Watercooling kit for NCase M1 - CPU+GPU?

[ryanjg11]

I just pre-ordered an MCase M1v5 and I'll be upgrading from my current mITX build (Corsair Obsidian 250D with Corsair Hydro H100i water cooling kit).

I'll likely go with a GTX 750, i7-6600K and Z170 board.

I'm sure I could get the H100i to work here, but I'd like to update to a single CPU+GPU solution. I know there are some all-in-one solutions out there, like the Swiftech H220, but they seem to have mixed reviews.

I'm not above building my own custom kit, and have checked out some cool builds that made it work - though at great expense. I'm a n00b when it comes to watercooling though, and it seems like many of these builds rely on tracking down small fittings and components and piecemealing them together. Not opposed to this, but I'll need to do my research, for sure.

Just curious if there is a go-to watercooling kit that NCase owners have used to good success - and if it makes sense to even try to do a single-loop CPU+GPU build or if I really need to go with a dual-radiator setup if I want to see any big advantages.

 

[Necere]

There's a lack of expandable AIO kits on the market that are compact enough to fit in the M1, unfortunately. You can thank Asetek and their patent on the pump/block combo for that. As it stands, the Cooler Master Glacer 240L (a rebranded Swiftech H220) is the only one available in the US market. In the UK/Europe the Fractal Design Kelvin S24 is another option.

You could also go the dual AIO route, though that's not nearly as tidy with all the excess tubing.

I think the main advantage with watercooling in the M1 is load noise, rather than absolute cooling performance. With the CPU and GPU in a loop with a 240 rad and PWM controlled pump and fans, load noise levels can be not much higher than idle. The downside is you'll always have a little bit of noise from the pump, so idle noise will likely be higher than with a pure air setup. Plus, some people have managed very quiet setups even at load with air-only (using e.g., an Accelero Xtreme on the GPU with bottom exhaust).