Water cooling might have to be two loops

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teelee83

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Nov 22, 2016
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PC Specs First:

CPU: i7-6700k
GPU: MSI 1070 Gaming X
MOBO: MSI Z170a M5

So I want to do a single custom loop, but it looks like there aren't any water blocks available for my mobo to cool the cpu. So in that case I could just cool the gpu and maybe the ram with a custom loop and then try to do a AIO cooler for the cpu?

Does that sound retarded to do? My computer is not even a year old so I don't want to buy a new mobo yet since it's been great to me, but I want to eventually overclock so I want temps to be better. Right now the cpu cooler is a Cryorig H7 which is great, but playing Fallout 4 it sometimes spikes the cpu temps at about 70 when it loads a new area.

Am i just being to concerned with cooling or is there a better way?

Any feedback is appreciated.

PS - I have a mid case and am planning to get a full size this year which I think will help a bit with airflow.
 
Solution
rubix_1011
The temperature of your 2nd GPU being liquid cooled should still be significantly lower than any GPU in an air cooled machine, and many of those are left on for months at a time.

Splitting a connection with a Y-connector doesn't increase restriction, it actually decreases it, but also decreases flow rate.

I ran a CPU + 2 GPU SLI loop for several years on a single D5 and never saw these kinds of issues.
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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Jan 12, 2007
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There are plenty of waterblocks to cool CPUs. I have the same CPU you do and I have it watercooled in a single loop with my GPU. You want to find blocks that fit the 1151/1155/1156 pin CPUs - they all fit the same size.

You also really don't need RAM to be watercooled, especially DDR4 as it runs quite cool to begin with.
 
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teelee83

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Nov 22, 2016
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Sorry I apologize and should've been more descriptive in the initial post. I have been looking at EKWB waterblocks for the cpu and I guess people have been reporting that the block doens't sit right due to caps being too close to one side. However I thought it was odd since the AIO's seem to not have any reported issues with my mobo.
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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This depends - some of the blocks might sit differently depending on motherboard design. EK has a specific website to determine what fits your components. Most good designs, EK included, account for these differences in order to provide a more universal design.
 
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teelee83

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Nov 22, 2016
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Yeah that was the issue I had originally as when I try to find a cpu block for my motherboard they don't list any compatible blocks. I emailed them and they told me about the cap issue.

Honestly though I think I can just get a good AIO for the CPU and then just let the GPU air cool with its own fans (MSI 1070 gaming X) as they seem decent and plus reducing the temps in the case from the cpu AIO should, theoretically, reduce ambient case temp and help with GPU temps?
 
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marko55

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Nov 29, 2015
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Yeah spiking to 70c isn't really bad, especially if you're overclocking. Are you overclocking, and if so to what clock speed and voltage? You've got a decent cooler now, as long as you're getting decently cool air to the cooler. An AIO closed loop may help you if you have its fans pulling cool air from outside the case.

Same with the air-cooled GPU also of course. It can keep pretty cool if you're feeding enough cool air in to your case. What do your GPU temps look like under load? If your GPU is heating up and all its hot air is blowing out in to your case to roll over your CPU's heatsink, yeah, they could be hurting each other.
 
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Michael Piazza

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Aug 4, 2013
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It has been my experience, four self designed and built water cooled PC's, that dual cooling loops is the way to go. My initial two machines used a single cooling loop with the CPU output feeding the first GPU in an SLI setup and the output of the first GPU feeding the second GPU. All the major PC mags at the time promoted that configuration and most still do. In my case, however, that situation resulted in the failure of the second GPU in both initial machines. Theoretically it really shouldn't matter as the liquid should be able to draw away an equal amount of heat from each device in the path but in reality it does matter. Unlike the magazine builds I tend to use my gaming machine all the time and for at least a couple of years before I do a rebuild or upgrade. The second GPU is the third device in the chain and its input temperature will never get below the cumulative temperature from the heat extracted from the CPU and then the first GPU. Under those conditions for that period of time its no wonder it failed.

My third and fourth water cooled builds used separate dual loops. One for the CPU and the other for the GPU. The GPU's were again in SLI and so I split the GPU input lines with a 'Y' adapter so that each GPU would receive the same initial input temperature directly from the radiator/pump. The GPU outputs are combined back together using another 'Y' and input back to the GPU loop's radiator. A Lang D5 has plenty of pressure to enable the split as the water pressure is divided by the number of active splits/taps. One of those machines has been running for almost four years and neither one of them has had a temperature related failure.

So...make your own decision but that would be my recommendation.
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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The temperature of your 2nd GPU being liquid cooled should still be significantly lower than any GPU in an air cooled machine, and many of those are left on for months at a time.

Splitting a connection with a Y-connector doesn't increase restriction, it actually decreases it, but also decreases flow rate.

I ran a CPU + 2 GPU SLI loop for several years on a single D5 and never saw these kinds of issues.
 
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Solution
Vellinious

Vellinious

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Dec 3, 2013
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Agree with Rubix...you're killing your flow rates with those splitters.

I've been watercooling for a long time, and have never heard of anybody having the issues you're talking about. The only time a dual loop is really even useful, is under very extreme conditions where the user is looking for some really extreme overclocks.

The coolant temps across the loop you're talking about wouldn't be but 2 or 3c different from one part of the loop to another. Sorry, jr, but....that wasn't what killed your GPU.
 
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