Nice air cooler or Cheaper WC system?

C

CousinVin

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 11, 2009
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i've got the option right now to pick up a Thermaltake WC system, but it only has a CPU block. not big deal. all I want to cool right now is the CPU. Having the possibility of being able to extend on the WC system to my NB and GPU are the only thing pulling me to WC.

But for the time being, just for overclocking, would I be better off just buying a nice Zalman or something? Help me decide, [H]
 
depends on what you are cooling.. to much information missing for us to give an answer.. need to know what processor you plan to use it on..
 
As sirmonkey said, a little more info would be nice. However, for the most part, the cheap watercooling kits leave much to be desired. It also depends on what you consider "cheap." The cheapest I could put a CPU loop together on Petra's was about $125. The thing about watercooling is that there is a large initial cost, but after that, it is about the same or slightly cheaper than air cooling as far as upgrades go. When you consider the cost of a new air cooler for updated hardware vs. a new mounting kit for your waterblock, you'll start to see where you can actually save money in the future. Plus, the performance of WC is so much better than air (cooler, quieter) I think it makes it worth it. In my opinion, it is better to start out with a few nice parts to cool my CPU and expand the loop later. I would not buy one of the cheap kits that are out there as they tend to be hard to upgrade and really don't perform as well as they should. Hope this helps.
 
hotbrass said:
As sirmonkey said, a little more info would be nice. However, for the most part, the cheap watercooling kits leave much to be desired. It also depends on what you consider "cheap." The cheapest I could put a CPU loop together on Petra's was about $125. The thing about watercooling is that there is a large initial cost, but after that, it is about the same or slightly cheaper than air cooling as far as upgrades go. When you consider the cost of a new air cooler for updated hardware vs. a new mounting kit for your waterblock, you'll start to see where you can actually save money in the future. Plus, the performance of WC is so much better than air (cooler, quieter) I think it makes it worth it. In my opinion, it is better to start out with a few nice parts to cool my CPU and expand the loop later. I would not buy one of the cheap kits that are out there as they tend to be hard to upgrade and really don't perform as well as they should. Hope this helps.
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It's been several years since the last time I WC'd. Is Dangerden still the place?
 
DD still makes some good stuff, but there are a lot more manufacturers now. Swiftech makes great rads, reservoirs, blocks, etc. There's also XSPC, Dtek, Koolance, Thermalright, and a slew of other manufactures out there. There's so much high quality equipment out there now, it can get a bit overwhelming. Just do your research for parts in your price range and you should end up with some good stuff. Of course, you can find just about all the info you need right here on hardforum. Petra's tech shop (petrastechshop.com) and sidewinder computers (sidewindercomputers.com) are great places to get parts and the egg is selling stuff now too. WC has become much more popular in recent years and is starting to hit the mainstream markets. Welcome back! :)
 
CousinVin said:
i've got the option right now to pick up a Thermaltake WC system, but it only has a CPU block. not big deal. all I want to cool right now is the CPU. Having the possibility of being able to extend on the WC system to my NB and GPU are the only thing pulling me to WC.

But for the time being, just for overclocking, would I be better off just buying a nice Zalman or something? Help me decide, [H]
Click to expand...

Well, it would be helpful to know your goals, what WC kit you are taking about and how much you are paying for it. But over all I believe the cheapest TT WCing kit is like 150, and I think you would be far better off picking something up from Petra's even if you have to spend a bit more. Also, Zalman has not made a HS worth buying for a wile now, stick with the likes of the S1283, TRUE etc.
 
I would be cooling my AMD Phenom II 940. after that, I would probably go for my GPU, which will either be my GTX 280, or if i end up selling it, a 275, 260, 9800 gx2, or a 4850 x2.

and the TT WC system is used, but was only used for a few weeks. but no one else is buying so its almost half price.
 
With my 940 BE the difference between watercooling and air was at least a 12°C drop in max load temperatures. I upgraded from a lapped Vendetta 2 with the stock fan replaced by a 1900rpm S-Flex SFF21G so I was already close to the max you can get with air cooling at semi-reasonable noise levels. I started off big and spent $300 just for what it took to cool my CPU and nothing else. Of course anyone could get in for less money I just wanted to begin somewhere I was sure I wouldn't be disappointed by the investment. The jump from air cooling to better methods is often done for potential to drop the noise pollution while achieving better results. Whether you want to stick with a HSF may depend on how much ambient noise bothers you. Some people will put up with a hairdryer to save quite a bit of money so to each their own.:)

You might not need a chipset waterblock, ever, depending on your motherboard. With a little air blowing from a quiet 120mm fan across my chipset and mosfets the chipset temperature always reads lower than my CPU temperature, and is well in the safe zone. This is with a 790GX chipset so it uses a 55nm chip and runs cooler than say the previous 770, 790X, and 790FX chipsets with a 65nm process. I do notice a difference between this and my old 770 motherboard (which I did feel the need to improve the cooling of).

That just leaves the GPU and when you consider the power of the high end cards you mentioned you might as well save whatever you would spend on a GPU waterblock and/or use it to get the next higher up model. Also, we're extremely close to the next generation of cards coming out; making it is a good time to be patient with your wallet.
 
Precisely WHICH Tt WCing system ? Most are marginal at cooling just the CPU and I would not recommend them for additional components. However the block and pump/rad would likely be usable and only the addition of a good radiator would allow it to be expanded to include the video. The 745 with its 2 radiators is the only kit (now discontinued of course) I would recommend for heavy OCing and adding a GPU. Not to say it cannot be done on their other kits - just the results are likely to be disappointing.
 
I had the 735 on my fx60. I'd say that it was fun to be watercooled but it was no better than a good aircooler. It is a good way to get your feet wet so to speak and see if watercooling is right for you. You can always upgrade the parts one by one until you've got a nice custom watercooling kit without noticing the cost.
 
BillParrish said:
Precisely WHICH Tt WCing system ? Most are marginal at cooling just the CPU and I would not recommend them for additional components. However the block and pump/rad would likely be usable and only the addition of a good radiator would allow it to be expanded to include the video. The 745 with its 2 radiators is the only kit (now discontinued of course) I would recommend for heavy OCing and adding a GPU. Not to say it cannot be done on their other kits - just the results are likely to be disappointing.
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Actually, all of TT's watercooling kits are pretty bad. The 745 had a decent rad setup, but it was crippled by an absolutely awful waterblock and a mediocre pump which made its overall performance fairly poor, and no better than good air cooling which was less expensive.
 
I like my 745, it does well with an added GPU block, but since they don't sell them any more it does not really matter. I see nothing wrong with the block, nice basic maze design, Tt hold down method needs spring loading added to keep the noobs from overtightening and cracking the top but that is easily fixed . Pump has been going for 3 years now /shrug. So quiet and the built in rez so handy I used the spare I bought for emergencies in my old school system that uses a large heater core and DD maze 3 and it keeps a 6300 happy 24x7 at 3.4 GHz. So not sure what your definition of "poor" performance is, different than mine I guess. And if performance/price is considered I think I did very well. It is sad that Tt got rid off the only kit they sold that had a decent performance potential. Then again maybe not, if you do not spend $300 to cool a $200 cpu you must be doing something wrong.
 
My definition of poor performance is poor performance for a watercooling setup. The Bigwater 745 keeps up with mid-range heatsinks, which is pretty sad considering a decent watercooling arrangement can easily outperform the best heatsinks on the market. An E6300 at 3.4GHz isn't that much of a heat load either. All in all, the 745 wasn't worth it simply because it didn't perform any better than air and was both more expensive and more difficult to set up. That's my opinion, anyway, and the reason I never bought one for myself. Now, it may be "good enough", but "good enough" isn't good enough for me when I can have "better" instead ;).
 
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