GPU/CPU watercooling vs Air

[spoffle]

I'm more inclined to think it's down to the fact GPU heatsink fans need to pound away at 70-100% to keep the cards below 70c, whereas water blocks keep them below 40c with rad fans spinning at 700rpm or lower.

It's not very often that a card needs to ramp all the way up to 100% to keep the cards below 70 degrees.

Though it depends on the heatsink design and where the air is going. Rear exhaust blower cards are typically worse performers in terms of overall absolute temps, but they don't have the issue of heatspots like open dual/triple fan heatsinks do.

I've got 2 water cooled systems, one for quiet, one for performance and they behave in very much the same was as I've outlined. They are both X79 systems with dual GPUs.

My quiet system's graphics card temps aren't much different to when they were air cooled, but they are significantly quieter, it's actually a pretty much silent system. It makes sound, but I can't hear it over the ambient sounds in the room.

 

[mrbazmondo]

I've never tried water cooling. Is it worth it?

 

[Bickaxe]

Depends what you're after.

If you do not intend to overclock, then stay with air.

If you want more bang for your buck, then invest in a loop and get the most out of your CPU. You can use it on future builds too with just a block change if required (or just the mountings) so initial set up cost is worth it in the end.

Also looks better than a giant heatsink.

 

[Sayso]

GPU temps and noise are greatly improved by going water...CPU due to the great air coolers you can get not so much.
Basically cut my GPU temps in half and made it silent by WC of course there is the cost of the WC and availability of blocks at launch, so you add 70/80 quid to a card to have it run well