Need a little help or an opinion NZXT Guardian 921
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Looking for water cooling, and I'm a little stuck due to size issues.
I am looking at the following liquid cooling kits, which do you recommend. (Read the whole post before posting please)
Case - NZXT Guardian 921 Red:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Corsair 100i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
ThermalTake 2.0 Extreme
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
NZXT Kraken x60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Is there a place I can mount them? I just received the case today and waiting for the rest of the hardware, posted at the end. I am willing to customize the case by drilling the holes on the top of the case and mounting it up there.
http://www.nzxt.com/new/images/_upload/product_gallery/...
NZXT Kraken x40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Corsair H50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Corsair 80i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Corsair H60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Will these fit with or without modifications to the case?
Or are there ones you would recommend that will fit that are priced at 140 US Dollars max.
The computer will consist of - Components are still shipping so I dont have all the dimensions yet.
Gigabyte GA-970A Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
AMD 8120 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
EVGA GTX 650 ti 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
G.SKILL RipJaw Series Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Running on Windows 8 Pro 64 bit. Will probably be overclocking constantly, so cpu cooling will be very important.
Also, there will be 3 Hard drives and 1 Dvd Burner and 1 Blu-Ray player.
I would like honest spec related opinions rather than company biased opinions. Thank you.
Also, I would like to keep the side fan, not for apparel reasons but from what I have read, the fan seems to do well with air flow within the case.
Thanks again
- Jake
I tried to delete this so I could re-post this in cooling or water cooling, without duplicating my post-but was not able to find the delete option. I apologize for posting this in the incorrect sub-category and if you can, please move it to the correct area on the forums. Thanks and I apologize again.
I am looking at the following liquid cooling kits, which do you recommend. (Read the whole post before posting please)
Case - NZXT Guardian 921 Red:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Corsair 100i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
ThermalTake 2.0 Extreme
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
NZXT Kraken x60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Is there a place I can mount them? I just received the case today and waiting for the rest of the hardware, posted at the end. I am willing to customize the case by drilling the holes on the top of the case and mounting it up there.
http://www.nzxt.com/new/images/_upload/product_gallery/...
NZXT Kraken x40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Corsair H50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Corsair 80i
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Corsair H60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Will these fit with or without modifications to the case?
Or are there ones you would recommend that will fit that are priced at 140 US Dollars max.
The computer will consist of - Components are still shipping so I dont have all the dimensions yet.
Gigabyte GA-970A Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
AMD 8120 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
EVGA GTX 650 ti 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
G.SKILL RipJaw Series Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Running on Windows 8 Pro 64 bit. Will probably be overclocking constantly, so cpu cooling will be very important.
Also, there will be 3 Hard drives and 1 Dvd Burner and 1 Blu-Ray player.
I would like honest spec related opinions rather than company biased opinions. Thank you.
Also, I would like to keep the side fan, not for apparel reasons but from what I have read, the fan seems to do well with air flow within the case.
Thanks again
- Jake
I tried to delete this so I could re-post this in cooling or water cooling, without duplicating my post-but was not able to find the delete option. I apologize for posting this in the incorrect sub-category and if you can, please move it to the correct area on the forums. Thanks and I apologize again.
More about : opinion nzxt guardian 921
All those are 240mm rad units, and your case doesn't not support dual 120mm fans so there's nowhere to mount it.
However, it does look like there is physically the room for it. so if you drill your own holes and mesh at the top you could mount a unit like the H100i.
Those 120mm rad units should mount without needing modification.
As for which one to get, TBH the answer is none of them.
CLC (Closed Cool Coolers) units dont perform as well as you might think, they are at best on par with equivalent air heatsinks, often for a much higher price. For instance the H100i is roughly equal with a Noctua NH-D14 for performance and costs $30 more. For good performance with water-cooling, you want to go custom.
However, it does look like there is physically the room for it. so if you drill your own holes and mesh at the top you could mount a unit like the H100i.
Those 120mm rad units should mount without needing modification.
As for which one to get, TBH the answer is none of them.
CLC (Closed Cool Coolers) units dont perform as well as you might think, they are at best on par with equivalent air heatsinks, often for a much higher price. For instance the H100i is roughly equal with a Noctua NH-D14 for performance and costs $30 more. For good performance with water-cooling, you want to go custom.
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manofchalk said:
All those are 240mm rad units, and your case doesn't not support dual 120mm fans so there's nowhere to mount it.However, it does look like there is physically the room for it. so if you drill your own holes and mesh at the top you could mount a unit like the H100i.
Those 120mm rad units should mount without needing modification.
As for which one to get, TBH the answer is none of them.
CLC (Closed Cool Coolers) units dont perform as well as you might think, they are at best on par with equivalent air heatsinks, often for a much higher price. For instance the H100i is roughly equal with a Noctua NH-D14 for performance and costs $30 more. For good performance with water-cooling, you want to go custom.
I do not mind making any modification if it is for the best cost/performance option. Also, how is this one- it is tomshardware approved.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Also, with a budget of 100 dollars, 130 as the very max, how would you recommend building a good custom liquid cooling system? Because when I built them, they always ended above 180 dollars.
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Cheapest way to get a custom loop off the ground is through the use of pre-configured kits like this. The lower end ones offer very good value for what you get.
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/16891/ex-wat-219/XSPC...
Just add your own coolant (Distilled is fairly cheap from any supermarket), and you'v got yourself a CPU loop.
However, if all your playing with is ~$100, wouldn't go custom. You just simply need to drop more money into it. That kit above is the minimum I recommend you get, and after adding in water that's $150.
Havent looked up reviews on that Zalman unit, so I cant really comment on it. But if it performs similarly to every other single rad CLC on the market, wouldn't expect anything great. Better off going air-cooling.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/16891/ex-wat-219/XSPC...
Just add your own coolant (Distilled is fairly cheap from any supermarket), and you'v got yourself a CPU loop.
However, if all your playing with is ~$100, wouldn't go custom. You just simply need to drop more money into it. That kit above is the minimum I recommend you get, and after adding in water that's $150.
Havent looked up reviews on that Zalman unit, so I cant really comment on it. But if it performs similarly to every other single rad CLC on the market, wouldn't expect anything great. Better off going air-cooling.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
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manofchalk said:
Cheapest way to get a custom loop off the ground is through the use of pre-configured kits like this. The lower end ones offer very good value for what you get.http://www.frozencpu.com/products/16891/ex-wat-219/XSPC...
Just add your own coolant (Distilled is fairly cheap from any supermarket), and you'v got yourself a CPU loop.
However, if all your playing with is ~$100, wouldn't go custom. You just simply need to drop more money into it. That kit above is the minimum I recommend you get, and after adding in water that's $150.
Havent looked up reviews on that Zalman unit, so I cant really comment on it. But if it performs similarly to every other single rad CLC on the market, wouldn't expect anything great. Better off going air-cooling.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Interesting, so i can use Poland spring for example? And would uv red tubes have the same affect as uv red fluid? And all i have to do is fill it and put a drop of dead water in, and drain/fill every so often?
Just wondering how the maintenance is with that kit, and if it's worth it. I will see what my exact budget is soon, but if this kit is not in it...is that air cooler really that good, so many people say it's the best.
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Best solution
Poland spring?
I'm guessing its a bottled water brand?
If it says Distilled or Demineralized on the bottle, go ahead. If its Mineral water, don't touch it. The two are completely opposite in intent, one has gone to pains to remove metals and such from the water, the other has deliberately added minerals/metals and such.
If you want colour in the loop, tubing and lighting effects is the way to do it. Dyes and such will eventually clog up your loop and stain tubing.
How much Dead Water to put in will say on the bottle, but basically yeah. Recommended you change the water every 6 months or so, but its not essential with a loop running plain distilled.
Maintenance will depend on what you do with the loop. Run a dye and you can expect to be constantly changing the coolant, cleaning blocks and replacing tubing. Set it up right the loop right, and maintenance can be as simple as occasionally draining/filling the loop and dusting the rad.
This is what I said in another thread.
Whether its worth adding water to the computer is up to what you want.
- If your after pure price/performance, stick with air cooling. Water-cooling costs too much for it to really compete here.
- If your after outright performance, then water-cooling is the way to go, especially when (its inevitable) you start on the GPU's.
- If your after a way to make the rig look and be awesome, custom water has got no competition here.
- If you want to make the rig unique and sort of "further" yourself as an enthusiast, then its one of the best ways to do this. Many here will tell you water-cooling is more of a hobby than anything else.
If your interested in Custom water-cooling, I suggest your read through the water-cooling sticky (multiple times). It goes over the the info you need to know and the explains the core concepts behind water-cooling.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/277130-29-read-first-...
The Noctua NH-D14 is up there at the top tier of air coolers. The Thermaltake Frio and Phanteks PH-TC14PE compete against it, and depending on which review you look one will be better than the other and so on. IMO its too little a difference to really make a big fuss over, any of those will serve you as good as air-cooling gets.
I'm guessing its a bottled water brand?
If it says Distilled or Demineralized on the bottle, go ahead. If its Mineral water, don't touch it. The two are completely opposite in intent, one has gone to pains to remove metals and such from the water, the other has deliberately added minerals/metals and such.
If you want colour in the loop, tubing and lighting effects is the way to do it. Dyes and such will eventually clog up your loop and stain tubing.
How much Dead Water to put in will say on the bottle, but basically yeah. Recommended you change the water every 6 months or so, but its not essential with a loop running plain distilled.
Maintenance will depend on what you do with the loop. Run a dye and you can expect to be constantly changing the coolant, cleaning blocks and replacing tubing. Set it up right the loop right, and maintenance can be as simple as occasionally draining/filling the loop and dusting the rad.
This is what I said in another thread.
Whether its worth adding water to the computer is up to what you want.
- If your after pure price/performance, stick with air cooling. Water-cooling costs too much for it to really compete here.
- If your after outright performance, then water-cooling is the way to go, especially when (its inevitable) you start on the GPU's.
- If your after a way to make the rig look and be awesome, custom water has got no competition here.
- If you want to make the rig unique and sort of "further" yourself as an enthusiast, then its one of the best ways to do this. Many here will tell you water-cooling is more of a hobby than anything else.
If your interested in Custom water-cooling, I suggest your read through the water-cooling sticky (multiple times). It goes over the the info you need to know and the explains the core concepts behind water-cooling.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/277130-29-read-first-...
The Noctua NH-D14 is up there at the top tier of air coolers. The Thermaltake Frio and Phanteks PH-TC14PE compete against it, and depending on which review you look one will be better than the other and so on. IMO its too little a difference to really make a big fuss over, any of those will serve you as good as air-cooling gets.
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manofchalk said:
Poland spring?I'm guessing its a bottled water brand?
If it says Distilled or Demineralized on the bottle, go ahead. If its Mineral water, don't touch it. The two are completely opposite in intent, one has gone to pains to remove metals and such from the water, the other has deliberately added minerals/metals and such.
If you want colour in the loop, tubing and lighting effects is the way to do it. Dyes and such will eventually clog up your loop and stain tubing.
How much Dead Water to put in will say on the bottle, but basically yeah. Recommended you change the water every 6 months or so, but its not essential with a loop running plain distilled.
Maintenance will depend on what you do with the loop. Run a dye and you can expect to be constantly changing the coolant, cleaning blocks and replacing tubing. Set it up right the loop right, and maintenance can be as simple as occasionally draining/filling the loop and dusting the rad.
This is what I said in another thread.
Whether its worth adding water to the computer is up to what you want.
- If your after pure price/performance, stick with air cooling. Water-cooling costs too much for it to really compete here.
- If your after outright performance, then water-cooling is the way to go, especially when (its inevitable) you start on the GPU's.
- If your after a way to make the rig look and be awesome, custom water has got no competition here.
- If you want to make the rig unique and sort of "further" yourself as an enthusiast, then its one of the best ways to do this. Many here will tell you water-cooling is more of a hobby than anything else.
If your interested in Custom water-cooling, I suggest your read through the water-cooling sticky (multiple times). It goes over the the info you need to know and the explains the core concepts behind water-cooling.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/277130-29-read-first-...
The Noctua NH-D14 is up there at the top tier of air coolers. The Thermaltake Frio and Phanteks PH-TC14PE compete against it, and depending on which review you look one will be better than the other and so on. IMO its too little a difference to really make a big fuss over, any of those will serve you as good as air-cooling gets.
Thanks for your help, much appreciated.
You've helped me a lot, and for now I am going with the air cooler, this way I can get a great MMO Keyboard and a little better motherboard to support SLI later on-which is when I will switch to water cooling. But I might just build another PC, full tower maxed out, when I really need it...and can haha. Thanks again.
Just wondering, can I remove the 120mm fan from that Noctua and use the side case's fan if it does not fit? This way I keep the LED's. They are the same size, will check the rpm's and performance when on my laptop or desktop.
-Jake
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shaunnson4
March 20, 2013 8:13:44 PM
manofchalk said:
Noctua make the best fans, just outright. You don't want to replace them with a fan that comes stock with your case.Will it support AM3+? Because it only states, "broad socket compatibility (LGA1366, LGA1156, LGA1155, LGA775, AM2, AM2+ and AM3)". Not sure if there is a difference in the sockets. Also, one more quick question...because the water cooling, as you said performs as well as mid-high end air coolers, would it be better to have a closed loop. Because with a closed loop, there is just about the same amount of cooling. But less space taken, so more and better air flow for cooling all components as well as the side fan for even more cooling. In a case like this, would you recommend putting in the Noctua?
And is it possible to take a closed loop apart? Because if I can, then I can mount the radiator on the outside.
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Far as I'm aware, AM3 and AM3+ are the exact same socket except AM3+ has extra pins on the inside, same mounting mechanism I believe.
Closed Loop Water-Coolers (H100 type stuff) perform as well as high end air coolers, a custom loop will easily outperform CLC's and big air.
Closed loops arent designed to be opened up (With the exception of the Swiftech H220), and the people that have weren't very happy with the results when they did.
Closed Loop Water-Coolers (H100 type stuff) perform as well as high end air coolers, a custom loop will easily outperform CLC's and big air.
Closed loops arent designed to be opened up (With the exception of the Swiftech H220), and the people that have weren't very happy with the results when they did.
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manofchalk said:
Far as I'm aware, AM3 and AM3+ are the exact same socket except AM3+ has extra pins on the inside, same mounting mechanism I believe.Closed Loop Water-Coolers (H100 type stuff) perform as well as high end air coolers, a custom loop will easily outperform CLC's and big air.
Closed loops arent designed to be opened up (With the exception of the Swiftech H220), and the people that have weren't very happy with the results when they did.
Cool, and I looked it up, and from a few resources, people have stated the same thing. AM3+: "There is also a redesigned CPU cooler retention harness allowing for slightly better airflow for CPU cooling, while retaining cooler backward compatibility." (Just making sure).
And Custom Liquid cooling out-performs every cooling system, unless you make a freezer for your PC haha. But out of my price range.
Closed Loop is Equivalent to air cooling. And looking at the comparisons, H100i kept a cooler temp than the Noctua. But it is louder, but sound level doesn't bother me because I wear a headset-and I find the best way to enjoy anything is...well, when it's loud. So I won't even hear the PC.
I have all the tools, so I can drill holes very easily. So would you still recommend the Noctua for 92 dollars after the current sale. Or for 110 dollars + a 10 dollar Mail in Rebate(current offer), the H100i mounted on the top of the case after the customization. Sorry for extending it this much, just want to know what a professional would do under these circumstances. (I kind of wish I got a full tower now...
)
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manofchalk said:
Peltiers are actually pretty cheap, though the rigging needed to use them effectively isn't
.Its how you chill water BTW, though somewhat experimental technology when it comes to cooling PC's.
TBH, get whichever one you want. You'l be fine for cooling regardless of which one you go for.
Ok, so tell me what you think...I will upgrade to GPU cooling later on. After lots of thought, I am building this:
NZXT Guardian 921 RB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
SeaGate Barracuda 1TB 64MB Cache 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Plus 2 Other older hard drives- Both 500GB
A DVD Drive I'm also Re-Using.
Blu-Ray Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
140mm case Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
8120 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Windows 8 Pro
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Seasonic X-850 Gold
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Goliathus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Razer Molten Naga
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Razer Anansi <-Not certain about this....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
GA-990FXA-UD3 Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
MSi 660 Ti 3GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
G.Skill RipJaw 2x4GB (8GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
TX-4 Grease
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
and XSPC Raystorm 750 RS240 Extreme
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/16891/ex-wat-219/XSPC...
Thanks so much for your help! Can't wait for the last couple of items to arrive
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