Liquid cooling, How to know if it fits?

[Master shiff]

hii,
How does the liquid cooling work?
it doesn't have a socket restriction or a height restriction like regular air coolers but it has size.
how do i know if a specific liquid cooling system,for example NZXT Kraken X52, will fit in the PC I am building?

[david]

The amount and size of radiators varies - some cases allow for 3 radiators, most do 2. But you can't fit a 140 radiator into a 120 slot. You used to be able to click on a case in shop and it would pull up a specs sheet with a bigger picture of the case. For whatever reason, they've removed this from the game. Now, unless I'm missing something, it's basically trial and error. I keep a variety of liquid coolers in stock. It won't let you install a cooler that doesn't fit the case but, that doesn't help you to know what to order. :)

[Mr. K]

For AIO they are fairly universal when it comes to socket type at least for Intel. Threadripper limits your selection some but if you use NZXT Kraken you sould be OK with any socket type.

Case compatibility unfortunately comes down to trial and error. Even if there's room for the radiator the hoses can clip on just about anything including the RAM and the motherboard. I suggest using the Free build mode to test case compatibility.

Cooling capacity seems to be tied to the CFM from my testing. So don't feel like higher cost will give better results when comparing AIOs.

For custom water cooling radiators there are cooling differences between brands with the same CFM rating.

[Master shiff]

ok so if i want to know if it will fit before i buy the case and AIO ,i will need to check every case and AIO in free play and write on Word or Excel if it fits or not.

understood,thanks for the help

[Mr. K]

Pretty much, get typing.

From my experience the NZXT Kraken X62 works for nearly every customer that asked for one.

[david]

On Level 17 of my 4th or 5th time through the game, my experience is the same as Mr. K so far. I keep X52, X62, and EVGA 120 on hand and the X62 has been the main one used. Some cases allow for 3 radiators but most allow only 2x 140.

The game is setup for players to do some research - easy to alt/tab out of it and fire up google. On my 2nd go around (long ago) I made a cheat sheet for systems with price and Futuremark scores (never used Futuremark in real life other than my personal SLI configs and was never asked or expected to by customers, but I did stress test all of our builds and repairs). But I did not include cooling other than to state water or air.

And in real life I'd just check stats of cases online for this info but can't be bothered in game. :)