Antony Leather is Custom PC’s modding editor @antonyleather
Water cooling doesn’t have to be expensive
Premium
manufacturers
such as EK make
some gorgeous
kit, but it can be
very expensiveriser cables in various lengths to suit
various different-use cases.
From short ATX setups to mini-ITX
cases that require long riser cables
to flip the graphics card behind the
motherboard tray, such as the NZXT
H1, Phanteks Evolv Shift 2 and Raijintek
Ophion Evo, the company should have
an option that suits most situations.
I
took great pleasure writing
last month’s feature about
affordable water cooling
(see Issue 211, p72). We all want the
greatest hardware, but the fact
remains that the best bang for your
buck is rarely found in the very upper
echelons of wallet-emptying
purchases. The diminishing returns in
terms of noise reduction and cooling
performance mean you need to
consider how much you spend on
water-cooling hardware, as cutting-
edge components rarely make your
loop cooler or quieter.
It was amazing to see what you can
achieve if you aim to have plenty of
change from £200. For the same price
as a high-end AIO liquid cooler, you
can have a large 280mm radiator and
full custom loop that can be expanded
to include your graphics card at a later
date. The feature was geared towards
Finally, Thermaltake is also working
on its own PCI-E 4 riser cable. The
company is potentially the first case
manufacturer to be doing so, although
Thermaltake wouldn’t give me
any more information about it, so it
remains to be seen whether or not this
cable will be included with any of the
company’s future cases.people who have an interest in water
cooling, but find the prices of premium
components a bit silly.
I think this is important, because
water cooling is beneficial and great
fun. It enables you to really dial up the
tinkering with your cooling system, but
it’s also just great to have a powerful,
overclocked PC that’s actually cool
and quiet too. Thankfully, there are
just as many components for lower
budgets as the rest of the spectrum,
so it’s definitely worth hitting Google to
check out some of the lesser-known
manufacturers, or just the cheaper
components on retailer’s websites.
There are a few other places you can
try too. I’ve found aliexpress.com and
eBay to be handy tools for discovering
brands such as Barrow and Bykski. The
products might not always have the
finesse of other brands, but there are
huge ranges and I’ve used their parts
in plenty of builds. However, do check
reviews first, as some parts can leave
a lot to be desired.
That said, I’m also liking a lot of the
innovation I’m seeing from the usualIn the meantime, if you’re desperate
for a PCI-E 4 riser cable, a company
called Linkup is offering them on
Amazon. However, they’re expensive
and for now, there are no notable GPU
performance gains from them in most
situations, so I advise switching back to
PCI-E 3 and waiting for prices to drop
as more companies offer them.premium players recently. I spoke to
EK during its recent CES expo and it
has some seriously cool products
coming that are delightfully high-end
and niche. Saving up and spending big,
therefore, isn’t likely to disappoint in
terms of the sheer quality, engineering
and eye candy departments, and I’m
definitely not saying they should be
avoided. Your PC will look fantastic
with these parts, and most of them
will last for years too – certainly
longer than many people keep their
processors or graphics cards.
They’re also loaded with features
that make your water-cooling
experience easier and more
rewarding. The latest mounts for
pumps, reservoirs and distribution
plates can make creating your own
water-cooling loop easier than ever.
It all means that water cooling is
possible in a wider variety of cases
than ever before – big and small.
The cheaper stuff is rarely much less
effective in terms of cooling and noise
reduction, but premium kit certainly
has its advantages.
Thankfully, there’s enough water-
cooling gear around now to suit nearly
any budget, case size or heat load. If
it’s done properly, you’re less likely
to encounter leaks now than the old
days too.
This didn’t used to be the situation,
and despite me fearing for the future
of water cooling a while back, it’s never
looked stronger or more popular.