watercooling or non watercooling??

nixonphilip · 10 Jan 2011 at 20:38

which is better watercooling or non watercooling cpu heatsink. which one???

coleman · 10 Jan 2011 at 20:51

depends if there is a need for water cooling. water cooling will give better results but is a costly expence if you are not going to overclock your cpu to the max

nixonphilip · 10 Jan 2011 at 20:55

i'm not goin to overclock because i don't think i need it with the i5 2500k for a mid range computer but not just a gaming computer

TheCenturion · 10 Jan 2011 at 20:58

It depends what you regard as important.

If it's something that looks cool - watercooling
Temperature - watercooling is slightly cooler than air
Noise - watercooling will beat top end air for noise
Price - air cooling
Ease of use - air cooling
Overclocking - easily done on air imo

nixonphilip · 10 Jan 2011 at 21:04

I think the price because it is one of the cheapest watercooling units available. the temp of the cpu because i will be using my computer for a number of different applications like, gaming, photshop and using it for college work. the noise is important because i don't want to have a loud system.

TheCenturion · 10 Jan 2011 at 21:07

What kit is it? chances are that it might not be that good if it's a cheap kit

JonJ678 · 10 Jan 2011 at 21:13

Watercooling is better. Air cooling is cheaper.

Something that claims to be water cooling but costs less money than the good air coolers, will be crap.

3t3P · 10 Jan 2011 at 21:43

watercooling is a whole new, rewarding hobby in itself

but do lots of reading (it should take weeks to months) and massage that wallet into shape cos it's gonna hurt

C.K · 11 Jan 2011 at 00:50

3t3P said:
but do lots of reading (it should take weeks to months)

Weeks to months to read up on watercooling? :confused:

bifday2k · 11 Jan 2011 at 00:52

nah not weeks to months, if reading the right stuff. Think i was comfortable to go ahead after about 2 weeks worth of research, heck took me longer to get all the gear together lol.

Greboth · 11 Jan 2011 at 10:51

I think the weeks to months is a bit far, though I suppose it depends how long it takes you to wrap your head around details of it (e.g. temperature delta)

TheCenturion sums up watercooling perfectly, so wont add anything there.

Personally I think the biggest gain in watercooling is the lower temps and reduced noise (especially gpu fan noise.) If you are not going to an overclock and its just going to be cpu then I would say stick to air and just get a decent heat sink then noise shouldn't be too much trouble either.

szABOi · 11 Jan 2011 at 11:16

if its just for your CPU then I would say go for one of them water cooled corsair's

its a good price too!

JonJ678 · 11 Jan 2011 at 15:28

A few weeks to learn the basics seems reasonable, though it's perfectly possible to knock up a loop after a few hours. Pump with built in reservoir, block, radiator connected however you wish.

However i'm still learning after a year or so how to do it better.