Welcome to the NZXT H1 Custom Loop and My Most Difficult Water Cooling Project to Date
As enthusiasts who want to push things a little bit further and enjoy a much quieter gaming experience from the H1, this is definitely a solid option since we're water cooling the GPU. Let's quickly talk about some of the parts that went into this build and then some of the challenges that I faced building this custom loop.
For the CPU, I went with AMD's 16-core Ryzen 9 5900X. Intel's upcoming 10th gen i7 or i9 CPUs could also be a good option if you want to focus purely on gaming performance, but hypothetically, this route will also do a bit of number crunching or encoding on the side. The Ryzen 9 5900X is plugged into the ASUS ROG Strix X570 Extreme motherboard, which I found to be one of the most stacked X570 IT boards available.
I'm also using 16 gigabytes of 32 hundred megahertz memory, and a single M2 NVMe drive. When it comes to the GPU choice, there are definitely some considerations that need to be made. The ASUS ROG Strix X570 Extreme motherboard supports the AMD Radeon RX XX series, but I would not recommend the RTX XX series for this build since we are fairly limited with radiator space. Having said that, the radiator is mounted in a fairly decent location and gets a good amount of airflow, so I went with an ASUS ROG Strix X570 Extreme 2070 Super, which I think will be an excellent choice. This way, you're still getting some really solid gaming performance, you can also stream on this GPU as well via Twitch, and you won't push too much heat into the loop.
The water block that I've got on there is EK Quantum Vector RGB. When it comes to the water cooling hardware, my approach was to make the entire loop as minimal and simple as possible. Instead of using a discrete D5 pump, which honestly isn't any room for in this build, I used an Alpha Cool Ice Bear LT solar CPU pump block. This powerful enough to run the entire loop, I've tested this against both DD C and D 5 pumps in a single radiator loop, and I found zero difference in thermal performance. It's also powered by a single three-pin header, which makes cable management one less thing to worry about.
For the radiator, I've used EK 140 mm Cool Stream S earad, which should give us slightly more performance compared to the standard i/o that comes fitted with the NZXT H1. For the fittings, I've gone with AlphaCool and 90-degree compression fittings. I've paired those with EK's ZM T matte black tubing. To add an additional fill and drain port to the loop since we're not using a dedicated reservoir, I've added a three-way terminal block to the GPU and a fill port connected directly to that pump block.
One of the biggest challenges that I had with this build was trying to figure out where to route the tubes from the radiator. In the default pre-installed 140 ml AIO that's in the H1, you've got the tubes coming out from the top of the radiator. However, every aftermarket rad on the market has them coming out of the front. This leads me to my favorite part of this build - the double-jointed 90-degree radiator fittings that allow you to open and close the radiator hinge effortlessly without any tubing getting jammed in a weird way. It's one of those oddly satisfying things to watch over and over again.
Another challenge I faced was routing the tubes from the CPU pump block. I've used double 90-degree fittings here for each of the ports, and the tubing from the GPU is fed through a fairly small gap between the power supply and the frame. It's just enough to fit both of them and that keeps it nicely in place. So, yes, all the panels do go on nicely without any resistance, and there's no need for any additional RGB LED strips as we get plenty from that EK waterblock and just behind the motherboard.
Rounding out this build is tempered glass front panel that has never been more welcomed. There's no need for any additional components to achieve the desired aesthetic, which keeps things simple. To stay tuned for part two of this video series, where we will be taking an in-depth look at the 140 mm radiator and if that is enough for a 2070 Super and a Ryzen 9 5900X in the NZXT H1, all the parts will be listed down below as always.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwelcome to the NZXT h1 custom loop and probably my most difficult water cooling project to date now I've done a couple of videos on the NZXT h1 before I've done a case review and a how to build guide but this one here is for those enthusiasts who want to push things a little bit further more importantly if you want a much quieter gaming experience from the h1 this is definitely a solid option since we're water cooling the GPU so let's quickly talk about some of the parts that went into this build and then some of the challenges that I faced building this so for the CPU I went with AMD's 16 core rise in 39 50x intel's upcoming 10th gen i7 or i nine cpus could also be a good option if you want to focus purely on gaming performance but let's say hypothetically this route will also do a bit of number crunching or encoding on the side the 39 50 X is plugged into the Isuzu ROG Strix x5 70 i motherboard which I found to be the most stacked X 570 IT export available and I'm also using 16 gigabytes of 32 hundred megahertz memory along with a single m2 nvme Drive GPU choice is definitely something that needs a bit of consideration the an RT X xx ATT I would not be the most sensible choice for this build since we are fairly limited with radiator space having said that the radiator is mounted in a fairly decent location and gets a good amount of airflow so I went with an RT X 2070 super which I think will be an excellent choice that way you're still getting some really solid gaming performance you can also stream on this GPU as well via and all while not pushing too much heat into the loop also the water block that I've got on there is eks quantum vector RGB when it comes to the water cooling hardware the approach here was to make the entire loop as a minimal and simple as possible for starters instead of using a discrete d5 pump which honestly isn't any room for I've used alpha cools Ice Bear LT solar CPU pump block this is powerful enough to run the entire loop I've tested this against both DD C and D 5 pumps in a single radiator loop and I found a zero difference in thermal performance it's also powered by a single three pin header which makes cable management one less thing to worry about now for the radiator I've used eks 140 mm cool Stream s ear ad which should give us slightly more performance compared to the standard i/o that comes fitted with the NZXT h1 for the fittings I've gone with Alfa calls and 90-degree compression fittings and I've paired those with ek s ZM t matte black tubing also note that to add an additional fill and drain port to the loop since we're not using a dedicated reservoir I've added a 3-way terminal block to the GPU and a fill port connected directly to that pump block now by far the biggest challenge that I had with this build was trying to figure out where to route the tubes from the radiator because if you have a look at the you know default pre-installed 140 ml AIO that's in the h1 you've got the tubes coming out from the top of the radiator but every aftermarket rad on the market has them coming out of the front this leads me to easily my favorite part of this build the double-jointed 90-degree radiator fittings that allow you to open and close the radiator hinge effortlessly without any tubing getting jammed in a weird way it's one of those oddly satisfying things to watch over and over and I don't think this could have turned out any better rounding the tubes from the CPU pump lock was also quite the challenge and again I've used double 90 degree fittings here for each of the port's the tubing from the GPU is fed through a fairly small gap between the power supply and the frame it's just enough to fit both of them and that keeps it nicely in place so yes all the panels do go on nicely without any resistance and that tempered glass front panel has never been a more welcomed there's no need for any additional RGB LED strips as we get plenty from that ek waterblock and just behind the motherboard if you are interested in the thermal performance of this build do stay tuned for part two where we will be taking quite in-depth look at the 140 ml radiator and if that is enough for a 20 70 super and a 39 50 X in at the NZXT h1 all the parts will be listed down below as always a huge thanks for watching and I will see you all in the next one\n"
