Water cooling or Air? (i7)

[amith]

Heya, I'd like to consult with you guys on which type of cooling should i build for my ordered system.


Core i7 extreme 965 3.2
Asus rampage 2 X58
two Diamond OC'ed 4870x2 (crossfire/quad)
VelociRaptor 300 GB/10,000 RPM
6 GB 1600, 8-8-8-24 Corsair dominator


My plans are to overclock this to 3.8 or so, nothing too serious.

My question is should i just stick to air cooling or should i install water cooling on this (which is far more complicated for me), also, I would like suggestions for a power supply/case.


Thanks in advance!

 

[antiacid]

you'll need a 1000-1200watts PSU for that kind of machine.

Also, according to the latest tom's charts, 2x 4870x2 doesn't really do anything special up until 1920x1200. If you game on a 30'' display, then it'd be a decent idea but anything below = you'll have the noise of a vacuum, the heat of a furnace and the electricity bill of a small town.

As for air cooling vs watercooling, you also have to remember that the x2 requires either 2x mcw60 blocks with special DIY mounting equipment or a 150$ full plate block. That's on top of the rest of the loop which will cost around 250-350$. On the upside, it'll be less noisy.

 

[knotknut]

IMO water cooling is a waist of time and money, especially in your case when you are only looking at a 20%, 600mhz overclock.

 

[sailer]

For the moment, overclocking the i7 chips seems to be limited compared to the last round of chips, so heat shouldn't be as much as a problem. I'd stay with air myself, as its cheaper and easier to set up, as well as having less maintenance problems. As antiacid noted, water should be less noisy, but that's not a guarantee, especially if you use quiet fans for the air cooling.

Also, as previously noted, with those big video cards, you would probably need a 1000-1200wt PSU, and maybe larger. If you actually make such a machine, consider having a dedicated electrical outlet for the computer only, perhaps using a heavier amp rating on the line and circuit breaker as well. That's a lot of power to pull through the standard production lines.

 

[amith]

Thank you for your comments. Air it is.


I'm gonna be using a 47 full HD LCD - so i'll be using the max resolutions on games - hence the two cards.

Though, don't spoil anything for me and tell me i don't need it, i know i probally don't, but i wanted it and already ordered it


Any suggestions for a case/fans?

Thanks in advance

 

[knotknut]

Antec 1200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043

Look at the combo deals.

 

[antiacid]

a 47inch full hd lcd tv is basically an enlarged 1920x1080 display. a 22inch screen can do that and 24s are 1920x1200. Just thought i'd clarify

 

[wilsonkf]

You need to watercool the pair of 4870 x2 for lower noise. CPU is not really the focus.

BTW why don't add a SSD HDD?

 

[mighty442]

For the amount of money you aleady spent why not go water cooling? It looks better, a lot less noisy and you get cooler temps all around with the ability to overclock more aggresively when you want.

 

[antiacid]

as mighty442 pointed out, watercooling is (for me, at least) mostly for noise issues. My current system is watercooled and I'm pretty sure that the only noise I hear is the water in the pipes lol

It's quite a lot less noisy than my old setup.