Worth going to closed-loop liquid cooling?

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RomeoReject

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I'm a bit of a noobie, so please bear with me:

My system (FX-4170 overclocked to 4.8Ghz, MSI Gaming 970, 16Gb of 2400Mhz RAM, 850W PSU and a pair of R9 280X cards at stock clocks) is being choked down by my CPU (As I'm sure some of you could already figure. As it stands, I can't get my little FX to clock any more on the giant stock cooler, and had a few questions before making the plunge to liquid-cooling.


  • Would the NZXT Kraken X61 offer significant differences to cooling over air?

    If so, would a push/pull set-up make a significant impact?

    Would applying 140>120mm adapter shrouds kill the airflow bigtime? If not, which side should they be applied to?


I should mention before things get too derailed, I lack the finances and I suspect the available power to move up to the high-ed FX-9000 series ones (Which need 220W stock). And in a similar vein, I don't have faith in my technical abilities to try making a custom liquid cooling set-up (Besides the fact I cannot afford one). Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
 
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rubix_1011
I'd suggest saving your money until you can update to something worthwhile...otherwise, you're just dead set on considering a 'liquid cooling' option that is going to disappoint you until you actually do it right.

In the world of liquid and watercooling, cheap, quiet and great performance do not all fit into the same, small box. There is a reason those closed loop coolers are cheap (around $100 or less)....they are made cheaply with poor pumps and aluminum radiators.
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LostAlone

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In short - No. That won't give you much more cooling power.

It depends on specific heat sink vs specific closed loop cooler, and certainly there is the biggest improvement to be gained by going from stock air to a close loop system, but it's not huge.

I would definitely advise you find something better to do with your money. A Kraken costs like $140, which is a BIG chunk out of your choice of a better AM3 cpu. In fact, you can right this second go and get an FX-6300 for less than the cost of the kraken, and that's a much better CPU, and for maybe twenty bucks more you can get an FX-8350.

Either of those is a RADICALLY better use of your money.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Either of those is a RADICALLY better use of your money.
Click to expand...

Yeah I completely 100% agree.

Honestly I used a Kraken X61 and these units are not very well built. They definitely lack in the quality control department. Mine had a defective pump and after several months of frustration and nearly tearing my hair out trying to find out what's wrong with my PC I had determined it was the cooler and ditched it for a Noctua D14 and I've been problem free ever since. For your situation before I upgrade the cooler, you should update the BIOS on your motherboard and throw in a FX-8320 (which you can get for around $120 if you have a Micro Center handy) and then get a low end air heat sink like a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo or a low end Noctua cooler like the NH-U9B. If you do want to get a better cooler a Corsair H100i is a better investment and it's actually less than the Kraken X61 is.
 
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RomeoReject

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Well I appreciate that my CPU is a rather weak little thing, I don't like to buy parts I know I won't be keeping for long. Eventually I will be moving up to the big 220W AM3+ CPUs, so I don't want to waste ~$160 on a part that I won't keep using. And on that related note, from what I'd been told, the FX-9000 series all require liquid coolers, and of those, I had read on a few different threads that the Kraken was the better of the closed loop systems.

Let me rephrase the question then: Does anyone have any suggestions on what to replace the big air cooler with? I cannot build a liquid set-up yet, I don't trust my abilities. So which closed-loop system would people suggest (Sizing between 260-280mm)?
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Seriously for the price of a Kraken X61, you're honestly better off flashing the BIOS, upgrading to an AMD FX-6350, and getting a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo. If you have access to a Micro Center you can get the 6350 for around the $110 mark.
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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I'd suggest saving your money until you can update to something worthwhile...otherwise, you're just dead set on considering a 'liquid cooling' option that is going to disappoint you until you actually do it right.

In the world of liquid and watercooling, cheap, quiet and great performance do not all fit into the same, small box. There is a reason those closed loop coolers are cheap (around $100 or less)....they are made cheaply with poor pumps and aluminum radiators.
 
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RomeoReject

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Alright, now that's something I can appreciate. So, from what I understand, there's no closed-loop system that's worthwhile? I would have to start with a custom water-cooling set-up right off the bat?

And as for noise, not a concern, I can never hear over my sound system anyways.
 
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rubix_1011

rubix_1011

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Don't get me wrong...they are simple to install and usually provide decent cooling and the ability to tell your friends you have a liquid cooler...but that's about it.

If you want to start looking into solutions that you can use, Swiftech has their H220-X cooler that can be expanded into a larger loop, if you wish. The pump is a DDC family pump, which are very good. You might also check into some kits from XSPC and EK...but do your homework. Watercooling isn't difficult or dangerous, but you do need to be careful and pay attention to details and take your time figuring out what you need. If you can do this, then you'll be rewarded with the outcome.

Watercooling sticky is linked in my signature line...give it a couple good reads...it might help answer some questions and prepare you for your next steps and questions.
 
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LostAlone

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Absolutely do not go buying a custom water cooling set up for an FX-4170. It's a complete waste of money. You won't be able to get that much more performance out of it.

Put simply you should absolutely not be approaching your current problem by trying to overclock your present processor. You can hurl a lot of money down that hole and your chip might still not be up to it.

A custom water cooling set up will run you in excess of $250, not including the massive headache of putting it together. And even then you won't be making a good use of it.

Just don't do this man. Don't. It's a complete waste of your money. Save up and get the better hardware. That's where you get the best value here; by buying the hardware that does what you want instead of trying to make your current hardware do something it wasn't really designed to.

Be patient. I know you don't want to be. I wouldn't want to be. But if you do it your way and invest in cooling you'll be functionally wasting your money. You'll be throwing it away on something you don't need and it'll take even longer to get the better chip.

I don't know how else to really say it here - Don't spend the little money you have on something that is only tangentially connected to the thing you want to spend it on. Waxing your beat up old corvette won't make it go faster.


 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Yes I completely agree, I have been down that road. If you get the wrong cooler it can set off a chain reaction that can cost you a lot of money later on. Sometimes you don't come out ahead purchasing one, and especially for such a low end CPU like the FX-4170 you don't really need it, it will not fix your problems. For the same price as a Kraken X61, you're far better off buying an FX-8320 and a Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, that will be a far wiser investment.
 
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