AC vs. WC

[Leegit]

Is there any data on the best rad vs. like a mid-tier closed loop cooler on a cpu? Wondering if for the money I should go rad or AIO for better temps/price

 

[Knufire]

Custom WC doesn't work like quite that...there's no limit to how well you can cool. You can just keep adding more radiators and have more and more cooling capability. How well custom WC cools is your choice completely.

Mid-tier AIOs aren't worth it for the simple fact that they're still outperformed by air heatsinks. High end AIO (H80/H80i/H90/any of the dual fans radiator) is worth it.

 

[Boulard83]

Custom WC doesn't work like quite that...there's no limit to how well you can cool. You can just keep adding more radiators and have more and more cooling capability. How well custom WC cools is your choice completely.

Mid-tier AIOs aren't worth it for the simple fact that they're still outperformed by air heatsinks. High end AIO (H80/H80i/H90/any of the dual fans radiator) is worth it.

Agreed on pretty much everything but not that much on the H100/80/90 part. IMO, no AIO worth it... ONly the newer swiftech H220 worth buy over an high end Air. I can clock my 3820 at 5ghz + on Air and all this with near silent cooling.... All the wannabee AIO WC have really, really cheap pump and this is the main issue with all these unit. the H220 have a pump 4 times more powerfull and reliable than a H100/110.

 

[Leegit]

Thanks for the feedback

I'll start with a great air-rad and then transition to a custom WC later. Time to research

 

[EarthDog]

What is a great air-rad? Anything with a radiator, and subsequently water inside of it, is watercooled. A bit confused on your direction.

 

[Conumdrum]

He's probably meaning something like a Hyper 212. Translation error?

 

[Leegit]

Right. Isn't that Hyper 212 just a rad with no water? It uses air to cool?

 

[EarthDog]

Its not a radiator at all, no. Its a heatsink. A radiator, to most people, has water inside of it that circulates via a pump through a system. It uses air to cool the water in the radiator. A heatsink just uses air and most have heatpipes with a SMALL amount of liquid in it.

A Hyper 212 is not a radiator as we define it, no.

 

[doyll]

While I understand the water / radiator argument I believe it's fair to call the finned section of a heat pipe cooler a radiator. Most have finned areas that are not in direct contact with CPU and the heat pipes are moving the heat from source (CPU) to finned area that radiates the heat into the airflow (radiator).

 

[dealmaster]

In the strictest sense, a heatsink and radiator are both heat exchangers, however, to avoid confusion, it's best to refer to air cooled heat exchangers as heatsinks and liquid cooled heat exchangers as radiators. Common nomenclature.

 

[EarthDog]

In the strictest sense, a heatsink and radiator are both heat exchangers, however, to avoid confusion, it's best to refer to air cooled heat exchangers as heatsinks and liquid cooled heat exchangers as radiators. Common nomenclature.

I hope that takes the split hairs and mends them up.

 

[Leegit]

Very well. Do we have any graphs comparing top-tier heatsinks and radiators?

I wanted to start out on air then transition to water but now I'm sure...

 

[Knufire]

Are you talking about comparing all-in-one liquid units and air coolers or custom liquid loops and air coolers?

 

[Leegit]

I'm just looking for data on air coolers vs. custom loops. From the responses I got, the AIO can get beat out or are comparable to a great air cooler. I'm wondering what kinda temp drops I can expect to see on a 3770K for XX amount of additional dollars in a mid-tier custom loop. So, is it worth the cost to go custom loop from the start? Or should it be something I pursue at a later date when I want to get some more clock out of my rig?

 

[Knufire]

There's a lot of factors that go into how good a custom loop performs, mainly the block, radiator, and fans. Also, some radiators are optimized for slow fans vs fast fans based on how dense the fins are, etc, so not so much of a simple answer.

In general, if you're only looking for a performance benefit, it's probably not worth it. The benefits of water cooling come in a performance benefit + a large reduction in noise + the aesthetic benefit in trade off with the cost and maintenance time of the loop. How much you weigh those cons and pros determines whether you should go custom or not.

 

[Leegit]

Yeah. That's what I was afraid of but I was hoping some of the users had made the transition already and could post there temps/parts before and after. I guess one can dream

Edit: I am putting a heavy emphasis on noise reduction in this build, but I also am concerned about temp drop vs. price. How much would use say a mid-tier custom loop would cost in total? 200-300?

 

[Conumdrum]

$300 makes a nice CPU only loop.

Your best bet is to start learning about watercooling at the top of this sub-forum, and read the stickies for a few days. You'll learn a lot.

 

[Leegit]

Hai Conundrum

I have already begun going threw the WC sticky section. SO much

Found a partial answer to my question here:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/cpu_cooler_roundup_2013_q1_review,8.html

 

[Leegit]

Should have looked at the thread titles in the Master Cooling Thread before starting with the first one... suprised no one linked this:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=618279