Water cooling beginner

[NguyenAdam]

I am a total noob when it comes to water cooling and such. What is the MAIN aspects as to why people would choose water cooling over air? Also, how much would it cost to get a cooling system for lets say an i7? Is it worth it?

 

[Puffnstuff]

Water cooling is not cheap if you do it right. Reduced noise and temps are the primary reasons for going wc. I will never go back to air and yes it was worth it to me. It all comes down to what you want and how much are you willing to spend.

 

[mindwreck]

i went to watercooling for silence and temps. with the fans on its still dead silent. but i can also turn off my fans and it will still keep my i5 under 75C in the summer.

they start around 150 for a decent cpu only setup.

 

[Dark Shroud]

Water cooling takes time, money, & patience to do it right.

If you want a simple solution get yourself a Corsair H50 or H70. They're a closed system for CPU cooling. You installed the block on the CPU like you would a heatsink and then mount the fan & Rad system in your case and you're done.

For starters why don't you tell us about your PC case & what kind of cooling you currently have in it. If you're not over-clocking you might be able to just use a nice midrange CPU cooler.

 

[Juddog]

Water cooling takes time, money, & patience to do it right.

If you want a simple solution get yourself a Corsair H50 or H70. They're a closed system for CPU cooling. You installed the block on the CPU like you would a heatsink and then mount the fan & Rad system in your case and you're done.

For starters why don't you tell us about your PC case & what kind of cooling you currently have in it. If you're not over-clocking you might be able to just use a nice midrange CPU cooler.

^^ This. If you don't want to invest a lot of money and time, just pick up an H70. Cools great and it's a lot simpler.

For me, I had always wanted to watercool but only recently got around to actually doing it. It's more something that I didn't have the time / money to do before about a year ago. The benefits are that it keeps the processor nice and cool, even with my CPU constantly OC'd to 4.2 Ghz it typically hovers around 38 - 40C, with the fans turned down to 1200 rpm, so quiet.

 

[NguyenAdam]

Thank you for your opinions. For those of you who have used the H50 and H70, would you say that they are better than a good CPU air cooler?

 

[Juddog]

Thank you for your opinions. For those of you who have used the H50 and H70, would you say that they are better than a good CPU air cooler?

The H70 benches at higher than the top air cooler. If you want to see a full review, check out the following:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/09/28/corsair_h70_water_cooler_performance_testing

 

[Arsynic]

Water cooling is not cheap if you do it right. Reduced noise and temps are the primary reasons for going wc. I will never go back to air and yes it was worth it to me. It all comes down to what you want and how much are you willing to spend.

How is water cooling more quiet than air cooling? There are usually more fans involved.

 

[bleucharm28]

How is water cooling more quiet than air cooling? There are usually more fans involved.

Low rpm fans. I have 4 - 120 fans attached to my 480 radiator running at 900rpm. I have fan control also, this allows me adjust fan speed from 500-1800rpm; 900rpm is a sweet spot for me.

If i leave my CPU at stock setting; temp ranges from 28c-31c; at load (SCII) i get 34c most. Temp varies depending on ambient temperatures.

 

[NguyenAdam]

I just read the review and it was put together pretty well. Does anyone else have the H70 or can compare to others you have?

 

[NguyenAdam]

Bump

 

[NguyenAdam]

bump

 

[Patrick Wolf]

http://www.google.com/search?q=coag...1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=&pbx=1&fp=6248f386b3c06fd8

Go nuts. Personally I think it's grossly overpriced for what if offers.

 

[muskie32]

I just read the review and it was put together pretty well. Does anyone else have the H70 or can compare to others you have?

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2101850

 

[QuantumPion]

You could start with an external mounted swiftech MCR-220 drive + cpu block. Very easy "real" wc setup.

 

[Valis]

The Eheim series pumps that I have (1048 and such) are very quiet and of high quality. Since I live in the land of the almost permafrost I keep 25 L tanks outside in the snow and let the CPU heat melt the ice/heat the water and then repeat. CPU temp is at an all time low. No fans is needed part from 1-2 in the chassi.