Closed loop CPU water coolers

esoteric

esoteric

esoteric

Soldato
Joined
5 Aug 2004
Posts
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I'm at a loss at what to call these, what I mean are items like Corsair's hydro pumps, like http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-013-CS&groupid=701&catid=2330&subcat=2262

I have the h20 on my i7 930 and I have idle temps of around 45 and I've always expected better from water cooling. When I did an overclock to 3.4 I started idling around 65 and mid 80's in game, which I felt was way to high so I took off my o/c.

In my mind I think of these type of coolers as a water alternative to air if you can't get a custom loop.

So I'm curious if my conclusion is fair or not, or am I being to hard on these type of water coolers. Are they just as good as a custom loop?
 
They are generally equivalent, if not slightly worse, than the equivalent price air cooler.
Realistically all you are gaining is practicality vs a massive chunk of aluminium - without a reservoir you aren't going to get nearly the same performance of a custom loop.
 
The aio are an alternative to large air coolers. Depending on the price you pay you will get varying levels of performance comparable to the better and outrageously effective air cooling cpu blocks.
But to compare the aio with custom loops is like comparing stock road cars to specialized racing cars. They don't come close. Aio are there to get people interested in custom loops and to give an alternative to hanging 1kg+ blocks of metal off their mobos.
 
So I'm not to far from the mark then. I'll be upgrading next year when the new CPU's are out so I'll look into a custom loop absolutely.
 
My experience with these is limited,but I ran a Q9650 with a Corsair H50 for years.
I was able to run the chip at 4Ghz easily with no alarming temps. It also left the case looking uncluttered unlike any aircoolers I've used.
Having said that, I'm back on air now and happy with it.
 
Main benefit should be the ability to run fans at a lower speed. It's not like the water is going to be ice cold
 
I used a H50 on my 2500k, it was good but i switched to a D14 and love it...

Considering the H60 and D14 are the similar price, i'd go for the D14. Quieter, Cooler and cheaper (mostly)..

It is big though.. WOuldn't have it in a windowed case.
 
My recon H80 runs only a few degrees cooler than my Hyper + 212,(4.3ghz oc, highest temp in games always below 60*c)but that is running with the lowest fan setting.it looks nice,and runs quiet, and as said above you havnt got a massive lump of alluminium hanging off your motherboard.i like it
 
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