Torn between the "best" air cooler and W/C :(

I

Itsabird

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I'm trying to decide on what to get. The Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme has awesome reviews being said as the best air cooler. I can get this with 2 Yate Loon D12SM-12's and some AS5 for £60. On the other hand the XSPC X2O delta has some good reviews and i can get that for £75. I know that the 120mm rad on the XSPC will hold it back and i will probably upgrade to a 240mm rad later on.

I'm trying to cool my CPU better as the Arctic Freezer 7 pro is halting my E8400 overclock. My temps are above 60c if i try anything over 3.7Ghz and thats only with 1.25v vcore.

Do you guys think the TRUE is a good move or the Water cooling?
 
Eh, I thought about going Xigmatech, but went with H2O, given looming Nehalem, and it being easy to replace the water block, and keep everything else the same. Also, to keep my noise down.
 
Two fans on a TRUE are unnecessary, so you can shave off ten pounds from the air-cooling cost. Considering that it'll cost you 25 pounds more plus the cost of a good rad to go for watercooling, I would personally stick with air. However, if you've got the cash and are willing to spend it, water will give you lower temps.

Basically, if you don't mind spending for water, go for it, but if you're looking for the most cost-effective route, air-cooling will give you better bang for the buck and will save you a nice chunk of cash to boot.
 
I looked at this choice recently, and for me it came down to a few things:

1. Cost. If I went water I would not skimp or cut corners on it, otherwise it's not worth doing IMO. So $200+ WC setup versus $40-$70 for a 1283 or TRUE.
2. The fact that I haul my rig to LAN parties. A res and loop full of water are going add a lot more weight than a tower of aluminum fins, and while I'm not about to go build a SFF box I do take any simple measures I can to keep my setup as PITA-free to transport as possible.
3. Space. My rig's home is a Raidmax Smilodon, not the most spacious or WC-friendly case in the world, although it would certainly be doable with a 5.25" bay reservoir and one of these to mount the rad externally. In the end I'd just rather not have equipment hanging off the back like that.

Don't know how helpful that was but maybe some of the same factors might apply in your decision.


 
I think as far as air cooling the TRUE is likely the best, as far as raw performance.

However, The Xigmatek 1283 is soooo close to it in terms of performance and only $32.
Frostytech done a review on them and if I remember correctly the 1283 was only 1-2C warmer than the true.
You can read about it here and how it compares to the TRUE if you wish:
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2233

Price vs Performance Id have to say the Xigmatek is the better cooler.

I got the SD-964,which is the little brother of the 1283, because I wasnt sure if the 1283 would fit due to heat pipes around my CPU socket, and I must say .. For a 92mm cooler, it does an outstanding job. Though, it likely wont cut it for a OC'd quad. But it is only a 92mm.
 
Zayla74 said:
I think as far as air cooling the TRUE is likely the best, as far as raw performance.

However, The Xigmatek 1283 is soooo close to it in terms of performance and only $32.
Frostytech done a review on them and if I remember correctly the 1283 was only 1-2C warmer than the true.
You can read about it here and how it compares to the TRUE if you wish:
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2233

Price vs Performance Id have to say the Xigmatek is the better cooler.

I got the SD-964,which is the little brother of the 1283, because I wasnt sure if the 1283 would fit due to heat pipes around my CPU socket, and I must say .. For a 92mm cooler, it does an outstanding job. Though, it likely wont cut it for a OC'd quad. But it is only a 92mm.
Click to expand...

+1:)
 
The difference between a top end air cooler and a decent water cooling system is around $200. I'd rather take that money and spend it on a better CPU or vid card.
 
Well, I used a Tuniq Tower 120 for the last year w/ my e6420 and then w/ my Q6700 and it worked well. But w/ the quads, things heat up a bit when overclocking - esp. in the summer time. I could have spent the money upgrading my 8800GTS 320mb to something better but aside from Crysis it's been able to handle games like Mass Effect w/ no problems. Plus I'm waiting for the GTX2xx series. Anyway, I switched to water cooling mostly b/c air cooling couldn't really cut it w/ high ocs w/ the quad.

You, on the other hand, are using a 45nm dual core so I think a TRUE or one of the other high end air coolers would probably suffice. You're not going to have to deal with as much heat I expect.
 
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