Secondary PC, decided to cool the CPU only as this particular case can’t fit another radiator for the GPU. It was quite the challenge to mount most parts and work inside such a restricted space!

Specs:

Case: Asus ProArt Pa402
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9850x3D
GPU: Gigabyte Aero SFF RTX 5080
Mobo: Gigabyte Aero x870e Wood Edition
Ram: Crucial 32gb DDR5-6400
SSD: 2TB Samsung 9100 Pro. Gen 5
SSD: 1TB Crucial P510 Gen 5 x 2
PSU: Lian Li SX1200P
Fans: Lian Li Inf Flex 120
Display: LG C6 42” OLED
Radiator: Heatkiller 240 slim
Pump/Reservoir: Alphacool DDC Zero Flat 90
CPU Block: Alphacool Core AM5
Flow/Temp Monitor: Aquacomputer Next

Brass Tubing and various fittings that I generally stock from Bitspower etc.

Does anyone know how this could have happened? It looks kind of cool..

Picture shows a comparison between used and new tubing. The coolant was blue car antifreeze with distilled water. (The green blotch is from my spray-painted pump, not relevant here.) There's no smell or visible mass inside, and the blackness seems like a semitranslucent layer that covers or is part of the tubing now.

Hey everyone,

Just wrapped up a long hour of saturation testing on my new Micro-ATX gaming rig built from some new parts and some from the one it replaced. This is actually my very first time building a water-cooled rig featuring active Inline Thermal Sensors, and considering the hardware and game settings, the results feel incredible—but I would love to hear feedback from builders with more experience.

The ultimate goal here was a silent gaming rig under max load.

The Components

CPU - Ryzen 9 5950X

GPU - Inno3D RTX 5080 iChill Frostbite

Motherboard - AsRock B550M Phantom Gaming 4 (mATX)

Memory - 128GB (4x32GB) Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR4

Power Supply - Corsair RM1000x (1000W)

Chassis - Cooler Master MasterBox MB320L ARGB

Radiator - 2 x Corsair Hydro X Series XR5 NEO 240mm (Slim 30mm)

CPU Block - Corsair Hydro X Series XC7 RGB ELITE

Pump/Res Combo - EK-Quantum Kinetic TBE 200 D5

Fan/ Sensor Controller - Aqua Computer QUADRO

Thermal Sensors: 4 x Aqua Computer Temperature Sensor

The Trade-Offs (The Cyberpunk Real-World Miracle)

When I first ran Cyberpunk 2077 at native 4K, the heat was driving the liquid straight up to a hot 50°C, to solve this, I applied two trade-offs:

1 - I dropped the game res from 4K down to 2560x1600.

2 - Locked the cpu to 90W limit and All-Core -27 Undervolt useing AMD Ryzen Master.

I was able to completely max out the graphics panel, setting every single Ray Tracing and advanced option to max.

Thanks to DLSS, while actively playing through the dense city crowd basins, the resolution change never once jumped out at me.

I completely forgot it wasn't native 4k, it’s absolutely indistinguishable to my eyes.

Exposing Overlay Illusions

The Nvidia overlays kept showing a 75 - 79°C CPU reading, which turned out to be the Tdie temp.

To find the truth, I set up a raw TCP connection to core temp from my mac and wrote an automated script to run in the Terminal to poll the temps once a second.

while true; do clear; nc 192.168.68.68 5200 | head -n 1 | python3 -c "import sys, json; data=json.loads(sys.stdin.read().strip()); print('\n'.join([f'Core {i}: {t}°C' for i, t in enumerate(data['CpuInfo']['fTemp'])]))"; sleep 1; done

The 60-Minute Saturated test

After an intense hour-long continuous saturation burn standing dead still in the single densest pedestrian crowd intersection in Night City in a warm 23.8°C ambient room, the loop was heat soaked.

1 - Pump Inlet at 38.9c

2 - GPU Outlet at 42.8c

3 - CPU Inlet at 40.5c

4 - CPU Outlet at 41.5c

Loop Layout & Sensor placement

The Path - Sensor 1 (Pump Inlet) ➡️ Pump/Res Outlet ➡️ GPU Inlet ➡️ Sensor 2 (GPU Outlet) ➡️ Top Rad Inlet ➡️ Top Rad Outlet ➡️ Sensor 3 (CPU Inlet) ➡️ Sensor 4 (CPU Outlet) ➡️ Front Rad Inlet ➡️ Front Rad Outlet ➡️ Back to Pump/Res Inlet

The Sensor Strategy

Sensor 1 will tell me the temp coming out of the last rad into the pump and going into the gpu, Sensor 2 will tell me the temp coming out of the gpu going into the first rad, Sensor 3 will tell me the temp coming out of the first rad into the cpu, Sensor 4 will tell. me the temp coming out of the cpu going into the last rad then out back to Sensor 1

Since this is my very first build measuring loop temps with inline sensors, these temp feel fantastic to me, but I would love to get a sanity check from the community, How do these liquid deltas look for a compact mATX dual slim-rad setup.

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to share the condition of my Heatkiller IV Pro CPU water block after ~ 6.5 years of use.

The loop has been running only on distilled water with Mayhems Inhibitor+ and Biocide+ and was never fully drained. About once a year, sometimes every 1.5 years, the pc was disconnected from the MO-RA and only part of the water was drained.

Overall, I think it's held up pretty well. No visible signs of corrosion, just some exposed copper where the nickel plating has worn off.

Before and after cleaning:

Hello! I'm planning my first custom loop, and I intend to use the TRYX PANORAMA WB for my CPU

I've read that the 0.1 microchannel fins this thing has are extremely bad for loop flow. I'm unfortunate enough to value both performance and aesthetics, so I still want to try and make this work

TRYX recommends using a pump with high overhead. As a newbie, my first instinct is to look for a DDC pump. But I figure that it's probably a good idea to ask more experienced builders about it first

Anyone who's successfully used the TRYX WB, what did you do to make it work for you? What specific pump(s) should I look for, what's the best way to configure them, etc? Even if you haven't personally used it, what do you think is the best approach?

For reference, I'll be building in a Hyte Y70

My favorite is the always-popular air pressure tester.

Fantastic tool to check for leaks before adding coolant but it can also....

Pressurize a loop from the top to help with draining.

Pressurize a reservoir to help force out those damned air bubbles that get stuck in your pump.

What other off-label uses have you found for common water-cooling gear?

I'll try to keep this shorter, but I'm having a huge problem with this distro plate. I ran it for a week with very low flow and one of the lines warped and popped. Spent a week getting new parts and a day and a half tilting flipping spinning and throwing the computer around to ensure minimal air. One 1" bubble after the gpu and a miniscule bubble in the pump. One OS update later and not even 30 minutes of thermal throttling and the outlet on the gpu popped. I don't understand why I can't get flow. The outlet of the gpu and cpu was so hot I couldn't hold a finger on it. I need advice as to how to move forward.

9900x 7900xtx 64gb nvme with all blocks rads tubing and distro from the same company.

My current plan in all of this mess is to put a pump top on the original DDC (replaced it because it started buzzing/clicking during a week of use) and put it in series with the replacement pump on the distro, inline right after it would be the easiest. This is my second hardline system and I water cooled back 20+ years ago.

One random thought I had today... maybe DDC + 16mm tubing is a problem? It can't get laminar flow or some other fancy what not, it can't get head pressure with such large tubing?

I just build my second custom loop.

All cooling parts from Alphacool

First tests with Apex 1 block and after that I change it to Core 1 carbon so I can make some comparing.

Here is few teaser pic

Always wanted to do a custom water cooled pc. I decided to do a “wall art” style build.

This is my first ever attempt at water cooling. I also never liked the look of the metal fittings so kept those to a minimum.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
GPU: MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Ventus 3X OC — 16GB GDDR7
Motherboard: ASUS TUF Gaming B850-E WiFi
RAM: 64GB G.Skill DDR5-6000 CL30
Storage: Crucial P310 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
Power Supply: MONTECH Century II 1050W
Water Pumps: 2× Alphacool VPP Apex D5 pumps
Reservoirs: 2× Alphacool Core 200 Aurora reservoirs
CPU Water Block: Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge
GPU Water Block: Alphacool full-cover RTX 5070 Ti water block
Radiators: 2× Alphacool NexXxoS ST30 360mm full-copper radiators

I ordered few GPU water blocks week ago, and I have no response from them. They were on stock, so i expected that by end of the week they would at least ship them. Received just confirmation mail, but pretty much that's it. Sent them email - no response. My order is still not shipped. So anyone knows more about them?

Hi folks, today I’m presenting a quick project (relative to my other builds). No video for this one, since the client wanted it done as quickly as possible.

Apologies for the dirty-looking glass. I was rushing to get some pictures before the build shipped.

This was a commission build I spent roughly a month on. The goal was to get as close as possible to the size of mass-produced units while still fitting components like the ASUS ROG Thor PSU, a 5090 FE waterblock, a distribution plate, RAM, and CPU waterblocks.

Custom panels at the back mount the PSU, the GPU, and quick-disconnect fittings for external watercooling. Getting the glass mounting panel to work and look seamless took some time. The biggest challenge was lining up all the ports. I had to keep making templates until everything looked straight and square.

After recent video from Derbauer, where he talked about avaiablity issues of liquid metal ingredients, I decided to buy a syringe just to have some spare for future builds. Not saying I think the prices will increase soon, but I was buying other things, so decided to add it to cart.

I didn't know they now have conductonaut extreme available (I know this is not a new product, but I had old stuff before, bough few years ago, I was not following them for development news). Reading the description, I see that new stuff is sltigtly more dense, so I assume there is some difference in the mix. They also advertise it as "optimised" for high power density. I would think that means it has better thermal conductivity?

Anyway, I tried to look around for test results, but I'm probably looking in wrong places. Do any of you have some factual data, is there a noticible difference between those two?

Hi! First time custom loop builder here. I just bought this flow indicator because I think it looks sick:

PC Water Liquid Cooling DNA Flow Meter Flow Indicator with Female G1/4" Threads (black) - Newegg.com

But I am worried about it causing corrosion or gunk in the loop? I asked them and this was their response:

"The materials in contact with the coolant in this flow meter are primarily stainless steel, acrylic, and brass. All surfaces have been treated with anti-corrosion coatings and are specifically designed for liquid cooling systems.

These materials are safe and compatible with common ethylene glycol-based or propylene glycol-based coolants. They are resistant to long-term immersion and will not cause chemical reactions or release impurities into your loop system"

Any thoughts from some veterans who can help me? Thanks!

Hello everyone! I wanted to share my new creation with you. 😉

​After my very first project (Stealth Ice), I wanted to push the boundaries by designing a brand-new machine from scratch.

​Between the CAD modeling on Fusion 360, laser cutting of the sheet metal, bending, and assembly (TIG welding), this open-air chassis represents around a hundred hours of work.

​1. Chassis and Sheet Metal (316L Stainless Steel)

It all started with designing the flat patterns for laser cutting 316L stainless steel sheets. The main technical challenge was managing heat input during manual TIG welding to avoid warping on thin gauges while preserving that brushed industrial look.

​2. CNC Machined Parts (6061-T6 Aluminum)

For the trim, especially the backplate and the graphics card cover, I started from a solid block of 6061-T6 aluminum machined by Fastpreci. Around 50 hours of development.

​3. Watercooling Integration

The cooling loop is based on an Alphacool Core 2 XT base, completed by integrating a 316L stainless steel braided hose to match the overall aesthetic of the chassis.

​4. Hardware Specifications

​Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7 270K

​Motherboard: MSI Pro Z890-A WiFi

​Graphics Card: Palit GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (with its custom CNC-machined backplate)

​Cooling: Alphacool Core 2 XT with 316L stainless steel loop

​Power Supply: Seasonic PRIME TX-1300W

​Memory: AGI TurboJet DDR5

​Exhibition & Behind the Scenes:

The PC will be exhibited next week at the Paris Games Week (October 22 to 25) at the Overclocking booth.

​If you are interested in the fabrication details (machining, welding, etc.), the entire process is available on my social media.

​Your feedback on the design and craftsmanship is welcome in the comments! 👍

​Thanks everyone. 

Title says it all. Built my first loop yesterday to save my 3090. Finally got it all bled and running before I realized I never flushed the new rad. I didn't notice any large debris, but the clear coolant is definitely cloudy now.. am I good to leave it like this for a few days until I can get around to buying distilled water and flush it?

After a long delay I'm having progress in switching one of my y70 builds from a channelz distroplate to the singularity distroplate set. I have one more tube run then I can test it.

Just a quick appreciation post for manifolds and quick disconnects (QDCs).

Yesterday I had to swap the CPU in my main rig, which gave me the opportunity to put the practical side of my loop design to the test. I also installed a Thermal Grizzly Contact Sealing Frame while I was at it.

Normally, messing with components in a custom loop can mean draining, disconnecting tubes, refilling, bleeding air, etc.

With my manifold setup and Koolance QD3s, the whole process was pretty straightforward:

1. Disconnect the CPU block from the manifold using the QDCs (lost maybe a single drop of coolant).
2. Remove the old CPU, install the new one and mount the contact frame.
3. Apply thermal paste, remount the block, reconnect the QDCs and power on.

No draining, no mess, no bleeding air, and completely unobstructed access to the socket without having to touch the rest of the loop.

I originally designed this setup around easy maintenance and being able to swap individual components without tearing everything apart.

This was the first time I actually needed that functionality, and damn, it was satisfying to see it work exactly as intended.

QDCs are worth every penny.

MSI x Bitspower cooling

Hello! I’ve had this build for a while and i want to add another radiator. I’ve got a brand new P240M x flow and a 2015 XLC Predator 240mm. Now the xflow rad does not infact fit in the bottom of the enthoo 719 due to being a wide boy. So my only option is to reuse the old weird rad with the ddc or buy a new rad 240 or 360 for the bottom. My concern is the old rad being “unhleathy” and potentially ruining my loop or pooping it up or whatever, what do you think? Also idk if the xlc predator is a aluminum rad, but based on a scratch mark the fins are definetely copper. Im adding a rad cause the 11900k/6900xt liquid devil ultimate is hot asf and if the temps are like 55-60 the fans and pump have to run at around 50-60% and i want it more like 40%. I’ve had the build for a while and recently i put the 6900xt in there and gave the 7800xt to my cousin, but before it was a cpu only loop so now the extra crazy wattage the 6900xt pulls seems to be abit much for a slim 280 and a standard 360 (both alphacool). Now i did take the xlc apart completely and it is in a very good condition in terms of ddc, o rings and plastics. The inside is what bothers me. What would you do with the avalible? Thank you!

I have a PC at home that is for gaming occasionally, but mostly local llm work. Specs are:

9850X3D (on a be quiet! Silent Loop 3 420mm)

96GB DDR5 5600

Asus Tuf X870E (have a ProArt X870E NiB as well I will likely swap in)

dual R9700s

I am thinking about watercooling the R9700s with Alphacool's new block since these blower coolers are loud af, and wondering about an easy GPU-only water loop. In my head I would like a distro so I could parallel them, but it looks like Alphacool discontinued theirs that was made for this case. Right now the 420mm rad is up top, and up front I have three 140s with another 140mm in the bottom and one in the rear.

Anybody built in one of these recently with what we can get now? Distro block or just a pump/res combo? Being a workstation this is just for noise, not aesthetics, and other than the RGB that came on the AiO there is none on the board, RAM, GPUs, fans, etc. No real budget restrictions, just want to get it done right. Thanks for the help!

I assume since I made the mixture that it's why it has stayed foam at the top. Just today I finally topped it off but I noticed even the fluid I have stored for the top off seemed soapy. It has sat for 1 month and bubbles never went away. Why Is this?

Promochill system prep.was used before coolant mix.

Mixture was 1gal distilled water, Promo chill liquid utopia and primo chill blue uv concentrate dye and another blue dye that I can't recall brand and can't find the bottle.

Edit: the coolant is approximately 8 months old and has been like this since day one.

Does this loop configuration make sense?

I wanted both the CPU and GPU to receive water directly from a radiator, rather than from each other.

So, radiator → GPU → radiator → CPU, instead of radiator → radiator → GPU → CPU. Which configuration would make more sense?

The distro plate, or rather the large reservoir, will be mounted horizontally above the bottom radiator and its fans, using spacers, with the pump facing downward. I simply have nowhere else to place the reservoir, and mounting it vertically isn't an option either.

Now, would the Bitspower Hercules pump be powerful enough for this entire loop?

Pump specifications (15 W, max flow rate 11 L/min, max head pressure 5.5 m, PWM controlled).

And thanks to everyone who helped me with my previous question about whether a single 420 mm radiator would be enough for both the CPU and GPU. In the end, I decided to somehow squeeze in a second radiator, using the slimmest components I could find.

1x240mm and 1x360mm rad. Water is stable around 40 degrees with the fans at 70% (27C ambient). GPU global temp seems about right, but the CPU and GPU hotspot seem a bit too high. Is something wrong with my thermal paste?