New Build, How to Cool

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Venner

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Jul 14, 2004
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Hey all. I'm planning to put together a new build between now and Black Friday and am a bit stumped on choosing a good cooling solution this time around. I'm looking at an I7-5820k and one of the mid-range Asus X99 boards and 32Gb of ram. While I do game every so often (mostly 4x, a few FPSes), the system will be used extensively for media creation, encoding, and engineering simulation.

I have an i5-2500k air-cooled at 4.4Ghz right now and I'd like to get 4.4-4.5Ghz out of the 5820 so I keep similar single-threaded performance. I was going to get a Noctua U12S, U14S, or even D15, but from what Ive been reading, the new 5xxx chips run fairly hot OC'd. Maybe a basic liquid cooling setup is in order? The system will run 24x7x365 and often be at 80+ % load.

What recommendations - air, liquid, or otherwise - would you guys and gals recommend? I don't want to break the bank (cheaper is always better, since I'm stretching a bit already!) but could go $250 if I had to.
 
That all depends on your definition of "basic liquid cooling". If cost is an issue, just stick with a good air cooler and focus on the intake and exhaust fans. Otherwise, I'm fairly certain you can pick up some decent kits for custom watercooling in the sub $300 range, which will allow for expandability, but can be a bit of a black hole for your pocket book.
 
My last foray into non-air cooling involved submerging a Slot 1 Celeron chip in a Styrofoam cooler filled with mineral oil and circulating the oil over the coils from a dismanted window air conditioner -- more than a few years ago :)

I basically have no clue about what I'd need for a simple water cooling setup (cpu only), which setups perform the best, which represent the best bang for the buck, etc. I see that Swiftech has some kits in the $225 range, but no idea if that's what I'm even looking for.

Normally I'd do a ton of research, but I'm just looking for some simple suggestions as I don't want to get that into it at the moment.
 
Then do as Tsumi suggested, NH-D15 or the like. Simple, sufficient, and nothing to think about except what direction to point your airflow.
 
Right now the top coolers are Cryorig R1 Ultimate, NH-D15 and Phanteks PH-TC14PE. Pretty much all reivews show them within 2-3c of each other with no clear leader. Right behind them are many others within 2-5c.

Here is a list of many of the top coolers and their size and clearances.
Code: 
Cooler size comparison 
(Width x Depth x Height looking from front of case with motherboard laying flat)

    Cooler		 Heatpipes     Size W/O Fans	  	 Fans	       RAM Clearance*   CPU-Frt**     CPU-PCI-E***
Akasa Medusa		8x 6mm OD  144 x 129.5x163mm    140mm & 120mm PWM fans     54.6mm	   64.3mm
Cryorig R1 Ultimate	7x 6mm OD  140 x 142.4x168.3mm  XF140(140x25) fans	   35mm		   40mm *2*	70mm
Cryorig R1 Universal	7x 6mm OD  140 x 130 x 168.3mm  SF140(25mm) & XT140(13mm)  35mm		   35.5mm *2*	70mm
K2 / Assassin		8x 6mm OD  140 x 128 x 158mm    120mm & 140mm PWM fans     48.2mm	   64mm		70mm*4*
Dark Rock Pro 2		7x 6mm OD  138 x 124 x 166mm    120mm & 135mm PWM fans
Dark Rock Pro 3		7x 6mm OD  137 x 150 x 163mm	120mm & 135mm PWM fans	   44mm		   51.5mm	69mm*4*
NH-D14			6x 6mm OD  140 x 130 x 160mm	120mm & 140mm fans         49mm		   62mm		70mm*4*
NH-U14S			6x 6mm OD  150 x  52 x 165mm     + fans		   	   46mm		   26mm		75mm*4*
NH-D15			6x 6mm OD  150 x 136 x 165mm	2x 140mm fans		    *1*		   67.5mm	75mm*4*
PH-TC14PE		5x 8mm OD  140 x 159 x 171mm	2x 140mm fans, PWM adaptor 45-50mm	   72mm		70mm*4*
Megahalem		6x 6mm OD  130 x  74 x 158.7mm	+ fans			   39.50mm	   37MM
SS HE01			6x 6mm OD  140 x 119 x 160mm	1x 140x38mm PWM fan	   47mm		   47.5MM *2*
Archon SB-E		8x 6mm OD  155 x  53.6x170.2mm	+ fanS			   42.35mm	   26.8mm	77.5mm
Archon IB-E		8x 6mm OD  155 x  53.6x165.2mm	+ fans			   48.2mm	   26.5mm	69mm 8.5mm***
Silver Arrow		4x 8mm OD  147 x 123 x 163mm	2x 140mm fans		   45.87mm	   61.4mm	73.5mm
Silver Arrow SB-E	8x 6mm OD  155 x 105 x 164mm	mid 150mm/frt 140mm PWM	   36.9/44/51mm*3* 51mm		77.5mm
SA SB-E Extreme		8x 6mm OD  155 x 105 x 164mm	mid 140mm/frt 140mm PWM	   36.9/44/51mm*3* 51mm		77.5mm
Silver Arrow IB-E	8x 6mm OD  154.6x103 x 164mm***	2x 140mm 1300rpm fans	   46.95mm	   51.5mm	67.8mm
SA IB-E Extreme		8x 6mm OD  154.6x103 x 164mm***	2x 140mm 2500rpm fans	   46.95mm	   51.5mm	67.8mm
TRUE Spirit 140 Power	6x 8mm OD  155 x  53.4x170mm	+ fan			   49.3mm	   26.5mm	77.5mm
HR-22			8x 6mm OD  150 x 120 x 159mm	+ fan			   41mm		   -1mm		70mm  5mm***	   


* add 3mm for motherboard to bottom fin
** center CPU to front of cooler W/O fan
*** Center CPU to PCIe side (base is off-center for better PCI-E slot clearance)
*1* recessed lower fins, the NH-D15 provide 64mm RAM clearance
*2* offest back for better RAM clearance
*3* fins are at 3 different levels
*4* fan clips add additional 3-5mm


If you see any errors or have data for other coolers please let me know.

If you see any errors or have data for other coolers please let me know.
 
Here is how top air coolers do against top CLC and AIO
CLCvsAir_zpsa2760621.jpg
 
Tsumi said:
NH-D15. Or similar.
Click to expand...

+1 on the NH-D15 (or 14). It's a bit unwieldy, but it still is just as good cooling-wise as any of the top AiOs.. even the double-wide 280mms.

I currently am running a Kraken X40 AiO (love it), but if i was to go air it would definitely be a NH-D14 or D15.
 
water coolers are not worth the price anymore, unless you're trying to push every last frequency out of your rig. air coolers have come a long way.
 
The difference between today's top air coolers and the top coolers 3-5 years ago is that there are many more to choose from. Thermalright IFX-14 (cc 2008), NH-D14 (cc 2009), Cogage Arrow (cc 2010), Silver Arrow (cc 2010) and Alpenfohn K2 (cc 2011) were and are still top tier coolers with few others competing with them.
 
Venner said:
cheaper is always better, since I'm stretching a bit already!
Click to expand...

If cost is a factor, go air. If a clean build is a priority, you can also consider AIO's. But you should completely forget watercooling, it's not for you.

rx jr. said:
water coolers are not worth the price anymore,
Click to expand...

I doubt you can really remember when water cooling was "worth the price" - because it never happened. From a cost and effort perspective, WC'ing has never been worth it, not in the past, not in the present, and it will never be worth it. Nothing has changed except a few people recently tried to make it more affordable and convenient with AIO's that have roughly the same performance as air.
 
The best AIO & CLC coolers are about the same as top air. Most are many times louder .. as chart in post #7 shows.
 
echn111 said:
If cost is a factor, go air. If a clean build is a priority, you can also consider AIO's. But you should completely forget watercooling, it's not for you.



I doubt you can really remember when water cooling was "worth the price" - because it never happened. From a cost and effort perspective, WC'ing has never been worth it, not in the past, not in the present, and it will never be worth it. Nothing has changed except a few people recently tried to make it more affordable and convenient with AIO's that have roughly the same performance as air.
Click to expand...

it really depends on what your enthusiasm level is. if you're serious about your hobby, you may find it worth every penny. for a casual overclocker, it's probably not worth it. all i'm trying to say is that air cooling has caught up enough to render water cooling overpriced at this point.
 
rx jr. said:
it really depends on what your enthusiasm level is. if you're serious about your hobby, you may find it worth every penny. for a casual overclocker, it's probably not worth it. all i'm trying to say is that air cooling has caught up enough to render water cooling overpriced at this point.
Click to expand...

For a cpu I agree, for a video card hell no.
 
BababooeyHTJ said:
Thats a chip thats more limited by its thermal paste than anything. Not exactly an aggressive overclock either.
Click to expand...

While it may not be as aggressive an overclock and a chip that limited by it's themal paste, it still definitely shows that air coolers are better than all but the Swiftech AIO coolers. :D
 
doyll said:
While it may not be as aggressive an overclock and a chip that limited by it's themal paste, it still definitely shows that air coolers are better than all but the Swiftech AIO coolers. :D
Click to expand...

Not really, who is buying a $80+ cooler to run at 1.2v?

Old true reviews used to show the same thing. Up the voltage and heat and watch the coolers pull apart. Most of what you've showed is between margin of error. Hell thermal paste applications can make a larger difference than we see between coolers on that "review". Hell, none of the coolers even use the same fan.

Honestly, it doesn't say much. That said for my uses a true or h60 with a pair of good fans in push/pull has always been enough for voltages higher than that.

Its video cards especially in sli/crossfire that pushed me towards water cooling.
 
AIO's are good for clean looking builds and saving space. They look nice, but they're roughly 'equivalent' to air cooling, sometimes worse sometimes better, and often at the cost of greater noise/vibration.

The Swiftech's aren't the generic AIO's we've seen these last few years, they're WC'ing parts from a watercooling company integrated to take advantage of the AIO trend. A slight step above for CPU cooling.

High end air is great in terms of cost/performance/noise for CPU's.

But for quietly cooling powerful systems, including GPU's, nothing beats full watercooling for noise/performance. But it's expensive, higher risk, more work and not worth it for most people.
 
Lots of people are buying them.

Old TRUE coolers are very good coolers, but cannot handle as much heat as top tier coolers.

I'm well aware of margin of error and TIM applications. There are many reasons why most reviews are extremely inaccurate .. and the single biggest problem is using room ambient temperature instead of the temperature of air actually going into the cooler / radiator.

As for coolers using the same fan, they are being tested as they are sold, not to determine which cooler and /or is are the best.

It simply shows that top tier air is as good or better than top tier AIO and CLC. Something I've been saying all along, but now more and more are realizing that all these AIO / CLC systems are more expensive, don't cool as well or barely as top tier air, are much noisier and are not as dependable .. and when they fail it's not just a fan that needs replaced, the whole system must be replaced.

Good H2O is a very expensive custom loop project that is never cost effective. It's a hobby and as such I can appreciate the beauty and quality of the builds.

I agree, video cards are more of a cooling problem than CPUs, especially when more than one is used.
 
So, I found a cpu that puts out more heat and posted it. Th14 still seems to hold its own....
 
What ever happened to thermalright? They had such a large variety of products. Their fdb fans were also great.
 
Still alive and well. Nan's Gaming sells Thermalright in USA. Here in Europe they are quite common. I have several of their coolers and fans. Haven't had or tried one I didn't like.

Thermalright has several coolers offset for better GPU clearance. Archon IB-E, Silver Arrow IB-E, HR-22, TRUE Spirit 120i, and soon to be released TRUE Spirit 140 BW Rev. A are all offset for GPU clearance.
 
I was a huge thermalright fanboy. Loved my true and hr-03. I've always wanted to try their regular fdb 120mm fans. I've heard that they're every bit as good as the s-flex which I love. The price can't be beat. I could never figure out why they weren't recommended more often. Can't seem to find them in the US anymore though.
 
I present this TPU review and this AnandTech review for some more data on noise vs performance between air coolers and different AIOs. (well more like between PH-TC14PE vs AIO and different brands of AIOs, but you get the idea)

Xbit has a nice piece as well.

Just don't get the H100i under any circumstances because Corsair Link is broken and buggy as hell, and the stock fans are junk. Apparently it's one of the most popular AIOs but popular don't make it good.
 
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doyll said:
HR-02 has evolved into Macho 120 (smaller 5x pipe), Macho (same size as HR-02) and HR-22(bigger 8x pipes). TRUE is now TRUE Spirit in half a dozen or so models from 3x 6mm pipes & 90mm fan to 6x 8mm pipes & 140mm fan.

FDB fans are still available here in 800rpm, 1000rpm & 1300rpm. for £5.47 - £6.48 + tax.

QuietPC USA has them
http://www.quietpcusa.com/Thermalright-Quiet-PC-Fan-120mm-TR-FDB-1300-P512.aspx
Click to expand...

I'm glad to know that they're still available. Sadly they used to be readily available at around $10 a pop. Would have gone that route when I built my loop if that were the case.
 
Interesting testing, but again, testing in a case and using room ambient is a major error in testing procedure. Even more so when comparing air coolers to H2O .. because the CLC uses case to separate the cool intake air from the heated radiator exhaust. Air coolers are severely handicapped unless the case airflow is tuned to match the cooler .. and review testers do not both to do it. They are not even monitoring the cooler / radiator intake air temp. .. and it is highly unlikely the case has optimum airflow without knowing cooler intake air temp is. :rolleyes:
It would be like going drag racing and not tuning for the weather and track conditions.
 
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