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Watercooling Recommendations

T

TekRok

2[H]4U
Joined
Dec 9, 2005
Messages
2,279
I have the current system in my sig and would like to watercool it. mainly the CPU and make things quiet because my current zalman cooler screams when i turn it up

I know the basic concept of what to have such as a water tank, something that pushes the water and a heatsink with tubes. But i dont know whats good or bad

If you were to go with a custom setup what would you go for, something around 200$ or so. If anyone can recommend anything to me that would be great
 
you wouldn't need to go watercooling if you need quiet. I wouldn't do it if I were you, and at $200, temps won't be much better than a high-end air cooler like the true. Just get a TRUE with Noctua fan, and you won't hear anything, and temps will be similar to a $200 watercooling setup.
 
How does true compare to this Noctua cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608007

Cooler above already comes with the good fans and its similar design to the True no?

Where is the best and cheapest place to get the True? And how exactly do fans get mounted on the TRUE, i see they sell shrouds to go on one side but what about the other side, can you fit 2 shrouds aka 2 120mm fans?
 
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iGrooCk said:
How does true compare to this Noctua cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608007

Cooler above already comes with the good fans and its similar design to the True no?

Where is the best and cheapest place to get the True? And how exactly do fans get mounted on the TRUE, i see they sell shrouds to go on one side but what about the other side, can you fit 2 shrouds aka 2 120mm fans?
Click to expand...

True is a bit better than that, but the Noctua is a very good cooler. It'll be much better than your zalman and comes with two very good and quiet fans. Just go with it.

Get it from here for cheaper: http://www.jab-tech.com/Noctua-NH-U12P-SE1366-pr-4331.html
 
what are you referring to as a bit better about the True. every review i have looked at they are both about 1 degree away from each other. true by itself is about 70$ right away and if those fans are considered it would run me about 100$. do you think it being a bit better is worth the premium?

is there anything else better or these 2 pretty much the best bang for the money?

I heard about the Nahalems but they are pretty rare
 
the noctua is just fine since it has fans included. wont cost you nearly as much as the true after buying fans.
 
ah. didnt know that. hows the noise from that thermalright fan? the noctuas are pretty quiet and there are 2 of them. although depending on space available he may or may not be able to use both fans.
 
iGrooCk said:
what are you referring to as a bit better about the True. every review i have looked at they are both about 1 degree away from each other. true by itself is about 70$ right away and if those fans are considered it would run me about 100$. do you think it being a bit better is worth the premium?

is there anything else better or these 2 pretty much the best bang for the money?

I heard about the Nahalems but they are pretty rare
Click to expand...

Megahalems you mean...they're suppose to be a tiny bit better than the true (1 degree difference again)...really just go with the noctua. I'd say it's the best bang for buck out of the three considering the fans it comes with.
 
From what I have heard the fan performs pretty good, but to me looks and sounds like a S-Flex with the TR name on it lol. As both are 1,600rpm fans, with a 63.7CFM rating at 28.0dBA and both use fluid dynamic bearings. And seeing as the S-Flex is a very well liked fan, I would think its pretty good, and the reviews I have seen for Noctua fans and the S-Flex, they are right there with each other, and in some cases the S-Flex edging it out by a CFM or two.
 
i have a p180 case, it should fit with no issues. i need something quiet which and noctua fans are pretty good from what i hear, air flow is great too
 
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well say i were to go custom, get parts 1 by one what would be a good buy at around 250? looking at prices i think it would be a good budget
 
shadow_419 said:
sigh, I'll give it to you from the source. Only the kits designated RT come with fans.

http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/cpu/u120ex/product_cpu_cooler_u120ex-intel_bp.html
Click to expand...

Wow, really? Your going to get that picky? The retail 1366 come with a fan and are indeed cheaper than the Noctua, that's all that matters. I'm not going to nit pick the models they list on their site, the post was about the cost because everyone still thinks they are like the LGA775 socket "brown box" coolers, and by the way the HS that does not come with a fan have always been the "BP" model, such as the "U120E-775-BP" which is the "brown box" LGA775 socket cooler. Which on that note, if you want the one without a fan it can be had here for 52 bucks.
 
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O really?? You have any proof to back up those claims? Either kit will be much better then those air coolers not on idle but at load. And on top of that hell have the option of upgrading the rad for future heatload.
 
Thawaxshop said:
O really?? You have any proof to back up those claims? Either kit will be much better then those air coolers not on idle but at load. And on top of that hell have the option of upgrading the rad for future heatload.
Click to expand...

The petra kit I linked would be worth it, but for an I7 I wouldn't go with a dual rad like in the one you linked. Plus the triple rad leaves more room for possibly adding a GPU into the loop if he would ever want to. He also was interested in water cooling because of noise, and if he really wanted to see a worthwhile difference in temps, he'd have pump up the speed of the fans on the radiator, and he may not be too happy with that because it'll definitely generate some noise (especially if he uses a radbox and leaves the rad mounted outside the case). He won't see any performance increases from watercooling over something like a TRUE from an overclock (maybe get an extra 300mhz on his cpu, but he won't notice much day-to-day).
 
The dual rad is fine for a CPU only I7 loop as i and many others have tested. And the overclock isnt what its about its the safety of better temps. Most 920's dont go over 4g for daily use but the difference is 4g @ 90+c or 10c cooler. When i upped my 240 to a 360 i saw a couple degree temp drop but nothing huge at all. In short the dual rad would work fine even for an overclocked I7 and this comes from someone who has first hand experience
 
is there a good site with lots of pieces where i can buy em separate and a good price, i want to see how much it will run me to put something custom together. is swifttech the brand to go with?
 
is it just me or those sites seem to lack i7 blocks and parts? switftech seems to be a nice block for the CPU but OOS everywhere
 
Thawaxshop said:
The dual rad is fine for a CPU only I7 loop as i and many others have tested. And the overclock isnt what its about its the safety of better temps. Most 920's dont go over 4g for daily use but the difference is 4g @ 90+c or 10c cooler. When i upped my 240 to a 360 i saw a couple degree temp drop but nothing huge at all. In short the dual rad would work fine even for an overclocked I7 and this comes from someone who has first hand experience
Click to expand...

Safety of better temps? That's like the most RIDICULOUS thing I've ever heard. First of all there is no need for an i7 to be at 4ghz. Taking it to 3.6ghz will be MORE than enough, and any high-end cooler can handle it nicely. Second of all, to get to 90c you'll need 100% load, and most of the time (like 99.999% of the time) your i7 won't go over 40% load. Third of all, by the time heat degrades the life of the chip, it'll be long past the point you'd want to upgrade. It is pretty ridiculous.

And for the much better temps, he'll have to run the fans at a high RPM, and he will hear them. It wouldn't be nearly as practical as a TRUE with a silent fan--especially since the true will be quieter. Especially if he uses the radbox and mounts it outside of the case. He will easily hear the fans and it will annoy him. I wouldn't point him toward watercooling because he will be in for a disappointment. It's more of a hobby more than anything.

Take into account, he's never watercooled before, and he has the possibility of leaks and overtightened screws on the radiator which would ruin it. You're opening him up for a huge disappointment. He should save his money and go with a more practical solution. I can understand he's not happy with his air cooling considering he is using a shitty zalman, but that is exactly why he should actually get a GOOD air cooler, and he won't even think of water cooling.

iGrooCk said:
is there a good site with lots of pieces where i can buy em separate and a good price, i want to see how much it will run me to put something custom together. is swifttech the brand to go with?
Click to expand...

The petra kit I linked is a custom kit, and would be cheaper than buying every part separately.
 
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The EK Supreme is a great block, but you have to have a VERY strong pump for it since it's insanely restrictive. It also needs to be in a loop all by itself - that is with no other GPU, NB, etc. blocks. With that in mind, I'd get the GTZ or the Heatkiller.
 
That also is not true.... It IS restrictive but it doesnt need a super strong pump nor does it need to be alone. I had mine in a loop with both my NB and a full cover 4870x2 block and it performed flawless. Now that the GPU block is out i still get nearly the same temps maybe 1-2c better. NOW i wouldnt recommend that you put it in a loop with two gpu block and a NB and mosfet ECT cause then it probably would suffer, but with a block or two more in the loop it would be fine
 
Omerta said:
First of all there is no need for an i7 to be at 4ghz. Taking it to 3.6ghz will be MORE than enough, and any high-end cooler can handle it nicely.
Click to expand...

Did that just happen? Did someone just come to HARD FORUMS and tell someone else that there's no need to push their chip to its physical limits? Did they change the name of this forum to SOFTFORUM.COM whilst I wasn't looking?

Overclocking isnt about needs, its about arrrghh arrrghhh arrrghh. Plus, right now I am running my i7 @4.1GHz, with a tripple and single rad with NO FANS. Absolutely dead fucking silent and blazing fast. Just how I like my women.

To the OP, get a good block like the Heatkiller or Swifty, almost any reputable pump will do, a rad like the Swiftec 320QP is cheap and highly efficient and either choose a T-line for filling up on the cheap or a res if you're so inclined. You can fit that into your $250 budget and on the plus side, when you upgrade to socket LGA179287432 in the future, you can just buy a block for it, slap it in your loop and voila, you're good to go.
 
Tahoe916 said:
when you upgrade to socket LGA179287432 in the future, you can just buy a block for it, slap it in your loop and voila, you're good to go.
Click to expand...

whens the expected release date for that socket? i cant find anything on their site.
 
Tahoe916 said:
Did that just happen? Did someone just come to HARD FORUMS and tell someone else that there's no need to push their chip to its physical limits? Did they change the name of this forum to SOFTFORUM.COM whilst I wasn't looking?

Overclocking isnt about needs, its about arrrghh arrrghhh arrrghh. Plus, right now I am running my i7 @4.1GHz, with a tripple and single rad with NO FANS. Absolutely dead fucking silent and blazing fast. Just how I like my women.

To the OP, get a good block like the Heatkiller or Swifty, almost any reputable pump will do, a rad like the Swiftec 320QP is cheap and highly efficient and either choose a T-line for filling up on the cheap or a res if you're so inclined. You can fit that into your $250 budget and on the plus side, when you upgrade to socket LGA179287432 in the future, you can just buy a block for it, slap it in your loop and voila, you're good to go.
Click to expand...

I'm so big and bad! My CPU is at 4ghz!!!!!1111111111 Give me a break dude.
 
Tahoe916 said:
Plus, right now I am running my i7 @4.1GHz, with a tripple and single rad with NO FANS. Absolutely dead fucking silent and blazing fast..
Click to expand...

This sounds interesting. How are you cooling those rads without fans - you relying on case airflow?

I'm running my i7 passive, with no fans, but I'm relying on case airflow (600 to 800 rpm case fans) and ducting the air to focus it on the passive heatsink. So no noise, and the focused airflow compensates for the low case fan rpm, as well as the lack of a heatsink fan. Although ducting the air onto heatsink is doable, but I'm interested in how you can do this with a tripple and single watercooling radiators....
 
I'm relying on radiation only. I have 1 fan blowing on the 8 HD's and 1 fan sucking air out the back top and the PSU fan. They are all Lian Li fans @ 800rpms and are literally silent, I can't hear my computer at all. I can hear the pump if I put my ear up to the side of the case.

I might throw 1 more fan near the MOSFETs, but I think I might just get a water block for them instead. I have a Swiftec 320QP rad in the top of the case and a 120 heater core attached to the back outside the case. No fans on them at all, 4870's and i7 in one big loop.

I actually did it on a whim just to see what the temps were and it idles at 38-40c and loads at 59-66c.

With fans up the ass all over my case and rads the idle was the same and the load was 55c...so I said fuck the fans, lets rock it without them and see how it goes. That was 6 months or so ago. Not a single problem. We'll wait and see how it goes for summer.
 
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