Does watercooling really make that much difference ?

Randall8686 · 23 May 2011 at 10:38

Hi all

Well i have my first step into watercooling today my H50 is about to arive (yea i know its not really "water cooling") but its a first step
But my question is if i watercool my cpu and gpu (in sig) would i gain anything over stock gpu cooler and h50 ? im not worried about noise so that eliminates that benefit but i though that it was more voltage that stopped you from clocking higher now rather than heat ? if i water cool can i up the voltage more on components ? im interested in trying watercooling but will i see much gain ? am i better off spending the £200 odd on a SSD or sli 480 ??

ChrisD. · 23 May 2011 at 10:40

Depends if you're lazy or not? I had watercooling, and it's great, but I was too lazy to look after it properly and far too impatient to bleed all the air etc, so I bought a H70 instead and couldn't be happier.

SeraphX · 23 May 2011 at 10:42

with a decent WC set up you can easily shove more volts through cpu's, Gfx, more overclocking potential due to much lower temps, also can mean a silent machine depending on what pump and fans you use.

mattup · 23 May 2011 at 10:44

More voltage = more heat.
More voltage = larger overclock
Water cooling done right = cooler components and less noise

You would be better off spending money on a SSD as this will make you rig more faster to use.

If you were to SLI you would need a more powerful PSU so you would be spending large amount of wonga! It also depends on what res you game at as to the benefit of SLI.

Sounds like a case of upgradeitus??? I have had it a few times but it seems to clear up when the wife finds out!!!

Matt

Prophet · 23 May 2011 at 10:49

I overclocked and watercool for years with my longest serving rig being up and running for 6 years being cooled by a home made system.

However I now use a quiet air cooler and save time, space and electricity.

With todays air coolers you don't need watercooling unless you're obsessed with FPS or how fast you can get your CPU to.

Randall8686 · 23 May 2011 at 10:59

cheers guys, I was going to buy a new PSU any way as i dont want to overclock my GPU and CPU on the same psu as i dont think it will handle it. yes upgrade bug has bitten now !!
i only game at 1050 due to a 22inch monitor i would love to get a bigger monitor 24-26 inch for my flight sim but i think it would look odd next to a 22" as i would like to keep both. So maybe i would be better getting a 2nd monitor and a SSD as my next components, new PSU next month then my birthday

where everyone can buy me vouchers for overclockers lol.
I would like to watercool as it looks awsome but i think £ per FPS as it where i would be better off spending it on other things by the sounds of it. not too fussed about SLI as FSX does not support SLI how ever the new microsoft flight comes out soon and not sure if the will support SLI or not.

BubbySoup · 23 May 2011 at 11:44

I water cool for silence mainly. With that in mind, water cooling the CPU is becoming more & more pointless with today's air coolers (assuming you have the room for some of them). The real benefit for me comes from having the GPU's under water. I really can't stand the noise Xfire or SLI setups make when gaming.

opethdisciple · 23 May 2011 at 11:56

Are the H50 - H70 really better than top end air cooling?

shadowscotland · 23 May 2011 at 12:04

No, twin towers like the D14 & silver arrow are better (lower temps and noise)
But they do take up less space.

A fan upgrade is advisable to acheive more static pressure or less noise

Shayper · 23 May 2011 at 19:05

Have a look at my build lo by clicking my sig, water-cooling looks epic and does the job really well

I'm selling both my 6950's and getting a 580 with a waterblock, both for the looks and because I can't seem to perform the black magic and blood sacrifice that you need to get crossfire working properly

.

BriT · 23 May 2011 at 19:53

Watercooling is so much fun!

. I installed a XSPC RX240 kit a month ago and i love it. Temps at idle on the highest core is 37c and on the coolest are 32c but the load temps have impressed me, i use to get 77c on the highest core with a A70 using OCCT and now its 59c on the highest.

Also can someone explain to me why the temps on cores are so different?

1kiwi · 23 May 2011 at 20:05

You will massively reduce the noise from the 480 and if setup right dump the heat without effecting your other components. The only benefit in watercooling the 2500 would be in confidently running more volts.