Are you debating liquid cooling? Grab some info here!

C

CrazyMike

New Member
Hey,

So I thought I would share some info for anyone who is curious or skeptical about liquid cooling. I recently bought a Swiftech H220 all-in-one cooler (in the future it can easily be converted to a full custom loop) replacing my awesome Cool Master 212 Plus. I thought I would share my results:

Hyper 212+

I put 2x Noctua PWM fans on this. Not just for quiet, but also performance. I tested my sytem for temperature and dB levels. Temperature was varient, i will have to see if my Asus program or RealTemp is accurate. I will bring home a meter in the near future. As for the dB levels, I found an app on my phone that is pretty accurate (+/-3) comparing to a true dB meter (I have one at work).

Results for the Hyper 212+



Swiftech H220


This had a tough installation (for me anyway) mainly because of the radiator clashing with my motherboard. As well as the back plate and mounting the pump. The back plate wasn't like the Hyper 212+ in the sense that it got mounted then the pump easily screwed in. Instead I had to try and mount the pump while holding the back plate on the back. I will in future have to take off and remount because I most likely screwed up my thermal paste while mounting. I rearranged my fan orientation; front fan blowing in, back fan blowing out, and the two top blowing in. I am going to play around with these trying to find the best airflow.

I found that temperature performance was dramatically increased and dB level performance somewhat increased. I think the main reason for the dB interference is my power supply fan. I have found that is the loudest.

Swiftech H220 Results :



:D
If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Hope this helps in deciding with either air or liquid cooling.:D


Bonus Pictures:

 
Liquid cooling is becoming less and less necessary as technology develops. Most components now seem to hit their mechanical limit before they reach their thermal limit.

When I added waterblocks to my 680's, I didn't really gain much of an overclock out of them (which at the end of the day is what WCing is about). Temps were obviously lower and the system is quieter but blocks were not necessary. Back in the Fermi days, I considered it to be essential to watercool GPU's. It had a significant impact on overclocking performance.

I will always watercool any component that has a processor, because I enjoy it. But unless you really need silenc/lower temps, it is not really worth it anymore I don't think.
 
Spesh said:
Liquid cooling is becoming less and less necessary as technology develops. Most components now seem to hit their mechanical limit before they reach their thermal limit.

When I added waterblocks to my 680's, I didn't really gain much of an overclock out of them (which at the end of the day is what WCing is about). Temps were obviously lower and the system is quieter but blocks were not necessary. Back in the Fermi days, I considered it to be essential to watercool GPU's. It had a significant impact on overclocking performance.

I will always watercool any component that has a processor, because I enjoy it. But unless you really need silenc/lower temps, it is not really worth it anymore I don't think.
Click to expand...

I agree and disagree.

Agree that more components are becoming efficient and liquid cooling in MOST cases is becoming unnecessary. But I disagree in the fact that a person still increases performance (overclocking that is) with water cooling more efficiently than air cooling. For instance, in my case. Being already at 70C without no overclock already with my hyper already on. I'm not too sure i could achieve much of an overclock. I know I have heard of people with the 3770K OC'ing up to 4.5Ghz on air cooling. But i have researched that people have gotten higher with liquid. Not to mention (like you said) dBA performance. Nobody likes a loud cooler.

That's why I like these all-in-ones. They let the novice person easily liquid cool their system with less risk than a full custom. Good entry, with better efficiency. This one in particular, i think is awesome. Later down the road i can easily go full custom if chosen.
 
CrazyMike said:
I agree and disagree.

Agree that more components are becoming efficient and liquid cooling in MOST cases is becoming unnecessary. But I disagree in the fact that a person still increases performance (overclocking that is) with water cooling more efficiently than air cooling. For instance, in my case. Being already at 70C without no overclock already with my hyper already on. I'm not too sure i could achieve much of an overclock. I know I have heard of people with the 3770K OC'ing up to 4.5Ghz on air cooling. But i have researched that people have gotten higher with liquid. Not to mention (like you said) dBA performance. Nobody likes a loud cooler.

That's why I like these all-in-ones. They let the novice person easily liquid cool their system with less risk than a full custom. Good entry, with better efficiency. This one in particular, i think is awesome. Later down the road i can easily go full custom if chosen.
Click to expand...

I agree with what you're saying. I was referring more to the current generation of GPU's (namely the 600 series), where in my experience adding water doesn't really net you much in the way of gains.

With regards to CPU cooling, I am in no doubt that you can squeeze a little bit more out of the chip with liquid cooling. However it comes back to the old chestnut of diminishing returns once you clock above 4.5Ghz.
 
Depends on the chip really.

And I don't really like all in one loops. In a lot of cases, you can get the exact same performance from a high end air cooler (DH-14) and air coolers are cheaper anyway.
 
Space would be the other benefit. I was going to get a big tower cooler after my H60 died. Problem was I couldn't fit it with the taller RAM I have
 
salvage-this said:
Space would be the other benefit. I was going to get a big tower cooler after my H60 died. Problem was I couldn't fit it with the taller RAM I have
Click to expand...

I totally hear ya!!... not just the clouding of the RAM situation, but I believe it looks better all around. I mean my Hyper 212 plus was kind of hidious
 
I don't know. I think that larger air coolers are actually quite sexy.

And water coolers do technically take up a lot too (especially dual/triple fan rads)

But to each his own. I water cool my rig, and I love it. Just saying that a lot of times, those all in one loops don't really offer that much bang for the buck.
 
Toast said:
I don't know. I think that larger air coolers are actually quite sexy.

And water coolers do technically take up a lot too (especially dual/triple fan rads)

But to each his own. I water cool my rig, and I love it. Just saying that a lot of times, those all in one loops don't really offer that much bang for the buck.
Click to expand...

It's a preference really. If you like tower coolers there are good performing ones. Not quite like a custom loop but compared to an all in one systems.

the mounting for the rads are not in the way all that much. With the slim rads that come on most of the all in one coolers only need push or pull. So if you can fit 2 fans stacked where your existing fans are there is a good chance you can fit a rad there.

Liquid cooling only takes up more space than high end air cooling is when you have a custom loop. The res and pumps can be harder to find places for if you want quality components. Swiftech's H220 is a good compromise between expandability and size
 
Nice! Just the post I need. I'm actually running a CM 212 (can't remember if it's EVO or +) with dual fans. The temperature on my 3770k is getting rather hot, with mid 40s to 50s on idle and reaching 60s if I'm running some heavy programs like 3DS Max.

I was thinking of getting a Corsair H60, the 2013 version, and wanna ask if anyone has used it and if I can run dual fan on the radiator. Thanks for any help :)
 
You can but It's not really necessary. I have yet to test it with my system but from what I know about the slimmer radiators push pull will not be as effective as having better fans in a single push or pull. There just isn't enough radiator there to really make a huge difference. With that being said if you have the fans, go for it :P

If you are not overclocking I would look in to why your 212 is not keeping it a bit cooler. If you are overclocking, take a look at either the H80i, H100i or H220 if you have the money
 
bm23 said:
Nice! Just the post I need. I'm actually running a CM 212 (can't remember if it's EVO or +) with dual fans. The temperature on my 3770k is getting rather hot, with mid 40s to 50s on idle and reaching 60s if I'm running some heavy programs like 3DS Max.

I was thinking of getting a Corsair H60, the 2013 version, and wanna ask if anyone has used it and if I can run dual fan on the radiator. Thanks for any help :)
Click to expand...

Do you have the 3770k OC'd? I just wanted to post something that shows more realistically why people choose liquid cooling over air cooling. Liquid cooling really performs when load is applied. It keeps temps down much lower than air cooling. Not only that, but you can direct the warm air directly out of your case rather than "hoping" it will go out of your case by pointing the CPU cooler fans towards an exhaust fan (minus the fact that shrouds can be used).

A big factor is noise levels. I know my example didn't show this very much as I am still experimenting with locations and speed of fans. Noise levels can be greatly lowered by liquid cooling.

salvage-this said:
You can but It's not really necessary. I have yet to test it with my system but from what I know about the slimmer radiators push pull will not be as effective as having better fans in a single push or pull. There just isn't enough radiator there to really make a huge difference. With that being said if you have the fans, go for it :P

If you are not overclocking I would look in to why your 212 is not keeping it a bit cooler. If you are overclocking, take a look at either the H80i, H100i or H220 if you have the money
Click to expand...

A huge difference is the amount of liquid (or thickness) of a radiator. More liquid taking up the amount of heat dispersed will definitely equal lower (or more control) over temps. I wouldn't go for anything lower than an H100i or H220. If I absolutely could not afford either, I would choose a very thick radiator H80 (I think you are totally right, it's the H80i with the thick radiator). If I could I would put a very large reservoir (5 gallon) beside my computer and use that to exchange the liquid. A person might be able to run little to no fans to disperse the heat.

The 212 is a very good cooler, but to me, if he is getting around 60C with heavy load, the cooler is doing it's job. He could try replacing the thermal paste, adjusting the air flow, but probably will only gain about 5C difference. Not to mention what his ambient temperature is already. I was testing mine with as close to as i could 20C, and that's the best temps i could get with my 212.
 
CrazyMike said:
I agree and disagree.

Agree that more components are becoming efficient and liquid cooling in MOST cases is becoming unnecessary. But I disagree in the fact that a person still increases performance (overclocking that is) with water cooling more efficiently than air cooling. For instance, in my case. Being already at 70C without no overclock already with my hyper already on. I'm not too sure i could achieve much of an overclock. I know I have heard of people with the 3770K OC'ing up to 4.5Ghz on air cooling. But i have researched that people have gotten higher with liquid. Not to mention (like you said) dBA performance. Nobody likes a loud cooler.

That's why I like these all-in-ones. They let the novice person easily liquid cool their system with less risk than a full custom. Good entry, with better efficiency. This one in particular, i think is awesome. Later down the road i can easily go full custom if chosen.
Click to expand...

You weren't on a particularly great air cooler in the first place though. The Hyper is decent, but I mean compared to the D14 or Phanteks. These two still come in cheaper than most of your all in one loops, are pretty much silent and can achieve big overclocks because their cooling potential is phenomenal.

The downside though I guess is that you need a big case to fit those in, which is where I feel these all in one's excel, however this is another place that a full loop falls down. If you have the space in your case for a full loop, you will likely have the space for these larger coolers, but at a higher price with the water.

salvage-this said:
Space would be the other benefit. I was going to get a big tower cooler after my H60 died. Problem was I couldn't fit it with the taller RAM I have
Click to expand...

This is cooler dependant. My ripjaws, which really are not the lowest profile memory in the land, with their heatspreader coming up pretty high, fits very easily below the pull fan of the noctua cooler. Now I know that some do have problems, my S1283 did, I couldn't use two of the DIMM slots, but there are plenty out there that are tall enough to not interfere with the memory. You then have the issue of case width though...


I don't think water is an absolute necessity. For multiple video cards in a hot place, like oke mentioned, I guess, but that is such a niche market. You can achieve the same or better performance to these all in ones with a good air cooler and you can get performance that is more than good enough for any application without water. The only appeal I see is for the fun of it, to have a project to work on. That and aesthetics
 
I prefer a closed loop to a big bulky heat-sink fan, and mine runs rather quiet. Also fitting your hands in a case and changing ram/other things is easier with a closed loop because the radiator is mostly out of the way, vs a big box sitting in the middle of everything.
 
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