RanceJustice
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2003
- Messages
- 6,599
In having finally secured the core of my AMD high end build (5950X, Asus ROG Dark Hero mobo, and likely some Gskill Trident Z Neo 3600 "flat 16" B-die , not to mention a 3090 Strix - all for retail!) thoughts turn to cooling and overclocking. For cooling the choice seems to be between a higher end AIO setup and the much more expensive proposition of a custom liquid kit.
First is deciding which AIOs are the best . Previous research shows that (with the possible exception of oddballs like the Swiftech X3 series ) there are a few candidates for 360mm rad AIOs. Corsair's latest is the H150i Elite Capellix; it comes with their excellent MagLev bearing fans and I've had good experiences overall with their previous AIOs for quit awhile. Alternately, EKWB now has their own AIO kit in the Elite 360 and I'm not sure if it is meaningfully different in design or function vs Corsair and the many others. In any case it seems to be well regarded and kitted out with their Vardar fans in RGB optional mode, and even gives 6 of them in the box for push-pull configuration; it could be that this is the main difference between the standard RGB and the Elite version? For a time, nearly all AIOs seem to be built on the Asetek design so it comes down to support , fans, and ancillary features/components - but perhaps this is no longer the case. I know there are some other AIOs out there such as the LianLi Galahad, but I'm not sure if any are notably better or different.
The other option of course is to build a custom loop. While a part of me is excited to do so simply for the experience - I've not built one for personal use for awhile and have never worked with hard tubing before (thinking of going acrylic or possibly borosilicate glass) . However, I'm trying to discern how much difference in cooling / OC potential will arise from a custom loop(s) vs the AIO. Some investigations suggest that temps won't be much better vs a higher end 360mm AIO or that overclocks won't be any higher necessarily, though its likely it could be quieter? Others suggest there could be a moderate, possibly 10-15c temp improvement and higher OCs, but it will cost? Are either of these accurate or is there more to the discussion, especially with a 5950X , Dark Hero, and what I hope is decent RAM? I've not worked with Zen chips before so this will be a change and I'm unaware how the various OC methods compare (If I'm right there's PBO2 / automatic by software, Dark Hero Special Thing / automatic best of both worlds by hardware/firmware, and full manual old school OCing). Building a hardline cooling system would likely cost around $500-ish I'm guessing for a higher end CPU-only loop I wonder if it will be worthwhile.
Later I'll surely need some help with the actual OCing but first I need to decide on cooling and other updates. Input is appreciated, thanks.
First is deciding which AIOs are the best . Previous research shows that (with the possible exception of oddballs like the Swiftech X3 series ) there are a few candidates for 360mm rad AIOs. Corsair's latest is the H150i Elite Capellix; it comes with their excellent MagLev bearing fans and I've had good experiences overall with their previous AIOs for quit awhile. Alternately, EKWB now has their own AIO kit in the Elite 360 and I'm not sure if it is meaningfully different in design or function vs Corsair and the many others. In any case it seems to be well regarded and kitted out with their Vardar fans in RGB optional mode, and even gives 6 of them in the box for push-pull configuration; it could be that this is the main difference between the standard RGB and the Elite version? For a time, nearly all AIOs seem to be built on the Asetek design so it comes down to support , fans, and ancillary features/components - but perhaps this is no longer the case. I know there are some other AIOs out there such as the LianLi Galahad, but I'm not sure if any are notably better or different.
The other option of course is to build a custom loop. While a part of me is excited to do so simply for the experience - I've not built one for personal use for awhile and have never worked with hard tubing before (thinking of going acrylic or possibly borosilicate glass) . However, I'm trying to discern how much difference in cooling / OC potential will arise from a custom loop(s) vs the AIO. Some investigations suggest that temps won't be much better vs a higher end 360mm AIO or that overclocks won't be any higher necessarily, though its likely it could be quieter? Others suggest there could be a moderate, possibly 10-15c temp improvement and higher OCs, but it will cost? Are either of these accurate or is there more to the discussion, especially with a 5950X , Dark Hero, and what I hope is decent RAM? I've not worked with Zen chips before so this will be a change and I'm unaware how the various OC methods compare (If I'm right there's PBO2 / automatic by software, Dark Hero Special Thing / automatic best of both worlds by hardware/firmware, and full manual old school OCing). Building a hardline cooling system would likely cost around $500-ish I'm guessing for a higher end CPU-only loop I wonder if it will be worthwhile.
Later I'll surely need some help with the actual OCing but first I need to decide on cooling and other updates. Input is appreciated, thanks.