How much can my H2O cooling provide

[Biftheunderstudy]

I am seriously considering upgrading my venerable d805 to a newer processor. I was wondering if my Swiftec apex premium would be able to keep up with an OC'd Q6600. Its a single 12cm rad with a push-pull fan config mounted inside the case on the front intake. My loop is res->pump->rad->cpu.

I'm currently on a Abit Ab9 Pro with a d805 @3.8GHz, my temps are 35C idle 50C 100% load.

I do mostly gaming so I know I would be taking a performance hit from the Q6600 over the E6850 but I would kind of like to future proof it by expecting better coding from developers in the future. The E6850 would run a lot cooler I guess...

My other option is to get a low end C2D and OC it like mad, the E6600 are a good price now, any recommendations for price/performance overclockers out there?

 

[aigomorla]

*sigh*

some numbers for you.

An OC'd Q6600 by how much do you mean oc?

If you decide to push that vcore to 1.4Vcore+ you'll be pushing out almost 200W of heat on a loaded processor.

The radiator you listed is good for about 150-200W of heat. Single 120mm. Your about pushing that poor radiator to its max. If you want to cool a quad, i suggest you look at nothing but the 220, or higher. A 320 is more prefered as it would give you a lot of overhead and room to add other stuff.

As for a 120mm on a quad, uhhh... i would recomend you take a look at air. You wont get the fantastic temps thats associated with a water setup.

 

[WoodButcher]

I am also looking to the 6850 or q6600. I have no cooling prob as I have several parts and more than one system that can do the job, Biftheunderstudy, in your circumstance I would upgrade or add to your rad. As Aigo suggested a 220 would do the job on it's own but combined with your current rad would do wonders. One case where bigger is better.

 

[Biftheunderstudy]

Can the pump handle a 120 and a 220 in series? I'll probably end up waiting for the new generation of quads but its good to know how much my loop can handle.

 

[WoodButcher]

I have an extremely long loop, my rad, thermochill PA120.3 is 5 feet away from my pc. I use two pumps an alphacool 600 and the swiftech 655. Many times I have played with the configuration and had just one pump. The flow rate does drop but still my temps were decent. As long as you have a good pump you should be fine. Again, more is better but if your running a 655 or 35 series pump in that loop you should be fine. Is that the system you have ? you didn't mention the pump.

 

[Biftheunderstudy]

Its the premium kit, got it cheap on ebay
That would make it a MCP350.

 

[WoodButcher]

I'm sure you'll be fine if you add a 220 rad to that pump.