Liquid CPU Cooler....worth it?

[Midphase]

So I'm running an i7 3930k OC'd at 42X, I was running it at 45X but had to scale back because during peak CPU usage (Aftereffects rendering) it was overheating above 80C.

Right not I'm using an air-cooled CPU heat sink with a single fan. At 42X my peak temps run around upper 60's/low 70's.

I've been eyeing the Corsair H80i and the Antec 920 (both around $100).

My question is...are they worth it? Will I see enough cooling improvement from what I am using now (Cooler Master air cooler) to allow me to bump back up to 45X or even higher?

And if so which is better, the Corsair or the Antec?

Many thanks!

 

[hackentosher]

I haven't compared the two coolers, but I run a H80i in my rig and at idle, my i3 3225 is at about 64º F. hope that helps!

 

[LEONARDE11]

If your Mobo is tight on space go for the watercooling (ie ram) the H80i will give you a lot of room on your motherboard.

But Air cooling is just as good and cheaper, if your on a budget go for air, but they are HUGE to say the least. but i kinda like that some are really nice designed check out the coolermaster V8 which i own looks the business

 

[jimbo75]

Not sure how your air cooler is but SB shouldn't be THAT hard to cool. Maybe your case is the problem. Try having a nice airflow. That really changes a lot. I have max temps 65°C x45 with my 2500k and my room as an ambient of 28-30 degrees (summer + small room ). If I wouldnt have such a good case and 3 (+1 cpu fan) well positioned fans I would probably +80 as well. I don't even need to put the fans on max I have them at 20% power and its alright for pretty much everything.

Also make sure the pc gets enough air. Not to close to wall and stuff like that.


No need to settle down for an AIO water cooler. They are as good as a 30 bucks air cooler. They have just an advantage in small cases.

 

[Dschijn]

Liquid cooler are better for OCed CPUs and it should be a better option for your hackintosh.

 

[jimbo75]

@Dschijn He's talking about AIO water cooler setups and they are not better than a good air cooler for about 30 bucks. At least there is no significant advantage. He should better clean his case and optimise the fan positioning.

I lately installed a H60 for testing and I had worse temps and it was a LOT louder than my Thermalright Macho HR-02. The H100i is better than the H60 i know. But there are plenty of tests that proof that AIO water cooling setups are not better than a decent air cooler. Not talking about custom water cooling. It would be a waste of money if he would go for a H100 if he would have the space for a decent air cooler.

 

[Dschijn]

If your AIO was that bad, you must have done something wrong.

Two things I want to say:
- I am not a fan of that AIO, because of the high pump noises
- These AIOs are at least as good as most of the twin tower air cooler with two fans, but most of the time they are a few degrees better

Another advantage is that the AIOs are releasing the heat directly at the backside of the case and no heat is kept inside the case circulating around.

 

[Tylerrouse]

Go liquid. Air coolers are case hogs, or at least the good ones are. They can put a lot of stress on the motherboard and clog with dust. I read it's not recommended to overclock past 4.2 on air coolers anyway.

 

[jimbo75]

I am sure I haven't done something wrong.

Yup you're right about the pumping noise.

According to manual you should take air from the back in to get best cooling which heats up everything. And if you do it the other way components like the graphics card will make the "cool" air hot. Anyway don't want to get into an argument because they have definitely advantages. Though they don't justify the high price to me. But I think Midphase should first optimise his case airflow, before he goes and buys new stuff.

 

[MacMan]

Absolutely, I use AIO water coolers on all my OC systems. My GA-77X-UP5 TH with a i7-3770K overclocked to 4.8 GHz idles at 37 C in a 24 C room using a Thermaltake Water 2.0 Pro with Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound.


I have never heard the pump but have had issues with the stock fans being loud. I typically replace them with the Cooler Master Blade Master R4-BMBS-20PK-R0 fans.


Here are the parts that I've used and recommend:


Corsair H60 http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Hydro-Performance-Liquid-Cooler/dp/B00A0HZMGA
Corsair H70 http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Performance-Liquid-Cooler-CW-9060002-WW/dp/B005QUQP8U
Thermaltake Water 2.0 Performer http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Performer-Liquid-Cooling-CLW0215/dp/B007UIX1RO
Thermaltake Water 2.0 Pro http://www.amazon.com/Thermaltake-Liquid-Cooling-System-CLW0216/dp/B007UIX1M4
Cooler Master Blade Master R4-BMBS-20PK-R0 fans http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Blade-Computer-R4-BMBS-20PK-R0/dp/B0030DL37I
Arctic Silver 5 thermal compound http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-Polysynthetic-Thermal-Compound/dp/B0002VFXFE


For additional information, I recommend reading http://www.hardwaresecrets.com.