H2O Cooling Suggestions

[drums101]

I am thinking of going to water cooling in my PC just for the CPU I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions of which kit to buy. I am looking to spend no more then $200 preferably less and I don't care about noise I just want really good performance. Any suggestions would be appreciated. thanks

CPU: Q6600
GPU: BFG 9800gtx OCX
PSU: 750watt PCP&C quad silencer
RAM: 4gb OCZ
MOBO:XFX 680i lt

 

[rubix_1011]

For your hardware, which is very similar to mine, you are going to spend $200+. Anything less, you would be better off with aftermarket air.

 

[ausch30]

check out this site

Click on the H2O 120 Compact $119.99 or H2O 220 Compact $139.99
Those are just about the best water cooling you'll find in that price range.

Reviews
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3097
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/swiftech-h20-220compact.html

 

[pcgamer12]

Notice how in the Anandtech review, top air coolers beat the water cooling systems.

 

[ausch30]

The 220 actually did a very good job in the xbit review but I agree with you about the 120. The performance increase over high-end air cooling is marginal but he wanted a good liquid cooler for under $200 and the 220 is the best in that price range.

 

[rubix_1011]

Q6600 @ 4.0 on water. I doubt many air coolers get you that far; your limitations might be with the NB heat at that point.

 

[ausch30]

Q6600 @ 4.0 on water. I doubt many air coolers get you that far; your limitations might be with the NB heat at that point.

The nice thing about that kit is that it comes with hardware to add more blocks to it so if you run into that problem then you can just add a NB block for ~40 and the dual fan rad should be able to handle the extra heat. You can't really beat that kit for entry level water cooling.

 

[TonyL222]

If your budget is truly < $200, then you will get better performance with a top tiered air cooler than "self contained" water coolers at that price. The H20 220 Compact will probably outdo the top air, but not sure if it's enough to buy you a higher OC.

I'm not sold on the Swiftech Compacts except in a space limited case, but the upside is that they are upgradable. If you can find about $60, here's an excellent kit:

http://www.petrastechshop.com/pecoel.html

 

[ausch30]

In that price range I would be more inclined to go with something like this. That is a great entry level setup for $230. Or for another $100 you can get it with the NB and VGA blocks as well as RAM sinks for your video card here

 

[rubix_1011]

I found that I had to add a NB block for OC to stabilize. I think it only ran me like $25-$30 and $2 in tubing. A NB block is a good investment when you start to really tweak things, but the only downfall is that you have to find one that fits the retention fittings for each board...which might be vastly different from one another. Some, though, have interchangeable brackets like CPU blocks.

BTW...good kit choices for a starter kit.