CPU Cooler - Air or Water?

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
L

LoosSerine

Reputable
Nov 30, 2015
40
0
4,530
Hi,

Can someone provide advice on which water (or air) cooler is ideal for my CPU as there is no stock cooler. I've got 2 builds that require a CPU cooler, both have all components except the CPU cooler. The first build is:

CPU: Intel i7 5820K
Motherboard: Gigabyte X99 SLI ATX
PSU: Corsair HX1000i 1000W Platinum
GPU: EVGA GTX 980Ti 6GB GDDR5 FTW AC2+
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) 2400MHZ DDR4
Storage: 1x Samsung 850 EVO 500GB, 1x Samsung 850 EVO 1TB, 1x Sandisk Extreme Pro 960GB
Case: Fractal Design R5
CPU Cooler: ???

The second build is:

CPU: Intel i5 6500
Motherboard: ASRock Z170 Extreme4 ATX
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W G2 ATX
GPU: Gigabyte 4GB GTX960
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2133MHZ DDR4
Storage: 1x Samsung 850 EVO 500GB
Case: Fractal Design S
CPU Cooler: ???

I'm considering one of these, maybe the H100i for the i7 build and the H80i or maybe the CoolerMaster for the i5 build but I also don't understand why the massive difference in price between the Corsair and Coolermaster and whether anyone has suggestions between the two or if any others that I should consider.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CW-9060009-WW-Series-Extreme-Performance/dp/B009ZN2NH6
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CW-9060021-WW-Extreme-Performance-All-In-One/dp/B00SV7IEJI
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/cooler-master-seidon-120v-version-20-water-cooling-kit-quiet-with-compact-120mm-pwm-radiator-for-int

Also, how easy is it to setup a water cooler as I've not even built a PC before, at most I've only toyed around with remove disk drives, harddrives and heatsinks on Laptops but never ever touched desktop rigs.

Thanks
Loos
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Hawkshot

Hawkshot

Admirable
Aug 19, 2014
1,772
0
6,460
honestly Watercooling is usually slightly better than a good air cooler but, it can be annoying to setup if its an open loop system, and most closed loop system are usually louder than air cooling and are not much better, if you were to compare liquid cooling system to say something like the Noctua D14 there would be very little temp difference but the Noctua D14 will run a lot quieter, I would never get water cooling over air cooling just because I can be annoying to install if open loop and in reality its not much better than air cooling.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
L

LoosSerine

Reputable
Nov 30, 2015
40
0
4,530


Thanks Hawkshot. What does it mean for the Noctua D14 that it has dual radiators? It's not heating it up is it :D

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/noctua-nh-d14-dual-radiator-x6-heat-pipe-quiet-cpu-cooler-with-2-x-fans
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
synphul

synphul

Champion
Mar 11, 2011
9,477
7
54,965
The h100i or a larger air cooler would work for the i7. Air cooler compatibility would depend on ram height, are those the vengeance lpx (low profile) ram sticks? If they're lpx then air coolers shouldn't pose a problem, if they have tall heatspreaders then you might have to stick with the h100i or carefully choose an air cooler.

For the i5 6500 I wouldn't bother with the small aio cooler. For one they don't cool much better if as good as less expensive air coolers and air coolers would likely be quieter. The 6500 is a locked cpu and doesn't get that hot. If you like the looks of the h80i or similar then you can always go with it. A less expensive air cooler would work well and be more than enough cooling for that cpu.

This cooler is about half the price of the h80i gt, the cryorig h5. No ram clearance issues.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/cryorig-cpu-cooler-h5universal

A more snug fit along with the ram (unless it's low profile ram), at least if there's a stick of ram in the first slot closest to the cpu would be the 212 evo.
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rr212e20pkr2

Larger all in one coolers like the h100i are more worthwhile since they have larger radiators and can give some good cooling performance for a chip like the i7. It's also running 6 cores and has hyper threading along with being overclockable while the i5 is only a 4 core, no ht (less heat) and runs a bit cooler.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hawkshot

Hawkshot

Admirable
Aug 19, 2014
1,772
0
6,460
oh unlike a standard air cooler its got 2 fans and 2 metal blocks which gives it far better cooling than most cpu air coolers, so its like having 2 air coolers attached to the same cooling pad at the bottom, it just means that you will need to attach 2 wires to the motherboard for CPU fans rather than 1 :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
faalin

faalin

Illustrious
Feb 22, 2012
6,050
389
41,240
If you can find one get a Cryorig H7 air cooler, one of the best budget air coolers you can get. If you want to spend a lot of money a Noctua D15 would be my high end air cooler choice.

If your wanting to go water i would skip all the All in One coolers and go with a XSPC ryastorm loop. Its basically a custom loop in a kit so it has everything you need. Its also expandable so down the road when you feel like watercooling your gpu you can just add a block for it and add it to the loop.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
L

LoosSerine

Reputable
Nov 30, 2015
40
0
4,530


Thanks

Corsair CMK16GX4M4A2400C14 Vengeance LPX 16GB (4x 4GB) DDR4 2400MHz CL14 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop Memory Kit - Black is the memory so I presume Low Profile.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
synphul

synphul

Champion
Mar 11, 2011
9,477
7
54,965
That makes life a lot easier having low profile ram. Some of the bigger air coolers hang too close to the ram if the ram happens to use the really tall/large heatspreaders on it. I would think the noctua nh-d14/d15, cryorig r1 universal or other similar type coolers would work well on the i7 and may very well be quieter than the h100i.

Single aio's are usually worse for noise due to the relatively small radiator and having to compensate for lack of surface area by spinning a single fan faster.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hawkshot

Hawkshot

Admirable
Aug 19, 2014
1,772
0
6,460
from testing done the extra money you spend on the D15 over the D14 isn't worth it the heat difference is very little if it does exist but from tests that ive one ive seen almost identical results, and the DB produced from the D14 is lower than you get from the H100i within the same temp range give or take 7C maximum, I would say get the D14 or Be quiet! dark rock pro 3
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
L

lodders

Admirable
Nov 2, 2015
1,888
0
6,460
You can buy the i5 6500 with a standard intel heatsink fan.
You don't actually need any more than this.
Only buy an aftermarket cooler if the standard one is too noisy (and it isn't actually very noisy)

The i7 5820k will need at least a decent size air cooler as stated above.
The more you spend on cooling this chip, the higher you can put the Vcore, and the more you can overclock it.
But the law of diminishing returns will apply, spend more and more on fancy cooling for less and less additional performance.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
L

LoosSerine

Reputable
Nov 30, 2015
40
0
4,530
Thanks guys,

@Hawkshot, the DarkRock Pro3, is it the dual or single that you have? As I see multiple different variants. I think I'll get the D14 for the i7 and maybe just the single Dark Rock Pro3 for the i5. If I can get away without much difference in temp I would rather not go water unless I have to. At most I will overclock the i7 to 3.5/6.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hawkshot

Hawkshot

Admirable
Aug 19, 2014
1,772
0
6,460


sounds like a plan for me the Noctua d14 works amazingly for OC and you can use the stock cooler for the i5-6400 without an issue due to it not being able to oc
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
synphul

synphul

Champion
Mar 11, 2011
9,477
7
54,965
Where are you seeing a single fan version of the dark rock pro 3? To my knowledge there's only one. Noctua has some coolers that offer twin cooling towers with either a single or dual fan. I believe the dark rock pro 3 only comes one way, it's a dual radiator tower cooler with 2 fans but has a cover over it. I only mention it because that's the cooler I'm using.

For the locked i5, the dark rock pro 3 is way overkill. A 212 evo is almost overkill and can remove up to 180w of heat. The drp3 handles 250w of heat and is more than enough for my overclocked i5. Fans on that cooler don't even rev up faster unless it's summer (30-32c) with every other case fan turned off and running prime95 as a stress test overclocked to 4.5ghz.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
L

LoosSerine

Reputable
Nov 30, 2015
40
0
4,530
@Synphul, ah you're right, I was looking at both the BK019 (Dark Rock Pro 3) and the BK018 (Dark Rock 3), didn't realise the Pro part.

I've also got 2 separate question:

1.) I presume I'd have to apply thermal paste to the Noctua D14/15 (unsure which one yet but one of them) to the i7 5820k. Can you recommend a thermal paste or the stock one with the cooler is ok? Something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Silver-Thermal-Compound-3-5g-x/dp/B000OGX5AM

2.) I'll put a fan on the i5 6500, as it does get a bit hot in summer, especially in the room where it will be located. I guess I'll use the 212 Evo or a smaller fan as it doesn't have a great need for it, in this case, because there is a stock fan and I'm adding an aftermarket fan, do I need to apply thermal paste to that fan?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
L

LoosSerine

Reputable
Nov 30, 2015
40
0
4,530
Upvote 0 Downvote
L

LoosSerine

Reputable
Nov 30, 2015
40
0
4,530
Thanks Hawkshot, I got the 2011 variant.

I've got 2 questions from an earlier post:

1.) I presume I'd have to apply thermal paste to the Noctua D14/15 (unsure which one yet but one of them) to the i7 5820k. Can you recommend a thermal paste or the stock one with the cooler is ok? Something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Arctic-Silver-Thermal-Compound-...

2.) I'll put a fan on the i5 6500, as it does get a bit hot in summer, especially in the room where it will be located. I guess I'll use the 212 Evo or a smaller fan as it doesn't have a great need for it, in this case, because there is a stock fan and I'm adding an aftermarket fan, do I need to apply thermal paste to that fan?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
L

LoosSerine

Reputable
Nov 30, 2015
40
0
4,530
Sorry for the slight bump, I had gone for the Noctua NH-D15 and unfortunately, even though it has clearance for my memory, it is so large that it is protruding over my first PCI-E X16 slot which for my board has to be used otherwise would only provide x8 performance. Also it is so large that I couldn't put on the second fan without it being ridiculously close to my 24pin connectors. Is there any other air cooler that I could consider which is smaller in size but offers good performance still. Price really isn't a problem in this part.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hawkshot

Hawkshot

Admirable
Aug 19, 2014
1,772
0
6,460


you can always opt for the 212 Evo or do as I did and get the BeQuiet! Dark Rock pro3, both are very good CPU coolers and both are smaller than the D15 in this case the Bequiet! dark rock pro3 has slightly better cooling than the 212 evo but the 212 evo is smaller than the Dark Rock pro3. your choice.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom