Cheap Water Cooling with eBay

[compdude956]

Hello all!

I want to start off by listing my setup here...

-- AMD FX-8350 (stock cooler)
-- Asus Crosshair V Formula-Z (had an M5A99FX Pro R2.0 that had issues. Still got it tho after sending it in for warranty repair)
-- Gigabyte GTX 960 G1 Gaming 4gb
-- PNY 2 x 4gb RAM
-- 2 x 2gb Samsung RAM I had lying around
-- DVD drive out of my FIRST pc. Dell vostro 200 back in 2007 (I was a pretty cool kid 😛)
-- Thermaltake 500w PSU
-- Thermaltake Core v71 Case
-- Sandisk 240gb SSD for boot and programs
-- 4 or 5 other random sized disks for storage

So anywho.... I would like to water cool this pc (just my cpu) BUT I want to do it all from random eBay parts. I watch JayzTwoCents on YouTube and just a few weeks ago he reviewed a $19 waterblock. Now... I have known about these cheap eBay parts for years now but just never really gave them much thought until i saw his video on it. And the block he got from Amazon did just as good as an expensive big brand block! So now i am motivated to get it done finally.

-- I have a small 350L/hr (i think) pump I bought a year or two ago ago to mess with some diy refrigeration chiller (HVAC and Refigeration is my soon to be daily job)
-- I can get some soft tubing from my local Menards

But where i am stumped mostly is about what I am going to do for the Reservoir and what type of radiator to buy. I see 240mm Radiators with and without fittings pre-welded to them for around $20. But i also see 360mm radiators the same for about $30. So i dont know exactly what i should go for.

I am also going to need fittings. I would just LOVE to do a hard tube loop. But i dont want to pay a premium price for big brand stuff like i said up a bit... but i also dont know if i trust the compression fit on some of these cheap G1/4" $1 or $2 fittings. I'm comfortable with the super cheap barb fittings for soft tube tho.

I would like to get all the parts excluding the tubing for around $50 if i can. I just want your opinions...

Here are the parts i have found on eBay

-- Waterblock - https://www.ebay.com/itm/263255903792

-- 240mm Rad - https://www.ebay.com/itm/352055319571

-- 360mm Rad - https://www.ebay.com/itm/132415410108

 

[n0ns3ns3]

mixing aluminum (radiator) with copper/brass is a bad idea - read about galvanic corrosion.
you can buy some cheap tube res on ebay/aliexpress. if you want to be in 50$, go with flex tubing.
hradline tubes will require expensive (~5$ each) fittings, adapters and valve for draining - that will be 40-50$ at least.

 

[coozie7]

+1 n0ns3ns3
Don't mix metals in the loop, either go all copper/brass or all aluminium, this includes fittings, like he says, google galvanic corrosion.

Bear in mind, most of this stuff comes from China, so expect a lengthy delivery period and possibly patchy quality control.

Compression fittings are usually OK, it's basically a barb fitting that uses a threaded retaining collar for additional security; you can do much the same thing with a barb fitting and retaining ring/clip, the main thing is not to overtighten the fittings into the waterblock and radiator, plexi waterblocks are particularly prone to cracking if fittings are overtightened. Screw it in by hand until you feel the 'O' ring make contact then tighten using a suitable tool GENTLY until you feel the fitting itself make contact-it'll suddenly go hard to turn-that's enough for most, if you've a delicate touch, just nip it up a little more.

Flexible tubing is the best option for a first time build, it's easier to route for a start and a lot cheaper-hint route it by connecting one end of your tubing roll to the 'start' fitting and tightening the fitting fully then unroll it and route the tube to the next fitting in the loop, mark with a finger and thumb and cut it with a pair of sharp scissors about 1/2" too long, check the routing, then trim to final length and connect. Rinse and repeat for all fittings.

Pump flow isn't a particularly large problem for a single block loop, nor is its head ( pressure ) but it might be a problem if you add the GPU into the loop later, the radiator/fan combination is far more important.
To cool just the CPU a 240mm rad will be more than enough, if you want to add the GPU later you'll want to go for the larger 360mm option but performance will ultimately depend on the fans, if they can't pump air through the rad, it won't get rid of the heat and the two you linked will need high static pressure fans to get the best out of them.

Final point: Not all cases are WC friendly, try to make sure the radiator and fans will actually fit! 😉

 

[compdude956]

+1 n0ns3ns3
Don't mix metals in the loop, either go all copper/brass or all aluminium, this includes fittings, like he says, google galvanic corrosion.

Bear in mind, most of this stuff comes from China, so expect a lengthy delivery period and possibly patchy quality control.

Compression fittings are usually OK, it's basically a barb fitting that uses a threaded retaining collar for additional security; you can do much the same thing with a barb fitting and retaining ring/clip, the main thing is not to overtighten the fittings into the waterblock and radiator, plexi waterblocks are particularly prone to cracking if fittings are overtightened. Screw it in by hand until you feel the 'O' ring make contact then tighten using a suitable tool GENTLY until you feel the fitting itself make contact-it'll suddenly go hard to turn-that's enough for most, if you've a delicate touch, just nip it up a little more.

Flexible tubing is the best option for a first time build, it's easier to route for a start and a lot cheaper-hint route it by connecting one end of your tubing roll to the 'start' fitting and tightening the fitting fully then unroll it and route the tube to the next fitting in the loop, mark with a finger and thumb and cut it with a pair of sharp scissors about 1/2" too long, check the routing, then trim to final length and connect. Rinse and repeat for all fittings.

Pump flow isn't a particularly large problem for a single block loop, nor is its head ( pressure ) but it might be a problem if you add the GPU into the loop later, the radiator/fan combination is far more important.
To cool just the CPU a 240mm rad will be more than enough, if you want to add the GPU later you'll want to go for the larger 360mm option but performance will ultimately depend on the fans, if they can't pump air through the rad, it won't get rid of the heat and the two you linked will need high static pressure fans to get the best out of them.

Final point: Not all cases are WC friendly, try to make sure the radiator and fans will actually fit! 😉

Thanks for all the info here.

My Core v71 case is actually designed for watercooling from Thermaltake.

Basically with getting the 240 or 360 rad i basically just want to get the biggest one i can get for my budget, cuz why not lol. The GTX 960 I would never add into the loop. The card looks too nice with the stock cooler, and they don't sell waterblocks for the low end cards. But finding a copper Rad on eBay is out of the question for such a small budget.
I actually have some small copper radiators used for small machines in the HVAC field that i could use. Since i already have fans and stuff for them. It would just have to be routed thru the grommets on the rear of my case and hang onto the side of my PC. If i can in a bit I'll post a couple pics of them here.

But the problem is buying an aluminum cpu block from eBay of DECENT quality, like one with microchannels like that copper one i sent there. The aluminum ones like this (https://www.ebay.com/itm/161938071992) are just not as good in my opinion. they only have one channel for the water to go thru on its snake like path thru the block. And they do sell brackets that go over the top of them to hold them to the cpu socket.

I was worried about corrosion but i just couldn't find an aluminum block like that one i sent. And i dont want to be SUPER cheap and end up frying my cpu. I see stuff all the time with copper refrigerant lines in houses corroding because of people using galvanized pipe strap or some other dissimilar metal touching the line. It happens pretty quickly too. Considering a good install should last at least 10 years.

I see people say to put a strip of silver metal into the loop for added algae and bacteria growth protection. Is that worth the benefits?

Thanks again. I'd be so lost with going this cheap route if it weren't for the interwebs.

 

[coozie7]

If you already have a suitable copper radiator there's no need to worry about the CPU waterblock, stick with copper for the block and brass for the fittings, although without a pic it'll be impossible to be certain the radiators you have will be large enough ( the FX8xxx series are notoriously demanding of their cooling ).

Sounds like you'll need to be creative to mount an industrial radiator neatly one possible would be to mount it in the top of the case by removing the mesh cover altogether and turning the rad into a feature, closing off any gaps with plastic or metal plates to tidy up the installation, it may even fit in the case front with a little metalwork.

Adding a silver coil is one way, but it does make the water conductive, so any leaks can be far more dangerous, I'd stick with a traditional water/glycol mix or just pure distilled water with a anti algae additive as coolant.

 

[rubix_1011]

I used a waterblock like that, but for my Raspberry Pi. I wouldn't dream of putting anything like that on my gaming PC. It appeared to be a simple aluminum hollow block, possibly with a basic maze design, but no actual matrix. I have an extra one, I could tear it open and see, but it is incredibly lightweight telling me that there is very little mass for the purpose of heat exchange.

I like seeing people using different resources, but be aware: there are reasons some of these parts are so cheap. Lack of R&D, lack of testing or quality control, a printed warranty but no 'actual' warranty, knock-off designs with shortcuts taken, etc.