New 5960X / X99 platform - Swiftech 220X / 240X or full custom WC setup?

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RanceJustice

Supreme [H]ardness
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Hello everyone. I was very pleasantly surprised to receive the makings of a long-due upgrade (from X58) to X99 as a present...including 16gb DDR4 2666, Rampage V Extreme, and a 5960x !

All I need to decide upon now is cooling. I'm hoping to take my 5960X > 4.0ghz (with HT on etc..if I can get 4.3+ stable for day to day usage, good temps that would be nice.)..so I'm figuring the best option is to either pick the best-of-the-best AIO kit, which appears to be the Swiftech H220-X or H240-X, or go for a completely custom watercooling system. I've not touched custom watercooling for nearly a decade, so I'm out of the loop to speak. Of course, I know that to properly build a high-end cooling loop (even if I go CPU only, but it would be nice to at least pick up some components that might be viable for expansion), the cost and time (especially for someone who hasn't assembled a loop for a long time - I'll consider myself going back to beginner status in this regard) will be considerably higher than grabbing one of the Swiftech kits and calling it a day.

Thus, I'm trying to figure out if it is "worth it". The 5960X clearly puts off a significant amount of heat, even with the newer process and Kyle's [H] OC'ing comparison was done on a Koolance custom loop. Not sure how comparable the 220X / 240X would be, but if it ends up providing around the same amount of cooling, then perhaps it is sufficient to take the proc to the highest stable / day to day usage OC as possible? Its one thing if I'll be able to get a much better stable OC, but I certainly don't want to spend all the money etc... into custom liquid cooling simply to push things a few hundred mhz higher for benchmarking alone.

Any input on this situation? Thanks!
 
If you are going to watercool the CPU only, I've used at least 15 of the Corsair H110 and put 4 Noctua 140mm Redux fans in push/pull.
The Swiftech's are expandable as the Corsairs are not!
 
The Corsair H110 is fine (I have one on my i7-5820K X99), but I'd love to get my hands on the H240-X. Swiftech is supposed to have some in stock next week. The H220-X is also great but a touch louder in certain situations due to the 120mm fans vs. 140. They have 220s in stock right now.
 
I am glad to hear all the affirmations for the 220/240-X. If I can secure 4.5ghz 24/7 stable then I'll be happy. Of course, if anyone has any compelling reasons for going full custom water, please share them.

Has anyone installed a H240-X (or similar 140mm fan radiator) in a Corsair 800D? I'm a tad concerned about the spacing. The specs indicate that the top radiator area is made for between 1 and 3 120mm fans. They list it as "Radiator mount locations: Top 360mm". So I am wondering if the 240-X will "fit" properly and align with pre-drilled holes and whatnot.

In addition, how does everyone feel about the fans that come with the 240X? Is it worth swapping them out for additional performance? I'm not familiar with the new Swiftech Helix fans, so I am unsure if there would be meaningful gains from other brands. I'm guessing that with the design of the 240-X, it isn't possible to "push/pull" due to the res/pump mounting ..or is that just an optical illusion from most pictures being posted?

Thanks again
 
Xaeos said:
I am glad to hear all the affirmations for the 220/240-X. If I can secure 4.5ghz 24/7 stable then I'll be happy.
Click to expand...

I can "only" do 4.375GHz on mine. At 4.5 I run into heat issues that I'm fairly certain the 220X or 240X would solve (if I had one).
 
If you're spending that much, go full custom. Better in the long run.
 
Unfortunately, after doing some research and posting on the Corsair forums, it seems that the H240-X isn't compatible with my current Corsair Obsidian 800D case. Its top-mounted radiator setup has grills only wide enough and holes drilled exclusively for 120mm fan rads, and it would take a significant amount of modding (perhaps more than is worthwhile) in order to alter it, I'm told. It isn't just a matter of new screw holes, but of widening the entire grill etc... so that's frustrating. If only Corsair sold a modular top... but I digress. I'm unsure if mounting the H240-X rad anywhere else will be possible...the only other place I can think of that MIGHT be worthwhile is removing all the 5.25 bay covers and mounting it vertically in the front of the case, but I have no idea if it will fit, much less will it work in that orientation, or even be easy to secure properly, get good thermals...etc.

The simplest thing I can do is simply buy the H220-X instead, which will fit in the 800D's top rad area. The reservation I have is about the cooling difference between the H220-X and H240-X. Looking at wirk's link for instance, it shows that the H220-X and H240-X are very comparable in terms of cooling power, but I've also seen others express that there is a larger gap between the two of them. Does anyone think that the H220-X will be sufficient to provide the same 4.3-4.5 ghz 24/7 overclock at safe and reasonable temps? If the difference between the two is just a few decibels because the 120mm fans have to spin a bit faster etc.. then so be it, so long as it isn't a jet engine.

Think the H220-X will work in this situation? Thanks.

...whatever happens, I think my next main chassis will be from CaseLabs. That kind of modularity and accessory availability would made this situation much easier. All I'd need is to swap out a panel for $25 or so!
 
Very few cases will fit the H240-X. Thankfully, the H220-X will be very close in performance. If I were you, I'd get the H220-X and be done with it.
 
No idea about that kit, but most high end radiators cost near the same amount as that entire kit so makes you wonder, least makes me wonder.

PS - I just grabbed a Caselabs, amazing cases. I should of gotten one years ago.
 
I've used all in ones for a couple of years. They are decent, easy to use, but they always feel like a compromise. If you aren't going to go custom, then I would probably just go with a Noctua or Dark Rock Pro and save yourself the space issues.

On a semi related note, I picked up a caselabs S8, and it is awesome. The move to custom is a no brainer in a case like that.
 
Xaeos said:
....I'm unsure if mounting the H240-X rad anywhere else will be possible...the only other place I can think of that MIGHT be worthwhile is removing all the 5.25 bay covers and mounting it vertically in the front of the case, but I have no idea if it will fit, much less will it work in that orientation, or even be easy to secure properly, get good thermals...etc. The simplest thing I can do is simply buy the H220-X instead, which will fit in the 800D's top rad area. The reservation I have is about the cooling difference between the H220-X and H240-X. Looking at wirk's link for instance, it shows that the H220-X and H240-X are very comparable in terms of cooling power, but I've also seen others express that there is a larger gap between the two of them.
Click to expand...

H240-X will definitely work in the vertical position, you can take a look into its installation diagrams where this is clearly marked, the only position not allowed is upside down. Front of the case is very good for this. Thus go with the H240-X. The only problem it is in short supply.
 
I have a 5820K with the Corsair H110 but my results are a little better than Starrbuck's results. I have my chip at 4.5 on 1.275v. The highest temp I get while encoding videos is 51-54C and I normally idle at 30-32C. I have changed the stock H110 fans to Noiseblocker PK-3 as well as all my case fans to Noctua A14 PWM models. The loudest thing in my case is my GPU and HDD. When the next GPU generations arrive I will get one and probably put a Kraken G10 + corsair H90 on it (attach it to one of the 140mm case fans) to keep it quieter than a blower.

Now all that said, if I had the extra money and time I would probably have done a custom loop for better performance and they just look cool. However, the idea of doing all the extra cleaning/refilling maintenance instead of just blowing some dust out kind of put me off. I have a lot of friends that do custom WC loops and they call all the maintenance a "labor of love" because they enjoy it just like some people enjoy working on their cars and doing all that maintenance. I think the biggest thing that will affect your targeted 4.3+ OC is the silicon lottery, not your choice of cooling.
 
I hear that. I'm sticking with the low maintenance H110 and 4.375 at 1.275v for now. :)
 
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