Going to do my first WC system, looking for suggestions

[Pyro411]

First off, sorry if this is not in the right location
I'm looking to build a compactish build with my first custom loop but saw that EK doesn't have a monoblock for the motherboard I wanted to use and was wondering if anyone on here had suggestions.

I'm looking to build a system based on
Lian Li Tu150
Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Impact -- I'm looking for a Monoblock for this to eliminate the fans above the I/O Shield and actively cool the VRMS
M.2 Cooling -- is there a good WC peripheral for the so-dimm.2 module to cool the controller on the M.2 drives, or is the supplied Asus heatsink adequate enough for what is needed?

If the monoblock is a pipedream let me know and I'll look into a quiet air cooler.

Thank you for any help you may have for me.

 

[VanGoghComplex]

Do you plan to heavily overclock? Because if not, then the monoblock is really more of a bling thing. VRMs run hot but they are designed to run hot. As long as you have a little airflow over them, they should be fine. If you're dead set on a monoblock, I'd reconsider your choice of mobo.

As for M.2, this is hearsay, but I've read that you actually don't want to watercool M.2 drives. They like to run warm apparently, and overcooling them can drastically reduce their life. Take that with a grain of salt but I've read it in a couple places.

Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions!

 

[Pyro411]

Do you plan to heavily overclock? Because if not, then the monoblock is really more of a bling thing. VRMs run hot but they are designed to run hot. As long as you have a little airflow over them, they should be fine. If you're dead set on a monoblock, I'd reconsider your choice of mobo.

As for M.2, this is hearsay, but I've read that you actually don't want to watercool M.2 drives. They like to run warm apparently, and overcooling them can drastically reduce their life. Take that with a grain of salt but I've read it in a couple places.

Good luck and let us know if you have any more questions!

Thank you for the reply

Indeed it's just a bit of bling but it will also help for directing the push of hot air out of the case and to eliminate the high pitch fan noise on the chipset some reviewers noted. -- I don't intend to OC, just run the internals of the system as close to ambient as possible while hopefully as quietly as possible and doing so in style.

As for the M.2 drive cooling indeed a big grain of salt as saw the results on a LTT <And now a word from our sponsors> video that keeping the controller cool helps performance however cooling the nand to below it's operating temps of roughly 40c can severely damage its longevity. This part would be more for the "In for a penny in for a pound" mindset and I'll freely admit that.

Now another fun question... custom cables for modular power supplies. When creating the cables, is there any reason not to tin "Applying solder to the copper" the ends before crimping the end on and inserting it into the plastic housing?

 

[crazycuz20]

That case isn't the best for watercooling. You can't put a dual rad. Personally I'd wait for the Lian Li O11D Mini or try to get your hands on the Q37. I built a custom loop in it and has plenty of space. The NCASE M1 can do a custom loop but it'll require a lot of planning. Phanteks makes an ITX vesion of their evolv line. Have fun though. Honestly, if it's you're first WC build, get a larger case that's easy to route tubes through. I also highly reccomend soft tubing though hard lines do have more bling.

 

[VanGoghComplex]

Thank you for the reply

Indeed it's just a bit of bling but it will also help for directing the push of hot air out of the case and to eliminate the high pitch fan noise on the chipset some reviewers noted. -- I don't intend to OC, just run the internals of the system as close to ambient as possible while hopefully as quietly as possible and doing so in style.

As for the M.2 drive cooling indeed a big grain of salt as saw the results on a LTT <And now a word from our sponsors> video that keeping the controller cool helps performance however cooling the nand to below it's operating temps of roughly 40c can severely damage its longevity. This part would be more for the "In for a penny in for a pound" mindset and I'll freely admit that.

Now another fun question... custom cables for modular power supplies. When creating the cables, is there any reason not to tin "Applying solder to the copper" the ends before crimping the end on and inserting it into the plastic housing?

A monoblock won't eliminate chipset fan whine - all the monoblocks I've seen cover the CPU and VRM. There are such things as chipset blocks, but they tend to be even harder to find these days. I've got an X570 board and the chipset fan is very unobtrusive, even in my open chassis Core P5.

For the M.2, it's your rig and you can do as you like, but assuming you find a solution that will fit, I personally would not be comfortable attaching watercooling lines to a single RAM slot. I'm just imagining the mechanical tension that soft tubing would put on it and it's making me cringe a bit. A good heatsink will do a lot for thermals without the extra work or risk.

I would not tin the wires yourself. Pre-tinned wires are okay, because each individual strand is tinned, meaning the cable can still crimp properly in the JST crimps that are used by most molex connectors. JST crimps don't work on solid-core wire, and tinning the ends yourself essentially makes them solid-core.

 

[5150Joker]

That case isn't the best for watercooling. You can't put a dual rad. Personally I'd wait for the Lian Li O11D Mini or try to get your hands on the Q37. I built a custom loop in it and has plenty of space. The NCASE M1 can do a custom loop but it'll require a lot of planning. Phanteks makes an ITX vesion of their evolv line. Have fun though. Honestly, if it's you're first WC build, get a larger case that's easy to route tubes through. I also highly reccomend soft tubing though hard lines do have more bling.

If you plan to use soft tubing, my recommendation is the black ones from EK, they look really nice.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

Monoblocks are actually more for the looks than anything else.

Because of the tolerance variations between the sockets and VRM's you usually wind up getting a worse mating between the block and the CPU when using a monoblock than you do when just using a CPU block, so unless you absolutely need VRM cooling (which chances are you don't, especially if you have a decent motherboard) it is better to pass on the monoblock.

 

[MaZa]

I am about to make both ITX build on that very same case, and my first water cooled build on other one. TU150 is not good for water cooling. It can barely fit 120mm AIO in front and there is no room for normal thickness 240 rad + slim fans and GPU at the same time on the bottom. I have seen some water cooled builds on this case but they were all heavily modified dremel jobs with costly special parts like "disco ball" reservoirs and such.

Get a bigger case for water cooling. O11 or Antec P120 Crystal are great for it, they are designed for water cooling specifically.

 

[Prinz5]

Just finished my first build ever, read its not good for water cooling etc. Or can't fit more than rads etc. Theres a 240 and 2 120 rads for total of 480 and 3 rads. 240 on push and pull, 120 on push and pull, and front 120 with 140mm rad, gpu, cpu, and ram blocks. 7 fans total. Fun part building in sff case is getting it all in there. And Temps are great. 30c at idling. And 62c after 3emark extreme test. Gaming i haven't seen gpu or cpu go over 54c they usually are at 40-45c.

Ryzen 3900xt
2080 super
Asus Crosshair impact

 

[Smoked Brisket]

As has been mentioned, monoblocks are for looks, it may even impact temps by a degree or two. One thing i will continue to advise is to buy fitings last, after you have all other parts and in place so you can visualize your loop. This will save you some real money if you can just wait a bit. You dont need m.2 watercooling unless you just want the looks, which is just fine, they just dont need any extra cooling. I agree with waiting for the 011d mini.

 

[Hakaba]

As a person who owned both a formula IX and monoblock on CH VII... It made no difference at all , well except It dumped extra heat into the loop and cost a pretty penny. Most decently built boards will have an overkill on the amount or quality of the VRMs. Also, notice that are passively cooled and probably 30-40c under the thermal limit.

Now, now theoretically... I you had a 3950x on an A320 board, and VRM thermals was your limiting concern (not power) then I guess it would actually work.

If you are going soft tubing I would recommend ZMT by EK.