EKWB Predator 240 ot H110 GT ?

Isn't the answer is as obvious as the nose on your face?

What you are asking is which is better, a CLC (originally named LCLC for low cost liquid cooler) and a pre-assembled and filled component kit..

EK Predator has a real pump that flows many times more coolant, a quality copper radiator with lower fin count and cools way better .. Predator radiator weights more empty with no accessories than the entire H110 does with everything but fans .. that's pump, coolant, hoses, water block, everything!
If Predator has a component go bad or wear out it can be replaced.
If Predator coolant needs topped up you can.
If you want to expand the Predator loop to include more radiator area and/or add a GPU block you can.

If H110 GT has anything go wrong (usually the pump), it throw-away time for entire H110 GT. Way more expensive than replacing one piece.

Need I go on?
 
The gap between high end air and water is not as big as it used to be for CPU cooling. But if you want very high overclocks you will need to build a custom loop using the best stuff. But that comes with high cost and maintenance.
 
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Nasher said:
The gap between high end air and water is not as big as it used to be for CPU cooling. But if you want very high overclocks you will need to build a custom loop using the best stuff. But that comes with high cost and maintenance.
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Indeed!
The gap between CLC and custom water is much bigger. :D

Good water cooling is great and needs very little maintenance.
But it is much more expensive than a good air setup .. but IMHO CLCs should not even be considered as part of the cooling equation.

I've had full on custom looks, lots of air coolers and tried a few CLCs. The CLCs are simply poor quality, poor cooling, poor coolant flow rate, with loud fans to match a good quiet air cooler costing less .. often half as much.

Edit: I'm seeing more and more people posting up about having had big custom loops and now back to air cooling.
Even more who tried CLCs for a few years and got tired of all the noise so switched back to quality air with case airflow optimized and are amazed that temps are as good or better while being silent to low noise level.
 
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Thanks for all the reply, reason why I went with clc is because it looks so much better than massive bulky air cooler. TBH I was pretty happy with my Termalright Siliver Arrow temp wise, may be I should just put it back on?
I will update post with pic of my rig when I get back from work + what fans and where, I might save myself some money for 1080ti ^.^
 
Hmm the CLCs aren't to bad, but they are a bit overpriced. I went back to using my old Corsair H50 after I took my waterloop out. With 2 fans on it the temps stay under 70c running a 6700k at 4.4ghz and it's only a single rad kit.

The advantage with them over a traditional air cooler is you can run low RPM SP fans on a radiator at a set speed and have it near silent. Plus you have less ambient heat in the case.
 
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Peterhc Keep in mind the EK Predator is not a CLC. It is just an AIO. All CLCs are part ot the AIO family, but only a few are not factory sealed units. EK Predator and Swiftech H220/240/320 X2 are AIOs componet systems that can be modified and parts replaces, not CLCs. CLCs are not the same. They are made to be thrown away as a unit if any part fails .. except fan.

Nasher I'm glad you like your H50, but it's got maybe half the cooling ability of a top tier air cooler.
Even 240mm and 280mm radiator CLCs can barely beat top air when both are using same temperature air, but they make way more noise doing it.
 
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Doyll so would you suggest to forget about Predator 240 or any other AIO, strap back my silverarrow on and don't worry about cooling my cpu until something revolutionary comes ?
 
Case Corsair 400C
Mobo Gigabyte z77x-ud5h
cpu i7 3770k atm at 4.4Ghz 1.275 cooled with antec kuhler 620 + ek vardars f4 push pull
Gpu evga 980 SC use to run 2 of those in SLI but bugs forced me to give one to my missous
x1 120mm noctua exhaust on the back and x2 140mm noctua on top
 
If it's purely for CPU cooling then high end air is the winner, CLCs are always louder and don't offer much, if any, improvement in cooling performance.

I only went for the 360 predator because I wanted the GPU in the loop to bring down my overall full load noise levels and I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of a custom loop.
 
Yes i'm thinking of purely cpu cooling solution, as later on(2017) ill be getting evga 1080 ti hybrid. From that links it looks like 110Gt is a lot better than Predator 240 which I am struggling to understand taking into consideration components used on Predator... hm..
 
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Telecaster said:
If it's purely for CPU cooling then high end air is the winner, CLCs are always louder and don't offer much, if any, improvement in cooling performance.

I only went for the 360 predator because I wanted the GPU in the loop to bring down my overall full load noise levels and I couldn't be bothered with the hassle of a custom loop.
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I'm not sure I agree with CLCs not offering much performance over high end air, they're clearly superior, noise wise again I suspect that for same performance the CLC is at least as quiet as high end air. They also allow you to exhaust heat directly from your case.

Look at this OC3D review:

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/corsair_h110i_gt_review/8

All the top performing coolers are CLCs.

I also don't agree with CLCs not having a place. Custom loops are expensive, need maintenance, are a pain to put together and take up more space. CLCs perform well and are much cheaper and far quicker to install. The predator is a middle ground but twice the price.

I've had both and have stopped bothering with custom loops, they're too expensive for the performance they offer and I never found them that quiet. I've been using a £40 refurb Corsair H100 for the last year or so and its great.

Saying that pump failure makes your H110 a throw away item is wrong too, you just have it replaced under warranty. No having to drain the loop, pull out the broken part, rebuild the loop with the new part, leak test and all that.
 
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All the CLCs I've owned have been louder than a top level air cooler whilst offering at most a couple of degrees better cooling and even then it's only when ramping the fans up to unacceptable levels.

I stand by my opinion that a decent air cooler is always quieter than your average CLC.
 
What Telecaster said.
Good air coolers with high flow fans actually jump out ahead of CLCs by several degrees. Several years ago a German site PC Cooling reviewed Silver Arrow SB-E, SB-E Extreme and H100. Standard SB-E was like 1c warmer than H100 but a whapping 17dBA quieter. SB-E Extreme stomped H100i being 7c cooler with it's TY-143 fans only 1db louder.

Granted, newer CLCs have bigger radiators and are better, but not 7c better than H100 was. Maybe 4c better. Sure, the fans can be changes to better fans, but that's another £35-40.00. If you going to spend that much, it's cheaper to get a real component liquid cooler kit or pre-built and filled Swiftech or EK .
 
doyll said:
What Telecaster said.
Good air coolers with high flow fans actually jump out ahead of CLCs by several degrees. Several years ago a German site PC Cooling reviewed Silver Arrow SB-E, SB-E Extreme and H100. Standard SB-E was like 1c warmer than H100 but a whapping 17dBA quieter. SB-E Extreme stomped H100i being 7c cooler with it's TY-143 fans only 1db louder.

Granted, newer CLCs have bigger radiators and are better, but not 7c better than H100 was. Maybe 4c better. Sure, the fans can be changes to better fans, but that's another £35-40.00. If you going to spend that much, it's cheaper to get a real component liquid cooler kit or pre-built and filled Swiftech or EK .
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So doyll would you suggest to forget about clc aio save myself 170 quid, and put back my Silverarrow ?
 
Please let us know how it all works out. I have no doubt it will be good. Just nice to hear thoughts after all up and running.
 
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