Is it worth it...

The Only Beardy · 17 Mar 2013 at 19:44

I currently have an air cooled rig. Got a Noctua NH-D14 on my 3570k and i have it OC to 4.5 it stays at about 30 normally and goes up to 65 on load.

I also have a sapphire 7950 OC at 1175/1500 that goes up to 81/82 on load...

do you think its worth getting a watercooling loop?

Thanks

chris-82 · 17 Mar 2013 at 19:51

It all depends on you really,how much do u wish to spend?,temps depend on a few factors case,size of rads,fans and so on,what are you trying to achieve by watercooling looks,temp decreases,higher clocks?

To give u a rough idea I I have a 7950 wc'd running 1250/1580 on a stress test I have never seen anymore than 34c gaming again is a lot lower.

My CPU (i5 [email protected]) idle 26-29c prime 95 42c I think it maybe 52c (I'm very hungover!lol)

I have a black ice sr1 560 rad 4 140mm cougar fans running at 700rpm

No one can tell you if the results u get will make u feel if it was worth it only you tbh.

OptimaLnrg · 17 Mar 2013 at 20:11

I usually get people be stroppy at me when I say this, but these days if you have to ask 'is it worth it' it's probably not for you.

You won't get any real measurable performance benefit for gaming tbh so it's an aesthetics/sound/hobby/project kinda thing

chris-82 · 17 Mar 2013 at 20:25

OptimaLnrg said:
I usually get people be stroppy at me when I say this, but these days if you have to ask 'is it worth it' it's probably not for you.

You won't get any real measurable performance benefit for gaming tbh so it's an aesthetics/sound/hobby/project kinda thing

Pretty much this disagree to. Extent about performance as higher clocks are reachable due to being able to keep temps under control.

MikeTimbers · 17 Mar 2013 at 21:49

Water-cooling that gpu will halve its temperature and massively reduce the noise. Only you can decide if that's worth the not inconsiderable costs.

andybird123 · 17 Mar 2013 at 22:23

chris-82 said:
Pretty much this disagree to. Extent about performance as higher clocks are reachable due to being able to keep temps under control.

but will it be discernible in game unless you have an FPS counter running constantly?

the differences in maximum OC between air and water are pretty minimal, it mostly just means you can do the that same OC but much quieter

OptimaLnrg · 17 Mar 2013 at 22:37

chris-82 said:
Pretty much this disagree to. Extent about performance as higher clocks are reachable due to being able to keep temps under control.

Temps under control? OP's temps are already under control on air

mjones1 · 17 Mar 2013 at 22:46

Surely all of the money spent on cooling wouldn't come anywhere near swaping/ adding another card.

danewesley · 17 Mar 2013 at 22:50

Also take in to consideration your upgrade path, the investment will be long term as you can carry over 90% of your wc gear to other builds.

dacads · 17 Mar 2013 at 22:56

Up to you if you have the money then go for it

BluD · 17 Mar 2013 at 23:50

MikeTimbers said:
Water-cooling that gpu will halve its temperature and massively reduce the noise. Only you can decide if that's worth the not inconsiderable costs.

This would be my main reason for getting water if i was in your position, but if ya wear headphones and the noise doesnt bother ya then unless ya gonna get into benching or you wanna water cool just for the fun of it i wouldnt bother.

mjones1 · 18 Mar 2013 at 06:17

People always assume that air cooling is loud but if set up correctly it can be whisper quiet, pc parts continue to get cooler and there is less of a reason to water cool.

ubersonic · 18 Mar 2013 at 09:15

mjones1 said:
People always assume that air cooling is loud but if set up correctly it can be whisper quiet, pc parts continue to get cooler and there is less of a reason to water cool.

Doesn't seem like their getting cooler, looks more up and down.

Pentium D 960 130w TDP
Core2 Q9650 95w TDP
i7-950 130w TDP
i7-3820 130w TDP

GeForce 7900 GTX 84w TDP
GeForce 8800 Ultra 175w TDP
GeForce GTX 280 236w TDP
GeForce GTX 480 250w TDP
GeForce GTX 580 280w TDP
GeForce GTX 680 195w TDP

Radeon X1900XTX 135w TDP
Radeon HD 2900 XT 215w TDP
Radeon HD 3870 105w TDP
Radeon HD 4890 190w TDP
Radeon HD 5970 294w TDP
Radeon HD 6970 250w TDP
Radeon HD 7970 250w TDP

BluD · 18 Mar 2013 at 09:26

mjones1 said:
People always assume that air cooling is loud but if set up correctly it can be whisper quiet, pc parts continue to get cooler and there is less of a reason to water cool.

I think some people are just talking from experience rather than just assuming

andybird123 · 18 Mar 2013 at 09:43

mjones1 said:
People always assume that air cooling is loud but if set up correctly it can be whisper quiet, pc parts continue to get cooler and there is less of a reason to water cool.

it depends on what you are doing... fully overclocked GPU's are nigh on impossible to have "whisper quiet"... unless you learned to whisper in a helicopter... if you are doing a 2 or 3 GPU loop then it really makes no sense to leave the CPU out of it

OLDPHART · 18 Mar 2013 at 09:52

mjones1 said:
People always assume that air cooling is loud but if set up correctly it can be whisper quiet, pc parts continue to get cooler and there is less of a reason to water cool.

Yes when idling, l thought my air cooled PC was quiet, but custom cooled PC beats them hands down all round, the loudest device in my PC > DVD-writer.

The Only Beardy · 18 Mar 2013 at 12:22

ah thanks for all the response guys... i keep looking at all the cool project logs and dreaming of an awesome loop. I dont really have the money for it... maybe my next build i'll do a proper custom job...

chris-82 · 18 Mar 2013 at 12:39

andybird123 said:
but will it be discernible in game unless you have an FPS counter running constantly?

the differences in maximum OC between air and water are pretty minimal, it mostly just means you can do the that same OC but much quieter

i never said it would be noticable i said higher clocks would be possible which they are.

OptimaLnrg said:
Temps under control? OP's temps are already under control on air

i was talking generally,he would be able to push harder with better temps when under water as i said previously and also as mentioned it wont be that noticeable but u have the option there if u wish i went from 1480 on my memory on the gpu to 1580 when it went to water as it kept the vrms in check,did it make a huge difference nope lol.

The Only Beardy said:
ah thanks for all the response guys... i keep looking at all the cool project logs and dreaming of an awesome loop. I dont really have the money for it... maybe my next build i'll do a proper custom job...

buy second hand i made a whole loop for £60! that was pump,rad,cpu block,res,pipes and compression fittings.
it then went south when i bought a new case fans larger rad and so on lol

TwsT · 18 Mar 2013 at 12:44

Financially no it's not worth it( $$/questionable gains). But I enjoyed building my Rig it looks nice and I will do it again.

The irritating thing about water cooling is maintenance and upgrades you can't just do something it has to be planned for.

like most people my rig is cool rarely gets over 50 degrees I have a 280 and a 240 mill and not great rads.

mjones1 · 18 Mar 2013 at 13:51

OLDPHART said:
Yes when idling, l thought my air cooled PC was quiet, but custom cooled PC beats them hands down all round, the loudest device in my PC > DVD-writer.

I have been watercooling for over 2 years so know it can be quiet but so can air cooling. Still don't think I would recommend people splashing out £200+ unless your rig is fairly extreme.