How much cooling is overkill?

[MadCraiZ]

I'm planning out my next system but I'm waiting for the dust to settle after the AM2/Conroe releases to see what happens. I do a lot of video transcoding so I'd like to overclock atleast the CPU as much as reasonably possible to get the most bang for my buck, and I'd also like it to be quiet(er). So I'm thinking about going the watercooling route. I don't play a lot of high end games, but if I do go with an ATI, I'll probably play around with overclocking the gpu to see if it has any effect with the Avivo converter.

But how much is too much when it comes to cooling? Investing extra money to buy and run peltiers, not to mention weatherproofing components to prevent condensation and blah blah blah...all which will be a waste if I just cet crappy chips that don't want to OC anyways.

I'm not looking to set any records. I just want to work on my videos quickly and quietly as possible.

 

[Grimmy]

I'd say cooling with dry ice is over kill... :lol:

You should be okay with what is out there, as far as water cooling solutions, or on air cooling. Since your not wanting to OC, then water cooling would perhaps be the most quiet solution, but there are decent HSF out there that can give about the same DB's.

If your waiting on a MB for AM2, with AMD, I've read the stock HSF that the CPU comes with is decent, but the fan maybe annoying, which could be replaced.

I'd only go the water cooling route, if the OC is over 20 percent (on a OC view).

 

[bront]

I'd stay with air cooling, as you can get very good results without having to spend lots of money. My system is air cooled with a 25% OC.

However, the chances of Conroe OCing well are probably slim, as first gen CPUs tend to be fairly maxed out. However, that's just my guess. We'll find out once they come out. The AM2 chips should be pretty OCable since they'll be basicly the same chips we have now, with just a few minor differences.