r/watercooling Apr 20 '25

Guide Do NOT use Distilled Water for your Water Cooling Loop

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216 Upvotes

r/watercooling Nov 27 '23

Guide How to find compatible blocks for your hardware

251 Upvotes

Sup folks. So, finding compatible blocks has always been a royal pain, especially for newbies. Lots of different manufacturers, many of whom are unfamiliar to folks who aren't already watercooling and they don't all make blocks for every GPU model.

Fear not. iln (one of the Discord mod crew) has been working tirelessly to put together this new tool to help you find what you're looking for and assemble a loop list. You can even import your list from PCPartPicker.


r/watercooling 12h ago

Build Complete New $30,000 build completed!

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361 Upvotes

6 month project. All custom water loop and external radiator with dual heat exchangers.

Primary system is server spec hardware for workstation with dual 480mm radiators, waterblocks on CPU, GPU and RAM.

Second system is gaming spec hardware with dual 360mm rads, waterblocks for cpu and gpu.

Each system flows out to a heat exchanger cooled with a single Mo-Ra 400 loop.

Total build cost north of $30,000.


r/watercooling 5h ago

Soft Tube Rig

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38 Upvotes

I posted my first hard tube build the other day. Here is my soft tube one.


r/watercooling 23m ago

Build Complete Joined the MORA cult

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Upvotes

After many builds, constant back and forth I think for the first time I’m genuinely satisfied. Not sure if it’s just me or if this is commonplace. Build something, run it, switch it up in a small or bigger way and then that goes on.

Been eyeballing this thing for a while, cooling? Never need to upgrade theoretically. Just re use it when necessary. Swap the gpu/cpu or mobo and that’s it.

Specs:

Ncased M3 Grater in silver
Asus B850-I Gaming Wifi
Ryzen 7800X3D
Zotac 5080 Solid Core
G.Skill Trident Z 32GB
Samsung 980 Pro and 980 Evo Plus 2TB each
Mora 400
4 Noctua AF-20 Chromax
Heatkiller D5
Mora Res 200
Mora Passive Control
Aquacomputer Quadro
Thermaltake SFX 1000 Platinum
Internal Alphacool Core Fittings and QDC HF Tube transparent, Aquacomputer EDPM 16/10 Tubes outside and 90° Thermal Grizzly Fittings with 7mm Extenders.

Filled with DP Ultra

Re-used Alphacool NeXXoS X3 Light (waiting for Heatkiller V CPU blocks till I maybe upgrade that one. And Alphacool Core GPU block


r/watercooling 14h ago

AD / Vendor post SleeveDock SD16 for 10/16 soft tubes now in Stock.

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67 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m very excited to introduce the SD16 SleeveDock to you all.
The SleeveDock is a premium silicone sleeve holder for 10/16 water cooling soft tubes in combination with Deltamate ST16 Fittings. No Heat-shrink needed.

Installation Guide (YouTube):
https://youtu.be/Ppr_nAgePYQ?si=Saq58CgQnDbUy5y7

You can check it out here:
https://rhinotec.shop/collections/sleevedock

I’m happy to answer any questions about compatibility and mounting.


r/watercooling 3h ago

Question Can I use any of this 2 ports to drain the system?

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9 Upvotes

Want to install a drain valve on one this ports of my radiator that has 4 of these, is it a bad idea to put it there?


r/watercooling 18h ago

Build Complete 15 Years of Watercooling

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100 Upvotes

Fifteen years of water cooling: from a simple Swiftech kit with plastic barb fittings, then distilled water with a silver kill coil, through PETG, acrylic tubing, premixes, dyes, and finally back to flexible EPDM tubing with DP Ultra.

Nice memories.


r/watercooling 15h ago

First water cooled build.. this is addicting.

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58 Upvotes

r/watercooling 41m ago

Build Help Looking for someone experienced with AM5 Direct Die (Ryzen 9 9850X3D) – Happy to pay for help

Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for someone with real hands-on experience with AM5 direct-die cooling, especially on Ryzen X3D CPUs (9800X3D / 9850X3D / 9950X3D).

I'm not looking for general advice. I'd like to work with someone who has actually completed a successful direct-die build and can guide me through the process. I'm happy to pay for your time.

My system

  • CPU: Ryzen 9 9850X3D
  • GPU: ASUS ROG Astral RTX 5080 + EK Vector³ water block
  • CPU Block: EK Quantum Velocity³
  • Pump: D5
  • Radiators:
    • 2 × 480 mm
    • 2 × 360 mm
  • Coolant temperature: 28–30°C while gaming

Why I'm considering direct die

I'm honestly not happy with my CPU temperatures.

In Star Citizen, my CPU reaches 64–65°C.

I know many people will say those temperatures are "normal," but with four radiators (2×480 + 2×360) and coolant staying around 28–30°C, I expected significantly better results.

For comparison:

  • GPU never exceeds 43–44°C
  • Coolant stays at 28–30°C
  • The loop itself is clearly performing very well

I've already:

  • Reassembled the EK Velocity³
  • Verified the jet plate orientation
  • Verified the cold plate orientation
  • Checked the O-ring
  • Confirmed inlet/outlet routing
  • Remounted the block multiple times

Everything appears to be installed correctly, so I'm starting to think I've reached the limit of a conventional AM5 water block.

What I'm looking for

I'm looking for someone experienced with:

  • AM5 direct-die cooling
  • Delidding Ryzen X3D CPUs
  • Best direct-die blocks
  • Mounting pressure
  • Installation tips
  • Long-term reliability

If you've actually built and run an AM5 direct-die system, I'd really appreciate your help. I'm happy to pay for your time if you can guide me through the process and help me choose the best hardware.

Thanks in advance!


r/watercooling 2h ago

Question Anyone making white concentrate in EU? Diluting EK Cryofuel Cloud White?

3 Upvotes

Does anyone still manufacture white concentrate in Europe. I used mayhems Pastel Extreme White concentrate for almost a decade with no discolouration on my blocks and no fallout (Blitz used on rads and blocks). I ended up diluting it to get a foggy look for my cpu monoblock and GPU argb strips.

I'm still clinging on to the drained White Pastel from one of my builds as I know I can never get it again. I have approx 20ml fresh concentrate left in the Mayhems bottle. Its too little to use on a large build so I'll probably use in a SFF build.

My builds all have dark tempered glass hence the need for white coolant. One has an EK monoblock and a Heatkiller Tube 200 res which has rgb light strips that look blinding/awful if they aren't hitting a semi-solid coolant. I have multiple builds to refill. Just one of them alone needs 2L coolant. I have my own Vevor water distiller (saves a fortune as 5L of distilled water here in Ireland costs €20). Premixes defeat the point of having the distiller.

  • Mayhems no longer do any white.
  • EK only do premix at €20 per litre.
  • Primochill concentrate costs a fortune shipped from the USA and EU sellers like HighFlow are €35 per bottle plus shipping.

As a concentrate alternative can EK Cloud White be diluted with distilled to make it into a form of Mystic White. Cheers.


r/watercooling 45m ago

Alphacool NexXxoS XT45/1260mm SuperNove

Upvotes

Hello, I’m planning to set up this Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper 1260mm SuperNova radiator. I’ll be installing Noctua NF-A20 HS-PWM chromax.black 200 x 200 mm fans.

My question is: would I gain any performance with a push-pull configuration versus just push? Or would the difference be completely imperceptible?


r/watercooling 21h ago

Build Complete My Jonsbo TK2 2.0 water cooled build! ^^

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85 Upvotes

Got tired of my 011D Razer edition after 7 years.

So decided to switch cases before the next LAN event in a couple of weeks!

Went with the TK2 after a couple of days of thinking about different case options. I knew I had to "modify" it to fit the distro plate since I didn't want to buy a new reservoir lol.

Managed to Dremel some space for the distro and drill the cases mounting holes a little bigger, so I could get at least three bolts tightened with spacers. Also the bottom radiator was so tight that I don't think it needed the screws for it (still screwed it in)

Also painted it as close as I could to the Razer's Quartz pink since that's what I did with my earlier case as well :D

Came out pretty nicely if I do say so myself!

Specs: (should upgrade at some point)

Jonsbo TK2 2.0

I9 10900K @5.2GHz

ASUS TUF RTX 4070 SUPER

TRIDENT Z NEO 32GB DDR4 3600 MT/s

ASROCK Z490 EXTREME4

2x Kingston's 1TB m.2

BE QUIET PURE POWER 13M 850W (with extension cables)

All water-cooling parts are from EK, Alphacool and barrowch. Mostly EK

(Also posted elsewhere)


r/watercooling 6h ago

Question How bad are pastel coolants?

5 Upvotes

I recently built a new rig with parts carried over from my previous (very old) build, and some new parts. My new CPU waterblock is the Alphacool Core1. The product page says the following:

Note on application
Please use only in conjunction with clear transparent water cooling fluids. The particles and additives in Pastel liquids can clog and permanently damage water cooling products such as radiators, pumps, coolers and hoses. This can result in voiding the manufacturer's warranty as well.

I'm using Pastel Red EK Cryofuel, and have been for a long time with no issues. I know people have problems with pastel coolants, but I haven't thus far. However, a bunch of parts are now new in the loop, especially the CPU block.

How bad are pastel coolants? Is there something particular about the core1 cpu block that makes it more susceptible to damage by this type of coolant?


r/watercooling 14h ago

Build Ready Checkpoint Reached! Time for a Break

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18 Upvotes

Finally got my build operational after a few days of tinkering away for hard plastic tubing. Ended up compromising and using soft plastic tubing for the external tubes but other than that everything is hard plastic and I’m rather happy about the result. Yes, I did Zip Tie the res and pump combo to the back of my pc. Yes, I did Velcro the QUADRO to the back of my case. I will not have the girls be infringed upon!

Specs:
9950x3d
5080 Aorus Master Ice
2x32Gb Hynix A-Die 6000 MT/S
2x2Tb NVME SSD
1x6Tb HDD
1x8TB HDD
2-4 anime girls at any point

Added this time around were:
Watercooling to ram
Added two ambient temp sensors (one for gpu exhaust)
Added 1 water temp sensor
Added 1 high flow NEXT
Added water wheel flow indicator
Added two more ball valves to make a water routing gate for external radiators eventually
Replaced Corsair radiator (420) for alphacool radiator (420) (30)
Created external radiator with Corsair radiator (420) and 3 noctua 14mm fans while my cats enjoyed come fresh air

What to look for next time:
I’ll be adding the external radiator and stress testing comparison for 1 vs 2 radiators


r/watercooling 3h ago

I inherited some old WaterCooled PC equipment, question on finding a GPU block.

2 Upvotes

I got a friends old case and parts of his old water cooling system. It looks in very good condition. However there are no CPU or GPU blocks. I am trying to hunt for a waterblock for my Gigabyte Geforce OC-24 G, Rev 1.0 but can only find a listing on Ebay from China. I'm guessing this card is old and perhaps didn't have many produced? FYI I got a CaseLabs SMA8 with 2 EK-CoolStream CE 560, an EK reservoir, but can't find the model, and a D5 PWM9-38.


r/watercooling 6h ago

Question Be Quiet! Light Base 900 DX - Rad + GPU Clearance

3 Upvotes

Hey all!

Just a quick question hopefully! Does anyone know whether this case supports BOTH vertical GPU mounting and a slim radiator? I have a couple of Hardware Labs Nemesis GTS360 rads and I'm hoping to set them up as top + bottom push pull.

Also, does anyone know whether vertical mounting will prevent other PCIe cards from slotting in? I have a WiFi 6 and my VR streaming cards to slot in around the GPU somewhere.

Any help would be much appreciated, no worries if I have to slot the GPU in the usual way!


r/watercooling 7h ago

Question How to ensure proper port positions/measurements

2 Upvotes

I am building a loop soon in an Antec C8 with a Gigabyte RTX 5080 (alphacool block 10290) and am trying to ensure all of the ports are aligned in at least one plane throughout all of my build. For example, going from the distro to the first radiator should be directly down, then from the radiator to the GPU block straight up (and towards the rear). How can I ensure I am lining everything up correctly when information like radiator distance from the front/side panels are not written out?


r/watercooling 1d ago

Had a mild panic attack

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363 Upvotes

Replaced my coolant 2 days ago and while I was playing a game and then felt my mouse pad was wet and realised coolant was leaking out and I had a serious panic attack. Then I realised I left the fill bottle on the other side it must have built up pressure and leaked out.


r/watercooling 19h ago

Guide Successful Liquid Cooling

10 Upvotes

The key is to get a crew of experienced Hydraulic Engineers. I hired mine away from the Lego Hoover Dam.


r/watercooling 23h ago

Swamp cooler troubles

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13 Upvotes

Hey there guys! New to swamp cooler as I've always lived in very humid environments not ideal for swamp coolers but now I live in the Mojave desert where most people have one.

Recently our swamp cooler was squeeking then the squeeking stopped and now it's lightly rumbling on all settings. It is 105 here and we have a 1 year old so running it despite the noise feels necessary until we can buy an AC unit this week.

Any advice or idea what this is? Sorry for the blatant ignorance to my situation. As stated this is all new to me.

Thank you in advance ☺️


r/watercooling 1d ago

Where do i plug this in alphacool ultitube d5 next

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12 Upvotes

r/watercooling 1d ago

My New Corsair 9000D AirFlow

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142 Upvotes

Corsair 9000D Custom Water cooling


r/watercooling 3h ago

Discussion Water-cooling is just air cooling with extra steps.

0 Upvotes

r/watercooling 1d ago

Starting building my aio just changed the waterblock from aio to velocity ² any tips

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3 Upvotes

Tips for doing the loop ?