Considering my first Water Cooled build. . . seeking input and advice.

[Lupus42]

Ok, I think I'm ready to take the plunge into water cooling and build my first custom loop.

I'm building a new PC after the first of the year. Here is what I'm looking to build:

Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
Gigabyte Z390 AORUS ULTRA ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (Owned Already)
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Samsung 860 Evo 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive (Owned Already)
EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB FTW3 ULTRA+ Video Card
Phanteks Enthoo Pro Tempered Glass ATX Full Tower Case
EVGA SuperNOVA P2 850 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Owned Already)
HP 1270i DVD/CD Writer (Owned Already)
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy Fx 192 kHz Sound Card (Owned Already)
Asus VG278HE 27.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor (Owned Already)

Because it's my first Water Loop I wanted to get input from people with experience. I'm looking at this kit to start with: https://www.alphacool.com/shop/new-...copper-45-2x120mm-complete-kit?number=1012756 I can pick it up here in the states on sale for $188.85 right now. That's not a whole lot more than the EVGA AIO I was looking at.

I plan on running as much of an Overclock as I can get away with. I'd also like to OC the GPU, but I'll have to wait a bit till I can add a GPU water block. I know EK makes one for the card I'm looking at.

Thank you in advance for all your input and advice.

 

[EarthDog]

That's a decent cpu only kit. It wont do well with another 215W added to the loop. You would need more radiator...another 2x120mm. Personally, I'd just take the plunge with a custom loop instead. Otherwise, you are stuck in their ecosystem.

 

[DaPoets]

Take a look at the Aorus Master instead of the Ultra. I remember Buildzoid doing a very solid review of the VRMs for all of them and the Master was the better VRM.

This is a clip from his video. I bring this up because you said you want to overclock as far as you can.

 

[ssjwizard]

I agree with EarthDog if you are already going that far why not go custom loop?

Also I have to note the 4 1Tb HDDs rather than say adding a single 4Tb drive to the ones you already have?
Why not keep the 1Tb for OS/APPs, slave the 1Tb to be for critical media / additional apps/games and use the 4Tb as a backup / storage disk?
If the goal is to run the 4 1Tb disks in some sort of RAID config I think you might be aiming at the wrong target.

 

[Lupus42]

I agree with EarthDog if you are already going that far why not go custom loop?

Please elaborate. What would you recommend for a custom loop for a CPU only to start, with expansion in mind?

Also I have to note the 4 1Tb HDDs rather than say adding a single 4Tb drive to the ones you already have?
Why not keep the 1Tb for OS/APPs, slave the 1Tb to be for critical media / additional apps/games and use the 4Tb as a backup / storage disk?
If the goal is to run the 4 1Tb disks in some sort of RAID config I think you might be aiming at the wrong target.

Yes, I am planning to run the 4 1TB HDD's in a RAID5 Array. Although I found that the 3GB version of the HDD's was only $20 more recently and so have decided to go with those. The RAID array is intended to be used for Mass Storage.

 

[Blaylock]

If I was starting from scratch all over again I would go with this kit for CPU with room to expand to the GPU. The Enthoo Pro can house a 360mm rad up top and in the future add a 240 up front or at the bottom along with your GPU block.

 

[DaPoets]

RAID 5 is a pain, more trouble than what it's worth. You are better off going raid 0+1 and back that up w/ an external drive (I just got x2 8TB external drives for $125 each)
With RAID 5 I would 100% back that up w/ external drives. Raid 5 is so on it's way out the door that many brand new high end motherboards don't even support RAID 5 these days.

 

[Blaylock]

... many brand new high end motherboards don't even support RAID 5 these days.

Do you have any sources for this?

 

[Lupus42]

If I was starting from scratch all over again I would go with this kit for CPU with room to expand to the GPU. The Enthoo Pro can house a 360mm rad up top and in the future add a 240 up front or at the bottom along with your GPU block.

Thanks. Picked up the parts yesterday at Microcenter. I was astounded at their prices. I saved $40 on the CPU alone over what I could find it online for. In total they saved me $75 on my build.

I picked up the EKWB P360 kit that you recommended. I also ordered a few extra fittings from EK so I could add a drain and fill line for the loop. I'll post pics and updates as I build it.

 

[DaPoets]

Do you have any sources for this?

Sure, here is the brand new Threadripper 3 TRX40 Aorus Master motherboard that just came out (and I'm using it) and you'll see in the Storage Interface section is shows support for RAID 0, 1, and 10. If you look at others that are recently new you will see this trend.

https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/TRX40-AORUS-MASTER-rev-10/sp#sp

 

[Lupus42]

Sure, here is the brand new Threadripper 3 TRX40 Aorus Master motherboard that just came out (and I'm using it) and you'll see in the Storage Interface section is shows support for RAID 0, 1, and 10. If you look at others that are recently new you will see this trend.

https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/TRX40-AORUS-MASTER-rev-10/sp#sp

I've looked it up and it seems to me that the fact that your AMD motherboard doesn't support RAID 5 has nothing to do with the MB manufacturer and is a limitation of the AMD Chipset. You can find that here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_AMD_chipsets#

While AMD chose to drop RAID 5 support in their chipsets since 2016, Intel continued to support RAID 5.

It would seem that RAID support is based primarily on the Chipset.

 

[Lupus42]

Ok, started cleaning the radiator today. I'm following the instructions that were provided here:

and using White Vinegar and Distilled Water. I've just put that in and will let it set over night, perhaps about 12 to 14 hours. Empty it out and then proceed to flush it multiple times until the water comes out clean. I plan to follow that with a round of hot water and baking soda to neutralize the PH levels. My wife is a middle school science teacher so getting a ph testing strip shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[Blaylock]

Sure, here is the brand new Threadripper 3 TRX40 Aorus Master motherboard that just came out (and I'm using it) and you'll see in the Storage Interface section is shows support for RAID 0, 1, and 10. If you look at others that are recently new you will see this trend.

https://www.gigabyte.com/us/Motherboard/TRX40-AORUS-MASTER-rev-10/sp#sp

Hmmm, very interesting. Thanks for the link.


@Lupus42 - I've never heard of anyone here using baking soda. You might want to double check that.

 

[Nebulous]

@Lupus42 - I've never heard of anyone here using baking soda. You might want to double check that.

Baking soda? Hmm...I remember using baking soda to make......oh waitaminute.....

 

[Lupus42]

Baking soda? Hmm...I remember using baking soda to make......oh waitaminute.....

Check this link: https://www.mayhems.net/products/mayhems-blitz-kit

Video at the bottom. At the 30:00 minute mark he starts talking about neutralizing the PH level with baking soda.

 

[Blaylock]

That's interesting. He's using the baking soda because he used an acid cleaning solution. I have not cleaned my gear in that manner. I'm sure there are some here that have. I would venture to guess that a deep cleaning like that would only be necessary after using colored dyes or a growth problem of some sort.

For a new build like you have we normally just do the rad dance.

 

[Lupus42]

That's interesting. He's using the baking soda because he used an acid cleaning solution. I have not cleaned my gear in that manner. I'm sure there are some here that have. I would venture to guess that a deep cleaning like that would only be necessary after using colored dyes or a growth problem of some sort.

For a new build like you have we normally just do the rad dance.

Ah, ok. Well, it was done. Got tons of tiny flecks out. I did "the Rad Dance" until the water that drained through a coffee filter came out clean. Took 14 flushes with distilled water to get all the junk out. My first water loop. I'm a bit paranoid about screwing it up.

 

[Nebulous]

I remember way back during the first stages of watercooling I used to clean my waterblocks with baking soda, but not the rads. And back then we used Automotive Heatercores for rads. Boiling hot water and shake it hard. That's the Rad dance

Here's my very first: https://www.overclockers.com/the-nebulous-cube/ and this was 17 years ago

Ahh, the memories!