Need advice on staying with WC or going to Air

[Taz77]

I've been water cooling for a long time (since P3) but I am thinking about going to air for my next build (i7 930). In the old days it was a no brainier, but now a days with these new gigantic air coolers I am not sure if it is worth it?
My current WC setup is pretty decent and has kept my 4 year old Q6600 @ 3.8GHz rock solid (accidentally left Crysis running and it was still running after two weeks). I can probably fabricate a bracket for the swiftech storm to use with new i7 without even breaking into the loop, but I am getting tired of the 10 year old case (requires a fork lift to move) and don't want to build a whole new WC case.
I was thinking about using a mid tower case (i.e. Antec 300) with a TT Frio cooler which I got for free. Any thoughts on how much OC'ability I will loose if I go with Air instead of staying with water? Please note that I don't care about the extra noise anymore (computer will be used for gaming only and I always us headphones).
Thanks in advance,

 

[Ben90]

The amount of OC'ability you lose is entirely dependent on how powerful your current water setup is. Post your specs.

 

[Rebel44]

Just a question: why build 930 rig right now? - it will be much better (IMO) to wait few weeks and buy 2500K.

 

[aigomorla]

the storm is a very outdated block.

And it would be very difficult to find 1366 mounts for such a old block.

Also your better off with a new block, as they will probably pull anywhere from 4-8C improvement over the storm.

Trust me, waterblocks have come a long way since the storm days.

Also water cooling today is not like how it was when you started your p3.
Take a look @ jab-tech, sidewindercomputers, and performance-pcs.

You'll see water has taken off like a rocket in progress since the days u were probably watering.

 

[faxon]

yea i would look at getting yourself a new block first off. swiftech has some really nice blocks these days (check my sig), and getting a good case for WC isnt hard either. coolermaster has a lot of nice offerings in their HAF lineup and their 690 II is also pretty good though a bit more tight on space. its not hard to put an entire loop inside a factory case without any modifications besides moving some fans around. check out the HAF932 if you're looking for something with some space thats easy to work with. only deciding factor will be the size of your radiator really

 

[Taz77]

WC cooling system specs are two separate 120mm radiators with 2 yate loon fans each, MCP 655, 1/2" tygon tubing, and the swiftech storm. Despite not being maintained in 4 ~ years, it still manages to keep the 3.8GHz Q6600 (1.51v) in the mid 50s priming.
Why a i7 930 now? I've already got the MB and triple channel memory sitting in the closet and a friend can get a new proc for <$140. Other components I'll be reusing are GTX480, GTS250 LP (physx), and BFG 1200W PS.

As I see it, I have 3 options and trying to figure out which one to go with:

1) Use air cooling with the Frio and new mid tower case ( 50 - $100, quick and easy).

2) Jerry rig the storm block and use my existing WC setup and see how long it will go without any maintenance (pretty much free, but I can live with the case for if I can still get a decent OC out of it).

3) I know that if I break into the WC setup, I'll have to replace everything but maybe the pump (depending on how much algae in there), including case (cost = 300 - $500).

A few years back I would have jumped at option #3 but with limited time, it is no longer as appealing (you can tell by the lack of maintenance on my system) and I am trying figure out if it's worth it.

 

[aigomorla]

Ahhh water is never worth it, unless its gpu, or your a massive overclocker.

Other then that, your best off on air, you have less fans, and no coolant to worry about.

The downside is all those in air solutions can almost cost as much as a water solution, while give u less performance.

 

[Concillian]

What are your plans for it. It's not like an air cooled 930 OC is particularly limiting in terms of gaming performance.

If that's you're goal, then just go air, it's sufficient. If you goal involves something that takes more advantage of a massive CPU OC, well, then the call is a lot more difficult.

Gaming used to be a significant reason for OCing. In today's world, we live in the times of console ports, where pretty much everything but Crysis will run quite well on an i3 overclocked on air. To me the value of water cooling has decreased over time, but if you have things that involve more than gaming, or just do massive OCing as a hobby, then it has additional merit.

 

[nyker96]

if you still want water but don't want the hassle, H70 is excellent choice beats most air coolers. But if you just oc a 930, I think get a prolimatech megahalem will do just fine, cheaper and well made, easy to install as well.

 

[Taz77]

I just got done building my system and it is priming @ 4.3GHz @ 1.3125v (under load goes up to 1.36 - 1.38v?) . Ended up buying a D0 920 on eBay, a used cosmos 1000 from local classified ($30), and reusing all my WC components (new tubing and fabricated brackets for the storm to work socket 1366). Core temps are staying @ ~70C under load.
Did try the Frio for a short time and was able to hit ~4 to 4.2 GHz (1.225 - 1.275v) on the bench with both fans maxed out which sound like a 747 taking off.
I have a couple of more questions and i am hopping someone can help.
1) How much further beyond 4.3 can I push it based on current core temps and voltage (~70C and 1.3125 v, which goes up 1.36 - 1.38 under load per Eleet).
2) Really having a hard time pushing the memory (Corsair TR3X6G1600C8 w/fan) beyond 615 MHz (2:6) @ 1.65v. Per SPD should be able to go up 800 @ 8,8,8,24, 2T? Motherboard is an Evga E758 SLI.
Any suggestions?
Thank you in advance.

 

[Jhatfie]

I used to watercool for many years but got tired of the hassle since I swap hardware fairly often and had my gpu as part of the loop. Results were good, but my free time has disappeared so I do not feel like messing with it these days. Some air coolers these days are really good and very quiet.

I am currently running a Thermalright Silver Arrow and it is a absolute cooling beast. Chopped 14C off my load temps compared to my previous CM Hyper 212+. With my i5-750 pushed to 4.2 Ghz @ 1.36v my hottest core will top out at 52-53C (using OCCT to test) using Core Temp as a reference for temps.