Custom loop is not better than AIO

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beheo2019

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I have a h115i platinum push/pull config and it cool my 9900ks really good. 5.1ghz 1.325v hit 75C in realbench. I just built a custom loop front 280 top 360 rear 140 and the temp is just about the same as h115i. Just my gpu from 74C now never excess 55C. Did I install my cpu block wrong or what? I have a ek velocity cpu block. Just ordered a corsair one to try it out.
 
Once temperatures have equalized in the loop, you generally will not see much of a difference in a high end aio and a custom loop. A few degrees generally. But hey you have the bling factor going for you.
 
For CPUs, there generally is not much difference on lower core count CPUs as the limiting factor is the IHS rather than heat transfer through the waterblock. What you gain is the ability to run larger radiators, which means slower fans and less noise for the same performance.
 
beheo2019 said:
I have a h115i platinum push/pull config and it cool my 9900ks really good. 5.1ghz 1.325v hit 75C in realbench. I just built a custom loop front 280 top 360 rear 140 and the temp is just about the same as h115i. Just my gpu from 74C now never excess 55C. Did I install my cpu block wrong or what? I have a ek velocity cpu block. Just ordered a corsair one to try it out.
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The 9900k/s has a shit IHS so you'd need direct die contact to really see the benefit of custom WC on the CPU. For the GPU, there's definitely a gain vs air or even AIO esp with regards to noise and temp. I personally dislike AIOs.
 
*Edit* Sorry, though you were just cooling the cpu until I reread the post and saw the GPU bit.

It did shave quite a bit of temp off your gpu though, for no heat gain to your cpu. You'd have to run 2 separate AIOs for that, though that'd still be cheaper.

The block on the cpu can also make a difference, did you get a good one?

But yeah, custom looping is almost never a practical solution. It will have the most horrible returns in perf/$. I think most ppl do it for the hobby, and because it looks cool (like me). As someone else mentioned you can also make it quieter because you can simply put slower fans since you have so much radiator space.

Also, it looks cool :D
 
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The gpu temp and the fan noise are only thing make me happy with my loop now. Will switch to corsair cpu block and try. Im using ek velocity now.
 
The difference between cpu blocks isnt going to net much better...temps. Maybe a couple of degrees at best. You would likely see the same by reseating and making sure your tim is applied accurately.
You may want to check out some cpu block comparisons.
 
Sounds like you went from cooling a CPU with an AIO to a CPU+GPU with a custom loop? If so, that's pretty expected since your GPU will dump up to 300W alone into the loop. Another thing to be aware of is that you do not want to pull air into the case through one radiator, and then exhaust through another. That really decreases the efficiency of the cooling system. Exhaust everything with the side panel open to get a baseline for cooling performance, and then figure out how to deal with intakes later. Finally, I've read EK CPU blocks aren't that good. Go with Heatkiller, Optimus, or XSPC.
 
blade52x said:
Sounds like you went from cooling a CPU with an AIO to a CPU+GPU with a custom loop? If so, that's pretty expected since your GPU will dump up to 300W alone into the loop. Another thing to be aware of is that you do not want to pull air into the case through one radiator, and then exhaust through another. That really decreases the efficiency of the cooling system. Exhaust everything with the side panel open to get a baseline for cooling performance, and then figure out how to deal with intakes later. Finally, I've read EK CPU blocks aren't that good. Go with Heatkiller, Optimus, or XSPC.
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Set up properly, it won't make much of a difference. The slight decrease in temps may not be worth the dust caused by pulling air in from unfiltered intakes.
 
blade52x said:
Sounds like you went from cooling a CPU with an AIO to a CPU+GPU with a custom loop? If so, that's pretty expected since your GPU will dump up to 300W alone into the loop. Another thing to be aware of is that you do not want to pull air into the case through one radiator, and then exhaust through another. That really decreases the efficiency of the cooling system. Exhaust everything with the side panel open to get a baseline for cooling performance, and then figure out how to deal with intakes later. Finally, I've read EK CPU blocks aren't that good. Go with Heatkiller, Optimus, or XSPC.
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The first release of the EK Threadripper block was pretty terrible, and after the market outcry (Including Kyle's testing) they pulled that one and came out with a second gen which was much better.

In general their CPU blocks have been good. There was a time when tests showed they had the best performing blocks, but these days unless something goes wrong most blocks perform about the same.
 
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Tsumi said:
For CPUs, there generally is not much difference on lower core count CPUs as the limiting factor is the IHS rather than heat transfer through the waterblock. What you gain is the ability to run larger radiators, which means slower fans and less noise for the same performance.
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This matches my experience pretty closely when I moved from a Corsair H110i GTX to a custom loop.

1.) CPU temps at max load remained pretty much the same

2.) GPU temps became much (MUCH) lower

3.) Through careful configuration, planning and setup with good fan control. I was able to go overkill on my radiator capacity and thus create a completely silent system during most use, and a much much quieter system than I had before at full load.


So, depending on your objectives a custom loop may or may not be "better" for you.

For me I am very happy with my loop and cant imagine going back. My goal was always to have a quieter system though. I never expected moving to a custom loop would ever gain me more of an overclock on the CPU. At least no more than another 100mhz, which in the grand scheme of things isnt terribly significant.

My main goal was to hit higher GPU clocks and lower noise levels, and I got what I wanted.
 
With a custom loop the right rads and fans will do you great justice. I only use Hardware labs rads and I swear they are the best and several reviews back that up.
 
Repo79 said:
With a custom loop the right rads and fans will do you great justice. I only use Hardware labs rads and I swear they are the best and several reviews back that up.
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Got a GTR in my case and a couple of GTS models in my wifes'. I can vouch for them, they're pretty great.
 
beheo2019 said:
5.1ghz 1.325v hit 75C in realbench
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With that overclock I think your loop is doing what it's capable of. Your issue is not heat dissipation, it's heat transfer. There is only so much surface area to pull heat away from the CPU. Unless you go with direct die I don't think you will see much of a difference by switching waterblocks.

beheo2019 said:
Just my gpu from 74C now never excess 55C.
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This is your real win, with the new setup.
 
Even going with direct die heat transfer may not be much if any better. Sometimes it is, sometimes it's not. ;)
 




something wrong with my set up? idle temp is low but stress is very high compared to h115i platinum I had before. I used to have that kinda temp when CPU at 5.2ghz 1.36V; now I need to run at 5.1ghz because high temp and now I can't even pass linkpack at 5.1. I passed before. The GPU however is very cool.
 
What specific rads are you using?
Your certain your using the right jet plate?
Is there still air in the loop? Particularly the cpu block? Can you still hear air moving thru the rads? With 3 rads, purging your loop will take alot longer.
 
140,360,280. All of them 45mm thick. There is still air in the loop because liquid in reservoir is going down. The jet plate comes with the block? I just use factory one.
 
beheo2019 said:
140,360,280. All of them 45mm thick. There is still air in the loop because liquid in reservoir is going down. The jet plate comes with the block? I just use factory one.
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You have plenty of heat dissipation with the amount of radiators you have. I would move the case around, tip it left and right, front and back to get as much air out as possible. Also increasing and decreasing the pump speed will help move the air out of the system. From what I remember the jet plate that comes installed in the EK waterblock is the right one, you would only change it out if you were using a 2011 socket.

What's your pump speed? On my current loop I dropped the speed all the way down to eliminate as much pump noise as possible. When I did that, my max temps when up(my D5s are not PWM). The Corsair may have done a better job at moving more water as the temperatures went up aka being PWM.
 
you will likely not see much of a change unless you change heat output, once you get to higher outputs you will see a difference. You can likely also run slower fans.
 
beheo2019 said:
140,360,280. All of them 45mm thick. There is still air in the loop because liquid in reservoir is going down. The jet plate comes with the block? I just use factory one.
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No i mean what brand are your rads. The reason im asking is if they are hardwarelabs they have specific inlet and outlets for the best performance.
Hopefully your temps will equalize once the air is worked out of your rads and blocks.

45mm so probably ek or alphacool rads. So much for the hwl theory :(
 
Remount your CPU block. If possible, measure your water and air temperature during testing. Just to confirm, you set your CPU fan to run at 100% to make the pump run at 100% all the time?
 
AIDA 64 is like worst case scenario. What's your temps during daily usage, gaming, etc? I don't see any daily driver tasks pushing your CPU that far, giving you plenty of headroom. I don't think 81 C is that bad for 5.1GHZ all core(assuming that's the case since it's the KS) while using AIDA 64.

I still think the main culprit is the inability to transfer the heat efficiently from the small die to the IHS and into your block. More radiators, more water, faster flow isn't going to change that. With the same solder as the 9900K the only way to get better temps would be to delid or direct die mount.

I say leave it and see what you are getting during regular usage. If those are acceptable, then you can start tweaking fan and pump speeds for noise reduction.
 
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