Question What do I need for watercooling my GPU?

[Dj0gany]

Hi, I want to make a custom watercooling loop only for my GPU, CPU is already taken care of, its cooled by a 360mm AIO.
Im wondering what are the exact parts I will need in order to make this happen.
- The GPU is ROG STRIX VEGA 64, so i searched up some waterblocks for it and found a Bykski waterblock that can be shipped to Serbia.
I want the waterblock to glow/ have aRGB, but from what i've seen the only available waterblock is listed as "no colour", does that mean the backplate is black/doesnt have aRGB or that the waterblock it self doesnt glow? I have the card vertically mounted, so i dont care about its backplate, im only interested in the waterblock glowing.
- What type of radiator/tubes/other stuff do I need to buy?
I think this Alphacool 240mm rad will be enough, i have 2 spare 120mm RGB fans, so that wont be a problem.
-Now for the pump/reservoir, is there a specific one I need?
-For the tubes, fittings, coolant, I think i can figure that out myself, once i plan everything out.
Is there anything else i need?
Am i missing something?
Thanks in advance!

Few pics of the build to give you a better picture of what im looking for:

https://imgur.com/a/gDmF8c5

View: https://imgur.com/gallery/gDmF8c5

 

[Ralston18]

Water cooler:

The first thing you need is a quantifiable reason for installing a water cooler.

Are there overheating problems?

If so, what else has been tried to solve those overheating problems?

I see all of the fans but not sure about the directional airflows. Could be that the fans are fighting each other and overall air flow is being restricted.,

RGB:

And although I do understand that you want RGB effects etc., do not make that a primary objective.

You want a stable and well performing system. Not necessarily a "pretty one".

Water cooling (RGB or not) overall more than likely will be problematic sooner or later.

And, overall, you probably really do not want to do things that may cause more problems later.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[Dj0gany]

Are there overheating problems?

Nope, cpu max on benchmark is 55C, GPU 80C, after i replaced thermal paste/pads.
I simply just want to watrrcool my gpu, i am well aware of the risk/reward factor.

I see all of the fans but not sure about the directional airflows. Could be that the fans are fighting each other and overall air flow is being restricted.,

3 aio fans on top and rear fan are set to exhaust, one big 230mm fan on front set as intake, i plan on putting the 240mm rad for the gpu where the 5.25" is, as there is like 30cm of space in there, and ive seen people do it on their haf x case. Airflow is pretty good, judging by the above mentioned cpu/gpu temps.
I am just curious on what parts i need in order for this to work

 

[Ralston18]

I will need to defer to the watercooling community folks.

Also thinking that this thread may be more applicable to Cases.

However, since the immediate concern is watercooling the GPU will leave thread in Graphics Cards.

In the meantime, read some GPU watercooler reviews:

For example:

https://robots.net/tech-reviews/10-best-gpu-liquid-cooler-for-2023/

Very likely that you will gain some additional insight about pros, cons, trade-offs, and specific products.

 

[Dj0gany]

I will need to defer to the watercooling community folks.

Also thinking that this thread may be more applicable to Cases.

However, since the immediate concern is watercooling the GPU will leave thread in Graphics Cards.

In the meantime, read some GPU watercooler reviews:

For example:

https://robots.net/tech-reviews/10-best-gpu-liquid-cooler-for-2023/

Very likely that you will gain some additional insight about pros, cons, trade-offs, and specific products.

Thanks, ill have a better look at it

 

[DSzymborski]

I kinda have to ask: what's the goal here? Is it just because it's for fun and you want to try it out or are hoping to get bang for the buck? If the former, that's all well and good, but if you're concerned about value, I want to be careful about advising someone to buy cooling parts for a GPU that cost twice what the GPU is worth. This was more a project for 2017-2018 than 2023. Now, again, you maybe just want to do it for the experience, but I want to tread in carefully.

 

[Dj0gany]

Thats exactly why i wanna do it, i already achieved the performance/specs goal for the games i play, im chasing creativity and design with my pc, thats why i wanna do it, i know i will overpay for what its worth, but i will do it anyway.

 

[Dj0gany]

Just need tge parts list, as i cant find the complete GPU watercooling kits in my country

 

[Ralston18]

Seconding @DSzymborski....

Referencing:

"Thats exactly why i wanna do it, i already achieved the performance/specs goal for the games i play, im chasing creativity and design with my pc, thats why i wanna do it, i know i will overpay for what its worth, but i will do it anyway."

Willing to overpay is one thing.

Possibly putting the entire build at some risk is another thing.

That risk is your call....

And if parts are difficult to obtain either before or after some watercooling experiments then my suggestion is to find some other challenge/project.

Protect what you have that is working and performing well.

Consider setting up a test build. Something expendable if things go bad.

 

[Dj0gany]

Possibly putting the entire build at some risk is another thing.

What are the possible risks?
I mean i can think of a leak for example, but other than that, i dont see any other problems that could occur.
I will keep the stock heatsink/fans of it anyway, if things do go bad.

Consider setting up a test build. Something expendable if things go bad.

Thats a good idea, i have some spare parts lying around so i will set up a test build before actually installing it in the main rig.

And if parts are difficult to obtain either before or after some watercooling experiments then my suggestion is to find some other challenge/project.

Watercooling the GPU is what peak my inteeest the most, and seems the most fun to me, at the moment atleast.

 

[Ralston18]

Other risks:

A physical leak resulting in liquids coming in contact with electrical circuits will end badly.

Another scenerio being a simple failure to not cool as expected resulting in overheated components and related failures.

Thermal shutdowns not "saving the day".

General rule, for me anyway, is to not risk more than you can afford to lose.

Okay to have fun but

Spoiler

even fun can have bad consequences...

Aka = "Murphy lives".

 

[Dj0gany]

Okay , i appreciate you for letting me know.
I will test my luck, worked out fine so far in my life tbh xD
So going back to my first post in this thread, am i missing something or are the waterblock, rad, fans, pump, fittings, tube, coolant, all i need?
Is there a specific type of pump that i need? <- thats what bothers me the most.

 

[Ralston18]

"specific type of pump"?

That is going out of my comfort zone so I must defer to those who have worked with or otherwise experimented with pumps and cooling.

Add a post regarding what you view as "pump types" etc. and your specific concerns regarding "pump types".

Hopefully doing so will solicit other comments and ideas.