Solved AIO Liquid Cooler recommendations

I got a liquid-cooled Gigabyte GPU... Thing is, it does need a cooler. However, I'm reluctant to blow $300 USD and up for a cooling kit. Buying parts separately would run me at least as much, and I still would have to spend a lot of time tracking down the separate parts, assembling them, and then discovering that some part is either not up to snuff in terms of quality or not assembled correctly or something is missing. One important thing I learned - the pump needs to be as low as practical. To this end, I identified 3 AIO coolers that seem to fit the bill:

Rosewill RGB AIO cooler - $109 on Amazon. The reason it fits the bill - the pump is integrated into the radiator, so I can most likely adapt this AIO system to my GPU.
MSI cooler - $93 on Amazon. Just like Rosewill, it has a pump integrated into the radiator.
be quiet! double-decoupled pump - $95 on Amazon - this one fits the bill because the pump is not built into the waterblock.

So basically - I'd like to ask for some help identifying more options like above - not a kit that requires assembly, and the pump not being built into the waterblock. Thanks!
 
Doing a quick search on expanding AIO cooling systems, it seems to be a common verdict in that it is possible not recommended. One of the most common issues when modifying/expanding a AIO water cooling, is that the water pump included are often weak at the bare minimum. Another thing that is frequently mentioned, is that you shouldn't mix aluminum and copper systems together. The AIO setups that do, tend to have their coolant mixture setup to minimize the amount of corrosion. This also ties into the part of diluting the coolant mixture isn't good either. So it seems that using a AIO kit cool both the CPU and GPU isn't as common. (Assuming you want the water cooling also cool the CPU, if not then one less issue).
 
Nope, I plan to cool both CPU and GPU separately (for now, I may still splurge for a cooling kit next year with quality parts). Aluminum and copper systems - ct85711 , are you referring to the metal fittings and suggesting to make sure they match on both the AIO system and the GPU's waterblock? Most GPU's have copper heat spreaders

In that case, I'd probably want to have more than just three options.
 
Now that I read the ekweb article, it seems like proximity of components (made from different metals) is part of the issue - like a copper screw-on lid mated to an aluminum reservoir/waterblock. Yeah, that's stuff to pay attention to when selecting the AIO. Seems like as long as the coolant doesn't leak, an AIO should be capable of cooling my GPU, just hook the hoses into the GPU's waterblock, and make sure the pump works. But man, my requirements seem to filter out most of the stuff on the market.
 
Solved the problem... with a Be Quiet! AIO, Corsair 13/10 fittings, and 3/8 inch clear vinyl tubing from Home Depot. Mated that to the GPU, so now I'm a happy camper.
 
Pix or it didn't happen. :cool:
Here you go... I could have done a better job with the hoses - they block just about everything below the GPU, so the only options for any upgrades that remain are: adding RAM or an SATA SSD... :p
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I've been water cooling stuff for over 15+ years now... I water-cooled pretty much everything (even a Hackintosh once for my GF) so I've built all types of setup (Rigid, Flexible, Cooper/metal loops), actually one of my main businesses is OEM of extremely powerful HEC (High-End Computers) or HPC (High Performance Computing)...

My 2 cents BUY the most expensive parts you can afford for cooling, why??? Well, my cooling setup has outlived 5 rebuilds with good maintenance the cooling loops and equipment will last you the life of the build for many many years. I also buy the top in thermal grease and pads DO NOT BE CHEAP it will save you time, maintenance and parts.DO NOT BUY bundles, study brands and parts, cooling last long time on average ~8 years and by not buying bundles you can optimize for better brands.

Having said that, it's an expensive hobby, and get ready to have spills and mess some shit up... I have fried (Like SPARKS and nasty PCB smell type :eek:) for sure over x3+ GPUs in my rookie days (thankfully they're were all under warranty so I get OEM to RMA or upgrade) for exchange don't be a moron, be neat and not send the manufacture SHIT back put everything to OEM specs meaning save stock thermal pads, coolers, all that they fit in a GPU saved in a closet.

I don't buy prebuild water-cooled cards it saves $, PLUS I have preference in parts and I like exotic cooling blocks made of woods/exotic elements.

FYI on average my main computer cooling loops NEW were worth more than all of my compute setup inside and I had (x4 GPUS).
 
Curious why the water cooling? Over clocking? I ask because I have been building PCs for years, for myself, and have never had a PC die for any reason. I do not overclock though because I don’t see the point for my use cases.
 
Watitsthis : Thanks, that's useful info. BTW, that water-cooled GPU was, at the time, considerably less than the triple-fan option. It just so happened that I caught a (relatively) crazy sale back then. The hard part was finding a compatible AIO whose head did not have a pump built in - that was a hard requirement for my setup.

FWIW, I could have done a better job with the clear hoses under the GPU...

I'm hoping to get mining going on that rig, and OpenCL/HIP, all under FreeBSD. This is a bit on the back burner right now for me, though - other projects have my attention at this time, so this rig is waiting for that to be finished. I decided to get the parts while they were relatively easy to get, even with the CPU/GPU market crisis that is far from over.

RIg specs: Ryzen 7 5800x, 32 GB RAM, x570 Gigabyte UD mobo, Aorus RX 6900 XT, a Gigabyte PSU, Gigabyte SSD 240 GB, all in a Gigabyte case.
 
Curious why the water cooling? Over clocking? I ask because I have been building PCs for years, for myself, and have never had a PC die for any reason. I do not overclock though because I don’t see the point for my use cases.
Yes in beginning was overclocking... I was one of the few nutso overclocking with nitrogen for hobby reasons....

I still overclock sometimes just don't have the time for the burn-test and tweaking UNLESS is a customer's order than company overclock everything (even ram) but I delegate to other staff don't do it myself that much...

Over the years my reason for water cooling have grown...

1. My business assets/ parts last a longer time on water-cooling...

2. I like not having to worry about cooling (HAVE you seen those metal coolers on the AMD processors!!! and GPU air cooler 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 so LOUD) the next generation of parts.

3. I like my computers extremely quiet (my fans tend to be low noise on the radiators and pumps D5 tend to be quieter than LAING).

4. I don't like turning my computer off literally my current pc have been on for 6 months (180 days and that was because of 12.p3 upgrade restart) I have them on a UPS. I Just don't like to turn them off with air cool you will have diminishing usage return if you do this (ALMOST GUARANTEED compare to water cool).

5. BUT MAINLY man esthetics I look at my computers like an art piece/work of art... (Some people like to stare at aquariums bring them peace I like staring at water-cooled computers) :oops:.

I'm hoping to get mining going on that rig, and OpenCL/HIP, all under FreeBSD. This is a bit on the back burner right now for me, though - other projects have my attention at this time, so this rig is waiting for that to be finished. I decided to get the parts while they were relatively easy to get, even with the CPU/GPU market crisis that is far from over.

6. YES, for mining you can overclock and let it rip WITH good cooling parts nothing will beat water-cooled GPUs in mining PLUS have you been in one of the GPUs rooms people have SO HOT they literally creating a FIRE hazard O:‑) (ACTUALLY some of the builds we do are HPM - High Performance Miners but we do them for our own entities we don't sell them yet because it will cost more than people home).
 
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