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Is watercooling worth it?

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xTrEmEoVrClOcKr

member
Joined
May 26, 2004
Location
San Diego, CA
Hi, I have been thinking of buying a Koolance Watercooling kit and its 200 bucks right now. Since I have a great setup with cooling and etc., should I go for it, will my temps change, Will my overclocking increase, and is it safe?
 
I'm getting my watercooling stuff on saturday, so I can't really tell you about temp or overclocking differences. I was able to get my 2.4c to 3.6 on air cooling so i doubt I'll get a better overclock. I opted for watercooling for 2 reasons. First, it's a lot quieter than the tornado's I have running now. So noise is definately a factor. The other reason I went into watercooling is because it seems like a fun hobby. I enjoyed doing all the research on the parts I wanted to buy and learning more about it. Those are the reasons I did it.

That kit you are looking at won't give you better temps than the highest quality air cooling so I wouldn't recommend that kit at all. The kits in general aren't as good as high-end air cooling. Also, IMO, the kits take away from the fun factor of watercooling which involves picking out the individual parts best suited for you and learning all the best techniques etc. For $200, you can get a pretty good setup though.
 
Hey xTrEmEoVrClOcKr, you have a pretty decent overclock right now especially with that pc3200 Kingston Value Ram. I'm tempted to be suspicious of your postings. I know the Asus P4C800 E-Deluxe is a good board but that ram has to be quite good to get the FSB needed to get that 2.6 to 3.4

I'm not sure how far over 3.4 you will be able to take your 2.6 with water. You might be able to get it up to 3.6 One thing I do know is that you wont be needing all those fans, so the room(s) around you should quiet down a lot. Besides, water hoses glowing in UV light just look cool in a computer case.
 
Kingston Value Ram is BH-5, so what is there to be suspicious about? :)

At least, i think it is Kingston...

~t0m
 
Actually, I have a P4C800 non E Deluxe, its alright, sorry for being picky :). Anyways, you dont have to be suspicous, I just have a killer cooling setup for air. Jusy keep in mind that Kingston Value Ram is crappy for what im using my computer for (Gaming, Photoshop, and 3Dmarking!) I seriously would consiter getting new ram, but, Im saving for PCI-X, the new line of Intel processors, ATI's new line of video cards, and the new mothreboards. I've thought about buying the Crosair XMS PC4000 but im gonna save my money for the NEW stuff. BTW, I can hit 3.6 put I have a crash once in a while. I just like keeping my 2.6 at 3.43! I hope I can hit around 3.6-3.8. That would be awsome. I was looking into dual cascade cooling and boy is it expensive. Alright, thanks for all your help!
 
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going water costs a lot and takes some time and effort not to mention the maintainence required as well. i'd stick to air as long as possible
 
Koolance and the few other true kits are not among the best options for hardcore overclocking.
They ARE ok for low-noise and low-fuss systems, but that doesn't seem to be the situation you have.

For a heavily overclocked system, you really want to try and get the MAXIMUM performance possible out of any cooling setup- just like there are no commercial cases that fit this specific market segment for air cooling, there are no commercial water cooling kits that can really "cut the mustard."

The only commercial stuff I have seen that does is Phase Change. ;)

You can build your own system though, and build one that will do better than the air system you have...and/or with less noise.
But a kit would probably not do it for you.
 
I saw my load temps drop from 45c to 38c my idle temps dropped from 40c to 34c. MB temps have dropped from 32c to 26c. However, this decrease in temperatures did nothing for my overclock....my chip is just sucky thou. I previously was using a SP-94 with a 92mm tornado.

If your willing to take the time, then I'd go for it, but don't expect miracles.
 
Happy with my Koolance rig

I lost bout 20c from my stock air cooling with the Koolance PC650-BK with the CPU300-H06 Block. I kmow that sound's like a lot but it is what it is. I have got to 2.5 so far with the water as opposed to 2.4 on air when i went to a OCZ Gladiator. My OC is currently with a multi of 12.5 x 200. I will soon be increasing my FSB to see were i can go. So i am happy with the cooling cap. of the rig but beware of the overall cost's with koolance my shipping invoice said 1 price then when it was all said and done the price was quite a bit more.
 
White Rhino said:
I lost bout 20c from my stock air cooling with the Koolance PC650-BK with the CPU300-H06 Block. I kmow that sound's like a lot but it is what it is. I have got to 2.5 so far with the water as opposed to 2.4 on air when i went to a OCZ Gladiator. My OC is currently with a multi of 12.5 x 200. I will soon be increasing my FSB to see were i can go. So i am happy with the cooling cap. of the rig but beware of the overall cost's with koolance my shipping invoice said 1 price then when it was all said and done the price was quite a bit more.
That's from STOCK cooling though... I agree with roger dugans, you're going to need custom water-cooling. I recommend the Laing D4 (DD 12v) pump, 1/2"ID 3/4"OD Tygon tubing, a D-tek WW or Swiftech MCW6002, and a Fedco 2-342 heater-core. Of course you'll still need atleast 2 120mm fans, if not 4 and to build yourself a shroud.

Read the stickies if you haven't already.
 
Dont forget the drop in noise too.

Some of the weaker performing watercooling kits have equivilant cooling power to a very good air cooling solution, if i had a choice, what would i choose?

I would choose the weaker watercooling setup. Reason?

Noise.

Watercooling lets you use much bigger Heatsinks or radiators, which will require much lower rpm fans to achieve the same performance, thus, lower noise, that and the bling bling factor.
 
Kingston Value Ram is BH-5, so what is there to be suspicious about?
WTF are you talking about....

Anyways I wouldnt get a Koolance kit or any kit for that matter. They cost more than a good DIY setup, dont get close to DIY performance, and as far as noise is concerned, Koolance's Level 3 fan speed (which you will be running with that OC), is hella loud (3 80mms).
 
Looking back at my experience with watercooling, I'd say only go watercooling if you're trying to overclock very high and as quiet as possible. If you're going to stay stock, stay with air and quiet fans. If you're trying to overclock moderately, stay with air and switch to better heatsink/ higher output fans. For the money, time investment, etc, it's not worth going watercooled if you don't care much about waterCOOLING (;)). You could just as well build a system based on 92 and 120mm fans that are just as quiet.
 
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jlin453 said:
...if you don't care much about waterclocking. You could just as well build a system based on 92 and 120mm fans that are just as quiet.

Waterclocking? Does that use one of These? Is this some kind of new thing? Or is it a Rube Goldberg contraption? (sorry, couldn't resist) :D

But seriously, folks, I think most here have expressed the issue clearly. To summarize: Get a DIY watercooling setup if you want the kind of cooling performance you're realizing now with high-end air without the noise.
 
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