IS water cooling worth it

[rainkiller]

well is water cooling really worth it, is costs so much and i have the 12 hundred case which right now has 7 fans, but still, WHATS THE PLUS's to water cooling, and is it truly worth getting.

Aslo how effiecent is it?

 

[Fruity]

Its worth it if you want it......

Plus: can be quieter, better heat rejection from cooled components, may allow for a bigger overcolock
Minus: Cost, will destroy your PC if done badly, 'complete' system including graphics cards and chipset needed for max benefit

Personally, i only see the point of watercooling for noise reduction. The amount of additional overclock you could get from air to liquid cooling (and therefore the performance gain) could end up be nothing.

 

[evongugg]

I would only recommend it for very high overclocks, when air is not cooling enough.
Otherwise air is fine and cheaper.

 

[rubix_1011]

Very efficient and works very well, if you do it right and get good components. Stay away from Thermaltake, Zalman and Koolance if you can.

Swiftech
DangerDen
Thermochill
EK
D-tek

Those should get you started. Don't expect it to be cheap for the results you want...$250-$300 is a good starting point for quality components. If you don't want to shell out the cash, then evongugg is right...air coolers would be better for less cost.

 

[Shadow703793]

^+1.

Do more research here's to getting you started:

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/index.php? Not a noob site, but great stickies
http://www.ocforums.com/ My fav, good peeps, know their stuff, less hardcore
http://www.skinneelabs.com/MartinsLiquidLab/
http://www.over-clock.com/ivb/inde [...] opic=20277 A GREAT Europe site
http://www.overclock.net/water-cooling/
http://translate.google.com/transl [...] n&ie=UTF-8 Info on rad testing
http://skinneelabs.com/
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=282232

Stores
http://www.dangerden.com/index.php [...] e&Itemid=1
http://www.petrastechshop.com/
http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/
http://www.jab-tech.com/

 

[The Taz]

I have a Thermaltake Armor LCS VE200bws, Aquabay m2 and a Extreme spirit ll northbridge cooler and my q6600 is running at 3.6GHz,with realtemp my temps are 25,25,23,23 no load and 65,65,62,62 load. load is running intelburn test v1.9

 

[rubix_1011]

I have pretty much same spec'd CPU as you; running 23-25C idle, 45C load. Your load temps seem a little warm for WC. What block are you running on the CPU? Rad? Or is the Aquabay the entire thing?

 

[Conumdrum]

He's running some weaker stuuf rubix, a lesser WC system than you have by far. Rad is smaller etc. So his temps are acceptable, but not great. Also depends on ambients, VID etc.

 

[rubix_1011]

Ahhh...I just did some Google on the Aquabay...not impressed with it at all, especially for what he is trying to cool. The Q6600 gets pretty hot; you are going to need more rad than what you have.

 

[Conumdrum]

Yea, Taz will be upgrading sooner than later.

 

[Raviolissimo]

it's worth doing to learn the technology.

but it's definitely a case of diminishing returns money-wise.

 

[jive]

Hi,
Like someon already note. IF YOU GO EXTREME OR REALLY HIGH oc, it's worth it. For the 85% of the other people my answer is no. If you want to get a projet like mod your case, go wc add cathode or bling bling yeah it's worth it. For sound reducing, get damper product noctua fan add 7 of thoses and it will whisper too your ear. I have a tj-09 and 5 fans , 2 top on a fan controller, 1 intake , 1 exhaust, I add one with a duch on the side panel all noctua fan a 7 volt temp inside the case 24c. . When I start my pc listen to music the pc at less then 3 feet, i heard nothing.

 

[rubix_1011]

Really? I get more compliments from my rads and side tanks at LANs than anyone, and most guys have at least ball-park hardware. Its not like a quad core and 4gb of RAM is that big of deal anymore, but anyone can snap on a CPU fan with a light and call it a day. Real watercooling is an art form and an expression of who you are technically as a DIY PC builder. It is by far more a hobbyist mindset than anything, but it is well worth it if you really enjoy standing out from a crowd and being proud of your work. There is something to be said for sleek and functional performance as opposed to flashy lights and case windows.