Corsair H80 decent?

[mojothehut]

Hey all
I'm thinking about upgrading to my first liquid cooling system
Kicking around the idea of http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181016
I'll be going to from a Coolermaster Hyper 212+ on an AMD 975 @4.0 1.47vcore

Right now my overclock is nice and stable however under heavy load (prime95 for example) it can hit 60c :$

Think the H80 will be a good upgrade and drop temps a bit?
It'll be installed in an Antec p280 case

 

[moonbogg]

I don't know what your temps will be, but my H80 is able to tame a 3930k @ 4.3 running at 1.29v. During heavy gaming it hits 60c but hardly above, and during Prime 95 it hits like 70c or something (havent checked prime temps in a while). Anyway, i'm just saying a 3930k is hard to cool so the H80 is decent for a reasonable overclock.
Real water cooling would be much better but also cost much more I think.

EDIT: Whats wrong with 60c anyway? Is this during stress testing?

 

[mojothehut]

Well I've been told to keep an AMD Phenom II under 60c if possible.
Right now my room is fairly cool but when summer hit, it'll get a bit warmer. So I'm kinda wanting to get better cooling in preparation for that.

Heavy gaming (metro 2033, Crysis 2) will push it right now to about 55c. Then my CM 212 fan kicks up in the 2800rpm range. Which gets quite loud...

I'm in the $80-120 market. The H80 seems the best bang for that buck

 

[BrightCandle]

I don't know what your temps will be, but my H80 is able to tame a 3930k @ 4.3 running at 1.29v. During heavy gaming it hits 60c but hardly above, and during Prime 95 it hits like 70c or something (havent checked prime temps in a while). Anyway, i'm just saying a 3930k is hard to cool so the H80 is decent for a reasonable overclock.
Real water cooling would be much better but also cost much more I think.

EDIT: Whats wrong with 60c anyway? Is this during stress testing?

I never realised these prebuilts were so poor, always assumed they were at least close to the custom kits, that is no better than high end air. My 3930k @ 4.5 with 1.37V under custom is 63C in Prime95 small FFT. At 4.4 and 1.32V its 59C and this is after a 30 minute warm up on full load.

 

[Puppies04]

I never realised these prebuilts were so poor, always assumed they were at least close to the custom kits, that is no better than high end air. My 3930k @ 4.5 with 1.37V under custom is 63C in Prime95 small FFT. At 4.4 and 1.32V its 59C and this is after a 30 minute warm up on full load.

They aren't poor they just aren't custom loops. The fact that they aren't even remotely in the same price catagory should really give you a clue as to what sort of performance to expect.

 

[Face2Face]

If you have the space, which it looks like your case does, I would go for a H100. Seems like that would be a better bang for the buck if you are using Newegg's H80 price?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...FQmxnQodISUA0w

 

[mojothehut]

If you have the space, which it looks like your case does, I would go for a H100. Seems like that would be a better bang for the buck if you are using Newegg's H80 price?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...FQmxnQodISUA0w

Dang, where would I mount that 240mm radiator?

 

[moonbogg]

Another benefit to the H80 is that you get top end air cooler performance (or slightly above) without the massive lunch box hanging off of your CPU. That alone is a nice way to clean up the case IMO and makes it a decent option. I really think the H80 is a good value right now from what I have seen. Also, new versions are out (H80i).

 

[Face2Face]

Dang, where would I mount that 240mm radiator?

Inside your case. At the top.

 

[Vectronic]

The top... it just barely fits, but it fits.

Damn, always reload before commenting.

 

[SocketF]

Get the "i" version, e.g. at newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181032

It's the 2.0 version with a better heat-plate.

 

[Face2Face]

Get the "i" version, e.g. at newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835181032

It's the 2.0 version with a better heat-plate.

Not worth the $30 extra IMO...

 

[SocketF]

Ah sorry, didnt see that the old version is on sale @tigerdirect. Normally both models have the same price. In that case, I agree with you.

 

[Face2Face]

Ah sorry, didnt see that the old version is on sale @tigerdirect. Normally both models have the same price. In that case, I agree with you.

If both H100's were the same price I would definitely get the H100i. Has better fans and Corsair Link, plus it's just damn sexy...

 

[moonbogg]

If both H100's were the same price I would definitely get the H100i. Has better fans and Corsair Link, plus it's just damn sexy...

Yeah, the i series is damn nice looking. I'd get it if I was buying it again.

 

[witeboy07]

They have the h110 for 129$ free shipping on newegg..

 

[coffeejunkee]

It's really hard to find any good information about actual AMD max temps, but personally I just can't believe 60 or 70 degrees would be the real limit. Here is what an AMD employee says about it: http://www.overclock.net/t/931241/interesting-information-from-amd-about-1090t which is still confusing because first he says the listed max temps are in fact the core temps but then proceeds to say those temps already have a very generous safety margin and the real max temp is in fact 90c (at which point the cpu shuts off). This is also much more in line with Intel cpu's.

If you still want a better cooler I wouldn't get anything other than an H90 or H110 if you even remotely care about noise. But those probably don't fit in your case. With your budget I would just get NH-D14 or Phanteks PH-TC14 if you want pwm fans: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/h100i-elc240-seidon-240m-lq320,3380-14.html

 

[mojothehut]

Thanks for all the great info guys. I've decided to go with the h100i

Now to decide how I want to mount the fans. Right now the two fans on the top of my case both blow out. Maybe do 1 in 1 out combo? or both out? If blowing in I'll probably screw some cheap air filter over the top (im paranoid about dust and hate the thought of sucking it in)

 

[Kenmitch]

I would have went for the h100i also out of your choices.

As long as you have intake fans at front of case I'd use the h100i's as exhaust. You could use the rear case fan as intake to feed cooler air to the h100i if needed. Reason I suggest this is hot air rises and with only 1 exhaust at rear of case your rig will run hotter.

 

[tweakboy]

Grab a Thermaltake 2.0 Extreme ,, Made of same material as H110i . looks identical pretty much. Price is about same too. Your a winner no matter which one you grab. Both are made from top notch companies. gl

 

[VirtualLarry]

I've had AMD CPUs bluescreen and otherwise crash, once they hit somewhere north of 75-80C core temps. You do want to keep them at or below 60C. They don't take the heat like Intel chips do.

 

[Macgruber]

I've had AMD CPUs bluescreen and otherwise crash, once they hit somewhere north of 75-80C core temps. You do want to keep them at or below 60C. They don't take the heat like Intel chips do.

Not really