Budget/Low End Liquid Cooling

X

xTrident

Limp Gawd
2FA
Joined
Jan 20, 2011
Messages
385
Newegg is going to have this cooler on sale at 1:00 Eastern time today via Shell Shocker deal. Looking at what it is currently going for, which isn't bad I'm seriously thinking about picking it up once it's discounted even more.

My question is: For the price, is it worth it? Strictly comparing this kind of liquid cooler to all the others like it out there does anyone have experience with different ones? What do you recommend? The reviews for the Antec look good as far as cooling go. Apparently the instructions suck, but I can work around that. My current cooling setup on my primary machine in my sig isn't enough for my 4GHz overclock. It was when my setup was in the basement. Now that I'm upstairs the ambient room temp is much higher and my CPU tends to idle about 10 degrees Celsius higher because of it.
 
The 620 is no better then high end air cooling, and the 9900Max is a very good air cooler. I doubt you'll see little, if any, difference.
 
Jorona said:
The 620 is no better then high end air cooling, and the 9900Max is a very good air cooler. I doubt you'll see little, if any, difference.
Click to expand...

Would you consider any of those kinds of liquid cooling alternatives? The 620 may not be any better but what about some of the other coolers of the sort?
 
Josh said:
You could get one and put it on a video card:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1237652/gtx-580-antec-kuhler-620-build-log
http://www.overclock.net/t/1140299/gtx-480-sli-antec-620s-mod

I'm tempted...
Click to expand...

I read some people were doing that... My video card isn't overclocked and when it's sitting idle I don't think it's putting out much heat compared to the CPU.

The H100 looks good, but I question the dimensions and how it'd fit in my HaF X case... Probably wouldn't be a problem to install it on the top since it's made for different fan sizes. I'll have to consider it.
 
xTrident said:
The H100 looks good, but I question the dimensions and how it'd fit in my HaF X case... Probably wouldn't be a problem to install it on the top since it's made for different fan sizes. I'll have to consider it.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind while the H110 might be top choice for the all in one WCing units, it's still not better than top end air, such as the D14 or Silver Arrow SB-E, temps are close to each other and often times the air coolers are more quiet than the H100 as well as being cheaper, with less to worry about like leaking or pumps going out. The all in one WCing is often used in cases where you can't fit highend air but want the same kind of cooling, other wise there is not really any reason from a performance stand point to go with these kind of WCing units.
 
BlueFireIce said:
Keep in mind while the H110 might be top choice for the all in one WCing units, it's still not better than top end air, such as the D14 or Silver Arrow SB-E, temps are close to each other and often times the air coolers are more quiet than the H100 as well as being cheaper, with less to worry about like leaking or pumps going out. The all in one WCing is often used in cases where you can't fit highend air but want the same kind of cooling, other wise there is not really any reason from a performance stand point to go with these kind of WCing units.
Click to expand...

I think that he was referencing about using it on a GPU, rather than a CPU.
 
Josh said:
I think that he was referencing about using it on a GPU, rather than a CPU.
Click to expand...

I don't think so, the first part was about GPU use of a 620, however the H100 would have to be top case mounted and as such would not have enough tube length to reach a GPU as I do not believe the H100 has longer tubing than any of the other all in ones. But regardless, his first post is about the use of all in ones for CPU use, and getting a highend air cooler will probably be the best bet for him.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Josh said:
I think that he was referencing about using it on a GPU, rather than a CPU.
Click to expand...

No, you were talking about putting it on a video card. His original post talks about his 4ghz OC, which is obviously on his CPU.

Again, closed loop only has one major step above high end air, and thats size.
 
I love my 620. It is quieter than any air cooler I had ever used, and I have it in a push/pull setup, (second fan was stock silverstone fan in my raven case). The other thing that these coolers do is dump all the CPU heat directly out of the case, instead of flowing towards an output fan. So while my 620 may not match the high end air coolers or the H100, I love it an will buy something similar in my next build.
 
BlueFireIce said:
Keep in mind while the H110 might be top choice for the all in one WCing units, it's still not better than top end air, such as the D14 or Silver Arrow SB-E, temps are close to each other and often times the air coolers are more quiet than the H100 as well as being cheaper, with less to worry about like leaking or pumps going out. The all in one WCing is often used in cases where you can't fit highend air but want the same kind of cooling, other wise there is not really any reason from a performance stand point to go with these kind of WCing units.
Click to expand...

For the record I am only considering coolers for my CPU, not GPU. The other gentleman here mentioned using it on a GPU.

All good advice... For some reason I actually thought the all in one water cooling was better than the air coolers. It makes sense that they aren't when considering the size of the radiator on most of these is about the same as an air cooler. Going completely water cooled isn't something I'm ready to do right now. Cost, build/design, time are all things I don't have the ambition for right now. I may have to look into a heavier duty air cooler. I love my Zalman but it's just not doing it right now... I probably should reapply the thermal grease to it as it's been a while but it was SUCH a pain in the ass to install on this socket compared to AMD's clip design.
 
ob1 said:
I love my 620. It is quieter than any air cooler I had ever used, and I have it in a push/pull setup, (second fan was stock silverstone fan in my raven case). The other thing that these coolers do is dump all the CPU heat directly out of the case, instead of flowing towards an output fan. So while my 620 may not match the high end air coolers or the H100, I love it an will buy something similar in my next build.
Click to expand...

And that doesn't sound bad either. I also like the difference in size. If it works just as well as my 9900 Max it may be worth just due to the way is dissipates heat out of the case and it's size. Worse comes to worse, I lower my OC down 500MHz.
 
BlueFireIce said:
Keep in mind while the H110 might be top choice for the all in one WCing units, it's still not better than top end air, such as the D14 or Silver Arrow SB-E, temps are close to each other and often times the air coolers are more quiet than the H100 as well as being cheaper, with less to worry about like leaking or pumps going out. The all in one WCing is often used in cases where you can't fit highend air but want the same kind of cooling, other wise there is not really any reason from a performance stand point to go with these kind of WCing units.
Click to expand...

I know the size is what makes these high end air coolers so good... But that's also the problem. The two you recommended are f'n massive. I'm not knocking your recommendation mind you as I greatly appreciate your input. I checked out some screens of the Silver Arrow as I wasn't as familiar with it as the noctua and it looks just as big. Personally... I'd probably just lower my OC before going for such a big air cooler. Not to mention I'd have to invest in low profile ram as well.
 
xTrident said:
Newegg is going to have this cooler on sale at 1:00 Eastern time today via Shell Shocker deal. Looking at what it is currently going for, which isn't bad I'm seriously thinking about picking it up once it's discounted even more.

My question is: For the price, is it worth it? Strictly comparing this kind of liquid cooler to all the others like it out there does anyone have experience with different ones? What do you recommend? The reviews for the Antec look good as far as cooling go. Apparently the instructions suck, but I can work around that. My current cooling setup on my primary machine in my sig isn't enough for my 4GHz overclock. It was when my setup was in the basement. Now that I'm upstairs the ambient room temp is much higher and my CPU tends to idle about 10 degrees Celsius higher because of it.
Click to expand...

personally the price isn't that hot, if you really want one, you can get it for the same price typically on ebay and not have to mess with MIR.
 
If you're planning on getting a h100, better put some more $$ and get a XSPC water cooling kit... really worth it
 
xTrident said:
I know the size is what makes these high end air coolers so good... But that's also the problem. The two you recommended are f'n massive. I'm not knocking your recommendation mind you as I greatly appreciate your input. I checked out some screens of the Silver Arrow as I wasn't as familiar with it as the noctua and it looks just as big. Personally... I'd probably just lower my OC before going for such a big air cooler. Not to mention I'd have to invest in low profile ram as well.
Click to expand...

I picked those because they are but about the top of the price range for air coolers and often beat the H100 in reviews and price. They would also fit in your case, however there are other single tower style coolers in the highend air area that are not even close to as wide as those two but still perform in the same range as the H100.
 
BlueFireIce said:
I picked those because they are but about the top of the price range for air coolers and often beat the H100 in reviews and price. They would also fit in your case, however there are other single tower style coolers in the highend air area that are not even close to as wide as those two but still perform in the same range as the H100.
Click to expand...

Maximum PC is giving this beast it's best of the best label right now. I know the 9900MAX I've got isn't the "best" air cooler. But how much of an improvement would I see from these other better air coolers? And I'm not talking about the gigantic ones either because they're simply to big for my liking. Although, if you want to throw a statistic at me I won't refuse to use it. Actually, I should just look for myself, which is what I think I'll do.

I did look at the H100 again and briefly watched the youtube video of that Newegg has up. You say it's said to work as good or about as good as one of those huge air coolers. The size difference really makes it appealing to me. I love how one of these stand alone water coolers will really free up space around the CPU. I may wind up getting it.


Stayfr0sty said:
620 is great, I have one and it lowered my temps almost 10 degrees over stock amd cooling.
Click to expand...

Problem is my processor is overclocked and it runs a bit warm on a good aftermarket cooler. If I was running stock speeds I wouldn't have a problem with the 620 or most other stand alone water coolers, I'm sure. As it was, my stock Intel cooler barely kept my 930 cool at stock speeds when running Prime 95. It was a piece of junk.
 
xTrident said:
Maximum PC is giving this beast it's best of the best label right now. I know the 9900MAX I've got isn't the "best" air cooler. But how much of an improvement would I see from these other better air coolers? And I'm not talking about the gigantic ones either because they're simply to big for my liking. Although, if you want to throw a statistic at me I won't refuse to use it. Actually, I should just look for myself, which is what I think I'll do.

I did look at the H100 again and briefly watched the youtube video of that Newegg has up. You say it's said to work as good or about as good as one of those huge air coolers. The size difference really makes it appealing to me. I love how one of these stand alone water coolers will really free up space around the CPU. I may wind up getting it.




Problem is my processor is overclocked and it runs a bit warm on a good aftermarket cooler. If I was running stock speeds I wouldn't have a problem with the 620 or most other stand alone water coolers, I'm sure. As it was, my stock Intel cooler barely kept my 930 cool at stock speeds when running Prime 95. It was a piece of junk.
Click to expand...

According to Frostytech, you'll likely see 3-5 degrees improvement over the 9900Max. The 9900 is actually a very good cooler.
 
Jorona said:
According to Frostytech, you'll likely see 3-5 degrees improvement over the 9900Max. The 9900 is actually a very good cooler.
Click to expand...

So really, it's not worth it. Maybe next build I'll look into such a thing. I might just have to back my OC down. Thanks Jorona.
 
I've had good luck with the H100. Seems to be built pretty solid, and performance is better (compared to it's predecessor).
 
kostonn760 said:
I've had good luck with the H100. Seems to be built pretty solid, and performance is better (compared to it's predecessor).
Click to expand...

Could you go into more detail on your setup for me though? I don't know if you've read through this post but I was looking for a cooler that, really, would cool my cpu and it's overclock substantially.

"Originally Posted by Jorona
According to Frostytech, you'll likely see 3-5 degrees improvement over the 9900Max. The 9900 is actually a very good cooler."

I don't doubt the H100 is a good cooler, not at all... But 3-5 degrees improvement over my current cooler isn't enough for me to spend $100 on it. After this discussion I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I'm going to do a real water cooled setup in the near future. Probably around September through November time frame.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top