Was Custom watercooling valuable only for appearance?
Was Custom watercooling valuable only for appearance?
I’ll stick with the current setup. My i5 and 1080ti aren’t demanding enough for better performance. The CPU stays at 4.5 and never hits 70°C, so watercooling isn’t necessary.
But... it looks nice, adds a personal touch, and makes building my PC more interesting.
Is it worth spending $400 just for appearance and no speed boost?
Thanks, feel free to reply with anything you want.
99% of custom liquid cooling is considered a hobby and looks impressive. Unless you're near the limit of overclocking and your system is genuinely at risk of overheating when stable, and you've tried nearly everything else...then a tailored liquid solution could be worth considering. However, if your system runs smoothly at 65°C and a custom setup lowers it to 55°C, you won't see any performance gains. But many people find the results visually appealing:lol:
Absolutely not, for $400 I’d upgrade to an i7 (if necessary) or spend it on games, SSDs, or similar.
I’d consider a custom loop only when there’s a strong need for cooling where the CPU/GPU is overheating and affecting performance.
99% of custom liquid cooling is considered a hobby and looks impressive. Unless you're near the limit of overclocking, and your system is genuinely at risk of overheating when stable, and you've tried nearly everything else...then a tailored liquid solution could be worth considering.
But if your system runs smoothly at 65°C and a custom setup lowers it to 55°C, you'll see no performance boost.
It depends on what you value most when spending your money. For me, I don’t mind the appearance of my computer’s interior, except for ensuring proper cable management to maintain airflow. The case has sturdy side panels without a window, and I only open it when necessary, such as during cleaning or repairs.
I know it's not ideal. You receive some appealing appearances, but you must maintain it properly—clean the system, replace cooling fluid regularly, ensure all components are made of the same metal. The computer becomes much less portable, and if you don't follow the instructions precisely, you risk leaks and damage to the machine.
Long ago I attended a watercool due to noise concerns (with a large passive radiator)... it was a blessing compared to the noisy vacuum cleaner fans from the 8800GT era. Nowadays, quiet yet efficient air cooling is available, so in most situations, you don't need a water cooler.
Whether adding a few pipes for $400 is worth it depends on you. If appearance matters to you, then yes. Personally, I would never sacrifice even one component of the computer for looks.
Jan_26 - sounds like your experience in watercooling is very different than mine has been for the past 14 years. I only change my water out every 12-18 months; something that you can easily do if you only run distilled water and anti-microbial. Computer is just as transportable as any other case - it is a Corsair 250D mITX box with everything contained inside. Pretty portable, I'd say. Using a passive radiator seems to be your problem - passive is very ineffective when it comes to heat exchangers and you can achieve comparable cooling with a much smaller radiator, good flow rates and low speed fans. The whole 'passive or silent' concept of watercooling has been greatly misunderstood to the nth degree.
If you have leaking with your watercooling, it is almost always a user error due to fittings not secured properly or incorrect tubing+fitting sizes. Quality watercooling components rarely ever leak from my experience.
rubix_1011 :
Jan_26 - sounds like your experience in watercooling is very different than mine has been for the past 14 years. I only change my water out every 12-18 months; something that you can easily do if you only run distilled water and anti-microbial. Computer is just as transportable as any other case - it is a Corsair 250D mITX box with everything contained inside. Pretty portable, I'd say. Using a passive radiator seems to be your problem - passive is very ineffective when it comes to heat exchangers and you can achieve comparable cooling with a much smaller radiator, good flow rates and low speed fans. The whole 'passive or silent' concept of watercooling has been greatly misunderstood to the nth degree.
If you have leaking with your watercooling, it is almost always a user error due to fittings not secured properly or incorrect tubing+fitting sizes. Quality watercooling components rarely ever leak from my experience.
I used to change "water" (distilled + propylenglycole based premade solution) every 12 months. Back in the day there was no suitable small enough actively cooled solution. Passive wasn't that ineffective, it had no issue cooling OCed cpu and 8800GT at below 55°C in hot summer days, it was ofc much better during winter. And I had enough room to put one more box nearby. Plus, I wanted completely silent (=inaudible, not 0db) solution, not "almost", took some picking and sitting a pump as well - had whole system next to my head at uni house and wanted normal sleep while it was crunching school stuff during night.
Leaking - I haven't had any, but had previous experience with my parents aquarium when I was installing the system, so already had knowledge and some training about proper manipulation. For complete beginner better safe than sorry, there are some pieces that are a bit more difficult - like water cooled chipset my old board had, not sure if there are any boards like that these days, haven't seen any for years. Plugging the tubes and clamps (and even more removing) was quite difficult there.
The manipulation is more difficult, it's not a good idea if you turn your reservoir upside down as it needs to keep breathing hole up. If you travel by bus, it's a problem.