Watercooling vs. Heatsink/Fan/Heatpipe coolers?

[hackths]

I came from a system that was watercooled. It seemed to run fine- did not have any issues except I had to fill it up with water ALL the time, which was a major PITA. I am wondering if I should be considering water cooling again or if the traditional heatsink/fan and now Heatpipe stuff is just as good, and you don't have to mess with the water. I would like to keep my system as cool as possible, but I do not want to have something really loud that becomes distracting- which was one nice thing with the watercooling, it is pretty much silent.

I have been looking at the Thermaltake CL-W0005-01 Big Water SE if i went for watercooling. For $100 it seems to be a good deal, and easy to refill.

I have no idea what to really look for in regards to the traditional forms of cooling so any advice/recommendations would be appreciated!

 

[apt403]

High-end air cooling is always going to beat midrange water cooling, and high-end water cooling is always going to beat high-end air cooling. If $100 is all your willing to spend on cooling just get a good hsf like the Tuniq Tower or Thermalright Ultra 120, not much worst then most kits in the $100 price range, less cash, less hastle.

 

[hackths]

So the Tuniq Tower or Thermalright Ultra 120 would give me pretty similar cooling ability to the Thermaltake Big Water cooling system. I do not want to go beyond $100-$120, but want most bang for the buck, and on the side hopefully that will allow me to make my system easier to maintain.

 

[apt403]

Yeah, with the Big Water you might get 5ºc or 6ºc less, not worth it for an extra $50 IMO, especially since your not oc'ing, like you said in your other thread.

 

[hackths]

I noticed your run the Tuniq, if you were to do it again would you stick with that? I really want something quiet, but I do not ever want to sacrifice power

 

[Rugger]

High-end aircooling has the best bang for the buck. Get one of the Ultra 120s or and Ultra 120 Extreme and put on a good quiet fan. A couple of suggestions:
1. Yate Loon D12SL-12 for $5
2. Scythe S-Flex SFF21E for $14
or
3. Noctua NF-S12 for $20.

Take a look at the recommended fans at Silent PC Review. This is a great site for all things in silent computing. The Nexus Real Silent Case Fan is a rebadged Yate Loon D12SL-12 that I linked above. Always looking for a good deal - I go with the $5 Loons...

 

[Dade_0182]

I'm pretty damn happy with my Big Typhoon VX. Yeah I know the thing is huge but I love it.

 

[apt403]

I noticed your run the Tuniq, if you were to do it again would you stick with that? I really want something quiet, but I do not ever want to sacrifice power

In a heartbeat. I love my Tuniq. The only thing I would do before hand though, would be to get replacment mounting screws, the stock ones stuck. I've actually been holding one of them together with super glue for the past ~6 months, I only got around to getting the new ones this week.