Fitting a water-cooling system with rigid hoses - the top-of-the-range cooling system
I've installed water-cooling systems several times before, but only with flexible hoses. The idea of installing a top-of-the-range water-cooling system with rigid hoses had been on my mind for a long time. After a long period of reflection, I've finally taken the plunge and would like to share my experience with you.
The beginning
Everything you need to assemble such a PC can be found in the photo above, neatly lined up on my table. Before you embark on such a project, precise planning is essential. The choice of components must be carefully considered, because a water-cooling system is made up of countless small parts. All it takes is one missing part for the project to fall through.
So we start with the screwing. First, various screws need to be removed, here I recommend that everyone has a storage box. In particular, if you want to transform your motherboard or graphics card, many small screws need to be unscrewed and then screwed back in. The best thing to do is to use a compartment for each type of screw and label the compartments once they've been filled, if you're having trouble remembering where the screws are.
The centrepiece
The Intel Core i7 6900K CPU is mounted and ready to receive the thermal paste. I'm using Thermal Grizzly Krynoaut here, as in my opinion it has by far the best thermal conductivity. The motherboard, a Rampage V Edition 10, is now ready to be fitted with the water cooling system.
In addition to the CPU, I chose at the same time to also cool the North and Southbridge. Not because it's absolutely necessary, but simply because I like doing it and because I can.
Then it's on to the GPU. This makes the most sense since, apart from the CPU, the biggest sources of heat are indeed the graphics cards. Extreme care should be taken here when you remove the cooler from the graphics card, as small cables are often still attached.
As far as graphics cards are concerned, any transformation also results in the loss of warranty rights, with the exception of EVGA cards: for these, warranty rights remain as long as the card is not damaged. For the graphics card, I also use Krynoaut thermal paste.
PC modding obliges!
Since I'm already transforming the components, I'm of course also taking the opportunity to deal with the RAM. To do this, I've picked up the Modding Kit for my Corsair Dominator from Cablemod. It includes a black aluminium cover that replaces the silver one, with plastic inserts in different colours. The Dominator memory has white LEDs, so it's possible to make them light up in a different colour.
Unfortunately, the kit is not yet available from us. However, it's only a matter of time now, as we're working hard to be able to offer you more products from Cablemod.
The components are ready. Next, let's move on to the enclosure. I've chosen a large tower from Phanteks. This one will be completely full as I've provided two loops. I don't want to write you a novel, pictures are more telling.
There are two transformations I need to make to the case. On the top, provide a slot on the PSU cover into which the Aquaero control will then be inserted. A second hole needs to be drilled, purely for aesthetic reasons. At the end, we'll see if you can find the place where the second hole was cut on my Enthoo Primo. Anyone who finds it is invited to let me know by leaving a comment. A winner will be drawn at random from all the correct answers. Find out more at the end of the blog.
Before the water cooling system can be fitted, one final improvement: the cables are sheathed. Sheathing cables is extremely complex and requires a great deal of skill. It's not always easy to loosen the pins on the various cables quickly. A modding project is no longer conceivable without cable sheathing. Hats off to those who do it all themselves! To be honest, sleeving the fans and the two pumps was enough for me. For the SATA cables and the power supply cables, I'm relying on Cablemod kits. The Cablemod cables that we offer in part are actually sheathed in fabric. This makes them extremely pretty and elegant and the guys do a very good job with the cables.
The water cooling system
Let's get to the most interesting part: fitting the water-cooling system. I'm intentionally leaving out the assembly of the components. That would definitely go beyond the scope of the blog. I'm using two radiators, one 480mm and the other 240mm. That's more than enough for the CPU, GPU, Northbridge and Southbridge. Both the radiators and the case are fitted with Corsair ML 120/140 Pro fans. I've deliberately not used LED fans here, as I wanted to keep things fairly simple and only highlight certain areas with LED rings/stripes. I chose fans because they generate very good pressure and move a lot of air. This is particularly important for large radiators.
Here they are, neatly lined up. Fittings and adapters for neatly laying rigid pipes. I would recommend here to anyone who has never installed a water-cooling system before to start with flexible hoses. It's much easier and you'll need fewer adapters. My advice to those who dare to take the plunge is to plan the loop on paper and measure everything beforehand. This will help you decide how many fittings and adapters you need. And buy one or two extra adapters instead, because, believe me, you'll need them.
Fitting the first fittings, adapters and pipes. Measuring to the nearest millimetre is essential. Don't underestimate the deburring of the cut sections of the pipes either. If this isn't done precisely or isn't straight, your water-cooling system could leak. In our shop's Components PC tools section, you'll find useful tools for this. I'm not giving you an explanation for the following images, they simply show the rest of the cooling system installation.
Water enters the scene
After several hours of work - yes, I admit it, I've wasted a few tips - it's finally time to move on to the filling. What a feeling: on the one hand the joy of having finally finished, on the other the anxiety in case something doesn't seal. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Free tip: cover everything with household paper so that the components don't get wet in the worst-case scenario.
The moment of truth has arrived, the loop is complete - let's hope it's all watertight!!! Unfortunately it wasn't, as one fitting wasn't tightened properly. Fortunately, the leak occurred under the surge tank, where the cooling water flowed out in small drops without causing any major damage. The damage was therefore quickly repaired and the initial disappointment was also quickly dispelled. Therefore, I give you another piece of advice: work with precision and preferably check all the connections rather twice than once.
Here we go, mission accomplished. Oh yes, I also underestimated the size of the loop. For the large loop with the 480mm radiator, a litre of fluid unfortunately wasn't enough. So I had to order another litre. The wait was interminable.
The green loop is now also completely filled with the Thermaltake Opaque C1000 and the LED strips are plugged in. My gaming and workstation is up and I'm happy. The PC is quiet and cool. Even in summer, my graphics card doesn't go above 50 degrees. Games are played on a ROG 2K monitor with maximum detail. In desktop mode, the CPU stays cool at 30 degrees; an extremely solid value for an 8-core processor.
As many of you will no doubt want to know more about this, I've written a short guide to water cooling, as I couldn't go into all the details here.
By the way: don't forget my little riddle - because from all the correct answers, we're raffling off three CPU watercooling systems from EKWB. The icing on the cake: you can even select the one of your choice.
Participation requirements: participation is open to all natural persons residing in Switzerland who are at least 18 years old. Employees of Digitec Galaxus AG are excluded from the competition. It is only possible to choose a cooler from our stock. Each participant may take part in the competition only once, failing which they will be disqualified. No correspondence will be entered into regarding the competition, any legal recourse is excluded.You may also be interested in these articles
