First Custom Loop

I am an XSPC fan. EK is bullshit when it comes to truly supporting it's customers.
Someone here said they liked them, but Amazon customers said the guy selling EK is selling fakes, and EK said they don;t support products sold from 3rd parties. So, I'm pretty turned off by EK right now, at least from Amazon. However, the same guy is selling XSPC also. Name is Titan Rig. Titan Rig
 
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When I eventually redo things I'd like to try Aquacomputer parts. I have one of their Aquaero 6xt units and like it very much. Would be neat to pair up a couple of their pwm d5s with it.
 
What custom brands are you all using? I've heard conflicting reports on EK and others. I've seen some really bad reviews on EK Amazon from a reseller called Titan Rig. What's up?
 
What custom brands are you all using? I've heard conflicting reports on EK and others. I've seen some really bad reviews on EK Amazon from a reseller called Titan Rig. What's up?
I'm using:
Barrow cpu block
Bykski GPU block
Barrow compression fittings
Koolance res/pump combo
Both an Aquacomputer and an EK d5 pump
HWlabs radiator
Some primoflex tubing and also some tubing off the shelf from Menards.

Like kitchen appliances I don't do brand matching. I grab whatever from whoever makes what I want at a reasonable price.
 
Someone here said they liked them, but Amazon customers said the guy selling EK is selling fakes, and EK said they don;t support products sold from 3rd parties. So, I'm pretty turned off by EK right now, at least from Amazon. However, the same guy is selling XSPC also. Name is Titan Rig. Titan Rig
titan rig is fine but buy from their webstore the prices are cheaper and they have coupons all the time, I got that xspc photon 170 v3 combo I was talking about above from their store as well as a ton of other stuff lol, their clearance section has a lot of great deals. frozencpu has a july 4th coupon right now too if they have what you want.
 
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titan rig is fine but buy from their webstore the prices are cheaper and they have coupons all the time, I got that xspc photon 170 v3 combo I was talking about above from their store as well as a ton of other stuff lol, their clearance section has a lot of great deals. frozencpu has a july 4th coupon right now too if they have what you want.
Guy on Amazon said EX wouldn't support his pump/rez sold by Titan Rig, though, hmmm :( I could try to buy from their website, but then I have to pay shipping. Their website prices are the same as Amazon, minus shipping from Amazon Prime. There isn't a lot of custom loop stuff on Amazon, except for EK's stuff. I mean you have some Corsair, etc., but the sheer options EK has on Amazon far surpasses any of the other name brands. I'm not buying noname Chinese shit breands for a liquid cooling loop. I might buy cheap-ass Chinese fans for the aesthetic looks only, given they were in a part of my case where I could replace them quickly - because their mean time between failure (MTBF) is about 20 hours, hahahaahaha. EK does have some nice options, like their flat reservoirs and short DDC tube rez. Just scared to buy it now that I've heard people here and on Amazon having problems.
 
I've been recommended PrimoChill by a number of users here, especially for their soft tubing. Hard tubing I can't speak for. I will be using PrimoChill's softlines in my first custom loop build later this year (hopefully!) once I get my hands on a new case and some upgraded equipment.
 
Guy on Amazon said EX wouldn't support his pump/rez sold by Titan Rig, though, hmmm :( I could try to buy from their website, but then I have to pay shipping. Their website prices are the same as Amazon, minus shipping from Amazon Prime. There isn't a lot of custom loop stuff on Amazon, except for EK's stuff. I mean you have some Corsair, etc., but the sheer options EK has on Amazon far surpasses any of the other name brands. I'm not buying noname Chinese shit breands for a liquid cooling loop. I might buy cheap-ass Chinese fans for the aesthetic looks only, given they were in a part of my case where I could replace them quickly - because their mean time between failure (MTBF) is about 20 hours, hahahaahaha. EK does have some nice options, like their flat reservoirs and short DDC tube rez. Just scared to buy it now that I've heard people here and on Amazon having problems.
Not sure why you're obsessed with amazon, just buy from a watercooling vendor you can call them up and ask questions too. They're all pretty chill and easy going, I tend to order some nonstandard stuff sometimes so I like to call and verify they actually have them anyway.
 
I've bought from eBay, performance-pc, and AliExpress (for the barrow/bykski stuff)

Only Amazon in a pinch.
 
I've been recommended PrimoChill by a number of users here, especially for their soft tubing. Hard tubing I can't speak for. I will be using PrimoChill's softlines in my first custom loop build later this year (hopefully!) once I get my hands on a new case and some upgraded equipment.
All mine is PrimoChill.
 
Not sure why you're obsessed with amazon, just buy from a watercooling vendor you can call them up and ask questions too. They're all pretty chill and easy going, I tend to order some nonstandard stuff sometimes so I like to call and verify they actually have them anyway.
It's easy, no shipping, and Amazon does all the secretarial work, like keeping my receipts all in one easily accessible place.

performance-pc rocking it!This Bykski aluminum housing is dope.
https://www.performance-pcs.com/wat...-b-nwd5plusdnact210-b-nwd5plusdnact210-g.html

Not interested in the DNA or color, just the aluminum housing. It looks so much better than plastic.
 
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Does anyone know what bracket this is? The guy on Youtube didn't list it in the parts info :( It's exactly what I want, but in a 140mm size. I'm ging to use the
PumpBracket.jpg
 
Its an ek 120 or 140 rad bracket but I've no idea what the exact name might be. Their website is probably the quickest way to find it.

The first thing I did was look there too, but it you look at the bracket, it's nothing like those on the EK website. Look closely at the bottom brackets against the radiator. Those other mounts are clutered looking. The one aboive is clean as hell, like they should be, and allows you to move the rad/pump back and forth exactly where you need it. I really want that. It's clean as hell.

Images of it start at 2:41 (I'm starting to think it is an EK bracket that they don't make anymore. If so, that's really sad becasue it does everything their newer mounts do and it's 99% cleaner.
 
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Ah, this guy. Guess it is in a different category, found it by searching "ek loop" on ek's site.

Edit: wronng link, fixed
That's it yeah. It's a 120mm, though. However, it already comes with 120mm mounts. I really wanted to mount it to a 140mm fan, but it looks like it's going to have to be 120mm.

Included mounts, EK Mounting FL 120:
 
I'm also thinking about an inline flow indicator, since you can't really see fluid moving. Any suggestions?

I think I have the pump/rez picking done. I still can't figure out how to mount the above combo to a 140mm fan. The inlcuded hardware mounts it to a 120, You would thnk EK would make a 140mm option. Frustrating. I'm getting close to making a block decision, too.

Alphacool 12951 Eisblock XPX Aurora PRO​

61-W3N8L8dL._AC_SL1200_.jpg


EKWB EK-Quantum Kinetic FLT 120
615c53KNVAL._AC_SL1200_.jpg


PrimoChill EximoSX 120mm
51GHZE+NXNL._AC_SL1500_.jpg




So:
  1. PETG VS Acrylic?
  2. Fittings. Reading where people are reporting the EK Quantum torque fittings are leaking.
  3. Flow indicator.
 
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Here is my thoughts on EK and Amazon. I buy a good bit of stuff from Amazon. One of my go to items is the China water cooling compression fittings. I have used plenty of them in the last few years. I like my old school Koolance fittings and the new Corsair ones but.......... 4 fittings for 12 bucks? When you water cool as many components as I do you look for less expensive aka not cheaply made. As for the 90 degree and 45 degree rotary fittings I have had great service. Not one single leak. Mind you we are talking soft tube compression fittings. Cheap tube res from Amazon got me buy in a pinch. Still in use today. Now to EK. I have used many of their products. From rads to blocks. I will use only EK GPU blocks if I can. Their CPU blocks are in 3 of the 5 of my rigs. From a use stand point their blocks fit the best and no issues. I say all this not because I heard someone say this or that but from actual use.
 
I'm also thinking about an inline flow indicator, since you can't really see fluid moving. Any suggestions?

I think I have the pump/rez picking done. I still can't figure out how to mount the above combo to a 140mm fan. The inlcuded hardware mounts it to a 120, You would thnk EK would make a 140mm option. Frustrating. I'm getting close to making a block decision, too.

Alphacool 12951 Eisblock XPX Aurora PRO​

View attachment 488775
Unless you're using threadripper just get the regular eisblock and not the pro.
 
I'm seeing two different sizes for tubing OD: 12mm, 14mm, and 16mm. Obviously one tubing wall is thicker than the other given that the ID is 1/4" on both. What do I nee to know about that?
 
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I'm seeing two different sizes for tubing OD: 12mm, 14mm, and 16mm. Obviously one tubing wall is thicker than the other given that the ID is 1/4" on both. What do I nee to know about that?
Thinner tubing is easier to bend but kinks easier. Thicker walled tubing is the opposite. I use 1/2"x3/4" and you have to soften it up in hot water before doing any bends, but it's hard to kink.
 
Thinner tubing is easier to bend but kinks easier. Thicker walled tubing is the opposite. I use 1/2"x3/4" and you have to soften it up in hot water before doing any bends, but it's hard to kink.
What about using the silicon insert. Doesn't that keep it from kiiinking?
 
What about using the silicon insert. Doesn't that keep it from kiiinking?
If you're talking about bending hard tubing yes, generally most people don't support soft tubing with anything these days but coils around them use to be sort-of popular back in the day.
 
If you're talking about bending hard tubing yes, generally most people don't support soft tubing with anything these days but coils around them use to be sort-of popular back in the day.
I was talking about hard tubing, yes. This will be a hard tubing loop.
 
Oh, idk if OD matters when it comes to hard tubing. My comment was only for soft tubing. Sorry about that.
 
Which wold be best. Some people say the 16mm looks too big for a small build, but the 12mm OD is too wimpy looking.
Tbh I went with 14mm in my last build and it looked really good in a full atx case but I agree 12mm is really small. Kinda looks like mickieDs straws without the stripes ;D
If you have a microcenter near you I would head over there and get an idea of the differences between 14 and 16mm. If not there are lots of rig pics out there to give you a good idea.
 
Which wold be best. Some people say the 16mm looks too big for a small build, but the 12mm OD is too wimpy looking.
Tbh I went with 14mm in my last build and it looked really good in a full atx case but I agree 12mm is really small. Kinda looks like mickieDs straws without the stripes ;D
If you have a microcenter near you I would head over there and get an idea of the differences between 14 and 16mm. If not there are lots of rig pics out there to give you a good idea.
I was going to recommend 14cm mm as well. It's a good medium if you feel 12 is too small and 16 is too big. In an ITX build or even a mATX mini-tower then 14cm mm is probably your best option. 16 would look better in full ATX builds.

EDIT: This build from a Reddit post uses 16mm hardlines in the same case you have and I think it looks good. The ThermalTake Tower is probably large enough that the 16mm won't look oversized unlike in a SFF case such as the Meshlicious or Dan A4.
Also fixed cm to mm.
E6C2D18A-5BBA-42DB-9D12-E8576D34B311.jpeg
 
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I was going to recommend 14cm as well. It's a good medium if you feel 12 is too small and 16 is too big. In an ITX build or even a mATX mini-tower then 14cm is probably your best option. 16 would look better in full ATX builds.
14cm is about 5.5 inches...
 
I was going to recommend 14cm mm as well. It's a good medium if you feel 12 is too small and 16 is too big. In an ITX build or even a mATX mini-tower then 14cm mm is probably your best option. 16 would look better in full ATX builds.

EDIT: This build from a Reddit post uses 16mm hardlines in the same case you have and I think it looks good. The ThermalTake Tower is probably large enough that the 16mm won't look oversized unlike in a SFF case such as the Meshlicious or Dan A4.
Also fixed cm to mm.
View attachment 489637
A bit off topic, but why do hard tubing if they're going to make such sloppy bends?
 
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