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Is H2O worth the investment for me?

T

Tullphan

Diamond Member
Currently running an i7 920 @ 3.8ghz. Load temps are in the low 60's, idle in the low 40's...this is with a room ambient of 32c.
I'm running a Megahalem w/Scythe S-Flex in a push/pull. Also have a S-Flex as intake. Case is a LL V100B.
I don't really think get 4ghz or more would warrant much more performance increase, but I could be wrong. To me, the only accomplishment would be a more quiet system.
I know this case won't support much of a radiator, but i'm in the market for a V2000 or a Black Pearl, so I know I could go at least a 120x3...enough for the CPU & graphics card (4870), maybe?
Thoughts?
 
It's tough to say, but I really think you need two more Scythe S-flex fans. 😉

Seriously, it really sort of depends on what you want to do and how much you want to spend...

One thing that stands out for me right away though is that it probably isn't worth water cooling a 4870 at this point, unless you can find a super good deal on the block. If not, you'll be paying more for the block than the card is worth.

I'm also curious about your temps... Are the load temps with Prime95? If so, those are pretty nice temps for an i7 at those clocks on air. That's about what I get on water with my i7 at 4.0GHz after 30mins of Prime95. Granted, my Enzotech Sapphire Rev. A isn't the highest performing cpu block, but it isn't a bad block by any means either. I know they are way better temps than what I was getting with my TRUE.
 
The load temps were reached using OCCT Linpack.
I can't seem to get much over 3.8ghz on my chip without bumping the voltage quite a bit, hence raising the temps.
I've been pondering selling the 4870 & getting something like a 5770, thinking perhaps it'd be a little cooler, a little quieter & a little more energy efficient. I've also pondered getting an Accelero S1 v.2 for the 4870 to quiet it down & lower the temps. I know it did a great job on a 4850 I had.
It finally sunk in why you stated I should buy a couple of more fans! You rascal!! :biggrin:
 
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I think water cooling is a good investment if you plan on reaching high clocks. IMO wc"ing isn't that much quieter if you want as much performance out of it because end up running higher rpm fans on the rad itself.
 
I did various custom watercooling setups for years and although the performance was great and it did allow for better overclocking, I eventually stopped doing it. The overclocks were not really a ton better than what a top tier air cooler can do, maybe 100-150mhz more. The cost is much higher and was actually not really quieter than my air setup now and if you change out your hardware often like I do, you will quickly tire of redoing your setup to accommodate positional changes of cpu and gpu location in relation to your loop. For me it just became more hassle for just small gains and since I am not trying to break some benchmark world record, I can settle for 3% less cpu speed.
 
I'd have to agree with Jhatfie. Water cooling isn't really a value proposition, it's just something you have to want to do. Yes, I've gotten better clocks out of my gear than on air and my rig is slightly quieter that it was before, but in relation to the time and money I've spent I didn't exactly come out ahead. I've enjoyed doing it though. I'll have to see how I feel about it after the novelty has worn off.

Tullphan said:
It finally sunk in why you stated I should buy a couple of more fans! You rascal!! :biggrin:
Click to expand...

:sneaky:
 
mmm... watercooling should be something you try for fun.
If you want to take custom moding and cooling one step further, then watercooling can be a path for you to goto.

Watercooling has evolved so much in the past 2 years, its not the same as it was.
And Id say a i7 + 4870 is more then doable on a single 120x3.
And depending on the radiator your chose, you might even be able to pull it off quietly.

You'll see a noticeable reduction on your gpu temps, on your cpu temps, your millage may vary on how big of a spread that will be.

Jhatfie said:
I did various custom watercooling setups for years and although the performance was great and it did allow for better overclocking, I eventually stopped doing it. The overclocks were not really a ton better than what a top tier air cooler can do, maybe 100-150mhz more. The cost is much higher and was actually not really quieter than my air setup now and if you change out your hardware often like I do, you will quickly tire of redoing your setup to accommodate positional changes of cpu and gpu location in relation to your loop. For me it just became more hassle for just small gains and since I am not trying to break some benchmark world record, I can settle for 3% less cpu speed.
Click to expand...

well, when summer hits, and its like 90F outside, and you dont have the AC on.. your gonna wish you were back on water. 😛
And unless you do motherboard changes, swaping hardware is a breeze if u use something called quick disconnects.

IMG_1309.jpg


That gpu complex is fully modular.. meaning i can quickly pull them off and put them on without having to drain my loop.
However gpu blocks might be wasteful if your cycling though gpu's really quickly. And MCW60 + ram sinks will end up costing a lot on the ram sink end. 😛

Also painful to put all those sinks on and then pull them all off again...

Skinnee did a great review on QDC's, you can read about them here.
http://www.skinneelabs.com/qdc.html

If your talking about cpu swaps you really have no excuse, as i probably swap my cpu more per year then what the average person will do per lifetime, and my entire system from board to gpu to cpu is all watercooled.

You should really check out water again.
You'll see there is a BOAT load more things now then there was even 2 yrs ago.
 
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i personally would stick with air unless you are looking for some major overclocking. I used to have a water cooled system, you kinda have to maintain it / cleaning it once a while. then i got lazy and bought a thermaltake bigwater, the pump failed after 1 year, after which i went back to the stock cooler and it gave me a lot less headaches.
if you get a watercooling sys,buy individual parts, for some reason a lot of those sealed kit they sell don't have enough water in them so many times you are just pumping air thru which damages the pump and reduces its life.
 
well sorry to say the reason u failed water is because of thermaltake. :X

TT makes about the crappiest h2o stuff u can possibly buy.

If you honestly ask someone who has had a well built custom setup done, they dont really go back to air, unless for good reasons.

But they will always have the itch to go back to water.
 
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