Tuniq tower vs Water Cooling?

CaptainRAVE · 15 Jul 2008 at 11:04

So I am building a new PC soon. I will be getting the Cosmos S Case (the sport one...I think!) and maybe an intel Q9450 or maybe higher. I am no pro at overclocking, but quite enjoy it e.g. I have got my current amd X2 4200+ at 2.6Ghz (from 2.2) with a simple blue orb cooling it (64 load...a bit high, but it will last long enough for me and it is stable after days of stress testing).

Anyway...to my main point. I was originally going to get the Tuniq tower for my Q9450. But now I am thinking I may watercool my CPU (and expand to other components later on). So maybe a double radiator, reservoir in the drive bays (always liked the look of these). But not sure. I should also point out the room my PC is in can get quite warm.

Since I am expanding later I may get a very powerful pump, triple radiator etc...however it has been a while since I last looked at watercooling. I cant even remember the company that I used for it before (they don't exist anymore).

Thoughts? Maybe someone could quickly spec me a good one with good future expandability?

virdee2 · 15 Jul 2008 at 12:20

if your gonna upgrade later, then forking out for the triple rad is probably a good idea mate. Doesn't cost a huge amount more than a double considering the cost of it to start with. i'd say go for water if you enjoy messing with your computer because its defo an enthusiast thing otherwise a tuniq tower can be just as worthwhile if you just want hassle free and less tinkering.

1kiwi · 15 Jul 2008 at 13:40

Like you i started with a TT and TBH, it was pretty damm good. I'm at 3.6 atm and i would suspect that you will easily get to that as the new 9450 chips are pretty decent apparently.

Anyway, I've decided to go water, but more for the challenge than actual performance gains. I had to buy a new case (£200) and i'm currently in the process of specing / purchasing 2 loops which will prob set me back £300.

You can go the second hand route and save money there - but i figure if i'm going to go water, i may as well get decent components. I'm not sure about your case, but IMO, i would get a really nice silverstone or something and start on air. That way once you have the budget and knowledge you won't have to fork out for new case like me!

1kiwi · 15 Jul 2008 at 13:41

virdee2 said:
if your gonna upgrade later, then forking out for the triple rad is probably a good idea mate. Doesn't cost a huge amount more than a double considering the cost of it to start with. i'd say go for water if you enjoy messing with your computer because its defo an enthusiast thing otherwise a tuniq tower can be just as worthwhile if you just want hassle free and less tinkering.

Totally agree, TT will prob give you 80/20 performance gain over water.