![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
$600 watercooling budget
- Thread starter Seireitei
- Start date
I think it's a huge waste to blow $600 on liquid cooling when a high-end air cooler and an Accelero for your GPU will get you comparable results without any of the hassle or risk at least, comparable enough to the degree that it affects actual clock speeds, noise, and real-world performance improvements. But liquid cooling sure does look cool, and you never know... maybe the few degrees in temperature difference will net you a nice extra 10mhz improvement on your GPU clock.
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2010
- Messages
- 14,487
$600 can get you a very good setup. Depends on how much you want to spend on "bling" and other extras.
First off, are you sure you want to do this? Watercooling is a hobby, and it has to be something you would enjoy putting together and maintaining. If not, you'll end up switching back to air because it is something that you don't like to do.
I assume you want to do an internal build. If that's the case, a good 360 radiator will be right up your alley.
What fans do you plan on running? If you're planning on good fans like Gentle Typhoons, I would recommend the Black Ice GTX 360 radiator. Arguably the best 360 radiator out there, and excels with high static pressure fans like the Gentle Typhoons. I recommend getting the AP-15s in push/pull with a good fan controller for low noise operation. Scythe and Lamptron make some good ones, I would avoid crap from NZXT and Aerocool, as they tend to be sub-par. Otherwise, the XSPC RX360 and Black Ice SR1 excel in low fan speed operation, I would recommend Yate Loons if you want to be cheap.
The top two recommended waterblocks are the XSPC Raystorm and Swiftech Apogee HD. Both perform similarly, you can't go wrong with either. Choose the one that fits your style.
For GPU blocks, I would recommend a Heatkiller fullcover block or AquaComputer. I would not recommend EK, but that is because I dislike the company.
Reservoir: Pick something that suits your fancy. You can get a combo pump top/reservoir unit, or a stand-alone reservoir.
Pump: The MCP355, 655, and 35x come highly recommended. I prefer the 655, since it seems to be more durable and less prone to overheating than the 355 and 35x. The 35x has PWM control, so the pump speed can be turned down for more silent operation. To be honest, I have my 655 at max and I cannot hear it from my computer. With the 355, you'll almost definitely want an aftermarket pump top. The 655 has some really nice dressup kits from Bitspower.
Tubing: I prefer 1/2" ID 3/4" OD, because I like the looks of larger tubing. I also prefer UV reactive tubing coupled with UV cold cathode lights. If you like smaller tubing, or you want an easier time bending and routing tubing, get 3/8" ID 5/8" OD. There's minimal differences between the two sizes.
Good 360 radiator: $100-120
6 Gentle Typhoon AP-15: about $100 OR 3 Yate Loon Medium: about $15
Fan controller: $40-70
Raystorm/Apogee HD: $50-60
GPU block: ~$120
Reservoir: $25 (Micro-Res V2) to $100+ (those fancy T-virus reservoirs)
Pump: $60-80
Tubing: $20-25 for about 8-10 feet (overkill, but I like to have extra in case you make a mistake)
Fittings: ~$3 per component in your loop for barbs + worm gear clamps, or $10-15 per component for compression fittings. Add in angle fittings, that can be $20+. You currently have 4-5 components (depending on whether you get a combo unit or not). That's anywhere from $12 to $100+.
Total cost (excluding shipping and taxes): somewhere around $440 to nearly $800. And of course, anywhere in between, depending on your component selection.
First off, are you sure you want to do this? Watercooling is a hobby, and it has to be something you would enjoy putting together and maintaining. If not, you'll end up switching back to air because it is something that you don't like to do.
I assume you want to do an internal build. If that's the case, a good 360 radiator will be right up your alley.
What fans do you plan on running? If you're planning on good fans like Gentle Typhoons, I would recommend the Black Ice GTX 360 radiator. Arguably the best 360 radiator out there, and excels with high static pressure fans like the Gentle Typhoons. I recommend getting the AP-15s in push/pull with a good fan controller for low noise operation. Scythe and Lamptron make some good ones, I would avoid crap from NZXT and Aerocool, as they tend to be sub-par. Otherwise, the XSPC RX360 and Black Ice SR1 excel in low fan speed operation, I would recommend Yate Loons if you want to be cheap.
The top two recommended waterblocks are the XSPC Raystorm and Swiftech Apogee HD. Both perform similarly, you can't go wrong with either. Choose the one that fits your style.
For GPU blocks, I would recommend a Heatkiller fullcover block or AquaComputer. I would not recommend EK, but that is because I dislike the company.
Reservoir: Pick something that suits your fancy. You can get a combo pump top/reservoir unit, or a stand-alone reservoir.
Pump: The MCP355, 655, and 35x come highly recommended. I prefer the 655, since it seems to be more durable and less prone to overheating than the 355 and 35x. The 35x has PWM control, so the pump speed can be turned down for more silent operation. To be honest, I have my 655 at max and I cannot hear it from my computer. With the 355, you'll almost definitely want an aftermarket pump top. The 655 has some really nice dressup kits from Bitspower.
Tubing: I prefer 1/2" ID 3/4" OD, because I like the looks of larger tubing. I also prefer UV reactive tubing coupled with UV cold cathode lights. If you like smaller tubing, or you want an easier time bending and routing tubing, get 3/8" ID 5/8" OD. There's minimal differences between the two sizes.
Good 360 radiator: $100-120
6 Gentle Typhoon AP-15: about $100 OR 3 Yate Loon Medium: about $15
Fan controller: $40-70
Raystorm/Apogee HD: $50-60
GPU block: ~$120
Reservoir: $25 (Micro-Res V2) to $100+ (those fancy T-virus reservoirs)
Pump: $60-80
Tubing: $20-25 for about 8-10 feet (overkill, but I like to have extra in case you make a mistake)
Fittings: ~$3 per component in your loop for barbs + worm gear clamps, or $10-15 per component for compression fittings. Add in angle fittings, that can be $20+. You currently have 4-5 components (depending on whether you get a combo unit or not). That's anywhere from $12 to $100+.
Total cost (excluding shipping and taxes): somewhere around $440 to nearly $800. And of course, anywhere in between, depending on your component selection.
hammerforged
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2012
- Messages
- 1,092
Nice write up tsumi. I would love to go WC once a more powerful single gpu solution comes out that I can work with with for awhile and feel like investing the money for a gpu water block. Right now two waterblocks for my 7950s is too expensive and xfire has been a pain at times.
Thanks Tsumi that helps a lot! Yea, it's for hobby purposes. I don't even play or do anything that my system require it's current power. I just like to upgrade every 2-3 months. So I figure playing around with watercooling should be fun. I'm selling my 2nd rig anyways it's just collecting dust so my budget is actually way larger than $600 for watercooling so money isn't gonna be an issue. I'm thinking of grabbing a couple 4GB 680 just for kicks for my 1080p monitor lol.
Zoson
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2001
- Messages
- 6,113
IMO, if you're going to spend $600. Spend it on a second GPU and go SLI.
You'll get more performance that way.
You'll get more performance that way.
I know but SLI is useless on 1 1080p screen! It would make sense if the recommendation is to upgrade to say 30" 2500x1600 monitor or nvidia surround or eyefinity. Plus I only play Dota 2 primarily and Tera when it's released in May... currently playing it's beta. I was thinking up watercooling my system then add 3 monitor setup then add another card or... I could just get 3 monitors and another card then watercool last with what ever funds I have left.