTheKnight]

It has begun...

Draining the loop:


Removed the old block:



New heatkiller block is much nicer looking, imo.


Pump/Res/rad assembly rebuilt with new crossflow rad from Daz:


First tube bend - This took like 5 tries... LOL


New block installed! Looks awesome:


Pump/Rad remounted:



That's all for now!

-Mack

[MackTheKnight]

Build looks great! I love the LED ram in the x299 boards where the ram is on both sides of the cpu. very cool.

Thanks - Still on X99, but similar layouts.

Build looks great! I love the LED ram in the x299 boards where the ram is on both sides of the cpu. very cool.



I built my entire first hard tube loop like that Bart, I didn't know you were supposed to unscrew the top and add an o-ring! Never had a leak though.

I guess the tops are mostly for aesthetics. Here's hoping I don't encounter any leaks, either!

[Necrodead]

Build looks great! I love the LED ram in the x299 boards where the ram is on both sides of the cpu. very cool.

How the heck did I miss this thread!?!? Welcome to the addict club Mack! And yes, it really is that easy to displace hard tubes. I've changed hard tubes without even unscrewing the outer cap, just pulled the old tube out, shoved the new one in. Probably not the smartest thing to do! I'd probably still be on soft tube if we could find some clear soft tube that was really clear.

I built my entire first hard tube loop like that Bart, I didn't know you were supposed to unscrew the top and add an o-ring! Never had a leak though.

[MackTheKnight]

Hi Wattermain,

I love the EVGA case and especially the fact that the front is the side, as this works best with my room layout.

Sadly, I sold the Level 10. I don't have a ton of extra storage room here at home, so it is gone. It was a great case and served me well through I think 4 different builds. It just didn't have enough space for water-cooling unfortunately, but it was my favourite case next to this EVGA DG-86.

[wattermain]

That EVGA case is super nice. Like the way the side is really the front. Hope you didn't get rid of the Level 10.

[MackTheKnight]

Hehe, no worries Bart.

I am indeed addicted! LOL I am very nervous about moving to the hard tubes but I do love the look and clarity of them, compared to soft tube. I imagine they don't come apart as easy when both ends are connected in your loop.

I've some holidays coming up end of next week, so hoping to get started on this project then. I've a new heatkiller cpu block to replace the EK one, as well. I just like the looks of them better.

You're not too far North of me - about 45 mins or so to Ottawa from here! Small world!

-Mack

[Bartacus]

How the heck did I miss this thread!?!? Welcome to the addict club Mack! And yes, it really is that easy to displace hard tubes. I've changed hard tubes without even unscrewing the outer cap, just pulled the old tube out, shoved the new one in. Probably not the smartest thing to do! I'd probably still be on soft tube if we could find some clear soft tube that was really clear.

[MackTheKnight]

Thank you, Hooded. Appreciate the reassurance.

I will try and document this re-build a little better than the last update. Got a new to me camera from gdesmo, that might help. (Won't help my photography skills, sadly)

-Mack

[Hooded]

There is no doubt that it is much easier to pull a hard tube out of it's fitting as compared to soft tube compression fittings.

Looking forward to the update.

[MackTheKnight]

Greetings All!

I'm upgrading this build with hard-tubing in the next 2 to 3 weeks. Have most of the parts in now and have been doing some test fitting with hard tube. 16MM PETG tubing from Daz and his compression fittings...

Being a complete newb when it comes to hard tube, I have what is likely a stupid question...

Should it really be so easy to pull the tube out of the fitting when it's fully seated? (In comparison to soft tube) If so, I can certainly see why hard tube isn't recommended for builds that are moved around often. It's kind of scary how easy it is to pull the tube from the fittings...

Thanks for your patience with my silly questions, while I continue to learn!

-Mack

[MackTheKnight]

lol, yep - The level 10 has been retired after 5 years or so, of faithful service.

[EZ's PC's]

Nice set up man and welcome!! Did I see a level 10 hehehe.

[MackTheKnight]

Thanks

[DazMode]

Cool clock!

[MackTheKnight]

Thanks, Necro!

I am happy with the results!








I re-arranged my loop a bit and set the front intake fans to pull vs push, as that seems to encourage better airflow over the motherboard. I also stuck with distilled water and dazmode protector, as the fesor one blue was a challenge to flush from the loop as discussed in my other thread.

Overall, I like the look. As for any real-world performance gain, I definitely see improvements in 3dmark benches and the like. Also the NVME drive is very fast!

I expect more consistent framerate in VR but haven't had time to get everything re-installed yet. It's nice to have native USB3 support for the Oculus Rift.

Cheers,
Mack