Water or air? Compacity vs reliability?

Superlevure · 13 Feb 2016 at 08:20

Dear all,

I'm planning to buy a i76700k but am wondering what cooling solution to go for. I don't want something massive fitted on the motherboard so I considered watercooling but am a bit spooked by leakage horror stories I've seen around. What do you think?

I'm considering the following:
Antec H600 Kuhler 120mm
Antec H1200 Kuhler 240mm

Or any Corsair alternative?

As an alternative to watercooling, what air cooling would you recommend?

I'm not into massive OC, I'd like to push the 17 a little bit, but I wouldn't like a massive cooler as I want to keep the case compact and small.

mickyflinn · 13 Feb 2016 at 11:01

The Antec H1200 Kuhler is great for the money, what case you got or getting ?

ExRayTed · 13 Feb 2016 at 11:22

I've got both the NZXT Kraken and the Raijintek Triton running in 2 of my systems and both have been blameless for over a year now. I changed the stock fans on both however.

Petelock · 13 Feb 2016 at 14:01

I've used AIO coolers for years. As they are sealed units, it's rare to have a problem.

If you go custom loop, then there will be an increased chance of leakage if you get something wrong. I wouldn't worry too much though with an AIO.

Superlevure · 13 Feb 2016 at 14:14

mickyflinn said:
The Antec H1200 Kuhler is great for the money, what case you got or getting ?

I want a Corsair Obsidian 450D. Should be fine, right?

If I go for air cooling, Noctua is the safe brand, from what I take, but they look gigantic.

doyll · 13 Feb 2016 at 16:33

Air coolers are lower cost for same or better performance and are undeniably more reliable. If you go water get a pre-assembled and filled kit like a Swiftech H sereis or maybe a EB Predator. Predator hasn't been out long enough to have a proven track record. Swiftech H series has, and even though their H240-320 X2 series is new, they are same basic system as old ones, just new looks .. and fans on Prestige.

Have you looked at Phanteks cases? Similar prices and I think much better. Also Fractal Design are quite good.

Superlevure · 14 Feb 2016 at 08:42

Thanks for your answers.

I could install the radiator in the front, i.e far from the graphic card and motherboard to minimise damage in case of a leak.

The size of a Noctua is putting me off completely. I'd probably go for a Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO if I give up on water cooling.

What happens if your pump radiator leaks on the graphic card/motherboard? You lose everything right?

doyll · 14 Feb 2016 at 10:19

Mounting radiator in front as an intake is not advisable in a hybrid system because it heats the air entering case .. meaning components are trying to stay cool on pre-heated air.

Cooler size is really not a issue. Have you ever seen a motherboard or CPU damaged by a big cooler?

At one time 212 was a good value cooler, but not any more. Now there are all kinds of coolers as good or better at same and lower prices. Just be sure whatever cooler you choose will clear PCIe socket (GPU) and front fan will clear RAM on your motherboard.

What is your cooler budget?
What case are you using?
What motherboard are you using?
What is you dog's name?
(dog's name not important)

99% (educated guess) of all CLC leaks are pump seals.

foster grant · 14 Feb 2016 at 12:15

It is to the Dog

doyll · 14 Feb 2016 at 12:37

But the Cat don't care.

Superlevure · 14 Feb 2016 at 14:11

doyll said:
Mounting radiator in front as an intake is not advisable in a hybrid system because it heats the air entering case .. meaning components are trying to stay cool on pre-heated air.

Cooler size is really not a issue. Have you ever seen a motherboard or CPU damaged by a big cooler?

At one time 212 was a good value cooler, but not any more. Now there are all kinds of coolers as good or better at same and lower prices. Just be sure whatever cooler you choose will clear PCIe socket (GPU) and front fan will clear RAM on your motherboard.

What is your cooler budget?
What case are you using?
What motherboard are you using?
What is you dog's name?
(dog's name not important)

99% (educated guess) of all CLC leaks are pump seals.

LOL No pets here, sadly.

Budget is up to £80, but wouldn't mind paying up to 100 for a water cooling solution that wouldn't break and flood my case!

Big air coolers can block the ram and I didn't block they could block the pci-e, that would be a drama if it happened! They just block the view and the way completely and probably don't help with cleaning/dusting.

I want to get:
Obsidian 450D (I currently have the Antec Sonata I!)
Asus Z170 Pro gaming
Corsair Vengeance LPX 2400Mhz
Seasonic M12 620w - out of stock

What other air cooler would you recommend? I don't really do any OC, but I'd like to push the i7 6700k a little bit if I can.

dreamcat4 · 14 Feb 2016 at 15:44

Here is what I use:

Raijintek Pallas + Noctua NF-A15 PWM 140mm Fan

Weight: 300g. Works fine.

Dirk Diggler · 14 Feb 2016 at 17:35

I've just bought a Noctua DH-15s. It's fantastic for stock or mild overclocking, and designed to be compatible with RAM and PCI slots. If you check their website, it will tell you if it is compatible with your motherboard. Just make sure the height is also compatible with your case. Just click on "service - mainboard compatibility"

http://noctua.at/en/nh-d15.html

If you prefer an AIO solution, then fit your rad on top with fans extracting air from the case. The chances of leaks are rare. I've used Corsair units in the past and they are good. The performance from a cooling point of view will probably be on a par with the Noctua.

doyll · 14 Feb 2016 at 18:19

Superlevure said:
LOL No pets here, sadly.

Budget is up to £80, but wouldn't mind paying up to 100 for a water cooling solution that wouldn't break and flood my case!

Big air coolers can block the ram and I didn't block they could block the pci-e, that would be a drama if it happened! They just block the view and the way completely and probably don't help with cleaning/dusting.

I want to get:
Obsidian 450D (I currently have the Antec Sonata I!)
Asus Z170 Pro gaming
Corsair Vengeance LPX 2400Mhz
Seasonic M12 620w - out of stock

What other air cooler would you recommend? I don't really do any OC, but I'd like to push the i7 6700k a little bit if I can.

Honest, cooler and/or fan being over RAM is rarely a problem because we rarely change RAM.

Coolers like be quiet! Dark Rock Pro3 and Cryorig R1 Ultimate to just name a couple are very nice looking. Cryorig has different color shrouds to match build theme. Thernalright has some good looking coolers with nice black tops too.
But a case with only 165mm CPU clearance is not great, nor is a 120mm rear fan compared to 140mm fan in back. Have you looked at Phanteks cases? The Enthoo Luxe and Enthoo Pro are similar price and many of us think better cases. Another good case maker is Fractal Design. Their Define S or Define R5 are very nice. R5 has nice features like bottom filter slides out the front so no need to move case to clear PSU filter. Enthoo Luxe & Pro while having two bottom filters can be taped together so both slide out the front too. I and others have done this. Only drawback is the 200mm front fan, and it can be replace with 2x PH-F140SP fans. They also have a PWm controlled fan hub to control 3-pin fans so case fans spin up and down in speed same as CPU cooler .. meaning a quieter system .

Have you looked at be quiet! PSUs? Very good units.

dreamcat4 · 14 Feb 2016 at 18:47

For a tower cooler;

He should be more concerned about the weight of tower cooler pulling at / stressing the motherboard when it's hanging vertically or being moved about. As 1.3kg of weight.

Well that is the industry's fault with unrevised ATX spec going back years. No provision for CPU cooler mounting holes / brackets in original specification. And no accepted change to specification meaning arbitrary placement of cooler mounting hole locations. In addition to being different for Intel and AMD... Hence cooler backplate is almost never screwed directly to the mobo tray / case's chassis. Which would be the best way to solve such hanging / stress problem.

doyll · 14 Feb 2016 at 19:24

Best way I've found to solve the hanging problem is to run high tensile strength line from top of case to cooler pipes between top and 2nd fins. This stops the cooler from flexing down when case is banged down.

On the other hand, PCGH did some 'load and shock testing' of Skylake system. Jump in to about 2:50 to see what they did. The screen blacking out was cuased by it power cable being loose, not system damage.
http://www.pcgameshardware.de/Skyla...ls/Skylake-Gefaehrdung-durch-Kuehler-1180505/

Superlevure · 14 Feb 2016 at 19:30

doyll said:
Honest, cooler and/or fan being over RAM is rarely a problem because we rarely change RAM.

Coolers like be quiet! Dark Rock Pro3 and Cryorig R1 Ultimate to just name a couple are very nice looking. Cryorig has different color shrouds to match build theme. Thernalright has some good looking coolers with nice black tops too.
But a case with only 165mm CPU clearance is not great, nor is a 120mm rear fan compared to 140mm fan in back. Have you looked at Phanteks cases? The Enthoo Luxe and Enthoo Pro are similar price and many of us think better cases. Another good case maker is Fractal Design. Their Define S or Define R5 are very nice. R5 has nice features like bottom filter slides out the front so no need to move case to clear PSU filter. Enthoo Luxe & Pro while having two bottom filters can be taped together so both slide out the front too. I and others have done this. Only drawback is the 200mm front fan, and it can be replace with 2x PH-F140SP fans. They also have a PWm controlled fan hub to control 3-pin fans so case fans spin up and down in speed same as CPU cooler .. meaning a quieter system .

Have you looked at be quiet! PSUs? Very good units.

Good food for thoughts, thanks.

Why is a 200mm front fan an issue? (It sounds like a selling point to me)

Superlevure · 14 Feb 2016 at 19:35

dreamcat4 said:
For a tower cooler;

He should be more concerned about the weight of tower cooler pulling at / stressing the motherboard when it's hanging vertically or being moved about. As 1.3kg of weight.

Well that is the industry's fault with unrevised ATX spec going back years. No provision for CPU cooler mounting holes / brackets in original specification. And no accepted change to specification meaning arbitrary placement of cooler mounting hole locations. In addition to being different for Intel and AMD... Hence cooler backplate is almost never screwed directly to the mobo tray / case's chassis. Which would be the best way to solve such hanging / stress problem.

Are you guys saying that coolers such as the Noctua D15 are usually used with horizontal cases? Shocking.

Last time I bought a motherboard + CPU was about 5 or 6 years ago (i5 2500k) and I've just used the stock cooler only. I don't really want to change my system too often, so reliability and durability matters a lot to me. If watercooling is risky and large cpu fans damage the motherboard, what's the alternative for me? A boring heatsink?

Dirk Diggler · 14 Feb 2016 at 19:40

Superlevure said:
Are you guys saying that coolers such as the Noctua D15 are usually used with horizontal cases? Shocking.

I use mine in an Air540. Why is the weight suddenly an issue? Have you ever felt the weight of a modern GPU? SLI those bad boys, and the D15 will be the least of your worries

Motherboards are built to withstand these components and their weight.

Zairs · 14 Feb 2016 at 19:42

I've been running my set up for about 6 years, and the weight of the cooler has never been an issue. Everything is still working as it should