SOLVED Coolit Eco or Corsair H50 Opinions Please

Hi All, I'm currently running a stock cooler on the system in my sig and am about to upgrade. I was looking at high end air coolers and decided why not spend a few extra $ and go with a low end water cooler, either route would seem to be sufficient for my needs. The reviews I've read on the ECO and the H50 indicate they're about the same as far as cooling capacity and they are advertised as being compact which is what concerns me. I'm running a Xion Vantage mid-tower case and I want to make sure I can actually fit one in the case. The pictures/measurements seem to indicate I can install either without much trouble. What do ya'll think, would one serve me better than the other? Is there another unit I should consider? As for as OCing I'm not after anything extreme so this is probably overkill, the "I want to try it" factor plays a big part here.

Any advice will certainly be appreciated!

H50 I think...

That is the way I'm leaning, the coolit/corsair partnership makes me a bit nervous about future support issues for the ECO.

What are you wanting to try? Neither of those is really watercooling...there's no setup, pretty much the only thing is you get to say you're watercooled, but that's really only technically...that said, h60's comin out soon, might wanna hold your pennies and see how that does.

This is my first try at watercooling, but as you said it isn't a "real" wc setup. Think of it as a confidence booster if you want. That said, I have this recuring thought - I have a cpl of radiators from an old Kawasaki motocrosser. Most likely it'll be for temporary use in my current rig then later it'll be installed in a HTPC build I have percolating in the back of my brain. I can throttle the fans in that instance to keep it as close to noiseless as possible. For my current rig, I'm currently hitting my cpu's thermal limit as set by Dolk's Phenom thread at 55c at 4 Ghz and I'd like to carry it a bit further. I don't have a # in mind though.

BTW, do you have any info on when the H60 will be available? I did some research on it but don't see it available anywhere.

Old H-Ware Tech said:

This is my first try at watercooling, but as you said it isn't a "real" wc setup. Think of it as a confidence booster if you want. That said, I have this recuring thought - I have a cpl of radiators from an old Kawasaki motocrosser. Most likely it'll be for temporary use in my current rig then later it'll be installed in a HTPC build I have percolating in the back of my brain. I can throttle the fans in that instance to keep it as close to noiseless as possible. For my current rig, I'm currently hitting my cpu's thermal limit as set by Dolk's Phenom thread at 55c at 4 Ghz and I'd like to carry it a bit further. I don't have a # in mind though.

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Okay. Don't use those rads. They are probably Aluminum. Don't want dissimilar metals corrosion.

You won't learn anything about watercooling with the H50. It's like plugging in a DVD player. Lots more to watercooling than that.

If you like the H50, at least move up to the H70, it's a lot better. Many have been unhappy with the H50 if they overclock, the H50 is worse than most high end air coolers. Having water in the system doesn't make it magic. You still have physics to contend with. Would you put a 50cc scooter motor in a Motocross bike?

The H50/70 has water, but it's just so weak compared to a real watercooling setup. At least look at the Rasa 750 something or other if you want to go watercooling.

Didn't think of that, copper and aluminum in a conductive medium. With any difference in electrical potential you could end up copper plating the inside of the radiator! I was actually looking at the H70 when you posted, and I'll check out the Rasa too. Thanx for the info, and good analogy on the bike, that's another one of my hobbys.

The Rasa is a bit much, I'd have to mount the rad external. Maybe next build I'll get a full tower, I like to keep everything internal if possible. Still looking at that H70, considering mounting the rad directly to the case with one fan outboard. Is there a provision on the rad for doing that? Time for more research and measurements.

Edit: Just from pics at tigerdirect it appears mounting one fan outside would be a simple matter.

Mounting it external vs satifying temps. Your choice. 120x1 rad vs 120x3.

Physics............

Conumdrum said:

Mounting it external vs satifying temps. Your choice. 120x1 rad vs 120x3.

Physics............

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Yep! Even with the H70 that's really the bottom line!


Doesn't take a 120x3 for just a processor, though. My HC is doing fine cooling my OC'ed Phenom II - 40°C load core.

2nd attempt at this post - Power company rant deleted! I really need to get a ups.

Anyway, Ya'll are right - no way around the physics (my fav subj.) of heat xfer. In all likelyhood I will eventually go to a "real" watercooling system. For now I want to explore my 955's capabilities and limitations while getting things together for my htpc system. The goal with my current system was to get back into the OC scene and get caught up with current OCing techology. A job it's done admirably, but it was never intended to be a real high end screamer. The parts in my sig should point to that with the relatively slow ram and hd.

That said, I have decided to go with the H70. In reviews it outperforms high end air coolers and has a few options for mounting the rad in my rather small case. It should do an adequate job, allowing me to explore the capabilities of my 955 a bit and in a HTPC setting it should be nearly silent and maintanance free doesn't hurt either.

Thanks for all the info, I'll try to post pics and results in an appropriate thread after arrival/installation. I'm going to mark this thread solved.

Link to Muddocktors Review:
http://www.overclockers.com/corsair-hydro-series-h70-review/

Thanks Muddocktor! and Hi from next door in South Miss.

Good choice to play with a good cooling setup. Not as good as bigger and more expensive (lots) setups, you understand the issues. Thats what matters, many buy the H50/70 and expect magic, your well informed now.

Your temps might not be uber doober, you'll miss out on the last few Mhz probably, should perform like a 125cc, not a 250cc, but a 125cc is still prety darn fast!

Gotta remember I'm an old retired fart! 125's these days are on par with or better than the old Maico 501's of my youth. Yes, I did my research thanks for acknowledging that. And I'm already thinking of giving my nephew my current system and building something faster. What would be a 450 four stroke these days. For me computers and bikes tend to be addictive, and if the comparison holds I'll end up with the computer equivalent of my street bike a Suzuki Hayabusa that tops out over 200 mph.