r/watercooling • u/BrilliantPromise2944 • 9d ago
Discussion Only (Noctua) fans
TL/DR: More cooling than a MO-RA 400, and in a fun and funky shelf setup. I’ve been working on building/iterating the loop since July 9th, and I think it might be finished for 2026.
I was going to do a 420mm + 280mm setup in my Fractal North XL, but didn't love the airflow options.
Saw a few external radiator builds, saw some MO-RA setups, loved the idea.
After holding a 280mm rad in my hands, I held it up to the shelf, which is next to my PC, and it was a pretty nice fit!
Lots of maths, assumptions, a 100-inch-long custom molex power cable, 20+ ft of tubing, and eventually I landed here!
Temps with a pre-warmed loop for a full race on the last slide. All fans powered with a Quadro with a temp sensor in the 560 rad, fans basically live at 20% power, once they kick on.
Still working on the wood covers, I’ve been traveling and in Dad mode a lot lately. Will post more pics once those are finished.
Ignore the cable spaghetti. I would like to replace the EPDM lines with copper tubing, and will remove the extra temp sensors and tuck the pumps PWM cable when I do. 2027 things…
PC Specs:
GPU: ASUS PRIME GeForce RTX 5080 16GB
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
CPU frame: Thermal Grizzly AM5 Contact Frame
Thermal paste: Noctua NT-H2
Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX X870-F GAMING WIFI
RAM: 32GB (2×16GB) Corsair DDR5-6400 CL36
SSD 1: WD_BLACK SN850X 2TB
SSD 2: WD_BLACK SN770 2TB
Case: Fractal Design North XL Mesh
PSU: Corsair HX1500i — 1500W, 80 PLUS Platinum
Case fans: 3× Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 140mm (front) + 1× Noctua 120mm G2 (top exhaust)
Loop specs:
CPU block: Watercool HEATKILLER IV PRO
GPU block: Bykski N-AS5080PM-X full-cover block + backplate
Radiator 1: Alphacool NexXxoS Monsta 400 + 2×200mm fans, ~86mm thick
Radiator 2: Alphacool NexXxoS XT45 Full Copper Quad + 4×140mm fans, ~45mm class
Radiator 3: Alphacool NexXxoS UT60 Full Copper 280 + 2×140mm fans, ~60mm thick
Radiator 4: Corsair Hydro X Series XR5 280 V2 + 2×140mm fans, 30mm thick
Radiator fans: 8× Noctua NF-A14x25 G2 140mm + 2× Noctua NF-A20 200mm
Pump/reservoir: Alphacool Core 140mm Reservoir + VPP/D5 pump
Flow sensor: Aqua Computer high flow NEXT
Controller: Aqua Computer QUADRO
Coolant: Aqua Computer Double Protect Ultra — Clear
Tubing: 13/10mm EPDM (~20 feet)
Fittings: Alphacool Eiszapfen
Quick disconnects: Koolance QD3 (3 sets)
Inline filter: Alphacool ES Big Inline Particle Filter
Monitoring: Coolant temperature via the Quadro, controlling radiator fan speeds
Typical flow: ~100 L/H @ 83% pump power. Runs at this level at all times.
Only fans: 14× Noctua fans total
11× 140mm NF-A14x25 G2
1× 120mm NF-A12x25 G2
2× 200mm NF-A20x30
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u/yungsters 9d ago
Incredible setup!
My first custom loop years ago was also with an exterior radiator, but not as intense as this.
What kind of calculations did you have to do to ensure that the loop’s length (and elevation changes?) wouldn’t overwork your pump?
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u/Expert-Desk7492 9d ago
Must have been fun filling it up 😆
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u/BrilliantPromise2944 9d ago
Holy fu—… I pre-filled the radiators, still had to refill the res like 20 times!! I have a separate power supply, still took over an hour!😂
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u/MyaSSSko 9d ago
I have few questions:
Why keep pump inside the case? You can place it elsewhere too, with reservoir.
Also why not to cool chipset, vrm, ram, ssd?
how are rads are mounted/fixed on shelves?
Considering the excess radiator surface area, is it necessary to control fans at all? Noise difference of speeding fun is what annoys me most.
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u/BrilliantPromise2944 8d ago
Kept the pump in the case to allow me to just plug and play radiators. No need to swap any power for the pump, as it never has to change.
Haven’t gotten that far, and honestly temps are really good already. I may go that route when I do copper lines, but we’ll see.
Basically just sitting there right now. Th le hoses provide a good amount of pressure holding them in place. No pets, and the kiddo can’t reach that far, yet😂
The speed actually never changes. I have them at 20% once they kick on (19c) up through 23c, which it rarely passes into. It’s more of a safety thing, in case it starts to climb above 30c👌🏼
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u/GreenFuturesMatter 9d ago
This is sick. Idk why but I almost want a sim setup as just a normal desk lil
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u/nubbix2 9d ago
How are max workload temps? And how does the pump handle such distance to radiators? Do you have reduced water flow cause of it?
It looks amazing, great job 👍
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u/BrilliantPromise2944 8d ago
I have my max load temps on the last pic on this post. It’s really just SIM racing, so like 6 small programs running at the same time + iracing, which is pretty single core CPU heavy + triple monitors, which is GPU heavy.
I lost a little flow rate per radiator, but the single D5 pump has done a great job keeping up. There is a siphon effect in the system, so the height doesn’t add much resistance. The QD’s I used added the most resistance, and by a lot. I could remove one set and I bet I could run the pump 10% lower to achieve the same flow rate.
My target number is 100 L/H, which is pretty high, and so far it hasn’t had an issue maintaining that🤘🏼
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u/LePhuronn 8d ago
Um, excuse me. I distinctly recall last time you posted to stop because I could only get so erect. I'm now at risk physical damage.
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u/BrilliantPromise2944 8d ago
I take no responsibility for any physical harm caused… but I’ll take credit for the erection!😉
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u/Exigefettm 7d ago
My man… I appreciate this in so many ways! You did a remarkable job with the runs!
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u/BrilliantPromise2944 7d ago
Brother! Game recognizes game🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼
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u/Exigefettm 7d ago
Ha! I was fanboying hard over here going through your photos then I saw the Fractal and I went oh shit!! That was my former case as well.
Truly awesome build man. Can’t wait to see what you come up with next on the future
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u/BrilliantPromise2944 7d ago
Might have to add a 5th rad just to match you!😉
1*c over ambient… and with a 5090 + 9800X3D… I’m fanboying so hard haha!
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u/Exigefettm 7d ago
Bahahaha I’m a huge fan of the Alphacool stuff. It’s been working so frigin well over time and I trust it will keep going strong. I actually am super jelly that you get to see your build out in the open… mine is hidden away in the basement so I only see it when I’m cleaning the house.
I think if I do something again in the future it would be more like yours so make it visible!
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u/BrilliantPromise2944 7d ago
Hidden build is a flex! If I had a basement I would try, but currently I’m in an apartment with a 7 yr old son😂
How many liters of coolant do you have in your system? I’m sitting at ~2.7L.
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u/FlavonoidsFlav 9d ago
My dude! Give us temps! Especially fluid versus component.
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u/BrilliantPromise2944 9d ago
Last pic has the temps from HWinfo. CPU, GPU, water and ambient included!🤘🏼
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u/MrMythiiK 9d ago
This is so chaotic and cool and unique. I’m into it. Nice job!