PPCS's Blog

If you’ve been in the PC scene for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard of the brand Corsair. Before May 28th of this year, you would have only known them for their cases, fans, RAM, peripherals, power supplies, and much more. However, you can now find their new product line called “HydroX” at your favorite watercooling and modifications store, Performance-PCs.com! Whether you’re a veteran water loop wizard, or are still clinging to your Corsair AIO, this new line of custom loop components has something you’ll be interested in.

For any of you that have ever been to a Convention such as Dreamhack you understand me when I tell you that it was a unforgettable and incomparable experience, and for those who have never been to such a Con like Dreamhack you are missing out. This blog is a rundown of my first but definitely not my last experience at Dreamhack.

One of the most confusing parts of building a custom loop is the fittings and tubing, by far. It can be quite stressful when you first look at all the options you have at PPCs when it comes to fittings and tubing. It is extremely important that you purchase compatible fittings and tubing for your custom loop, but it is much easier than you might think. I hope that this quick guide on how to pick out the correct fittings and tubing for your loop helps relieve some of the stress with your build.

If you haven’t heard of UFO Technologies yet, then you’ll want to keep reading further. If you have heard of them and maybe even purchased one of their products, this blog will give you my take on what I think of the brand.

To give you a little bit of background, I have been testing UFO Technologies for the better part of four months. I have had the pleasure of trying out their Cryo-Chillz 3D Coolant, Ultra-Chillz Opaque Coolant, Rad Radiance Radiator Cleaner, and Event Horizon System Cleaner. You may not have even seen some of these products as they are not on PPCs shelves quite yet.

A Quick Look at Dual, Parallel, and Serial Loops

Most beginner watercoolers have questions regarding loop order, and quite a few people will respond with, “loop order doesn’t matter beyond having the pump below the reservoir.” Which is not wrong, but it really only tells half of the story.  If you’re an enthusiast you are probably interested in how watercooling performs in your system depending on the configuration you use. You may have even explored the differences between dual, parallel and serial loops. This blog should give you a little better understanding of how each configuration can benefit your loop.

Singularity Computers is a high end components designer and custom system builder. You have probably seen their work somewhere out there on the web, and probably left you in awe like many others. His attention to detail and function shines throughout his builds as well as in his products, and it’s easy to see this in his Ethereal Reservoir Mounts.

Even though you probably spent hours planning and building your loop, the work still isn’t done yet. You will always want to keep an eye on your system with a custom loop installed. Make sure that you monitor your temperatures with trusted software like HWinfo, HWMonitor or AIDA64. Most coolants can last 6-12 months in a system that was properly set up, but if you start to notice a decline in the performance of your loop, you will want to consider draining and flushing your loop. Increased temperatures on your hardware can indicate that your blocks are starting experience some particle build up from the coolant.

Building your PC -Hardware preparation You may have spent many hours planning your entire build, but that does not mean you should skip one of the most parts in building a custom loop; preparing your hardware. By preparing your hardware I mean making sure all of your system hardware works, cleaning your radiators, and cleaning your new loop. Most builders suggest that you first build your system out of the case, typically on the motherboard box, similar to a test bench. Once you know that your system will POST, you can clean the hardware and install the blocks onto it.