Build Advice EK Water Cooled - for a total noob in WC

[Xavier Bouttier]

Hey all!

So, last of my parts are arriving thursday, and going to build my gaming PC this weekend!!

• i7-12700k
• RTX 3080 10GB Gaming
• Corsair Vengeance 32GB 4800Mhz
• M.2 - 2T (WD Black)
• HX1000 Platinum
• NZXT H710i

Whilst waiting I have non stop watched videos/read articles and blogs about the RTX 3080 and alder lake architecture, etc...etc...

And although I went with the AIO for the CPU (Ryujin II 360), I've watched countless videos with custom water cooled systems and also kit systems.

Sometime down the road (but not too far off <4months) I'm seriously considering attempting my first water cooled system for this build considering everything i've read about the 3080 and alder lake running hot. (And also considering the fact that that specific case hasn't been reviewed as having the best airflow hehe.. but i love the look..)

I bumped into some videos of EK water blocks and kits (seems easy enough to do?!) and was thinking of running a loop through the GPU and the CPU on a single 360 rad. Would that be ok?

OR.... perhaps just run a small loop on the GPU alone, and leave the Asus AIO to handle the CPU...

Seriously looking for any input as in the subject.. am a total pleb/noob for water cooling hehe.

Thanks in advance!

X

 

[Ncallstar]

Hey all!

So, last of my parts are arriving thursday, and going to build my gaming PC this weekend!!

• i7-12700k
• RTX 3080 10GB Gaming
• Corsair Vengeance 32GB 4800Mhz
• M.2 - 2T (WD Black)
• HX1000 Platinum
• NZXT H710i

Whilst waiting I have non stop watched videos/read articles and blogs about the RTX 3080 and alder lake architecture, etc...etc...

And although I went with the AIO for the CPU (Ryujin II 360), I've watched countless videos with custom water cooled systems and also kit systems.

Sometime down the road (but not too far off <4months) I'm seriously considering attempting my first water cooled system for this build considering everything i've read about the 3080 and alder lake running hot. (And also considering the fact that that specific case hasn't been reviewed as having the best airflow hehe.. but i love the look..)

I bumped into some videos of EK water blocks and kits (seems easy enough to do?!) and was thinking of running a loop through the GPU and the CPU on a single 360 rad. Would that be ok?

OR.... perhaps just run a small loop on the GPU alone, and leave the Asus AIO to handle the CPU...

Seriously looking for any input as in the subject.. am a total pleb/noob for water cooling hehe.

Thanks in advance!

X

I’m a noob too and wanna do it at some point. Jayztwocents made me never bother with an aio good luck to ya I’m tryna get answers here too

 

[lumineZ]

Man it has been ages since I have posted something in this forum
But I am back for the moment

Back in the Intel i7 6700k - 7700k and Nvidia 980 - 1080 a good rule to follow was to use 1 x 120 / 140mm radiator for each component. Now this was not written in stone more like a rule of thumb. (if that makes sense, english is not my main language )

Todays components with the amount of watts (heat) it can create I would say 2 x 120 / 140mm radiator as a minimum.

Myself when I build a new system I always go overkill on the radiators since that is parts you can re-use down the road.
So to give an example I am atm running:
Intel i9 11900k ( 100% stock no overclock )
Nvidia 3080 12GB ( No overclock )
The rest of the parts is not important.

Running a monoblock on the mother that cools the CPU and VRMs ( voltage regulator modules ) Now do you need it? No but I like to mount it since its not mutch more work compared to mounting a regular CPU water block. And I like the looks
For the 3080 I run a EK-Quantum Vector TUF RTX 3080 / 3090 D-RGB - Nickel+Plexi (dam long name but I posted it if you wanted to look at it) (MAKE SURE THE WATERBLOCK FOR YOUR GPU IS SUPPORTED!!!)

Now for radiators I went complete and total overkill. I have atm 4 x 480mm HardwareLabs Black Ice Nemesis GTX 480 (Very good radiator)
With this setup when my system is running at 100% the fans on the rads hardly turn ( 500 - 750 rpm) (Almost total silence and that is why I go overkill on the radiators)


As for you. For the GPU I would run a minimum of 1 x 280 and that is a real minimum. To be sure I would run a minimum 360 mm rad to be honest. (and thickness on the rad I would not go under 40mm)

When it comes to AIOs... Here there is a battle back and forth. It really does not matter what brand of AIO you pick since the radiator and pump combo is all Asetek who makes it. And the AIO vs Aircooled battle is a never ending thing.
But I would agree that it does not matter if you go for an "high end" AIO like Corsair iCUE H150i or an aircooler like Noctua nh-d15. You would most likely get the same temps +- a couple of degrees depending on the case you got and overall airflow in it.


Anyway good luck and dont be shy to ask questions for you to feel safe on what to do.

Sidenote:
Full custom waterloop is never necessary or a must have. Its an option (yes it looks nice and gives you the best cooling before you go exotic cooling but still its not needed.) The GPU is fine with the stock aircooler it comes with and an 1 x 280mm rad or a good aircooler is enough for the 12900k. Just make sure you have enough airflow in the case.