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As above? Will be cooling a 2600k and eventually a 3770 or 4770k.
Best bang per buck CPU block
- Thread starter almighty15
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I'm currently using the Alphacool NexXxos XP3 Lite block. When I was looking it was priced below high performance Intel only blocks and its performance was just above average, it hit the sweet spot for price vs performance for me.
It has support for both AMD and Intel sockets which will come in handy when I finally get round to sorting out a media PC with one of AMD's APUs.
It has support for both AMD and Intel sockets which will come in handy when I finally get round to sorting out a media PC with one of AMD's APUs.
Soldato
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TBH best bang for buck block would be the supreme but it is non universal now and it is worth paying the extra £20 for a high end block like the Supremacy over an entry level block like the Supreme.
In terms of real life temps, there is not too much difference but WCing costs a lot and skimping on a few components will leave you with a loop that performs on par with high end air, that cost three times as much. Not saying spend big but spend where it counts. half decent block, nice radiators, good fans and a reliable pump (most loops simply don't need a £80-90 D5 top combo and will see no benefits from it).
XSPC block is on par with Supremacy but i hear complaints about the mounting system too much, although it doesn't look too far off the same mounting system that everyone else uses.
Go for a Supremacy as it is great bang for buck, universal, spare tops can be bought cheap from EK (as well as spare O-rings, screws etc) AND you can get a mount for naked IVY and Haswell mounting which makes it near impossible to crush your chip if you de-lid.
In terms of real life temps, there is not too much difference but WCing costs a lot and skimping on a few components will leave you with a loop that performs on par with high end air, that cost three times as much. Not saying spend big but spend where it counts. half decent block, nice radiators, good fans and a reliable pump (most loops simply don't need a £80-90 D5 top combo and will see no benefits from it).
XSPC block is on par with Supremacy but i hear complaints about the mounting system too much, although it doesn't look too far off the same mounting system that everyone else uses.
Go for a Supremacy as it is great bang for buck, universal, spare tops can be bought cheap from EK (as well as spare O-rings, screws etc) AND you can get a mount for naked IVY and Haswell mounting which makes it near impossible to crush your chip if you de-lid.
Soldato
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Alphacool make some nice blocks but... can you naked mount them
http://www.ekwb.com/news/456/19/EK-first-to-support-cooling-of-de-lidded-AMD-A-series-CPUs/
Since you mentioned APUs thoguht you might be interested in the JUST RELEASED naked mount. TBH didnt know you can even de-lid Kaveri or trinity.
Best block right now is the Koolance 380I then the EK Supremacy then the XSPC Raystorm, but the is literally less than one or two degrees between the three and that's worst case difference, modern blocks are so close now you can basically buy anything released in the past 2-3 years and not notice any major difference, progression has pretty much plateaued.
Alphacool make some nice blocks but... can you naked mount them
You can quite easily, no need for special mounts. The mounting mechanism of the Alphacool block has no limit on how much you can screw the bolts down, so it can accommodate the IHS being removed or even adding peltier plates if you are feeling more adventurous.
Soldato
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Wouldn't like to naked mount if it risks crushing the chip. No matter how many times you naked mount, only takes a few extra twists and you could end up with a cracked chip.
The naked mounts make it near impossible to do that, while still giving great contact with the chip. I don't really buy alpha cool stuff anymore because i had some bad experiences with RMAs and found their angle fittings fairly poor compare to what others have to offer.
The naked mounts make it near impossible to do that, while still giving great contact with the chip. I don't really buy alpha cool stuff anymore because i had some bad experiences with RMAs and found their angle fittings fairly poor compare to what others have to offer.
Silicon isn't that brittle, you'd need more than a few extra turns, you'd have to tighten one side fully before going to the others to get enough difference in force from one corner to the next to cause cracking. GPUs often have the silicon exposed directly to the heatsink and the force I've put into my 8800GTS confirms its durability, used 4 different heatsinks on it over the years as fans failed.
Also are you aware of the vice method of de-lidding chips? You are more likely to damage the chip de-lidding (vice or razor method) than putting a cooler onto it, especially waterblocks that are much easier to mount than massive heatsinks.
A little common sense in putting your block onto the CPU can save you the wasted money spent on specialised mounting bits; you only need to make sure you screw opposite corners on a few turns at a time, alternating between the corners, maintaining an even pressure on the chip as you tighten and you will be safe. Evenly distributed loads are not damaging as the yield strength of silicon is far beyond the force the bolts used can take; with the IHS on, the silicon still takes all the force you throw at it.
Also are you aware of the vice method of de-lidding chips? You are more likely to damage the chip de-lidding (vice or razor method) than putting a cooler onto it, especially waterblocks that are much easier to mount than massive heatsinks.
A little common sense in putting your block onto the CPU can save you the wasted money spent on specialised mounting bits; you only need to make sure you screw opposite corners on a few turns at a time, alternating between the corners, maintaining an even pressure on the chip as you tighten and you will be safe. Evenly distributed loads are not damaging as the yield strength of silicon is far beyond the force the bolts used can take; with the IHS on, the silicon still takes all the force you throw at it.
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Soldato
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Newer GPUs like Ivys and Haswells DO break from too much force. I have seen it done and also have had friends accidentally let go of their block too early when placing it onto the chip and crack it.
Just because De-lidding has more risk, doesnt mean it cant break from a mount. You only de-lid once but if you regularly bench and swap chips out, you could find yourself wanting a guaranteed way to not break a chip. I find the argument of saving money on mounts odd, when the chip itself, cost watercooling and risk of de-lidding could cost an absolute bomb, where the mount costs £3.29.
The older chips from years ago which were sold naked could take more abuse than the current ones and all it takes is one accident, like a block slipping out of your hand when placing it into the mount.
Naked GPU mounts are different since they have standoffs on full cover blocks which prevent the block crushing the chip.
Never said it couldn't be done, just that it is a lot harder than you are indicating. Being careful is better than getting a mounting kit because you are more likely to be careless with a mounting kit when you believe the kit will prevent you from damaging your chip. I would imagine it is still possible to crack the CPU with the mounting kit if you used it improperly so we get back to the same advice, mount your blocks carefully in the first place.
Again, I never said there was no risk from mounting blocks onto de-lidded CPUs. What I did say was that the risk of damaging the chip from mounting is much less and therefore the probability of your mounting kit reducing the risk of damaging the CPU is negligible.
Money is less of a worry in this regard, I agree. The trouble is a waste of time considering you can achieve the same reduction of risk through the use of simple techniques for mounting blocks with even pressure.
I am interested to find out how silicon's properties have changed over the years. As far as I am aware it is still as durable as it was before we started using it as a semi-conductor.
You are right though, it does take only one accident. Is it more likely that an accident is going to occur if a person is worried about the accident or if the person is confident because the equipment he paid for is meant to prevent damage? I'd say the likelihood of an accident is higher if you are confident the equipment you have paid for is going to prevent you from harming your CPU, you'd be less likely to be careful because of it.
Not third party heatsinks... My Accelero Twin Turbo and Accelero S2 didn't have any standoffs. The naked silicon was at the mercy of my strength and is still working now despite me stripping the thread on the old S2 heatsink.
What I am trying to get at is that this perception of computer parts being fragile is an over-reaction. If you've damaged the hardware yourself it would need to have been because of your own carelessness not because the hardware is too brittle. I feel this view of the hardware being so fragile that you need to take extra care with special equipment is seeded in our inability to take responsibility for damaging it in the first place. Its easier to blame the hardware than to say your handling of it was the culprit. We know of best practices that make it unlikely that you will damage your hardware, why not reinforce those instead of encouraging people to seek comfort in special tools?
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Useful thread for info here, was just coming on to post a very similar question! Think I'm gonna go for the EK Supremacy Clean CSQ. At least it should work with future CPU's as long as Intel don't change their mounting drastically 
Was considering the Raystorm but was put off by the it appearing to have a plastic mount.
Was considering the Raystorm but was put off by the it appearing to have a plastic mount.