Liquid Series Spec - any advice?

[DonRavello]

Hello,

I am about to configure a new PC for gaming purposes. My current PC is > 5 years old. In the past I built them myselves, but nowadays I value my time (and don't trust my abilities that much anymore). My requirements:

• Main purpose: Gaming
  • Graphics: I would like to play Cyberpunk, KCD2 and similar games on Ultra settings
  • Performance: I also play Total War series games, which tend to have long loading screens due to slow SSD I/O
• Main restriction: Noise
  • The PC is located in our living room, so it needs to be really, really silent, even under much load. That's why I am looking at the Liquid Series, because other "watercooled" AIO systems merely have a CPU aqua cooler, but no GPU aqua cooler etc.
• Questions:
  • I understood from the attached config, that there are no fans in this build. Is this correct?
  • Is the Liquid Series really silent? Are there any reference values (db) available?
  • Is the power supply sufficient? According to the configurator it should be fine.

Thanks a lot in advance!
Don

Spec (in German, sorry, don't know how to get an English quote from the German website)

Gehäuse
BE QUIET! SHADOW BASE 800 FX TOWER-GAMING-GEHÄUSE
Kundenspezifisches Flüssigkeitskühlungsset
Liquid Series®-RGB Mid Kit - Corsair Hydro X LCD
Schläuche
Durchsichtiger Schlauch (schwarze Anschlüsse)
Grafikkartenkühlung
GPU Water Block - für eine Grafikkarte!
Farbe der Kühlflüssigkeit
Mayhems X1 Blau
Prozessor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 20-Core-Prozessor i7-14700KF (bis 5,6GHz) 33 MB Cache
Mainboard
ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS Z790 DARK HERO (LGA1700, DDR5, PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Arbeitsspeicher
64 GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 5200MHz CL40 (2 x 32GB)
Grafikkarte
16 GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 4080 SUPER OC EDITION - 2 x HDMI, 3 x DP
1. M.2 SSD-Laufwerk
1 TB CRUCIAL T705 GEN 5 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (bis zu 14,500 MB/sR, 12,700 MB/sW)
1. M.2 SSD-Laufwerk
4 TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (bis zu 7450 MB/R, 6900 MB/W)
1. M.2 SSD-Laufwerk
4 TB SAMSUNG 990 PRO M.2, PCIe 4.0 NVMe (bis zu 7450 MB/R, 6900 MB/W)
Netzteil
CORSAIR 850 W RMx SERIES™ ATX 3.1, MODULAR, CYBENETICS GOLD
Netzteilstromkabel
1 x 1,5 Meter EU-Stromkabel (SchuKo Stecker, 1,0 mm Adern)
Wärmeleitpaste
ANWENDUNG EINER ARKTISCHE MX-4 EXTREM WÄRMELEITENDE VERBINDUNG
Soundkarte
ONBOARD 6 KANAL (5.1) HIGH DEF-AUDIO (STANDARDMÄSSIG)
Netzwerkkarte
10/100/1000 GIGABIT-LAN-ANSCHLUSS
WLAN-Karte
INTEGRIERTES Wi-Fi 7
USB-/Thunderbolt-Optionen
2 PORT (2 x TYPE C) USB 10Gbps PCI-E CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS
Betriebssystem
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit – inkl. Einzellizenz
Sprache des Betriebssystems
Deutschland/Deutschland – Deutsch
Windows-Wiederherstellungsmedium
Windows 10/11 Mehrsprachiges Wiederherstellung - unbegrenzte Downloads vom Online-Konto aus
Bürosoftware
KOSTENLOSE 30 Tage-Testversion von Microsoft 365® (Betriebssystem erforderlich)
Antivirus
KEINE ANTIVIRUS-SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Garantie
3 Jahre Platin-Garantie (3 Jahre Abholung und erneute Lieferung, 3 Jahre Teile, 3 Jahre Arbeit)
Lieferung
VERSICHERTER KISTENVERSAND MIT 3 TAGEN LIEFERZEIT NACH DEUTSCHLAND
Herstellungszeit
Standardmontage – abhängig von Lieferbarkeit der Waren für vorbestellte Produkte

 

[DonRavello]

Hello everyone,

is the Liquid Series so rarely used or just not recommended? I'd really appreciate some advice before buying a 5KEUR PC.

Thanks a lot in advance
Don

 

[Ekans2011]

Hello everyone,

is the Liquid Series so rarely used or just not recommended? I'd really appreciate some advice before buying a 5KEUR PC.

Thanks a lot in advance
Don

Custom loops are visually stunning and only provide some benefit in heavy rendering scenarios where your CPU is running at full load for days or so. They also require more than average knowledge to be handled properly: draining the system, cleaning the pipes, refilling the system, and checking for leaks are all part of regular maintenance that should be done every 6-12 months.
I would not consider it unless it was absolutely necessary; a custom loop system provides no benefits to a gaming PC.

 

[DonRavello]

Thanks for the feedback. How about silence? Even the most quiet gaming PC with fans was so far quite loud (in a living room environment). I have never had a custom loop PC, so I don't know what I can really expect.

Thanks again
Don

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thanks for the feedback. How about silence? Even the most quiet gaming PC with fans was so far quite loud (in a living room environment). I have never had a custom loop PC, so I don't know what I can really expect.

Thanks again
Don

Custom loops are usually far louder than an AIO simply because they’re far more powerful pumps pushing substantially more fluid, that’s aside from the fans required in the radiators (any radiator has fans attached to extract air from the radiator). Not sure what pc you’ve had in the past but no premium cooler is by any means loud assuming you’ve configured it correctly

 

[Ekans2011]

What monitor/TV will you pair with it? Is your max budget 5000€?

 

[DonRavello]

From the OPs post, I think the noise they are having issues with is likely the GPU noise as they mention other systems lacking GPU water cooling rather than the cooler noise. At least, that's my interpretation of the OPs concerns

That's correct. Another topic is: We don't have air conditioning at our home, so in summer the air fans will just circulate warm air. That's why I considered water cooling as an alternative.

AIO devices combine water and air cooling, right? Sorry, my knowledge of PC hardware is dating back to the 90s So it's really obsolete.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Regarding the display: I'm using a Philips Curved Ultra-Wide 49' and am happy with it. I'm using borderless windowed mode whenever the resolution is not supported by games / software.

My budget is somewhat flexible, but it should not be much more than 5K.

 

[Scott]

I'm with everyone else here. I'll do a couple of configs. First is how I would recommend you go for the build, second is just throwing caution to the wind and going for it with a liquid cooled build. I genuinely think you would live to regret the second option, but it's definitely something special.

Whether you can get the below is another question, but an AIO GPU is what I would look to purchase. A 4080 or 4090 would be a fair shout but they're hard to get your hands on new also.

Gigabyte AORUS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 XTREME WATERFORCE 16GB Blackwell Graphics Card

Buy from Scan - Gigabyte AORUS NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 XTREME WATERFORCE 16GB GDDR7 Ray-Tracing Graphics Card, 10752 Core, 2805MHz Boost

www.scan.co.uk

Case
FRACTAL DEFINE 7 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
GIGABYTE X870E AORUS ELITE WIFI7 (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR TITANIUM DDR5 7200MHz CL34 (2 x 16GB) KIT
Graphics Card
NONE, I ALREADY HAVE A GRAPHICS CARD
Graphics Card Support Bracket
PCS GRAPHICS CARD SUPPORT BRACKET
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CRUCIAL T705 GEN 5 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 14,500MB/sR, 12,700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB CORSAIR MP600 PRO NH NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6500 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HXi SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM V2
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR ICUE LINK TITAN 360 RX RGB HIGH PERFORMANCE CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
ONBOARD 2.5Gbe LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
NONE OR ONBOARD Wi-Fi (MOTHERBOARD DEPENDENT)
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 7 working days
Price: £2,411.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am5-pc/xcaJT7bnCA/

 

[Scott]

Liquid spec below. You would need to reconfigure your coolant colours etc as to how you want the aesthetic.

There are major limitations with the below though, the most obvious is the fact that you can't even purchase a current generation GPU. It'll do the job for sure, but there are hampered options.

Apologies, I hadn't selected country for delivery etc so you can see how that would impact.

Case
CORSAIR iCUE 5000T RGB MID TOWER GAMING CASE
Custom Liquid Cooling Kit
Liquid Series® RGB High Kit - Corsair Hydro X LCD
Tubing
Clear Hardline Acrylic Tubing (Black Fittings)
Graphics Card Cooling
GPU Water Block - For One Graphics Card!
Coolant Colour
Mayhems X1 Blue
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core CPU (Up to 5.2GHz/104MB w/3D V-CACHE/AM5)
Motherboard
ASUS® TUF GAMING X870-PLUS WIFI (AM5, DDR5, M.2 PCIe 5.0, Wi-Fi 7)
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair DOMINATOR TITANIUM DDR5 7200MHz CL34 (2 x 16GB) KIT
Graphics Card
16GB ASUS TUF GEFORCE RTX 4080 SUPER OC EDITION - 2 x HDMI, 3 x DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB CRUCIAL T705 GEN 5 M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 14,500MB/sR, 12,700MB/sW)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB CORSAIR MP600 PRO NH NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 7000 MB/R, 6500 MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB CORSAIR CORE XT MP600 NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD (up to 5000 MB/R, 4400 MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HXi SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM V2
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead, 1.0mm Core)
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND APPLICATION
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
ONBOARD Wi-Fi 6E
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
48 HOUR INSURED PALLET DELIVERY TO UK (MON-FRI, INC. HIGHLANDS & ISLANDS)
Build Time
Standard Build - Subject to stock availability on pre-order products
Price: £4,613.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-liquid/5sSF8vphEj/

 

[DonRavello]

Thank you for your comments and advice. I think you successfully convinced me that custom loop cooling is not what I need.

However, I noticed my bad timing, as high performance GPUs currently seem to be a rare thing. So, my old PC has to run for some more weeks or months.

Cheers
Don