Trouble deciding on cooling for new build

[skeedo]

Puttin together a new machine soon and I really can't decide what I want for cooling. Going with I7-5820K and Fractal R4 case.

I'd like to OC the chip to at least 4Ghz. I need cooling that is virtually maintenance free and long lasting, this is why I'm skeptical about water cooling. The Arctic 7 Freezer I've had on my current machine for the past 7 years or so has required nothing but the occasional air blast from a compressor. Can the same be said about Corsair H100/ H80 series? My PC serves many purposes: work, gaming, movies/TV and will be on 24x7 so I can't afford much downtime.

So air or water and which cooler would you recommend? Thanks.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Puttin together a new machine soon and I really can't decide what I want for cooling. Going with I7-5820K and Fractal R4 case.

I'd like to OC the chip to at least 4Ghz. I need cooling that is virtually maintenance free and long lasting, this is why I'm skeptical about water cooling. The Arctic 7 Freezer I've had on my current machine for the past 7 years or so has required nothing but the occasional air blast from a compressor. Can the same be said about Corsair H100/ H80 series? My PC serves many purposes: work, gaming, movies/TV and will be on 24x7 so I can't afford much downtime.

So air or water and which cooler would you recommend? Thanks.

That case may work with an H80, but I'm not so sure about an H100.

You might want to look at two fairly current threads: WGusler's thread on his C70 case "ammo box" project and an H80, and a thread started by Lepton87 about cooling the 5820K.

The 5820K has a spec TDP of 140W, compared to WGusler's i7-4790K of 88W. Lepton shows some results using a Noctua NH_D14 cooler, before choosing to get an external radiator for water-cooling. And I think he shows some results overclocking to the level you seek, but I would look more carefully at his posts so as not to rely on my own memory of it.

This is a problem that I, too, have given attention. And I plan to give it some attention into the middle of 2015. My choice is a bigger case than the Fractal, either a "fat" single-fan "square" radiator or 40mm+ thick dual-fan radiator, with a dual-pump bay reservoir.

I have this EVGA ACX heatpipe-tower which beats my D14 hands-down by about 5C degrees with a careful choice of fans and minor low-tech enhancement for both test coolers. I just don't think it's enough for overclocking a 5820K -- or not for the way I'd like to overclock it.

The AiO coolers have evolved to greater reliability. Some of them have A-grade water-blocks and pumps. But they only come configured with a single pump, and a pump may last a few years.

A Noctua NH-D14 can be made to match an H110 double-fan AiO cooler in performance.

Personally, I think any "serious" overclocking of a 5820K needs more radiator capacity than an H110. Right now, the attention is on a Swiftech H240X cooler, which arrives as an "AiO" cooler but has fittings for expansion -- making it potentially "custom-water."

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Swiftech/H240-X/

And I don't think that cooler is going to fit in the Fractal case.

 

[Ketchup]

The one in my sig has held up well. It is on its second build, just some dusting every now and then. My 4790 tops at 80 when running OCCT. CPU is at stock (well, OCCT says it's running 4.1, but close enough.) Water works well, but as you said, takes more maintenance, and Haswells haven't shown to overclock much better with extravagant cooling.

 

[RaistlinZ]

I've used the H110 on this build as well as my 4770K build. They've both worked flawlessly and require no maintenance other than clearing dust off the front dust filter. They actually require LESS maintenance than old air coolers because those really collect a lot of dust in between the fins.

I highly recommend a good AIO unless cost is a major factor for you.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I've used the H110 on this build as well as my 4770K build. They've both worked flawlessly and require no maintenance other than clearing dust off the front dust filter. They actually require LESS maintenance than old air coolers because those really collect a lot of dust in between the fins.

I highly recommend a good AIO unless cost is a major factor for you.

I've taken my eye off the ball, so to speak, during the last few weeks. I can't remember with certainty what the expected upper-end overclock on a 5820K had been shown to be -- in Anandtech and other reviews -- but I thought it was around 4.5.

It may be that a heatpipe cooler or AiO would suffice for a clock of 4.2. I suggest reading through the threads I mentioned, or other recent sources.

The one in my sig has held up well. It is on its second build, just some dusting every now and then. My 4790 tops at 80 when running OCCT. CPU is at stock (well, OCCT says it's running 4.1, but close enough.) Water works well, but as you said, takes more maintenance, and Haswells haven't shown to overclock much better with extravagant cooling.

That's as good as you could expect with the Hyper 212!! And -- it's perfectly acceptable. I'd expect the Hyper 212 to do 10C worse than my ducted NH-D14, and the reviews show it lags about 5C behind the Noctua without any ducting or other "enhancements." But I could erase the 5C difference by ducting the Hyper 212.

Meanwhile, WGusler achieved a 70C IBT maximum with an H80 in a ducted mod -- on the i7-4790K. Ah! Almost forgot to show how significant that was: He'd overclocked it to 4.6 Ghz. I don't think you can expect clock speeds with reasonable voltage beyond 4.7 for either the Devils Canyon or the Haswell-E. And quite obviously, the octo-core 5960X is limited -- maybe to 4.0 Ghz.

 

[Ketchup]

I've used the H110 on this build as well as my 4770K build. They've both worked flawlessly and require no maintenance other than clearing dust off the front dust filter. They actually require LESS maintenance than old air coolers because those really collect a lot of dust in between the fins.

I highly recommend a good AIO unless cost is a major factor for you.

That is good to hear. I thought the water would require maintenance at some point. Of course, we have come a long way from the "custom" units of days past.

 

[skeedo]

Welp these questions still remain:

Can I get to 4.0Ghz or more on air?

How long could I expect a AIO cooler, likely Corsair, to last?

 

[OlyAR15]

Well, if you are reasonably lucky, you should have no trouble hitting 4GHz on air. You *might* have more luck with a 5930K since the stock speed is 3.5GHz, but it should still be no problem with a 5820K unless you just happen to get poor silicon that won't OC at all. I did the Asus AI Suite one-button OC, and it started testing at 4.1GHz, so I'm assuming that most of these CPUs can hit at least 4 no problem.

 

[skeedo]

Good point. I can't justify paying $200 more for 200Mhz though, the plan is to upgrade to the 8 core whenever they get a lot cheaper. Nice to see you have the same MB I'll be getting. Honestly I think I'm going to go with an H80i, seems to suite my purpose. I'll just have to overnight a new cooler if it eventually dies on me.