Looking for a water cooling setup for my pc

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iceeweinr

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Sep 17, 2015
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Hello, I'm looking to invest in a water cooling setup for my pc. The current cpu cooler that I have is a kraken x31 and though it has done an Ok job, I've noticed that my temperatures have never been normal. Sometimes it they are normal under load and other times they reach 90c. I'm new to water cooling so with that said, could someone link me to some good kits or give me some recommendations?
My rig:
Mobo: z170a Sli
cpu: i5 6500
gpu: gtx 1070
sdd: 240 gb PNY
HDD: 1 tb Caviar blue
Ram: 16gb
PSU: EVGA 500B - I will upgrade this for the water cooling setup
Case: Corsair Spec-Alpha
 
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n0ns3ns3
I'm not sure why would you like to invest in liquid cooling, but here are few points:
1. AiOs like the Krappen series are just shiny toys that wannabe liquid coolers. they are inferior to air coolers in both cooling and noise while cost much more.
2. The Corsair Spec-Alpha can only support up to 240mm radiator. for a full blown (CPU + GPU) loop it's kinda too little as the main point of liquid cooling today is to keep things both cool and quiet.
3. the entry level for a half decent custom loop is the EK fluid gaming kits with 240 rads at 160 USD. The true custom loop for CPU only would start at 200 USD. A good loop would start at around 300-350$ for CPU only and 500-800$ for CPU and GPU.
so from a practical point of view, get your self...
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Gam3r01

Gam3r01

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Jan 12, 2013
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I dont see why you are watercooling a locked i5 (Ignore the fact Im doing the same, the watercooler was leftover from an old build).
Even though the x31 isnt great, those temps arent right.

Have you cleaned it, redone the paste, etc? How are you monitoring temps?
 
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iceeweinr

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Sep 17, 2015
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I want to invest in water cooling so that my temps are lower, yesterday I started up PUBG and it rised to 90c. I exited right away and my idle temps were sitting at 54c after a few minutes. I use an app called Core temp. Also am looking for water cooling because I will most likely upgrade to a higher end CPU. I plan on cleaning the inside today and there is no need to replace the thermal paste, since it hasn't been long that I replaced some. So any ideas of a cooling kit that will fit inside the Corsair Spec-Alpha and if I'll need a more potent PSU?
 
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mwryder55

mwryder55

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Dec 31, 2011
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I have been really happy with the Fractal Design C24 I replaced my Corsair water cooling unit with. I was getting 50 C idle and 100 C load temperatures with the Corsair even though I had redone the paste and cleaned the unit. I think the pump was failing even though it said it was running at 2300 RPM. My new unit is running 30 C idle and low 50s C, which is much better than the Corsair unit ever did.
 
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iceeweinr

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Sep 17, 2015
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What CPU do you have?
 
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n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

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May 25, 2016
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I'm not sure why would you like to invest in liquid cooling, but here are few points:
1. AiOs like the Krappen series are just shiny toys that wannabe liquid coolers. they are inferior to air coolers in both cooling and noise while cost much more.
2. The Corsair Spec-Alpha can only support up to 240mm radiator. for a full blown (CPU + GPU) loop it's kinda too little as the main point of liquid cooling today is to keep things both cool and quiet.
3. the entry level for a half decent custom loop is the EK fluid gaming kits with 240 rads at 160 USD. The true custom loop for CPU only would start at 200 USD. A good loop would start at around 300-350$ for CPU only and 500-800$ for CPU and GPU.
so from a practical point of view, get your self a decent air cooler that is under 156mm height to fit your case and you should be fine with both temperature and noise.
don't get me wrong, I love liquid cooling. it's just it's not reasonable/practical to invest in it until you have a system with high end components including top tier PSU.
 
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iceeweinr

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Sep 17, 2015
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Thanks for the tips. My only honest reasons for looking into liquid cooling was because of the aesthetics and because I will upgrade to an i7. The price of the kits discouraged me though and I'm sure a different brand of the water cooler I use will do the job.
 
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mwryder55

mwryder55

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Dec 31, 2011
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I am using a 2600K and have always had it water cooled. I have two 90 mm fans on the side panel that help to keep everything else cool.
 
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