AIO water cooler around $100

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DeumBelli

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Jun 24, 2014
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Hey everyone. I had my pc for about 2 years now and i think im finally getting a bit into overclocking. Because of this i decided to look into water cooling.

I currently have the hyper 212 evo cpu cooler.

My cpu is the i5 4690k and my case is an NZXT H440.

Strangely i havent put that much effort into researching watercooling of my 2 years of owning the pc so i thought some people on here can help get me started.

What would be a good aio water cooler for my pc?

As for pricing i was thinking around $100 but i am willing to stretch it some if needed like maybe $20 or so more if needed.

Also what would be a good way to test it for leaks before i install it into my pc. Im the type of person who likes to take many precautions with his pc so i would like to test the cooler to make sure it isnt leaking.
 
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Karadjgne
Yeah. Anything newer than version 26.6 uses extremely high AVX instruction set usage, amongst others, which has a tendency to drive Haswell and newer cpu's into collective fits. Instead of the nice stable 100% loading you'd normally expect, its basically like the new versions drive the cpu at closer to 115%-120% affective usage. Makes for really unreliable results as there really isn't any commonly used programs that use such high instruction set usage.

You'll probably find that your load temps are considerably lower in reality, and you should be easily able to hit 4.3GHz with the Hyper212 evo, at @70 or so.

Best way I know to check for leaks is with your pc running as is, simply plug the pump into an available power point, be it fan...
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mcnumpty23

mcnumpty23

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and if you want to test it

disconnect the 8 pin and 20/24 pin from your motherboard

connect the sata/molex for the aio to psu and jump start the psu the leads will reach outside your case to do this

can test with the fans running or without as its not in the pc but i have only ever did it without fans for a short time to see how loud the pump was

you wont have speed control but for leak testing that doesnt matter at all
 
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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Honestly try OCing with your 212 EVO first. It performs similarly to entry level CLC coolers.
With a budget of 100 dollars you would be best off using a large air cooler, you will get better performance compared to most cheaper CLCs, save some money, and have quieter load speeds.
 
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DeumBelli

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Running it at 4.2 idle is 35-38
Im using the stock case fans 3 120in 1 140 out and the cpu cooler huper 212 evo.
Under load in a game its roughly around 60-75 in prime 95 it can sometimes hit 80 aometimes above
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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To answer your question, you'll need to know 2 things. First is just how high are you going to aim. Second is what are your expectations. I run 2pcs, both aio cooling. My i5-3570k is at 4.3GHz on a corsair h55 (equitable to hyper212 evo) and under Prime95 v26.6 (last recommended version, newer versions are highly unstable) I get 70°C after ½ hour test, stable temp. My other pc is an i7-3770k at 4.6GHz on nzxt Kraken X61 and sees 63°C. I only see 77°C at 4.9GHz.

So, wanna push 4.9GHz maybe? You'll need the largest of coolers, h105 or better, kraken x61, swiftec x240 etc. Want the lowest possible temps under load at a lesser OC? Same deal, but will also be viable for the big air coolers too. Happy at 4.6GHz? Mid sized 240mm or 140mm h90/x41.

Before you answer, your first direction should be research. Learn how to OC, learn what the settings in your bios do, learn about vcore and adaptive voltage, do's and don'ts, airflow, fan curves.

There's a lot to learn, no joke, but it's knowledge you'll need before really trying to get your moneys worth out of any big cooler, and your cpu.
 
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Karadjgne

Karadjgne

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Yeah. Anything newer than version 26.6 uses extremely high AVX instruction set usage, amongst others, which has a tendency to drive Haswell and newer cpu's into collective fits. Instead of the nice stable 100% loading you'd normally expect, its basically like the new versions drive the cpu at closer to 115%-120% affective usage. Makes for really unreliable results as there really isn't any commonly used programs that use such high instruction set usage.

You'll probably find that your load temps are considerably lower in reality, and you should be easily able to hit 4.3GHz with the Hyper212 evo, at @70 or so.

Best way I know to check for leaks is with your pc running as is, simply plug the pump into an available power point, be it fan header or sata connector etc.
 
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