High performance lowest noise

Domi

Domi

Domi

Associate
Joined
6 Sep 2008
Posts
790
Noob looking for advice.

I am seriously considering going down the water cooling route as I find I have a need for uber gaming performance :)

My problem is I have a huge issue with pc noise and currently my machines are about as quiet as it is possible to get them on air but to get the performance I require I would like to take the next step.

I will almost certainly be only going single card and prefer Nvidia but other than that I have no idea what I need for as near silent a water cooled system as possible.

Just to reiterate I am looking for silence more than performance and although I have a decent budget I still need to be vaguely sensible.
 
What components are you looking to cool, and in what case?

I was doing some calculating the other night, and two 240mm rads will keep 400w heat load at around 30-35 degrees above ambient with fans at 600rpm.
 
What components are you looking to cool, and in what case?

I was doing some calculating the other night, and two 240mm rads will keep 400w heat load at around 30-35 degrees above ambient with fans at 600rpm.
 
Components depend on what I need but I would not expect to be going above 500w and 400 sounds perfectly reasonable even with the next gen NVidia single card.

Lets for sake of argument say a 780 with a reasonable factory overclock and processor at about 4.5.

My own experience with fans though is none of the really quiet low speed fans is actually anywhere near as "silent" as I would like but if several large speed fans is the way to go then so be it but I had hoped there may be other options like huge radiators.
 
Domi said:
Components depend on what I need but I would not expect to be going above 500w and 400 sounds perfectly reasonable even with the next gen NVidia single card.

Lets for sake of argument say a 780 with a reasonable factory overclock and processor at about 4.5.

My own experience with fans though is none of the really quiet low speed fans is actually anywhere near as "silent" as I would like but if several large speed fans is the way to go then so be it but I had hoped there may be other options like huge radiators.
Click to expand...

Even cheap fans like the Xilence redwings running at 750rpm on a rad we're far quieter than the Titan Fenrir I currently use

Do you have a budget for watercooling in mind? And what case will this be going into
 
I would certainly not want to spend much over 1000 for the watercooling parts and my preference would be to use an existing case and put parts like the radiator external so a fractal R3 or old Antec 900 I have to hand but again if I need a new case so be it.

Cheaper is of course better and I might practice by simply putting the cpu in a loop before going the whole hog. How noisy are pumps do they get to be almost silent or not ?
 
I have a D5 vario pump and on setting 2 its completely silent, sitting on a shoggy sandwich which absorbs the vibration. even on full whack its not loud at all, its a gentle humming sound.

what is your current setup including cooling config and case
 
Domi said:
I would certainly not want to spend much over 1000 for the watercooling parts and my preference would be to use an existing case and put parts like the radiator external so a fractal R3 or old Antec 900 I have to hand but again if I need a new case so be it.

Cheaper is of course better and I might practice by simply putting the cpu in a loop before going the whole hog. How noisy are pumps do they get to be almost silent or not ?
Click to expand...

£1000 is quite a big budget watercooling build. I know you said you would rather not buy a new case but here's what you could do with your budget including a new case. The amount of Rad space provided would cool even the biggest SLi setups with ease. Somthing like this would allow you to run the fans @ very minimal speeds satisfying your need for silence. Coolant, tubing and fittings all come down to preference so I've just given an example

YOUR BASKET
1 x Corsair Obsidian 900D Super Tower Case £287.99
1 x OcUK Tech Lab - XSPC D5 Vario Pump & XSPC Acrylic Tank Reservoir Value Combo £99
2 x Hardware Labs Black ICE Radiator SR1 480 £94.99 (£189.98)
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-FC Titan - Nickel (Original CSQ) **GTX 780 COMPATIBLE** £84.95
1 x EK Water Blocks EK-Supremacy Clean CSQ £51.95
8 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm 1850 RPM - 3 Pin £14.98 (£119.84)
2 x Mayhems X1 UV Blue Premixed Watercooling Fluid 1L £7.99 (£15.98)
4 x XSPC 7/16" ID [16/11mm] High Flex Hose - Clear [1m Length] £2.99 (£11.96)
10 x OcUK 1/2" G1/4 - FatBoy Style - Shiny Silver - Barb Fitting £1.69 (£16.90)
Total : £896.23 (includes shipping : £14.75).

 
thanks for the advice but I think I prefer the option of using a large external radiator and a standard size case I also assume the pump / reservoir combo also does not actually need to be in the case.

I have a fair amount of room to put this system and so a large external radiator or a second case side by side housing the extra parts could be an option as I have multiple large cases.

thanks again :)
 
In that case (excuse) the pun you could do exactly as Petey suggests and use the Rad/rad on rad stands. The pump/res could also be mounted externally.

Theres a lot of people that build external rad boxes to hold pumps/rads
 
Imagine I have a standard large wooden pc desk with solid panels at the sides and my case is sat on the floor flush with the panel on the left.

Can you see any reason why I could not mount a large radiator on the side of the desk and route the hose through the desk. Even one of those insane huge 9 to 12 fan jobbies ?
 
That would be fine, the thing is the 9/12 fan rads your talking about would actually be out performed by two thick 480mm rads and use less space and be quieter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom