Need to find a good liquid CPU cooler

The question relates to what you will be doing with the overclocked computer. Gaming ? Video editing ? Encoding ? CAD Rendering ?

Video encoding for example puts a way higher and long term load on the CPU than gaming does so if you doing video work in 8-12 hour sessions, the recommendation for a cooler would be different from a gaming box.

It is very difficult to make a case for CLC type coolers like the H series from Corsair. Here's my diatribe ... ... against this fad which I figured would die within a year. Here's a Hyper 212 that goes for $25 - $35 up against a $65 Corsair H55



Why pick the liquid cooled H55 ? It doesn't cool as well as the air cooled Hyper 212, nor is it quieter so where's the reasoning behind spending twice as much money for poorer performance ? For the same $65 price as the H55, you could buy the Phanteks PH-TC14PE air cooler which beats the Hyper 212 by 7 - 10C and the H55 by 8 - 11C !

Ok so let's move up to the H100i ....



Here we see the $100 liquid cooled H100i getting beat by 2- 3C by the $90 Noctua DH-15 and Cryorig R1 air coolers. So again, where's the reasoning behind spending more money for poorer performance ? And the H100i needs to create 1950s style vacuum cleaner like noise to even get that close .... that's 12 times louder than the DH-15 !

In addition, air coolers don't do this

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/281843-29-corsair-exploded

From a cost, thermal, noise and reliability standpoint, CLCs just don't compete very well with air coolers in the same price range.

Digging a little deeper, we have two other issues to think about .....

1) Aluminum radiators used by CLCs just can't compete with copper on thermal efficiency.

2) Using aluminum radiators and copper blocks is bad idea. One of the most basic rules of water cooling is no mixed metals and CLCs invariably mix aluminum and copper. Here's what results when ya mix aluminum and copper (it ain't pretty):

http://martinsliquidlab.org/2012/01/24/corrosion-explored/

Anti corrosion inhibitors can be used but these lose their effectiveness over time.

So are we stuck between air cooling and custom water loop kits that many users might be afraid to jump into for reason of complexity or cost ?

No, not any more. Fortunately Swiftech now sells "all-in-one" units that are basically an assemblage of real custom loops parts pre-assembled at the factory. The H220-X is 1/6th as loud as the H100i and as you can see above runs 7C cooler than the H100i. You can see below that the H240-X is 9C cooler, is about 1/5th as loud as the H100i and it even beats a 3 x 120mm radiator unit by 4C while remaining less than half as loud.



It's a pretty significant price bump @ $40 but the advantages of the Swiftech X series coolers include:

1. All copper components for superior heat transfer.
2. Each component can be swapped out and replaced.
3. No mixed metals
4. Loop can be opened and additional blocks or radiators added to cool GFX cards, memory, motherboard.
5. Coolant can be replaced.
6. Unequaled thermal performance compared to any CLC or air cooler
7. Unequaled acoustic performance compared to any competitive CLC
8. Easier to install than CLCs

Other reasons peeps buy CLCs include:

1. Concern about a 2 pound block of metal hanging off my MoBo - I don't see it. The 2 pounds of force exerted on the MoBo is dwarfed by the 55 to 70 pounds of clamping force required for the proper functioning of the TIM.

2. Concern about a big block of metal being aesthetically unpleasant - Personally I love the look of that big shiny thing sitting there .... reminds me of a big supercharger popping out of a card hood and screams "power". But if that's your thing, that is certainly reason enough to prefer the water cooling option.

In short .....

- In the $100 and less category, I haven't seen a CLC that can match a comparably priced air cooler in both thermal and acoustic performance.
- At over $100, it's hard to support a position that any CLC has anything over the Swiftech's from a performance or even value perspective.

At your price limit of $75, we have the Noctua DH-14 and H75 (The Phanteks is $10 cheaper and usually ruins 1-2c cooler than the Noctua)

http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/corsair_h75_review/6

The H75 produces a 68.5C temperature result on a 3960x @ 4.4 Ghz
The DH-14 produces a 65.3C temperature result on a 3960x @ 4.4 Ghz.

Here's another with the Phanteks having a 2C lead on 1150 socket and a 3C lead on LGA 2011

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cooling/2014/02/17/corsair-hydro-h75-review/2

Here the H75 loses badly by 7C on a 3770k at 4.6 Ghz but does manage to eke out an acoustic win by 1 dbA.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/corsair_h75_review,12.html

Here it's a 3C win for the Phanteks (48 dbA) over the H75 (54 dbA)

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-H75-CPU-Cooler-Review/1834/6

I did find some reviews where the H75 did beat the Phanteks and this highlights that fact that CPU cooling is more than what ya put on the CPU. The H75 is much less affected by case cooling as the rad is mounted on the case itself and is sucking in cooler ambient air from outside the case to cool the CPU .... which heats up other components inside the case a little bit. OTOH, the air cooler is using preheated case air to cool the interior heat sink. Either eay, it's important to get that heat out of the case with a reasonable air turn over within the case.