animal said:
Sorry I wasn't here to answer your liquid cooler question(s) earlier, but here is a short list of Air vs Liquid Pros and Cons:
Air Cooler Pros-
1. Can be cheaper than a liquid cooler, although some of the top end ones can be as, if not more, expensive.
2. Only have two parts, the heatsink itself and its fan(s). Unless physically damaged, the heatsink portion will never fail. Its fan(s) are the only thing that can/will fail and are easily replaced rather inexpensively (although some fans can be quite expensive).
3. Will never leak any fluids into the inside of your case or onto the motherboard.
Air Cooler Cons-
1. Some air cooler can quite bulky and carry a significant amount of weight due to their large heatsink. Some will weigh more than two pounds, that is a lot of weight hanging from the motherboard since most cases have the motherboard mounted vertically. If you have a heavy one installed, must take extra caution when moving the case, as the weight of the cooler can cause severe stress and possible damage to the motherboard.
2. Because of the size/bulkiness of most aftermarket air coolers, research needs to be done to insure case and motherboard compatibility. Most air coolers are of the "tower" design and can get quite tall. Not all cases will allow their particular height. Additionally, due to its size, air coolers can sometimes come into conflict with motherboard layouts. The most common problem is the air cooler and/or its fan(s) overhanging RAM slots. This can limit the height of RAM module(s)/stick(s) that can be used as well as make it impossible to install/replace RAM once the air cooler is installed without removing it.
Liquid/Water Cooler Pros-
1. Liquid coolers are generally better at cooling than air coolers.
2. Liquid coolers do not have a large, bulky heatsink attached to the CPU. Instead they use a relatively small light-weight waterblock which doesn't have the disadvantages of case/motherboard compatibility seen with air coolers.
All-In-One (AIO) Liquid/Water Cooler Cons:
1. Can have/develop leaks which can get onto/into other components inside the case, especially the motherboard. Since most cases have a bottom-mounted PSU, there is also the possibility of leaks dripping/running into the PSU itself.
2. Usually more expensive than air coolers, but not always the case.
3. Liquid coolers have four major parts:
a) the waterblock/pump, All-in-One liquid/water coolers have the pump built into the waterblock. If the pump goes bad you have to replace the entire cooler, you can't just replace the noisy/faulty pump.
b) the tubing, if the tubing of an AIO becomes damaged or starts leaking, the entire AIO must be replaced
c) the radiator, if the radiator is damaged/punctured the entire AIO must be replaced. Additionally, research must be done to insure compatibility between the AIO's radiator size and case compatibility. Not all cases will accommodate all radiator sizes, but in some cases, even if the case will allow it to be mounted, once mounted the radiator can interfere with other parts.
d) radiator fans, as with air coolers, the fans are easily replaced at a relatively lo cost.
I hope this helps. This is not an exact nor detailed explanation, just trying to give you a better understanding.
Wow thanks buddy! Very detailed, I appreciate it - that clears thing up for me. Water coolers do sound small and effective, but also sounds it could be more messy if things go wrong. I figure since I'm not planning to over clock excessively, it is probably not worth the small risk. - Do you think the Hyper 212 will be sufficient for the 4770k?
I changed my ram preference to the G.Skill 16GB (2x8GB) 1866 CL8 in order to take your advice for faster ram, but then realised it runs on 1.6v (Haswell recommends 1.5v). I read this may cause some issues with either the CPU, or the ram not reaching its potential. Now I have chosen Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) 1866 CL 9. - What do you think?
I have a final question in regards to the 'cons' of air cooling, about after market coolers being heavy and bulky. Assuming I decide to go with the mid tower (Urban S41) and Noctua nh-d14 (to be safe), how can I be sure that I have a compatible mother board/case layout. (I.e my cooler will fit in the case and also not interfere with my ram - as you have stated above)
P.S I am not expecting you to do the research for me, I am just interested to know the method of ensuring all my parts will not physically conflict, before I order them on-line.
Thanks, you have been a great help.