So I've been running my latest build with an EK front distribution plate (which has the pump built in).

I have a secondary build that uses a Corsair pump + reservoir combo and I honestly feel that it's better than the distro plate configuration, but there are some other factors to where I can't just compare apples to apples (i.e. Ryzen 9 5900x on distro plate vs. Ryzen 7 5800x on the secondary build). Also on the secondary build, I'm only using the loop for the CPU and not a GPU.

My question at this point is, has anyone ever seen something similar to this, or, perhaps is the nature of a distro plate meant to be more for ease of use vs. functionality?

Has anyone possibly made a switch from a distro plate to stand-alone pumps or reservoirs, etc...?