Air vs. Water Cooling

darrenkarp

darrenkarp

darrenkarp

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16 Apr 2010
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323
I'll keep this short.

I had a conversation earlier with a UK dealer (not OC'ers) about CPU watercooling and they told me that unless I was willing to spend a few hundred quid (pounds to our US pals!) then a decent air cooler would give the same, if not better performance.

Is this true?

DK
 
What I'd prefer is something external. I have another post about my old Zalman Reserator. Great if I could use it on my i7 920 but only if a head is available and it offers me better temps compared to my Zalman fan.
 
A Custom Loop just for the CPU that performs well will be atleast £200 vs. A high end air cooler (NH-D15 or similar) would be about £80, the difference is that the custom loop may be quieter but only if you choose quiet fans and a quiet pump and the temps will be abit better (not massively though).
Then you have to factor in the risks involved in watercooling and setting it up...(I personally enjoy this process but many don't).

I actually don't think from a purely practical and performance point of view that watercooling is worth doing when there are so many excellent air coolers available today, but that hasn't stopped me watercooling my last 3 PCs, I like building the loop and the way it looks (when done right).
 
1 thing that works in water-cooling's favour - most of the parts you buy can be recycled from system to system and will last you for years. So you could look at it as a large initial outlay, when in actual fact it could be looked at as a decent investment for your future systems.

You can get very decent results with high-end air cooling. However, the cooler takes up a huge amount of space and if the way your system looks is important to you, then there is no competition.

But yes, it would cost you probably more than double if you were putting together a custom loop as opposed to sticking with air.
 
Cost is very important and the fact that I have a Zalman Reserator 1 Plus sitting in a cardboard box is tempting but again only if it's going to give me lower temps on air. I'm not bothered about what the system looks like.
 
Having a look at a review of the zalman reserator 1 plus, it seems that it's quite poor, and old. It seems to be a piece of kit aimed at people who desire silence (as you can run it passively) but it's just not a great performer.

If your really strapped for cash then perhaps consider buying a second hand CPU block for your 920 and strap a few fans to the reserator.

Or if you have abit more money grab a modern high end air cooler for better performance.
 
For maximum perf to £ I'd go for a closed loop solution maybe a H60, H80, H90 in push pull. Theres no commitment and it's aio so not a fat lot to install bar an extra fan.

If you're willing to spend an can actually accommodate a custom loop then a single rad cpu loop should be achievable for less than £250 at which point you're only another rad + fans + block away from cooling your gpu at a later date.
 
Stick to air if you dont want to go custom. Liquid closed loops like the hxx range are not a compromise to be honest. They perform on par with high end air and are not quieter whilst costing more.

Starting price for a decent CPU loop would be about £180-200.
 
It also depends on how quiet you want your system to run at full load...

Then aesthetically custom loop a lot better...

But then... I think a few hundred quid is a little of underestimation...

You can easily (I did) go through 1000 quid to get all the fittings, fluids, blocks, rads that you wanted...

But hey, I think its'a totally worth it :)
 
deFiniLoGy said:
It also depends on how quiet you want your system to run at full load...

Then aesthetically custom loop a lot better...

But then... I think a few hundred quid is a little of underestimation...

You can easily (I did) go through 1000 quid to get all the fittings, fluids, blocks, rads that you wanted...

But hey, I think its'a totally worth it :)
Click to expand...

True, it can get expensive, but that £1000 isn't on a per system basis. I am willing to bet that you will re-use many of those parts for your next build (assuming you are sticking with water-cooling), so that £1000 outlay can be spread over your next 2 or 3 builds potentially.

That is the way I justify it to myself anyway lol. :D
 
Five.Stars said:
True, it can get expensive, but that £1000 isn't on a per system basis. I am willing to bet that you will re-use many of those parts for your next build (assuming you are sticking with water-cooling), so that £1000 outlay can be spread over your next 2 or 3 builds potentially.

That is the way I justify it to myself anyway lol. :D
Click to expand...

exactly also my pc runs fans on lowest settings being almost silent and my gpu temps never go above 35-36c in prolonged gaming, thats 2 x gpus plus cpu, whereas as on air my 2 gpus would be sitting low - mid 80s. almost 50c drop
 
I've bought and installed an H100i today. Apart from a few issues, which I've now sorted, I'm a lot happier with lower temps than before. Thanks for all the help and advice though.
 
darrenkarp said:
I've bought and installed an H100i today. Apart from a few issues, which I've now sorted, I'm a lot happier with lower temps than before. Thanks for all the help and advice though.
Click to expand...

Not a problem!

Everyone starts with a AIO cooler tho...

It's a step into the gate to custom cooling... :cool:
 
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