SO YOUR PC is now hooked up to a sweet-looking liquid cooling
loop, but it still needs a copy of Windows 11 and an updated BIOS.
Starting with the latter, we were fortunate enough to boot our
system straight into the BIOS. Using another PC, we went to the
manufacturer’s support page and downloaded the latest BIOS
version for our MSI Z690 MEG Unify board onto a blank USB drive.
We then headed back into the BIOS by mashing the delete key
on a restart and inserting the USB drive with the update file into
the PC. We headed into the M-FLASH portion and proceeded to
select this update by finding it on the USB drive. After selecting
the file, we let the machine do its thing, leaving it to restart after
updating to the latest version.NOW THAT OUR BIOS is done, we will be installing the latest
version of Windows 11 using the media creation tool on Microsoft’s
website. Install this software using another system then run
through the installation wizard. You will need a blank USB drive
with at least 8GB of storage, but we just used the same one from
earlier and wiped the BIOS update from it. In the installation
wizard, select the USB when it asks you where you want to install
the media. Then again, sit back and let it do its thing.
Once installed onto the drive, stick it into the new build and
boot up the BIOS once more. Here, you need to re-arrange the
boot order, making sure the USB drive is first in the priority list
then restart, this will then take you to the Windows 11 installation
process on your new PC. Follow these steps and you should
finally be able to start using your PC. A great tip for new builds
is to head to ninite (ninite.com), where you can install a multitude
of important applications all at once. Also, make sure to update
all the drivers, and download Corsair’s iCue software to run the
cooling system and lighting efficiently. After that, then you can
start to load up Steam on your fancy new liquid-cooled PC.18 BIOS UPDATE 19 WINDOWS 11 INSTALL
WELL, WE’VE MADE IT. One liquid cooled loop completed and for
my first attempt, I have to say it’s not half bad! It goes to show that
if you’ve yet to build a custom cooled machine, then fear not, as it’s
really not as tricky as you may think. Sure, there are a lot more
points of potential failure, but if you plan your flow path, you’re
patient, and meticulously check your fittings, you’ll be alright.
As with most builds, there are other issues to consider. When
priming our pump, the Molex cable that worked for the secondary
PSU didn’t work on our primary PSU. We
swapped this out for another cable and this
fixed the issue but nevertheless spooked us
for a moment. Cable management was also
a pain in the behind, with less room to work
with, daisy-chaining, and two commanders
in use, it quickly got messy in the back of the
case and took a while to sort.
Of course, we ordered the wrong GPU
block and we had to take the heatsink off
the SSD, ironically using heat. Other than
that and some guidance from our former
colleague Zak Storey (now at Corsair), who
popped back in to show us how to liquid cool,
the build went smoothly. It just takes time to
practice the tube bending and deburring. It’s
a lot of trial and error at the start, but you
soon pick it up.So, is it worth liquid cooling? The answer isn’t quite a
straightforward yes or no. You can think of liquid cooling in a
similar vein to the custom car scene. These machines look sweet,
and water-cooled builds are certainly attention grabbers and can
really transform a setup. Just like show cars, you can customize
them to your liking and create something truly unique.
It’s not all just for show though, as our benchmarks show,
you get a great performing machine on full-whack. However,
there are other machines that can achieve
these benchmarking results. It’s beyond the
benchmarking where you notice the difference
though, as temperatures are much cooler,
which results in a smoother performing rig.
This machine is also super quiet as a result
of the liquid cooling, with the fans running
efficiently when running a high-end game
to the point that you don’t notice that it’s on,
especially when wearing a headset.
There is just one big catch, and that’s
the price. It’s fair to say that this is for an
enthusiast, as liquid cooling can soon get
pricey and if you want to add this to an already
expensive arsenal of components, it’s going
to only add more heft to the bill. Then again,
PC building is a hobbyist experience and liquid
cooling is the crème de la crème.WATERCOOLING, CHECK
watercooling
24 MAXIMU MPC JUN 2022
© MSI, MICROSOFT