I Will Never Watercool Again - Water Cooling Maintenance Guide

Get your Laifen Wave electric toothbrush, starting at $69.99, below and save 10%! Thanks to Laifen for sponsoring this video!
Laifen Website: bit.ly/48GQxUC
Amazon ABS $69.99: amzn.to/3wKq4bl
Amazon Aluminum Alloy $79.99: amzn.to/3Ihpogn
Amazon Stainless Steel $99.99: amzn.to/3TffVfE
TRUST ME - you don’t need to water cool your next PC for a great gaming experience. But it might be too late for you, and we’re here to help you clean and maintain your loop to increase the longevity and performance of your pump, blocks and radiators. Whether it’s an AIO, a pre-blocked GPU or something totally custom - we have you covered in this video.
Discuss on the forum: linustechtips.com/topic/15622...
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MUSIC CREDIT
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Intro: Laszlo - Supernova
Video Link: • [Electro] - Laszlo - S...
iTunes Download Link: itunes.apple.com/us/album/sup...
Artist Link: / laszlomusic
Outro: Approaching Nirvana - Sugar High
Video Link: • Sugar High - Approachi...
Listen on Spotify: spoti.fi/UxWkUw
Artist Link: / approachingnirvana
Intro animation by MBarek Abdelwassaa / mbarek_abdel
Monitor And Keyboard by vadimmihalkevich / CC BY 4.0 geni.us/PgGWp
Mechanical RGB Keyboard by BigBrotherECE / CC BY 4.0 geni.us/mj6pHk4
Mouse Gamer free Model By Oscar Creativo / CC BY 4.0 geni.us/Ps3XfE
CHAPTERS
---------------------------------------------------
0:00 Intro
0:54 Draining the system
3:25 Nasty CPU Block
5:14 Cleaning the CPU Blocks
6:22 Acrylic Top
7:03 Toothbrush go BRRRR
7:56 GPU
8:49 Putting the block back together
9:42 Bad news
11:35 Laifen Wave
12:05 Pump
13:01 Replacing thermal goop
14:01 Water Cooling talk
14:47 New Challenge Appears
16:30 Radiators
17:43 Tubes
19:09 Results!
20:22 Outro

[@LinusTechTips]

5:24 Brasso is safe to use on the silver you would find in your waterloop, but is not recommended for aesthetic pieces as it might cause micro-scratching. Use a less abrasive polish like Silvo for delicates such as jewelry or silverware. 5:36 We misspoke during one of the sponsor talking points and incorrectly said “IP7X” (rating of dust resistance) instead of the correct “IPX7” (rating of water resistance).

[@Treetrytrey]

W water resistant

[@SoundsLegit71]

I think the water cooling computer industry could learn a couple of things from a vehicle cooling systems. For example, the radiator hoses on a vehicle are actually conductive. Yes, the rubber is impregnated with carbon or bits of metal. This is extremely important. Otherwise, a corrosive reaction will happen between the engine block and the radiator, kind of like a battery. Also, has anyone tried putting like 10% antifreeze in the system?

[@iamdmc]

that garbage ek foam also dissolved on me don't feel bad... everybody buys ek once

[@circuit2006]

I believe the first note is more so just letting people know if they decide to do this for personal use, and the second one was the only actual correction. Although they still should've edited it in instead, or just re-do the sponsor segment because those would be very easy compared to the video it's self.

[@octorokpie]

@@pixelpirte15The Brasso point isn't really a correction, just another helpful tip- they didn't say anything about jewelry in the video about water cooling. Toothbrush companies have ad money to spend, may as well take it. What planet (or economy) are you on? The one where people only advertise things you like?

[@derranthefunnyguy]

"The thing that attracted me to custom water-cooling was the inconvenience of it, I love taking apart my computer and washing parts of it like dishes in a sink, also the thrill of losing all my expensive components to water damage gets my heart racing like nothing else" - Custom water cooling fans apparently

[@choochooChuy]

whoever is running this channel definitely wants this to happen

[@GrimReaping]

Some people want to drive a prius the speed limit til the wheels fall off, some people want to tinker on a turbocharged hotrod every weekend that might tear its own wheels off. To each their own i suppose.

[@basshead.]

@@GrimReaping what about an air cooled 993 turbo s?

[@Ryzza5]

You must be young 😂

[@woe2you2]

If you do it right you won't have any of the problems in this video. Also unwise to do the things in this vid that will CAUSE problems: don't put acid in your rads unless you're prepared to test the pH before hooking them back up to a loop. Ignore the iodine as biocide as well: use a reliable premixed coolant like DP Ultra, Koolance 702 or Mayhems X1 and you'll have biocide and corrosion inhibitor included.

[@choochooChuy]

air cooling maintenance: "is it spinning?"

[@Basil_left]

No, it's breakdancing

[@semi.]

Is it dusty?

[@Dasgabar]

@@Basil_leftNah dude, it‘s solving the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture.

[@Legendendear]

Disassembly, repaste, reassembly. Done.

[@choochooChuy]

@@Basil_left maybe it knows what its doing

[@guerrierim15]

Have always thought, "Yeah, I really just don't need *THAT* in my life" whenever thinking about watercooling and boy, was this video a good reminder!

[@exander77]

This. I like AIO 360 GPUs, because of low noise, but otherwise, fuck that.

[@MaunoMato99]

Yeah a loop doesn't look like that unless you fill it with crap coolant ( which they probably did in this case ) or if you never drain it, which takes like 5-10 minutes and another 5 minutes to fill it. Obviously staged for this purpose but yeah, you believe what you believe. Watercooling is very cool and fun to work with, it's never necessary though, unless you have the latest Intel high end CPU I guess. But just like a car with tons of moving parts, it requires some maintenance.

[@BigPanda096]

This isn't how it goes unless you put literal mineral water with bacteria in it in the system. You use proper coolant mixtures with fresh distilled water, and this NEVER happens. Especially if you drain it once a year and refill it. Which takes 5 minutes and no cleaning required. The coolant mixtures have cleaning detergents, seal conditioners and lubricity agents to prevent wear and tear. Get a decent mixture, since I live in Florida I use 30/70 coolant/water mixtures since 30% coolant is the optimal ratio for perfect dispersion and suspension of the coolant detergent and additives, without causing a change in viscosity and reducing waters heating coefficient. The inherent issue with air cooling is that there will always be one side cooler and one side hotter. This molecular difference causes the metal to bend and distort. No matter what you choose you will have maintenance. With air coolers that maintenance is removal of the cooling block to clean the fins, checking and straightening any bent fins from the process, then carefully reseating it. When the cooler block begins to warp, you need to get a new one. Anything but the Noctua cooling blocks usually warp in a year. Noctua 3 years roughly. But they all warp even Noctua. For liquid cooling if you properly build the set up or even just use an AIO, that process is, drain fluid from storage tank and cooling block, using fresh distilled water refill it and run a short cycle (only if you REALLY are scared it's not clean inside already from improper mixture use in the past, but if using proper mixture this is not always nessisity especially if using the se mix in brand and quantity) then drain it again, and then refill with your proper solution. This process takes anywhere from 5 to 15 mins. The air cooler can take a few hours depending on the size of the block and the damage to the fins during removal and cleaning. What they did here in this video is what using mineral tap water does to your system. Use fresh distilled water with the mix to make your solutions you put in the tank. I've done this for 8 years and I've never had to do what these guys have and I've been maintaining my customers PCs that I built for anywhere from 1 to 8 years depending on customer. This doesn't really happen in proper builds.

[@bp3d106]

I love my custom water cooled computer. It was fun to build, looks cool, and it's quiet as the fans barely run. As a result of the low fan use, it stays clean as it's not pulling in dust. I use all Corsair products and although they say to change out the coolant every year, I waited two before doing it last time.

[@saitodosan9377]

@@bp3d106 Yeah I just use an AIO cooler (Kraken whatever a while ago, Cooler Master ML240 now) and I've never had to do ANYTHING over the like 7 year total I've had them. I used the Kraken whatever-it-was for 5 years before switching, and I only did so because I was essentially building a whole new PC minus the graphics card and I wanted to go for a mostly white build. Never drained the liquid or did anything special to clean it, just dusted it like I do with every other part. Never had any issues. Very quiet and the temps are perfect!

[@DctrGizmo]

I normally get annoyed with sponsored videos but this was pretty entertaining! I like how the main focus was on the PC instead of the toothbrudh for 20 minutes straight.

[@bellakagamine]

The toothbrush sponsorship was... inspired.

[@whitepaws60]

Inspired by their time's meeting fans at LTX lol

[@ledocteurgonzo]

yeah it's just a looong ad for the TB :D

[@baths4carsraspberrypicomputer]

tOoThBrUsH

[@Metal_Maxine]

WAN show said they wanted to do a water-cooling cleaning episode for ages, they just didn't have an angle to stop it being boring... clearly, vibrating toothbrushes are that angle

[@Doroga05]

Yeah... 16° holy moly with an accuracy of 0.1°. can someone remind me how this one is better than the one just vibrates?

[@talonhackbarth7652]

This is one of the few sponsorships that actually worked on me. I just love the dynamic of a toothbrush company sponsoring a video using their products in an unintended way, LOL

[@littlebuch]

Just get Sonicare. Wouldn't trust my teeth to an Iphone 3gs looking brush

[@DoctorX17]

Yeah, I legit use a toothbrush for that sort of cleaning, lol. And it is a good point that you could have an extra head for cleaning crap and clean ones for your teeth, lol

[@ligametis]

This was a terrible ad. I got tired hearing about this toothbrush from 20 different channels and this was a whole video about that.

[@Nukezone100]

@@ligametis ...sounds more like a "you spending too much time on youtube" issue. Not with the format of the ad itself.

[@ligametis]

@@Nukezone100 that is the point. I can't spend a lot of time on KZbin and I do not wish to waste it on useless product ads. Have 10s-1min ad that is easy to skip or ignore. Also advertise something useful like some better alternative to their ltt screwdriver.

[@naibaf710]

I had the same EK coolant in the loop for 6 years, occasional topping up. Almost no residue, no leaks, tube still flexible, and the system was used daily. Rebuilt and cleaned it a month ago now.

[@thatsl1ve183]

Ek coolant is just not reliable. In some loops it works, in others it fails pretty fast. DP Ultra just works and costs the same.

[@naibaf710]

@@thatsl1ve183 Yeah not sure, always worked for me.

[@TheElfangor]

@@thatsl1ve183 Always depends on materials used in the loop. I use DP Ultra too, after almost 2 years still no sign of any residue or whatever in my clear coolers or the reservoir. Before that I had Innovatek Protect, which after about 3 years did clog up my CPU block which was my reason to clean and rebuild the loop.

[@Yorhosashi]

@@thatsl1ve183 just dont mix different alloys in your loop! my loop contains only of copper alloys. and i clear my loops every 1 to 2.5 years. until now i still have a crystal clear loop since 2013

[@user-re7wo2zs7s]

@@thatsl1ve183anecdotal but my same EK loop lasted for a decade. Also there was a 4-5 year period where I didn’t drain the loop either.

[@Cloudwave]

This video is 100% a fantastic demonstration why I always air cool my systems. Thanks for the validation.

[@rata536]

Air cooler and a kryosheet. Just pull out the fan and blow the cooler without ever dismounting it.

[@garydunken7934]

Me too. Never bothered with water cooling even when I overclocked the system.

[@emanemanresuresu]

Its not that big of a problem actually, if you think about a few things before... Use Tubing that doesnt leak softener, ABSOLUTELY DONT USE FLUID WITH PARTICLES, add stuff to prevent biostuff growing. When i first watercooled i had those clear hoses. They massively lost softener and gunked everything up. I switched to norprene tubing and only used distilled water with inhibitor and the stuff is clean as on day one after many years now...

[@j.r.8176]

AIOs practically have 0 maintenance as well. You just have to replace them here and there.

[@watercannonscollaboration2281]

Toothbrush sponsoring a cleaning video? We got to get The Greatest Technician That’s Ever Lived here

[@blueisodd]

god I'd love him to be here

[@socramel2841]

He'd be like your moms toothbrush was used for cleaning 😂

[@Mrpuggo0322]

I SAID DONT IN ANOTHER REPLYBON A DIFFERENT COMMENT

[@jcalambert10]

Read that last bit in his voice.

[@EironKyle]

That vibrating toothbrush will go well with his tiny raccoon-like fingers.

[@FrostedTim]

I had to clean my custom loop about a year ago. It was starting to grow mold. Best non-abrasive cleaner I used on the acrylic parts is citric acid. You can buy it in powder form and then mix with water to make a cleaning solution. I used it even on the nickel plated copper parts and my fittings with no issues. You just need to make sure you rinse everything really well.

[@White_Night_Demon]

You can get it for free with oranges and lemons....

[@LTrintukas]

​@@White_Night_Demon if you have free lemons, I suppose? a packet of citric acid costs about the same a half a lemon and has the acid content of a hundred lemons

[@White_Night_Demon]

@@LTrintukas oh really?

[@Zman1331]

I love the dynamic between Linus and David. More vids with you two would be great. Gives me the Linus and Luke vibes.

[@Alex-zi1nb]

good lord david has NOT been skipping chest day. nice work

[@gabetessin5837]

I also notice his large chesticles.

[@demacherius1]

All that time he could be gaming he wasted on looking good... who would want something like that.😂

[@Metal_Maxine]

I think it's years of those huge Steadicam type rigs they use at LMG.

[@XxxTheFireEmblemxxX]

Based on his neck and arms, those are just moobs.

[@MarioGoatse]

That's just fat bro. It looks like he used to be a little jacked and put weight back on

[@noob4head]

14:25 I freaking love this shot. It's like I'm watching a movie with a genuine one-to-one conversation between two people. Awesome job! It's these details that I love about your videos!

[@ArtFiendz]

bruh

[@sunday87]

Came here to write the same. What a different style. Loved it!

[@StanHowse]

You mean an extended Commercial?

[@noob4head]

@@sunday87 I know right, it's simple and probably not that substantial but this shows you they know a thing or two when it comes to videography.

[@eliasrayan6421]

In 10 years of videos, we've never seen Linus talk so much about a sponsor's product. That stuff must be super good

[@PeterMoore5]

This is a great video - the energy is super fun, the camera work is excellent, not a second was wasted in the edit, the music is exactly right for each scene... well done LMG!

[@drwhom2598]

This entire video is nothing but a testament to why you should use the proper cooling additives including anti-corrosives AND antibacterial. I noticed Linus only mentions antibacterial additives at the end. There's a reason why water cooling fluids like Mayhems exist.

[@imapirateyarrr4508]

Yeah I run Mayhem X1 Eco Clear (vegetable based so you can just pour it down the sink) and I just cleaned my loop after 18 months just to re-paste my CPU block. Zero gunk, no particles in the block fins, no living organisms coming out. You need to use the right coolant, and tubing that doesn't contain plasticizer. I use food-grade santoprene tubing meant for restaurant beverage lines. Stay away from any cooling with colors (pigment will drop out and settle in/stain your blocks), get the right tubing like santoprene or ZMT, and make sure you do a good initial radiator flush to get the manufacturing gunk out. If you do it right you're golden with very minimal maintenance.

[@SoundsLegit71]

On a vehicle the radiator hoses are electrically conductive. Take an ohmmeter and test it yourself. That is to stop the engine block and the radiator oxidizing like a battery. That's probably why all the corrosion.

[@drwhom2598]

@@SoundsLegit71 No, it's the additives in your antifreeze/coolant that prevent that. "It is very important that antifreeze or engine coolant is changed every 2 -3 years (4 - 5 years for vehicles with long life coolants) to replenish the additives that protect the cooling system from rust, corrosion, pitting, electrolysis, to gelling and foaming."

[@intercity125]

For really low maintenance, car coolant can work (I use the Prestone Corguard "all-makes" stuff at 33% dilution) - the thing that gets some appeal with distilled & minor amounts of additives is the highest technical thermal capacity of the coolant. Back in the day with non-nickel blocks (the bare copper sort) and absolutely NO aluminium I remember distilled and a silver coil being really popular.

[@Icessassin]

@@SoundsLegit71radiator hoses are electrically conductive as they have metal mesh walls to stop them collapsing on themselves when coolant does inadvertently leak or boil over. No point having a hose if it can't handle the heat of the liquid inside it.

[@kylea5864]

The second I saw the black debris in the loop, I knew exactly what it was. The anti-vortex foam from a brand new EK reservoir also disintegrated for me back in 2021. I contacted EK and they had this to say "It could be then that the foam was poorly made and decayed on its own just like that. It was a poor foam then. As mentioned before, we can offer you a new foam replacement for free as well as we would suggest you also to use a coolant instead of the distilled water for further use of the loop and protection of the parts from growth and so on" I was a bit upset because it required me taking hours to do a deep clean like in this video, and I certainly was not going to pay for coolant. I used distilled water and a few drops of a copper-sulfate biocide, for the record.

[@brumby92]

Yeah mine started to disintegrate and removed it. Nice that it's included but most people shouldn't use it

[@wesley0a]

I also knew right away what it was. These fall apart even if you are running distilled without additives.

[@YoSpiff]

I work on industrial printers in my day job and we had a batch of defective foam like that get out into the wild in some cleaning units. I replaced one on an install and the bad foam just crumbled under a light touch. One of the bad ones accidentally got out to a customer and destroyed several printheads with microscopic bits of foam.

[@JathraDH]

Its why the anti-vortex acrylic insert is a much better option than the foam. Or you know, just dial down the pump(s) a bit. You really don't need 2 GPM flow. All it really does is create more noise, heat, vortex problems and decrease pump life for maybe 1-2c temp drop at best. I run my flow rate at like 0.5 GPM and my stuff still sits at 45-60c under load.

[@drunkenfarmerjohn42]

There's a generation of Porsches that have a similar problem with a foam block in the air loop that causes bits of foam to shoot out the vents over time. I don't trust foam based filtration in fluid loops for exactly this reason.

[@happyrockfilm]

This is my favorite video I've seen from you guys in a while! I feel like the camera work was different in a great way. The jokes landed and were not exaggerated. Keep it up 🎉❤

[@gameclips5734]

never seen a sponsored product fit so seamlessly into a video

[@xxlocobassistxx]

I hope that toothbrush Co paid a lot for this one, this is the longest sponsorship I've ever seen on this channel. Not complaining btw, you worked it in well!

[@Icessassin]

No. It's the longest sponsorship for a video that the item being showcased isn't traditional tech, hell they have hour long sponsored livestreams sponsored by the likes of BIG TECH and because the item being showcased is a tv or a pc peripheral you dont bat an eyelid.

[@girlsdrinkfeck]

overpriced electric toothbrush, my £12 braun has a 4 week battery life and does the same job , all these special priced toothburhses are gimmicks

[@eTzTheGamer]

​@@girlsdrinkfeckworse than gimmicks tbh... Selling points such as stronger than competition are kinda shady and potentially harmful.. There's a reason "the competition" don't want to use the strongest vibration on your teeth. If they wanted to they could just sell a dremel as a toothbrush and it would be "the strongest" but there's an obvious reason why you don't want that

[@girlsdrinkfeck]

@@eTzTheGamer some people like to justify their existence with fancy products. Each to their own. I even buy the cheapest tooth paste 60 cents a tube. Does same job as 20 dollar paste. Only active ingredient is sodium fluoride.

[@Alias_Anybody]

I think Linus deserves an award for most original and sophisticated shilling.

[@Stratos1988]

Shiling ? Debatable, but I'm sure as heck to some of us this is legit use case.

[@Elerindal]

@@Stratos1988Might sound odd, but I keep old electric toothbrush heads for use with cleaning small areas, grouting etc

[@oliverer3]

Cheap ultrasonic toothbrushes are actually really useful for cleaning in small tight spaces they're like small handheld ultrasonic cleaners

[@EironKyle]

Eh, I'd accept this kind of shilling. Once you use an electric toothbrush to clean tight spaces, there's no going back.

[@Alias_Anybody]

@@Stratos1988 That's what I meant. Using an electric toothbrush for cleaning water loop parts isn't crazy, using it as a sponsorship however (considering that's not actually what they are made for) takes some balls.

[@cat-.-]

this video is the best air cooling ad Ive seen to date

[@cheez4208]

I really enjoyed the back and forth chatting dynamic in this video.

[@rugged04270]

the music for the transition in the late 18 minute section is fantastic. Made the whole video better.

[@DayelBlake]

No matter how old, dudes will always chuckle when they hear anything that remotely sounds like “doodoo”. Thank you editor for leaving that in.

[@SullySadface]

Also if anyone says something smells funky, we're all gonna smell it and agree

[@premonjares]

Had water cooler went back to air love th quiteness of water but i love the simplicity of cleaning a air Cooled system.

[@wchill1337]

I'm the winner of the Nerdforge PC at 2:25. You guys forgot to add a drain port to it, so I did not have a fun time trying to drain the water that was in the loop when I got it 😢

[@userxyz783]

Linus tech reply to this comment???

[@cristiansalinas1996]

I found the music attached to the cleaning montage from 18:14 - 18:51 to be really fun and unheard from most tech videos. A very nice stylistic choice:) more plz

[@personnel5428]

Yes please, bump this post. Whoever does the music for LTT this was a wonderful choice :D

[@TheShortStory]

that build montage with old-timey music was something else. I was mesmerized for a few seconds

[@StormWarningMom]

Genius addition. Agreed.

[@robdaniels2884]

Oh man, used the toothbrush almost one month, it works really well for me, strong, and deep cleaning. My old soniccare is now used for cleaning my juicer LOL

[@Kimera_Alternate_Realities]

This has to be one of the silliest videos you have made in years... Love it!

[@carlsanderson]

Love the musical score you went with when showcasing the PCs after the process was complete. Seemed classy and relaxing at the same time. Would like to see more of this outside the box thinking.

[@YapvilleMayor]

Tip for pc newcomers : water cooling is not necessarily better. Just go for a sufficient enough cpu cooler.

[@CatSucker]

Its not cooler, but it is cooler 😉

[@Woyta]

If you have really quiet room, air cooling is annoying. Not to mention during gaming. With my custom loop 12cm fans were spining just at 400rpm. It is not always about performance.

[@PortocaliusMaximus]

well it used to be better, but that was before the thermal assassin and huge blow-through coolers on gpus

[@boburanus69]

Basically, water and electronics are not good together. It's a corrosive relationship that never ends well. If you by some chance build the perfect watercooled PC, never have ANY issues, and your components last until you want to upgrade, there's always the chance a leak happens and your stuff is never 100% again. When I build a computer and I want to keep using it for a years to come, I don't put liquid anything inside it. Or near it.

[@figureviews]

​@@Woyta use headphones

[@mr.ledger]

Really nailed the cinematic shots, alternate camera angles and b-roll 👍

[@Slyder42]

Nice to see someone still rocking the Cooler Master Master Case Pro 5. Such a solid case with so many options!

[@seiton8873]

dude thats insane, im looking into water cooling maintenance for myself and Linus uploads a video on it while I'm searching for it. crazy.

[@choochooChuy]

how did they heart this comment if it was 1 minute ago

[@SwiftestScout]

Linus sees all, Linus knows all

[@cndJokester]

Yeah full of misinformation 😂

[@Exzeph]

I did my OG water loop with Mayhems Biocide pre-rinse, and then I ran it on Mayhems Pastel for 4 years not giving it even a moment of maintenance, finally when I did it clean it out, all it took was a good few flushes of vinegar in the loop -- easy-peasy. I think if you take the time *at the beginning!* to use an inhibitor and ensure you have clean distilled water as a base for whatever colors/lusters you put it in, it's really not that hard to water-cool in a relatively pain-free way.

[@zoson]

Don't use vinegar in a pc cooling loop. Vinegar will destroy your nickel plating and cause acrylic to craze(spider cracks).

[@Alex-zi1nb]

couldnt you, in theory, run bleach through your set up for like 5 mins to disinfect, and then use the inhibitor and pure distilled water and...in theory...no bacteria should ever show up

[@Exzeph]

Okay but my tubing is PET and my components are bare copper.

[@saddane6897]

I can attest to RO water being supreme for cleaning focus, some preffers Destilled or De-miniralized but RO is just better as a decent filter setup is pretty cheap, and ensures a low solids count below 20ppm right at home. I have a big loop buildt over a long time, with external Rad, Res and Pump, and probly like 3m-3,5m softtube on there in total. I dont use any anti-agents of any kind (beside first time i put it on this Pc, which then grew fungi), i just use RO water now and a T-adapter to make a solids-trap on the pump inlet tube, so the pump is pulling from the side of the T helping solids drop in. But yeah using a T-adapter trap and RO water, i mean i basicly never have to clean my setup xD its been atleast 6 years now since i cleaned it (remove the blinded off trap tube and clean it/Refill) Actually now i need to refill the loop from dissipation loss more often than i need to clean it xD

[@Slade111984]

Agreed, water-cooling isn't that bad if you prep your blocks well, but nickel plated doesn't like vinegar. I've been using a lighter mix of coffee machine cleaner as it's fine with the acrylic as well as metals without stripping. Never had algee and I ran a loop for over 12 months on the same coolant no residue as long as it's clear based and not pastel. Pastel requires some harsher chemicals to flush everything clear again and several flushes with demineralised water .

[@goingrandom3558]

I love the "Linus does stuff for us for free"-series. Keep it up. Especially David's clean my stuff and upgrade old stuff was entertaining.

[@ion1984]

still making good videos my dudes ... makes me so glad you got me on the noctua hype train a few years ago. I also have been a disciple of Gigabytes windforce cooking systems on gpus. I have a 4070 ti and at 100% the thing barely touches 60c. Before that I had a 3060 with windforce that was the same. IMHO, those cooling units are fucking lit. All the temps on the card are fantastic. Air cooling for life man.

[@herranton]

This is one of the best sponsorship videos I've ever seen. It's entertaining and not just an annoying ad read like so many others. Take note companies, this is what you want.

[@yourmamaisphat]

I watched every second of this video. David is amazing, Linus is 10/10 per the norm, and I even thought about getting a new toothbrush! I didn’t, however, think once that I wanted to start water cooling my computer. Very good video!

[@yourmamaisphat]

To be clear to all the people learning from this video, that I’m saying that that’s how good this ad was. It didn’t stop the flow, it was easy to accept that the toothbrush had very tight purpose and that it simply just made sense as a viewer.

[@ligametis]

This was more annoying than any other add because you can't skip or ignore it.

[@javiervergel7967]

This video was really good, very fun. Shoutout David, he's doing great in front of camera rather than shooting!

[@margarinedolby]

Got ptm for my msi laptop and it was actually easy to use and now its cooler than ever, thanks linus!

[@user-hk7fs6fk2w]

I loved the build montage. Especially the music choice. 👌

[@theHedgehogPro]

The editing style with this one was impeccable. Cheers to the editors!

[@Sympli]

loved the cinematography in this video, especially around the 14:30 mark (the over the shoulder "interview" type shot). Keep up the good work.

[@FuzedBox]

Nice to see you recommending Brasso. That's a super-underrated product. I've been using it to clean contact pins or solder points on PCBs for years.

[@magnavoxx]

Like the conversational over-the-shoulder shot Andy

[@Goldomnivore]

The cameraman has his priorities right😂 17:35

[@labman472011]

I think David becoming a writer has been one of the best things to happen to LTT recently! I've enjoyed absolutely all the content he's involved in even when it was just comments from behind the camera lol

[@_aullik]

Having him as a write is awesome, but now i miss the comments from behind the camera. Well one can't have it all.

[@celticsboy1088]

I’ve built two computers one with a custom loop the pump wound up failing, second pc was an aio sure enough stopped working,went to air cooler learned my lesson!

[@Porkako]

I never comment, but I have to say I appreciated the level of detail and information in this video. It was fun to watch, but I also felt like I learned some helpful knowledge.

[@DanteJDM]

This felt like such a traditional KZbin video you'd find of two friends in a workshop, doing maintenance on a computer. Even the editing adds to the casualness. I don't know, this video just felt so different than the standard structure of LTT videos

[@LemmonDP]

That's because this video was more instructional whereas most of their videos are more entertainment. This actually felt like an LTT video from like 2015.

[@BLKMGK4]

Red Line Water Wetter - biocide and reduces surface tension so you can get even cooler temps. It's got a red tint that can dye plastic tubing but IDGAF and it works great. My Swiftech pump has run for like 8 years BTW :) Decorative water fountain pumps, transmission coolers or heater cores and home made blocks were my goto for years. I miss using Peltier but these days processors are just too hot.

[@drdillio95]

I thought about water-cooling the last time I upgraded, but WOW, I had no idea it was that much of a PITA maintenance-wise. I'm SO GLAD I went with air-cooling.

[@meerpirat3418]

that Video is completely over dramatic. If you do it correctly, you have a drain and you flush out the system every 1-2 years. Takes roughly 30 minutes. done. This System looks not set up properly. You usually have additional chemicals in the water to prevent what they are showing. (Like i assume they just added distilled water and left it as it is)

[@evil_mel6430]

@@meerpirat3418 Exactly and I have seen good setups running like new without flushing even longer than that.

[@progamerr4999]

Linus at 18:05 "cut off the end of the tubes" 18:27 : clearly showing tube not cut off

[@vaughanschmidt2130]

Linus was the one that said to do it. Him saying it however does not necessarily mean that David will do that, intentionally or not. We love you David.

[@FieryOnyx]

Also said, "IF you had a little bit of extra length"

[@metaleuman]

Those tubes have no extra length, they can't be shorter.

[@nethiuz9165]

@@metaleuman That's what she said.

[@workinprogress8978]

Just get a Thermalright Assassin (on a budget) or NH-D15 (pure longevity and customer support). You'll be set for so many future PC upgrades and it's brain dead easy to maintain

[@onyxeye5896]

actually true, bought an NH-D15 and im gonna keep this thing till i die. Maybe i will need to replace the fans in 15 years but thats cheap asf

[@casinojka]

as much as i remember thermalright's phantom spirit should be lilttle better than both of them.

[@fly1ngsh33p7]

@@onyxeye5896 maybe Noctua sells their new fans then ;)

[@Alex-wg1mb]

Frost Spirit 140 is a silent killer. 13900k works perfectly without any power caps but a bit undervolted only 95c degrees max

[@jackmillen]

Definitely, maybe a U12-S for mid-tier systems

[@benbeach4425]

For radiator cleaning along with the water/vinegar mix pour in a bunch of kosher or coarse sea salt it'll work as a mild abrasive to knock off buildup but it'll be easy to clean out.

[@cpuuk]

I must have used the first commercial water cooler back in the naughties, the problem back then was that water would grow algae, so I put Listerine in the system. It didn't slow the algae much, but my PC had a minty fresh smell to it.

[@joog79]

Chapeau for the creative use of the sponsored item. It didn't come over too forced.

[@kg4wwn]

Just forced enough.

[@martinseal1987]

😂

[@joog79]

@@kg4wwn It was a bit wedged in, true. But i still appreciate the fact that they found a way to make a nice video with a toothbrush brand as the sponsor and incorporate it.

[@Licensedbeast]

That transition from 3:57 to 4:00 is TV quality. Music ends and Linus is talking about the problem with the B roll for context. Chef's kiss

[@themomaw]

Oh look, a 20 minute commercial for air cooling. 👍

[@AlexLawngtv]

Watching you guys water-cool things over the years convinced me to buy a high-end air cooler. best lesson learned from the channel. haha!

[@ray4daniel]

Really nice looking shot angles on 14:30! Would love to see more of those being used in future videos!

[@simonmagnusson6216]

I love David, he stirres up feelings i never knew i had.

[@giovanniserrano6224]

I've had Corsair XL5 clear coolant with some homedepot clear hoses and its been crystal clean for the last 4 years.

[@paulfaxas3492]

Evapo-rust is a good product for removing rust and you can just soak the parts in it as well. There is a KZbin channel that restores old products that uses it all the time with great results. Try using it for that pump you're trying to revive.

[@mzaite]

And don’t dump it out! It chemically keeps working even after it looks cloudy.

[@SyncronedStuff]

That toothbrush sponsorship was one of the smoothest you've done in a while

[@Aeonsoulful]

For the Radiator Cleaning that you recommended with vigorous shaking, the good way would be to use a paint mixer saves that sore arms but if you wanna do it Janky, than weld to plates to a reciprocating saw blade and have at it

[@JohnnyFnG84]

Going on almost 10 years w/ current rig - Swiftech Apogee Drive 2 for a 4790k, 240mm rad. Drained every 2 years. I’ve de-gunked the pump every other drain and fill. Quiet, leak-free, and reliable. Swiftech > all!

[@alistairblaire6001]

David's got some awesome on-camera energy

[@launebaer86]

David looks jacked man, nice!

[@melkboi8306]

One of my favourite LTT videos in a while. Congrats

[@-B.H.]

Love the editor additions on this video! Also as always David is a gem.

[@aslan4312]

this video was so good and fun, all these recent david videos were all good but this one is great, everything from the chill vibes, the cleverly positionned discussions bits, the nice watercooling tips, nicely put in with a super relatable storyline, and overall the great editing and pacing

[@BansheeBunny]

Two guides in one. Use this for PTM7950 installation too. Once you cut the PTM to size, put it back in the fridge for a few minutes to give yourself some more workable time.

[@prrocker9637]

Ngl David's tech Upgrade Made me fall in love with the mastercase 5/MC500 and I tracked one down as a result and I love this case the biggest issue is they're discontinued so some accessories are way harder to find

[@Proellum]

I absolutely love the 50's/60's rom/com music during the montage.

[@ghotigoat9391]

I love Linus Toothbrush Tips.

[@kevingross4569]

David, I hope your build lives long and prospers!🖖

[@Radium3D]

For acrylic use novis clean shine and protect! It works wonders on my acrylic aquarium exterior

[@matthewosborne6332]

Very interesting. I've had water cooling for years and currently have my first custom loop (though regretting not adding a draining port to the system) My previous PC had a pump failure after 4 years. A flush of the system with 50% white vinegar for 10 mins (I jury rigged an IV giving set to the loop) and then flushed it with purified water, added a new pump and it ran as good as new. Didn't get much out when I flushed it, and the system is still running now (I gave it to my friend to convert him from X-Box to PC gaming when I built my new system in 2020.

[@berryblaster21]

Love the old-school music at 18:30 ish for some reason, very cool fits the vibe

[@ryandowling4026]

Ive been loving all the David videos lately! every time i see that hes in front of the camera i know im in for something good!

[@DanniV8]

I used an automotive coolant called HT-12 on my loop. I work at a BMW dealership and in 2018 this coolant was introduced and used on all high-voltage components including the computers and even cell modules themselves. Those cars today are basically just computers that can drive and this is the best coolant available. It's not like in the olden days when computer watercooling was starting out and no automotive coolant had to be able to cool the engine and the electrics without mixing different metals in the loop or being too conductive

[@onepointsix3684]

Unironically the best toothbrush ad I have ever seen

[@potatopotatopotatopotatopo8746]

David hosting yet again let's goooooo! And also the classical music was genuinely so damn good. Please do more of that

[@lorenzocapuccini3215]

18:40 loved the old Disney movie, music 😍😍

[@billchildress9756]

I use Bronze gun cleaning brushes to clean waterblock fins and it does a perfect job! No need for expensive tooth brushes. And I don't use water! Get a gallon of RV antifreeze and be happy. I think white vinegar will remove rust from steel.

[@ColinDyckes]

I've had Mayhems UV Blue in my custom loop work system for over 10 years with just occasional fluid top up. No decrease in performance! Using it again in my 14900KS and 4090 system with MoRa 420 🙂

[@yourfavoritelawnguy2722]

This is the exact reason i only bought AIO's that can be "added to", not to add more parts but so i can do fluid changes yearly to keep the fluid fresh clean and full. Buy some CLR or similar to clean the metals and fins

[@JathraDH]

You are probably doing more harm than good TBH. Proper sealed AIOs are filled with glycol and the fluid doesn't go bad, nor do they really corrode, because of the glycol. They can easily last 5-10 years and you will probably be building a new PC before then anyways.

[@RadioactiveLobster]

The day I need an app for my toothbrush is the day I need to be taken out back and old yeller'd.

[@AB-80X]

Hey we need to fill those landfills with something. Why not super toxic e-waste...

[@Gemquist]

Back in the earlier days of VR, I used an AMD FX-8120 overclocked 100% stable to 4.7GHz and a Radeon R9 290, both liquid cooled on a completely DIY cooling loop. The loop was made with vinyl flex tubing, a small 160 GPH submersible fountain pump, and cooled by a diluted antifreeze mixture to prevent corrosion from mixing high end copper heatsinks on the GPU and cheaper aluminum blocks cooling the CPU, VRMs, and the 2x240 radiators. For the reservoir I used a large old plastic cylinder container with a nice tight lid, and cut holes for the pump cable and tubes. Sealed them back up with a little plastic welding and silicon sealant. I ended up buying a separate small reservoir pump combo for the GPU and running 2 loops after adding the the VRM heatsinks. With this setup I ended up spending significantly less than replacing the outdated AM2+ motherboard and DDR3 RAM. The loops had to be disassembled once for cleaning approx. a year in due to gumming up of some of the component fins and subsequent overheating issues. After that disassembly I just started draining the loop every six months, ran some cleaner through them, followed by distilled water for a day or so, then switching back to the diluted coolant. It served me well for 3 or 4 years before I decided to get with the times and upgrade. The whole exercise really took me back to the early/mid 90's era of DIY'ing performance solutions when they were either unavailable on the market or too pricey. The old days where school friends were having an arms race to see who could build the best PC on the weakest budget, or who could find a business or family throwing away a PC with a slightly faster processor or compatible RAM for a free upgrade. For the $200-$300 I saved building the loop, I was able to wait just a bit longer for the next generation of CPUs and GPUs, and still enjoy the new "thing" of VR. I feel like with where CPU and GPU utilization is at right now, the performance gains of liquid cooling don't justify the hassle for gamers. Maybe when some of the new features of Unreal Engine are better utilized.

[@lostmic]

3:09 Linus holding and touching the fins on the radiator as I cringed so hard before he said it wasn't good anymore! lol

[@WhatTheAlva]

Ever since you guys started doing watercooling so many years ago, I always thought about how much of a pain in the ass this would be. I already hate zip ties because I don't wanna cut and re-apply them every time I want to move something.

[@bartbasil3704]

Imagine the custom loop nightmare, where sometimes it's making new loops because it only fits in, but doesn't fit coming out. It's awful.

[@noodlelynoodle.]

You can loosen zip ties pretty easily

[@Woodz_007]

You guys should try re-chromming the water block so that the exposed copper gets a layer of crome over it again. i believe the chroming can be done through electrolysis and its simple and less time consuming and the end results are worth it

[@h3artl3ss]

Nickel plating would be safer, Chrome creates a toxic gas in the process.

[@Woreec]

Probably the better option would be to use Electroless Nickel Plating since its result is more uniform and can plate complex shapes like the fins better, also much easier since you basically only have to submerge the part in a solution and dont have to deal with electrodes.

[@Efreeti]

Nickel plating, but yeah. That would be a cool video concept.

[@brumby92]

Waste of time. I like the copper patina

[@DEJ915]

@@brumby92 doesn't hurt performance either so yeah, most of the time raw copper blocks are better unless you're using liquid metal.

[@ShukenFlash]

That rebuild music was straight out of like 90s cartoons and I love it.

[@speedycpu]

I always put alcohol in the loop and it works great. Nothing grows, lasts a long time before any maintenance is needed. Use a few ounces of 90%+ and you're good for quite a while. Using an mcp655 and heat killer 3.0 copper block, 360mm radiator and some psycho noctua 120mm fans.

[@channel4ferrets]

Built over 7,000 PC's sincse 1994. Never needed watercooling. Thanks for confirming it ;)

[@AB-80X]

Not overclocking a lot I'm guessing.

[@karmakh]

Aircooling is the way to go.

[@FlintG]

Yeah I see all those aios and I still kinda cringe at them since I really don't want to mess with liquid cooling so yeah I am sticking with air coolers.

[@bootchoo96]

Not for itx builds - where heat has to be exhausted outside the case

[@mactep1]

​@@FlintG My oldest aio is 10 this year, so in my experience they are pretty reliable.

[@karmakh]

​@@bootchoo96Even with ITX I would use all my effort to make it air coolable. Just needs a bit of airflow design.

[@roarbahamut9866]

@@FlintG AIOs are maintence free so I really dont see a reason why you wouldnt want to use them since they are simply better for cooling.