Was considering going WC due to the lack of proper AIO cooling for 3960x's

Kewk

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Sep 28, 2020
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I never really cared to look into water cooling because I don't do crazy overclocking. I can run my system at a 10% OC right now with a Deedcool AIO but it is kinda hot. Can hit 90 with extreme CPU use but usually sits around 75-80 with normal use. Idle I believe is around 45-55. I do want to push the system a little bit more and I would like to bring cooling down, maybe extend the life of the system as a result but I just put some parts together and it's a bit excessive considering I had read that I should just go watercool anyways coz it's not going to be "too much more" than an AIO lol but here I am with a $650 cart on amazon >__< Perhaps my part selection is just bad? Wrong?


Parts list:
-- EKWB EK-CoolStream Classic SE 120 Slim Radiator, Single Fan, Black
-- EKWB EK-CoolStream SE 420 Radiator, Slim Triple, Black
-- 2x CONISY 120mm PC Case Cooling Fan Super Silent Computer LED High Airflow Cooler Fans - Red (2 Pack)
-- Corsair Hydro X Series, XD3 RGB, Pump/Reservoir Combo
-- Corsair CX-9059001-WW Hydro X Series, Xt Softline, 10/13mm (3/8In/ 1/2In) ID/OD, Tubing
-- Corsair Hydro X Series 90° Rotary Adapter, Chrome, 2-Pack
-- 2x Corsair Hydro X Series XF Compression 10/13mm (3/8" / 1/2") ID/OD Fittings, White, 4-Pack
-- Corsair Hydro X Series XL5 Performance Coolant, 1 Liter, Red
-- Watercool HEATKILLER IV PRO CPU Water Block, Intel CPU, Acryl
 
What do you plan to do with it? What case is it going into?

The thing with watercooling is that the price to entry is obviously crazy high, but if you get good parts they will last you years. Think of it more like buying good tools. That's the way I think about. When I upgrade platforms, I don't sell my rads or fittings too right? No you keep all that and use it on your new setup. Thus yea, high entry cost but ya pay it once.

As for your parts... I'm not a fan of your choices. There's too much Corsair which is rebranded stuff, weak rads, wrong cpu block.



https://hardforum.com/threads/build-3970x-dual-2080ti-8tb-m-2-raid-render-monster.1990145/

Here's my TR build.
 
Definitely need to go back and look over the parts again. I did this at work but need to evaluate my case again. I wasn't even considering water cooling so my case is a bit small.
 
Get a HWLabs GTR rad and push/pull that thing.

The scaling on those things with increased airflow is simply beautiful.
 
I second HWlabs but a gts will do just fine and will allow you to stay with the slim rad and work with a great variety of fans. GTR is great but really only scales with high pressure, high rpm fans. I agree with Smokingman on the corsair components, they seem cheaply made to me. Heatkiller block is good, but you need the AM4 version.
 
I went with HWL GTX rads for the win, when I upgraded the 3970x rads. The rig now runs cooler than before while overclocked. I raised the power draw target from stock 280w to 350w. The GTX rads are worth every penny.
 
The Corsair radiators are hwlabs but much easier to get hold of. An XR5 420 will see you right. If your case can take the XR7 do think about it though, you’re looking at up to 500w with an oc Threadripper, as others mentioned the 120 won’t add much, but the radiator is pretty much the most important part.

The ekwb se series are absolute trash and incredibly restrictive. Source, I’ve got one. Can’t wait to get rid of it.

Might be worth looking at barrow fittings to see if they’re any cheaper.

Crazy how much fan prices have gone up to, the specs on the ones your chose aren’t amazing but the good ones are crazy money these days.
 
Corsair rads are rebranded hardwarelabs oem L series rads. They are the same rads that ppcs sells for $30-$40 less. I mistakenly bought an xr7 thinking it was a gtx when there was a shortage of hwl rads. I paid $100 with a %10 off coupon and still paid $30 more than i would have had i bought the 360 lx at the time. I foolishly waited to read tpus review of corsairs rads until after i bought the xr7. Its not a bad rad by any means it performs well and is very high quality its just overpriced like much of corsairs gear.
Oh well. Ended up getting a gtx anyhow and kept the xr7 for a back up rig. Until then its parked in the spare parts closet.
Links to the 360 l series at ppcs for comparison.

https://www.performance-pcs.com/black-ice-nemesis-l-series-360-xtreme-radiator-nlx360-f2pb.html

https://www.performance-pcs.com/black-ice-nemesis-l-series-360-stealth-radiator-nls360-f2pb.html
 
Corsair rads are rebranded hardwarelabs oem L series rads. They are the same rads that ppcs sells for $30-$40 less. I mistakenly bought an xr7 thinking it was a gtx when there was a shortage of hwl rads. I paid $100 with a %10 off coupon and still paid $30 more than i would have had i bought the 360 lx at the time. I foolishly waited to read tpus review of corsairs rads until after i bought the xr7. Its not a bad rad by any means it performs well and is very high quality its just overpriced like much of corsairs gear.
Oh well. Ended up getting a gtx anyhow and kept the xr7 for a back up rig. Until then its parked in the spare parts closet.
Links to the 360 l series at ppcs for comparison.

https://www.performance-pcs.com/black-ice-nemesis-l-series-360-xtreme-radiator-nlx360-f2pb.html

https://www.performance-pcs.com/black-ice-nemesis-l-series-360-stealth-radiator-nls360-f2pb.html
Not a bad price if you're on a budget. At least you still get the great HWLabs quality.
 
If you can get HWLabs absolutely do, I find generally the availability is shocking though, but as per hititnquitit's links it looks like it might have improved a bit.

Corsair do have a price premium for sure, I do kinda like what they've done with their new custom cooling stuff though, basically just oem'd the best parts and put a corsair badge on rather than reinvent things that are mediocre. It's all pretty fricking high quality. Just expensive. The badge I generally don't give a shit about (as it's in a machine under my desk) but general quality and most importantly availability is my key bit.

When someone is talking a processor _this_ expensive though, I tend to assume they're not quite as budget restrained :)
 
If you can get HWLabs absolutely do, I find generally the availability is shocking though, but as per hititnquitit's links it looks like it might have improved a bit.

Corsair do have a price premium for sure, I do kinda like what they've done with their new custom cooling stuff though, basically just oem'd the best parts and put a corsair badge on rather than reinvent things that are mediocre. It's all pretty fricking high quality. Just expensive. The badge I generally don't give a shit about (as it's in a machine under my desk) but general quality and most importantly availability is my key bit.

When someone is talking a processor _this_ expensive though, I tend to assume they're not quite as budget restrained :)

HWL rads are not hard to get. One can ALWAYS get em from PPCS, if not Amazon. Though Amazon selection is not near that of a real WC vendor such as PPCS.

I would never recommend anyone get Corsair crap. The premium just to get their name on something rebranded is ridiculous. Get the real shit, don't pay for a stupid label.
 
Not a bad price if you're on a budget. At least you still get the great HWLabs quality.

Wait till you get to the top end rads like the GTX, 150 for a 480mm but damn it's worth it. And it's not actually more expensive than competitors like the EK XE or Acool's Monster which is even more expensive. On the other hand the Nemesis L series are excellent rads on the thin platform. The Nemesis are the best thin rads to begin with and the L series for low profile make them easy to fit into ridiculously tight spaces like my Phanteks 719. Man what a stupid case lol! It only fits 30mm max thickness rads and barely at that, you still have to dremel it.
 
HWL rads are not hard to get. One can ALWAYS get em from PPCS, if not Amazon. Though Amazon selection is not near that of a real WC vendor such as PPCS.

I would never recommend anyone get Corsair crap. The premium just to get their name on something rebranded is ridiculous. Get the real shit, don't pay for a stupid label.
Fair enough but not all of us are in the US, it’s unfortunate that HWLabs have *always* had a pretty crap distribution channel globally. The reason I ended up with ekwb SE shit 3 years ago and as true in Europe as APAC. I should have caveated it in my first post though.

I would also say there was a period (when I was buying) earlier in the year when you couldn’t get them anywhere. I don’t know if it was covid, or them oeming Corsair and Bitspower but it was hard as I was trying.

I can deliver stuff to my US address but by the time it’s all landed here and with sales tax and the lottery of import duty’s it doesn’t always add up and more easily available options can make sense so i thought it was worth just pointing out options that are equivalent as not everyone realises who really makes stuff. For buying, In my case I can use forwarding to get away from state sales tax but I’m much more likely to get pinged as new goods vs sending it to a CA address and having family open it and send it “used”.

I don’t disagree that you should buy the original if you can, I wouldn’t say that they’re “shit” though. I’ve been really pleasantly surprised with the new watercooling stuff, over say their keyboards etc which are only useful for beating people to death with.

We all have our brand biases but I can still appreciate nice things, I’m passionately anti ekwb for example and have full Phanteks fittings but I can’t say I’m not tempted by the satin torques.
 
Wait till you get to the top end rads like the GTX, 150 for a 480mm but damn it's worth it. And it's not actually more expensive than competitors like the EK XE or Acool's Monster which is even more expensive. On the other hand the Nemesis L series are excellent rads on the thin platform. The Nemesis are the best thin rads to begin with and the L series for low profile make them easy to fit into ridiculously tight spaces like my Phanteks 719. Man what a stupid case lol! It only fits 30mm max thickness rads and barely at that, you still have to dremel it.
I lucked out and got my GTR 480 for $130, but that was on ebay.
 
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