Hardware & Technical A watercooling question - XSPC or EKWB ??

GuruNot · Apr 27, 2014

Having recently replaced my case, PSU and GPU, I am now looking in to the watercooling side of things.

Now I dont need to watercool, but need and want are two very different things

It is a little bit of a project.

Initially it is just going to be the CPU, but there is the potential it could expand to the GPU in the future.

Yes I could go with the all in one solution like a NZXT Kraken or a Corsair Hydro but I want to do something a little more.

So it basically comes down to using XSPC or EKWB. Having done a little homework, two very good solutions seem to be either:

This one by XSPC

or

This one by EKWB

Is anyone using such a set up and have any comments about either?

Cosmos · Apr 28, 2014

I've never done a water cooled system partly because I'd always be concerned about leaks. If I were doing it for the first time I would probably buy one of those completed types where you don't have to bother donig the fluid. However, it would defo make for an interesting project.

I presume you are going for a big overclock?

popuptoaster · Apr 28, 2014

I got one of these,

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/ante...fan-rgb-led-temperature-sensor-120mm-radiator

Not expandable for your GPU as its sealed unit, but cheap, quiet, maintenance free, easy to fit and works really well.

Aleksej · Apr 28, 2014

Cosmos said:
I've never done a water cooled system partly because I'd always be concerned about leaks. If I were doing it for the first time I would probably buy one of those completed types where you don't have to bother donig the fluid. However, it would defo make for an interesting project.

I presume you are going for a big overclock?

There is always going to be the first time when you do something. I would recommend to wipe the inside part of the tube that is connected to a fitting from any moisture as if it is wet you can have a leak even if you secure all connections very tightly.

If you use distilled water with additives a leak won't do any harm to your PC. However it is better to perform a test for leaks by turning on just a pump. Also put something that will absorb the water to the tube connections.

Water cooling is good not only for big overclock but also to make system quieter. I cannot stand the noise of the GPU cooler when it is hit up to 80C, with water cooling there is no such noise because you do not have a cooler on GPU as well as GPU temperature is 20-30 degrees lower.

Neo-ST · Apr 28, 2014

I don't know about XSPC, but I've been using EKWB system for years now.
It is extremely reliable and quality product, don't hesitate to buy it.
0 problems, 0 leaks, if you take time to think about your system and follow the basic rules.

I water cool my CPU and whole GPU, but I've overbuilt it in case I need to add another GPU or so.

Aleksej · Apr 28, 2014

Neo-ST said:
I don't know about XSPC, but I've been using EKWB system for years now.
It is extremely reliable and quality product, don't hesitate to buy it.
0 problems, 0 leaks, if you take time to think about your system and follow the basic rules.

I water cool my CPU and whole GPU, but I've overbuilt it in case I need to add another GPU or so.

Both of them are good. I have 2x360 XSPC radiators, XSPC CPU water block, and 2 EKWB water blocks for GTX Titans. I am satisfied with their performance.

GuruNot · Apr 28, 2014

Cosmos said:
I've never done a water cooled system partly because I'd always be concerned about leaks. If I were doing it for the first time I would probably buy one of those completed types where you don't have to bother donig the fluid. However, it would defo make for an interesting project.

I presume you are going for a big overclock?

I dont want to go for an AIO solution, that would not be really much of a challenge. Hence going for the a proper water cooled solution.

After some feedback from other forums , I am going to go for a 360 Radiator instead of a 240, there certainly is enough room in my case.

I am leaning towards EKWB kit at the mo. But who knows. Still lots of homework to do.

Aleksej · Apr 28, 2014

GuruNot said:
I dont want to go for an AIO solution, that would not be really much of a challenge. Hence going for the a proper water cooled solution.

After some feedback from other forums , I am going to go for a 360 Radiator instead of a 240, there certainly is enough room in my case.

I am leaning towards EKWB kit at the mo. But who knows. Still lots of homework to do.

If you are planning to use Laing D5 pumps you may also consider buying dual 5.25" bay reservoir e.g.:
http://koolance.com/rp-452x2-dual-5-25in-reservoir-for-1-2-pmp-450-s-pumps

It can be used with 1 or 2 pumps, 1 or 2 water cooling loops. I am using one loop for CPU and the second one for 2 GPUs.

Gangsta · May 4, 2014

GuruNot said:
Having recently replaced my case, PSU and GPU, I am now looking in to the watercooling side of things.

Now I dont need to watercool, but need and want are two very different things It is a little bit of a project.

Initially it is just going to be the CPU, but there is the potential it could expand to the GPU in the future.

Yes I could go with the all in one solution like a NZXT Kraken or a Corsair Hydro but I want to do something a little more.

So it basically comes down to using XSPC or EKWB. Having done a little homework, two very good solutions seem to be either:

This one by XSPC

or

This one by EKWB

Is anyone using such a set up and have any comments about either?

I am currently running a watercooled Corsair 600T, it's based on a Rasa 360 kit, which is cooling the CPU and a MSI R7970 GPU in the same loop (EK Waterblock on the GPU). The resovoir and pump has had no problem cooling both even with a mild overclock on the i7 920.

One thing that you may need to budget for is the various interconnects which cost a fortune, my kit had all the ones I needed, but I ended buying better one just to ease my mind by reducing the risk of leaks, Bit Power are a well known brand and look far nicer than the ones supplied in the kit.

I think its worth getting a case that can take your future cooling requirements, I.e. can it accommodate a 360 radiator, having space for second one is a bonus, incase you plan on dual loop and overclocking.

My i7 can be overclocked to 4gig from its default 2.65gig. I've not had a reason to overclock it to that yet, this may change with E: D Beta!

http://www.xs-pc.com/rasa-kits/rasa-750-rs360-watercooling-kit

Watercooling is great way to keep up with more modern hardware, love to compare my i7 + R7970 with Haswell i7s

Gangsta · May 4, 2014

removed double post

GuruNot · May 4, 2014

Gangsta said:
One thing that you may need to budget for is the various interconnects which cost a fortune, my kit had all the ones I needed, but I ended buying better one just to ease my mind by reducing the risk of leaks, Bit Power are a well known brand and look far nicer than the ones supplied in the kit.

I think its worth getting a case that can take your future cooling requirements, I.e. can it accommodate a 360 radiator, having space for second one is a bonus, incase you plan on dual loop and overclocking.

I have been looking in to the interconnects as well as additional fans and they can certainly bump the price.

Regarding the case, I have a Phantek Enthoo Primo , so not much to worry about there.

Gangsta · May 29, 2014

Sorry for the late reply, been busy with other matters (being a 45 year old day has lots of other priorities!) That case seems to be well suited for water cooling, my advice is to go for the larger radiators from the get go, I can imagine a Tri-SLI setup in that case, not that you would need it.

Your right about the interconnects cost, especially if you start choosing well known brands such as bit Power, I never used the ones that came with the kits, as they look so cheap and could not risk a leak, the new set cost me almost £60! and later I realized the other problems how to remove a part without breaking the loop, its very messy indeed, so ended up spending more money on quick release fittings.