Liquid Assets
Your build is finally finished, your loop
is complete, and your system is up and
running—what can you expect now? Well,
first up, you’ll notice a dramatic reduction
in overall temperatures, most notably
with the graphics card. GPUs are one of
the areas that benefit the most from liquid
cooling. An Nvidia RTX 2080 Super, which
typically runs at 85 C under load, will likely
plummet to the 60 C range, if not further.
This is great for overclocking and for stock
overclock features, such as GPU boost. As
for your CPU, this is where your mileage is
likely to vary—some processors do benefit
a lot, but if we’re honest, you probably
won’t see temperatures much better than
if you were to run an AIO solution instead.
And then there’s the noise, or lack
thereof. We always recommend you
configure your fans in the BIOS, as
opposed to using desktop software. For a
liquid-cooled PC, and if your loop allows
it, try to aim for a fixed RPM of around
30–50 percent. You can go lower, but on
the whole, that’s kinda the sweet spot
for a noise-to-performance ratio, and
regardless of temperature, you’ll have
a quiet rig whether or not you’re running
demanding applications.The big question we always ask whenever
we cover liquid cooling is whether it’s
worth it. We used that classic car analogy
at the beginning, and it’s something we
want to come back to now. Theoretically,
you don’t need a fast car. You just don’t.
No matter how you argue, a lot of the time,
that family sedan will get you where you
need to be in the same amount of time as
the dude tearing it up in his fully restored
57 Bel Air (even after he’s invested a good
$20,000 into it).
And the thing is, it’s the same with
liquid cooling a PC. Do you need to do it? Of
course not. Will it improve performance?
Yeah, considerably in some cases, and it’ll
definitely reduce noise, but it’s not a deal-
breaker. Does it really matter in the long
run? Probably not. But that doesn’t make
it any less fun, or less skillful to do. Having
that masterful piece of work sitting on
your desk, that you built entirely, and that
no other person in the world has, quietly
working hard for you as you drop in and
out of load, is so satisfying.What to Expect
Is It Worth It?
Total Cost
Can you do this on a budget? That depends
on what your budget is. Liquid cooling is
usually reserved for high-end systems.
That’s not to say you can’t cool an Intel Core
i5 or an Nvidia RTX 2070, but you’ll see the
most benefit on higher-end components,
because this is usually where thermal
limits come into play. At the lower end
of the hardware spectrum, you’re often
better off investing that $400 into a more
powerful processor or graphics card,
depending on what you need.
With that small caveat out of the
way, let’s take a look at what you coulddo to build your own more affordable
liquid-cooling loop. As an example, our
theoretical system here is going to use
an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and an Nvidia
GeForce RTX 2080 Super, and be housed
inside the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv X
chassis. So, we know we’ve got plenty
of support for 360mm radiators, and
good clearance internally to mount our
hardware in a multitude of ways, and we
can add to it later if need be. We would use
a pump/reservoir combo to reduce the
overall cost, and opt for ZMT tubing to give
it a clean, industrial look.Alternately, if you want
to save even more cash,
many manufacturers
offer fully equipped kits,
with everything you
need to get started with
your first loop. Now, weknow we’re highlighting
EKWB a lot here,
but it’s just an easy
example to use. The
company offers two
kits: a full copper setup
for a 360mm radiator,waterblock, and CPU
loop, which would set
you back $332, or you
could plump for the EK
Fluid Gaming A360G
aluminum kit instead,
for around $240.FULL LIQUID-COOLING KITS
BESPOKE LOOP
Type Product Name PriceCPU Block EK-Quantum Velocity AMD Copper + Acetal $77GPU Block EK-Vectgor RTX 2080 RGB Nickel + Acetal $128Pump/Res Combi EK-XRES 100 DDC MX 3.1 PWM $74Radiator EK-CoolStream Classic SE 360 $60Fans 3x EK-Vardar F4-120ER 2,200rpm $25Fittings 8x EK-STC Classic 10/16 Black $36Tubing 3m EK-Tube ZMT Matte Black 15.9/9.5mm $14Coolant 1x EK CryoFuel Blood Red (Premix 1,000ml) $10Total $424maximumpc.com MAY 2020 MAXIMUM PC 31