Sandy Bridge and water-cooling: Real-World Experiences Wanted!

P

PGHammer

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 8, 2002
Messages
3,315
Since I've decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to Sandy Bridge (Corsair H70-cooled i5-2500K, to be specific), I'm wondering how it performs in a similar setup in the real world.

Planned primary components:

Intel Core i5-2500K
OCZ Gold 4 GB DDR3-1333 x4 (16 GB total)
ASUS P8P67 Pro (once the recall gets sorted; I plan on waiting until then at least)
XFX HD6850 1 GB GDDR5 PCIe graphics card
Either ANTEC Nine Hundred Two or CoolerMaster HAF922M mid-tower ATX case
Corsair H70 closed-loop water-cooling system
PC Power and Cooling Sliencer Mk, II 650W PSU
(possible) WD Caviar Black 1 TB SATA HDD (32 MB cache)

Everything else transfers from Mighty Mouse (rig in sig), including Windows 7 Ultimate x64.
This will be my first experience with water-cooling (hence my sticking with a closed-loop setup).

Why 16 GB? The planned use will be development and VM-based testing; however, VT-d is a non-factor (which is why only the i5-2500K); however, there will be some gaming (mostly Starcraft II and NFS:HP2010).

How well does water-cooling in general (and the H70 in particular; I did notice it seems to be popular among the water-cooled SB setups so far) perform in real-world usage?
 
2600k at 4.7ghz about 65-70c under full load withe 3gpu's folding in it. with the h70
 
2600K Asus P8P67 Pro
Overclocked to 4.5ghz
H-70 Cooler

never gets above 61c when re-encoding DVD's (maybe not the best test, but it runs all the cores up and the temp, and screams along at 300fps encoding :)
 
2500k @ 4.5GHz
H70 @ ~1650
CPU@ 60-62 max running prime 95 "High Heat"

I have the same Motherboard. Plug the pump into the cpu header, disable Fan Xpert to allow it to run at full speed at all times.
Plug the Fans Y connector into the Cha_1 and set up a fan profile, using "User".

A 3 pin fan cannot be controlled by the 4 pin CPU fan header, however, a 3 pin fan can be controlled by the 4 pin CHA_1 header. I set up a temperature controlled fan profile using Fan Xpert in AI Suite and it works well.
 
Even stressing the chip in prime I've not seen temps over 55c

I do suggest replacing the TIM that comes with the H70, I was getting mid-60s with it. Changed it out and temps dropped. Also replace the fans it comes with. They suck...

Nice cooler for simplisity.
 
2600k @ 4.8Ghz 1.39v
H70 with 2x Gentle Typhoon Fans

I'm below 60 on two cores and the highest i've seen on the other two is 62 when maxing out the CPU with prime95 or intel burn test. (usually 56/60/62/58).

I used the stock H70 TIM, it seems pretty good to me, but I did attach the h70 to the cpu on the first try (versus smearing the TIM trying to get it seated properly with multiple attempts). It usually runs in the 40's while playing games. (Have a gtx 580, and my old gtx 260 for physX).

The case is a silverstone FT02, so case temps are pretty low as everything is exhausted out the top.
 
CompMage said:
Even stressing the chip in prime I've not seen temps over 55c

I do suggest replacing the TIM that comes with the H70, I was getting mid-60s with it. Changed it out and temps dropped. Also replace the fans it comes with. They suck...

Nice cooler for simplisity.
Click to expand...

If/when I replace the fans, I'll be going with Scythe SlipStream 120s (bought at the local MC, which doesn't carry the Gentle Typhoons). Same size (and also Scythe), so I should be able to mount those in push-pull as well. The only difference is that they may be noisier than the GTs.
 
I get around 70-73 or so with a h50. Sounds like this is around the normal range with people with the corsair water cooler. I always thought I was kinda high but I guess I'm normal
 
I'm very interested RE: results.. I'm esp interested in what volts ppl have their cpu @.. what is stock V anyway? & whats consider 'dangerously high' V?

TIA
 
I’m curious to see the setup, maybe someone can make head to head comparison between H50 and H70 water cooled system ?
 
The [H] review of the H70 has comparisons to the H50, which would let you know the difference in the ability to cool with all else being equal...
 
I had a custom built Loop with a Danger Den block and a 2x120 rad. I never saw over 60C when using handbrake, which seems to be my best stress test for all the cores. My pump died last week though, so I had to rip the water system out. I went out and bought a Scythe Ninja 3 for a temporary solution. Guess what, temps will not go over 65C now. Was water really worth it?
 
MantiC said:
2500k @ 4.5GHz
H70 @ ~1650
CPU@ 60-62 max running prime 95 "High Heat"
Click to expand...

I am running the same oc on my 2500k with a hyper 212+ with one fan (stock) and my temps are right in line with yours.

I was interested in an H70. Now I am not so certain that its worth the $$
 
tokey43074 said:
I am running the same oc on my 2500k with a hyper 212+ with one fan (stock) and my temps are right in line with yours.

I was interested in an H70. Now I am not so certain that its worth the $$
Click to expand...

My fans aren't running full speed, the fan profile I'm using has them ramp up pretty slow and they never really get over 65% fan speed at full load. Plus I'm not sure I have the best mount, I got tired of remounting it and decided it was "good enough'. I had my push pull fans installed in a push push configuration and couldn't figure out why my temps were high, so I remounted several times, trying to drop the temperatures, before I figured out I had screwed up the fan orientation. The only stuff I had left was AS Ceramique, which isn't the best stuff in the world. Even with the fans in push push, the highest temp I got was 72 on one core at full load, the other three were 69-70.

I don't know that it is worth the $$$ either, as the 212+ seems to do a pretty good job for a fraction of the cost. I do have a 212+ that I used on previous system and was quite happy with it.
 
PGHammer said:
If/when I replace the fans, I'll be going with Scythe SlipStream 120s (bought at the local MC, which doesn't carry the Gentle Typhoons). Same size (and also Scythe), so I should be able to mount those in push-pull as well. The only difference is that they may be noisier than the GTs.
Click to expand...

Regarding the Corsair H70 cooler.

Just a few items of note for best performance.
Go down to you're local hardware shop and find the post screws that will fit. You would be best to stand the push fan off the Rad about 2cm or so. They were ultra cheap.
4x Post screws, 8x Bolts, 8x Washers and some duct tape.

One bolt on each post to hold the fan to the top of the post, Some tape around the post so it will only screw into the rat about 2mm or so, then some all the way around to keep the air going in the right place.

Or be lazy and buy a ready made fan shroud.

I'm using the SlipStream 120 (1600rmp) and they are not bad on sound really.
 
48ghz.jpg


Custom water cooled with equipment in my sig. Yate loons on low speed. machine is dead silent, GPU and CPU water cooled in the same loop.
 
Last edited:
2600K here 5.0GHZ 24/7 1.47 volts LoL .... PA 120.2 on CPU Loop and another one on my GPU loop with push pull on both of them

Temps not over 65 with prime 95 running
 
Last edited:
CompMage said:
Regarding the Corsair H70 cooler.

Just a few items of note for best performance.
Go down to you're local hardware shop and find the post screws that will fit. You would be best to stand the push fan off the Rad about 2cm or so. They were ultra cheap.
4x Post screws, 8x Bolts, 8x Washers and some duct tape.

One bolt on each post to hold the fan to the top of the post, Some tape around the post so it will only screw into the rat about 2mm or so, then some all the way around to keep the air going in the right place.

Or be lazy and buy a ready made fan shroud.

I'm using the SlipStream 120 (1600rmp) and they are not bad on sound really.
Click to expand...

MC carries the washers and the correctly-sized bolts/screws (the right size are the #3 1/4" deep screws, the same-size posts along with paper washers - the same type used for motherboard grounding/isolation) in 50-packs. By going with the paper washers (which do a slick job of grommeting), you won't need the duct tape. Because the same bolts, screws, washers, and even posts are multi-usage, picking them up in 50-piece lots can't be said to be overbuying by any stretch.
 
Real-world, the H50/70 make no sense. Their cooling capability is no better than traditional heatsinks at similar/lower price points (and this is a nightmare situation - 6 cores, 4.39 GHz, 1.431v!), and the stock fans are incredibly loud (so the "lower noise" claims are also myths).

So, you can spend about $90 (or less) for a quality air cool hsf, or you can spend $110 plus the cost of two high-end fans ($130 total) to buy a gimmick closed-loop, mass-market watercooler.

Leave watercooling to the people who do whole-system custom setups. That's the only case where it makes any sense. Instead, use a SENSIBLE cooler for your Sandy Bridge, like this $40 Mugen 2.
 
2500K at 5.0ghz and 1.47v. Apogee XT and RX480 with GTX260 in loop. Temps max at low 70's C with ambient around 75 F.
 
defaultluser said:
Real-world, the H50/70 make no sense. Their cooling capability is no better than traditional heatsinks at similar/lower price points (and this is a nightmare situation - 6 cores, 4.39 GHz, 1.431v!), and the stock fans are incredibly loud (so the "lower noise" claims are also myths).

So, you can spend about $90 (or less) for a quality air cool hsf, or you can spend $110 plus the cost of two high-end fans ($130 total) to buy a gimmick closed-loop, mass-market watercooler.

Leave watercooling to the people who do whole-system custom setups. That's the only case where it makes any sense. Instead, use a SENSIBLE cooler for your Sandy Bridge, like this $40 Mugen 2.
Click to expand...

Aftermarket HSFs regardless of whether air OR water are not exactly price-friendly, or convenient - in fact, water-cooling chews up less mounting-time than those *sensible* air-cooling HSFs (most of which require just as much in terms of backplating as water-cooling). My other bone to pick with a lot of air-cooling setups (even the more price-friendly ones) is you *still* have the stuff sitting literally ATOP the motherboard; despite the backplates, that can't exactly be healthy for the board's integrity. (With liquid-cooling, the radiator is away from the motherboard altogether.)

Also, the H70 can be the core to expand INTO a whole-system setup as you get more comfortable with it. (Corsair, in fact, along with others, provides add-ons for just that.) Otherwise, it's tear everything down and basically start over! (Yeccch.)
 
H70 is not a real watercooler. Dont waste your money and/or fool yourself.

Get a really good air solution or spend the dough.

I have a real watercooling solution. Under full testing load (prime95 small FFTs) it gets to about 55-60c and wont go higher period. My water cooling parts are listed mostly in my sig.

And so you know I am not telling a lie....
IMG_0650.JPG
 
tangoseal said:
H70 is not a real watercooler. Dont waste your money and/or fool yourself.

Get a really good air solution or spend the dough.

I have a real watercooling solution. Under full testing load (prime95 small FFTs) it gets to about 55-60c and wont go higher period. My water cooling parts are listed mostly in my sig.

And so you know I am not telling a lie....
IMG_0650.JPG
Click to expand...

So you're suggesting either I go broke or not bother?

Funny that nobody else is that extreme (not even XtremeSystems.org).

What are you paid to shill for high-end water-cooling?
 
PGHammer said:
So you're suggesting either I go broke or not bother?

Funny that nobody else is that extreme (not even XtremeSystems.org).

What are you paid to shill for high-end water-cooling?
Click to expand...

Exactly

See the beauty of water cooling is that all I have to do is change the waterblock and thats it..

Yup pretty universal. I can go AM3, 1156, 1155, 1366, 2011, Bulldozer, whatever and all I have to do is change my water block and still have an elite cooling solution.

I really didnt pay that much, only like 289 for all my hand picked parts. All I am saying is dont pay the premium for a non true water cooler when on Sandy Bridge you can air cool these all day long and still get high OC frequencies. I watercooled getting ready for socket 2011 8+ core chips when they come out. I am just using SBD to get by right now.

Do not be fooled. Watercooling is not quiet. If you are pushing high clock speeds then you are going to need to cool the water that cools the chip. It gets hot too. And you need good fans to cool the rads. Watercooling is quiet if and only if you stay in modest frequency ranges and really target quiet parts. My case is pretty freaking loud but then again I didnt build a water cooling solution for noise control.

Last thing about H70. If the pump quits there is no real way to know until you start getting high temps and blue screens. And if you are like me and keep critical data on your PC bsods can easily corrupt data.

Also if you spring a leak with any h2o solution whether factory made or you made it you are going to have A LOT OF PROBLEMs.
 
Last edited:
nissanztt90 said:
2500K at 5.0ghz and 1.47v. Apogee XT and RX480 with GTX260 in loop. Temps max at low 70's C with ambient around 75 F.
Click to expand...

See another low temp high frequency water cooled [H]ard Core bastard like me. You will not get that on Air. Not even the biggest most expensive Noctua multi ridiculous fan rig is going to be that efficient.
 
tangoseal said:
I really didnt pay that much, only like 289 for all my hand picked parts. All I am saying is dont pay the premium for a non true water cooler when on Sandy Bridge you can air cool these all day long and still get high OC frequencies. I watercooled getting ready for socket 2011 8+ core chips when they come out. I am just using SBD to get by right now.

Do not be fooled. Watercooling is not quiet. If you are pushing high clock speeds then you are going to need to cool the water that cools the chip. It gets hot too. And you need good fans to cool the rads. Watercooling is quiet if and only if you stay in modest frequency ranges and really target quiet parts. My case is pretty freaking loud but then again I didnt build a water cooling solution for noise control.
Click to expand...

Funny...my 2500k at 5.0ghz is dead silent with a GPU in the loop. And i didnt pay much more than you. And you didnt pick a very good radiator or CPU block for an 8 core setup.
 
nissanztt90 said:
Funny...my 2500k at 5.0ghz is dead silent with a GPU in the loop. And i didnt pay much more than you. And you didnt pick a very good radiator or CPU block for an 8 core setup.
Click to expand...


There is no 8 core cpu. 4 core, 8 threads.
 
nissanztt90 said:
Funny...my 2500k at 5.0ghz is dead silent with a GPU in the loop. And i didnt pay much more than you. And you didnt pick a very good radiator or CPU block for an 8 core setup.
Click to expand...

Can you explain to me how a 22nm CPU s going to run hotter than a 32nm sandy? How do you know? That is quite a hollow claim you are making with no substantial data to back up your claim.

Secondly last time I checked I'm running a quad core CPU and the swift tech waterblock I have was made for a quad. I'm curious how my waterblock will work on an 8 core socket 2011 when they are not even out yet?

And lastly I'm happy you have a quiet computer but for all i know you might be half deaf. We all perceive elements such as sound levels differently. What is quiet to you might be loud to me and so forth.
 
Last edited:
defaultluser said:
Real-world, the H50/70 make no sense. Their cooling capability is no better than traditional heatsinks at similar/lower price points (and this is a nightmare situation - 6 cores, 4.39 GHz, 1.431v!), and the stock fans are incredibly loud (so the "lower noise" claims are also myths).

So, you can spend about $90 (or less) for a quality air cool hsf, or you can spend $110 plus the cost of two high-end fans ($130 total) to buy a gimmick closed-loop, mass-market watercooler.

Leave watercooling to the people who do whole-system custom setups. That's the only case where it makes any sense. Instead, use a SENSIBLE cooler for your Sandy Bridge, like this $40 Mugen 2.
Click to expand...

Listen to this man. Air coolers today are virtually like cheap water cooling these days. Only two reasons to water cool. Want to cool loud ass video cards on loop too or custom setups which can be quiet and really high performing. Corsair does neither,. you gotta spend $400 for that. Go big or go home (air)
 
defaultluser said:
Real-world, the H50/70 make no sense. Their cooling capability is no better than traditional heatsinks at similar/lower price points (and this is a nightmare situation - 6 cores, 4.39 GHz, 1.431v!), and the stock fans are incredibly loud (so the "lower noise" claims are also myths).

So, you can spend about $90 (or less) for a quality air cool hsf, or you can spend $110 plus the cost of two high-end fans ($130 total) to buy a gimmick closed-loop, mass-market watercooler.

Leave watercooling to the people who do whole-system custom setups. That's the only case where it makes any sense. Instead, use a SENSIBLE cooler for your Sandy Bridge, like this $40 Mugen 2.
Click to expand...

I disagree, not even factoring the sheer size of a decent air cooled HSF I changed from a Tuniq 120 to the H50 and dropped about 10 degrees, not to mention its a hell of alot more slient then air cooled HSF's.

For the price of the H50 it is a uber piece of kit....I have my 2500K running at very late 40's while playing Metro 2033 and BFBC2 for hours on end. I will say that I have a Thermaltake Kandalf case properly set up for air flow and a 250mm side panel fan to aid the cause. :D
 
Look man go and get an H70. If you like it great, if not take it back.

You want real world experience. My true water cooling system is very quiet when I have my fans turned down and the cooling is very effecient. When I run my system really hard like creating Blue Ray conversions in AVS and the processor is running wide open with all 8 threads running the fans will auto spool higher. Water cooling is quiet by nature but you must also select quieter fans. Loud fans can ruin the inherent quiet nature of water cooling.

The H70 should be quiet. But I cant vouch for actual cooling performance compared to a true water cooler loop. Its your money and most brick and mortal will take it back if you dont like it.

Instead of asking here just go and get one and you be the judge. Everyone is right and no one is wrong here. I recommend a air cooler simply to save you money using known and reported factors from these exact forums.
 
ShuttleLuv said:
There is no 8 core cpu. 4 core, 8 threads.
Click to expand...

He said he watercooled in preparation for s2011 and 8+ core CPUs. Try to keep up. And AMD has 8 and 12 core CPUs. Just sayin.

tangoseal said:
Can you explain to me how a 22nm CPU s going to run hotter than a 32nm sandy? How do you know? That is quite a hollow claim you are making with no substantial data to back up your claim.
Click to expand...

Sure. Socket 2011 is an enthusiast line up. No need to compare nm process, Intel makes it easy by giving the TDP. The 2600k is the most powerful 32nm Sandy with a TDP of 95w. The enthusiast socket 2011 will almost certainly have 130w TDP CPUs. So no its not a hollow claim, and you can reasonably assume socket 2011 CPUs will run hotter than 32nm Sandy Bridge CPUs regardless of their process size.

Further, where do you see Socket 2011 are definitely going to be 22nm? Thats a hollow claim considering Ivy Bridge is the die shrink of Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge != Socket 2011. Initial CPUs for socket 2011 are named Sandy Bridge-EX, and may very well be 32nm.

tangoseal said:
Secondly last time I checked I'm running a quad core CPU and the swift tech waterblock I have was made for a quad. I'm curious how my waterblock will work on an 8 core socket 2011 when they are not even out yet?
Click to expand...

Now your trying to put words in my mouth. I never said your setup would or would not work on an 8 core socket, i said you didnt pick very good parts for an 8 core setup considering you were "Watercooling to prepare for socket 2011".

tangoseal said:
And lastly I'm happy you have a quiet computer but for all i know you might be half deaf. We all perceive elements such as sound levels differently. What is quiet to you might be loud to me and so forth.
Click to expand...

Fair enough, however you wont find many people that think GT's at less than 1000rpms arent quiet.
 
tangoseal said:
You want real world experience. My true water cooling system is very quiet when I have my fans turned down and the cooling is very effecient. When I run my system really hard like creating Blue Ray conversions in AVS and the processor is running wide open with all 8 threads running the fans will auto spool higher. Water cooling is quiet by nature but you must also select quieter fans. Loud fans can ruin the inherent quiet nature of water cooling.
Click to expand...

Theres more to it than just fans. Fin density of the radiator is the first factor to consider. High speed/CFM fans are only necessary for high fin density radiator due to the high static pressure required. The noise comes from the turbulance being created when the air is force through the fins. Low FPI = low speed fans needed.
 
I have another vote for go big or go home. I have a complete custom built water setup for my GPU and CPU. I am running slightly older equipment but the concept is the same. The biggest reasons i like it are:

1. GPU is extremely cool. my graphics card never breaks 60C when in game.
2. case is really quiet. I have the pump and fans all the way down and just have a slight overclock on my Q6600 (3.0 ghz) but everthing is very quiet and cool.

The best part is, as i have upgraded my hardware over the years i was able to use the same waterblock for my cpu (socket 939 to 775) and GPU (nvidia 7800, x1800xtx, 8800GTX). All i have to do in most cases is buy a $10 bracket or adapter for the new socket or GPU.

Realistically you can get a good air cooler for less money that will do a great job. So my vote goes to either a good air cooler or a complete custom water setup for around $250-300 (or get one from someone on the forums).
 
Whatever, I like my H50 corsair. If its the same price as a high end air cooler why wouldnt I go with the h50 when its quieter for me and does just as good as a cooling job.

quit hating.

Not everyone wants to spend $400 on a custom water setup.
 
LanPirate1 said:
I had a custom built Loop with a Danger Den block and a 2x120 rad. I never saw over 60C when using handbrake, which seems to be my best stress test for all the cores. My pump died last week though, so I had to rip the water system out. I went out and bought a Scythe Ninja 3 for a temporary solution. Guess what, temps will not go over 65C now. Was water really worth it?
Click to expand...

After having a water system and then getting a TRUE 120 I found out that there are plenty of good air solutions.. and cheaper then water!
 
Unless you're going overboard crazy on overclocking your CPU, you can get by just fine with air cooling. Just make sure you have a good case.

Lots of fussing in this thread, over nothing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top