Should I consider watercooling?

FabienO

FabienO

FabienO

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I have an i7 Bundle from OCUK. 920 D0 @ 4ghz. ATM I have an Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP CPU cooler. I understand my temps are fine.... While running BC2 they stay around 60-70, but i'd like to move towards watercooling because there's something calming about having lower CPU temperatures.

Problem 1) I know nothing about watercooling.

I notice the Corsair H50-1 seems like a good way to begin a watercooling venture as it's probably fool-proof. Do you guys think I should venture this way?

GPU runs at about 60-70 on BC2 as well, so not so worried about that.
 
I looked at these, and the coolit eco ones, they are both very similar, with good fitting brackets etc, and easy to fit, as you said almost fool proof, in the reviews i've read they seem to compare to top end air coolers, so arent going to be as good as a bigger water cooling kit, but as a starter type thing, i think they are really good, they also offer a couple of other bonus things, such as ease of fitment, in relation to space required, and weight on the motherboard, some of the larger air cooled units are getting very heavy !

Be aware of the length of water tubing supplied as you can't change it, so make sure they will reach to where you want to mount the rad

Noise wise, they are not as silent as a traditional water cooling setup where components are (or tend to be) selected to over perform and thus allowing lower speed fans etc
 
FabienO said:
I have an i7 Bundle from OCUK. 920 D0 @ 4ghz. ATM I have an Akasa AK-CCX-4002HP CPU cooler. I understand my temps are fine.... While running BC2 they stay around 60-70, but i'd like to move towards watercooling because there's something calming about having lower CPU temperatures.

Problem 1) I know nothing about watercooling.

I notice the Corsair H50-1 seems like a good way to begin a watercooling venture as it's probably fool-proof. Do you guys think I should venture this way?

GPU runs at about 60-70 on BC2 as well, so not so worried about that.
Click to expand...

solution 1.
neither did i 2 weeks ago.. however, 2 weeks on and the rest is history.
trust me, if i can do it..you will have no problems at all.
read my Q&A thread and build log
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18165749

solution 2.
i started with the H50, but believe me, although i liked it .. the pull towards going the "full loop" will entice you.. best to put that money towards a full setup from the start imo.

whatever you are more comfortable with is the answer, good luck and let us know what you decide ;)
 
perry081064 said:
solution 1.
neither did i 2 weeks ago.. however, 2 weeks on and the rest is history.
trust me, if i can do it..you will have no problems at all.
read my Q&A thread and build log
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18165749

solution 2.
i started with the H50, but believe me, although i liked it .. the pull towards going the "full loop" will entice you.. best to put that money towards a full setup from the start imo.

whatever you are more comfortable with is the answer, good luck and let us know what you decide ;)
Click to expand...

Solid advice. Thanks for linking me to your posts. The idea of doing what you did does excite me, however in terms of budget, i'll probably go with the H50-1 to start me off. When I am a bit more comfortable money wise, i'll go the same route you did. Very inspiring work.

First things first though, need an SSD, roll on next months pay cheque.
 
FabienO just to show you, you don't have to go that expensive let me show u a little list including prices.

I did this setup myself at the begining of the year, was £20 cheaper then as there were a few deals on stuff. Only difference is my Rad.

Temps wise with this on an I7 @ 4ghz iv not yet seen my cores go over 70c, even on the hottest of days (Prime, Ibt, LinX, F@H) my gaming temps are generally mid 40's low 50's.

I'll be the first to admit the pump is'nt the most powerful but for a cpu only loop its fine, and for a beginner is far easier to use.

XSPC 200 Bay Reservoir & Pump - £30.98
EK CoolStream Radiator XT 240 - £34.99
EK-Supreme LT Intel - Acetal - £30.64
Bitspower Premium G1/4" High Flow 7/16" Fitting x6 - £12.00
Masterkleer 7/16" Tubing 3m - £7.47
Petra'sTech "PT_Nuke" Concentrated Biocide (10ml) - £3.99

Total for that = £120.07

All u would need is some di-ionzed water from halfords (branded carplan battery water).

Now comparing that to the H50 @ £62.99, and you are gonna have to get 2 decent fans for that really aswell, so thats atleast another £20. So call that £80+, i think u may agree the above little list looks very enticing for not much more money on top, and i can guarantee no H50 owner can touch those temps u would get with that little lot.

Just thought id post this to show it dos'nt have to be expensive, especially for cpu only loops, and is a good way to learn also.
 
only way you're going to get better temps is if you back down on the volts or get a custom loop

mine cost me £180 + VAT for the best cpu only loop, so yeah, it gets expensive quick
 
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