wc vs air

PAULRYAN52 · 29 Jan 2017 at 20:08

hi, I'm returning to the world of desktops after 2 years using an MSI GT72, Its going to be a good spec, I can't decide between wc or air, I'm after good cooling and silent

Bone9 · 29 Jan 2017 at 20:09

Full custom loop for silence.

PAULRYAN52 · 29 Jan 2017 at 20:45

what is the price for a good wc

tyler_jrb · 29 Jan 2017 at 20:48

Depends how much of a budget OP has. Custom loops can become costly quickly.

A decent CPU cooler (Noctua) and decent AIB GPU will still be relatively quiet and perform well.

Perfect_Chaos · 29 Jan 2017 at 20:51

If you CBA with any hassle just get a high end air cooler, quieter than AIO's and around the same temps. These days water cooling just for the CPU is mostly pointless i think, only graphics cards benefit most from it.

After fiddling with phase and water it's just much easier to have good air coolers. And cheaper, of course.

Minstadave · 29 Jan 2017 at 20:53

Full custom loop - several hundred pounds, usually can achieve very good performance with well controlled noise. Problem is that the money you'll spend on this is probably best ploughed into hardware unless you've got money to burn. Makes upgrading a pain, especially if you have to buy a new full cover water block for each GPU. You need to periodically change the fluid.

Air - some of the mammoth air coolers provide great performance without too much noise. They're big and heavy and can interfere with tall RAM sticks. If the fan fails you're still got 1kg of metal to soak up heat so pretty reliable.

All in one water coolers - price and performance is similar to the big air coolers if you get a 2x120 or 2x140 cooler. They're not silent, probably the noisiest of the three because mounting the pump directly to the CPU/board means you can't isolate pump vibrations. Reliability is potentially an issue- pump failure, leaks etc.

Personally I've gone off custom loops, just too much hassle and cost. I'm sticking with AIOs/and air.

PAULRYAN52 · 29 Jan 2017 at 20:57

ok so air can someone recommend a very good cpu cooler, gpu cooler, fans and midi sized case for good cooling and noise, the quieter the better

Legend · 30 Jan 2017 at 00:12

PAULRYAN52 said:
ok so air can someone recommend a very good cpu cooler, gpu cooler, fans and midi sized case for good cooling and noise, the quieter the better

You can't go wrong with the Noctua NH-D15 or Cryorig R1/R1 Ultimate. As for GPU, you can't get a cooler for that, they come with one. Here's a link which shows the noise levels of most models...

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_page...merock_premium_edition_g_panel_review,12.html

As for fans, the BeQuiet Silent Wings 3 are probably amongst the quietest. Case choice is pretty wide open, you'll find with right fans and cooler things will be quiet in most.

PAULRYAN52 · 30 Jan 2017 at 00:44

What will this be like for noise

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Midi Tower Case - Blackout Edition Window
Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix Z270E
Processor Intel Core i7-7700K
CPU Cooler: Cryorig R1 Ultimate
Memory Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 3200MHz
Graphic Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1080 Turbo
SSD: Samsung 960 PRO Polaris 512GB
HDD: Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB
Power Supply: EVGA Supernova G2 650W '80 Plus Gold'
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 USB
Fans: 8x be quiet! Silent Wings 3 140mm PWM
Monitor: DELL S2417DG

Jasonst888 · 30 Jan 2017 at 02:09

PAULRYAN52 said:
What will this be like for noise

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Midi Tower Case - Blackout Edition Window
Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix Z270E
Processor Intel Core i7-7700K
CPU Cooler: Cryorig R1 Ultimate
Memory Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 3200MHz
Graphic Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1080 Turbo
SSD: Samsung 960 PRO Polaris 512GB
HDD: Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB
Power Supply: EVGA Supernova G2 650W '80 Plus Gold'
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 USB
Fans: 8x be quiet! Silent Wings 3 140mm PWM
Monitor: DELL S2417DG

Should be quite quiet but a couple points, if you are going for a define r5 for silence then having a windowed model defeats the purpose of this as a window has no sound proofing. Also with 8 fans you will have to take off the top moduvents which will again have an impact on noise. None of the above will make the system truly noisy but they will make it louder than it would otherwise be.

For CPU I would rate the Noctua NH-D15 with the silence cables fitted, when I used to run one on an overclocked 7600k it was silent. Also if you are really obsessed with silence and budget isn't an issue a larger PSU with an eco mode would lead to essentially passive cooling for it. (Ie 1000w super flower on eco mode in your system would likely never turn on the fan)

A HDD obviously adds a slight vibration noise which can be limited by the anti vibration mounts.

The GPU as a blower style would likely be very quiet when idling but quite noisy under load when compared to other custom models.

On a side note that is a strange monitor choice to go with a 1080, you would probably be fine with a 1070 on it with a few settings changes in some games.

Dave2150 · 30 Jan 2017 at 02:21

tyler_jrb said:
Depends how much of a budget OP has. Custom loops can become costly quickly.

A decent CPU cooler (Noctua) and decent AIB GPU will still be relatively quiet and perform well.

+1

Noctua air cooler (UH-12S is fine for mainstream CPU's), AIB GPU that turns off it's fans at idle/low load is also a very good option. Very quiet, much cheaper, no maintenance or risk or leaks.

Custom loop is obviously far more fun, looks better, performs better, just be prepared for the maintenance etc (and the price!).

tyler_jrb · 30 Jan 2017 at 11:00

PAULRYAN52 said:
What will this be like for noise

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Midi Tower Case - Blackout Edition Window
Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix Z270E
Processor Intel Core i7-7700K
CPU Cooler: Cryorig R1 Ultimate
Memory Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 3200MHz
Graphic Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1080 Turbo
SSD: Samsung 960 PRO Polaris 512GB
HDD: Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB
Power Supply: EVGA Supernova G2 650W '80 Plus Gold'
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 USB
Fans: 8x be quiet! Silent Wings 3 140mm PWM
Monitor: DELL S2417DG

Don't go for the reference style GPU. Very noisy compared to better custom models. Wont perform as well either.

Everything else looks fine to me. I would personally spend the extra and go with the 27" version of that monitor but that's just me.

Other than this, any reason you went midi rather than mid tower?

Just that as it is everything is going to be tight. The case only supports a max of 180mm tall CPU cooler. The cryorig is 170mm. Same story with the gpu.

I'd consider this? By far a massively better case.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/phanteks-enthoo-evolv-atx-glass-mid-tower-case-black-ca-054-pt.html

To go with your build either of these 3 are great GPU's.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...dr5x-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-401-as.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...dr5x-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-323-ms.html

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/evga...s-graphics-card-08g-p4-6286-kr-gx-300-ea.html

PAULRYAN52 · 30 Jan 2017 at 11:24

i picked that case because of the built it sound reduction, I changed the the gpu to the pallit 1080 premium

PAULRYAN52 · 30 Jan 2017 at 11:41

which cpu cooler is better the cyborg or noctua

Legend · 30 Jan 2017 at 11:46

I'm still confused as to why you're getting 8 fans?? You do not need to fill every fan space on the case lol!! Certainly not for an air cooled build, totally unnecessary, especially given the cost. They are quiet fans, but you will hear 8 of them in unison! You could keep the supplied Phanteks one at the rear and just put 2 up front, or if you do want to replace the Phanteks, get a third. Don't put any in the top, keep those moduvents in place for extra silence.

Noctua D15 is the best air cooler you can get. Cryorig R1 runs a close second, and does look much better.

As suggested above, the Phanteks Evolv ATX is a much more premium case than the Fractal, although if you want to watercool in the future the Fractal may be a better choice given the limited space and slight air restriction up top in the Evolv when it comes to full custom loops. Aesthetically I find the Fractal very dull though personally, and the acrylic side window is very dated.

PAULRYAN52 · 30 Jan 2017 at 11:57

I'm not getting the fans now, so swap the cpu cooler to noctua, will the phantek be as silent, the other case I was looking at was the be quiet 800

PAULRYAN52 · 30 Jan 2017 at 11:58

think I won't bother with the window versions

Legend · 30 Jan 2017 at 12:25

No case is 'silent'... the components you choose will dictate that. The Noctua is a quiet cooler, and the Palit 1080 is one of the quietest. The Silent Wings 3 are amongst the quietest of case fans so they would be a good choice, but you don't need more than 2-3 in any case. The Silent Base cases are all optimised for silence and come with good fans, but you may find are going to be slightly warmer than any air flow optimised case, but that is very often how it goes, always a trade off.

Up to you if you don't want a window, that's personal preference. It won't make a vast difference to noise levels, so don't worry about that. If you wanted to go with a custom loop in the future, a window is an excellent feature.

PAULRYAN52 · 30 Jan 2017 at 13:30

thanks think I'll go the be quiet if it's a good case or the phantek if its better

Legend · 30 Jan 2017 at 13:42

If you are considering a full custom loop in the future and really value the silence aspect, it might pay to go with the Dark Base Pro 900, as that will give you more options further down the line, and it's a great case overall. Ticks all the boxes.