How to assemble a compact liquid cooling

A while ago we talked about liquid cooling and air cooling. We mention the main advantages and disadvantages of both. You can read the article in more depth in our versus: Air cooling vs. Liquid cooling. Despite the fact that liquid cooling has a significantly higher price than air cooling, it is an option that many users use. Increasingly. Although it is a much more complex system, and its installation process requires much more care.

Index of contents

How to assemble a liquid cooling

Keep in mind that compact liquid cooling has a success rate of almost 100% when it comes to installation. Since the circuit is closed and the steps are super easy. In the case of custom liquid cooling, any error can be fatal in that case (although it is not very difficult if you are careful).

Although today we are going to focus on how to install a compact liquid cooling system correctly. In such a way that you can have an orientation that helps you in this process if you dare to do it yourself.

Obviously, the first step is to have a liquid cooling system. When looking for one it is essential that you take into account the characteristics of your equipment: Some data to take into account are:

• Radiator dimensions. Check that the liquid cooling you are going to buy is adequate and compatible for your box. That is, compatibility with fans and outputs of your chassis, if it offers support with your processor and motherboard. This is mainly identified by the socket. The price range you have available for purchase. You can find some from 70-75 euros (cheap ones), although they can go up to 400 euros. Choose the one that suits you best, although we always recommend the best quality / price option.

Recommended Models

Here are some recommended models that we have tested internally and on the web :

Corsair Hydro Series H100i V2 - Liquid Cooling System (240mm Radiator, Two SP120 PWM Fan, All-in-One Liquid CPU Cooler), Black EUR 384.89 Corsair Hydro Series H100i V2 - Liquid Cooling System (240 Radiator mm, two SP120 PWM Fan, All-in-One Liquid CPU Cooler), Black EUR 384.89 Corsair Hydro Series H80i V2 - Liquid Cooling System (120mm radiator, one SP120 PWM fan, All-in-One Liquid CPU Cooler), Black 109.30 EUR Enermax Liqmax II 240 - CPU Fan with liquid cooling (16-35 dBA, 163.1 m3 / h, 500-2000 RPM), Color Black Cooling system with pre-charged cooling liquid; Shunt-Channel technology used in the design of the board for better cooling 70.95 EUR Enermax Liqmax II 120S Processor Cooler - PC Fan (Processor, Cooler, Socket AM2, Socket AM3, Socket AM3 +, Socket FM1, Socket FM2, Socket FM2 +, LGA 1151…, 500 RPM, 2000 RPM, 16 dB) All-in-one CPU Cooler with pre-charged coolant; Patented Shunt-Channel Technology ARCTIC F8 PWM PST - Fan for 80 mm case, 5 Pack, with PST connection (PWM exchange technology) |, regulates RPM synchronously

Although if you want to know what are the best models of heatsinks and liquid coolers on the market, we recommend reading our guide. In it we explain everything you need to know and brief tips when choosing the best one for your chassis.

Steps to follow in the assembly

The first step is to open the box and check that all the elements are in it. Check them individually and it is also important that you can identify them. Always know which is which. All mistakes must be avoided. Reading the instructions is always recommended, but in this case it is essential.

Tip: Be very calm and patient. It is very important to read the installation instructions.

Generally, at least now, they often have instructions with pictures that are most useful, much more than the text. Therefore, before starting, check that you understand both the drawings and the text and recognize the pieces without problems.

If you have the motherboard installed on your computer, you can mount it inside the box. In our case we are going to use an AM4 platform: AMD Ryzen 5 1600, a Corsair H110i cooler and an X370 Gigabyte Gaming 5 motherboard. In our case, it is not necessary to remove any socket support, but surely in other configurations it is necessary.

Next we install the installation plate and the screw + nut, remaining as in the previous illustration.

Normally, compact liquid coolers come pre-installed with thermal paste. In the event that it does not come, we advise you to review our tutorial on how to correctly install the thermal paste in a processor. Without further ado, we assembled the block and screwed the fixing system to the standard AMD brackets.

It is necessary to install the PWM controller from the liquid cooling kit, the SATA power to power the cooler pump and the fan heads to the motherboard.

The assembly should be something like this, the photo does not correspond to the motherboard and the processor that we have mounted. The reason is that we always do the web montages in our test bench and this is the PC that I currently maintain as the main team. Pretty right?

I personally really like how the compact liquid cooling mounts look on PCs. We avoid a heavy weight on the processor IHS, the motherboard does not suffer as much, we have no problems installing high-profile memories and the performance is like a Noctua NH-D15s but without its kilogram of weight .